Family squabbles

What is worse than that? Not living up or down to your siblings?
Or being in no man’s land i.e. between? The odd one out.
I hate it.
And for once I did my utmost by not getting involved although, so many members of my family tried to.

The Book Publishing World

Book Publishers are such great deceivers. Even Liars
They write such inspirational bullshit, about everything in their bloody newsletters, websites or wherever else trying to show them as different to the rest of the publishing world.
But at the end of the day?
They’re all one and the same; a motivated manipulating business that revolves around just like the rest of the world and their stereotypical views.

F.E

From My Collection of Favourite Quotes

''If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he rereads."
— François Mauriac 

Sharks

Now that's an animal worth seeing.
Like how the lion is the King of the jungle? The sharks are the king of the ocean.
Whales are great too, but I think whales in the ocean are more in comparison to elephants on land??
Yeah I have seen whales and dolphins real close up in the ocean, but not sharks.
Gansbaai & Mossel Bay is the place to see sharks in Cape Town.
Cage Diving = once in a lifetime eye to eye contact with the great white sharks a mere arms length away.
Now isn't that enticing??
Here are some pics:

 Awesome aren't they?

F.E

From My Collection of Favourite Quotes

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."
— Terry Pratchett 

Snow

Now that's something we don't have in South Africa, except on the mountain tops.

I remember the first time in about 2003? Yeah, that winter was very cold, and we heard that it was snowing in a place about three hours from where we lived. The next day at 6 in the morning my mom dad and we five siblings went on a road trip looking for snow.

We ended up seeing lots of snow - but only on the mountains....we were told by morning whatever snow had came down to the ground had already melted .

Then in 2007 amazingly it snowed where we lived. It was all over the radio, everybody was running outside trying to catch the feathery flakes as they fell. It was beautiful. And so we got to see about a millimetre of snow....too little to actually make a snow man or have a now ball fight, but I loved every moment of it.

I live in a suburb in  Johannesburg, Gauteng and I hate it.
It’s claustrophobic
There is no ‘view’, and I can go on, and on.

But South Africa is beautiful country, just not my province i.e. Gauteng.
But go on a road trip; pass the vast open landscapes, its beautiful cattle, the mountains, and finally the ocean?  

And it is a God given land for sure.

Even the Karoo has its charm.

But Gauteng? Gauteng is the home of Johannesburg CBD where the businesses run. Cities, lighted malls, posh cars, self loving snooty people...Other than that? Nah, just flat, dry land, with a few dams or lakes that people like us would drive for two hours on a Sunday just to see some water. Yeah, no kidding.

And I just dream of moving from this place, dream of living on an open estate......a farm, a ranch?
God, now that's a dream. A dream that can hardly come through for me.
F.E



From My Collection of Favourite Quotes

''The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.''

- Oscar Wilde.

Family.

We can't choose them can we?
And by 'family', I'm not meaning siblings, they're a topic all on their own.

We can smile when they talk about everything that revolves around themselves (Aunts), nod while they discuss world issues as though they're politicians themselves(Uncles),
and barely refrain from rolling your eyes, when they prattle on about their little dramas (cousins)

Oh, and don't even get me started on the Grandparents! Not to mention those reaching mental breakdowns.

After a while don't your facial muscles begin to protest?

But the other side of my brain is telling me not to generalize, something that I hate when others do, specifically parents....so yeah, okay not all cousins are that shallow or boastful. some are bearable. Huh?


F.E.

My Life...now.

Most grownups like saying how they enjoyed their 'teenage life.'
What A Lie that sounds to me.
Teenage life is such an undetermined point in your life, especially when it comes to you liking or having an interest in something that nobody in your family shares with you or even remotely understands. Yeah that sucks.
I wish I could fast forward my life ten years and see where I'd be...I guess running out of petrol somewhere along the highway through the Karoo?

F.E.

From My Collection of Favourite Quotes

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."
- Jim Henson.

YA Fiction Series that I quit..

Some YA fiction series gets me bored after reading one one or two of the books.
For an example; Maximum Ride By James Patterson.
I liked the first, and second book, but by the third book, I was starting to grow fed up of it.
I don't like that too much of a 'hero' or 'heroine' characters, you know? And Max was becoming a bit too much like that not to mention a bit highty tighty.
If anyone read this series, they'd probably see what I'm driving at.
Take a simple scene at the end of the fourth book 'The Final Warning'. The 'Global Warming' speech, that a fourteen year old is giving to the world..That's when I quit.

