New Harry Potter Films!!

Okay, I'm trying not to completely lose it, but MORE HARRY POTTER FILMS ARE COMING OUT!!! This is some of the best news I've heard this year!

There will be a series of films based off of the required reading for first years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." The setting in the movie will take place 70 years before Harry's time and focusing on Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts.

Although we'd all love to see more Harry, Ron, and Hermione, it's exciting to know that we will be able to at least experience more of their whimsical world!

Breathless by S.D Grimm

A novella written by my friend and fellow writer has just recently been published and available for purchase on Amazon!

I, of course, immediately downloaded it and devoured it in about two hours. I could not put this story down! It hooks you from the very first page by thrusting you into a world where with the simple touch of one's hand, or even an object, Claire (the main character) can see into the memories of others. Claire is being pursued by those who wish to use her for her power and is forced to team up with an ex from her past. As you can imagine, things get VERY interesting!

By the end of the story, I was left wanting so much more and hoping for a continuation with these characters somewhere down the road. Maybe I can make this happen, I may have a little pull with the author :)

Click on the link below to purchase Breathless!

http://tinyurl.com/p4cgf2e

Getting By

 

            High pitched screaming fills my ears, letting me know it’s time to start another day.

            That’s my boy.

            Most teenagers wake up to the sound of an alarm clock. Jimmy is my alarm clock, more or less. And I have to say, I do prefer his screams to the shrill screeches that emit from those God-awful clocks.

            While all of my former friends are probably still asleep, not having to get up for another hour or so to get ready for school, I’m getting ready for my long and laborious day.

            I roll out of bed and groggily wander into the next room. I find the source of all the ruckus; an extremely ornery but beautiful 3 month old baby boy. My baby boy.

            I pull him up and out of his crib and note the wet bottom. I get him out of his pajamas and change his dirty diaper. Thankfully, it’s just pee this time.

            We eat breakfast (a bottle for him, toast for me) and I get cleaned up for the day. This includes me dragging Jimmy’s highchair into the tiny bathroom and taking a two minute shower with the curtain open, so I can keep an eye on him. It’s also so that he can keep an eye on me. If he can’t see me for more than ten seconds, he screams his head off.

            My little man.

            I exit the shower and yank on some random clothes. I let my hair dry naturally and leave my face free of makeup. The days of blow-drying and straightening my hair were long gone. Makeup was a luxury I just couldn’t afford to buy.

            I scoop Jimmy out of his high-chair, snatch up his diaper bag, which also serves as my purse, and head for the door. It’s time to go to work.

            My job is depressing and can sometimes be unbearable, but it works with my schedule and is a very short commute for me. It’s right across the hall.

 

Read the rest here below!

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz7XcriHz3kzdHVVd0dPZUhSdVk/edit?usp=sharing

New Releases!!!

Tomorrow is such a great day for two reasons. One--it's my two year wedding anniversary. Two--so many great new releases coming out!

Tomorrow's most important release is...

Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby is released on DVD and Blu-ray. This movie is a stunning rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel. I wasn't sure it would be able to capture all of the important symbolism and subtle themes from the book, but it does just that and more! My favorite movie of 2013 so far, hands down! This will be my anniversary present from my husband, undoubtedly.


Next up...

Avenged Sevenfold releases their sixth studio album. I am anxious to hear their new tracks, but also a little hesitant. This will be their first album without any recordings by their deceased drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. It seemed to me that he might have been the heart and soul of this band. Their music may not be the same without him...


And last but certainly not least...

 

 

Final Fantasy XIV is released in the USA. As much as I am a massive fan of the FF franchise, I will not be playing this one. It is an MMORPG (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) and as fun as that sounds, I try to stay away from those. I fear that it would take over my life. Scratch that--I know it would take over my life. Still exciting for FF fans everywhere! 

