Gates of Horn

It's always bugged me that people never give spoiler warnings for classics. No, I did not know what was going to happen in Anna Karenina, thank you very much, and I did not appreciate everyone telling me that **SPOILER WARNING!!!** Anna was going to jump in front of a train, dying in the same place she was introduced, bringing us full circle.

Before I continue then, I will give you all fair warning. In the following section you will find spoilers for the following: Secret Garden, The Little Prince, The Little Princess, Little Women, Sense and Sensibility.

The classics are raised to the heights, so one forgets that, in the end, they are just stories, meant to be miniature worlds in which we discover things for and about ourselves. Why are they classics? Because they have driven deep into the hearts of readers for years, because every generation of new readers pick up a book and discover magic from within. I'd appreciate it if I could discover this magic on my own, instead of finding out from the back of the book that Colin learns how to walk finally within the secret garden, that little prince is bitten by snake in the end, that Sara Crewe's father dies, that Beth dies.

One of my first best friends gave me The Secret Garden as a farewell gift when I moved away. She covered up the back of the book with red construction paper and tape, and wrote with strict instructions that I was NOT to remove it under any circumstances. Faithfully, I read the book without even thinking of glancing at the forbidden "back." It became one of my all time favorite books, ever. When I finally removed that piece of construction paper, I thanked my friend for having the foresight to keep that nasty ill-natured thing hidden. The stupid summary would've ruined EVERYTHING for me. I would've gone in knowing that Mary's parents were going to die, that she was going to be relocated to "the moor," that she was going to hear crying at night, that the crying came from her invalid cousin, who soon learned how to walk due to the magic of the garden. In other words, I would've known what was going to happen before it happened. The back of the book would've robbed me of the mystery, the delightful confusion, and quite a bit of the fun.

The moral of this story? Don't assume people know a book just because it's a classic. ALWAYS ask if they've read it and if they intend to do so in the future. If the answer is yes to both, restrain your desire to yammer away about how Willoughby from S&S turns out to be SUCH AN ASS. Instead, prompt them to read the darned books, already! And then snicker behind your hand as they sigh over how romantic the man is, little knowing what would happen later!

"It is the new HOMO*, the HOMO of the excited molecule." (5th edition, Wade 665)

Am I the only one who finds that inordinately hilarious?

And also, here's a question: if you stopped time all around you on a cold winter's day, would you stop feeling the cold?

This post brought to you by Randomness, Inc.. Our motto? "His name is Hitsugaya Toushirou."

I don't have one. But that's not important.

One thing I really like about Bleach is that all the shinigami wear split-toed Japanese socks (tabi, I think). This allows for all the graceful lines of the foot without subjecting us to the hideous, fungi-infested things called toes and toenails. They also all wear straw sandals which are tied securely around their ankles. I find this very practical and much more preferable than, say, wearing geta or zori. If you should decide to jump in midair, they'd forever be falling off and clocking your enemy's brains. You'd never have a real fight because people would always be like, "Abarai-kun, your geta fell off again!"

I shouldn't be making fun of Abarai (despite ridiculous eyebrow tatoos). I should make fun of Byakkuya (or whatever the heck his name is, that stupid @$$hole), but he is just so freakin' boring and typical "mad powerful cold-hearted bastard with stick up the fundament" that I never remember him.

Today it is snowing! SNOW! Beautiful wonderful exquisite snow! I am tempted to write a short about snow except the urge to doodle Hitsugaya hasn't gone away. Maybe I'll do both after I finish a jot of homework. A big jot.

SNOW! I would extol your virtues and wax very poetic, except I'm too tired and hungry to do so. I think I will break out the hot chocolate in celebration of this momentous occasion though.

I wonder if guy Shinigami get guy swords and girl Shinigami get girl swords. I mean nearly all the guys have sword names with the "-maru" ending (ok, except Shinsou, and Zangetsu, and...maybe I am just hallucinating this observation).

