I've mentioned a few times about applying for scholarships on here. Curse math for ruining my grade!

Well... yesterday when I got home from work, I found a letter from one of the organizations. I'm fully qualified to win the scholarship, which will give me five grand for fees!

The only catch? The scholarship wants me to spread the word about their work in order for me to win. It's a fair trade, since the sponsor is an organization and they don't want money in return.





I hope it's not too late, since that money will definitely help me out! Thank you in advance, my dear watchers! And if you'd like, I could always have a few more surveys from your friends, too. It's like a petition - the more the merrier!

I've been really busy. It turned out that Spring Break was full of me being sick and working a bit, and finishing school projects. So much for getting a lot done. But, the awesome news is that I have a total of one more class after this semester before I can apply for transfers. Finally! I've just got to cross my fingers that this and summer semester I pass math.

In my English Lit class, I also discovered a fantastic writer, and I feel very ashamed for not knowing him before – John Ruskin. The man is a genius. Read and glory in him. He had admirable ideas and intellect. But alas, I am about to have my test on the Victorian Period, and go onto the Moderns... I wish I could just read Victorian prose and essays all semester long.

Not much else going on otherwise… except that Tim Burton doesn't have creativity and is just out to wreck good media now. See, I went to see his Alice in Wonderland, hoping it to be more accurate of the books. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was very accurate, after all. Instead, I got a great sequel that was entirely misleading. He could have at least put a subtitle on, so the audience knew what to expect.

And now, he's wrecking the only soap opera that's ever had any merit to it: Dark Shadows. I watched this and The Twilight Zone all the time till high school, when the two shows disappeared off television. The thing about Dark Shadows was that it was good, it didn't go on too insanely long, and it wasn't your typical soap opera. Sex, lies, and crimes weren't the point. Supernatural, revenge, and finding oneself were what the story was about.

I'm not a diehard fan, since soap operas are admittedly stupid and not played well, but the film looks to be a comedy loosely based on the fact Barnabus got turned into a vampire by Angelique. I really want to wring Burton's neck; would it seriously kill to be original, or not make a film based on something if unable to do it at least half right?

But this leads right in to the journal, which I bet you guys cannot ever guess, given what happened a few nights ago!



Hunger Games time! It was pretty fun. The midnight showing wasn't as big(about half-ish) as the Harry Potter ones, nor as many costumes. It was mostly a few friends and I who were dressed up, everyone else wearing some memorabilia. However, lots of people asked for pictures with us, and I procured a fan club with the group behind us in line. I'm just amazed middle school kids can go to midnight showings; it wasn't till I graduated high school that I could do so without putting my grades at risk.

The movie was really good. In fact, it was very close to the book. It had deviations, and while some things were cut out, the deviations and add-ins were on the whole very good. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll stay this way for the other two films. People really deserve to have such adhering movie adaptions. As I've said before, I prefer miniseries to movies for accuracy, but miniseries just don't generate as much money.

And now, the review of one of the three movies I want to see this year. Obviously, there will be spoilers. I suggest turning back if you don't want to ruin the book/film for yourself.

What made the movie awesome:

The lack of music – a lot of directors seem to be afraid of this. For at least half of the film, there is no background music. As much as I want my own personal theme song, the lack makes everything more tense. And –dare I speak blasphemy– makes the viewer immersion closer.

The shaky camera – okay, so this is a half-and-half. The shaking wasn't as if it was a hand-held camera thank goodness. But it added to the realistic qualities. Usually I hate shaky cameras in big films, but here it works and at appropriate times.

The absence of Hollywood glitz – I prefer indie film quality to Hollywood "make dirty sparkle", especially for this sort of film. The Capitol is glammed up beyond belief, giving a sense of shallowness to it behind the crazy fashions and money. But outside of it? No glimmer. That's how it should be – corruption and death aren't meant to be pretty in the first place. Why hide the truth?

