I'm about to post a link to this at book_memes as well. If you like this sort of game, or like other sorts of quizzes about books, you should have a look at the book_meme community; it's a good one.

Today:
1. Post lines from favourite poems.
2. Invite your friends to guess who wrote the poems and if they can, to tell you which poems they are.
3. Have fun!

( My list under the cut )

Monster-sized book meme found [where else] at book_memes.

( Under here )

1. List three characters from ten favourite books [different books than the other book meme!].
2. Add last names if you wish; I've added one surname per line except for one instance where I thought the names were easy enough.
3. Try to guess what the books are!

1. Harriet Vane, Peter, Lord Saint-George Gaudy Night, guessed by abracax
2. Josella, Bill Masen, Coker Day of the Triffids, guessed by brisingamen
3. Miles, Francine Whiting, Tick Empire Falls, guessed by jcdive305
4. Ashton Pelham-Martin, Juli, Wally The Far Pavilions, guessed by winnowill2
5. Billy, Valencia, Montana Wildhack Slaughterhouse Five, guessed by winnowill2
6. Anne, Matthew, Gilbert Blythe Anne of Green Gables guessed by lost_inthestars
7. Adrian, Pandora, Nigel The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 3/4, guessed by abracax
8. Meg Murry, Charles Wallace, Calvin A Wrinkle in Time, guessed by lost_inthestars
9. Sydney Carton, Charles, Lucie A Tale of Two Cities, guessed by abracax
10. Charles, Ernestina, Sarah Woodruff The French Lieutenant's Woman guessed by lost_inthestars

from book_memes

1. Pick 10 of your favorite books.
2. Post the first sentence of each book. (If one sentence seems too short, post two or three!)
3. Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books!

1. I wear the ring. I wear the ring and I return often to the city of Charleston, South Carolina, to study the history of my becoming a man.

2. Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, guessed by lost_inthestars

3. There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. Jane Eyre, guessed by globetrotter1

4. The guard at Exeter warned him he would have to change at Dulverton to pick up the westbound train to Bamfylde Bridge Halt, the nearest railhead to the school, but did not add that the wait between trains was an hour.

5. When I was quite sm.all I would sometimes dream of a city – which was strange because it began before I even knew what a city was. The Chrysalids, guessed by lost_inthestars

6. You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy. The Color Purple, guessed by lost_inthestars

7. It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. The Giver, guessed by lost_inthestars

8. Ba-room, ba-room, ba-room, baripity, baripity, baripity, baripity - Good. His dad had the pickup going. He could get up now. Jess slid out of bed and into his overalls. Bridge to Terabithia, guessed by lost_inthestars

9. “I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one. Or at least as close as we’re going to get.” Ender's Game, guessed by lost_inthestars

10. At sixty miles an hour, you could pass our farm in a minute, on County Road 686, which ran due north into the T intersection at Cabot Street Road.

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More at my icon journal HERE at truenorthicons.

Aside from worrying about Diana's to-be-brief homecoming, I've done very little this week. However, here are the highlights, such as they are:

- Tim Horton's [Canada's major coffee and donut store] has introduced Key Lime donuts and they are, quite possibly, the best thing EVER. They had better not be a seasonal thing, to be removed arbitrarily at some looming deadline! I want them always!

- Hello! magazine was not the best selection of subscriptions when my sister-in-law offered us all magazine subscriptions for Christmas. Sure, it's pretty and glossy and has great photos, but so little text - I'm through each week's issue in 20 minutes. Most annoying: recently the issue is appearing on newstands before my subscription copy arrives. Next year, something substantial from which I can learn, nature-oriented, perhaps. I'm considering National Geographic. Or maybe science-oriented, somewhere that might occasionally feature something on evolution/early man. Any suggestions on the nature/science magazine front?

- Been doing enjoyable reading: Richard Russo's Empire Falls and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's The Nature of Passion. I love old-fashioned books set in India.

