I watched this episode with my mum and the song really stuck in my head. This interpretation has been something that’s been widely debated, but the portrayal, this scene, the music, it’s all incredible:
Curd Rice Daily: Blog
2019: Two Hundred and Forty Seven
2019: Two Hundred and Forty Six
The consequences of everything I did are consequences I am scared of, but are the consequences I must face. There are hits I’m taking. At the moment I am incredibly grateful for my parents’ support through all this. They’re reminding me about ownership and responsibility, and that is all that matters to me at the moment. And learning.
2019: Two Hundred and Forty Five
I’ve made mistakes over the last day and a half. I’m uncertain how to come to terms with them – because they feel very uncharacteristic of me. I would rather not blog about them, but that would be dishonest. I will tell you this, however, world: I’m going to confront these errors I’ve committed. I’m distraught at the moment, but I’m apologetic, and I’m going to take some time to work on becoming better.
The blogging might stop for a few days as a result, but I will upload media that I find fascinating, that I wish to share with you.
In the interim, I’m recording my thoughts on Word and I’ll upload them onto the internet in due course.
2019: Two Hundred and Forty Four
Today was a better day than yesterday because no tabs crashed, our tournament ran on time, and we pulled off TGD the way TGD is meant to be pulled off. For all of that and more – including the kindest gifts from amazing juniors, and a farewell performance that is indescribable, I am grateful to this University.
I will miss these people when I leave, and I will miss this place.
2019: Two Hundred and Forty Three
Today has been an absolutely awful day, so I’m not going to write much. Personal downsides aside, the server (heroku) that ran Tabbycat, the software we were tabulating on, crashed. Right when we generated the draw for our second round. Now I’m not sure if this makes any sense to a non-debater, but we essentially lost one round of scoring and data on the internet, thanks to my reliance exclusively on the internet.
I feel awful, and although we’ve now created a plan for tomorrow and we’ve rebooted the tournament on a software that is designed to work offline, and is a software I am extremely comfortable with, I am scared, and feel horrible at the moment.
2019: Two Hundred and Forty Two
One day to go. The OLT’s are coming here, and they’re coming hard and fast at us. We’ve just spent the evening with the beautiful tabbycat, setting up for what should be an excellent tournament for everyone in my batch.
To everyone that made it through 5 editions: congratulations. We’re here.
2019: Two Hundred and Forty One
I took a day off from University today to understand the intricacies of a tabbing/tabulation system I wanted to ensure I got to terms with prior to the beginning of our annual debating tournament. I really love numbers, and participating in tabulation/scoring activities have given me the opportunity to go through my time at University fully immersed in statistics. Of course, it isn’t the same as having the opportunity to study Math everyday, but the limited engagement I get is enough for me to sustain an interest in its academic study.
Subreddits on the beauty of data, and following sports in general add to that engagement. I do really miss numbers in my daily life. They used to be so integral (see what I did there) to my daily schedule every single day at school. Not only because of the number of hours we spent with them – through all my Sciences and even a bit in Economics, but also through the hours I spent poring over past papers and question sets. It’s no wonder I attempted to convince my parents to allow me to study for a BSc somewhere in the middle of my second year. I’m glad they showed me reason at the time.
Eventually I do hope I get the chance to return to working with numbers one day. Till then, tabbycat, you are my only friend.
The Princess Diaries |Meg Cabot
All of the below books are authored by Meg Cabot.
- The Princess Diaries: A Novel
Rating: **** - Princess in the Spotlight
Rating: *** - Princess in Love
Rating: *** - Princess in Waiting
Rating: *** - Princess in Pink
Rating: **** - Princess in Training
Rating: *** - Party Princess
Rating: *** - Princess on the Brink
Rating: **** - Princess Mia
Rating: *** - Forever Princess
Rating: **** - Royal Wedding
Rating: ****
Overall (Literary) Rating: ***
Overall (Entertainment) Rating: *****
That caps it. That’s the lot. I read these because my friend told me there was more than one book on which one of the movies I enjoyed as a young adolescent was based. That was thrilling enough. Then I discovered there was a series – a full series. I had to read them. I’m pleased to tell you that a new Princess Diaries movie is in the works, which means I’ll get to watch Anne Hathaway, and maybe even Julie Andrews be as incredible as they are and share a screen once more.
Everyone knows the plot. These are the diaries of Mia Thermopolis, who, in ninth grade, discovers that she’s a Princess. They follow her thoughts and her interactions with her friends (and newly discovered family) as she understands how to live this dual life nobody prepared her for.
I can’t really do a literary critique for this. That would be an injustice. Instead, I’m going to tell you what this book succeeds at, and why some books in the series are better than the others.
Meg Cabot succeeds at creating the image of a teenager who doesn’t fit in who is suddenly expected to fit in. Mia has a uniquely pre-teen/teen voice, which allows for relatability: in terms of the kind of things she thinks about and talks about, a lot of “millennial” humour (which is hilarious, right at the turn of the century), and several pop culture references. Mia’s friends (true friends) are few in number, allowing for them to each be integral parts of the story, which means that there’s constant dynamics to look forward to and see evolving throughout the series.
