NaNoWriMo 2012: STORY ANNOUNCEMENT!

In 2010, it was My Hero. 

In 2011, it was The Lion and the Frog. 

This year, 2012, it is......

I am terrifically excited about this one! It follows the story of a (yet unnamed) leprechaun who, after a series of unfortunate events, is diagnosed as depressed. His friends and family urge him to take a 'holiday', something almost unheard of for a modern-day leprechaun, who is very busy keeping from being noticed, granting wishes to the deserving, and protecting his gold. All the misconceptions about leprechauns can be so terribly tiresome, you know. 

His attempts to have a proper holiday lead him to many unexpected adventures and very good friends. Everything would be rosy...except that a leprechaun who grants wishes to those in need must always move on in the end. 

Always remember....not all the Irish are lucky. 

A Tale of Two Cities

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

I finished reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens yesterday afternoon. I had to read it for my Senior Year Literature class. I was convinced I was not going to like it at all, because I read Oliver Twist in like, 8th grade, and was, quite frankly, not ready to appreciate great literature. I also 'sort of'' read A Christmas Carol, but I mostly skimmed it because of my intense dislike of Oliver Twist.

So, yep, I finished the book....

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I'm not even kidding. 

This was my favorite (and also the most heart-wrenching) part:

The supposed Evremonde descends, and the seamstress is lifted out next after him. He has not relinquished her patient hand in getting out, but still holds it as he promised. He gently places her with her back to the crashing engine that constantly whirrs up and falls, and she looks into his face and thanks him.

"But for you, dear stranger, I should not be so composed, for I am naturally a poor little thing, faint of heart; nor should I have been able to raise my thoughts to Him who was put to death, that we might have hope and comfort here to-day. I think you were sent to me by Heaven."

"Or you to me," says Sydney Carton. "Keep your eyes upon me, dear child, and mind no other object."

"I mind nothing while I hold your band. I shall mind nothing when I let it go, if they are rapid."

"They will be rapid. Fear not!"

......

"You comfort me so much! I am so ignorant. Am I to kiss you now? Is the moment come?"

"Yes."

She kisses his lips; he kisses hers; they solemnly bless each other. The spare hand does not tremble as he releases it; nothing worse than a sweet, bright constancy is in the patient face. She goes next before him- is gone; the knitting-women count Twenty-Two.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."

The murmuring of many voices, the upturning of many faces, the pressing on of many footsteps in the outskirts of the crowd, so that it swells forward in a mass, like one great heave of water, all flashes away. Twenty-Three. (The Footsteps Die Out, A Tale of Two Cities) source

Sydney Carton is sitting in the prison, waiting to be executed so the woman he loves won't lose her husband. He starts talking to the seamstress. They ride to the place of execution with 53 other innocent people. They're standing at the scaffolding, waiting to die. They are just standing there, talking to each other like nothing in the world is wrong. And than he kisses her goodbye, and in less than ten seconds, they're both dead.

I completely lost it. I finished the book and wandered around my room (which is quite small) for almost ten minutes, just sobbing. It positively rendered my heart in two. 

That book was seriously the most fantastic piece of literature on the face of the planet. I couldn't even write my paper on it yesterday...I felt like my heart had been dragged across a mile of gravel. It was so incredible, and I felt like I was there for pretty much the entire book. I couldn't keep from imagining how I would feel if I was in Sydney Carton's place...but especially the seamstress's place. I would be so terrified. And there's nothing I like better than a book that makes me feel and see and hear exactly what is going on. 

What's interesting is this book almost killed my best friend, because he hated it. Well, it almost killed me, too, but definitely NOT because I didn't enjoy it. 

I usual don't like things that are 'popular' in literature, but I completely understand why this novel is as famous and highly revered as it is.  I feel horrible for every time I said "Dickens is boring" before now. I can't say I enjoyed Oliver Twist at all, or that I put any effort into reading A Christmas Carol, but this book? It is flawless.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; 

it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

History Paper on the Economic Theories of Adam Smith

History Qtr 1 Week 6 Paper

            Adam Smith was a Scottish philosopher who, like many philosophers before him, noticed how philosophical concepts worked with the study of economics. He defined new theories to promote a healthier, more stable market environment, including the theories of division of labor, the role of money, natural price, market price, labor as every man’s property, and the invisible hand. These theories are still mandatory reading for students of economics today.

