Thought Train to Pusan

I am very much enjoying the Locke & Key graphic novel series, and am so glad that my sister is letting me read them (even before she has a chance to)! The plot keeps moving along at a not-too-rapid pace, yet every volume is filled with new mysteries, developments, and dangers that this poor family has to face. I find it all to be so riveting, but then, this genre is really right up my alley. If you haven’t read any of the previous instalments of the series, you might be a loss as to my explanation coming up, but here’s what the 3 rd volume holds:   More pages turned in Locke & Key means more keys found at the Key house Estate, yet none of them seem to be the one to the “black door” that Zach/Lucas/Dodge is looking for (whatever his real name is). He is relentless in his search, looking to the ghost of Sam Lesser for help, and treading on the Locke children as they get in his way; he does this all while simultaneously maintaining a friendship with the children, who...

One of the first readings in my new course of study focused on psychotherapy and spirituality, I embark upon a journey of discovering what exactly spirituality is, what it might entail, how it might be different in every individual person, and what exactly my own spirituality might be. The concept is complex, and reducing it down into a short little introductory book like Philip Sheldrake attempts is no easy feat. While he presents the diversity of interpretation and complexity that the term “spirituality” brings in the modern day, I left almost with more questions than answers. I understand that spirituality is a personal thing that each person has to discover and somehow define themselves in each of their own lives, but it truly is a baffling idea to even begin to study: where do you ever start? That’s the real question, I feel. Sheldrake presents different contexts wherein spirituality may be found, how these might relate to different religions, life practices, and world-view...

I told myself I was done with The Mortal Instruments books after the third one…. but then my friends and I were discussing how corny the movie was, and some things about the next few books were mentioned and well, my curiosity got the better of me (I’m weak, okay?). Considering how I already had the whole series up to this point already acquired on my reading device, I saw no problem in just taking a gander at what happened next to these characters I’ve already spent some time with, even though now the whole thing is a little tainted by the whole plagiarism and Weasley incest fanfiction thing that I was unaware of before (yeesh). And I have to say, given that this 4 th novel in the series features Simon as a central character whose point of view takes more precedence than before, there is less adolescent moping about Clary and Jace’s “forbidden love”. Though, who am I kidding? The story is still wrought with their yearning for one another and difficulties communicating even though...

Just after their 3rd place finish at the World Championships, I remembered how much I adored Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford's short program skate in Sochi for the Team Skate event. Did you know that Eric Radford actually composed the music for the skate as well? It's beautiful, and just matches the skate and the unique choreography so well! The connection in their partnership is clear, the two of them land all of their jumps almost effortlessly, and this performance helped to solidify a Silver medal finish for Canada in Team Skate as well (which, of course, I was extremely happy about). Unfortunately, once again, I can't embed this video, but you can find their stunning performance here . 

Tomorrow (or I guess tonight technically?) the World Figure Skating Championships start in Japan. So before those get under way, here is the incredible, record-breaking short program that Yuzuru Hanyu performed in Sochi, right before he and Patrick Chan both stumbled their way through their free skates (it pains me to think about it, because I know that they are both so much better than that). It's so flawless, and he brings so much sass and personality to certain moves in it that I just fell in love with him. Also I'm pretty sure Jeffrey Buttle choreographed this program for him (but correct me if I'm wrong), which makes so much sense when you look at the kind of moves and style in there.  I look forward to seeing what Yuzuru's career holds in the future, and wish him luck performing in his home country within the next couple of days; I'm sure he's going to blow the roof off the joint! But for now, let's revisit his amazing performance in Russia earlier th...

This series keeps drawing me in with so many questions and little mysteries about all of the different characters, and if someone hadn’t already borrowed my sister’s copy, I would have kept on with the 3 rd volume in this series immediately after finishing Head Games . There is something really refreshing about the familial mystery to be found in Locke & Key , with cleanly detailed artwork that just adds to the overall appeal. This second volume, Head Games , picks up with the Locke family, and the eerie new friend of Tyler’s, Zach, who was previously in the form of the woman in their old well house. Zach is recognized at the high school by one of the old professors, who identifies him as an old student that had disappeared over twenty years earlier. Zach sees this information as threatening his plans, and decides to “deal with” anyone who seems to recognize him even in the slightest. He does this all while posing as the nephew of the high school gym teacher, who appears to...

Today we have a routine by the lovely Kevin Reynolds, who I sometimes refer to as the True Elf Prince (sorry, Legolas), skating to a musical selection by AC/DC. And why have I chosen this skate today? Because even though he may not land some of his jumps, there is nothing more wonderful than someone being true to themselves. Most of the other competitive skaters may perform to classical music or a swelling movie soundtrack, but not Kevin (at least not in this program): he chooses to skate to the kind of music he loves, with minimal costuming and a little personality flare in his moves, which just shows how much fun he has with the choreography of his program.  Keep on doing your thing, Kevin, you marvellous being. And might I add, that your long limbs are ridiculous and amazing? Because they most certainly are. (The skate doesn't begin until about the 3:00 mark of this video):