- by Laura Markert, age 15.

She was born many years ago
In the early days of spring
When the blossoms where just blooming,
and the river returning to life.

She has seen many times when the earth changes forms
When the days grow colder and the nights are long
When the hottness of the day makes her grow weary,
But still, she awaits her most favorite of times.

She silently waits. Waits for when the birds in the sky
fly to the south
For when the leaves atop her head change to the hundreds
of different colors.

The leaves are her friends, her companions, her children
They flutter in the breeze as they change their shades
From dull and wrinkeled to bright and smooth
From brown and dark green to firery red and golden yellow.

But soon the wind will come and take her children.
It rips them from their branches and takes them far,
far away.

Yet she is not sad nor is she mad
She is exited and exuberant.
Yes, the turbulent winds have taken her friends
But still, she is happy.

She waves goodbye to her children as the
cold sets in her bark.
And she thinks of how happy she will
be next year when she will have more.

She falls into a deep sleep and dreams
of the year to come
When her children will be born again and she
will live once more.

Guess what, kids? That's right, more news on the writer's strike. Yay! So what's the news? Um, pretty much nothing.

There were rumors about talks going on soon. But no. It was all a lie. Or maybe they're in talks, but they're still no where near deciding. As I've mentioned, the Grammys will still go on; however, it might not be the same program we've come to love. Many musicians who are also actors (like Justin Timberlake) don't want to cross the picket line. So the show might be a shell of it's former self. And that's made those nice people who run the Oscars a little nervous. Will the Oscars be able to go on as scheduled? Only time will tell.

With practically no new TV on (besides Lost, but that only has a few episodes that were filmed before the strike), I've been forced to take drastic measures. I've done something I swore I'd never do, and I don't think I can even look myself in the eye anymore (not that I could before, I'm not that flexible). That's right, I watched ... sports.

Shudder.

Not just any sports either, but the Super Bowl. Well, most of it anyway. OK, some of it. I just couldn't do that to myself. But from what I could gather, it was a pretty exciting game. (I've been told to say, "Yay, Giants!")

Come on, Writer's Guild members. Don't do this to me. I mean, yes, Tom Brady is hot, even though he's not on the team I was supposed to be rooting for. And yes, I live in New York, so it was cool to have a New York team. But I don't like sports. Gym class was always a nightmare for me, and I'm afraid of some post traumatic stress flashback to volleyball my junior year. I'm not meant to watch sports. I'm meant to watch new TV shows.

I know you all know what I'm talking about.

So, I'm sure (actually 100 percent postive) that you are all more athletic than I am, and enjoyed the Superbowl. What did you think? Any Giants fans out there? And for those of you sad about the writer's strike, which shows do you miss the most?

Yesterday was February 1st. Oh hey! I guess that means today is Groundhog Day! Cool! Does anyone know if he saw his shadow?

But that's not what I came here to talk about today. Please bear with me. I'm easily distracted. Oh look, a puppy!

Um.

I finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy yesterday. I have nothing good to say about it except that it won the Pulitzer... so I guess someone somewhere must have liked it. Wherever you are, I'd really like to have a conversation with you. I just don't understand what you were thinking. Maybe it's just me?

Moving right along...

Last night I started the mammoth experience that is Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. I'm not going to lie. I was scared. I've been looking forward to this since I got the new translation for Christmas... but I've also been dreading it. I don't want to be the guy in the Challenge that says, "Um, yeah, I quit." And besides that, I also don't want to be the guy who misses out on this classic literature because of some weak notion that "it's too hard. Wah." Oh stop it.

I cracked open the book around 9:00 last night. Gingerly, I turned the first few pages. I stared at the title page for a good minute or so, thinking to myself: "After you turn this page, Bry, there's no turning back." Hmm... well maybe it wasn't as dramatic as all that after all. But the title page was very pretty and yes, even inviting.

The next few pages flew by pretty easily as well. The copyright information, and Table of Contents were a breeze. No sweat! Bring it Tolstoy!

Then came the introduction...

"If the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy."
    -- Isaac Babel

Nice! What a flattering quote! What else?

I kept reading. (Incidentally, the introduction was written by the translator, Richard Pevear.)

"War and Peace is the most famous and at the same time the most daunting of Russian novels..."  oh boy ... "as vast as Russia itself and as long to cross from one end to the other. Yet if one makes the journey, the sights seen and the people met on the way mark one's life forever."