SNOW! It makes up for the random phone call at 4:30 AM (which woke me up) and the prank fire alarm at 8:30 AM (which also woke me up). If it weren't for snow I'd be telling you how my day is BLAH. Instead I am telling you the reasons I like Bleach and wanting to procrastinate on homework exert myself creatively. Snow. It's good for the soul.

1 AM and I've yet to begin the Japanese composition homework due tomorrow...today. Got far too carried away reading Emma Thompson's S&S screenplay + diaries. Fascinating. Both book and movie are excellent excellent things. I must get that DVD.

Burned tongue horribly on spring rolls. I feel no regrets, and will proceed to burn tongue on a mug of Irish Breakfast tea while cranking out an imaginary letter to an imaginary former Japanese teacher.

Rug burn on left index finger, courtesy of Sunday's kempo class, now semi-scabbed and turning pukish brown-green color. Hope this doesn't mean infection.

Dying to doodle Hitsugaya. Will (probably) refrain and resign myself to giving that fictional Japanese teacher in my soon-to-be-written composition his name.

冷死啦！老天爺真是在發神經。

I figure if I go all trilingual and stuff, more people will understand me. Or I am just showing off practicing. It is too damn cold for me to write anything coherent. His name is Hitsugaya Toushirou. YES, I haven't forgotten it yet! Now I wish I can find the darned kanji for it, I'm sure I'd get a better feel for the name in general if I could have a visual. That doesn't involve the English alphabet.

Too...damn...cold.... Thank the great deity of *insert religion of choice* that the lightbulb exchange is cancelled, because if I have to stand outside for an hour I think my limbs will detach from my person.

**edit** His name goes like this (note to self, his chapter pic is in 102): 日番谷 冬獅郎 (ひつがや とうしろう). DEFINITELY not a common name. I had to resort to typing "hi," then "ban," and then "tani" for the last name (when you put those three kanji together you get Hitsugaya. Don't ask me how that works). The first name was easier, since those alternate pronounciations actually existed in my computer's vocabulary. Trying to imagine Hinamori's little nickname for him in Chinese is now hilarious.

しろうちゃん=小獅郎??? At least it's not 小冬獅。 Ah yes, my little lion of winter...! *dies laughing* (Another note to self: confrontation between Hinamori and Hitsugaya, chapter 130.) **end edit**

**edit edit** Further breakdown. Discovered that another pronounciation for "ban" (番) when it's combined with another kanji is "tsugai" (as in "蝶番" or "choutsugai," meaning "hinge"). Another pronounciation for "tani" (谷) is "ya." Hence 日=hi, 番=tsuga(i), 谷=ya. Hi-tsuga-ya, whoot!

Uh oh, I'm analyzing his name. This is a BAAAAAAD sign. Obsession impending. **end edit^2**

Here's a question. If you were in the same room as a guy and he suddenly announced to you that he was a misogynist, what would you do?^^;

No, it didn't happen to me, but my mind is sometimes fond of coming up with painful questions. I think I'd just kinda stare and say something like, "...so I think it'd be better if I leave right now." *cue exeunt* ^_^; It always surprises me when I hear about encounters with misogynists and racists. I mean like the real ones, not the "OMG Tolkien is racist cuz the Dark Lord is DARK" types. I guess despite my growing cynicism, a part of me still thinks we've advanced past that point. *shrug*

If I keep thinking about this I'm going to get really depressed. So it's back to orgo for me (like that's any less depressing! XD). Oh yeah, and Judy, you signed off before I could reply, but essentially I was going to say, "I've been busy all week so I forgot about it over the weekend when I actually had time to watch it." I have no excuse. I think you're just gonna have to sit me down when I'm back home and make me watch it then. I also have the first Digimon series up to episode 6. I am very amused by the fact that every episode ends with Random Laughter (TM) from the gang. It is so campy but wonderful.