Where have I been?!?!?!

I haven't posted here in ..... FIVE MONTHS.

Wow.

Why, yes, of course I have obsessions. In decreasing order, here they are.

1. James Dean
2. WWII and other military knowledge

And there they are. So I will discuss them, in increasing order. See what I did there? I switched orders. I'm a trickster.

So, where did this WWII and other military knowledge thing come from? Three words: Saving Private Ryan. That film is included in this obsession. But yes, I am obsessed with obtaining knowledge about military history, specifically WWII because, so far, it is my favorite war to learn about. I do not encourage war, I do not even like that it exists. I just think some of the things involved are fascinating. My favorite thing right now is ranks. I also like medals. I also like ... WEAPONS. Aaaaahhhhh! I don't want to use them, I just enjoy learning about them. And, in sort of a WWII-related note, I am learning German. This is in addition to the Japanese class I took last semester and the one I am taking next semester. So I'm WWII-ing it up, yo. I have a woodlands camo jacket I got at an army surplus store. I also have a marksman badge and a sharpshooter badge with grenade, pistol, and M-203 bars. I have corporal stripes (double chevron, what what) that I need my mommy to sew on ... hey, she's better at it than I am. I also have what I thought was a corporal badge, but it's really a sergeant badge. Sigh. Those military badges and their confusing use of negative space. So, until my corporal stripes are sewn on, I'm a sergeant. Yes, I'm waiting to be demoted a rank ... corporals are the best! Especially this one: http://www.sproe.com/u/upham.html


Now, James Dean - my number one these days. This one came from a series of lists I am doing on my other Blogspot blog. I am compiling top 5 lists of "hotties" of each decade from the '50s to the '00s in different categories. The first category was film actors, and - before I'd even seen any of his films - James Dean won for the 1950s. It was a landslide victory, too. James was one of the best looking people ever to walk the planet. Not only that, he was one of the most talented people ever. I don't want to be sad now, so I am going to continue talking about happy things. I have now seen all three of his big films and they are all amazing. Rebel Without a Cause is my favorite, but I love East of Eden and Giant too. Libraries have been very helpful with this obsession. I borrowed two of his films from them (Giant came on TV) and I also borrowed a great big book that has helped me learn all about him. It features TONS of amazing photos, including several from his childhood (he was a very cute kid). I have spent money on this obsession, but not too much (so far). I bought a James Dean poster for about $12. It is amazing. Today I bought an $8 jigsaw puzzle that, when completed, will be a picture of him. So that's exciting. My dad bought me a tin sign that has a painting of him on it. It cost $7. So I have some nice James Dean pics in my room now. I think this is more than an obsession. That is all I have to say about that.

So there we go. Obsessions!