Ahh. My fellow WORD enthusiasts, can I just tell you what a breath of fresh air this was? No, not that. What am I trying to say? ... These first words, found here in the introduction, gave me not only a sense of hope and excitement for the next 1200+ pages, it also brought me directly out of my nervous funk and into the world of this sweeping Russian literature.

The rest of the introduction talked about Tolstoy as a man. Who he was and how he wrote. I'll save this for future bloggy posts as I can see this one is getting a little long and I want to tell you about the beginning of Volume One, Part One.

That's right. You heard me. VOLUME ONE. This book is so massive, it has actual Volumes. Ha! You gotta love it!

I read the first 25 pages of Volume One, Part One last night. I was surprised at how much fun it was! Seriously surprised! At first, I had a little trouble with the character names and the French... oh yes, the characters in this part anyway, speak some French and the translations are in footnotes at the bottom of the page. Sheesh! You get used to that too though.

Rather than go on and tell you the story so far, I'll just say that I am now over my fears and look forward to this great read. It's probably one of the toughest books I have ever tackled. But every once and again you have to challenge yourself. In literature and in life. OK, that was cheesy. I'm just inspired and excited, that's all. And I'm going to go read some more now.

How you doin, Alicia and Audra??

Word.

I was just thinking. (Yes, I tend to do that occasionally. But don't worry, it doesn't happen too frequently.) Have you ever read a book more than once? And not just twice, or even three times, but so many times that the binding is all cracked and the pages are in danger of falling out and you could probably recite it line for line?

I'm asking because right now I'm re-reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding for about the zillionth time. (I've also read Bridget Jones's Diary a zillion times as well. The first one is better, but Edge of Reason has its charm.) It's partially because I haven't had a chance to go to the book store in awhile, and partially because if I don't have something to read on the train I'll fall asleep and miss my stop and not be able to come in and blog for all of you, and I don't want all of you crying. I just can't handle that pressure! But anyway, I'm mostly re-reading it for the zillionth time because, well, I love it. I do. I know every joke, and I cry at the same parts every time. But I still love it. And I never get bored reading it.

It's a really weird phenomenon.

Seriously, right? I mean, I'm sure you all have read a book multiple times, and it didn't bring you any less pleasure. Maybe, if you were older when you read it again, you were able to appreciate it on a different level. Maybe it brings you comfort. Of maybe it's just an awesome book. But it's weird, because I don't think there's any other type of medium where this can be replicated.

Movies can be watched multiple times and still be enjoyable, but I feel like you need more time in between each viewing. If not, it gets a little tedious.

TV shows definitely can't be watched multiple times. For example, I love the show Lost (which starts again today, by the way, and I'm so excited!), and yesterday, last year's season finale was on. Now, I tried to watch it to get pumped for today. But, after just a few minutes, I had to turn it off. Not even Josh Holloway could keep my attention. I would much rather have been reading my book!

Now, if a hottie like Josh Holloway cannot keep my attention on a second viewing, well, then that gets my attention. It just goes to show you how much pleasure you can get from a favorite book.

So, what's your favorite book that you've read ten bajillion times? What do you like about it? Are you excited for Lost? We can compare our theories tomorrow.

I know you all know there is a writer's strike going on (because I mention it practically every time I blog. What can I say, I like TV!). But the Grammys are going to go on as scheduled.

Hear that sound? That noise was all of us collectively sighing in relief. Because seriously, in my book, it's not an award show without the scripted witty banter and the "hilarious" jokes from the presenters.

The writers struck up some sort of deal thing, and they're going to be allowed to write for the Grammys. They've been on strike for awhile, so they must all be desperate to do some writing already.

I'm glad that the Grammys will be on. A lot of my favorite performers were nominated this year for various categories: Foo Fighters, Amy Winehouse, Fergie, Rihanna (although I am kind of getting sick of "Umbrella." Ella, ella, eh, eh. Oh man, now it's going to be stuck in my head again for another three weeks), John Mayer, Justin Timberlake, and Paramore. I'm excited to see who will win.

