Author Archives: Shanella

The Woman In White: The Narrative of Walter Hartright

Posted in Bookish by
The Woman in White

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Have you seen the size of this book? Well, fear not! I’m here to help you, here is The Narrative of Walter Hartright from The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins – the bits that you really need to know.

—————

Walter: My Name is Walter Hartright, I am a poor, drawing teacher!

[Walter meets a woman dressed in white on the streets. He shows her the way to London.]

Random Men: Hark, You there! Have you seen a women dressed in white? She escaped from an asylum. We need to find her.

Walter: I have no idea what you’re talking about. [Runs away!]

Marian: I am Marian Halcombe, I am intelligent, witty, great in conversation and have a GREAT body, but, alas, I am ugly and have a mustache.

Walter: Marian, you are great to talk to. I met a random woman on the street. Some people said she was mad, but I threw them off her trail.

Marian: Oh, she sounds dreadfully familiar. Let me read letters to see how I know of her! BTW, my sister is a million times prettier than I am.

Laura: I’m Laura Fairlie. I’m so pretty, and quiet and gentle and I love drawing and walking with my dog. Oh how pretty are the flowers. Like me!

Walter: I am in love!

Laura: [quiet and gentle]

Walter: Every time we draw together I want to act inappropriately and hold your hand.

Laura: [quiet and gentle]

Marian: I have figured it out! Look, Walter, the woman you met has to be Anne Catherick, a girl who my mother took in and here, she dressed her in white and told her that was the best colour for her.

Walter: Fascinating!

Marian: Wait! The best part, she looks just like …

[Laura, dressed in white stops in front of them]

Walter: Your half-sister! Fascinating! Continue reading →

An Open Letter to Yelp’s Email Marketing Team

Posted in Thoughts by

Dear Yelp Email Marketing Team, 

I was away for the past week and you sent me an email, “Yelp Screams For Ice Cream!”. Since I had my away message up, my mailbox automatically shot you an “Out of the Office” type of email. However, as with most email newsletters, this message was sent to a mailbox that wasn’t being monitored, the address returnto@yelp.com. Typically, this would be OK, except for the fact that that email address keeps bouncing and I end up receiving messages EVERY DAY SINCE THEN letting me know that it will attempt to retry sending again. 

Every time I see the “Yelp Screams For Ice Cream” subject line, I want to scream, not for ice cream, but at your poor message management. In a perfect world, this is how it works, Yelp. 

You send email. You receive OOtO response. You accept return message either to a black-box inbox where messages are discarded since your marketing email is no-reply@yelp.com, OR you receive messages to a working inbox. Either way, my message to you needs to be received or it will bounce and it will keep trying that I will be informed every day and that will make me mad!  

Now, you have an annoyed customer who has to wait 8 more days for the mail system to stop trying to deliver. After 8 days, please be certain that I would not want to receive ANY emails from Yelp in the future. I’m just waiting to hit the “SPAM” button whenever I see your emails in my inbox, because, after this, you are practically spam to me, and I don’t open spam messages to “unsubscribe”. 

Yours Sincerely, 
Shanella

A Youtube Education

Posted in Media, The Web by

I’m a Youtube fan. I love that people can create videos and express themselves in this way. There are some great video creators out there and content that teach as well as entertain. I thought I’d highlight some of my favourite channels today!

Crash Course
Learn History and Science on this Vlogbrothers channel  in a fun and understandable way. I’ve been making my way though the history section.

Vlogbrothers
Speaking of, the Vlogbrothers was one of the first site I subscribed to. I love the videos that Hank and John Green make and I love the little community (well, rather large community) that they have built. There are funny videos, thought provoking videos, videos on current events, and they are all thoughtfully made. Also, I’m a fan of John Green’s books!

Charlie and Alex
Two guys from across the pond; Charlie and Alex have very different channels, but I find they both have some interesting videos. Charlie is just a funny guy and I find myself laughing at a lot of his videos (which are well made). I actually first started watching his videos after seeing his How to be English video. Alex also makes some funny videos, especially his reading of Twilight. He’s also one of the creators of Sopio, a fun card game.

Sorted
One of my favourite cooking channels is Sorted. They make quick and easy dishes and they are a lot of fun to watch. Annnd, they made a dish based on something I requested (a long time ago and with a few other people).

What an awesome God we serve

Posted in Religious Musings, Thoughts by

Awe: (n.) Dread; great fear mingled with respect. [Websters]

The word awesome has lost its meaning. Today, anything is awesome. Anything that we think is wonderful is awesome. Simple things that give us pleasure is awesome. It wasn’t until someone pointed it out that I realized that we have lost sense of what awesome really means.

Whilst thinking about how awesome God is, I saw an image in my head of a magnificent building, or making grilled cheese sandwich in a toaster, because those things – in my vocabulary – were awesome. But, this isn’t what awesome means, and when I’m talking about God being awesome, I’m not trying to relate Him to a sandwich. So, I’ve decided to reclaim the definition of awe.

To be in awe – to find something awesome – is to be in a state of reverence, respect and fear. When I think of an awesome God, I think of the one who said “Let there be!” and there was. I see in my mind the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace, walking around with a fourth who looks like the Son of God. I see Saul knocked off his horse on the road to Damascus. When I think of awesome, I see the throne with the four creatures around it singing, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” and I see the twenty-four elders, bowing before him, casting down their crowns singing, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

When I think of awesome, I think about the God who put away all the splendors of heaven and became like the ones He created. When I think of awesome, I think about the knee-buckling, tear-jerking, dumbstruck feeling I get when I realized that this same God, loves me so much that he would give his life for me and that is infinitely greater than grilled cheese. When I think of His awesome power, I know that, “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.” When I think about these things, I stand in awe.

O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth.

Coffee and a Book

Posted in Bookish, Vacations by

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I’m back in New York and it feels great! I loved my trip, but I love New York, it is my home and I love coming home. 🙂

I just thought I’d post a picture that I took in Paris. I was in a Starbucks getting “un grande caramel macchiato. Froid, s’il vous plait?” when I saw this sign… It basically says, “A coffee and a book. This library is here for you to read a good book while having good coffee. If you like the book, you can continue reading it at home. You can bring it back when you are finished, or bring another book in its place. Another reader might enjoy it as well.”

I’m in love! Where in NY can I find a Starbucks like this? 🙂