Subtlety and foreshadowing  – usually the most foreshadowing we get in a movie of the next film is at the very end, and a character's thoughts are placed directly on a platter instead of being presented in a way we must think it out. I like these things; the foreshadowing doesn't apply, but Inception made great use the whole way along of coming to your own conclusions.

In The Hunger Games, we get a few discussions between Seneca and President Snow, which gravitate towards the totalitarian government attitude. We also see Haymitch in the bidding zone, watching with what seems to be resentment(to me) of two children unwrapping a toy sword and play-fighting as if part of the Games themselves, smiling the whole time. And after Rue's death, we see the D11 riot mentioned in Catching Fire when it first occurs.

I also liked that for non-readers of the series who watched the movie, Caesar and another Capitol reporter spoke as sportscasters to explain a few things during the Games. The use of media tie-ins was wise, and didn't hinder the flow or mood. Once again, it's awesome how anything Capitol was super-showy and contrasted with the more real situations.

What I wanted that wasn't in the movie:

Haymitch before the train – I always laugh when reading about him at the Reaping. It's a shame we didn't get a drunkard yelling at the Capitol cameras and subsequently knocking himself unconscious.

Katniss and Peeta inside the helicopter, and their talk at the end – both were pretty powerful in the book. Like with Deathly Hallows Part One's absence of the scene with Dudley, I want to know why they wouldn't want to add those.

No Madge – she didn't have a big role in the books, but how are they going to present the 2nd Quarter Quell without Maysilee? But at least the Mockingjay pin was free in the movie. I was having doubts with just the trailer, since no one in D12 would honestly buy something frivolous like that.

The people complaining about the movie are also complaining about the lack of meaning in some areas. But I'm cutting slack for those areas, (most of the meanings aside from the Mockingjay pin's symbolism are fine anyway). The books are first person, so much of the meaning is within Katniss' head. How exactly would everything be translated unless we had constant inner monologue talking throughout the movie? It wouldn't. And having a character's voice telling us what they are thinking is messy outside of books.  As in, thinking that the character is speaking and after you figure out that it's not, having to see the scene again. It's used a lot in anime, and at least for me, causes a bunch of headaches.

I think that the film made good use of Katniss' contemplative expressions, too. From the leaked scenes and trailers, I was afraid at first that she would be similar to Bella in the Twiblight films – stuttering and without emotion. How silly of me to think that, since Katniss is actually developed and can think on her own.

The worst part of the midnight showing was when I had to go to work three hours after going to bed.

On my way home after the movie, I had some time to think about what I would say about it. And something struck me I hadn't ever thought of until then: by watching the movie, reading the books, and buying the promotional material, I and my friends were Capitol citizens in a sense.

This made me go back to the Kony issue, and why I was against the Kony 2012 activity. Except, I think promoting The Hunger Games is a good type of consumerism. The series is a message for people to not be blind or remain stagnant with the government, but to rise up to action and do the right thing. And –this might have cheesiness in it– we need that message more than ever. A lot of people wonder why their country is going to pieces, or why bad laws are being forced despite the people obviously detesting them. Sure, politicians and companies have the money to infringe on us, but as shown in the series, a discontent majority can work wonders.

Comments welcome, as always. Stay awesome, everyone!



I don't know of anything this week. Awareness would be appreciated.

When I originally came to dA, I came here to share and improve my art, and make friends. But there was also another big reason. See, I've always been interested in psychology and sociology. I gave up the idea of working in the field in middle school -along with becoming a firefighter or paramedic- but that hasn't deterred me from learning more of how minds work.

The last reason was a social experiment of sorts. I'd explored dA for two or three years prior to finally signing on, and after lots of consideration. Unless I'm uninformed, one now must put in a sex as opposed to leaving it blank. I chose the blank. I wanted to see how people would look at me. I had loads of artist friends and very few writer friends when I was first on dA – and about three hundred in total(I miss those days).

