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I love to read, be with friends, and listen to music.

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Olivia Happel

Reading is one of my passions

Something enjoyable

(Vampires) Permanent link
Sorry for the lateness, but this should be interesting!!!!

Pulcherissma Olive (me) says:

i bid thou a swell wizard independence day!!!

Margaret (my brilliant friend) says:

Why, thank you, Madame Pulcherissma Olive!

Pulcherissma Olive says:

so, what are you twilight questions??? 
 

Margaret says:

I am trying to formulate them, actually.

=)

(Sheepish smile.)

Pulcherissma Olive says:

mk

Margaret says:

Basically, I am trying to figure out why Edward Cullen is so appealing.

And why

people's affections for him seem to toy with the boundaries of what is fictional and what is not.

Now, I can imagine why he is appealing in a practical sense ; )

Pulcherissma Olive says:

because he says the exact right thing at the right time. he looks like a Greek god, he's smart, he speaks other languages, he plays the piano, he's got money up the wazu, he drives a safe but fast car.

edward cullen is the blue print for a perfect boyfriend, mysterious and a bad boy (vampire) but still safe (he sparkles)

when compared with other vampires, edward looks like a fairy though. but other vampire can be scary. take for instance the vampires in true blood. while sookie finds them attractive, she still knows that there is vampire in bill and that sometimes scares her.

her relationship with eric is even more interesting. eric doesn't try to mainstream and not eat humans. he doesn't deny his vampireness and never hides it from sookie, i think that something like this is appealing in a sense of honesty about him

girls that like vampires like them to have a side of humanity about them, and edward has a lot of human in him, especially since he doesn't eat people

buffy loved angel because he was cursed with a soul, she didn't start liking spike (and eventually falling in love with him in my opinion) till he started acting less like a vampire and more like a human

a pure vampire scares us

there is no team aro. . . because aro doesn't act like a human, he acts like a vampire, which is what he is!

Margaret says:

: )

Awesome.

Do you mind if I quote any of this?

Pulcherissma Olive says:

go for it!

Margaret says:

Thanks!

I have a few more, though.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

i've spent a lot of time thinking about this, as you can tell

Margaret says:

: )

I appreciate it!

You're not one of those fangirls who would be like

"OMG he is hottt."

You have intelligent answers.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

well, i mean, he is hot, but vampires are much more complicated and the team edward thing has a reason

plus, moms feel a hell of a lot more comfortable around a toothless sparkly 17 year old (edward) than they do around a 1000 fanged viking (eric northman, who kicks edward's butt in just about everything)

Margaret says:

: )

True.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

even my mom is a lot more accepting of twilight than of buffy and especially of true blood

i don't even talk about true blood or buffy around her

Margaret says:

Yes, I could see where those might be controversial.

Do you think

that the fact that Edward is so obviously fictional

(being a vampire, which is a creature that cannot exist)

makes it easier to engage with him and become engrossed with him as a character?

Pulcherissma Olive says:

i think that it’s the blend of fiction (the vampire in him) and nonfiction (his human side) that make him so engrossing. on one hand he is the amazing, god of mythology who can save you and make your world magical, but he also goes to high school, which is something that every single girl in America can relate to. his ordinariness combined with his supernatural aspect is what makes him so appealing

Margaret says:

That's interesting.

That contradicts one of my articles a little bit, which I like.

: )

Pulcherissma Olive says:

what does the article say?

Margaret says:

Well, it basically says that readers engage better with works that are obviously fictional.

The fictionality is kind of like a safe-guard.

So I was theorizing

that what makes Edward so safe, in a way, is the fact that he simply cannot exist.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

well, i think that readers like fiction, but want to be able to relate to a nonfiction aspect.

see, i think that edward is so appreciated because he is more ordinary (and less vampiric) than most vampires. he is so human, he could almost exist.

angel, spike, bill, eric, louis, lestat, armand, they cannot come out in the day, and the more strict the vampire, the scarier. interview with a vampire scared the pants off of me because louis, lestat, and armand were really vampirc! they slept in coffins, they didn't care about souls or humans in any way. louis has a bit of the whole soul searching aspect, but not a whole lot

bill and eric do care more for humans, especially bill, (true blood) but they still burst into flames in the sunlight, they can be staked, they burn when touched with silver. angel and spike can be awake in the day and so they really aren't scary, edward just walks out into the sunlight

so i think that the appeal of edward comes from having so little vampire and so much human in him, but with that hint of vampire

that’s why i like it when edward is a badass, i thought that he should have fought james in the meadow

he should have changed bella once he realized that he loved her

because that is what a vampire would do!!!

