At Home in a City In Germany

The First Church of the Heretics

2011-09-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

(21:51:45) Bookwyrm: Hmm, what should I call the church?
(21:51:54) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Hmmm.
(21:51:56) malkah: Poor Darwin. XD
(21:52:00) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Saint Booky's. . . something.
(21:52:08) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Wait, you a saint? Never mind.
(21:52:11) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Ithie!!!
(21:52:13) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad hugtackles
(21:52:20) MinotaurforAslan: The non-levites?
(21:52:21) Bookwyrm: Hey Ithi
(21:52:21) malkah: The Snarkathedral.
(21:52:24) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Are you feeling any better?
(21:52:30) malkah: IZZY!
(21:52:32) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: THE SNARKATHEDRAL. xD
(21:52:35) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: I LOVE that. xDDD
(21:52:38) Bookwyrm: lol
(21:52:42) Bookwyrm: me too
(21:52:50) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: And he can deliver snarky sermons and it will quickly become the most populous religion in the world.
(21:53:09) malkah: Yes. With a worldwide Youtube congregation of millions.
(21:53:15) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Yes!!! XD
(21:53:42) malkah: He'll have the Imperial March played on the organ when he comes up to preach.
(21:53:49) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad FISTPUMP
(21:53:50) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Mal.
(21:53:55) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: You are a genius.
(21:53:56) MinotaurforAslan: I might go to that church
(21:53:57) Bookwyrm: Definitely
(21:54:00) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Booky, you should hire her.
(21:54:06) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: I'd definitely go.
(21:54:11) Bookwyrm: And instead of suits and dresses, we would wear capes
(21:54:17) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: YES!
(21:54:21) malkah: YES.
(21:54:24) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: What would the choir outfits look like?
(21:54:37) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: WB, Cor
(21:54:38) Ellesar should plug in her nook
(21:54:44) Bookwyrm: Storm trooper armor
(21:54:48) malkah: WB, Cor!
(21:54:49) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: ROFL
(21:54:52) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: I love this.
(21:54:56) PrinceCor004: returns
(21:55:01) malkah: LOL! XDDDD
(21:55:17) malkah: This is pure and utter win.
(21:55:23) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: And the stained glass windows should all depict various scenes of geekdom.
(21:55:40) Lady_Arwen: I think the Grand High Snarpriest should wear a Fez and a bow tie.
(21:55:49) Bookwyrm: Yes! The TARDIS, the Enterprise
(21:55:49) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: YESH.
(21:55:58) malkah: Yes yes yes
(21:56:10) Ellesar: you guys are weird
(21:56:19) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: No, we're awesome.
(21:56:29) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Someday thousands will look back on this day as the start of a Brave New Geeky World.
(21:56:31) Lady_Arwen: We are TEH AWESOMZ
(21:56:33) Bookwyrm: Millenniam Falcon
(21:56:35) malkah: What else could you have? Comic books for hymnals?
(21:56:41) PrinceCor004: Each stained glass window depicts one iconic scene from a Sci Fi film, from Metropolis through The Matrix. xD
(21:56:45) Ellesar: you're weird, Rose
(21:56:46) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad rofls. XDDD
(21:56:46) Lady_Arwen: Milleniam?
(21:56:54) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad is AWESOME!!! Awesome, I tell you!
(21:56:57) Bookwyrm: Ooo, perfect, cor
(21:57:06) Ellesar: that's debateable, dear minion
(21:57:12) malkah: "We're weird now. Weirdness is cool. "
(21:57:15) Lady_Arwen: ...and we can have weeping angels guarding the gates!
(21:57:16) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad shniffles.
(21:57:18) Lady_Arwen: Ooo...problem.
(21:57:24) Ellesar: rofl malkah
(21:57:30) Lady_Arwen: What do you do with the headless monks?
(21:57:34) Bookwyrm: lol
(21:57:36) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: We won't get in trouble with copyright stuff, will we?
(21:57:39) Ellesar: stay away from them?
(21:57:48) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Give them cabbages for heads?
