Betsy Snow White Bibliophile

Category: Nerd Life

  • WWW -Week 3 of NaNoWriMo, Writing for School and Blind Date with a Book Brunch

    This was another work heavy week for school, and I had to write quite a bit for various prompts, which means I wrote almost not at all for NaNoWriMo. This weekend is the Evening of Writing Uncontrollably at the Wagnalls Memorial Library in Lithopolis, Ohio. I am super excited about it and hope I can make up some loss of words that night writing with friends. I did write a story I am really proud of for school this week, so that feels good.

    This past Saturday the Columbus Ohio branch of Geek Girl Brunch had our Blind Date with a Book event. We wrap the book and describe it in three statements. Then we trade books. My description was: Female Protagonist, Practical Magic and Snacking in Closets. Any guesses on what the book is? I will reveal later this week. The book I chose was labeled: True Crime, Historical, Non-Fiction. It was The Devil in the White City, a book about the Chicago World’s Faire and H.H. Holmes. I am very excited to get into it soon.

  • End of 2019 Bucket List – More Items Checked

    End of 2019 Bucket List – More Items Checked

    • Wench photo with the Queen!
    • Get my major changed to creative Writing.
    • Attend both days the last weekend of Ohio Renaissance Festival

    Saturday of this weekend was rainy,  but we still went out for several hours. Sunday was absolutely amazing. I got photos with many of the Wenches in our local and we got this amazing photo with the queen. I love my wenches so much, and I am so proud of what we have built.

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    • Get autographs from Rasputina (Melora Creager)

    I was not able to get Rasputina’s autographs because we needed to get home so Seth could go to work today. However, I did get the autographs of the amazing opening act Charming Disaster as well as their new LP. If you have never heard them you should absolutely check them out. They are a new favorite.

     

    • Finish Blogtober strong (I get a book if I do)
    • Rennie outing to Book Loft?
    • Get Wench tattoo
    • Participate and succeed in NaNoWriMo (Are you participating? Link me BetsySnowWhite)
    • Do a writers night.
    • Photo with Krampus!
    • Wench invasion of the Krampus Walk
    • Photo with Santa and the Wenches
    • Wench invasion of Columbus and Cincinnati Zoo.
    • Wench invasion of Kentucky Dickens Festival
    • Set up Christmas trees
    • Christmas Party
    • Attend Roaring 20s New Year Party

  • Vampire Obsessed Girl Redux…Vamps on Film

    In my previous post I shared my favorite vampire fiction in books, so today I thought I would share my favorite vampire films. I love many different types of vampire movies; some that are serious and some that are campy fun. Vampires are some of my favorite folklore and I love even the most ridiculous forms they take. Here are some of my absolute favorites.

    Do you have a favorite vampire movie?

  • Rasputina…Powerful, Unusual Cello Rock

    I can remember the first time I heard the band Rasputina. I had read about the band in Entertainment Weekly, and then their album Thanks for the Ether arrived via Columbia House (This is also how I found and fell in love with Tori Amos). I asked to be allowed to keep it and thus began a love affair that has spanned two decades. I fell in love with the heavy cello, beautiful melodies and unusual lyrics. The first song to stand out to me was “Transylvanian Concubine” a lovely song about Vampires; Lyrical standout “Transylvanian Concubine, You know what flows here like wine.” I also loved the song “Stumpside” and “My little Shirtwaist Fire.” The band, well Melora Creager the lead singer/cellist, wrote a song about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire! A tragedy that had long fascinated me.

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    I eagerly awaited their next album How We Quit the Forest and snatched up the interim release Transylvania Regurgitations which featured songs from Thanks for the Ether remixed and remastered by Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez. How We Quit The Forest brought more unusual and wonderful music. Songs like “Leechwife” and “The New Zero” caught me and had me singing along. “Rose K” had me looking into the story of Rose Kennedy, the matriarch of the Kennedy’s as well as her lobotomized daughter Rose Marie.

    I am ridiculously excited that I get to see them in concert again tomorrow night. I saw them once in 2004 or so when they played at Little Brothers (now closed) in Columbus. Tomorrow they are playing Rumba Cafe which is a lovely and intimate space for a show. I am trying to decide what I want to wear to the show. Rasputina is famous for their Victorian style so it is tempting to break out a corset for the event. I have a gorgeous brown corset from Damsel in This Dress with a layered cream colored cropped bodice that would look good with a skirt or jeans, so I may go with that look. We shall see.

     

     

  • Celebrating the Last Day of Festival

    Today was the last day of the Ohio Renaissance Festival for 2019. This was an amazing year for me. The wenches guild is growing and developing into something wonderful and the fact that I am a part of that is a massive source of pride for me. The wenches of Local 73 are some of the loveliest and kindest women and I am proud to be among them.

    I tried to get photos with as many wenches as possible today, and I have a collection of photos to share. I am sharing here first. 🙂

  • Things that I want to do someday

    Do you have a list of things that you would love to do when you have the money, bravery or opportunity? I certainly do. So here are some of the things I have always wanted to do/try:

    1. Burlesque – I love to watch burlesque and have always wanted to perform. Maybe one day. I did just get VIP seats to an amazing burlesque show in January!!
    2. Fire Eating/Breathing – The two kinda go hand in hand and I would love to take a class to learn it.
    3. Skydiving – Strictly tandem, but I have always wanted to try.
    4. Roller Derby – I am a Ohio Roller Derby super fan, and would love to be able to play. I roller skate well, but I am not sure if I am fit enough for that.
    5. Play the Ukelele – I have the ukelele, but I am not great at it. I need to learn to play it. This is probably the most doable.