With such grand friends to comment and talk to, I began a sort of moodswinging on submissions. An emo poem here, boldly drawn pieces there, and journals on all sorts of topics, whether diabetes-happy or just depressing. No doubt, my skill has changed greatly from when I first changed. I'm ashamed of a lot of my earlier work for dA now. But my social experiment worked, and I was very surprised by the results as I spoke to friends and lurked about. It's amazing how powerful our words and actions are. I did nothing big or impressive, yet others were able to come to some interesting conclusions.

And now, the possible surprise:



















I'm female! Tomboy, but definitely an awesome –and supposedly pretty– female!

Now please don't get all hussy and leave before I'm finished. Unfortunately, it's been a while since I first came on, and many of my friends have died off on dA. I'm not so sure how well my little experiment has done the past year, when I got lazy about keeping it up. But here's the general results from before I slacked:

Female writers often thought I was female
Female artists couldn't make up their mind, but usually edged more on male
Male writers thought I was female
Male artists thought I was male

What's interesting is that writers were generally right. Being half-writer, half-artist, I'm going to say that's because as writers we must get into a character's head and make them realistic, regardless of what sex they are. In a sense, everyone on an internet site is a character. We write journals about our lives and how we think, so after a while, writers can probably get a sense of the "character" in question.

I'm not going to applaud any of you, but I'm quite impressed by my dear writing friends on a whole here. It was fun seeing you guys come to conclusions. I've especially loved some public discussions between pairs of you.

But despite that little reveal, I'm not really very different than I've ever been on here. Sure, I've got to protect my safety as well as that of my friends', but that's a given. I assure you that despite my negligence in making sure everyone knows my gender, I'm the same. No internet personas here! And yes, I really use "awesome" and "dude" in real life. Oh hyperboles, how I love thee and thy art.

I prefer to keep the title of unknown as my gender for security, but now at least my active watchers know. I really hope none of you feel used or disrespected. I would never want that for my friends. I can understand somewhat if you do, but consider this – no one ever specifically asked about my gender(though one of my oldest watchers has asked if I was a drag queen. Good times!). I was actually surprised by that, since I thought someone would surely ask at some point.

So as a close to this, I want you guys all to be aware of how powerful technology has become. We all have probably seen the deviants who make huge dArama and lie about everything. One girl a few months ago supposedly had cancer, depression, schizophrenia, and committed suicide in front of her cousin, who made an account that same day. Or the online stores who have elaborate websites set up, just to commit identity theft. And somehow, many people believe these things completely. Technology has given us a way to start a new life, and with very little consequences to our true selves. What I have done is hardly bad, but there are many who take advantage. If you're not wary, you can easily fall into an electronic trap these days.

At the rate our world is going, a dystopia like 1984, Fahrenheit, Brave New World, or Anthem seems on the rise. I also have a strong belief that in the future, electronics and internet will fail us at some point. It seems the perfect setup for destruction or takeover. And when that happens, will we be able to accept our real selves and step outside the internet shell – or will we break down because of a morphine-like dependence on what technology has given?

Oh, and !Aednuii-Caramni, this skin is for you. Hope you love it.

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There are many "civil rights" movements going on, and most of them that I'm aware of are not so much civil rights as people being selfish, illiterate, and/or irresponsible. Hence why I don't bother to talk on them. However, after a long day of attending classes last night, I was greeted by loads of posters on many of my regular sites. Red, and looking like part of the U.S.'s election campaigns.

The scary thing is, the issue I'm talking about is more or less as old as me, and I hadn't heard about it till now. Joseph Kony and his children army, the L.R.A.

I'm assuming most of you reading this live in a country where Locke's ideas on natural rights are supported. It's this reason alone that makes Joseph Kony scum of the earth, that along with human traffickers and other detestable ringleaders, he wishes to entirely control the fates of others. Not  as parents or leaders do, where we are prevented from doing stupid or dangerous things. Leaders of children armies keep their crowds stuck in a corner without anywhere to run.

Here's the   video . Watch it if you haven't yet. It's good and informative.