Margaret says:

: )

You have given me a page of notes.

Okay, so

Pulcherissma Olive says:

and i have a blog post!

Margaret says:

in your initial statement of why Edward is amazing

(and I would love to see the blog!)

Pulcherissma Olive says:

i'll send you the link

Margaret says:

you say that it is because of this combination of human characteristics.

Which could never possibly be united in one person.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

only in fabio and johnny depp

Margaret says:

: )

Pulcherissma Olive says: 

Margaret says:

Hee!

Do you think those are signs of his fictionality that make him appealing?

Aside from the vampire-ness?

Would he be less of who he is if he didn't, say, know the languages or play the piano?

Just the fact that all of those traits are combined in one tremendous person?

Pulcherissma Olive says:

oh certainly! any woman would love to have their guy act like edward. everything that edward has done (languages, piano, etc) have built him into this greek-god of a man

the fact that he is such an accomplished man along with a safe vampire are the ticket

stephenie meyer took the idea of an ideal man, made him young, gorgeous, fast, strong, telepathic, and a little bit of the bad boy

and poof (with a bit of fairy dust) you get edward masen cullen

did you know that vampires really like fairies?

Margaret says:

Naw.

You're kidding.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

nope! in the southern vampire mysteries, part of why sookie is so attractive is because she is part fairy!

Margaret says:

Oh wow.

: )

Pulcherissma Olive says:

yep!

Margaret says:

If you had to pick your favorite thing about Edward, what would it be?

Just one trait.

Pulcherissma Olive says:

id' probably say in eclipse when bella is worried about if edward has ever gone for anyone else and he says : sleep, my bella. dream happy dreams. you are the only one who has ever touched my heart. it will always be yours. sleep, my only love. or his meteor quote in new moon when he says that his life was a black moonless night till bella shot across the sky lighting everything in his world

so his favorite trait would be the total and complete way that he loves, not just bella, but his whole family

i love the meadow scene in twilight too

the heroin quote is good too

you are exactly my brand of heroin

that gets me every time

Margaret says:

: )


Posted by Olivia at 5/6/2010 9:05 AM Comments (2)

201 response. . .

 Permanent link
This past week a show that I watch rather frequently had some big issues. First of all let me say that I understand that South Park is uncouth, rude, vulgar, and generally inappropriate. But, one aspect they have covered that I really appreciate is that they do not exempt anybody from mockery. In a world where most shows love to go after only a certain crowd, South Park does not do this. Some episodes just aren’t very funny, but others keep you laughing the whole time. E.g. the episode entitled “Free Willzyx” is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. (spoiler alert!!! See the episode here http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103803) The boys go to the Colorado equivalent of a Sea World and one of them stays behind to talk to the Shamu like whale, because every child can relate to an Orca whale. . . He taps on the glass and the whale comes up to him. Then the whale talks and tells him that he’s sick and lives on the moon with his whale family and that the boy needs to save him and get him back on the moon. Well, the voice happens to be the announcers from the show talking through the loud system. Now, this isn’t the first time they’ve done this, so several of the boys have heard the whale speak. They get together and steal this whale, all while trying to find a space program that will fly a whale to the moon. The wind up with the Mexican space program. Yes, the Mexican space program. Wild adventures ensue and hilarity abounds. I highly suggest checking out southparkstudios.com, where almost all the episodes are. . . Except for 2. Why are these two not available? Because they show the image of the Muslim prophet Mohamed. Comedy Central edited these episodes so that his image is not shown at all and every time his name is said it is bleeped out. The creators of the show have received numerous death threats. Now, I’m sorry, but South Park makes fun of everything, I mean everything! We live in a country where we have freedom of speech, so why is this being censored? I’ve felt offended from the show, but there’s no reason to KILL somebody because of that!!! So, why should this be censored??? This censorship is absolutely unconstitutional and I think that the episode should be allowed to air WITHOUT bleeps and black lines over Mohamed. Now, I don’t mean to offend Muslims, but there is not reason why Mohamed should be exempt, and please, no death threats.
Posted by Olivia at 4/24/2010 12:34 AM Comments (1)

Florida!

