Earth Hour - descend into darkness plz

So did you guys turn out your lights for Earth Hour?

I didn't. I think the whole thing is a big farce, to be honest.

We need so much less of this shitty marketing campaign.
Granted, this is from 2009, but how misleading can you get?

I'm not going to go all "Ooooh, it must feel so good to pretend to do something for climate change for one hour a year, huuuuuhhh???" Awareness is good, etc., etc., and if people want to use a symbolic manifestation to show their support, then go for it. What I don't like is the way it's marketed as something that's actually making a difference, because it's not. I'm not saying that Earth Hour has never led anybody to a more climate-friendly lifestyle, just that it's not as massive and amazing an incentive as the organizers like to claim. Turning out the lights and being a Dweller in Darknesssssss for an hour is a fun thing to do, for people with kids or people who want to have sex or people who are just bored, so of course it won't be difficult to get a large following. Nor is it a big deal for all these ~140 countries to jump on the bandwagon. Because it's just an hour, right?

BUT! How many people start eating vegetarian or taking public transportation in the freezing cold? We're not seeing a lot of radically changing lifestyles. And that's okay. Me, I'm a meat-eater who takes half-hour hot showers. Turning out the lights won't change that, and I'd prefer to be able to see for an hour and then leave the lights off for 12 hours while I sleep.

Pity we don't see more of this.

Keep Earth Hour-ing if you feel like it. I'm just disappointed in the people behind this for treating it as a call to arms and people from all walks of life uniting under a common goal, when it's really just a bunch of dorks giggling in the dark. Sure, use it as a symbol or use it for promotion, but the way Earth Hour is presented, it's as if this small action is enough to fill your debt to the climate for the entire year just because so many people do it. (And as somebody said, the marketing for Earth Hour likely consumes so much energy that it nullifies and the non-effect of Earth Hour and then drives laps around it.)

Ah well. At least those of us who're having sex are happy.

Games I like: Assassin's Creed

NOTHING IS TRUE; EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED.

(To be said with great fervor in a heavy Italian accent, or in Arabic that sounds like perfect American. Your call.)

This is so famous that most people have probably heard of it already, but I'll give the lowdown anyway. In Assassin's Creed, you are Desmond Miles, Just Some Guy who was abducted by an evil corporation actually run by the Knights Templar. Using a machine called the Animus, Desmond's captors use him to access the genetic memories of his ancestors, members of the ancient Order of Assassins, to find the secret to ruling the world. Evil conspirators were always so innovative.

A Sad Product of the Sedentary Age

I'm not the only cliché high school brainy kid who's had issues with P.E., but that definitely doesn't make it any easier. I am the slowest, the weakest and the shittiest at throwing balls in my entire class (much of this tragically proven through horridly public tests whose results were then to be compared with an average, oh the trauma). The overweight and asthmatic alike whoop my unathletic ass. I dislike exercise and hardly ever do any, so when we got this assignment to create a training plan (to be followed six days a week for two months) and then show improved results at the end of the period, I wanted to break down and cry. No wait, I did. (I didn't do the assignment and was - actually legitimately - absent on the re-test day, so I may be in some deep shit, but that's another matter.)

The thing is that it's not the exercise itself that deters me, it's the way the whole thing is organized. We just finished a painfully short dance unit, comprised of three lessons, which was really, really fun - not competitive, easily adaptable for both groups and individuals, alterable exertion levels, and a design where the performance itself is intrinsically more important than the final score. Come next lesson we'll be doing invasion sports instead. COOPERATE. SCORE. WIN!!!! Yay.

When you're pretty bad at P.E. and are playing team sports against people who're average, you learn to stay out of the way. If you know that if it were up to you, the team would lose every time, things tend to lose their appeal. Plus, there's no help to be had for a subject like this - no support groups or anything like there are for math or English. Which should be logical since it's not academic at all ... but apparently you have to pass to become eligible for university. Which also wouldn't be a problem - participation used to be enough - but at this school, not only do they give us homework, but homework that is more difficult and at least twice as time-consuming as that for any other subject. And then there's the whole thing about how public everything is - being red-faced, unable to breathe, and so sore the fillings in your teeth hurt (which actually happened once) is, in my opinion, slightly more humiliating then looking disappointed after a bad test score.

yeah pretty much

I'd love it if they had some sort of alternative P.E. class with a larger focus on individual activities, like dancing, yoga, or even aerobics-type exercise. I might even enjoy Physical Education then. But for now I guess it's back to the sidelines. Not just because of self-pity either, mind you: I dislike the thought of my glasses shattering from the force of a stray projectile.

