10 Things I Bet You Didn't Know About Stalin

First, one thing I bet you didn't know about me.  I am obsessed with the Cold War.  I will read any novel or essay and watch any documentary on the subject.  It is unfathomable to me that something so significant and world changing occurred, but no one speaks about it.  Atomic bombs, still exist, we could still be attacked by one, yet it seems no one in politics is worried about it.  Yes, the American infrastructure is a more pressing concern, but we act as if this terror and the spying never happened.  It's become mythical to a certain extent.  Anyway, I love it and here are some unusual facts about Stalin I've picked up.

1.  He wasn't even Russian! Much like Hitler who was born in Austria, Joseph Stalin was born in Georgia a country south of Russia and above Armenia.

2. He studied to be a priest.  Yes, Stalin the killer of two million Russians, was supposed to be a priest.  It is thought that his time at the seminary he attended helped turn the boy to communism and rebellion.  Weirdly, his seminary was attended my many of the Russian revolutionaries of that time.

3. He had webbed feet and was embarrassed by them.

4. He was sent to Siberia 8 times and escaped 7 times.

5. He wrote poetry and it was good!

6. For most of his childhood, until he became enthralled in Marxism, he was top of his class.

7. His voice was so good, he was often hired to sing at weddings.

8. He was only 5 foot 5 inches tall.

9. It is entirely probable that Stalin was a bastard. 

10. He was always involved with some woman.  Woman found his intelligence and his Georgian accent and manners very attractive. This resulted in quite a few unmentioned offspring.

It's hard to remember that historical figures were simply people like you and I, yet when you look deeper, they have weird stories and abnormalities that make them human.  I think it's important to remember that they aren't gods, we have just as much potential as Plato and Queen Nefertiti and Shakespeare.  As Harry says "Working hard is important, but there's something even more important: believing in yourself.  Look at it this way: every great witch and wizard started out as nothing more than what we are now - students.  If they can do it, why not us?"

Awfully Wonderful Valentines

It's approaching, you know, that day you either love or hate.  Only 4 more days until you feel either loved or awkward.   Either way here are some valentines to send out, they would sure have my heart racing!

Oh my god.  I can't even handle some of these.  Just look at Nicholas Cage's face!!!!!!!  Oh and the one with the Doctor and One Direction, I can't even on that one.  I'm a nerd.  There are so many great valentines floating around Tumblr.  A great way to waste a couple hours! Oh and I apologize for the Cole Sprouse one but I had to add it!

The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini
Publisher : Balzer and Bray (Harper Collins)
Pages :  387
Rating: 4/5

     Given the chance, fifteen-year old Peregrine "Perry" Eckert would dedicate every waking moment to Creatures & Caverns, an epic role-playing game rich with magical creatures, spell casting, and deadly weapons.  The world of C&C is where he feels most comfortable in his own skin.  But that isn't happening - not if his parents have anything to do with it.  Concerned their son lacks social skills, they ship him off to summer camp to become a man.  They want him to be outdoors playing with kids his own age and meeting girls - rather than indoors alone, with only his gaming alter ego for company.  Perry knows he's in for the worst summer of his life.

     Everything changes, however, when Perry gets to camp and stumbles into the World of the Other Normals.  There he meets Mortin Enaw, one of the creators of C&C, and other mythical creatures from the game, including the alluring Ada Ember, whom Perry finds more beautiful than any girl he's ever met.  Perry's new otherworldly friends need his help to save their princess and prevent mass violence. As they embark on their quest, Perry realizes that his nerdy childhood has uniquely prepared him to be a great warrior in this world, and maybe even a hero.  But to save the princess, Perry will have to learn how to make real connections in the human world as well.

I like to think of this book as a mix between Percy Jackson and Dungeons and Dragons.  Although the story and characters are nothing like Percy’s, they evoked the same feeling of a nerdy kid trying to make his way through puberty with a couple monsters thrown in.  Ned Vizzini is one of my favorite authors and I picked up this book without reading the summery so I had no idea the Creature & Caverns characters would actually become reality!  I thought this would be a feel good story of a RPG playing nerd trying to understand puberty, I mean it IS like that but with a fantasy world on the side.

Perry Eckert is a 15 year old New York dork.  With Creatures & Caverns and mathletes on the mind it’s no wonder he’s a ‘late bloomer’ and can’t get a girl.  His divorced parents, worried for the boy playing a RPG alone in his room, send him into the scary world of normal summer camp.  No math, no science, just a cabin and a lake.  Addicted to his game Perry can’t imagine weeks without it, but soon upon his arrival he spots a C&C character running through the woods! Perry can’t help but follow and finds himself in the World of the Other Normals, where everything is different but not. His companions might be human if you take away the frog head or the blue hair or the tail or the permanent glittery nail polish.  With his new friends Ada and Mortin he embarks on a quest to save a princess or just kiss a girl.

Perry is an incredibly awkward, cringe worthy pubescent boy.  I know, lots of books have that cute, awkward nerd with social problems but Perry takes it a step farther.  There were times when his humiliation was painful but being 15 is painful. Thinking back 2 years I know many a boy who can share his problems.  He starts off as a C&C loving loner and slowly becomes more and more socialable but retains the awkward.

I’m not a big fantasy nerd.  I don’t like Lord of the Rings or anything that takes place off earth or with unhuman characters.  I find it hard to picture the world or feel sympathy for any of the characters when taken away from a real world setting.  I ran into this problem a few times with the World of the Other Normals (precisely the underwater part and some of the creatures) but I wasn’t put off.  Vizzini did a good job creating this world and how it connects to ours.  Questions about Mortin’s capability to switch universes kept me enthralled in the Other Normal’s world.  Thankfully my questions were the same as Perry’s and unlike some other books he asks them and receives an answer!

I have to say one of the best things about this book was its pacing and jokes.  I read this book in less than a day.  I couldn’t put it down.   Between the embarrassments, questions and laughs I found myself done practically before I’d even started.  Along with the quickness, I found myself stopping to laugh or just gaping in shock at the craziness on the page many times.  There was one time where I legitimately stared at the words for a good minute with a shocked smile on my face (trust me you’ll know what I’m mentioning).   Though almost 400 pages long, to me it felt short and sweet and, while I probably won’t reread The Other Normals, I’m glad I read it.