- Notting Hill is my favourite chick flick ever, and one of my favourite films. And I never knew that Elvis Costello was responsible for that beautiful song, She. Wow, that's one great voice.

- Going to work with pneumonia - not fun. I'm getting better but not as fast as I'd like.

- Little leaflets are forming on the golden maple tree outside my bedroom window and there are daffodils in the Tranquility Garden next door. It's lovely to see spring growth. And there have been tiny crocuses in my front lawn.

- I miss going out and taking photos. Next week, maybe? Heal up soon, body!!

Now, as co-moderator of book_memes I can invent book memes and post them somewhere, and today I did just that! This is the first one of my own; my answers are under the cut. If you'd like a regular dose of your own book memes, may I suggest joining book_memes? It's got terrific memes and quizzes. Today's contribution:

Literary Genres

For each of the following genres of literature, state
• Whether or not you read books in this genre for pleasure
• Why [or why not you] read books in this genre
• What is the first book you remember reading in this genre, and whether or not it was for school that you read it
• What your favourite book[s] are in this genre.

1. Autobiography/Biography/Memoirs
2. Diaries/Journals
3. Essays
4. Short Stories
5. Plays
6. Nature & Natural History
7. History & Historical Fiction
8. Comedy & Satire
9. Fables/folklore/fairy tales/myths
10. Science

( my answers here )

to ellistrae!


Myspace Happy Birthday Comments

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Allie.

At the moment, my e-mail inbox has 185 messages in it. I know I'm behind in responding to comments, and the backlog is beginning to panic me! I'll reply to people asap.

I'm just about to go and make the filters for my posts. Then maybe I'll reply to some comments. If I don't get to you today, or tomorrow, please don't be offended. I also want to spend some time with family, and I have a five-hour shift at work tomorrow, and there's baking and cooking that I want to do. And mental health that's flying all over the place, which is making me terribly panicked and paranoid about the consequences of not replying to comments. *sigh*

For now, just know that I'm thinking of all of you and appreciate all the input you've given me.

Allie.

[Written at work in between customers - that's why it's written in about three different styles!]

Today's topic was paradise.

( Follow me to paradise )

I didn't have the mental wherewithal yesterday to do anything as brainy as write a poem, so I deferred it to today. So I bring you days 7 and 8.

Day 7: We're supposed to write about one of our nicknames. To heck with that! I wrote [of course] about Cthulhu's nicknames.

Day 8: We're supposed to write about old flames. Guess what? I took a Cthulhu angle on this topic!

( Two Poems, One Click )

I don't want to look for work and I don't want to do housework and I don't want to bake or cook and I don't want to do laundry and I don't want to walk the dog.

I want to stay in bed and play computer games or read Lovecraft.

Being an adult can really suck.

I wish I were a pampered house cat. They know how to live properly.

martina_d, I missed your birthday! I hope it was a happy one! And:


Happy Birthday Graphic Comments

I hope that you have a wonderful year full of all of the things that you like best.
Hugs from Allie.

To nonickname96!


Myspace Happy Birthday Comments


May your day be fun and sexy and your year a beautiful thing!
-Allie.

Today [tonight for me] at ReadWritePoem we were shown a photo of fairground swings as a prompt. I hate the damned things.

( Here's the poem.... )

The internet seems dull these days. I seem to have run out of amusement. Suggest things, please.

Things I already know about:
Facebook
Go Fug Yourself
Cake Wrecks
BadDresses or whatever it's called [temporary brain drain happening]
Lolcats
PostSecret
Fuck My Life

Amuse me, please! All reasonable suggestions considered!

Thanks!
Allie.

I'm planning on creating some filters for my journal. Not all of you want to be dealing with my poetry and my photos. Here's what I'm going to break things down into; tell me if you want in. Or tell me if you don't want in. Tell me whatever you like. Just let me know. I'll sort it out. If suddenly you aren't getting any of my posts on your friends page you can a) thank your lucky stars or b) contact me in a state of panic and I'll fix it.