(21:57:49) Bookwyrm: They would pass the collection plates around
(21:57:56) malkah: Have them collect the offering?
(21:58:01) Lady_Arwen: rofl
(21:58:02) malkah: Booky beat me to it. XD
(21:58:11) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: And the collection goes to expanding Booky's comic book library.
(21:58:13) Lady_Arwen: No "donations" though!
(21:58:13) Bookwyrm: If people cheap out and put a quarter in, they start chanting
(21:58:17) georgiefan1: hi people!
(21:58:21) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Whit! *hugtackles*
(21:58:24) PrinceCor004: Have C3P0's as ushers....
(21:58:24) Lady_Arwen: Hey neighbor.
(21:58:38) georgiefan1: Rosie! *is hugtackled*
(21:58:41) Ellesar puts on an episode of Twilight Zone to watch before going to bed
(21:58:43) malkah: THAT would be awesome, Cor.
(21:58:45) georgiefan1: hi Neighbor!!!
(21:58:47) malkah: Squishie!
(21:58:58) georgiefan1: Auntie Dori!!!
(21:59:00) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: I don't know why you want to watch the Twilight Zone when you can just watch the lunacy of chat, Elle.
(21:59:04) Lady_Arwen: And Data can be the dude that rides around in the go-cart taking people from their car to the door.
(21:59:28) PrinceCor004: @ LA. No, Robby the Robot! xDDD
(21:59:35) Bookwyrm: And after the service, we would adjourn to the church's cafeteria to have second breakfast
(21:59:42) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad:
(21:59:46) malkah rofls.
(21:59:50) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Can I be in charge of the food?
(21:59:57) Bookwyrm: sure
(22:00:04) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Yay!
(22:00:10) Lady_Arwen: ...and the elves can keep the Library.
(22:00:30) Ellesar: because I like having background noise, Rose
(22:00:31) Bookwyrm: yep
(22:00:42) PrinceCor004: Second breakfast which includes the special "Green Eggs and ham"
(22:00:44) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad wonders if Booky will dress as Darth Vader and do the sermons in Darth Vader voice.
(22:00:59) TheGentleWarrior: well... still doesn't look like it's emptied out much here, now has it?
(22:01:06) TheGentleWarrior: Maybe a bit of member change, but....
(22:01:06) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Gen! *pounces*
(22:01:10) georgiefan1: Darth Vader is scary!
(22:01:12) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Come, come! This is a very important day in your life!
(22:01:15) georgiefan1: Hermione!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(22:01:17) TheGentleWarrior: ROSE. O.O
(22:01:19) malkah: "Luuuuuke...I am your pastor." XD
(22:01:19) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: The day you become enlightened about HERETICISM!
(22:01:23) TheGentleWarrior: Uhh... why? *is pounced on*
(22:01:27) malkah: Gen!
(22:01:28) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: ROFL, Mal!!!
(22:01:32) TheGentleWarrior: Oookkk...?
(22:01:36) TheGentleWarrior: Hi Mal!
(22:01:37) PrinceCor004: Of course, you'd have to keep the Queeen in the basement in order to get the green eggs....
(22:01:41) Lady_Arwen: Darth Vader: "Mawwiage is what bwings us togetha tooday."
(22:01:43) TheGentleWarrior: GINNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(22:01:52) TheGentleWarrior: .....
(22:01:52) malkah: ROFL, Wren!
(22:01:57) TheGentleWarrior: is someone getting married?
(22:02:05) Lady_Arwen: No.
(22:02:07) TheGentleWarrior: should I even ask?
(22:02:10) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: We seriously need to make fake accounts on April Fool's day and post about this church in CR&P.
(22:02:13) TheGentleWarrior: ok...
(22:02:14) Lady_Arwen: Its...prince bride comment.
(22:02:14) Bookwyrm: "But I don't believe in God!" "I find your lack of faith ... disturbing."
(22:02:20) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: ROFLLLLLLLLL
(22:02:21) TheGentleWarrior WANTS A FAKE ACCOUNT.
(22:02:25) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad bursts out laughing. XD
(22:02:33) malkah: OH MY WORD.
(22:02:34) PrinceCor004: LOL Booky! XDDDDDDDDDDDDD
(22:02:38) TheGentleWarrior: Actually, i'm gonna change my username on April 1st.
(22:02:42) TheGentleWarrior: Booky. XDDD
(22:02:46) georgiefan1: "These are not the ministers you are looking for" XD
(22:02:46) Lady_Arwen: Hey, guys, just as a reminder, fake accounts except on April 1st are against the rules.
(22:02:46) malkah 's sides hurt. XDDDDDDDD
(22:03:08) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad hands Mal some water
(22:03:09) Lady_Arwen snickers.
(22:03:24) malkah takes the water and tries to breathe.
