:toot:
My brother's birthday is tomorrow. I wish I could be a little more creative when it comes to gift-giving, but I don't get out much so I don't often have a good grasp of what's available. I bought him, or rather, pre-ordered and paid in full, Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Good thing he doesn't read this, or I would have spoilt his present. Gosh, do any of you have family members that read your journal? That would be so bizarre.
What ruffles my feathers is when characters refuse to heed the words of other character, thus supposedly creating "drama" or "tension" but it mostly just makes me angry. So many conflicts could be pre-empted, so many headaches could be done away with, so many knots could be untangled!
I mean, it's one of those tropes that actually frustrates and enrages me so much that it can make it difficult for me to read something. Sometimes it makes me feel physically ill.
Off the top of my head, an example, from The Fountainhead: Mr. Wynand, if Dominique - an intelligent person you otherwise seem to hold in respect and esteem - tells you to please fire Ellsworth Toohey, you had better fire Ellsworth Toohey. The correct answer is not to immovably laugh it off as something harmless. The correct answer is to get socked in the jaw and told "No, seriously, that man is evil, now go put in the order before I throw you off this building."
Or another bit, in the latter parts of Catch-22, where the Chaplain is abruptly dragged off and interrogated as the culprit in a series of misdemeanours of which he had no hand in. He tries, repeatedly, to explain his innocence and his bewilderment, as he has no idea what is going on, but everyone refuses to listen. Of course, the book has many, many examples of high-ranking ineptitude, but this one particular bit is always hard for me to read.
In a similar vein, grown-ups not listening to children or not taking them seriously is another one of my hot buttons. This made many scenes in some Harry Potter books or A Series of Unfortunate Events exceedingly difficult for me to get through. Arrgh! Grown-ups!
I'd also add romantic subplots as a plot device I hate, but I can't think of a romantic subplot being an issue in any book that I've really liked. That is, there's no romance abruptly tacked-on that feels unconvincing, out of place and unnecessary (and ew, cooties), as opposed to something occurring in a naturally-developing relationship between characters. It can be understated and unspoken and you do not need mushy stuff, I promise. Like an expansion pack for Friendship.
It bugs me so much, the hackneyed stuff that slaps you in the face with its obviousness, that I've actually made sure to forever bar those three little words from appearing in my own writing. Unless someone is being ironic or fatuous, one supposes. But no mushy stuff!
It appears my mum has a fractured ankle, but she's getting it treated, so it'll heal up eventually. Disappointingly for my bro, that means tomorrow we'll probably have to cancel our reservations at this teppanyaki place we were going to celebrate at, 'cause it's up stairs and there's no elevator/wheelchair access.
Perhaps it's for the best. Only a week after Thanksgiving, I do not need to gain more weight by stuffing my face with rice + steak sauce. I have already had far, far too much pie. Please, no more pie. I beg you. Says the girl who made a mushroom, leek and chicken pot pie for supper.
Good thing he doesn't read this, or I would have spoilt his present. Gosh, do any of you have family members that read your journal? That would be so bizarre.
What ruffles my feathers is when characters refuse to heed the words of other character, thus supposedly creating "drama" or "tension" but it mostly just makes me angry. So many conflicts could be pre-empted, so many headaches could be done away with, so many knots could be untangled!
I mean, it's one of those tropes that actually frustrates and enrages me so much that it can make it difficult for me to read something. Sometimes it makes me feel physically ill.
Off the top of my head, an example, from The Fountainhead: Mr. Wynand, if Dominique - an intelligent person you otherwise seem to hold in respect and esteem - tells you to please fire Ellsworth Toohey, you had better fire Ellsworth Toohey. The correct answer is not to immovably laugh it off as something harmless. The correct answer is to get socked in the jaw and told "No, seriously, that man is evil, now go put in the order before I throw you off this building."
Or another bit, in the latter parts of Catch-22, where the Chaplain is abruptly dragged off and interrogated as the culprit in a series of misdemeanours of which he had no hand in. He tries, repeatedly, to explain his innocence and his bewilderment, as he has no idea what is going on, but everyone refuses to listen. Of course, the book has many, many examples of high-ranking ineptitude, but this one particular bit is always hard for me to read.
In a similar vein, grown-ups not listening to children or not taking them seriously is another one of my hot buttons. This made many scenes in some Harry Potter books or A Series of Unfortunate Events exceedingly difficult for me to get through. Arrgh! Grown-ups!
I'd also add romantic subplots as a plot device I hate, but I can't think of a romantic subplot being an issue in any book that I've really liked. That is, there's no romance abruptly tacked-on that feels unconvincing, out of place and unnecessary (and ew, cooties), as opposed to something occurring in a naturally-developing relationship between characters. It can be understated and unspoken and you do not need mushy stuff, I promise. Like an expansion pack for Friendship.
It bugs me so much, the hackneyed stuff that slaps you in the face with its obviousness, that I've actually made sure to forever bar those three little words from appearing in my own writing. Unless someone is being ironic or fatuous, one supposes. But no mushy stuff!
It appears my mum has a fractured ankle, but she's getting it treated, so it'll heal up eventually. Disappointingly for my bro, that means tomorrow we'll probably have to cancel our reservations at this teppanyaki place we were going to celebrate at, 'cause it's up stairs and there's no elevator/wheelchair access.
Perhaps it's for the best. Only a week after Thanksgiving, I do not need to gain more weight by stuffing my face with rice + steak sauce. I have already had far, far too much pie. Please, no more pie. I beg you. Says the girl who made a mushroom, leek and chicken pot pie for supper.