But wait- if you've seen the video, don't go crazy yet. Let me finish, and give yourself the opportunity to think about Kony on your own terms.

Kony kidnaps children, often murders parents or has the child do it(thus making the child an orphan and having no place to go), and uses his army of unfortunate children –which have done no wrong, even– for his own means. The video doesn't go into detail about his aims, but I researched it to make sure I was getting the whole picture. Kony wishes to make a theocracy based on the Ten Commandments. I'm not quite sure, since he was Christian at some point, why he wouldn't also want to adhere to Christ's teachings, but his goal is ironic. He somehow justifies the bloodshed, rape, and pure cruelty when the very goal he wants deplores such things. Plus, a theocracy is impossible anywhere on the Earth, at least not until people change.

All in all, Joseph Kony is a bonafide fanatic. He's obviously a smart one, walking in the footsteps of Hitler and others. While having the power to persuade and be over others is great, there's two sides to it. We can have a leader who may as well be a saint, or a leader who might've been born in the deepest trenches of evil. As always with this type, we're getting the latter.

All of this being said, I'm not too fond of the "Kony 2012" campaign. This fresh post explains why. While the same organization that made the movie is great, and that there really aren't any other solutions, franchising isn't the point. The point is to bring Kony out of the obscure darkness, and have him put to justice. We can do that through the kits Invisible Children has, through telling others about Kony, and –what I think is most effective– by calling, emailing, and writing our government leaders.

~TMCanada also shared with me another helpful article , pointing us towards more helpful organizations against Kony. I'd encourage you to read the entire article, but at least check out the last four paragraphs for better places to pool your donation money.

As I've already mentioned, Kony's activities are not the only activities invading the most basic of rights. Even first world countries have trafficking going on, and you've got to be blind not to see it. But, we might as well work now to bring this man out in the open since there's a lot of publicity worldwide over it.

Remember how just a few months ago everyone was going nuts over S.O.P.A. and A.C.T.A.? These are the sorts of things you don't stop telling people about. If you stop telling people, everyone involved loses. A politician noticing doesn't mean anything; if they don't sign something to fix the problem, we are not to stop letting this issue be known. We may not be able to crack down on each drug cartel, each human trafficker, each child army, and each genocide, but we can certainly bring awareness and stop this fanatic ringleader.

I've often told many of you that a sad story doesn't have to be a bad story; it just needs to be handled well. My favorite type of sad ending is one where the protagonist lives on despite death being the better option. Suicide is almost always the coward's death, after all. But the lives of the L.R.A.? Boys and girls, this is a "We Choose the World's Adventure" type of story. Let's make Kony famous, and bring his victims justice.

As always, please share your thoughts. I'd love to see what your opinions are. Just remember to be respectful.




Sorry that this journal is way longer than usual. But you guys have probably missed me anyway.

I just finished my midterms and I have Spring Break next week.  That means I'll be catching up on group work and critiquing. And hopefully cut down on my watch pile. I swear, you guys generate so much delicious arts.

The big highlight of my midterms is that I got an A on my math one! That's right, I'm excellent in math right now. I accuse my teacher, since he is very sensible and teaches with drawings instead of straight formulas.

I also did well on my biology one, thanks to having my biology-major friend study with me. I can tell you guys the photosynthesis cycle backward and forward now. And my English professor is doing some prose for the Victorian(aka best) era! She said I could also do assignments on actual novels, so I'll be having fun during the break.

Aside from that, there's not much. Expect the best journal ever in about three weeks, though. Well, it won't be the best per se, but I think it'll be interesting to read about.

Anyway, have a most excellent week! You guys make dA amazing.






`thorns and I am looking for a volunteer to work with us as a motivator at ~FocusOnLit We've got some applications already, but feel free to try out as well.
Benefits include being with two awesome deviants, flogging `GrimFace242 and otherwise harassing him, and learning awesome teamwork. [link]

~WordSmithing has a prompt ending on March 11th: Crossing borders

~TenderPassion also has a prompt, the deadline being March 15th: Dinner and a movie

`GrimFace242 is being a great help, and is seeking to revive dead groups! If you've got a group that could do with some bringing back to life, go give him a suggestion. Kudos to his bravery! He's currently working at ~Mythologue.