(22:03:28) malkah: Thanks, Rose.
(22:03:30) TheGentleWarrior: Don't worry Lady A. I'd never do that, even though it'd be funny at times, i'm not that evul, trust me. *nods*
(22:03:31) Lady_Arwen hopes mal doesn't do a spittake.
(22:03:41) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Somehow I feel like this church's congregation will look a lot like people at ComicCon.
(22:03:56) TheGentleWarrior: So... fill me in on something about this interesting church?
(22:03:57) Lady_Arwen: lol!
(22:04:03) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Well.
(22:04:11) PrinceCor004: "We'll take the book and preach from the pulpit.... it's the only way to be sure."
(22:04:11) TheGentleWarrior: Something about Darth Vader?
(22:04:17) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: It's called the Snarkathedral.
(22:04:25) Bookwyrm: "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." *force yanks the blaster away*
(22:04:26) TheGentleWarrior: *snorts* XD
(22:04:36) TheGentleWarrior: Snarkathedral?
(22:04:40) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Yesh.
(22:04:46) TheGentleWarrior: Wow. XD
(22:04:50) TheGentleWarrior: I love it.
(22:04:50) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: And Booky's the Grand High Snarker or something.
(22:04:53) TheGentleWarrior: What else?
(22:05:00) TheGentleWarrior: Grand High Snarker?
(22:05:04) Bookwyrm: The Bishop of Snarkitude
(22:05:04) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: I should just send you the chat log.
(22:05:16) Bookwyrm: The Caustic Cleric
(22:05:16) Lady_Arwen: The Grand Exalted Snarpriest.
(22:05:17) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: BUT IT'S TOTALLY AWESOME
(22:05:24) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: And I'm in charge of the foodz. You should join.
(22:05:31) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad hugtackles Ithie. Again.
(22:05:32) Lady_Arwen: Leader of the headless monks.
(22:05:37) PrinceCor004: would like to be incharge of security.... or making sure the grounds are not defiled.
(22:05:40) Ithilwen: Hello.
(22:05:41) malkah helps hugtackle Izzy.
(22:05:45) malkah: We have a chat log for you.
(22:05:45) Ithilwen: What are you guys doing?
(22:05:50) Bookwyrm: Hey Ithi
(22:05:51) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: We totally do.
(22:05:55) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: This is a very important day in history!
(22:05:57) Ithilwen: Great! Go ahead and PM it to me. XD
(22:05:59) TheGentleWarrior: send me the chat log!
(22:05:59) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: WE HAVE FOUNDED A RELIGION!
(22:06:01) TheGentleWarrior: please??
(22:06:03) Lady_Arwen waves
(22:06:05) TheGentleWarrior: I wanna join, too!
(22:06:07) Ithilwen: Oh dear. XD
(22:06:09) Bookwyrm: We're planning the First Church of Totally Awesome Hereticism
(22:06:12) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Can someone else do it? My copy and paste is stupid.
(22:06:16) georgiefan1:
(22:06:19) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad high fives Booky.
(22:06:20) malkah: I've got it.
(22:06:24) Ellesar wants a copy of it as well
(22:06:24) georgiefan1: I'll join!
(22:06:25) TheGentleWarrior: Could you PM it to me anyone? I'd appreciate it.
(22:06:26) Ithilwen pokes Mally's inbox
(22:06:27) malkah: Just a sec...
(22:06:30) Lady_Arwen wonders where she would fit into this.
(22:06:32) TheGentleWarrior: And I wanna join... what can I do?
(22:06:36) Lady_Arwen: "Helloooooo Benjamin!"
(22:06:37) Bookwyrm: AKA the Snarkthedral
(22:06:52) Lady_Arwen wants a copy, too.
(22:06:53) malkah: Izzy, by the way, I'm working on a reply for your PM. It's just going to be a loooong one, so it's taking awhile.
(22:06:55) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Do we need a dance teacher?
(22:06:58) Bookwyrm: You can be the choir director. You'll shoot anyone who sings off key.
(22:07:08) Lady_Arwen: Snarkethedral might sound better.
(22:07:11) Ithilwen: Thanks, Mal. I just sent you another PM. XD But it's short.
(22:07:21) TheGentleWarrior: Who's the choir director? I'm lost.
(22:07:24) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad votes for Snarkathedral, personally.
(22:07:26) TheGentleWarrior: a dance teacher. XD
(22:07:28) Lady_Arwen keeps thinking Ithi is Joe.
(22:07:30) malkah: Oh drat. I lost the log when the chat booted me. Can someone else get it, please?
(22:07:35) TheGentleWarrior votes for Snarkathedral also.
(22:07:35) Bookwyrm: Lady A, if she wants.
(22:07:36) The_Rose-Tree_Dryad: Cathedral. . . Kathedral. . . Snarkathedral.

