Howl's Moving Castle - TSS

For those of you who don't know, or have simply forgotten, I'm a huge anime fan. But even more than that, I love the works of Hayao Miyazaki. If you don't know who I'm talking about, I would strongly suggest you head over to Wiki and find out more about him. He has had several anime movies subbed into English and released by Disney such as Princess Mononoke , Spirited Away, and one of my favorites, Howl's Moving Castle.

It just so happens that I'm not the only one with an affinity for Miyazaki's works or with How's Moving Castle and when the book was found at our local library some body *cough-mother-caugh* jumped on the chance to check it out.

So this week I decided to pick it up . "Howl's Moving Castle" is by Diana Wynne Jones. It was originally published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books, but has since been re-released by HarperCollins in 2008. I am reading the original hardcover and very much prefer the new cover art (shown at left). I started on page 34 of 212 and would have finished it a lot sooner had it not been 70+ and quite gorgeous outside.

The story starts with the simple fact that in a world of fairy tales not everyone is guaranteed their happy ending. Sophie Hatter, having been born the first of three children, is doomed to a life of failure and misfortune. When her father dies, Sophie's two sisters, Lettie and Martha, are dispatched into different apprenticeships while Sophie remains behind to help run her late father's hat shop. Knowing full well that life doesn't have much in store for her, Sophie contently darns fake roses and ribbons on to bonnets for the ladies of Market Chipping, all the while growing more and more lonely in her quiet little room and growing more and more frightened of the world. A world in which the wizard Howl steels girls hearts and is very much the rake, and the Witch of the Waste is threatening to destroy everything.

It is in her little shop that Sophie happens upon the woman who, with all the haughtiness of a queen, demands the be shown the shop's best hats. Sophie has had a very trying day learning first that her sisters have switched places in regards to their apprenticeship and that she herself has been exploited by her mother-in-law in regards to the shop work. Quickly taking in the woman's expensive gown and extravagant hat, Sophie first shows her the shop's worst hats leading up, as she was told, to the right had. Being presented with such a horrible hat angers the woman who announces herself as the Witch of the Waste and casts a spell of old-age on the unlucky Sophie. Angered by yet another unlucky turn, and knowing her family will wonder why a 90-year-old woman is preforming 18-year-old Sophie's job and sleeping in her room, Sophie gather's herself together and seeks her own adventure.

The book varies quite a bit from the movie in such a way that some people dislike it. While the basic idea of plot is relatively the same, circumstances, events, and even characters are vastly different. Yet both the book and the movie are unique that no matter how many times you read or watch them, you'll never tire of them.

I know this isn't much of a review, but I had to get something out for TSS... It's been forever! I'll write an honest review and post it. That is, if a review for this one can be written... ^_^

All write! Let's go!!

November is here which means it's once again time to pull out the pencil and paper and attempt too get that book written! Why, you may ask? It's National Novel Writer's Month. (Pchh, as if you need to be reminded!) That's right, as of 12am this morning, NaNoWriMo has begun! This will be my 4th year participating and I will be successful. I will finish this year! 50,000 words isn't so bad. That's only about 1,700 a day. I can do it, I just know I can!

In other... well, I guess it's not news but rather stuff, here's a little fun for ya. Figure out what way the lady is spinning. The answer is between these two brakets. {She's spinning left or right! It just depends with what side of the brain you are using ;-)}

X-Mass Already?!

Ok, so Christmas isn't for another 80 some-odd days but seeing as how I'm a 'starving artist' and plan to make my gifts, I need to get started now. Before you think I'm miserly and don't believe I'm broke-as-can-be, let me put it to you this way: When you receive a gift from someone that was personally made for you (colors, design, and materials all picked for you) you know that person put some real thought into the gift. It doesn't matter if it only cost $4. It's not the price but the thought that counts. Besides, when more than half the items on todays market are not only environmentally UN-friendly, they're all exported goods made and manufactured in another country with very little or no money going to the people who actually build/make it, why would you want to buy anything other than handmade?

That all having been said, on to the list!

I currently have 9 scarfs to knit. 3 will be fashion scarfs and the rest thick, functional scarfs for cold winter days. I'm not sure if I want to use this pattern or this pattern for the fashion scarfs, though.
I would also like to make 3 braided rugs. 1 small, and two medium. These shouldn't be all that hard, despite the fact that I have never made a braided rug before, but I'm optimistic! {LINK}
I don't know what I'm going to do for 'the boys'. They're a tough one and require some major think time!

Pink for October

If you haven't noticed things have gotten a little... pink around here. That's because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So for the month of October my personal accounts (blog, Twitter, and MySpace) as well as The Gilded Pen, have all gone pink! I've left everything the way it was (background, layout, etc) and just tinted everything pink to give it a bigger impact. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I like it.

Each year it is estimated that 200,000 woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer. If that wasn't bad enough, it is also estimated that 40,000 women will die. Many people believe that breast cancer is only associated with woman, but they would be wrong. Approximately 1,700 men are diagnosed each year and 450 will die. Wow. An approximate 40,450 people will DIE this year from breast cancer alone. That means one out of every 1,513 people will get breast cancer, while 1 out of every 7,547 people will die from it in the US alone. IN ONE YEAR!

But don't be afraid! Studies have shown that as little as 4 hours a week of physical activity (which pumps up the immune system and lowers estrogen levels) can lower your risk. Don't for get to eat a nutritious, low-fat diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables as well, which can also lower your risk of breast cancer! And the best tool for early detection for both men and women is the monthly self exam. Self examination accounts for nearly 70% of early detection which in turn accounts for a 5 year survival rate of 96%.

Read more about breast cancer awareness and join Pink for October to help spread the word! You can also download the following images and background to help spread the word.

Goals for the Week

Taking a page from Meroko and posting my goals for the week. Since I plan on keeping track of them I'm posting them here instead of to Twitter. I'm also posting them here because my list is much too long for Twitter's 140 character allowance.

So here it is, my to-do list for the week of Sep. 29th to Oct 4th (with Sunday as my back-up/catch-up day ^^)

- Drop 2 lbs.
- Write 5,000+ words for DW
- Walk 30+ mins every morning (with this cold, I doubt I'll do this one)
- Walk the river at least twice (not associated with the above goal)
- Finish Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland and The Devil Wears Tartan by Karen Ranney
- Write reviews for both of them as well as 4 others.
- Work on book covers to add to my portfolio.