Another YA Fiction Series I quit on the way was:
The Gone Series By Micheal Grant.
I liked the character of Sam Temple that Micheal Grant portrayed.
But the plot, the Drake, Cain and their cronies 'activities' were a bit morbid don't you think? And a bit drawn out?




P.S. Anyway my thirteen year old sister is enjoying both the series very much. What can I say?
F.E.

From My Collection of Favourite Quotes

''He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare,
And he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.''
- Ali Bin Abi Talib (R.A).

Can I take that back?

When things are done, they're done.
But is guilt ever done??

Time turners would be such a gift, wouldn't it?

Life goes on I'm not sure I'm travelling at the same pace.

F.E.

Two Poems By Suzanne Collins

Here are the two poems by Suzanne Collins that I enjoyed while reading her books.

''Deep in the Meadow''

"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when it's morning again, they'll wash away
Here it's safe, here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you."
— Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games)

 

"The Hanging Tree"
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
When dead man called out for his love to flee
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."
— Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay)

 

F.E

The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

 

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

I have just completed the Hunger Games Trilogy. Sad to say, but I was kind of disappointed by the final book.

The Hunger games begin with Katniss Everdeen, the heroine of the story, volunteering to take the place of her little sister, Prim, in the cruel Games the Capitol host yearly.  

Each year one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen are picked to participate in the annual Hunger Games, to fight until death on live TV.

And thus begins an  interesting trilogy, of a country based in the future called Panem, a Capitol surrounded by twelve districts, where once stood North America, and is now ruled by an evil President Snow.

Catching Fire - The second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy.

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, are now victors.

Unfortunately, that is not the happy ending. Because if you don't play the game according to President Snow, he'll just have to show you how you have to play, or else...

And so the second book begins, with a whole new challenge awaiting Katniss who finds herself the face of an uprising rebellion.

 Mockingjay - The Final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy.

Katniss Everdeen, against all odds, has survived the Hunger Games twice.

And President Snow is not happy at all.

With a full war on, against all her family, friends and District 12, Katniss is now finally, but not truly by her own will, the Mockingjay.

With everyone in danger, and Peeta unsafe somewhere while being ruthlessly tortured, Katniss is determined kill President Snow herself. 

Anyway, the first book was the best - New, thrilling and full of suspense. I hated the love triangle between Katniss, Gale and Peeta. It seems like these days, most of the young adult fiction authors’ loves writing romance and can’t avoid bringing in this common style. I can list many books that I’ve read recently with this theme, and honestly? I’m fed up of it!

Anyway the turn in character of Katniss Everdeen, her disloyalty and total inconsideration the way she had treated Gale towards the end, was totally selfish not to mention unjust.

Last but not least, I have to admire Suzanne Collins poems.

The two poems that I’ve read in these books were wonderful!

Deep in the Meadow’ and 'The Hanging Tree.

I am going to post them soon.

 F.E.

From My Collection of Favourite Quotes

''Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.''
 -Oscar Wilde

Happy Holidays!

We have finally closed for the December Holidays!
See you in Jan 2011.

You too, Grandad. LOL.

Open A Window For Me

Open a window for me,
to a place I'd want to be,
all there is I'd love to see,
a part of me would be free.

the sight of which I adore,
the sound I had pine for,
although I can't go out the door,
and that is why I yearn for.

A window opened for me,
where at long last I would see,
something so dear to me,
the blue, blue, beloved sea.

Just to stare far out,
while my eyes wander about,
and my ears would never doubt,
it would be my happy cloud.

At my window I would sit,
and whisper to the wind every secret,
the sunshine in my heart would be lit,
while the waves call me from where I sit.

And if I were broken out of a restless nap,
to find myself dreaming of an open camp,
while in shone my silvery lamp,
leaving my elbows damp,

I would run to open my window,
and into my room the silver light would flow,
glistening silver the sea would glow,
and on my face the damp breeze would blow.

Wistfully my eyes turn,
in vain for one sound I yearn,
for the love of it my heart burn,
to see the white foam as the waves turn...

23/07/2009

Hi to Myself.

I once gave up on blogs, but I decided to start it up again, and see how far I can take blogging.
This blog no one know about yet, so I'm just going to post Random Stuff in the meantime.
I decided to call the blog 'Open A Window For Me' because that is the title of a Poem/song I once wrote, that sort of describe my life.
So if by the rare chance some 'outsider' trespass on my blog, Good Luck! But just please don't trample all over the show.

From F.E.