Looking For Some Friends

2009-09-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been hectic, and I'm getting ready to go yet another place right now, but, I have a problem.

I lost the addresses for my COMMIT girls in an airport.

So, here is my prayer request, and if you are one of my COMMIT friends, my e-mail: Please pray that I either find someone who has their addresses, or find a copy of their info. I know I gave them all a link to my blog, so if you happen to be reading this, please e-mail me at evenstar.arwenlady@gmail.com and I will send you my regular e-mail.

Thanks!

Conference!!! Day 1!!!!!

2009-07-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! Today has been so exciting, and it isn’t even half over!! For those of you who haven’t heard yet, I am in Sacramento working (and enjoying) a conference. Last night was wonderful, but late, so I’m running on six hours of sleep…teeheehee! This morning, I was fighting with the alarm clock, as usual…but I managed to get coffee and to my room on time!

Before our first small group, I must have looked like the camera lady, running around with not only my camera but with other leader’s cameras. I did get some great pictures, which I will download and link you to later. We played several different games, some old, some new. Right now I’m scrapping for games that have little (or no) preparation and that forty to sixty girls can play, so if you have a good one, e-mail me, please please please e-mail it!

I have a small group of girls this year…just five girls, one of whom has been on my team before. They are all absolute sweethearts, but slightly quiet. I think the reason they were so quiet this morning was because they were still sleepy, but that is neither here nor there. Actually, it is, because I’m planning of getting them moving tomorrow by moving our devotion forward and playing some teambuilding games with them beforehand. Muhahaha…..Oh dear.

Our devotion this morning was I Corinthians 13:1-4.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

For being so quiet, they had several very great insights. We talked about types of tongues, looking at both the spiritual gift of tongues and tongues as different languages. Rachel mentioned that even though we might have the gift of tongues from Christ, which is a powerful gift, it will have no good effect unless it is used in love.

We talked a little about different mysteries and types of knowledge, but did not find any remas here, however, we did find more in the third verse—giving without love. This, we discovered, is a manifestation of pride. If you think about it, it is very hard to be prideful and at the same time to have true love for others. I suppose this could be a sort of love meter—the more pride, the less love.

Our third rhema was concerning hypocrites, and not being Pharisees (this does not give you permission to be Sadducees, thank you very much). We may preach love to others, but unless we apply it to our own families, what good is our preaching? To preach something that we do not follow only alienates those we preach to.

I have extremely thoughtful girls. :)

Our large group was slightly painful, but a blessing nonetheless. Have you ever had something that rent your heart, but at the same time was a blessing? That was this morning, condensed. How hard it is to remove defenses that we put up to keep our hearts from being torn! This is something I struggle with daily, and I know my girls probably do also. I feel so much pain from my own heart tears and from its defenses, and I wish so much to protect others from the same thing. Oh that God would heal those broken hearts! I believe several girls have begun a process of healing today. Have you ever seen the time-release potting soil at a hardware store, the kind that releases nutrients for up to two years after you use it? I wish I could put the spiritual equivalent around them right now, so that in the future I will know that they are still growing.

