Poll #4 Results: Why do you blog?

Ah! How I love a good poll result in the morning! Let’s get right to it because there is a lot to cover this time around.

At the top! With 31%, “I’m having fun!” I am so happy that most of you are having fun with blogging. In truth, for me at least, it is not something I would want to do if it weren’t fun.

In second place, with 25%, “I’m a writer.” Yes, you all are. In a recent questionnaire for bloggers there are questions such as “As a writer, what are you trying to say to people? Or why did you start writing? Or when did you realize you were a writer?” and so many people were like “I don’t want to be a writer” and “I’m not a writer.” YES, YOU ARE! Blogging IS writing! Just like poem writing, article writing, novel writing, essay writing, it’s ALL writing and MAKES YOU A WRITER! I’m glad some of you realize that. (This option received my first vote.)

In third place, with 11%, “I could be cleaning my house or working out, but I prefer to do this.” Wouldn’t we all! I know there are some people out there who claim to enjoy cleaning and/or working out, but I am sooooo not one of those people. Lol. I will prefer blogging, or reading, or shopping, or HOMEWORK every time over cleaning or working out.

In fourth place, with 8%, we have two different options: “I want to make people aware of something important to me” and “Other, because the answers provided weren’t even close.” First off, I chose to add the “I want to make people aware of something important to me” option because there are many personal reasons why people start blogging. I have seen blogs about homeschooling, handicapped children, mental illness, abuse, literacy, cooking, dieting, et cetera. These are all great things to inform people about. (This option received my second and final vote. As some of you may know, I am a advocated of reading, especially teen reading (currently the age group that is least likely to read), and families reading together.) Finally, I’m curious as to what other reasons you have for blogging. After I put up the poll, I thought of a few things, such as updating people about your family or just a good old rant session here and there. I know there are so many more though so PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS!

In fifth place, with 7%, we have, “I’m trapped with only a computer to save me.” I know how this feels sometimes, when I am so busy and the computer becomes one of my only social interactions. :(.

 In sixth place, with 6%, we have, “I want to start up my business.” I think those of you starting up a business are very brave. It’s difficult starting your own business, especially with the economy the way it is and money being hard to come by. Plus, a blog is free, so why not!

In, seventh place, with 2%, we have two different options: “I’m bored” and “I’m a 65 year-old man who likes to pose as a 25 year-old woman.” Firstly, if you’re bored, I think blogging is a great thing to turn to. Not only are you writing and reading, but you’re sharing ideas and starting conversations. Lastly…I’m concerned. I was only a psychology major for a month, but I know a 65 year-old man posing as a 35 year-old woman is abnormal. Please seek help.

Well, that’s it for this poll. On to another one, equally as fabulous.

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS!

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WELCOME BACK!

Well, it’s over with. Who’s Your Editor? has had a pretty significant facelift and I am proud to say that I have done it all on my own. (Take that graphic design major!) :). The best part, though, is that I can get back to blogging! I have a lot planned and I hope my busy schedule will allow me to keep up.

With that being said, I do want to let you guys know that I may not be blogging every day like I have been. As much as I want to, I already have a pretty hefty homework schedule with school. (This weekend alone, I have to write a 1 page essay (FINISHED), a 2 page essay, I have to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream (FINISHED), half of Frankenstein, 3 chapters  in creative writing, and 37 pages in world literature.) Not completely fun. Anyway, I will aim to blog in my free time.

In the mean time, come check out the new features!

New Features:

Different Color Scheme- Red/Gray/Black

Lighter background- Found on blogger
New Header- Made it myself!

Pages!- To help relieve the clutter

Home- This will bring you back to the main screen and the almost daily blog posts.     

Get to Know Me- This is where you can learn a bit more about me. It has my profile, interesting facts, and contact information (email included in case you ever need it).

Follow Me if You Dare- The new home for our revolution. It includes my take on being better followers, a button for you to grab, and my list of my favorite followers!

Bookmark Break Challenge 2011- The new home for my reading challenge. It includes what I will be doing for the challenge, the rules for all competitors (You could be next!), a list of the current competitors, and my list of books that I have completed this year.