High's and Low's of the 2013 MTV VMA's

The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted in Brooklyn, started out very strong with Lady Gaga performing her latest single, Applause. She was theatrical, as always, with many costume changes inspired by her newest video. And again, as always, you have to give her props whether you love her or not, she has an immense amount of talent. Her singing and dancing chops are top notch. The song itself is incredibly catchy and the music video has her little monsters, I'm sure, already working hard to learn the dance moves. If you haven't checked it out yet, you can check it out below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pco91kroVgQ

After Gaga's performance, things sort of turned into a roller coaster ride from there on. Here are what I thought were the high's and low's of the evening:

High Point:

 

As I stated before, Lady Gaga gave a solid performance to kickoff the show. Also, as Kevin Hart pointed out, girl has got some ass! I need to find out her workout routine.

 

 

High Point:

 

Vanessa Bayer does a hilarious impression of Miley Cyrus on SNL so it was fabulous to see her come out as Miley on the stage to introduce Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus's performance.

 

 

Low Point:

 

Miley Cyrus completely ruined what could have been a great performance of what I believe should have been this year's summer song, Blurred Lines. It was clear to me that she made everyone, onstage and off, completely uncomfortable with her disgusting, gyrating moves. Even though Robin Thicke came onto the stage looking like Beetlejuice, I still would have liked to have seen him perform, sans Cyrus. 

 

 

Low Point:

 

Kanye West's performance was bizarre, and not in a good way. From complete effects overload on his voice to his strange and somewhat feminine shadow dancing during his Wizard of Oz pay-no-attention-to-the-man-behind-the-curtain routine, it left much to be desired.

 

 

Low Point: The horrible production quality of the show throughout!! Especially during Kanye's and JT's performances. The sound quality was so poor and so distracting that I found myself having to turn down the volume during one of the best performances of the night (JT). Thankfully it appeared to be fixed as the show went on.

 



 

High Point:





The Nsync reunion during Justin Timberlake's mini (and completely awesome) concert. Everyone in that audience turned into a 12 year old girl, circa 1999. Even though Lance, Joey, Chris, and JC were noticeably rusty, it was definitely an exciting and historic moment during an exquisite performance by JT.


High Point:

 

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert gave a moving performance of Same Love after accepting the award for Best Video with a Social Message. The surprise collaboration with Jennifer Hudson onstage left me with goose bumps as I listened to she and Mary Lambert harmonize together. Just beautiful all around. 

 

 

Low Point:

 

Ed Sheeran certainly had the best video in the category for Best Male Video. His ultra clever video for Lego House, featuring none other than Rupert Grint, surely had ginger lovers everywhere throwing their arms in the air in protest when Bruno Mars took home the Moonman for Locked out of Heaven. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Bruno Mars and I'm happy he got his first Moonman, but Lego House is a far superior video. If you haven't seen it, you need to see it. Click the link below!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=c4BLVznuWnU

 

 

High Point:

 

For me, Bruno Mars had the best performance of the night. His vocals were powerful, his band was spot on, as they always are, and the pyro and laser show was cool without being too much. His song, Gorilla, was super sexy and had me fanning myself by the end of the performance.

 

 

High Point:

 

I was so stoked to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt present the award for Video of the Year. He put on a comical voice throughout and called himself out on it too. Always great to see JGL!

 

 

Low Point:

 

I'm sorry, but Justin Timberlake's Mirrors was not the Video of the Year. I am a JT fan and I do think it's nice that the video was made for his grandparents, but if we are going strictly based off of videos with feeling, they might as well have given the award to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for Same Love. Blurred Lines was once again shafted even though it is a much more iconic video than Mirrors. I stand by what I say; the video for Blurred Lines will be talked about for years, Mirrors will not.

 

 

Low Point:

 

Katy Perry's performance of Roar was...how can I say this...BORING! It was lazily choreographed and rather anticlimactic for being the finale of the show. They called it "the moment we all were waiting for" yet it was underwhelming. Katy's vocals sounded good when you could hear them over the prerecorded track. Maybe if they allowed her to be more audible and had her throwing less punches in the air, the performance would have been more memorable.

