Truth: May Folks Are Awesome

Note: the above picture WAS the same one I used last year for Priya. It's just so cute!

I'm not one to really believe in horoscopes--I just find the ones about people's personality based on their date of birth or what year they're born in funny. (And I also really, really hate daily horoscopes. Very vague, very retarded. A total waste of time.)

However, I've noticed something pretty darn amazing: many people born towards the end of May are AWESOME. They're just amazing. They do all sorts of different things, but they are so wicked cool. If you're not convinced, or you're angry at me because I didn't say that your birthday is awesome (which it probably is, but I'm just focusing on May here because, well, it IS May), just read on to find out.

Jackson Pearce (May 21, 1984)
So...our names are every-so-slightly similar (because if you call her Jackie and me Jackie, we would easily have the same name), but...c'mon. She's a YA author and a singer who totally pwned Ke$ha a few days ago with her hit single "Writers' Blok" (which, by the way, I'm currently playing on repeat on my iPod. Just so you know.). Not only did she debut last year (book-wise) with a novel that sounds eerily similar to one of my favorite TV shows, I Dream of Jeannie (As You Wish, which, I believe, is also somewhat based on a Shakespeare play), but also her second novel (a fairy-tale retelling, another favorite genre of mine), Sisters Red, is coming out very soon and can already be bought from various bookstores!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859)
C'mon! It's the creator of Sherlock Holmes! And he was also a sort of sidekick helper-guy in Shanghai Knights. Though he isn't the author to first start writing the detective novel (that honor goes to Wilkie Collins with his novel The Moonstone, which I own and must read soon!), he established a classic book series that could be called Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys for Victorian era adults. In case you were wondering, my bucket list consists of reading the whole collection of Sherlock Holmes books--I've already read The Hound of the Baskervilles, one that I really enjoyed considering it was for summer reading freshman year.

spider (May 24)
Spider is awesome because: 1. I met her on LRRH back in the day, hence making her awesome. 2. She was on LRRH because she's a fan of Shannon Hale. 3. Her blog ROCKS. 4. She is freaking hilarious. 5. She's a constant blog reader of mine--that automatically gets sweet-and-awesome points in my book. ;) 6. She once helped me out with a project for Journalism/Yearbook. 7. We're both juniors born in the same year (though not all juniors born in the same year as us are awesome. Just saying. ;) ). 8. I think she tagged me before for a meme. Or I tagged her. 9. She could probably figure out I'm trying to come up with ten reasons why she's cool. 10. She is just cool. :)

Jewel (May 23, 1974)
Possibly one of the most talented singer-songwriter-guitarists out there. I simply adore songwriters who can weave poetry into music, a gift I wish I had, and Jewel can simply do it. I listened to "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland" on Sunday, forgetting it was her birthday (and I hadn't listened to her in awhile--however, I randomly had gotten it stuck in my head one day and didn't get to listen to it until then). Oh, and speaking of poetry, did you know that she actually wrote and published a book of poetry (and not just the lyrics written down in a book, though she has done that too for charity)? So neat. :)

Queen Victoria (May 24, 1819)
Um, hello? This is THE QUEEN. The one who reigned for sixty-something years in England and conquered almost the whole world (hence the proverb, "The sun never sets on the British empire.") including Europe, though the latter was more through her children's marriages (which is why she is called the grandmother of Europe, I believe). And as a side note, I have watched the mini-series on her, which was okay (and which starred Colin Firth's younger brother as Prince Albert! OMG! There is practically no resemblance whatsoever!), and I really want to see the new movie of her. :)

Frank Oz (May 25, 1944)
We all know it was Jim Henson who started the Muppets, but without Frank Oz directing the Muppets movies, they might not be as popular as they are today. He made Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Grover, and Cookie Monster a voice (literally speaking) 'cause...c'mon, what would the Muppets be without a pearl-wearing blonde pig, or what would Sesame Street be without that sweet-toothed blue fellow?

Dorothea Lange (May 26, 1895)
To you, she may just be a name in a history book, but really, her work from the Great Depression (such as Migrant Mother, which I'm sure you've seen somewhere) strikes Americans to the core even today upon realization of the hardships and struggles that the poor had to endure during the thirties. So Ms. Lange's awesome factor? Very high, considering her impact and her photographs' impact--especially at a time when photos were a pretty new medium still--on the U.S.

Sally Ride (May 26, 1951)
First of all, I'd like to say that if we play the Degrees of Separation game (which I LOVE), I'm two degrees from this amazing astronaut. TWO degrees from the first American woman astronaut! So. Neat. Her story always fascinated me, especially due to the fact that even though I'm not a fan of science, astronomy (NOT astrology, again, mind) interested me a lot, especially when I was in elementary school. I think she also taught (or is teaching) at Stanford, which also adds to her awesome factor in my book (even though chances are slim that I would get into there).

Helena Bonham-Carter (May 26, 1966)
Lucy Honeychurch. Lady Jane. Ophelia. Mrs Bucket. Bellatrix Lestrange. Admit it: this actress has played so many of literature's most famous characters, and she plays them well to boot. Not only that, she's Mr Bingley's cousin! Well, a "distant" cousin of the actor who plays Bingley in the Pride and Prejudice mini-series (ever noticed how in the credits there was always some fellow with the last name Bonham-Carter? That's him).

Colbie Caillat (May 28, 1985)
Another favorite singer-songwriter-guitarist of mine born around this time (though she is also a pianist and ukuleleist). I simply love her music because it's one of those that you simply can't place in one single genre, because it's one all of its own. Well, I've written a review raving about her debut album, so you should know already how much I enjoy listening to her songs. :)

What do these people all have in common? Some love literature, others music, others history (or they are part of history) and me...wait, why am I mentioning me? Is it...possibly my birthday? Could it be that I joined the ranks of these amazing people seventeen years ago?

YES! It's true! I...I...I'm a cool May person! I have something in common with these people! Um...wow!
Wow, as in...that wasn't just so corny. Well, 'nuff about me.

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all of these folks, though for many of them it is either a belated or an early birthday wish. :P

**Nota Bene/Disclaimer: You could totally call this list biased, because upon research, the writer/blogger/birthday girl found that there were also some not-so-awesome folks born in the end of May as well. Such as Cambodian dictators and untalented singers. Just saying.**

Also, folks I didn't mention but whom I also wish a happy birthday to include (but are not limited to): Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803), Ian McKellan (May 25, 1939), Amelia Bloomer (May 27, 1818). There were also several others, but I'll probably include them and those just listed in a post...in exactly a year from now. :)

BTW, I so would have posted this earlier had not HTML been such a jerk to me last night. :P