See? Micromanaging can be fun.

Our elective sessions were quite fun, and, actually, a little hectic. I never new so many girls would be so interested in something like papercrafting. It was a blessing to listen to them talk as they worked. Beside papercrafting, which I was doing, there were tables for calligraphy, needlework, knitting, crocheting, and origami (actually, we only had 3 tables, but somehow everyone found a place) as well as sports stations and an area for girls to try out about four or five different types of stringed instruments and a piano. It was beautiful to work with girls while listening to the music! I did have a few qualms, however, after rescuing a light colored inkpad from destruction by a stamp that had black ink thickly spread on it. However, nothing was destroyed, no one died or was severely injured, and everyone seemed to be completely enjoying themselves, so….

Our second group session was also very blessed, however, because of the delicacy of the session, I will not be posting of it here. If you wish to know, please talk to me privately.

Directly after lunch was choir, with the most wonderful conductor ever, Mr. Brian Fox, who the ENTIRE orchestra and choir love with all our hearts. Mr. Fox, I can’t transcribe your conducting style, well, I could try, but I’m it wouldn’t do justice. Let’s just say I think I spend more time laughing and breathing than singing. But, we love you any way. God bless you.

That said, I am going to leave you hanging to find out what happens next, because Mr. Gothard is about to speak, and I am not going to miss out on this.

Pictures can be found here.

The Red Envelope

2009-02-13T17:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings, all,

As it is almost Valentine's Day, many people are thinking in "romantic" turns. I would like to challenge you to think in some very un-romantic terms.

One of my mother's friends wrote this, and I believe this is something that can be very effective, if we band together and make it so. Please read on, and then, if you believe in protecting the life of the innocent, copy and tag your friends.

God bless,

Amë Stevens

P.S. For those of you that have forums and if you would like to link to this, please feel free. Some graphics have been included at the end if you wish to use them.

From the email:

>>As I was praying, I believe that God gave me an interesting idea. Out in the garage I have a box of red envelopes. Like the powerful image of the red LIFE tape, an empty red envelope will send a message to Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue (abortion). It will be quiet, but clear.

Here is what I would like you to do:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores. Or, if you're sending a valentine card that came with a red envelope, put the card in a white envelope and use the red one for this project. On the front, address it to

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C.

On the back, write the following message.

"This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception."

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this email to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having had a chance to live. Maybe it will change the heart of the President.<<

The second signature is sized 100 x 500. If you click on it you will be able to see the full image. However, it will appear to be cut off on this page.

This image was retrieved from http://www.cardiophile.com/about and then edited. Some rights reserved. Original photo taken by aussiegall.

A Second Set:

All signatures and avatars designed by Amë.

Crushed Perfection (Girls Only)

2008-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Every girl’s first crush is Robin Hood, whether it be Disney’s Fox or Errol Flynn. It’s as simple as that. If they’ve heard the story, they’ve fallen in love with this “perfect” man. But, over time, our love for Robin grows dormant, tucked away deep in our heart, where it is hid, as we’ve grown up and realized that Robin is, in fact, fictional, and even if he wasn’t, he’d be dead by now, anyway. But deep down, if we were really, really honest, we still love him.

Then Kris comes along.

Most of you probably don’t know who this “Kris” is. Kris takes many forms and bears many names, but his main characteristic is that he is the heartthrob of a third of the single female American population. In popular media, Kris is more commonly known as Orlando Bloom. He’s perfect for everything—graceful as an elf, strong as a warrior, and as honest as Will. In local church youth groups, he takes the form of a more modest Kris-worship leader, cute, funny, honest, and believes that girls think in a manner that can best be illustrated by making spaghetti. However, any girl confessing her love for a Kris is smiled at, the aforementioned boy discussed, and then, just as the conversation is moving on, someone leans over and whispers “he’s out of your league.”

Hearts sink. With a more critical eye, she surveys her new love and realizes that he is, indeed, out of her league. Not to mention ten or fifteen years older than she is. Sigh. So over time she “grows out” of her crush and move on to more fertile ground. He is never mentioned again, and her love is laid to rest beside Robin in her own little love-sick graveyard. But, just like Robin, we still love him, and perhaps every now and then we’ll sneak a wreath in to lay over the unmarked grave.

