Selective Memories and Latchkey Kids

It’s funny the things we remember from our childhood. I was talking to my mom last time I was in Oklahoma about memories from my childhood, and for some reason she doesn’t remember these “incidents” as well as I do.

I distinctly remember being forced to play in the backyard for hours upon hours, being thrown hotdogs when we (my sister and I) were hungry, and then being sprayed intermittently with water to quench our thirst.

I know this sounds rather grim. Now that I have written it out, it seems very doubtful, but that is the way I remember it. I know that I was not abused as a child, although I did get my fair share of “butt whoopin’s”. Whether or not my mind has exaggerated my childhood is something I will question occasionally, but since I am currently of sound mind, I will lend you my interpretation.

I wrote my first Latchkey Kid Adventure over a year ago, but I have more heading your way, some not for the weak at heart. I mean there is “poop”, the disposal of a mangy mutt, and of course many crawdad misadventures. Some of my readers might actually be involved in these bizarre tales, so I will try to change your names, for your protection of course

Are you curious? What is a Latchkey Kid?

Wikipedia knows everything: A Latchkey kid or latchkey child refers to a child who returns from school to an empty home because his or her parents are away at work or a child who is often left at home with little or no parental supervision.

What I recall from most of my childhood memories does not include a parent. Now whether or not a parent was there… that’s another story.

~2

Sorry Cassy. I’m not changing your name. Besides, everyone knows you’re my original partner in crime.

Stop Talking About Paper Towns, 2mara

I am stoked! I just found out a less than a minute ago that they are MAKING PAPER TOWNS INTO A MOVIE!!!

Yeah I am a nerd and watching part of the IronMan Challenge on BlogTV, and John Green called Hank, who is live on BlogTV trying to outlast several other VLOGers…

ANYway…

John called Hank and informed all the nerdfighters that the people who made Juno are going to do a Paper Towns movie AND John Green will be writing the screen play. AWESOME NEWS!!!

Also, John Green made The New York Times bestseller list, so that means you should buy the book and read it - It’s awesome.

Sorry for all the excitement, but I am really excited!!!!~2

DFTBA!!! HOLY CRAP!!!

I am lame.

You knew it. I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true.

Thanks to my friend Kemari, who totally isn’t lame. D.F.T.B.A = Don’t forget to be awesome!

I should have known it… GAW!!

DFTBA today… tomorrow Time Travel
~2

Part 2
I met Kemari for lunch yesterday since Gabe had a half day of school, and we wanted to kill some time before drum lessons. After lunch we headed to Bookmans, which is this awesome buy-sell-trade bookstore on 19th ave and Northern. I was scoping the young adult books for anything by Maureen Johnson, and a few other writers on my wish list on Amazon. With a little luck I scored The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

ANYway…

We’re not in there 5 minutes when Kemari sees a copy of Paper Towns.

Holy Crap! It just came out last week (I already have it… see previous post), but it’s on the shelf for like 9 bucks! It sucks that I don’t have patience for things, because 9 bucks is a lot better than paying 17… yes I am a mathematical genius.

John Green, Paper Towns, and Being a Nerdfighter

have been reading a lot this past year. I am particularly interested in Young Adult (YA)… not only is it the most fun to read, I am also very interested in writing YA fiction.

I have started writing more than a dozen books in my adult life, but I haven’t finished a single one. You may notice a pattern here, especially if you’ve read a lot of my blog. I am very ambitious but obviously very lazy.

ANYway…

John Green is an incredible writer. I read Looking For Alaska over the summer and immediately loved it. He is brilliant and clever, so I was anxious to read his second novel An Abundance of Katherines.

This second Novel was AMAZING. I wore a smile on my face the entire book. The main character, Colin, was a child prodigy dealing with the realization that he may not necessarily be a genius in his adult life. He is also puzzled by the fact he has dated a total of 19 Katherines, all of whom (or so he thinks) dumped him. He spends the majority of the book working on an algorithm to determine the length of a relationship between any two people based on his relationships with the Katherines.

I completely love An Abundance of Katherines. I was pleased to see when I finished this book that John Green was working on a third novel, Paper Towns, and the prologue and first chapter were in the back of Katherines. I also saw something else in the back of the book, and immediately hopped online to check out… Nerdfighters.

Nerdfighters?

Apparently this is a group of people, nerds, who band together to fight world suck.

In 2007, John Green and his brother Hank started a YouTube project where they would post vlogs (video blogs, dad) every weekday. They were not allowed to textually communicate outside the videos, or they would face a punishment for the world to see. This project began January 1, 2007 and ended December 2008. Nerdfighters are the offspring and followers of this project.

I wasn’t aware of Brotherhood 2.0 until I signed up on the ning to enter the world of Nerdfighting. I watched a couple of videos on YouTube, and found them completely, utterly addictive. The whole concept of Nerdfighting put the biggest smile of my face.

I have gone back to the brotherhood 2.0 website (there is a link in the sidebar) and began watching the videos in consecutive order. I just finished September I still have no clue what DFTBA means, and it’s driving me nuts!

I completed a challenge last week so I could get a free download for the Paper Towns musical compilation by Hank Green and some other awesome Nerdfighters: a picture blog on the ning

I am a Nerdfighter.I have always been a Nerdfighter… I just didn’t know what it was called. I like nerdy things; I am nerdy. I like comic books, cult movies, music, books, dead guys (not zombies.. ok I do like zombies too, but mostly dead scientists and writers), and computer stuff. I wasn’t the popular kid in school, nor did I wish to be. I have always liked being different; I totally embrace my nerdy.When I checked out Nerdfighters.com I was amazed to see so many smart, clever, witty, and talented youth all bunched together in one place. AND THEY READ! They read the most amazing books… books I am too afraid to pick up, but know I should.

My whole life I have felt that there is something important that I should be doing, some higher calling if you will. It’s nice to know I just needed to stick a name to what I was, and I could sleep so much better at night. I don’t think there is anything more important than reducing world suck, do you?

~2

PS: Check out Paper Towns, It’s in stores now. It’s the best one so far, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.