    Do you have any dreams like this? What would you love to do?

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  • Looking into The Future

    I was gifted with my first tarot deck when I was 16. It was the Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews and it was a gift from my older sister Krystie. I fell in love immediately and I have been doing readings since. For the first year or so I carried the deck with me everywhere I went and slept with it beneath my pillow. I had a notebook where I would write down the meanings of the cards, and any insights I might have about the cards as I was reading. After a couple of years I no longer needed the book or my notes to read.

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    Currently I am waiting for a new tarot deck and an oracle deck that my husband backed for me on Kickstarter. One is The Oriens Tarot Deck by AmbiSun which is a Rider-Waite-Smith based deck that features animals on the cards. The art work is gorgeous and it will be coming to me from Australia. The oracle is the Witches of Legend oracle deck by Annabelle Lewis. It is still open for three more days, and the artwork on it is gorgeous.

    The tarot I use the most currently is the Deviant Moon tarot by Patrick Valenza. I was gifted the Crow Tarot by MJ Cullinane by my younger sister Traci for my birthday this year and the deck and I are still getting to know each other.

    Have you ever had your cards read? Do you read as well? Do you practice another form of divination?

     

  • Ready to Write

    Ready to Write

    I am working on getting myself geared up for NaNoWriMo and starting classes in my new major next week, so I have been looking on Pinterest for inspiration from other writers to get me geared up and ready to go. I have already read through the syllabi for my classes and feel like I picked up some really interesting advice from that.

    I am the kind of reader who once I have fallen in love with a book I will read that book again and again. In an announcement for my class English 510: Studying the Craft my instructor Amy Myer advised us:

    “Chances are, you’ve all heard that adage that a good writer is a good reader. True. But does that mean to be a good reader means to read all the classics? To read all the yearly award winners? To read book after book after book after book? 

    No. 

    To be a good reader is to read widely …within reason. But more importantly than that, it’s reading repeatedly those books that call to you. The ones that told you you want to be a writer. The ones that you read and sigh and say, “I hope I can write like this someday” or “I hope I can craft a story this thrilling someday.”

    She would go on to explain that the first time we read a book or story all we read is plot. On second and third readings we can find more and really examine the craft in the piece. For the class we need to choose two books one classic (30 years old or more) and one contemporary and she recommends choosing a book you have read before, as both books have to be read during the course. I have a couple of ideas on which books I may want to use; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for my contemporary and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath as my classic. These are subject to change, but were my initial thoughts.

    Are there books that you have read again and again? What are they and why do you love them? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

  • Rest of 2019 Bucket List – Updated With Pictures!!

    Rest of 2019 Bucket List – Updated With Pictures!!

    • Wench photo with the Queen!

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    • Get my major changed to creative Writing.

    Done!! I am beginning my classes on Monday!! I am so excited and feel so positive about this. I also designed and ordered myself some business cards with my website and social media info on them.

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    • Attend both days the last weekend of Ohio Renaissance Festival
    • Get autographs from Rasputina (Melora Creager)
    • Finish Blogtober strong (I get a book if I do)
    • Rennie outing to Book Loft?
    • Participate and succeed in NaNoWriMo (Are you participating? Link me BetsySnowWhite)
    • Photo with Krampus!
    • Photo with Santa and the Wenches
    • Wench invasion of Columbus and Cincinnati Zoo.
    • Wench invasion of Kentucky Dickens Festival
    • Set up Christmas trees
    • Christmas Party
    • Attend Roaring 20s New Year Party
  • David Sedaris and Accidental Synchronicity

    David Sedaris and Accidental Synchronicity

    This afternoon Seth and I headed downtown to the Palace Theatre for An Evening with David Sedaris.

    Last year around October we saw him for the first time, and got to meet him and have him autograph books for us. My friend from high school, Julie, works for the bookstore that always sponsors his appearances (The Book Loft. I am planning a whole post⁸ dedicated to that later.) She walked us up and introduced us a s friends of hers, and we chatted with David and he signed our two books as follows.

    This year we also saw Julie, and walked to say hello to David. We introduced ourselves and David said something to the extent of “Betsy , I remember Betsy. She was a nice girl but smelled a bit like a public toilet. You know bath and body works. And Seth.” And then he drew…a hand flipping the opener of the book off. I laughed and told him we had another book signed by him with a similar drawing and he said “oh, no!” I told him it was perfect and a bizarre coincidence.

    Walking away Seth and I mused that we must just look like we need to be flipped off. Lol.

    He was funny, poignant and generally wonderful to see a second time. I will certainly go again if I have the chance. If you have never read his work I reccomend starting with Holidays on Ice which combines his essays with fiction to make one quirky and wonderful holiday experience. It includes the famous, Santaland Diaries, which has been mafe into a play as well. If you can get his books on audio I also recommend it because he usually reads them and it is a joy to hear.

    Are you a David Sedaris fan?