The Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics 2012

   Hello, lovely readers! I'm sorry that none of us have updates in quite a long time, since most of us here are from the Philippines and we have school. Anyway, have you guys watched the opening ceremony of the London Olympics yesterday? Man, that was awesome! The Queen jumping out of a plane (not really, just a stunt double), the NHS performance, JK Rowling, giant puppets of villains from British literature, Mary Poppins having a duel with Voldemort, the technology performance, the performance of the London Symphony Orchestra with Rowan Atkinson, and so much more! Oh my, it was beautiful. And let's not forget the Arctic Monkeys and Paul McCartney!
   But you know what I enjoyed the most? These.

Source: http://www.hollywood.com/news/Queen_Memes_Olympics_Opening_Ceremony/35322777

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   And I have updates some of the rules regarding the contribution to this blog. Authors, please read as well.

Inspiration and Other Matters Such as Why I Feel Very Guilty Right this Moment

While all of the other members of this blog who live in the Philippines have been working their rubbish butts off studying and have been writing blog posts, where has the one American author been? On vacation in Italy and Greece.

Anywho, what I really came to talk about is those moments when you're high on inspiration; how they tend to come at the worst times; and tips for managing them more efficiently, for lack of better expression.

The #1 worst way to attempt to look for inspiration? THE INTERNET. All of the sites devoted to inspiration, pinterest; blogs. They seem like a great easy way out. And that they are. But when we're talking about writing, inspiration or any of that related good stuff, easy way out is NOT the way to go. GET OFF OF THE COMPUTER (alright, finish this post and THEN GET OFF OF THE COMPUTER!) All they do is suck you in and they never actually inspire you to go do something. For this reason, GET OFF OF THE COMPUTER!(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 Inspiration. Ack. I can't even begin to describe it. It's different for each person; like our perception of color. Like color, it can make something bland beautiful. Unlike color, it does not last long. Inspiration is kind of like wind; it's really strong at all of the wrong times (Midnight, anyone?) and sometimes it can be very desperately needed, but still won't come. Ah, inspiration and its rubbish sick sense of humour.  So, how do you gain inspiration?  
There's no magic formula. It's something much more complex than many physical objects. However, when inspiration comes streaming in, be ready. Whenever I fly on a plane, I carry a notebook. Much of my best writing happens in planes. Many people will give you the advice of journaling, writing down your thoughts; it's not that simple. Writing is something that comes only at a certain time, and with the previously mentioned (and still rather rubbish) sense of humour that inspiration tends to have, this usually comes at the worst time possible. Late at night, for example. For this reason, I journal whenever I wake up during the middle of the night. I usually don't remember it in the morning, so seeing the magically appeared journal entries is kind of like seeing tally marks appear all over yourself, except it's actually a positive thing; encounters with inspiration, unlike with The Silence, have never killed me. Then again, nothing's ever killed me, so I wouldn't know.

Moving on.

A journal can be like a pensieve; not for memories, but for inspiration. It isn't a magical way to get inspiration. It's a way to invest and grow a small spark of it, a seed; into a tree in the form of a story, letter, poem, artwork. So do yourself a favour, and, next time that you are having a burst of inspiration at midnight,  no matter how tired, write the ideas down. You might not feel very good tomorrow in class, but you'll have preserved some inspiration for a rainy day.

Speaking of which, the ideas might sound like TOTAL RUBBISH to you later. But, 99.9999999999999 and on to infinity% of the time, there's something to those ideas. And everybody knows that infinity - 1 is equivalent to infinity.

Besides, sometimes craze is the key to sanity.

On that happy note,
                     Bye.
Nina.

The Butterfly Project

Trigger Warning: Mentions of self-harm.  To read, click the read more button.