But wait! There is one more who catches our little lady’s eye…and he’s cuter than Kris. So she meets Dan, who is responsible for the second third of crushes in the U.S.. Dan is better than Kris, and he has a dry sense of humor. While he might not be the youth’s worship leader, he is captain of the basketball team, the school’s star player, and class president. Did I mention that he is not just cute, but handsome? He’s also a prankster…but that only makes him more endearing. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one who has noticed Dan. Half of the school swoons if he happens to glance in their direction. Sure, he’s not dead, which is a plus, and he’s not twice her age, but her chances of getting him are just about as low.

So she sighs again and…stumbles across the We-Hate-Dan club, comprised of the other third of the female population. These girls are bent on destroying Dan, and getting every other girl to realize that he really is not as good as they think he is, a la John Tucker Must Die (which, incidentally, I only recommend if you are wishing to lose brain matter). They’re so focused on making his life miserable that they don’t even take time to look around and find out who else is cute, until they move away to college, and find some decent looking, not really impressive guy who they settle down and spend the rest of their life with. And then, every now and then, they sit down with a cup of tea and dream…of being Maid Marian, and waiting for Robin to come and rescue them.

Who Painted The Moon Black - Hayley Westenra

And what did YOU have for dinner last night?

2008-07-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

Octopus with soy sauce and tomato...Sounds great, doesn't it?

Heh.

Unfortunately, it appears this is really a dish. According to our corespondant (yes, our. The other half of my split personality is making its rounds, so you have to put up with both of us. :P ), a few nights ago(alright, late in January), some teenage boys were having an adventure.

With octopus.

Did I mention it was live?

Evidently one of them had found some sort of recipe for these little cephalopods, and they were on a war path to try it. There are no reports on what happened to those involved in the carnage, although I think one of them is missing a nose at the moment, and no one was interested in eating the leftovers the next morning....

Interestingly enough, the boy's wild adventure with creatures from the depths (or not so depthy) sea applies to more than just their tummies.

The Law defines octopi as unclean creatures. They do not have fins or scales, which is the requirement for any water-dwelling creature to be considered "clean."

Or does it?

Our Lord redefines "clean" and "unclean" when He stated that;

"What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"

Although none of our dear little squishy friends are here to hear that, it should make them happy.

I, for one, am not interested in such culinary excursions, so I will bow out from further courses.

Have I ever shared our family's Possum Recipe with you?

Aslan Returns, Part XII: Rumours and Guesses

2008-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I spelled it wrong. But we are talking about a series where all the main characters are from The Big UK. Rumours and Guesses will run whenever an interesting tid-bit comes up. However, the purpose of this is NOT for A City to become a random fan site, but rather for improved analysis of information, as always.

Rumour/Guess #1: Tilda Swinton will reappear as the Lady of the Green Kirtle, as well as Jadis. Now, it has been openly mentioned by Tilda that she would be willing to come back for The Magician's Nephew, but that was after she said she had done no filming for the White Witch section of Prince Caspian and before anyone ever found out that she had done a cameo. As for the cameo, NarniaWeb noted that "According to director Andrew Adamson, Tilda Swinton and her children had another short cameo in Prince Caspian—as centaurs."

The Adamson later continues "...she's wonderful. She's just kind of this fan of the film. She said in an interview at one stage that she'd be happy to do [it]...even if it was in my garage and she had to wear a pointy hat. And when she won her Golden Globe or the Oscar, I texted her and said, 'Will you still do that movie in the garage?' And she texted me back, 'Where's my call sheet, dude?' She's great."

Since Tilda seems to have such vested interest in the series, it is not beyond the reach of possibility that she will, in fact, play both the Lady of the Green Kirtle and Jadis.

Aslan Returns, Part XI: Aslan

2008-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Young Hillary Clinton

2008-06-13T08:00:00.001-07:00

Her majesty has just declared that she is pulling out of the presidential candidacy race and is supporting Obama.