Buttons- This is the place where I will post any of my buttons, the buttons of friends, blog hops I have entered, directories where you can post your blog, and other websites that are worth a look. Also, if you are a follower and I haven’t grabbed your button yet, shoot me a message and I will come get it.

Blog Topics- This is a lot like the blog topics that I had before at the bottom of my page, but this one is clearer and will allow you to go through old posts easily and find the ones that have topics you are most interested in. (Located on the bottom of the left sidebar.)

Buttons with Code Dialogue Box- Now my buttons are easier to get than ever! Just scroll all the way to the bottom of this page and see for yourself!

Old Features You Love!:

Daily Updates- This lets you know the little stuff that is going on, kind of like a status update. Make sure to read it every time you stop by because most likely it has changed. (Located at the top of the blog.)

Subscribe- I know that some of you find Blogger’s Dashboard annoying. It’s hard to keep track of some of your favorite blogs that way. What my subscribe gadget does (located at the top of the left sidebar) is it allows you to get updates about my blog through your email or other social websites! Cool stuff.

Followers- Following or checking out other followers is just as easy as it was before. (located to the left.)

Live Counter- Keep track of how many times my blog has been viewed! (Located on the left sidebar.)

Popular Posts- So, you found today’s post to be awesome? Come and check out the top 10 past posts that everyone enjoyed the most. (Located on the left sidebar.)

Blog Archive- Find past posts easily. (Located on the left sidebar.)

Poll- It’s not going anywhere! I will still have a poll (located at the very bottom of this page) for you to vote on on a pretty regular basis. (PS. Results for the 4^th poll “Why do you blog?” go up TOMORROW! THAT MEANS YOU ONLY HAVE ONE MORE DAY LEFT TO VOTE! SO, GO DO THAT NOW!)

It's good to be back!

Shutting Down for a Makeover!

For those of you who may have missed the news, I'm giving my blog a makeover! So, if you are stopping in during the chaos, DON'T PANIC! Everything should be in order by the end of the week!

Isn't it just crazy what you can do with a computer?

I'm shutting down from Monday (today) until Friday (January 21). I'll see you all on Saturday!

How do I Identify an English Major?

Well, I am heading back to that place of higher learning tomorrow. It is my last semester before I can graduate with a bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in creative writing and two minors in both art and history. It all sounds so fun and grand. I'm so very close! However, I feel that this is going to be hardest semester EVER! because I have 3 literature classes (Shakespeare, World Literature, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature) and then I have and Advanced Creative Writing class. Basically, that boils down to hours upon hours of reading and writing (almost more than humanly possible)! I'm willing to accept all the luck I can get!

And, just in case you were wondering how to identify a poor soul such as myself, here are 20 ways to identify an English major...

1.  They usually have at least one book on their person at all times.

2.  They always have to buy the most books for their classes at the beginning of each semester.

3.  Everyone assumes they want to teach for a living.

4.  They get annoyed when everyone assumes they want to teach for a living.

5.  They look up on the Internet “What can you do with an English major?” just so they can answer that question to the best of their ability every time it is asked!

6.  They read and write more than they eat.

7.  Their idea of homework is a 3-10 page essay, not short answer questions.

8.  Their idea of an exam is a timed essay, not multiple choice questions.

9.  Their textbooks are written by Poe, Chaucer, Dickens, Melville, Shakespeare, Irving, Coleridge, etc. and not Pearson Education or Prentice Hall.

10.  They consider using TextSpeech outside of texting a sin.

11.  The words "interpret" and "analyze" are very familiar to them.

12.  They laugh inside when people have trouble interpreting modern day English let alone a 600 year old translation.

13.  They find subjects like grammar and syntax to be fun.

14.  They find APA to be uselessly redundant and superfluous.

15.  They like to use several synonyms in the same sentence and insist that each one means something different!

16. They can interpret what someone is trying to say and then explain it to others better.

17. They write the best BS on the planet.

18. They write the best BS on the planet.

19. They write the best BS on the planet.

20. They enjoy making lists.

******
Now, are you in school?
If so, what is your intended major or (if in high school) what do you like to study?
If not, what did you major in in college or what did you enjoy studying?