Lobbing flying projectiles!!! Whoever invented organized sports was a sadist, I tell you.

Did you guys have issues with Physical Education, or was it just another subject, or even one of your best subjects? Was there anything you'd rather have done during this time? (Such as actual schoolwork???)

Bluh. Gonna get off my own case now and go do something productive. Like dance. Or read.

...yeah, read.

Meet the Mugs!

As someone who enjoys drinking tea, cocoa, and other hot beverages, as well as the merciless devouring of chillier concoctions such as ice cream, it's a good idea to have plenty of appropriate vessels on hand. I have accumulated several mugs that are exclusively mine. Let me introduce you.

On the far left, we have a large purple number bearing the likeness of Minnie Mouse, Veil of Veronica-style. It was acquired many years ago, possibly for a birthday, and used as a pen holder for most of that time. A profound redecorating scheme led me to return it to its original purpose, a decision that proved wise since this baby holds twice as much ice cream as any normal-sized mug. Tankard territory, brothers.

To the right of Minnie is another very old cat-themed cup. Since it was a gift, I don't have any kind of personal bond or story to go with it, but "Cats!!!" will have to suffice as an explanation for greatness.

Turning our gazes to the bottom right corner, we are met by the cheekily cheerful visage of one "Happy." Part of the Mr. Men series, Mr. Happy was discovered by me during my two-week internship at the English Bookshop. I was immediately taken in by his indomitable joviality and felt the instant need to own something with his face on it. Since I was a good worker, I even got a discount off the ridiculous amount I paid for this mug, but I don't regret a penny of it. Mr. Happy never fails to brighten a morning (or afternoon or night), and is probably my most favorite mug of all time.

Let's scurry across that gap back to the left, making sure to heed the warning advising us to mind it. Bought at Heathrow Airport during a visit to London, this Underground mug comes with a sector of tube map whose primary function is to let people point and shout "I've been there!!!" The cheap make of this mug is disliked by my mother, who is somewhat convinced it is full of lead, but I will not be deterred from adoring it. It is particularly fun to drink out of when accompanied by my matching "Mind the Gap" tee shirt.

At the top right we can see a (very recent) sixteenth birthday present, a Dunoon stoneware Zodiac mug full of symbols and keywords representing my sign, Pisces. The story of this mug contains a fair bit of coincidence, as I had seen and admired it on multiple occasions, unbeknownst to my mother who later purchased it for me. A stroke of luck was included too, as the Pisces mug in particular is nearly always sold out at the shop (possibly because Pisces is the only sign gullible enough to actually buy stuff with zodiac motifs). It's a lovely mug, although the placement of its handle makes it difficult to let the teabag steep and I'm afraid to put it in the dishwasher should the gold parts rub off, but it's so nice to look at that its slight awkwardness is irrelevant. (Get your own here!)

Last but not least, smack in the middle we have the newest addition to the group - a rainbow polkadot mug from the hardware store. It was a bargain at only 19 SEK, which I paid with a 500:- bill. The clerk was pissed as he handed over the 481:- worth of change, but I was in good spirits and have remained so ever since with this retro burst of color to greet me every day.

Now you are familiar with all my beverage vessels, and with this meeting, your life has been profoundly enriched (whether you know it or not). Heads up: it is only the first of many odd collections to come! Fare ye well, I'm outie.

*sips hot tea*

Very Important PSA

Regarding the recent nagging questions about whether or not I am joining this blogging A-Z Challenge thing.

Well, here is my final answer.

I will be joining.

And yet, I will not.

Thing is, I learned the hard way that posting something every day - without some serious advance planning, which wasn't possible in this case - is not the way for me to go. I'd put something up that I wrote in ten minutes, read through the whole thing eight times, and then either heavily edit it or delete the whole thing depending on how many people had already seen it. On this blog, I've been scheduling posts days in advance, and so I have time to go in and fine-tune them and try my best to think of interesting topics to post over a period of time instead of just bombarding y'all with four good posts in one day and then putting up ten crappy fillers the following week.