And as usual, `thorns is busy with chats! Hit up her page for more info on it!




Day 22 - How have you changed in the past 2 years?

A lot's changed. Ever since I got out of high school and into the real world, I seem to change and learn tons every year. I really feel ashamed of who I was in high school now. But in the past two years, I've learned a lot about more scholarly subjects, and more importantly, just how important love is. *cue icky gushy music*

And I'm more mature, of course. I may not like acting like it all the time, and I'm still impossibly energetic, but I'm so much wiser now. It's amazing what even a single year does.




Day 27 - a song that you wish you could play – Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster (Neptunes Remix)

It's my favorite Daft Punk remix version. Awesome added vocals, too.

Day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument – Funky Town
Day 25 - a song that makes you laugh – Stuck Like Glue
Day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral – Brighter Than the Sun
Day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding – Once in a Lifetime

CSS made by `TwiggyTeeluck

Hello everyone!

I'm getting quite tired of my English class, which I didn't think was possible. My professor is smart and insightful, but she only wants us to read poems for assignments. I don't want to come off as snobby, but I really don't enjoy poems that much. It's hard for me to be enthusiastic right now.

But my math class this semester is still good! My professor uses visuals rather than letters to demonstrate problems, and it helps a lot. Here's an example:   . I think I might get a B in his class!

Oh, and my science classes… one word – biology is more chemistry and less fun than I thought it would be. Luckily my lab partner is just taking this for fun, and he's very good at science. And a Brony, too!

My Hunger Games work is getting closer to its end as well. I even recruited a few people to read at least the first book. Now to run to the theatre when the tickets come in… That's about the best of my news.

I'm currently backlogged with lots of things to critique, so please don't panic. I most likely haven't forgotten you. If you want to check or have me specifically read something, all of my to-do's are   here.




I think I've made it clear before how picky I can be, especially when it comes to reading. I don't like thrillers, crime mysteries, most sci-fi, and definitely nonfiction. But, I have a deep hatred for two genres in particular: romance and anthromorphic.  When I say this, I mean that not only do I avoid the genres as much as possible, but I have this weird fear, almost as though they would eat me up. However, the past six months have given me a change for the better concerning this:




One day a few months ago, I had been snatching up ~FocusOnLit pieces to read in the future. I happened to add *W-Lupus's Storm Hunter Blurb  and Chapter One. I read the blurb, then got rather scared; I hadn't thought about what would happen if the blurb was something I didn't like, and I didn't like taking back favorites! And this was certainly something I hated – animal-like beings that could talk as main characters!

After a few months of nervously passing Storm Hunter whenever I peeped into my folder, I decided to just go for it. I reasoned that I would have to at least read the first chapters of many such books. So I did. And I was pleasantly surprised. The character depth, description, and plot was more than I ever expected, and the "anthro-ness" I expected didn't exist in many forms.



`GrimFace242 -or King Grim Face- is also guilty of making my perspective change on this. See, he's extremely romantic. I'll bet he could beat any girl at knowing all about romance or chick flicks, and that with his hands tied!
Grim's desensitized me rather effectively to romance. I'm not sure how, but kings do have magic powers.

His style of romantic stories is good. It's not rainbows and cupcakes. It's a realistic style, where I can actually believe his stories could happen. And as a friend and senior mod for him, I can honestly say I wish all romance worked like his. Then I wouldn't be quite as against the genre.



And then, there's `thorns . Beautiful, busy, and a lot of fun to pester. Or to assist in harassing Grim.

Before going further, I need to add that we need to make a petition for her to stop posting all of her good work in scraps. It's part of her disorder, perfectionitis.