Must-Reads #3: “The Gemma Doyle Trilogy” by Libba Bray

Title: The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing)

Author: Libba Bray

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Edition: Paperback: 2003

Back Cover Summary: Gemma Doyle isn’t like other girls. Girls with impeccable manners, who speak when spoken to, who remember their station, and who will lie back and think of England when it’s required of them.

No, sixteen-year-old Gemma is an island unto herself, sent to Spence Academy in London after tragedy strikes her family in India. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds a chilly reception. But she’s not completely alone…she’d been followed by a mysterious young man, who warns her to close her mind against the visions.

For it’s at Spence that Gemma’s power to attract the supernatural unfolds; there she becomes entangled with the school’s most powerful girls and discovers her mother’s connection to a shadowy group called the Order. It’s there that her destiny waits…if only she can believe in it.

*******

The first thing that stood out to me about this book was the cover. It instantly hit me as a book I would enjoy reading. It looked to be in a time period I love and the girl on the cover had red hair just like me. :) (Ohhh! When things are simple.)

High Notes: It definitely turned out to be in a time period I love! (Victorian England) so that was a giant plus for me. But would it follow up with equally interesting characters? Yes, it did. Gemma is a very interesting character. She goes from a rather carefree adventurer, loved by her family, to a motherless young woman who has been dumped off at a boarding school for girls, inhabited by stuck up prisses (some of which you grow to love or hate), surrounded by woods full of gypsies, and smothered in dark secrets. Oh! And there is a secret portal to another world that only Gemma can open! From the very start I was intrigued and continued to be all the way until the third book (which slowed down quite a bit, but picked up in the end, thankfully.)

There is also a pretty good love story between  Gemma and one of the gypsy boys.

Low Notes: As intriguing as the “other” world may sound, the real world was actually more interesting. In the other world, Gemma and her friends have powers, which they spend conjuring butterflies and flowers. (This is not a joke. Butterflies and flowers. Wouldn’t you do something else if you had powers?) Every now and then, they venture from a relatively safe meadow to other parts of the world and encounter interesting creatures, but other than that, it’s rather boring. I very much preferred when the girls were in the real world, running from a secret order, uncovering the past of the boarding school, avoiding embarrassing marriage proposals, and getting out of all the trouble they found themselves in.

Ratings:

Character Development: 4.5/5

Dialogue: 5/5

Prose: 4/5

Believability: 3/5 (I would give it a five if the whole book was based solely in the “real” world, but the “other” worldly stuff was ridiculous for the most part. Butterflies and flowers!)

Style and Grammar: 5/5

Overall Rating: 86% Fascinating!

Alas, I Did Not Win :(

So, the giveaway for the blog makeover has ended and some other lucky girl has won. I honestly can't wait to see what it ends up looking like, but this also means that I have to do my own blog design. So, I say again, I will be shutting down the blog, from MONDAY until FRIDAY this coming week!

During that time, I will be changing the background, font, all the colors, adding pages, making everything pretty and legible! YEAH! LET'S HAVE A PARTY!

For you today, I also have a list of things I came up with to consider when redesigning your blog (if perchance you ever find yourself in the same situation)...

1) Relevance...Over the last few days, I have been scanning the templates and trying to find images I could use. I found many pretty pictures and designs that I loved, but were they relevant to the theme of my blog? NO! Does that mean that the only kinds of images I can use are books and pens? NO. It just means that my template should not distract or mislead followers about the content of my blog. It should work with the content.

2) Clutter...I find this to be an epidemic in the blogging world. So many blogs suffer from clutter, bordering on HOARDING! I do not feel like we should be afraid to clean house every now and then or design our blog in a way (either by adding pages or just by removing some gadgets or buttons) that our home page can be clear of gobblygook that new followers will not understand. Also, the less clutter, the faster your blog will load.

3) Text Font...Text Font is vitally important because that's what your followers have to stare at all the time! I find that San Serif is better than Serif (For those of you who think I just started speaking a different language, that means that type that has straight, clean lines with no small features or end strokes (such as Arial), are better than fancy fonts or fonts that have end strokes (such as Times New Roman). Also, as the number one rule of graphic design states "Only use headline fonts for headlines and text font for text!"