So, to elaborate? I won't be officially joining (full reasons for why will show up in one of the posts; I'm starting out with some tentative topic planning already) or following the Real Rules. So instead of just doing No Post On Sundays, I will follow the schedule I designed for myself (before I started putting up little PSAs like this, oops) and give you a post every other day. The challenge will stand, though - I will do my best to put up a post whose theme is centered around each subsequent letter of the alphabet.

The things I do for quality.

Okay, see you guys around. /goes off to think of post titles

it shall begin

Please stand up and remove your hats!

I'm totally into national anthems now.

Bet you never thought you'd hear anybody say that.

But really, they're awesome. So pompous and stately and proud! And vastly superior to the contemporary pop song when it comes to singing VERY loudly. Yes, I do cruise YouTube listening to national anthems. This is a thing with which I occupy myself. 'Tis the truth. My favorites are Russia's, America's, and incidentally Sweden's, but that might just be bias and understanding-the-lyrics. Japan's is lovely too, although it's a bit of an exception; it's softer and more folkly and doesn't, well, shout at you. Nice and ambient. There's this one video that has a bunch of beautiful imagery from Japan as well. At one part, the scenery of sakura blossoms and Mt. Fuji suddenly switches to cute Japanese girls, which was hilarious at the time and very incongruous, although I suppose cute girls never did any harm. But I digress.

This new international interest has made me extra sad that there is so much tension between nations, what with wars and immigration issues and all. Anthems are pretty much the most nationalistic thing on earth, and not everyone feels very flattered if you start belting out your allegiance to the great motherland, especially if said motherland massacred their people or something. Singing the Swedish anthem is considered - if not racist - then at least somehow disrespectful to multiculturalism by some overhyped über-leftists, since the populist party has gained influence and use all the traditional Swedish symbols to promote "healthy" cultural values. Duh, so a lot of those guys are assholes (racist ones, too), but this is the Kingdom of Sweden (fancy, eh?) and it's not like the song itself is condemning anyone. Actually, the lyrics are pretty melancholy. "Du tronar på minnen från fornstora dar" can be loosely translated as "'Hardcore Vikings of the North' is over. We're being neutral now. Days of glory and being a pillaging berserker are now things resigned to our dreams, so off with your helmets and put on your POLITICALLY CORRECT HATS!"

Plus, Sweden is the least of my worries. What of America? I can't exactly walk the streets bellowing "AND THE ROCKETS' RED GLAAAARE, THE BOMBS BURSTING IN AIIIIR, GAVE PROOOOF THROUGH THE NIIIIGHT THAT OUR FLAAAG WAAAS STIIIILL THEEEERE!!" Because, uh, that is just not a thing that people do. (And that's not the kind of song that people should write - I believe the lyrics are from wartimes, and stayed on for some inexplicable reaso--no wait they're still fighting a bunch of wars, nevermind - but I can't help that the tune is catchy, now can I?)

Here I go about politics again. I just can't seem to keep my nose out of the sort of topics that people on the internet like spewing hate about. Ah, oh well. I'll stop being so self-proclaimedly controversial and instead share some lovely orchestral scores! They are both humorous and unironically epic. OK then, Sophia out!

And then there will be cake~!

It's white chocolate vanilla raspberry, because I know you were going to ask.

I made the mistake of telling my mother about the famous line from Portal, so she had fun with that to no end today. ("We can't get a cake. It's a lie!! Ohohoho!") Yes I hang out with my mom on weekends, problem?

Anyway, this is a short post to announce that from now on, posts will be coming up every other day! If there is a change or an attack of sudden sloth, I may or may not tell, but this is what the schedule is going to be like for the foreseeable near-future. I've got several posts all drafted and ready, so make sure you check in!

Y-you know. I-if you want to.

See ya! :D

Weird things come in threes

Here, have my list of sudden strange obsessions!

Lately, I've been having these massive apple juice cravings. That is not something that normally happens to me; I usually go down the more stereotypical line of chocolate, Ben & Jerry's and, of course, the little sausages which will never ever stop being a fount of innuendo. But nowadays, all I seem to want is to down glass after tall glass of cool, refreshing cloudy apple juice.