MTV Reverb

   Hello there! Lianna here. I just wanted to ask you guys, how as your Friday the 13th? Mine didn't go well, actually. I never believed in bad luck on Friday the 13th until yesterday. Anyway, let's not let that eat up my point!
   After my very suckish Friday the 13th, I came home and switched the TV on. I flipped to MTV, and then I saw this new kind of segment that they have called "MTV Reverb", which features indie music.
   You do not know how much I jumped around my room. I love indie music. Indie music is always seems to fit every mood I have (being an almost teen, mood swings is very common). Right now, I'm taking note all the songs I hear on MTV Reverb on my phone. I only have three songs so far; Youth Without Youth by Metric, Wildest Moments by Jessie Ware and National Anthem by Lana Del Ray. Why don't you watch MTV Reverb, take note of the music videos you've watched, and share them here? :-)

A Grim Grimm Grins when Snow is White

The year is 1811, and Jacob Grimm has an idea for a story. Various elements flow through his head. An evil queen, who wants to be the fairest one of all. A princess, who happens to be the fairest one of all. A magic mirror, that can not only talk, but is also a fashion expert, and is able to judge exactly who's the fairest one of all. An excellent idea for an excellent story. The only problem is, Jacob really cannot get himself motivated to write.


Letting your creative juices flow by writing your own story can be a lot of fun. Keeping yourself motivated when writing however, whether it be a short story or a novel, can be difficult. Especially if you’re writing a novel. So how can you do it? Fortunately, there are two very easy ways to motivate yourself. If you know anything about how Jacob Grimm wrote, you should be able to work out the first one quite easily.


Jacob Grimm had a brother, Wilhelm Grimm. His brother was also an aspiring writer, but also suffered from motivational problems. And as he could not afford a psychologist to tell him how best to get himself to continue to write, he got his brother to help. And of course, his brother realised in an instant the best way for someone to motivate themselves to write.


1. Write with someone else. It’s simple. Find somebody who you get on well with, whether it be a face-to-face friend or an online friend, think up a good idea, and start writing. Try doing it online; Google Docs, for example, is a free way to allow you to both work on a story together. Perhaps you could plan out the story to start out with, and alternate paragraph by paragraph/chapter by chapter. Or perhaps you could take it in turns to write chapters, with not much idea where the story is going at all. Either way, with another person working with you, you’ll feel much more motivated to keep writing. I call it “Collaborative Fiction”. A grand idea deserves a grand name, after all.


Unfortunately, it would be another 200 years before Google Docs came, which made Jacob and Wilhelm’s job rather more difficult. The only internet they could get their hands on was tying two paper cups together with a long piece of string, and talking through it. As this was a rather inefficient way of writing a story, they decided to sit there face to face, (...Freaky! Face to face!...) typing on a keyboard known as “the quill”, and motivating each other as they went. As a result, not only did they stop procrastinating but they were able to choose the best ideas out of their separate heads. This meant that Jacob’s brilliant idea to have Dwarfs was included, and his rather silly idea to have the queen turning into a dragon was laughed at by Wilhelm, and was dumped into the trash can. (A real, physical trash can. To Wilhelm's disgust, there wasn't any pixel trash can yet on his non-existent computer.) It also meant that Wilhelm’s idea of a poisoned apple was kept, but his dangerous idea of having a detailed description of how the apple was infused with rhubarb leaves to make it poisonous was excluded. “After all,” reasoned Jacob, “we don’t want to be sued for teaching rubbish children how to poison their nasty old rubbish step-mums.”

2. Write with a whole group of people. Okay, this second Collaborative Fiction idea won’t be getting you any literature prizes. But it’s probably the most enjoyable way to write. Basically, a whole bunch of people get together, and take it in turns to write a paragraph. Nobody has any idea where the story is going, making it very unpredictable, and meaning it’ll have lots of twists. There are all sorts of versions; it can be done online, or perhaps in person, where a bunch of people pass around a sheet of paper and add to it. Another variation that you may have done at school is where a class sits around and each person speaks out a couple of sentences, and other people have to continue the story. The result of this is often very confusing, and very amusing.

