Half-Price Books' Clearance Section
God bless my friend who led me to the cozy, clearance nooks within the bookstore. I've been going to this bookstore for years... TELL ME WHY I'VE NEVER BEEN IN THE CLEARANCE SECTION BEFORE UNTIL THEN?! I even saw the book, Little Bee, which I bought from them a few weeks prior for $2. I paid $7. Blah.
The last time I made a visit, I picked up a copy of Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, which I've been wanting to read for over a year. And it was only one dollar! I was floored; I literally made a loud gasp when I spotted it. One of my best discoveries this summer. Seriously. I now have more book than I can selfishly read (in denial) at one time again.
I honestly thought Goodwill was the only place I could get a good, cheap book (paperbacks are $1 and hardcovers are $2). But some finds were as low as $.50 in there!! My friend and I spent two hours in clearance. Most of it was spent reminiscing over Boxcar Children and R.L. Stein, and muffling screams when we'd find gems like Superfudge for a dollar.
Mary and Max
Mary and Max is a movie available on Netflix that I started, and never finished. Mind you, I wanted to, but being constantly interrupted while watching a movie at home makes you lose quite a bit of morale. A friend of mine ended up watching it, and recommended it to me. She said the ending was so good that she cried; she knew I'd like it... And boy, was she right.
This new motivation pushed me to finish the last two thirds of the movie and I'm so glad I did.
Max is a man with Aspergers who lives in New York. He lives alone, and indulges in his own hobbies while simultaneously getting through each confusing and frustrating day the rest of us live with a certain ease.
Mary is what most proclaimed as the typical, friendless, loner. An Australian with an alcoholic mother and thought quite lowly of herself.
Eventually, they both become pen pals and we watch their lives unfold with each others' influences. There's MAJOR ups and downs, hilarious scenes, and moving points. It all comes together and falls apart in the most beautiful way, and it ends up with you (or maybe a good lot of us... including me) in tears. Don't be fooled by the claymation; the plot is adult-themed and knowledgable.
Learning にほんご (Japanese)!
I've been teaching myself Japanese on and off all summer, and I've found some excellent resources that have refreshed me and taught me new things since my senior year of high school (the one and only time I was allowed to study Japanese before undergrad). It's been super fun for me, and I've got a whole notebook dedicated to my studies. Pages will be filled with color-coded pens and highlighters of course! Down below I'll just list all the resources I use, apps included:
- Textbook-like Guide
- Japanese Character Layout and Tests App
- Hiragana Trace and Learn App!!!
- Katakana Trace and Learn App!!!
- Kanji Practice
- Japanesepod 101!!!
- How I Initially Learned Katakana !!! (I zoomed in, screenshot it, and printed it)
- How I Initially Learned Hiragana !!! (Same, zoom, shoot, and print!)
** The ones with the "!!!" next to them are my favorite go-tos when I want to review quickly or learn something the best way I personally do.
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon
Steal Like An Artist is a very quick, and enlightening read. The format of this coffee table book is humorous, but has that "fatherly advice" feel.
A lot of the tips given, were ones I've either heard before, an epiphany, or ones I currently (and successfully) use. The point of this book being: YOU can be an artist, and incorporate an artist-like mindset into your life positively.
Even a logical, mathematician could benefit from the lists and knowledge given. I'm almost sure of it.
Amy Winehouse and Animal Crossing
It's been pretty easy to put both of these polar opposites on shuffle (or in YouTube's case, replay) all throughout the month. I miss having a reliable Jazz station, so all things the late Amy Winehouse has sung fulfills my yearnings. I'm glad I finally came across her work after hearing a friend play a few of her songs (that WEREN'T "Rehab"), because her singing truly is beautiful. Every aspect of her songs are sophisticated and internally-moving. I feel like I'm listening to a diary.
Going from brooding and deep, to cartoonish and silly, Animal Crossing for the Gamecube has lifted my nostalgic spirits! I love having it as filler music while I draw, or study, or... practically do anything, really.
