Storytime with Moon: Twilight in Kenya

Wait, people know about you outside of my bubble?

Dear Twilight,

I left roughly three weeks ago to run to the other side of the world to Nairobi, Kenya and more specifically the slum of Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, roughly the size of Central Park and houses 1-4 million people. Kibera is the home to many many beautiful wonderful people who live in extreme poverty, disease and human rights atrocities. Not quite the place I thought I’d be able to find you in, Twilight.

But I was wrong. Now don’t misunderstand me I didn’t meet any LTT-ers or Twihards or see any Edward Cullen posters but I was surprised at how you were known even in such a dire situation but then I guess I should have known you’d have been there. How many stories (including our own) have we heard about how Twilight has provided an escape and a new perspective on life?

So to tell my story of finding you in Kibera. While I was in Kenya I was part of a team that put on camps for kids and teens from Kibera. The first week I found myself a sweet, tough, fun young lady named Adelaide (they have the best names!) and one afternoon we were taking pictures and I happened to have some old pictures still on the camera so I sat down to show them my friends and family and where I lived. It just so happens that some of the Eclipse premiere / Leghitch2010 pictures were still on and camera. When they asked what was happening in the pictures I wondered “would they know Twilight, if I asked?” “What if they’re Robsten/Nonsten? Will I kick them off my team?” Ok, ok I didn’t wonder about the Robsten/Nonsten thing. I knew Adelaide was too cool for such things, after all she plays Rugby and she’s 12. She could kick any one of our Robsten/Nonsten arse’s if it came to blows. No need for Twitter drama, take it to the pitch people!

Future LTT/LTR girls?

So I told them these are pictures from a movie premiere I went to. And I thought that would be sufficient enough and we could go back to talking pictures and braiding hair. But no, Adelaide grabbed the camera and said “what movie?” and so I asked, “Do you know what Twilight is? The books and movies?” and she answered “Yes…” a little bit excited I grabbed the camera and told her I was going to find a picture of some of the stars she might recognize. So i flipped quickly to a picture of Rob and told her “This is Robert Pattinson, the guy who plays Edward Cullen, the vampire.” (The dude I write a blog about and have seen more times than I need to tell people, the guy I’ve made up insane stories and situations about, the guy I spend more time talking about then I should, that’s normal, right?). Of course, by then the few boys who were looking on over my shoulder had disappeared. TYPICAL. Adelaide grabbed the camera back and looked at Rob and I asked if she knew who he was and she turned to me and smiled and did the Kenya eye blink think which is their code for “yes” and she handed back the camera and took off. Because of course more important things awaited, jump rope, football, rugby, hanging out with friends. As it should. Who needs Twilight when you have such things?

Besides my team mates randomly asking me stuff about blogging or Twilight, that was my one and only discussion about anything Twilight related while in Kenya. It was nice to be away and to see other cultures, meet new people and still have a small connection to Twilight. But it’s also nice to be back with you all! I look forward to jumping back in with both feet. Thank you all for the funny and sweet messages you left me while I was gone and for helping UC chronicle all the stuff I missed in the “While Moon was gone” posts. I’m definitely filled in now and fat taytay will forever haunt my thoughts! Thank you for that!

Asante Sana! (the extent of my Kiswahili)
Themoonisdown

What’s the last place you thought you’d find a Twilight fan? Or someone who knows what Twilight is? Did you out yourself?

Our internet game is ridiculous: LTR, The Forum, Twitter, The Store

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Twilosophy: I am NOT the number 1 Twilight fan!

Dear Twilight and fellow LTT-ers,

Recently a girl I sorta know found out about the blogs and asked me “so you’re like the number one Twilight fan, huh?!” and I wholeheartedly and vehemently said NO! No I am NOT the number one Twilight fan cause in my mind number one fan is some crazy lunatic with Twilight tattoos, owns the entire line of tshirts from Hot Topic, sleeps on the sidewalk for days on end…  number one fan brings to mind visions of that show, FANatic on MTV and how some crazy person deemed an artist’s number one fan went apeshit when they met SugarRay or Britney Spears and that’s about the farthest thing from what I’d do if I ever REALLY met any of these people in real life. In reality I’d pretty much look the other way while hoping they didn’t think I was staring at them. Far from having a fangirl freak out or even acknowledging that I know who they are and NEVER ever in a million years mentioning that I write a blog about them or the books every day.

