What's in a systemic way of reading books?

I wonder if this is normal:

Actually, I already know it's not. But I wonder if other people do this. So...I can't usually finish reading the last 10-15 pages of books. It's like I get anxious that the author will screw something up. The more I like a book, the less likely I am to read the ending...

It's like I have such a great image of the book, these nice thoughts are buzzing about so nicely in my mind, and here it comes--DEADPAN ENDING. It makes me slightly regret reading it. :( And why would anyone want that?

I'd rather stop before I get to a useless last 15 or less pages that'll ruin the beautiful ending I had created in my own mind. It's my right, dammit, mine!

I need to find a good psychologist to also interpret what this kind of disgusting habit means.

A musical plea! Read and do!

Hello sentient beings!

I have a request from you. Yes, YOU. So, in an effort to reinfuse my musical selection, I got to thinking...it'd be kinda sweet to have my friends send me a list of their top five or ten favorite songs at the moment.

I'd LOVE for y'all to do this! Some of you have already been gracious enough to share your musical tastes here and there, but even if you have, do share some more!

Here are some guidelines for what to send me. The songs should:

1. Be simply awesome.
2. Be something I can drive with the windows down on a hot summer day and want nothing more than to fly to the moon (in the daytime).
3. Make me want to let my hair loose like Professor McGonagall at the Yule Ball.
4. Inspire my future doggy (I WILL have one someday!) and me to shake our tails (no tail feathers though...I don't think either of us will have feathers...)
5. NOT make me want to shoot/harm/kill anything living (unless you want to run the risk of imposing that sad fate upon yourself).
6. Possibly be in another language! All languages welcome. Including the non-verbal sort (a.k.a. instrumental only).
7. NOT be Lady Antebellum..sorry, hearing them on 10 different stations every day has evoked some kind of unwarranted, yet inexorable, repugnancy against the said artist.
8. Slower songs also welcome if they make you want to lay down in a grassy meadow and play with foxes. I'd enjoy that as well. :D
9. Have something for those lull, summer rains? Also send! I have a "Rainy days" playlist I could tack that on to.
10. Be something YOU enjoy. :) The point of this is getting to know others' musical tastes. Even if you're a complete freak and secretly listen to, Iunno, O-Town or some crap like that, send away! I will keep these confidential. Confia en mi!

Feel free to e-mail me your list, or whatever method of communication you see fit. If you'd like a list in return, I could get to thinking! I'll download the songs myself, so just a simple list is alls I'm a-askin' for!

Thank you kindly if you actually took the time to read this and actually do it! I know it's hard to not be lazy..it's a daily struggle for my post-graduate self, trust me!

Have a terrific day!

Yours truly,

Karina A. Reyes

Subscriptions to Publications: Make some!

I had what was most likely one of the best assignments I've ever gotten in my life. For my art history class, we were given three different publications in the art world: Art in America, Artforum, and The Art Newspaper.

The latter of these I took a hard fall for.

Who would've thought there's a whole newspaper devoted to the going-ons of the art world?! It's not a biased newspaper either in terms of regional issues. It incorporates the entire world. I mean, the cover of my issue was Middle Eastern art!

Take a look. This is the cover of one issue:





















Sigh. Naturally, I looked up subscription to this newspaper, but...well, this is where being a college student has its unfortunate disadvantages. At $100 for a year-long subscription, I'm a little hesitant to subscribe. Maybe once I have more of an income. If only there were an "every other month" subscription.

Can we say early Christmas present?

And by the way, there is a magazine or newspaper for just about ANYTHING you can imagine. I tell no lies. Google it or, better yet, find a copy of "Writer's Market" that's current. I think it's important that people keep up subscriptions to magazines and other similar publications. Yes, I realize that you can find any information your little heart may ever desire online with a few clicks of a button, but come on. How great would it feel to receive a special something completely suited to your interests and addressed personally to you every month (or week, or bi-monthly...)?

We shouldn't let the internet completely destroy our printed publications!

Seriously consider it. It would make those of us in the design and writing world ever so happy. Not to mention, it'd be neat to have your coffee table feature more than just worn-in coasters and drink stains, don't you think?

What Happens When Sitting in Class During a Boring Lecture

So, sitting in an English Writing class, I got to thinking: Where in the world did the word nonchalant come from?

Odd, I know. But someone said it and instinctively, I dissected it down into its etymological roots. Why, if the word is non-chalant, do we not have the word chalant in our vocabulary? I mean, if it ISN'T chalant, what is chalant anyway?

Naturally, I sought the assistance of what has become a very good friend to me over the years: dictionary.com. Oh, how I love this website.

So this is what I found:

[French, from Old French, present participle of nonchaloir, to be unconcerned : non-, non- + chaloir, to cause concern to (from Latin calēre, to be warm, heat up; see kelə-¹ in Indo-European roots).]

I then used my other favorite website, wordreference.com (best romance-language dictionary in existence) to validate the meaning of "chaloir" in French. This was what it listed:

chaloir ⇒

v

be important

So then I felt better. Nonchalant: Not of importance. Makes sense, right? Still, I am think I'm going to start advocating for the inclusion of some form of "chaloir" in the English vocabulary, such as "chalant."

This would be the dictionary entry:


cha·lant /ˌnɒnʃəˈlɑnt, ˈnɒnʃəˌlɑnt, -lənt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[shuh-lahnt] Pronunciation Key

–adjective
of a concerned manner: their chalant manner in the subject came as somewhat of a surprise

–Related forms
cha·lant·ly, adverb

So there you go. Feel free to use this word.