Media Blitz

   There aren't a whole lot of things I just cannot stand at all. Gossipy media that has to harp on the personal lives of, say, celebrities is one of them. "Oh, so-and-so got a tat? Oh my God, they broke up? She just adopted a child? No way!" Who cares?! It's not news, it's gossip and frankly I don't really care all that much about other people's lives if I don't even know them. It's not my business, or the media's.

   Take the case of the recent trial of Casey Anthony. There is no reason why that case should have become such a feeding frenzy for the media. And what does it matter where she is now, she's free. She's had her 15 minutes of fame, so just get over it already. Everything about that case was blown out of proportion and it just had way too much drama.

   My mom said it's "entertainment" and I realize that's how it's viewed. I can't stand it and I find it pathetic that people go for it. Really, there are so much more important things to focus on.

Good Vs. Evil

   Yesterday I finished reading Wicked (yes, the book about the Wicked Witch of the West; yes, I know there's a musical based off this book and no, I haven't seen it but I love the music). I'll never be able to watch The Wizard of Oz the same way again, I don't think. I'll be thinking of Elphaba and her struggles.
    The main reason I brought up this book when I rarely ever bring up the numerous books I read is because I started thinking, as is only natural after this book, about what is evil. It's been suggested in the book that evil fills the void left by the absence of good, or that it is not the intent but the deed since most people feel the urge to do something "evil" at some point but not all act on it. It seems to me that for something to be evil it needs the intent and the deed. A person can do something bad for a good reason but they aren't always considered evil. A person can also have both good and evil sides to them, I believe, so evil to me is more than just the absence of good.
   Elphaba, a.k.a. the Wicked Witch, was never evil in my opinion. She did bad things and she wasn't always likable but she seemed to have good intentions most of the time. I can't say whether I think Wicked's version of the Wizard is evil or not, though. He did evil things but I can't speak for his intentions the way I can of Elphaba's. They seem largely selfish, though. He most definitely wasn't good.
    That's enough of my analytic rambling for now. The nature of evil is interesting food for thought, though. At any rate I highly recommend this book, the author is a very great story teller, and I consider there to be a big difference between authors and storytellers.
   Callie

Independence Day

   I just wanted to take a few minutes to say happy Fourth of July to everybody. A day we celebrate treason, revolution, various other types of law-breaking and all that good stuff. Happy birthday America, you've sure come a long way.

   The only thing that sucks about this is that, because of extremely dry weather, we aren't allowed to celebrate with fireworks here. Of course, there will probably still be a few going off somewhere or other in my city because what is the Fourth of July for other than making things go boom and give off pretty lights? Still, there won't be any sort of big firework show or anything of that kind.

   That's all I wanted to say for now. I'll just end this by asking people if they wouldn't mind leaving a comment every now and then. I don't care if it's good or bad, I just would like to know that somebody's paying attention to what I write here to boost my low self-esteem...err, so that I have a better idea of what to write to make this blog more interesting. Yeah, let's go with that.

   Callie

While Everybody Else is Busy...

   My mom and sister just got back after being gone a little over a week. My sister was at a camp in Chicago (and complaining about it being cold because of the 70-something degree weather while I was stuck with highs in the upper 90's) and my mom was visiting relatives. I stayed here with my dad.
   Before now I'd barely spent more than two nights at a time away from my sister. I thought being separated from her for a week wouldn't be difficult, just very strange, and it was. I was home alone while my dad was at work during the day (as for the other people living here, my brother's almost never home and my cousin's very busy most of the time) and that was something new to me. I, being the dork that I am, took advantage of this by singing along to my iTunes as loudly as I could. I got used to having time by myself after a while, but I still missed having my sister around. She probably didn't miss me as much, being so busy she wouldn't have time to.
   I did have some nice father-daughter time from this, though. I came down in the evening and read and watched T.V. with my dad. We watched The Daily Show every evening. Usually I stay in my room because downstairs it gets too loud with my mom talking to read peacefully. We don't always say much when it's just me and dad, but sometimes I like it that way.
   None the less I'm glad my mom and sister are home now. I keep hoping I'll find something interesting to do with my summer, but I have to admit I'm liking the quiet down-time for now. I feel like the only one being a lazy bum over her break. Hope everybody else who gets a break over the summer is enjoying their vacation.
   Callie