            First, Adam Smith came up with the theory of division of labor when he observed that when one person was assigned to manufacture a pin entirely by himself, it took him a great deal of time and effort. But when ten people were each given the job of completing a single step in the manufacturing process of a pin, they could all work very quickly and complete very many pins in a single day. By dividing up the labor to produce goods, people could work more harmoniously and efficiently.

            Second, Smith regarded labor very highly, and considered money to merely be a physical representation of the labor of a particular person. Since each kind of labor was worth a different amount according to difficulty and importance, it would be difficult to actually trade labor for labor. For instance, if a man plowed a field for a baker, it would take a lot of loaves of bread for the baker to match the worth of the plowman’s labor. Smith’s theory on the role of money was that it stood in as a dividable, physical representation of each person’s labor. Thus, every market transaction is really an exchange of labor between sellers and buyers.

            Third, Smith developed a theory about the natural price of everything, based on the average income of members in a community, and average wage for rent and goods. The natural price is in essence the ‘perfect price’; the price at which the buyers would purchase as much of the product as could possibly be supplied. When something is being sold at its natural price, the market is in perfect balance; there is no surplus and no shortage, and the demand and supply are even with each other. Hand in hand with Smith’s theory of the natural price is the theory of the actual price or market price. The market price is often above or below the natural price, because it constantly adjusts to the market conditions. If there is a great demand for pins but very few pins in supply, the price of pins rises above the natural price. If there is very little demand for pins, there becomes a surplus of pins, and the price drops below the natural price.

            Fourth, continuing with his great appreciation for labor, Smith invented the theory that every man’s labor is his property. When a man labors to produce a vegetable garden, that labor, and everything that labor brings about, belongs entirely to him. He is not required to share it with anyone. However, since a vegetable garden might produce more than one man and his family could ever eat, and people need more than just vegetables to live, the man can exchange his property (the fruit of his labor) with someone else’s labor to satisfy both of them.

            And finally, Adam Smith believed in a governing force over markets that he called an ‘invisible hand’. While Smith was alive from 1723 till 1790, the prevalent economic system in Europe was that of mercantilism, which meant the government had full control over the economy, and restricted import while pushing export.  Smith saw that free markets naturally settled into the best, most productive prices, imports, and exports. He called this process the Invisible Hand; man’s natural tendency in a market is to freely and fairly exchange labor, and when men are allowed to interact freely in a market, supply and demand even out and there is far more harmony than the discordant and ineffective system of mercantilism.

NaNoWriMo 2012

It's that time of year again.

I had been hemming and hawing over whether or not I should actually do NaNo a THIRD year in a row, since I won the two years before.

I prayed about it, and I felt like God wanted me to do it, because I have a good story, and it would bring me a lot of joy.

So...get READY for some NaNoWriMo 2012 posts to flood my blog!




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Trois petits points

Une petite couturière attend son mari parti à la guerre.

A seamstress is waiting for her husband.to come back from the war. 

Another Gobelins video! This one is really amazing, both artistically and musically. As far as I can tell, this is about the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII. It's delightful, but sad, too. 

Guardian Angels

Today is the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels!

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We tend to get very romantic notions about Guardian Angels. We imagine them being glorious, beautiful beings with wings. We portray them as ravishing, protective women and muscular, heroic men. We imagine them as being small enough to sit on your shoulder. We imagine them as having feelings and thoughts the way we do. Most of all, we imagine angels are higher than human beings, because they are in Heaven with God. 

Angels have no gender. Angels have no bodies of any kind. Angels are not subject to emotion like we are.

If Angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion- St. Maximilian Kolbe

We are superior to the Angels because we have bodies. We are body AND spirit. Animals are only body, Angels are only spirit. We are both; we are God's masterpiece, and we can physically receive Jesus' body and blood. The Angels cannot do that. 

That being said: Can you even fathom how unbelievably COOL angels are!?

They serve God directly upon His throne, and are more complex in their being than we humans can ever fully understand in the material world. 

Our Guardian Angels are horrifically under-appreciated. They protect us every moment, and chose, for all eternity, to serve God by watching over us. 

Happy Feast Day, Guardian Angels! Thank you for protecting us and helping us as we strive to love and serve our Lord. 

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All This Time

I had the privilege of seeing Britt Nicole in concert last weekend, and it was fantastic. This is probably my favorite of all her awesome songs. It is so good to see her bringing God glory.

Also...

PLEASE remember to pray for those who self harm. They need love, support, and God's grace more than anything else.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

Have a great Monday!