Speaking of Paramore, I just so happen to have an interview with lead singer Hayley Williams. Want to see it? Sure you do. And if not, well, I'm not going to lie, I'm going to be a little hurt. But no pressure. Anyway, here it is:

WORD: How would you describe yourselves as a group and how would you describe your music to someone who's never heard it before?
Hayley Williams: I would say that the last record we did is fun and catchy, and the new one has an edge to it. Live, we're interactive, and fun. We don't take ourselves too seriously.

WORD: Is it weird being the only girl in the group?
Williams: There are times on the road where you feel lonely, but the dudes in the band are like my brothers. Outside of the band I only have one or two girl friends.

WORD: Are the guys ever over-protective of you when you're on the road?
Williams: [laughs] They can be sometimes.

WORD: What kind of school did you go to?
Williams: I went to a program similar to home school, but it had more interaction with other students. There were 90 students in the school. That's where I met Josh and Zac. [When the band formed] everything just sort of fit with us.

WORD: How long does it take to write a song?
Williams: Some songs might take a day or five minutes, but some might take a month. Sometimes it's easy and quick. I like hearing the music first, and then writing lyrics. The guys are good about letting me write what I feel. We're a great team. Without one of us, the band would be completely different. We hang out all the time. We're all very close.

WORD: Are your parents supportive of you playing in a band?
Williams: Our parents are all great. I think if our parents saw us struggling, they would worry more about us being away from home. They love coming to shows. Our parents are awesome.

WORD: When you were playing at school talent shows, did you know you were going to make it big? What was your defining moment as a band?
Williams: I remember when we were playing Cornerstone [a small concert]. A lot of smaller bands got their start there. I don't think we even dreamed about Warped Tour. We started [as a band] in talent shows at school and church, and moved up to being the local band. We just got really lucky.

WORD: I know you're all still in your teens. Do you guys still attend school?
Williams: Josh, Jeremy, and I just graduated. I've actually been out for about a year. I did some Internet courses while the band was on the road.

WORD: What was your favorite subject when you went to school?
Williams: I was better at English and reading than science and math.

WORD: Is that when you realized you liked writing and got interested in writing lyrics?
Williams: I do remember having a lot of assignments expressing ourselves, like journal writing—that's when I really started enjoying it. My mom was a teacher at my school when I was younger, so I always had encouragement. She always thought it was good that I said what was on my mind.

WORD: What would you want to be if you weren't in a band?
Williams: This band is our career—we want to keep doing it. For a time, I thought about going to cosmetology school to do something girly and creative and not as aggressive. But I just don't really see not being in a band right now. This is what we want to do. Paramore is our dream.

WORD: I read that some of your items of clothing are on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in Ohio. How were you selected to donate your clothes? Have you seen the exhibit?
Williams: We got extremely lucky. People from Warped Tour suggested an exhibit where they would make a time capsule where people could be exposed to Warped Tour and see what goes on there. I guess they figured we have become a big impact on the tour. We were so grateful! It's crazy that my dress is on display in a place where items from Johnny Cash, and even newer [acts] like Madonna and *NSYNC are hanging.

WORD: What's the best part about touring?
Williams: We love our fans so much! It's crazy to think how quickly things happen. We like hanging out with our fans.

WORD: Have you ever had any crazy experiences with fans?
Williams: There are always going to be some awkward run-ins. We were walking to the mall, and some kid jumped out in moving traffic! I think he wanted to give me a hug, but realized that some big people from the tour were protecting me, so he gave Josh a hug instead. He ended up following us around the mall. [But] we enjoy it because it means people are enjoying our music.

WORD: What do you like to do in your spare time?
Williams: On the road, you're in a different city every night. We [the band] love going out to eat as a group. It's really good friend time—time to build relationships. We love Mexican food and going to TGI Fridays. At home me and the guys like going to the park. We like being kids.

WORD: It sounds like you spend a lot of your free time with the band.
Williams: We all get along really, really well. We all really love each other. We love sharing everything together. It's awesome.

WORD: Do you have any advice for teens who would like to be in a band?
Williams: Know why you're doing it. You could end up doing it for the wrong reasons and get burnt out.

***

So are you happy that the writers will be writing for the Grammys? Which artists do you think will win in the different categories? Do you love Paramore as much as I do? Will we ever be able to get "Umbrella" out of our heads?

Now, if only the writers would settle the strike and come back to writing for TV, all would be right in the world. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm getting so sick of reality TV...