“I have a wonderful idea!” announced Wilhelm without warning, causing Jacob to spill his tea all over his desk.
“What rubbish is it this time?” grumbled Jacob, trying to mop up the tea before it reached the Snow White Word Document (which was really just an old fashioned thing known as a piece of paper).
“Well, you see how much better we’re writing with two of us working together?” asked Wilhelm.
“Rubbish,” replied Jacob. “If it weren’t for rubbishy-old-you I would have had Snow White cutting herself rubbishly out of a dragon by rubbish now.”
“If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have written one line,” retorted Wilhelm. “So why don’t we expand on this way of writing? Why not get more of our friends in here, and we can all work on our story together!”
“Rubbish idea,” wheezed Jacob. “That’d mean I’d have to share the rubbish profits with a whole rubbish group of people. As it happens I really don’t think you deserve your rubbish share, what with silly rubbish like rhubarb leaves. Rubbish!”

If you're doubtful about whether writing collaboratively can actually work, then I'm happy to remind you that Pencil Rubbings is a good example of it! This very blog thrives because of the way its multiple author setup works. If Pencil Rubbings only had one author, I'd be quite confident in saying that it would likely have crawled to a halt months ago. The additional enthusiasm of a number of people has kept it going strong.


This post wouldn’t be complete without an example of a Collaborative Fiction story. So, here’s the Pencil Rubbings Collaborative Story. I’ll start it off in the comments section below. Then, anyone that wants to can contribute by writing the next paragraph, or at least the next sentence or two. Nothing inappropriate, or your contribution will be deleted! To keep the story flowing nicely down the page it would be best if you only comment if you’re continuing our story. So take the plunge, and add a twist by writing at least a sentence or two!
(And by the way, all the italics in this post are, to quote Jacob Grimm, “rubbish.” I made it up. The Brothers Grimm didn’t actually write their fairy tales, they compiled them. So someone else wrote Snow White. Probably without collaboration. But you never know…)
Here it is then.

Maria and the Green Wizard

Which one’s greener?

Do you like nature? Do you love trees? Do you like how the wind blows over the grass and leaves and it twirls and twirls, like how poetry has described them? Well, I do! I love the outdoors, but in Australia, the Sun is the harshest in the world (information from here; teachers tell me all the time wikianswers or yahooanswers are not to be trusted, but I still do!) Every time I walk out of the door without sun screen makes me paranoid, “What if I get cancer? I’m going to die!” And I crawl back indoors. But out of Australia is different, so I search up websites on green countries and here are my results.

The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) had researched about it, and came with The World’s Top Ten Greenest Countries. And that is what I am about to share with you today! Let’s do the countdown, shall we?

 

10. Colombia –  76.8 (%)
Colombia’s status on eco-friendliness aren’t the best a while ago, but the country didn’t make it to the list until the government cut down the deforestation and organise eco-friendly projects. This tells us if you believe and do it, you can do it, you can end global warming. But that’s another issue… On to the next.

09/08. Cuba, Austria – 78.1 (%)
Although they have the same index, they each have their own ways to go green. Cuba launched a project on supporting hydroelectricity in an area, while Austria built an ecofriendly garden across the border between the Czech Republic (With consent, of course.) Three cheers for them for their effort!

07. France, 78.2 (%)
Who doesn’t love France? The country with sexy accents and cakes that make you water… And don’t forget the magnificent Paris tower! Why, according to the article, their most interesting fact that helps them accomplish their eco goals is the straw bales for construction of buildings!

06. Mauritius, 80.6 (%)
This place, is an island, next to Madagascar (Hey, hey). It’s run by an African Prime Minister and whoever that person is, he is amazing. Despite the limited resources the island have, the PM is able to make his country eco-friendly. Just the thought of it inspires me.

05. Norway – 81.1 (%)
I always like the sound of Norway, ‘Norway’. If you ask me to name a European country, Norway will always be the first one I think. Why? Don’t know. The country itself is an ‘oil export oriented country’ and I’m glad they are putting effort into making carbon neutral!