4) Personalize Your Design...A great way to have a successful blog it to have one that looks unique and unlike any of your friends'. This doesn't mean you can't use the templates that Blogger.com or whatever other host website you are in provides. It just means that you should be tweaking it, change the color, the text, the background image, etc.

That's about it. If I think of anything else in my process, I will let you guys know! :)

PS. Don't forget to vote on the most recent poll at the bottom of the page. This poll will end while I am shut down, but when I return, I will be revealing the results, and if I have all your votes, the results will be all the better.

PPS. REMEMBER: I will be shut down MONDAY through FRIDAY! There will be NO POSTS during that time, just a whole lot of CHAOS! I will be changing the blog around all the time, so you can come and check things out, but it will be crazy, crazy, CRAZY!

PPPS. PLEASE return on SATURDAY! (not tomorrow's Saturday, but the Saturday after that) when I start posting again and you can see the complete blog design! (You can come by on tomorrow's Saturday though because I will be posting as usual.)

PPPPS. See you guys tomorrow and Sunday and then it is Adios! for 5 days.

PPPPPS. Is that clear? Are you tired of the post scripts yet?

7 More of the Best Worst Movies (Part 2)

Now for the continuation of the best-worst movies EVER…

11) Final Destination (2000) Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter and Kerr Smith. As though life wasn’t hard enough without Death trying to kill you in the simplest but cleverest ways possible. He has made every part of your life a trap, the plane you fly on, the bathroom you use, the house you live in, the car you drive, the bus that passes by, and more. Every choice you make could set the design in motion, and if you change that design, Death isn’t going to like it. This is the movie that started it all, the long string of four movies that never quite lived up to the first, but shared unique death defying acts.

12) Overboard (1987) Starring: Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. So, you had it all! You were rich, lived on a luxury boat, and could treat people any way you wanted. Then, you went ahead and fell of that boat, got yourself some amnesia, only to be left in the hands of that handsome carpenter that you treated like dirt the previous day. Now you’re supposedly the mother of his children and falling in love with the simple, but loving life you never had. Sound ridiculous? Well, it is, but it works and it is one of the most adorable and funny romantic comedies I have ever seen.

13) Cruel Intentions (1999) Starring: Sarah Michelle Geller, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon. Let’s make a bet! Those words seemed so innocent until seeing this royally messed up film about a step brother and sister who make a bet that if the brother can bed the self proclaimed virgin-til-marriage, he can have the one woman that would never give it up to him, his stepsister. And, if he can’t, the stepsister gets his sexy car. Of course, nothing turns out as well planned. The stepbrother falls in love for the first time in his entire lengthy romantic career and the stepsister just grows more and more sadistic and jealous. Please note, that although this film spawn two sequels, they do not even come close to being half as interesting as the original and do not qualify for this list by any means.

14) 3 Ninjas (1992) Starring: Victor Wong, Michael Treanor, and Max Elliot Slade. For every one of my lists, there seems to be a movie about ninjas because they are so cool! Or so I thought of this move when it first came out. (I was 6 years old.) Now, I don’t find it as cool, but it is still very much a part of my childhood. My cousins and I actually watched this together on Christmas Eve! It’s like Home Alone, if only Macaulay Culkin were three ninja brothers in training and there were surfer dudes and other ninjas trying to get into his house and kidnap him instead of burglars. Oh, and if there were an annoying, little, buck-toothed, next-door-neighbor girl that had a crush on him. Just a good family movie.

BONUS!

15) Disturbing Behavior (1998) Starring: James Marsden, Katie Holmes, and Nick Stahl. I thought of this film at the last minute. I saw it when I was in high school and only rediscovered it recently when I found it for $5.99 at FYE. So, you remember high school, right? And do you remember those goody-brown-nosing-annoying-overachieving-zombies that couldn’t do an off thing to save their life? Well, what if they were really brainwashed by the system, altered to be perfect, rewired to conform, and designed to remove any “bad” elements from the community? That’s exactly what happens in this movie, and it is up to the students from the outcast clique to figure out what the he** is going on.