I'd read a few stories of hers before. It wasn't until I read Minotaur Blurb appeared in my inbox that I ever had a problem with her submissions. Repeat the same situation I had with *W-Lupus, but add in my romance problem too: Varan(minotaur) falls in love with a woman?! Romance, and between a human and a hybrid species?!

As with before, I was hesitant. But then I got sucked in. The delicious morsels of Varan's thoughts and suffering, and descriptions of his wounds made it all better. In fact, it made romance seem not quite so bad. And Varan's sentient, too.




With these awesome pieces, I was able to look past my assumptions. There are naturally books I never wish to read out of moral standing, but I'm very grateful for these three writers. It's always nice to have a bad idea knocked out of one's brain!

Tell me your opinions and prejudices when it comes to books and media! I know I'm not the only one who doesn't like everything!

Have a spectacular weekend, and remember to be awesome!!




Warning – huuuuuuuuuuuuuge amount of activities this time around.




Well, it should just say Thorny's Activities, but anywho.

I don't usually list events outside of my friends', but   The Great Valentine Exchange looks to be pretty bomb. I'm probably going to make a few designs if I get the time. And I expect LOTS of valentine cards from all of you!

`thorns' Chat Tour will be at #MidtownMagic this Saturday, at 3 p.m. EST. Be sure to come for prizes, writing, and FUN!

`thorns is hosting a Complaint Challenge , the second phase ending on January 31st. Phase two consists of taking a complaint from the first round, and actively working on that complaint. All may join!

`thorns is also launching something called Operation TYP . It's apparently a time-sensitive contest, with twenty-four hours to do whatever the challenge is. She'll be revealing the challenge at midnight on February 4th EST.




~FocusOnLit's second part of the Double Post Challenge is up! Grim is getting us pumped back up to what our submission habits should be. Members, be sure to get your new chapters submitted by February 10th! You'll be needing that exercise to help out with something coming up.

~WordSmithing was opened by *W-Lupus  this week, too. It looks to be a promising group, as he is working to make it unlike the massive dump piles of groups we see all over these days.

#Anthropology-of-Self is `Halatia's new group! This group looks like great fun, giving you chances to improve your skills and reflect on yourself at the same time. Its first challenge is to rewrite the first story you ever wrote! The challenge has a three-thousand word limit, and ends at midnight on February 26th.

~TenderPassion is a new group `GrimFace242 is launching on Valentine's Day! I'm not a fan of romance(as you all know), but if King Grim is running it, it's sure to be interesting!

Hey guys! I've missed you all. NaNo has been keeping me busy with its ups and downs, but I'm over halfway done. I got sick about two weeks ago, and it lasted for a week and a half, which is about eight days longer than I usually am sick for. And I've got to whip out three surprise essays never mentioned before for Tuesday. Hooray!

While I was off and on, doing NaNo and keeping up with school, I'd been lurking around dA as well. I haven't missed too much in the news. Unfortunately.

Here we go with the journals as art thing again. You guessed it – I am so pissed at this. You see, journals are like expanded facebook statuses. Some of my most liked statuses are "I accidentally my car" or "I like trains". Art's subjective, but not that subjective. I'd take more pride in my journals if I considered them art instead of me talking directly to watchers and friends.

Due to this, I'm seriously debating if I want to even do journal on here anymore. If I do, I'm only going to troll it up like `PainInTheAssimilated was with his hilarious poo entries. Because there's no way I can define my rambles and poorly-crafted venting as art. And I can be quite the troll in real life, so I'm not sure if that would be at all enjoyable.

So… give me a reason to keep doing dA journals, or I'm done with them.  As in – boom, my entire collection of them will disappear. I'm trying to figure out what site I would want to post blogs on. I don't really like tumblr, but I am unfamiliar with blog sites as a whole.

It's nothing against you guys, really. It's just that good things shouldn't be "fixed". Anyway, give me some feedback on this and tell me what I missed! I hope all of my fellow NaNo-fighters are doing great!

PS - anyone who knows where this awesome skin is from gets awesome points.