Review Of Parks And Recreation

I haven't reviewed anything in quite a long while and am only doing it now because I'm devestatingly bored.

I started watching Parks and Recreation a year ago and frankly didn't like it. It wasn't particularly funny or interesting, and I gave up on, deciding that it was not worth my while. A few weeks later at the request of my brother, I began watching it again, this time deciding to start mid second season. This time around, I didn't really like it again, but wanted to give it a third chance. I watched all the way through the second season, and saw the third season as it was running on air and i must say, it has really developed as a show. By the end of the second season, all of the characters were incredibly well established and delightful to see on screen. Now in it's fourth season, Parks and Recreation has become the first show to be able to break ones heart and make them break into laughter at the same time. Laced perfectly with unbelievably sweet and funny characters and deep plots, this show is totally worth your while. And by you I mean whoever's reading this. And by whoever's reading this I mean me.

Wow this is sad. Bye!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Is a book I just finished reading.
To get straight to the point: it was awesome. It is about a nine year old boy searching for a lock that matches a key he found in his deceased dad's closet, hidden away. This book is one of the only books I have ever read that manages to be mysterious, sad, and laugh out loud funny at the same time. In the end, all of the little side questions the reader may be asking are answered in perfect harmony.
You may be wondering why this post is so short, and the only explanation is that there is really nothing more to say about this book. Read it, it is amazing.

Lost

Lost is a drama. It lasted 6 seasons. It is about the survivors of a plane that crashed on an Island.
I started watching lost three days after it officially ended. I watched 6 season in less than three months (that seriously can't be good...) Lost is one of the best shows I have ever watched. It has cliff-hanger episode conclusions. Characters can die in it (and oh boy they do.) Near the end of the sixth season I got really depressed since the show was ending. I had begun to feel really connected to the characters. When the show ended, I felt really sad, but at the same time confused. The end was a bit of a cliff-hanger itself. Despite that, everything fit really well together in the end.
In my opinion, the first two seasons were the best. After those two, the show turned from a survival drama into more of a sci-fi fantasy adventure. Smoke monsters, time travel, polar bears living on a tropical island were introduced. When I first started watching the show, I bet my brother that by the end, a volcano and tsunami would hit the island, and a super hero would show up and take control of the plot. I was pretty much right. Though at some points, the people controlling the show (writers, directors) seemed to be pushing the plot a little to far, I never ended up disappointed in the show. All of the crazy extra stuff came together with the normal plot and somehow, made something beautifully enjoyable.

The Weather in NYC

In my intro to this blog, I promised I would not only review common reviewable things like books and TV shows, but I would also through in some crazy reviews. Here is the first one.
Today, I will be review the weather in New York City. To get straight to the point: It really sucks. We have had like four blizzards and only one snow day. Do you know how hard it is to walk to school when there is three feet of snow on the sidewalk? Not to mention the ice. We have also had a few ice-rain moments. I almost died walking to school with layers of ice frozen over the concrete. The majority of the people I know can agree with this: we want summer! I'm through with this cold weather in New York. Please come sooner, Summer, we all miss you here!

30 Rock

I'm reviewing another comedy show. A show that happens to be about working as head writer for the last comedy show I reviewed. 30 Rock is very funny. It is fun to watch, and overall a really great show. Through five seasons the episodes have kept on getting funnier, and making viewers want to watch more. Like SNL, it has a bad episode every once and a while, but it keeps on rolling. In my opinion, the show is in ways, better than Saturday Night Live. It seems funnier and more fast paced. On the other hand, the writers of SNL have only a week to write an hour and a half of material and perform it, much unlike 30 Rock.  I have mixed opinions about this, but one thing I know for sure is that 30 Rock is a very good show. Watch it.

Angela's Ashes

Sixth post. I've at this point realized that no one will follow this blog unless i advertise for it, but I don't really care cause these are still fun to write :)

For my sixth review, I will be talking about the memoir Angela's Ashes. After reading this book, I can absolutely agree with what the author of the book says: "every childhood is miserable, but more miserable than the average childhood is the Irish-catholic childhood." Frank McCourt's childhood was miserable, but he tells the story of it in an almost cheerful way. He grew up with barely any food or water in a broken down house in Limerick. He watched some of his younger siblings die. He was forced to walk around with no shoes in the rain searching for his drunk father. Through all of the desperation he and his family faced, there are still moments that are worth smiling at. I have read this book four times, and plan on reading it again. It may feel somewhat slow-paced at the beginning of the book, but it really takes off, and eventually you will find yourself struggling to put it down.

The Human Centipede

This is my fifth review. At this point I have realized that all of things I have reviewed have been positive, so now I present to you my first bad review of something.