Yup, number one fan, that's me!

But just because I’m not those things that make me think #1 fan does that make me any less of one? Maybe I really am a number 1 fan. I run this blog, I’ve been to more than my fair share of Twilight related events, heck I have business cards in my handbag with this blog’s URL on it… somehow in my mind this does not equate number one fan but to the outside world, aka the rest of the population, who only know Twilight as that thing “the kids are into” I probably look like the biggest fan that ever lived.

I shudder to think!

So what does it all mean? Follow the cut to see what I come up with…
Continue…

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Rereading New Moon Chapters 3-6

Dear LTT-ers,

I wrote last week about rereading New Moon to “prepare myself” to the premiere THIS WEEK (crazy we can say that now) and last time I wrote about Carlisle’s icicle hands but this time I think I wanna talk a little bit about fate.

After I finally made it through that wretched “The End” chapter, cried (yup, again) at “the months” and made it through “Waking Up” chapter we finally make it to “The Cheater” aka Bella wants to be Evil Knievel. I was anxious to get through it because I knew the next chapter was “Friends” and Jacob finally comes back into the picture to rescue us from this emo-fest we’ve been in for the last 4 chapters but I was struck by a simple sentence Stephenie wrote right as Bella sees the motorcycles in the Markses yard. She writes:

“Sometimes, kismet happens.”

And of course I got to thinking about kismet and how it plays out in not only the books but my life outside of the books. So if we believe Merriam-Webster and their slutty cousin Dictionary.com than Kismet means “fate or destiny” that this was meant to happen. Edward leaving Bella had to be part of the master plan, she needed to do some growing on her own apart from their all-encompassing relationship. And without Edward leaving Bella wouldn’t have turned into a reclusive hermet girl making Charlie yell at her to go out and see friends and Bella wouldn’t have been out driving aimlessly if he hadn’t. Bella finding those bikes was meant to be because it leads her to Jacob and rekindling their friendship that ultimately helps bring her out of the pits of depression and eventually becomes a more rounded, better equipped person for when Edward finally shows back up at the end of the story.

Then me being me I took it a step further thinking about kismet in my own life, it was kismet that my coworker lent me her Twilight book which I become addicted to which led me to seek out other people who had been reading them which led me to see a Facebook status post UC had written around the same time which made us strike up a Twilight conversation. And well if it wasn’t kismet that made us start Letters to Twilight and Letters to Rob than truly I don’t know what is because without these blogs tons of people who never knew each other people would never have met otherwise. It still blows my mind to think about all the people that not only UC and I have met but all the people around the world who have met each other because one day we decided, or perhaps it was fated that we start these blogs.

So yes, I really do believe that sometimes kismet happens. What about you?

MTB,
Moon

PS Speaking of people we’ve met because of these blogs, today a bunch of you are flying into LA for a week of New Moon mania and I can’t wait to see all your faces and hug your necks and say a little thanks for kismet

Take the jump so we can get a little business outta the way……

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The tassle’s worth the hassle! Twilight stars graduate

Seniors Rule, underclassmen drool! FORKS SENIORS YALL!!!

Dear Graduating Vampires, Humans and I’m sure some of the Werewolves,

We break for the weekend and you all decide to go and graduate on us. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t receive an invitation to commencement but I’ll just assume mine is lost in the mail and head over to Hallmark asap to get you all a bunch of shiz that says “Class of 2009” that you will eventually find 5 years later when you’re cleaning out our old bedroom at your parents house. Return it NOW for cash. Trust me.

Seeing the caps and gowns and fake diplomas got me thinking about when I graduated and how I loved those cheesy quotes that people used in their commencement speeches, on graduation announcements, and as the class motto so I got to thinking about which quote you guys would choose for your graduation. And here’s what I came up with…

Mike Newton
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us  (burritos).  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bella Swan
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did….  (so TURN me already, Edward!! GEEZ!!) ~Attributed to Mark Twain, unconfirmed

Angela Weber
Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. (Cause it always freaking rains in freaking Forks, Washington)  ~Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book

Eric Yorkie
Excellence is not a skill.  It is an attitude  (So CHILLAX!). ~Ralph Marston

Edward Cullen
The important thing is not to stop questioning (But I hope you enjoy disappointment). ~Albert Einstein

Alice Cullen
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance! Manolo Blahniks ~Andy McIntyre

(I know, I know they didn’t graduate the same year, but just go with it…)

Rosalie Hale
Education is the best provision for old age. (So it becoming an Vampire)  ~Aristotle

Jasper Hale
There is a good reason they call these ceremonies ‘commencement exercises’. Graduation is not the end, it’s the beginning (trust me, I’ve done this like 50 times) – Orrin Hatch

Emmett Cullen
Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail (but hopefully no scent for any murderous nomadic vampires).  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Graduation!