 

Other notable moments for me: Drake's performance--his voice sounded clear and lovely in the beginning and then he rocked it going into Started from the Bottom. He was energetic and definitely got the crowd into the show he put on. Jimmy Fallon--loved his introduction for JT's performance, as well as his presentation of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award to JT. He was exciting and quirky and even JT made the comment that he wanted to take Jimmy along with him everywhere he goes. Group Love and Vampire Weekend--Two of my favorite newer bands at least got small parts during the show. Group Love's song Ways to Go was played during an outro to a commercial break and Vampire Weekend presented the award for Best Summer Song to One Direction for Best Song Ever (Blurred Lines first snub). Kendrick Lamar--Kendrick had the best performance during the mashup of Blurred Lines and We Can't Stop. Jared Leto--Besides looking devilishly handsome with his stylish Ombre hair, he gave a funny intro for Kanye, remarking on all the critical acclaim that Kanye gives himself. Even though he wore something that looked like it came out of a WWE wrestler's closet, he was still looking good! The commercials--Andy Samberg's new show looks hilarious, Insidious 2 looks terrifying, Johnny Knoxville's Bad Grandpa had me rolling, and Paul Rodriguez's Mountain Dew commercial was epic.

 

Overall, the show was a little lackluster for me. The biggest problems were production quality and appearance of disorganization. I'm not sure if any of it was meant to be done on purpose, but it certainly didn't seem that way and it certainly didn't do the show any favors. There was a handful of great performances, but it was really too bad that some of them were a little spoiled by poor sound quality. Hopefully next year's show goes a little more smoothly.







The Ocean at the End of the Lane

I recently finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane. This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and I have to say, I loved it! I don't know why but I went into it thinking that his writing would be pretentious for some reason, but it was nothing like that. His writing is everything I hope that my writing can be someday--simple yet elegant.

But enough about Mr. Gaiman. The story itself is unique and intriguing. It opens up with a man who goes back to his hometown to attend a funeral, but something draws him back to the home of a childhood friend. He leaves the funeral without telling anyone and heads back the lane that he used to live on.

He remembers the home being occupied by three very interesting women. They are the Hempstocks. First, there is Lettie Hempstock, who the man remembers as a young girl of twelve that befriended him as a child. He remembers that Lettie always called the pond in her backyard an ocean. The other women, Mrs. Hempstock and Old Mrs. Hempstock (Lettie's mother and grandmother) he only vaguely remembers. He can recall nothing else about the three women.

Once he arrives at the Hempstock Farm, he finds that the older women are still there, and they look exactly the same as the last time he was there as a young boy of seven. But how can that be? He tries to remember more about his friendship with Lettie but he has trouble with his memories. He asks old Mrs. Hempstock if he may go by their duck pond--what Lettie called the ocean. She allows him to go and that's when he remembers everything.

The story takes you on a childhood adventure where everything seems possible. You fall in love with the Hempstock women and by the end of the story, you find yourself craving to know more about them. This book is almost like a dark fairy tale. Mysterious and sometimes disturbing, yet beautiful and fantastic.

READ THIS BOOK!

Carnival

When I was a kid, going to the carnival was like an otherworldly experience for me. I had the pleasure of going tonight, as a twenty-five year old adult, and I have to say that I felt almost the same way.

After my husband and I paid our entry fees, we made our way over to the track to watch the demolition derby. Being in the stands with what looked like half of the town was an experience in itself. The derby is not something I would normally be into, but there was something about the smell of elephant ears and hotdogs, the sound of the engines revving up, and the sight of all the smiling faces around me that made me feel like there wasn't anywhere else I'd rather be on a Thursday night.

Once the derby reached its frenzied finale, my husband and I decided to take a stroll around the midway. We stood by and watched while little children attempted to dunk their teachers and coaches with the throw of a softball. We watched as teenage boys shot basketball hoops to win their teenage girlfriends an oversized stuffed animal. We saw people of all ages riding the rides and screaming, as if they were six years old again.

The carnival truly is an experience for the senses, but not just because of the flashing lights or loud music. It is because of the unanimous feeling of bliss that is shared by the young and the old.