Writing Filter

I'm writing for National Poetry Writing Month [a poem a day], and all my poems are about Cthulhu, and I'm also planning to post prose upon which I'd like feedback. Anyone interested in reading my stuff is welcome.

Photography Filter

Anyone who's a member of 100_snapshots is automatically going to see the photos that I post to that community. But I also post those photos here, and as an avid cemetery photographer [yep, that's my current hobby], I post several photos a week here of interesting things that I've seen on my morbid jaunts. There are also assorted pictures of my dog, which are cross-posted to germanshepherds, and occasionally family photos. Anyone who can tolerate these posts is welcome.

I went to a friending frenzy today. It was at the end-of-year banquet for LJ Idol; its fifth season. boxsofrain won the whole show, and a deserving lady she is. Terrific writer, simply gorgeous, and a wonderful friend.

Never before have I written any sort of introductory post but I've seen tons of them, written after people have added all sorts of people to their friends list. So I thought I'd write one too, although I am feeling rather that it's kind of against the grain. Honestly, IRL I'm shy, often quite reserved, and at parties I'm the one in the corner having the one-on-one chat with the guy with glasses about South African literature or the Leakey family's contribution to the study of early hominids, and telling my husband that my head aches from the music and the smoke and that I want to go home early. Geek AND party-pooper!

On my own turf I am quite different. I live in southern Ontario, Canada, with my family. I've been happily married for twelve years now [and lived with him for two years before that] to a guy who defies adjectives. John is different than anyone I've ever met: he has incredible patience, an endless supply of love and hugs, is breathtakingly intelligent, and outrageously funny. Never did I think I'd be so lucky as to find someone like him. Now if only I could get him to appreciate my puns....

Together we're raising the child we had together and my two children from an earlier marriage. Diana is 19 and away at university, and will probably be studying classics. My relationship with her can only be described as 'horrible' and at the moment the lives of the entire family are in upheaval over the situation regarding her living arrangements. James is 17 and Aislinn is 10, great kids, funny, bright, dedicated, couldn't live without them.

We have a loveable German Shepherd named DJ who is possibly the world's most affectionate dog, and the most neurotic lizard ever, whose name is Shadwell.

I work part-time, I sort of clean the house, I am the best mum that I can be. I'm bipolar and that's been a horrible struggle for the entire family, but my amazing psychiatrist has just got me stabilized on a medication that's working and I feel relatively sane for the first time in twenty years.

In my spare time, I'm a devoted photographer, and I photo-blog often, I write, and as it's National Poetry Month now in the U.S., I've joined in despite my Canadian residence and am writing a poem a day about Cthulhu. You'll notice fairly early on that I'm fairly Cthulhu-obsessed - I adore Lovecraft and think that Cthulhu is a wonderfully imaginative creature who has added all sorts of facets to my life.

Reading, writing, taking pictures, word games, napping, chocolate - those are the centrepoints of my alone-time relaxation. And LJ of course. I wouldn't be half the person without it.

Welcome to my journal and to my life.

An online art and poetry website called dash30dash
has selected my Cthulhu poem from Day 4 of National Poetry Writing Month as one of the five best of that day and has reprinted it on their site. I have never had my poetry recognized before so it's quite a thrill. If you decide to go to that link you'll need to scroll down a bit. It's under NaPoWriMo Poet's of the Day! Day 4 and is the Untitled Poem.

Did you notice the title there? NaPoWriMo Poet's of the Day? I would feel a lot better about that site if they used proper grammar. What kind of art and poetry site, purportedly a friend of the arts and literature, punctuates like that???? It is my pet peeve and that part of the business does not amuse me at all.

There is a bit of me that is unsure whether to be more pleased or more offended. However, I am hoping that this is just the first step on my pathway to eventual fame and fortune, for as we all know, famous poets make tons of money and hobnob with the rich and famous.

And now back to my padded cell....