(My ECC Experience, Student Life, Student Organizations) Permanent link
So, wow I begin a lot of blogs like that don’t I?

So, last week I was unable to post as I was down in FLORIDA!!!! What was I doing down in FLORIDA??? Well here’s a play by play for ya’ll!

Wednesday: We met at ECC at 3:30, left for FLORIDA at 6:30, which ended up being more like 7 because O’hare can be incompetent. We got down to FLORIDA and got into vans and purchased food for the week! Then we went to our hotel, the Dolphin.

Well, we had to wait for a while, so we all kinda passed out on the chairs and couches in the lobby. Then, after a few hours we got into our rooms and some of us headed off to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

We had a delicious lunch in the Norwegian area, even though some of us went for the nacho stand back in Mexico.

Then some of us went on “Mission Space” which simulates going in a rocket ship (I want. . . a rocket ship and Hermione Granger! AVPM reference . . . ) So basically we were in these tight little rocket pod thingys and let’s just say I kinda freaked out. . . It was fun, but things like that freak me out. See the way that they imitate the g-forces is by spinning you around really fast.

So, after I survived that. . . we went over and took a trip through the senses with Figment, the imaginary dragon . . . Yes, we did walk out feeling high as could be. Then we went and saw “Honey, I shrunk the Audience,” which was pretty neat. I could actually see the 3D, which was fun.

Then we went over to this place that had soda’s from around the world. I really enjoyed Japan’s one: it was like a veggie juice, but not. . . China’s watermelon soda was good too! Then we went back over to the hotel to a buffet for dinner.

After diner some of us went back to Epcot for the Crash Test ride, which was a ton of fun. It basically takes you on the steps of crash testing a car, but it was a lot of fun. Then we headed back to Hollywood Studios.

To get from these parks, we took water ferries because everything is located on these lakes. Once we got to Hollywood studios the group I was with convinced me to go on Tower of Terror which is a free fall. I don’t do roller coasters, but I did it. 
I actually kind of like it! Then we went and did a Toy Story Ride where you shoot at targets, but its 3D and very interactive. Next, we did the Aerosmith Rock and Roll Roller Coaster. It had loops and a bunch of stuff that I normally don’t do, and all in the dark. I liked it, but just a little. After that it was after 1 in the morning, and since we didn’t get a whole lot of sleep (1, maybe 2 hours).

We went back and collapsed. Thursday through Sunday next Friday!
Posted by Olivia at 4/19/2010 3:56 PM Comments (0)

Clash of the Titans. . .

 Permanent link
So, last night I took my 12-year-old brother to go see “Clash of the Titans.” I thought that it would be quite similar to traditional mythology, which I am pretty knowledgeable on. Well. . . . here are my list of corrections (spoiler alert!):

• Io was a woman who was a cow, its mythology so just work with me, and Zeus came to her (in the biblical sense) and tried to hide her from Hera, his wife. Well, he got caught and Hera basically cursed Io to walk the earth as a cow plagued by a fly. Then she, Io, runs into Prometheus chained to a rock who tells her that she would find happiness in Egypt. Io never met Perseus.

• The Kraken is not in classical mythology. There is Ceto, a sea monster, who Perseus slays, but no Kraken. Now, I’m not going to deny that Liam Nielson saying “Release the Kraken” wasn’t kinda cool, but there really wasn’t a Kraken.

• Hades is not evil! He is not vying for power anymore than the other gods. He does not want to destroy men.

• The Underworld is not a bad place. It is simply a place for the dead.

• The Medusa was not in the Underworld.

• The “jin” or whatever the wooden people were definitely never existed.

• People of the ancient world never tried to rebel against the gods.

• The Pegasus was sent to help Perseus, but it was white, not black.

• Andromeda ended up with Perseus.

• Charon has a raft, not a huge, monstrous, boat. Just a raft.

Also, this movie really should have never been in 3D. I didn’t notice anything really special about it being in 3D, but I also cannot see it very well due to a stigmatism. So, if you liked the old “Clash of the Titans,” then you’ll probably like this. If you like Ovid, stay home and pull out your Edith Hamilton.
Posted by Olivia at 4/2/2010 11:49 AM Comments (0)

LOTR: FOTR!!!

 Permanent link
So, tomorrow, March 27, is the 8 year anniversary of something in my life that may seem unimportant, but is one of my most meaningful experiences.

