Welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy your stay :]

Friday, November 30, 2012

Cows?



It's kind of weird, actually. Every month, one or two people stumble upon my blog by searching "cows."

I have but one post where cows are mentioned. It is this post, with two silly poop jokes told to me by two silly kids. One is about a zombie. One is about a cow. This post is my 3rd most viewed, topped only by my Sleeping Beauty post and a giveaway post.

Obviously something needs to be done about this. People's cow needs are not being met!

Now, if people want to talk about cows, I can talk about cows. I've had a year of AVS. I worked in the dairy, I had a calf watch shift, I vaccinated, I learned how to brand, I studied diagrams and breeds and reproduction  . . .

Besides, I like cows. They're cute. And as long as you keep them feed, they'll love you forever.

My sister has this adorable little cow toy. It's super cute - it's head and back come off and go back together, like a little puzzle.

However, if you turn the cow over, it's not anatomically correct.


This needs to be addressed. Because cows . . . well, cows do not have six teats. Their udders have four compartments, so they have - drum roll, please - four teats!

 
See? Four milk producing compartments. And fun fact: the rear compartments produce more milk then the front. Also, to produce one gallon of milk, 500 gallons of blood have to circulate through the udder.

That's a lot of blood.

Now I send you forth! Go out into the world, spreading proper cow anatomy and milk production facts to those less fortunate. Educate the world.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The Ghost and the Goth


One of my favorite TV shows is Dead Like Me. It's not on anymore - excuse me while I cry - but it was awesome. It was about this girl, Gerorge, who died when a toilet seat fell out of the sky and hit her. But she didn't stay dead. Or, yes, she was dead, but she was still here. She became a reaper.

And you know that guy who was Inigo Montoya? ("You killed my father. Prepare to die.") He was in that show. So you know it was awesome.

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?
-
Goodreads

This book is targeted at a younger audience then Dead Like Me was, but Alona reminds me a lot of George. They're both have a sarcastic and cruel humor. They're both young, dead, and stuck here. They both have unresolved family problems.

The Ghost and the Goth is so cute. When I try to describe it, that's what I come up with - it was cute! But it's so true.

I was pleasantly surprised with the level of character growth. I was expecting a cute, light read, and it was, but that doesn't mean the writing was poor quality. The characters have depth and issues and good arcs - they don't end exactly where they started. Will and Alona are both very likable characters. I loved them together. At first there's this animosity, because Will is the school outcast, and Alona is this queen bee cheerleader type. But they're forced to help each other out and spend time together, and they don't hate each other quite as much as they thought. It's predictable, yeah, but it's cute. Sometimes books are allowed to be cute.

It's also highly addictive. I don't know exactly what made it so, but I went through all three books in the series like a bag of Christmas Bells. (Peanut Butter Cups, in bell shapes! Try them! You'll like them!) That is to say, quickly. You can't just have one, y'know.

So, The Ghost and the Goth - Do I recommend it? Absolutely, yes! Pick it up if you're looking for a good, fun read. You won't be disappointed.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Me, and America's Next Author Contest

Hey everyone! So, I entered a contest, and I need your help . . .

I entered my short story Falling in this online writing contest, and a part of the contest is based on public support. I would really appreciate it if you went and checked it out - you can find it here. You can write a review and leave a rating if you'd like.

I'm proud of my little story, and I hope you'll all enjoy it. :]

Thanks for your help!

Litterary Giggles and The Eyer Affair

If you're and English major, or read a lot of classic literature, then you need to read this series. Seriously, guys. My sister has these books and they've sat on our living room shelf for years and years. I discovered them over Thanksgiving break, and now, I'm tempted to name my future puppy Thursday Next.
 
Puppy says: Hello, I am cute.
 
My mom says I am allowed to buy a puppy next fall, when my sister goes to grad school. But only if I can pay the extra dog fee, and pay for the food, AND still pay for college.
 
But this is beside the point.
 
 



 
Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection, until someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature. When Jane Eyre is plucked from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday must track down the villain and enter the novel herself to avert a heinous act of literary homicide. - Goodreads
 Let's get this straight upfront: you do not have to be a fan of Jane Eyre to be a fan of this book. I know this, because I am not a fan of Jane Eyre. I thought Rochester was old and creepy and I didn't like Jane, but mostly, I thought Rochester was old and creepy. (I read it in high school, so maybe I was just immature. Psh, who am I kidding? I'm still immature.) Despite the title, Jane Eyre isn't a huge part of the story, and I actually really loved how it was incorporated.
 
And Rochester?
 
Oh, Rochester . . . well, he's not creepy here. I actually kind of loved him. A lot.
 
Actually, I loved all the characters. Let's do a quick roll call:
 
Uncle Mycroft -  quirky and brilliant inventor. I would love to jump inside this book and snag a few of those inventions for myself.
 
Spike - deals with the capture of Supreme Evil Beings. He's the only agent assigned to his area because, well, it takes a special kind of person to go against the SEBs. I love the scene where he first meets Thursday - Muahaha. Funny, funny.
 