04. Sweden – 86.0 (%)
According to the article, Sweden has been put so high from the EPI because of the plan they have on discontinuing fossil fuels by 2020. Fossil fuels are stuff deep in the Earth that are decompositions of animals and plants, but becoming into fuel, the liquid that keeps your car going.

03. Costa Rica – 86.4 (%)
In the past, Costa Rica was in need of space to grow their crops, they had to chop down trees. But now, their main goal is to regrow all the trees they have chopped down. From the last five years, they have planted over five million trees. And now, that is amazing!

02. Switzerland, 89.1 (%)
For a few years, Switzerland has been on the EPI list. How do they do it? A lot of motivation! They just kept going and going to make their country even more eco-friendly, even if they are already on the lead. Do you know? In a few small towns, driving cars are prohibited.

And here goes number one. The moment everyone is anticipating… the number one of the world’s greenest country is……

 

Iceland! With 93.5%!
Remember the Iceland and Greenland irony? Ironically, Iceland became the top of the most greenest on the EPI list. Let’s hope Greenland didn’t come off as the most greenless country! Iceland is consider to be one of the world’s beautiful countries because of the nature. Oh, how I always wanted to visit Iceland! (If you have read my previous entry on the band, Of Monster and Men, they are from Iceland too.) According to statistics, 82% of the electricity and heat in Iceland comes from hydrogen (air) and wind energy in Iceland, only 18% comes from coal. I have to say, I just put Iceland to one of the top of my travel priorities, above London and Paris.

 

If the information I provide are incorrect, I apologise. There may be arguments and debates on whichever country deserves the top greenest, but this is not the conclusion of my research. It is rank by the Environmental Performance Index, and they have their methods on ranking. For more information on them, here is the place. And more information on the article, click here. It will also provide you reader comments, if you are interested.

Updates: New Twitter account!

We have a new Twitter account! Follow us on @PencilRubbings :-)

Poaching

Poaching: The act of illegally hunting or catching (game or fish) on land that is not one's own or is under official protection.

I love poaching. It’s an art that requires much skill. People have poached for hundreds of years, and there’s no danger in it dying out. The end result is so tasty! I happen to know a poaching secret or two, and so I’m now going to reveal exclusively to readers of Pencil Rubbings my guide to poaching. No, I’m not referring to illegally sneaking onto someone else’s property shooting their pet deer, and dragging it home for dinner. I’m referring to a different type of poaching.


Poaching: Cooking an egg without its shell in or over boiling water.


Eggs can be healthy, if eaten in relative moderation and if cooked in a healthy way. Poaching is one of these ways. The problem with poaching however is how complicated it is. Poaching an egg the traditional way involves putting water and vinegar into a saucepan, boiling it, stirring the water to make a whirlpool, putting in the shell-less egg (if you’re lucky it won’t completely disintegrate into the water), cooking it for a few minutes, and taking it out. Quite a time consuming breakfast that leaves you with heaps of washing up to do afterwards. And so my grandmother, fed up with all this bother just to get herself a delicious and healthy egg for breakfast, decided to experiment with cooking eggs in the newly-invented microwave she'd just bought herself. Of course, this was before all the fuss about what you can and can’t put in a microwave, so I’m sure she may indeed have begun her experimentation by putting a whole egg, in its shell, into the microwave.

(Don’t do that, by the way. Let’s just say you end up with a very sticky situation. And perhaps in need of a new microwave. If you don't believe me, watch some of the YouTube videos.)


So with a little more experimenting, she discovered how to poach an egg in the microwave, with minimal dishes, time, effort, and explosions. She then eventually told my mother, and my mother eventually told me. Now I’m sharing this closely guarded secret that has been passed down the generations with the Pencil Rubbings community! Although I somehow think that it’s more likely that my “closely guarded secret” was similarly discovered by many other people a long time ago, and is already all over the microwave-possessing part of the world anyway. I really have no idea. Anyway, here it is. How to poach an egg in the microwave. Obviously this only works if you have a microwave oven. I really don't know how common microwaves are outside my own country, so if you have no idea what I’m talking about, then disregard this recipe.