Also, I have become much more fond of adorable dogs. I am still primarily a cat person due to the slight odor problem that comes with dogs, but some of them are just so precious. In particular, I adore pugs. They're not even really that cute, and those squashed faces most likely give them a lot of nose and eye problems, but oh lawd. I want to love all of them. I have ceased to can.

THEY ARE COMPLETELY BATSHIT AWESOME.

And finally, perhaps or perhaps not most fortunately, I'm really on a roll with this blogging thing!! I am in this huge mood for writing post after post. But instead of acting like before and putting up one post after another, like I did on Ramblings on the Wind (later rebelliously renamed Robots on the Wall, for no apparent reason other than me liking robots), I'm going to exploit the wonders of technology and schedule my posts. In fact, this very post was scheduled. But how often should I put them up? Every two days? Every three? Since this roll most certainly will come to a grinding stop, I should probably limit myself from post vomiting. We'll have to see how this reboot unfolds! Til then, thanks to everyone who already jumped back on the bandwagon! I'm intending for this blog to be more fun, less pressured, and (somewhat sparsely) populated with followers whom I like and can talk to. This means you. Say hello if you haven't already.

Byeas~!

A Game of Thrones (in which I am surprisingly positive)

So, I'm currently reading George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones! Since it's fiction, and popular, of course I have things to say about it.

Just noting: AGOT is the first novel in the series "A Song of Ice and Fire." I'm watching the TV series simultaneously, as it airs on Swedish television. You know, like a boss and all, even though the DVD is already out. Oh Sweden. (It's on tonight! Dang have I missed having something to look forward to.) I've read about as much as I've seen, so far.

If you haven't heard of it, what it's basically about is this shiny awesome chair (you know!) that all these different families want to get, and they throw things at each other to slow the others down. Um. Something like that. Anyway ... we've got the Starks, rulers of Winterfell, who are basically Vikings so I relate to them. ("Winter is coming. Oh fuck.") Then there're the Lannisters, these blonde douchebags, with the semi-exception of the kindly dwarf brother who likes to have sex a lot. We've also got the Targaryens, who used to rule the country before most of them got killed. They all have gorgeous platinum hair and names that end in -rys and believe that they are Otherkin. Sorry, dragons. There're about a million others that aren't as important; if you're interested see the comprehensive list of family trees at the back of the volume. True story. PROCEED WITH TRUCKLOADS OF INTRIGUE.

Actually, I haven't enjoyed a book as much as A Game of Thrones in a long time. It's not so much the plot, or the way Martin writes. He doesn't exactly weave magic with his words or anything. Instead he weaves ... a rope that drags you along through the story. Not in a face-pressed-to-the-dust way either, more like it's the pully on one of the variety of amusing little carts you could ride in when you were little. I have fun reading it, and can get through many pages in one sitting, an ability which has sadly been more and more lost to me in this age of high school homework and distracting computers.

If I were in a normal state of mind I would be analyzing gender issues. But, um, even though society in AGOT is definitely patriarchal, I find myself not being bothered by very much. There are a few minor things, but there are plenty of awesome female characters. Daenerys is my absolute favorite among both guys and girls; even though she's only able to exercise power she gained through the husband she was forced to marry, she is still really badass and I like the way her character develops.

(There's a lot more sex in the show, and it seems like the preferred position in the Seven Kingdoms is doggy style. Is this cultural or...? Also, a lot of boobs if you like that kind of thing. And blood. Harsh imagery, too; exempli gratia: severed heads.)

Did I mention there are tons of cute animals?? Pictured: Direwolf, kawaii version. (There're horses too!)

I will most likely have more commentary once I've finished the book, but for once I'm glad that there's a lot of pages to get through (and four more novels to go when I'm done!). Definitely recommending this for now. Buy it today! Or something.

The Hunger Games: A Rant (?)

So, just to get myself started ...

Not going to bother with any introductory posts or anything like that. This blog is going to be really fun to write (she said, with great conviction)!

I'm just going to go right ahead and delve into what seems to be the hottest topic right now: The Hunger Games. There will be spoilers, but I'll white them out, don't worry!

'Sup, 'sup

Hi! I'm Sophia.

This is the part where I tell you all about my grueling experiences in the blogosphere, the countless pages that were started only to be abandoned, my cybersocial incompetence, etc., etc.

But that would be dull.

So instead - hey! This is my cry of "I am back," to whoever missed me!

Let's see how this goes.

~ Sophia