Acheron Hades - the bad guy. He's a lot of fun. He's very evil, too, and he requires his little minions to do wicked things every day, like drive over the speed limit - through a mall. There's also this things about Felix's face, which is just gross, so I won't go into that.
 
Jack Schitt - I laugh every time I see his name. "Schitt" sounds like . . . Okay, I know I'm immature. I'm sorry. Jack works for Goliath, this weapons corporation that has too much control and not enough limits. Jack Schitt is this annoying bad-guy who's technically not a bad guy, because Hades is the bad guy, but whatever. He so is.  
 
Pickwick - I have to mention Thursday's pet dodo, even if he's not in this book much. At first I was imagining the dodos from Ice Age, those really dumb birds who had three melons stockpiled for the ice age? Yeah. Pickwick has grown on me, though.
 
And there's many, many more. But you'll just have to read the book to meet them.
 
 
 



Saturday, November 24, 2012

Winners Announced!

Hey everyone! I was fully intending to announce the winners sooner, but my brother was feeling generous and decided to share his cold with me. So I've been blowing my brains out through my nose that last few days . . . actually, you probably don't want to hear about it.

Anyway! Winners! Yay!

Sarah figured out my clues, so she won her pick of the books. (I named by basil plant Dorian because of the book, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The painter who creates the picture of Dorian is named Basil.)
 
Sarah chose The Forsaken!




Brianna won Untraceable. Her favorite book of the year (so far) is Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews.
 


Natasha won Starters. Her favorite is The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.



Congrats! Brianna and Natasha, you have e-mails waiting for you. After I have you mailing addresses I'll send you prizes out to you!


Thanks to everyone who entered!

Friday, November 16, 2012

New Design!

I'm the kind of person who has to change the color of her nails each week - and if they're not painted? Gasp! How boring!

So it was high time for me to change up my blog design. I experimented some last night, but I think I like it better now. What do you guys think? Give me your feedback!

Also, there's a new tab at the top of my blog! ContemporaryMadness is my brother's etsy page. I put some samples of his pictures up with a link to his shop. Check it out sometime. I think he's pretty talented, but then again, I'm a little biased. :]

Thursday, November 15, 2012

2 Things

1st thing: The Dudes of YA

My brother tells me all the time that I'm too feminist, because I only read books written by girls, and when was the last time I even read a book that was written by a guy? Because of course, no guys write YA. And apparently all I read is YA.

Ha! Just goes to show how little he knows.

(Just kidding, Tommy boy. I love you.)

2nd Thing:



I was amazed that Cassandra Clare got a book deal after she plagiarized in 2001* (back when her name was Cassandra Claire, and she wrote Harry Potter fanfiction). This is why I've never read her books, and why I don't plan on ever reading them. Plagiarism just isn't acceptable, and I'm not going to support someone who's done it.

If this were just a movie I'd say it looks great, I can't wait to see it. But because this is based on Cassandra Care's book, I'm going to pass. Even if it does have Lilly Collins in it.

Does anyone else have any opinions on this?



*I'll link you to a post about this. If you search "Cassandra Clare Plagiarism" there is a lot of stuff out there. The original stories have all been removed, so it's hard to know what sources are reputable, but I think it's pretty universally acknowledged that Clare was kicked off the fanfiction site because she plagiarized.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Me, saying hello, folks. Oh, and a GIVEAWAY. There's that too.

Hello there, folks. I hope the fact that I'm breaking my radio silence and actually writing a post doesn't give you all a heart attack. That would be very unfortunate, and I don't have a defibrillator on hand. So hang in there.

I have a stack of YA books that don't fit on my shelf, and they're just screaming "Give us away!"

So . . . How about a contest?**

This is how we'll do this. I'll give you some clues, and the first person to e-mail me with the correct answer will win their choice of one of the following books:

 
 
Starters by Lisa Price
 
 


Untraceable by S.R. Johannes
 
The Clues:
 
1. I have a basil plant. His name is Dorian.
 
2. I am an English major, and literary references make me happy.
 
3. Dorian is just wild for the classics.
 
 
The Question: 
 
The first person to e-mail me (teddycavygal at yahoo dot com) and tell me why I named my basil plant Dorian will win one of the above books!
 
If no one comes up with the right answer by Wednesday, the 14th, I'll give you more clues.

 The clues have been solved. Comments giveaway is still open. - comment to win Starters or Untraceable. :]
 
 But wait, there's more!
 
After the winner chooses their book, I'll still have two left. I'll pick two winners from the comments for each of the remaining books.
 
So, there are two ways to win here. E-mail me with your answer and/or comment on this post, telling me what your favorite read of the year (so far) is.
 
As soon as someone guesses correctly, I'll update letting you know which book they chose. The comments giveaway of the other two books will stay open until Wednesday, the 21st.
 
 
 
 I hope this all makes sense. Feel free to e-mail or leave a comment with any questions.
 
Good luck! :]

**UPDATE: My clues have been solved. :] Our winner chose The Forsaken, but Starters and Untraceable are still up for grabs, so comment away.**