You’ll need:
-An egg (No need to leave it out of the fridge before-hand. Not like when you’re making cakes.)
-A microwave (No need to leave it out of the fridge before-hand either. Assuming you store your microwave in the refrigerator.)
-Bread (Assuming you wish to eat toast with your egg.)
-Toaster (Assuming you want your toast to be toasted, as opposed to raw.)
-Glad-wrap (also known as cling-wrap. The plasticky stuff that people use to wrap things. Like sandwiches, not presents. You know, this sort of thing:

)

-A knife and fork (Not the Murder-Weapon-Knife, or even the Kitchen-Chopping-Things-Knife. Just an ordinary Spreading-Butter-Knife will do.)
-A plate (Unless you want to save on washing up by eating off the bench. But I would not recommend this; very unhygienic.)
-A microwavable cup. (Do check that it’s microwavable. Best results will be if the base is round and about the same size as what a regular poached egg is. Something like this:

)

-Salt and pepper (Depending on taste, or how healthy you want to be.)
-Margarine/butter/table-spread/any other yellow or white stuff you spread on toast
-An adult’s supervision (It’s obligatory, I know.)

The rest is easy.
1. Put a slice of bread in the toaster. You may need to get the afore-mentioned adult to help you cut it if it hasn’t been cut yet.
2. Crack the egg into the cup. Make sure there’s no shell in the egg, you don’t want a crunchy poached egg.
3. Use the fork to prick the yolk. You’re not trying to mix it in, all that’s needed is a quick prick. There shouldn’t be any difference to the naked eye, but this will help prevent the yolk from...gulp...exploding.
4. Cover the top of the cup with the cling-wrap.
5. Possibly the most important step: use that ever handy fork to prick holes in the glad wrap. Probably about three good pokes around the centre of the glad-wrap (but only little holes, don't let them join up to make big holes).

Nope, I haven't put two eggs in (although you can do that if you want). I somehow managed to get a double-yolker egg when I took that photo (that's an egg with two yolks in it if you didn't know).
6. Start the toaster. (The idea here is to try and sync things up so the toast finishes cooking at the same time as the egg does; but this’ll really depend on your toaster and microwave.)
7. Put the cup with the egg in it into the microwave, and cook it for 10 seconds on High (which should be the default setting anyway).
8. This is where things get a little challenging. You want the egg white to cook through, but ideally you want the yolk to still be a little bit runny. After 10 seconds, take the cup out, inspect, and give it a little swirl to make sure it’s cooking evenly. It’ll probably need a little longer. So, put it in for another 10 seconds or so, and continue this procedure until the white looks mostly solid.

9. If you hear a “bang,” there are two things you need to do.
    (a.)  Don’t panic. There’s nothing the matter. All that’s happened is the yolk has exploded. That’s why you put the cling wrap on top of the cup. It just means that your egg won’t quite be cooked as it should, with the yolk a little too crumbly, instead of runny. It’s still definitely edible, and quite tasty. Just blame your adult supervisor for it not being perfect. And stop it earlier next time.
    (b.)  Stop the microwave straight away, and take out the egg.
10. Use the knife to spread the spready stuff onto the toast once it’s cooked, and then use the knife to go round the egg in the cup so it tips out easily onto your toast. Put salt and pepper over the egg if you wish, and then enjoy eating your egg with that ever useful knife and fork.

Wow. That seems rather complicated. It isn’t. Getting the egg cooked just right may take a few attempts, but it’s certainly easier than the traditional poaching method. And there’s far less dishes as well. Just a plate, a cup, a knife, and a fork. Try it. At the very least you’ll be able to tell your friends about how you’re now officially a poacher.