8 years ago my friend Bekah demanded that we go see a movie that she had already seen and that I had originally disliked. Well, I agreed because I like Bekah and she was also the most popular girl in my class. So we went to Randall 16, down in Batavia, and I walked out of the theatre in awe of what I had just seen.

Now, you’re wondering what in the world I could be talking about. Well, if you can’t think what was big in the theatre 8 years ago, I’ll tell you. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had been released back in December. It obviously took me a while to go see it, but I did.

One of the biggest draws to The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) was of course Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen. Aragorn is the deposed King of Gondor and Arnor. He is a Ranger of the North and the leader of the Dunedain. I’m sure this all sounds rather jumbled, unless of course you’ve read/seen the series.

As soon as I arrived home, I rushed to our bookcase and found The Hobbit, in order to begin my journey into LOTR. I read the books throughout 6th grade and finished in June. Now, every March 27th I begin rereading the series.

So, I hope my story of a love for a book can encourage you to go out and try LOTR, or maybe another great fantasy novel.
Posted by Olivia at 3/26/2010 11:32 AM Comments (0)

Vampires?

(Vampires) Permanent link
Something that I feel like I should talk about is my enjoyment in vampirism; by no means am I “Goth,” not that there is anything wrong with that, I just really like vampires.

Something that people fail to realize is that the Twilight Series is not my favorite vampire series. That belongs to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have both read and watched all 7 seasons of this amazing show and love it a ton! Buffy is a strong, blond, Californian, heroine, who I can somewhat relate to. She has to be strong for her friends and family, and while I definitely don’t have to worry about fitting in slaying vampires into my regular life, I think most young adults can understand what Buffy is going through. Not to mention her lovely vampire love interests. There happen to be 2, Angel and Spike.

Angel was a really jerky human and a horrible vampire, till a gypsy cursed him with a soul. Then he spent 100 years moping around in the sewers eating rats. He and Buffy do have an extremely angsty relationship, but in the end he leaves.

Spike is the nerd of human society and while he does become evil as a vampire, he still does more good without a soul than Angel was ever capable of because of his undying devotion for Buffy. In the end, Spike goes through various trials to earn his soul back and ends up saving the world. So, with witches, ex-vengeance demons, werewolves, and even some normal humans, Buffy has an amazing lot on her plate.

Now, after Buffy, I would have to say that the “Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries” are my second favorite. They focus around waitress telepath Sookie who lives in Bon-Temps, LA. Her neighbor happens to be vampire Bill and she’s in a rather curious relationship with vampire bar Fangtasia owner, Eric. Part of the reason that I like this series is the fact that Sookie is a waitress just like me. Everyday she has to go to work and deal with annoying customers and bad tips. Oh, and she’s also blond.

After Buffy and Sookie, I suppose my next favorite would be Twilight.

“Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars –points of light and reason….And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything.”

Now, if after reading that you don’t get weak in the knees, you may not have a soul. I do appreciate the fact that Stephenie Meyer is not a very good writer and that Edward and Bella can be rather annoying characters at times, but it is still a vary good love story, and why can’t vampires sparkle?

Some other great vampire series/shows are the Vampire Academy books, which include a hot Russian vampire/vampire hunter, “My Best Friend is a Teenage Vampire” starring House’s Robert Sean Leonard, and the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. So, enjoy your vampires, and if you get a chance, go see “Remember Me” and bring some tissues.
Posted by Olivia at 3/13/2010 1:50 AM Comments (0)

Italiano!(2)

(My ECC Experience) Permanent link
So, I just wrote my very first paragraph in Italian!!! Below is the Italian, and then the English. Io sono allegra spesso ma sempre ottimista. Io ho i capelli biondi e gli occhi chiari castani. Io non discuteo le politiche. Io lavoro in il ristorante “Outback Steakhouse” cinque giorni della settimana. Io indosso gli occhiali qualche volta. Io indosso i blu jeans spesso e la cravatta raramente. Io leggeo il libro “Twilight” spesso e il libro di Italiano. Io scrivo un “blog” sempre venerdi. Translated: I am happy often but always optimistic. I have blonde hair and light brown eyes. I do not discuss politics. I work in the restaurant “Outback Steakhouse” five days out of the week. I wear glasses sometimes. I wear jeans often and ties rarely. I read the book “Twilight often and the Italian book. I write a blog every Friday.
Posted by Olivia at 3/6/2010 1:04 AM Comments (1)
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