The Wicked Ingenue - Latest Comments

Re: “Time’s glory is to calm contending kings; to unmask falsehood and bring truth to light.”

Contemporary Furniture — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:14:53 -0000

Great blog!

Re: On why memoirs are a lie

Andrea Wilson Woods — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:04:12 -0000

Excellent post--I agree completely. Remember the telephone game when you were a kid? By the time the story got to the last person, it was completely different. Oral storytelling is not that different from a memoir. One piece of advice that a nonfiction writer once gave me was, "Try to show both sides of the person. Then if/when you say something negative, you can present a positive to illustrate that you are trying to present the entire picture." In my own memoir, I have had to work very hard to portray a "complete" picture of my mother since most of my memories of her during the time the story takes place are not good ones. Write on, my friend!

Re: She

Matt — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:30:30 -0000

*if not the event.

Re: She

Matt — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:28:33 -0000

I liked it. Very Hemingway in style, especially the third paragraph. And the third person makes it universally relatable about the feelings, if the event.

Las Vegas really makes an Impression, doesn't it?

Re: Sarcasm: the last refuge of …

So Very...Kerry — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:08:30 -0000

Haha, I've heard that joke and it's a funny one.

I agree that many people have a harder time facing brutal honesty, than they do hearing sarcasm. I think my main issue with sarcasm and the reason I dare anyone to take a day off (including myself), is because sarcasm has become so common and overused that people have come to view the ability to be sarcastic/hurtful, as a badge of honor. As if the common skill of being mean is a talent worthy of granting superiority.

At the same time, I know the world could not exist on truth alone. Truth and honesty would lose all their luster in a world with out deception and misleading. It's in contrast to sarcasm that authenticity stands out as brilliant.

Re: Sarcasm: the last refuge of …

Emily — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:09:41 -0000

To me, it's a way of softening the blow of brutal honesty. Or, perhaps, softening the humbling nature of honesty. Imagine the old joke about the man who goes to the doctor to complain that, despite having been prescribed suppositories, is still constipated. The doctor says "I think I may know what your problem is. Are you taking them orally?" The man sarcastically snaps "No, I'm shoving them up my ass!"

Re: She

So Very...Kerry — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:06:31 -0000

Best line ever = "... pregnant with lust and sterile in love."

Re: She

Kristen Brownell — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:26:59 -0000

Thank you, girls. I really appreciate your kind words.

Re: She

Alegra — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:11:49 -0000

loved it

Re: She

Manda — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:04:05 -0000

Wow....You are so talented.

xoxox
Manda

Re: She

emily jane — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:39:46 -0000

This is absolutely incredible.

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

Bud — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:35:40 -0000

I don't know about you, but I hope God is just like Morgan Freeman. :-)

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

bjtdevera — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:41:52 -0000

haha, nice

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

Kristen Brownell — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:39:31 -0000

Well, for the material I primarily study, it's the KJV. Other than that I couldn't say.

By the way, I found a funny for you: http://i32.photobucket.com/alb.... :)

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

bjtdevera — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:25:47 -0000

which version is most commonly quoted anyway? KJV? NIV?

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

Kristen Brownell — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:12:37 -0000

In "Whose Bible Is It?", Jan Pelikan discusses Bible translations, which became popular during the Reformation, and how different they are from the original Hebrew. Many religious sects tailor their texts to adhere to their beliefs, and they teach followers to interpret the text based on such beliefs (a practice called midrash). Even to a person like me who is still in the initial process of studying the Bible, the differences in each translation result in very different readings of stories, events, and characters. The most striking difference to me thus far is the story of Jesus: the prophecy of his arrival, his birth, his life, his teachings, his death, and his resurrection. While many of the storylines in the Tanakh and the KJB are different but recognizable, the story of Jesus is totally different. But I guess that's to be expected when one sect sees him as just another "good person" and one sect sees him as the messiah.

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

Kristen Brownell — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:57:19 -0000

I enjoy nonfiction books about the Bible as well and have always been more inclined to read those than the Bible itself. My paternal grandmother was a strict Italian Catholic, but for some reason her children, including my father, never took to the religion; thus, none my cousins nor I were brought up in a religious environment and most of us haven't taken to religion as adults.

My parents went through one six-month phase where they took my brother and I to church every week, and I never wanted to go because all the kids in my Sunday school class acted like little shits to me because of my limited knowledge of the Bible. As you can imagine, my initial experience with church wasn't a good one, and I've shied away from church ever since.

I'll probably never be the type of person who can recite verses from Psalms at will, but it does feel good to be gaining a basic knowledge of the Bible. So many writers I study quote from the text, and it's nice to make the connections when I see a reference in a play, poem, or essay. I mean, usually there's explanatory footnotes for ignorant readers such as myself, but I find that applying a Biblical story I've read in full to another text adds additional dimension and richness to it.

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

bjtdevera — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:01:22 -0000

Yeah, it all depends on the translation. I mean, it's safe to assume that at one point in time, there was only one version of these writings (the original one). Then the translators came; which wouldn't have been so bad had they kept their personal agendas in check. I mean, what if the U.S. Constitution was translated by seven different political interest groups? How different would each version be?

Then there's the interpretation of the text by clergy. Same verse, different interpretations by different pastors & priests.

If only I had Moses' cell phone number.

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

amanda_cifra — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:44:43 -0000

I am very ignorant when it comes to the Bible. I've attempted to read it but it just confuses me more! I'd probably drive my self crazy if I took a "Bible 101" class as I tend to over analyze as well.

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

simplyscott — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:55:22 -0000

Don't worry. I'm just as ignorant, although at least I have a little understanding of the Koran and Islam, too. I am pretty fascinated by religion, and I love reading non-fiction and fiction that is specifically about it or is heavily influenced by it. I like to see how it drives people to be who they are. That's the only thing I'm really interested in with regard to religion and it's guidebooks, if you will. I suppose if I really wanted to better understand "The Hyperion Cantos", a favorite sci-fi book, I could read some Keats since he is quoted quite often in those novels, but I just don't have the time or inclination to do it. Since your work is more closely related to the Bible, it's good to see that you have finally had a chance to back-fill, so to speak, and now you'll be able to 'get it' a little better when you come across an obvious Biblical reference or quote. Otherwise, I think we're all enrolled in some kind of "Bible study" our whole lives, although I don't think we'll ever know the answers to the test.

Re: On God, the Bible, and Spiritual Awakenings

SWB — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:50:16 -0000

"To me, God is something that can never be truly understood. At least not by mortal and fallible beings."

Darn near sums up my views on the subject completely.

Re: Best Looks of the Academy Awards 2010

Manda — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:33:58 -0000

Anna Kendrick and Demi Moore...by far the most beautiful.....

Re: Best Looks of the Academy Awards 2010

The Design Junkie — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:08:04 -0000

I just couldn't get over how amazing Demi looked.

She looks more gorgeous every year. How is that possible?!

Re: The Final Piece of the Puzzle (or, The Epilogue)

wallyhorse — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:03:25 -0000

A bit late to this (was dealing with THREE major snowstorms in the past month where I am that dumped nearly 48" of snow), but I do need to add my congrats as well! You have obviously pulled off a major achievement in spite of everything you have gone through over an extremely long period of time. It looks like it's all going to pay off for you in the end!

Re: Notice to Quit

Canonbridge — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:19:40 -0000

The mental state you describe here is something I don't believe ever left me. I've had some rough times where I had no idea what I was going to do in a particular situation, and rather than deal with it, I would pretend it didn't exist until that very last moment.

Wow. Such memories.

Debauchering should be a word.