THE END!

Let me know your thoughts and to see my other choices for the best-worst movies, please follow these helpful links…

The 7 Best-Worst Movies

and

7 More of the Best-Worst Movies (Part 1)

7 More of the Best-Worst Movies (Part 1)

Well, I'm back with more of those terrible movies that you can't help but love and force all your friends to love, if only you could convince them to watch the movies in the first place. They are the kinds of movies that look like they could be awesome, and even though the critics discarded them as nothing more than Hollywood's step child of a distant niece of your late uncle who nobody ever really talked to or even considered a part of the family in the first place, they are still AWESOME in their own little way!

To see the original 7 best-worst moves ever, please visit this link... The 7 Best-Worst Movies! Otherwise, read on for the continuation!

8) Into the Blue (2005) Starring: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, and Scott Caan. Not only is this a great movie for oogling gorgeous people, with perfect abs in bathing suits, but it also has a half way decent plot line. You have a plane crash, some treasure hunting, skee-doo shenanigans, cocaine dealing, shark attacks, bad cops, high speed boat chases, car chases, gun shots, axe fighting, and underwater getaways where people can hold their breath for over four minutes. Seem like a lot? Well, it works somehow!

9) Stay Alive (2006) Starring: Jon Foster, Samaire Armstrong, Frankie Muniz, and Sophia Bush. Like I mentioned before, I’m not one for horror flicks, especially the ones that depend merely on gallons of fake blood, slamming doors, high pitched noises, things that pop out at convenient moments of tension, and a guy who knows how to slam on a keyboard and call it a soundtrack! Of course, you can’t get rid of all of that stuff or else you wouldn’t really have a horror movie. I guess what I am saying is that Stay Alive uses some of this stuff, but sparingly. Also, what a concept! We play games where we kill zombies, fight in wars, and jump off ledges; anything and everything we would never do in life, but we do it in the game because we know we are safe. But what if we weren’t? What if playing the game and staying alive meant your very own life? If you die in the game, you die in real life. Would you still play?

10) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) Starring: Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson. DO NOT LAUGH AT ME! I am sharing with you my deepest, darkest secrets and that is no laughing matter. I LOVE this movie. I have ever since I was a very young girl, playing power rangers with my very best friend from childhood! I was the pink ranger, my friend was the purple ranger (a ranger we had to make up because no one wanted to be the yellow ranger), and then if her little sister was playing with us, we made her be the yellow ranger (she minded, but she wanted to play with us so much that she went with it. What a TROOPER!) Anyway, this movie is based off the first American season on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (the best season) and I used to rent it every time my parents and I went to the video store. Later (probably about 10 years later) I found the movie on DVD and I HAD to HAVE it! So, I bought it and I still really enjoy turning it on from time to time. It also came along with the second movie about the Power Rangers Turbo which is a fun movie too. I also never realized how hot the original red ranger (Jason) was. Lol.

Ok, now I am going to cut this short and share something sooooo embarrassing with you guys! Again, NO LAUGHING! Okay, you can laugh, but I don’t care because my friends and I had a blast doing this, but I’ll totally smack you if you diss this!

It is a Power Rangers Spoof that my best friends and I filmed about 3 summers ago. We were really into doing stuff like this at the time and had a free afternoon :) Perhaps, if you all behave very nicely and tell me how much you enjoyed this little video, I will be kind enough to share the others with you one day. WE WILL SEE!

PS. I'm the one in the green.

POWER RANGERS: AN EMPIRE GANG PRODUCTION

 

Okay, I assume you guys have been good and did not make fun of me too much. So, here's one more video that you are allowed to laugh at! In fact, laugh until your head falls off!

THE BLOOPERS

PS. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for PART 2 where I finish off the list of the Best-Worst movies of all time! Also, please share your thoughts with me! Do you agree with my list of the Best-Worst movies? Are there any that you would add? How hard did you really laugh at my videos? Will you be returning to Who's Your Editor? after witnessing such insanity? Can you ever take me seriously again?

Until next time, crazy people!