The Real World is Boring

The real world is boring to me, but this can be a good thing. For some people, their lives are exciting and fun. Like how I picture the lives of rock stars or actors and actresses. Some people's lives are dangerous and there is a never a dull moment, but that's not such a good thing, e.g people living in Egypt right now.

So for most of us in our predominately cushy lives, we are lucky to find the real world boring and discover a simple escape in the form of a book for a few weeks, a movie for a couple of hours, or even a song for a few minutes. These are things that I think we often take for granted and don't appreciate them for what they are--a glimpse into another world.

Let's face it, none of us are ever going to be able to say that we got into the drug business during the 1920's and made a fortune to chase that unattainable dream. We didn't fall in love on the Titanic with an indigent artist, only to have him die so that we could be saved. And who can really say that they've bought a stairway to heaven?

None of us can say any of those things. But we can say that we experienced them thanks to authors like Fitzgerald, directors like James Cameron, and artists like Led Zeppelin.

Imagine a world where there were no books, movies, or music? Think Orwellian. To most of us, this is a world we wouldn't want to live in. For me, the thought is unbearable.

Now imagine that these beautiful things existed but weren't something you could grasp. Consider yourself lucky to be educated enough to read. Consider yourself lucky to have these things available to you. Consider yourself lucky to be alive in your world that is boring, but that you can escape from--safely and imaginatively.

Go home and hug your books, kiss your dvds or blu-rays, and blast your music as loud as it will go.

Happy Birthday, Andy Samberg!!

Today is my birthday, but more importantly, today is Andy Samberg's birthday!!!

Enjoy these great Andy gifs to celebrate his greatness :)

 

 

The Maiden's Tower

This is a short story I wrote that is based off of two legends associated with The Maiden's Tower in Istanbul. One of the legends is called The Princess Story and the other is called Hero and Leander. I decided to mesh the two together and have it involve children as the main characters. Enjoy!

The Maiden’s Tower

by Charlane Jackson

 

            I knew I needed to rescue Hero the moment I heard her voice calling over the waves.

            “Take me away!” she would cry every night, the sound of water lapping all around her words.

            Rescuing Hero will not be an easy task. For one thing, she is stranded atop an ivory tower in the middle of the Bosphorus Straight. Also, her father is the sultan and is the one who imprisoned her there. I knew the consequence would be death if I was ever found out.

            Nonetheless, I was prepared to take on this feat.

            “Leander?” my mother asked, interrupting me from my thoughts. “You’ve hardly touched your breakfast! Where is your mind today?”

            If only she knew. I looked down at the menemen that my mother has prepared for me today. Any other day I would have scarfed it down, as it is my favorite meal. “I’m sorry mama, I guess I’m just not that hungry this morning.”

            My mother scrutinized me a moment longer and then began to busy herself by putting on her yashmak. This meant she was heading out to the bazaar soon. A good thing for me--I highly doubted that she would approve of what I had planned for today.

            As soon as she stepped out, I leapt up from the table and discarded my uneaten menemen. I hastily snatched up my satchel and headed out the door.

 

Read the rest! Do it, do it now.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz7XcriHz3kzVXhQTkdQSE1UZ2c/edit?usp=sharing

 

Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2 hits theaters tomorrow!!! Looking forward to staring at Aaron Taylor Johnson for a run time of 1 hour 43 minutes. But until then, enjoy the short gallery I made for ATJ!!

http://jalbum.net/en/browse/user/album/1396209

I realize that I snuck in a picture of him from when he was  like 16 years old but don't judge me, judge his cradle snatching wife lol

Another Aspiring Writer

Welcome to the Spirited Siren!

If you're into basketball, weight lifting, and guns, than this blog isn't for you!! Go talk to my husband.

If you're all about Facebook, shopping, and Channing Tatum movies, than this blog isn't for you!!

If you're all about reading, writing, music, movies without Channing Tatum, and Final Fantasy, than this blog is definitely for you :)

Don't get me wrong, 21 Jump Street was a great movie. I'm just not planning on watching Magic Mike, G.I Joe, or Dear John anytime soon.

So if you aren't terribly offended yet by the fact that I'm not a huge Channing Tatum fan, follow my blog!