The plot is crazy. That’s the only way to describe it. It’s unreal. There’s no way people go through these things in real life. It’s such a whirlwind. And so much happens in the books that have 4 stars. Books with 3 stars were the books that had slower plots, and plots I didn’t enjoy so much. The first three books are a lot of high school drama and high school love (and a lot of bickering), but after that Mia makes some strides into policy-making (as Princess), and runs an administration, attends some fancy events, gives speeches, forgets about her friends (which leads to more bickering), and then gets married, eventually.
There’s a lot to unravel, and I don’t think I should unravel any of it, because this series is worth spending time reading. The comedy value is unparalleled, the friendships are wholesome – because they go through genuine cycles of fighting and making up, which mimics reality. The familial relations are messy, but intriguing. And Mia’s Grandmere is worth every single word she says.
At the end of the series, all I was left thinking about was why I grew up with gendered books, and rather, why books catering to young individuals are gendered in the first place. That gendering meant that this slipped past my radar completely. But these books aren’t meant for one reading age, or one reading group. I enjoyed them at 21 the same amount I think I would have loved them aged 12.
The series did slow down toward the end, as Mia grew older. You can see signs that Cabot is out of her comfort zone when she writes “adult” Mia’s diary. But the series remains enjoyable, and irrespective of its conclusion (which some might not entirely enjoy), is going to be something you carry with you – to get you out of reading slumps, or to push you through days that are a little low.
I visited Genovia this year too. And it was everything the books made it to be.
2019: Two Hundred and Forty
Today was productive. I slept in class – not because I had a sleep-deficit, but because I wished to sleep. I paid attention and took notes in classes I wanted to.
But post-class I had a ball. I know I’ve been gushing about this new timetable, but really – it is marvelous. Post 3 I worked on a bunch of things I wanted to finish before the day was done.
At night I met with some people I wanted to meet for Debate work. That debating mood is really sinking in now, which is marvelous. People in my batch are working around getting things set up for that and figuring out how exactly to pass on information to juniors. It’s going to be wicked seeing how they take the tournament forward. I still remember being asked by RG to do some kutti t-shirts work in my first year. It was my first interaction with him, and TGD weekend has been a highlighted memory ever since.
In other news my electricity ports are fixed now, so I can work out of my room like I did earlier. If I figure out the laundry system on campus (for ironing), my life will be wholesome again.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home | Carol Rifka Brunt
Tell the Wolves I’m Home
by Carol Rifka Brunt,
Published by Random House (2012)
Rating: ****
This is a very touching tale. It was a good pick after Black Leopard, Red Wolf – especially because of the kind of emotions I was left it at the end of that book, the eerie, not so optimistic kind.
The book itself is very layered, but centers itself around a singular premise: grief. June is forced to cope with the death of her beloved uncle Finn, a gay man in the 80’s who passes away as a result of AIDS. She has grown up resenting her uncle’s boyfriend, Toby: a man blamed by her parents for her uncle’s death. June and Toby were also often competing for her uncle’s affection, attention, and time, leading to a complex relationship. His passing forges an unexpected friendship between these two individuals. June’s uncle was an artist, and through discovery of his art, we learn how grief impacts two people close to the departed and the way they share in their sorrows and their joyful memories.
There’s an emotional weight to the writing. Their friendship begins with a posthumous gift that Finn gifts to June through Toby. June slowly discovers Finn’s spirit living on in Toby – who replaces Finn as an uncle-figure in her life.
Rifka Brunt’s writing is enjoyable. The book itself, is wholesome. I’m not left with unanswered questions or unresolved emotions – but moral conflicts that are easily resolved, and a story that feels complete. I docked a star for its simplicity. Things seemed too convenient, for me – and I would have appreciated if June’s voice was a little more suited to her age throughout the book. Often it felt that Brunt purposefully chose a voice younger that June’s actual age, which takes away from the kind of relatability the book enjoys.
For the imagery and the symbolism, and the description of grief and friendship, this is worth reading.
2019: Two Hundred and Thirty Nine
Today was a good day, right up till the end. I floated around campus post lunch, moving around from the library to my room, and past the mess and the multipurpose store quite a few times – which made me feel like a first/second year again. I think it was in my third year that I started to plan my day based on the economics of how much I would have to walk that day. The lazies got to me. But I’ve changed now; time has come full circle, and I I’m not too bothered by having to walk around because my day takes me places. A large part of this is due to the fact that my laptop is the lightest its ever been, and I’m more okay lugging this around anywhere than I’ve been in past years.
It also reminded me of how lost I was on this campus in my first few days here. I was willing to go anywhere and see anything on campus (not like there’s a whole amount), but if you told me to do tasks at multiple locations – I’d be game for it. I wouldn’t feel the crushing weight of walking in the humidity. I’d just feel the joy of being here. I’m experiencing that these days more than ever, and I think my body is glad for it. Walking is good exercise.
I also debated after absolute ages on campus. By which I mean the first time in this semester. It was also the first time I interacted with a first year – and that’s something I’ve been trying to do since I got back. Debating was really, really fun – not just because we debated after a while, but also because all the 5th years came. At some point or the other, we were in and around each other and around debating again. It’s what this entire weekend is going to be and I’m so unbelievably excited for it.
So yes, all was well. Till I returned to my room and discovered the electricity ports had stopped working.
I will now try to fix it, and pray the electrician comes tomorrow, while conserving battery everywhere on campus barring the library.
Tejas Rao 