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world (so is blogging about Vampires),
Themoonisdown

UC brings the awesome over at Letters to Rob
Sign Edwards yearbook in the forum!

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Twilosophy of the fandom – REAL Twilight fan?

REAL fan?!

Dear LTTers/Twilosophy Majors,

For quite some time now we’ve been reading emails, viewing other sites posts, receiving comments, and talking between us about what it is to be a “REAL fan.” We’ve been told by countless people that because of what we post we are not “Real fans”  and we’ve read on many other fansites and blogs and been on email chains toting the tenants of a “REAL fan” And apparently we (and many of you) are not “Real fans” because  being a ‘REAL fan” means something quite different to us than them. To certain folks, being a fan, means always agreeing with the powers that be, always saying something nice or non-divisive, loving everything about the saga or movies, opposing any sort of speculation or the posting of any possible rumors and god forbid: posting a picture taken by a paparazzo! The horror! But we beg to differ (of course!) because we definitely do all the above so-called no-no’s but we also love this saga like McAdams loved Gosling (RIP). And who’s to decide the level of someone else’s fandom? Can we really base our love for something on these outward displays of devotion?

• does kissing butt and blindly accepting everything make you a “real fan”

• does bringing up objections and differing opinions make you any less of a fan?

• Does it make us less of a fan of the actors or books by posting a paparazzi picture?

• When we write something in jest about an actor or character does that make us mean spirited?

I still read every little dumb post, read every article and buy every magazine (well the ones with the good pics!), own TWO full sets of the saga, own a Pocket Edward, co-write two blogs about Twilight and Rob, talk incessantly about the stories, have recommended the books to countless people and yet I’m not a “REAL fan?”

Because I’m a word nerd I looked up the word “fan” and here’s what we get…

Fan –noun
an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.
Origin:
1885–90, Americanism; short for fanatic

Synonyms:
supporter, enthusiast, ardent admirer, booster, addict

Not a fan!

Ok, so I’m pretty sure we could be called enthusiastic devotees and ardent admirers and most definitely ADDICTS! So what does it all mean? UC and I have sat around dwelling on this topic for months now and we hope that it comes across in the right way. Not as a pat on the back for ourselves but as validation to the other countless fans, YOU GUYS, who are just like us, think it’s alright to do all those things listed above and still be a fan! That’s why we started a blog- not just for the hell of starting a blog- but to be different. To say something interesting about the Saga we love. To BE those true fans who say “I love this so much I’m not afraid to admit that you suck in that moment” To say – no- you did it wrong. Because by doing that makes our happiness and excitement that much more genuine.

You know those friends or boyfriends when you ask “does this make me look fat?” or “What do you think of this dress?” automatically answer “YES?” While it’s nice to hear a compliment, in the end I’m going to trust the person who told me I looked like “a stuffed sausage in spanx” for advice over the “You look like Heidi Klum” person any day, because I know they’re being honest and want the best for me. And I only look like Heidi Klum on weekends after all.

Yes, frequently

On the same tip, when someone writes a review in the New York Times- they’re honest (and yes, I’m comparing us to the New York Times, go with it for the sake of the lecture!) They don’t say what they think the publishing house wants them to say. They don’t take the authors feelings into consideration. They are truly honest- and I think it’s important for people to have their own opinions. And equally as important: we need to leave room for other people’s opinions who differ from our own! it’s like “they” say: variety is the spice of life, differences make the world go round, never turn down a free filet-o-fish or whatever it is “they” say.  So that’s what we will do and continue to do. Write honest, while humorous, looks at saga and movies we love so much while being open for differing opinions, LOVING the good and calling out the bad.

a REAL fan,
Themoonisdown

So what say you? Do you feel like there are signs for true fandom? Have you been judged as a fan either way?

Don’t miss out on some Rob goodies at Letters to Rob
Real fans love the forum!

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