I tend to listen to this full day cycle on YouTube, and repeat it once it's done. I haven't felt this type of nostalgia for Animal Crossing since I used to light these green, summer melon candles. I'd associate that smell with wintertime in Animal Crossing, because I'd always have it lit in my room while I played. There would be these little igloos your neighbors would make, and they'd have chowder in a big pot over a fire. Oh my gosh I'd always want to remove myself from my bed and into that igloo myself because the chowder would bubble and steam. Ahh... But I digress... Here's the video I use!
Disco Zoo
This cute, pixelated game is one I love because its addictiveness can be taken in controlled proportions. It's a simple game where the goal is to collect animals by catching them in the wild. How do you catch them? You pay to do a puzzle matching game. How do you get more money? By catching more animals!
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| Photo Source: Google |
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| Photo Source: Google |
The longer you stay on the game, the better chance you have at collecting money and discobux. That's because little events happen while you're logged in: your animals can escape into other pens, someone may want to buy some of your animals from you, the mayor can declare it animal day and it will give you money, or you may find a lost hat on an animal you can return for money. Sometimes I'll just wake up all my animals to gain an imaginary profit and continue on with my day. So when I'm bored for just a short while, I can do some of the puzzles.
Oh! And there's a yellow bus in the parking lot on the far left of your zoo. Tap it nine times and you'll get to play a Flappybirdesque mini game! Nothing happens because of it, just a fun little feature. =)
Okami-san and Her Seven Companions
I've been on a Netflix kick this month, and started watching this anime. It's extremely short and I got done with it in less than two days. It's essentially an anime about this girl, Okami-san, who works with her friends at the school's bank. The bank does its customers favors of all kinds, and in return they're in debt to repay the bank when the time comes.
What I really like about this series is the humorous narrator, and the fact that the characters sometimes break the 4th wall (like, actually acknowledging the narrator when usually shows aren't meant to notice them). The story also has its serious points, which I also love. Not ALL frilly bubblegum kisses. With the character development, I've grown to love most of the characters, but especially Okami-san.
I'll just leave this figurine photo here... Cause I kinda need this figurine now.
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| Photo Source: Google |
What I really like about this series is the humorous narrator, and the fact that the characters sometimes break the 4th wall (like, actually acknowledging the narrator when usually shows aren't meant to notice them). The story also has its serious points, which I also love. Not ALL frilly bubblegum kisses. With the character development, I've grown to love most of the characters, but especially Okami-san.
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| Photo Source: Google |
Little Birds (2011)
This was a simple, almost cut-and-dry movie about two girls--Lily and Allison--who get sick of their life and home and runaway to California. Things I failed to mention in that first sentence is that there's one level-headed friend, and the other is the more... Sporadic and troubled one.
I have to admit, the final straw to make the move to California was convincing.
It's all for a boy. That just spells trouble, right? This film covers peer pressure and the lot. This was like, the puppies and kittens sneak-peek version of Skins UK. The clothing (mind you, the frantically ran away) was what reminded me of Skins UK youngsters the most in this movie.
It was somewhat predictable, but not everything was. I can tell you, if I ever talked to adults in my life like Lily did, I wouldn't be standing here, breathing today. I could kind of feel where both girls were coming from though, throughout the film. A cozy film to watch on a lazy sunday when you just can't figure out exactly what to watch on Netflix. I recommend it. Cinematography's great and raw (realistic and no censorship).
Not a high recommendation, but a recommendation nonetheless.
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| Photo Source: Google |
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| Photo Source: Google |
It was somewhat predictable, but not everything was. I can tell you, if I ever talked to adults in my life like Lily did, I wouldn't be standing here, breathing today. I could kind of feel where both girls were coming from though, throughout the film. A cozy film to watch on a lazy sunday when you just can't figure out exactly what to watch on Netflix. I recommend it. Cinematography's great and raw (realistic and no censorship).
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| Photo Source: Google |
Not a high recommendation, but a recommendation nonetheless.
Hope something piqued your interest in this August favorites post! Have a slammin' September!
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