The Human Centipede is a Dutch horror movie about a german scientist who kidnaps three tourists and turns them into... well, take a guess. This movie is one of the worst rated movies of all time, and I believe it deserves to be. The Human Centipede is straight up the most disturbing/disgusting thing I have seen in my life. The plot is really weak, the movie is mostly just clips of people getting hurt. I started this movie with a few friends, and we barely got halfway through it before stopping. This is the first movie I have ever seen that I genuinely felt like vomiting while watching. It haunted me for a few weeks. I would REALLY advise you, if you are reading this, to never watch it. Worst movie I have ever seen, and there is no one I have ever heard of that disagrees with me about that one. Skip it.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief is personally one of my favorite books. It is about a girl named Liesel growing up in Nazi Germany.  When I first started reading the book, I considered stopping. The first few pages were somewhat confusing, and I couldn't seem to really get into the book. I didn't understand the point of view, or the format the book was presented in. I decided to give up on the book. One day, while in ELA in school, I found that the only book I had with me that day was the Book Thief. I was forced to read it. After finding out that the book was told from the point of view of Death, I got intrigued and really got into the book. The Book Thief is a perfect balance of humor and drama. The Book Thief is a beautifully written book, and overall a terrific story of friendship and loss.

The White Stripes

I am writing my third review (and yes, I've written three reviews in a row) on the band The White Stripes. I am writing this about them because yesterday they announced they were splitting up, and they are one of my favorite bands. The White Stripes have been making music for ten years. They play mainly rock and blues music, which is kind of why I like them so much. They are everything that music these days is not. They play their own instruments, sing in their voices, they play music that does not seem to exist much anymore. At least they used to. They changed the way I think about music. They were truly an original band.

Saturday Night Live

My second review is about a TV show. In fact, the longest running TV show of all time.
SNL is a live late night comedy-sketch show. They are currently in their thirty-sixth season. I have heard many mixed opinions about the show. Some people believe that the show is so un-funny that it should be canceled, others think that it is 100% hilarious. I disagree with both. In my opinion, SNL is a really hit-miss show. They have good days, they have bad days. It is never 100% funny, but is still consistently funny.  The people that think that it should be canceled I believe over-think the show. The show is not supposed to tell jokes or express opinions that everyone agrees with. It is not supposed to be a really classy late night show. In some ways, I think the show is a little bit immature. But that immaturity is what makes it so fun to watch. People may have different opinions, but in mine, the cast in its entirety is very funny and talented. All SNL is is a kind of show that is not found commonly on television anymore. It is a show where magic can happen, and that may seem corny, but it's kinda true. Where else are you going to see a guy pretending to be a city correspondent talking about insane clubs completely break character and crack up? Or a joke totally fall flat, and have cast members scramble to keep the audience of their side? In some ways, the shows mistakes are what make it so great. This is currently my favorite TV show.
P.S. About the city correspondent. He's on a segment called Weekend Update. Look it up and watch, it's pretty hilarious :)

The Catcher in The Rye

My first review is about a classic book. In the past three years, I have read this book three times, and I am currently reading it for the fourth. Throughout those three years, my feelings about the book have changed. Specifically, my feeling about the main character of the book, Holden Caulfield. When I first read it, I somewhat admired Holden's ability to be so emotionless. There are so many big things going on in his life, and he really seems to not care, which is an interesting quality to have. The second time I read it, I really hated Holden. He complains and complains about how hard his life is, and how everything in his life is so phony. I believed at the time that is complaining is in fact why his life seems so difficult. The third time reading it, I felt about the same as before. This time, I feel a bit different. I think that maybe Holden's feelings about life are what everyone growing up feels at some point, that life is against you, and that everything is phony. Holden is after all, just a kid. This time reading the Catcher in the Rye, I really like the book, and the way it is written. It has been stated that the more times you read/watch/listen to something, the more you understand it. In this case, that is absolutely true.

This is a blog

This is a blog. Here is are some facts about me, this blog, and life.

-my name is Astrid

-I have two other blogs. One is for school. The other is also for school, but is the opposite of formal, and is run by a group of people.

-this blog is not going to be about particularly anything. 

-this is my first post. Yay!
-the title of the blog is sawdust, which is an inside joke. 

-the sky is gray right now.

-that last bullet point came out of nowhere.

-today is a thursday

-tomorrow is friday, the day I will post next.

-please disregard the last bullet point. I will post likely post something else directly after this post.

-most likely no one but myself will read this blog.

-a few bullets points ago I said that this blog won't have a specific point. Disregard that as well. On this blog, I will post reviews of just about anything that is worth reviewing. Books, TV shows, movies, other blogs (nah probably not), food, music, classes in school. Stuff.

And so it begins.