Aslan Returns, Part X: Duel and Corresponding Battle

2008-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

As this posts, I am no where near a computer, much less a computer hooked up to the internet. I've finally discovered how to set stuff up to post ahead of time! woot!

Peter, Edmund and Caspian have, by this point mostly mended their relationships. No one is angry at anyone, and no one feels above or beneath the others. It is during this time also that Susan and Lucy set out on the secret mission, only for Susan to come back with Caspian (hmmmmm....).

The duel progresses in a very different manner than in the book. In the book, Peter sprains his wrist. Here, he dislocates his shoulder (if you were wondering why Ed grabbed his arm and jerked it like that, that's why). Instead of Miraz being stabbed in the back while Peter waits for him to rise, Peter hands the sword to Caspian, and then Miraz is stabbed (with one of Susan's feathers, incidentally), and the Telmarines call foul, although this fits in the movie's storyline much better.

The Battle is very well done, and creates a whole new style of fighting. Instead of relying solely on ground and air troops, a new method is developed: underground troops. Here the Narnians literally pull the sod from beneath the Telmarine's feet. The Narnians have little need to fight. They are barely getting started when Aslan awakens the trees, and the trees and the river god take care of the rest. A much smaller battle then the battle in the first movie, and much smaller than I imagined the battle being, but actually larger then Lewis actually wrote, but it sets Aslan up to have a much more grand entrance, because, really, that's who its all about, right?

Whaddya mean, no?

Aslan Returns, Part IX: Miraz and Queen Prunaprismia

2008-06-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Miraz’s bid for the kingship begins before the film starts, yet he is not crowned until later, contrary to the book, where he is already king. However, he has an odd relationship with his wife, who, incidentally, stars the first about three to five minutes of the film, as the film immediately descends into Caspian’s escape from the castle and incidental discovery of the Narnians. But I digress.

Miraz and Queen Prunaprismia, who will be best remembered in my book as the person with the hardest name to type (I’ve mistyped about five times already, and we’ve only seen her name twice.), have a strange love/hate relationship, if they have a love part of the relationship at all. It is clear that Queen Prunaprismia did not marry for love—she even at some points seems to disdain Miraz. There are three key points of their relationship in the movie.

The Castle Raid
When Caspian rescues the doctor, the doctor mentions just slightly something about Miraz killing Caspian’s father, Caspian the IX. When pressed, Cornelius refuses to say anything much, so Caspian sets out (against the plan) to discover what exactly happened to his father. Thus he ends up in Miraz and Queen Prunaprismia’s bedroom, moments before Peter and Susan. With his sword at Miraz’s neck, and with the queen’s crossbow aimed at him, Caspian demands to know the truth: did Miraz really kill King Caspian the IX?

Queen Prunaprismia does not let Miraz answer.

“You told me Caspian [the tenth] died in his sleep!”

Miraz does not even look at her.

“He did die in his sleep.”

Emphasis on did.

Queen Prunaprismia is quite shaken, and not quite sure she is happy with how things are turning out. It is at this point that disdain clearly crosses her face, before firing the crossbow, and then screaming and crumpling up in a heap because she’s sure that Miraz is dead and she just killed Caspian.

Poor lady.

Miraz’s Crowning
There is nothing significant at Miraz’s crowning, unless you count those absent. Prunaprismia is not visible at the ceremony.

The Door Between the Worlds
The second person wishing to depart from Narnia, and going with Lord Sopespian is Queen Prunaprismia. Miraz is gone, and it is very clear that she wants a new life for both her and her son. It appears that her father goes with her. Aslan breathes on and blesses all three, and then they depart. She does not appear to mourn Miraz’s passing, nor does she hold a grudge against Caspian, or even Peter. She is instead clearly ready for a new life in a new place, where she can raise her son with a new hope. She is no longer poor, but is instead blessed. With her riches she found no blessing, but with her loss of the kingdom, she finds what she had been missing: blessing and hope.

Aslan Returns, Part VIII: The Trees and Lucy's Dream

2008-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

I had wondered if the trees would by somewhat like the Ents in Lord of the Rings, and, while that would have been really cool, it would have seemed too much like they lifted it. So I was interested in what they would do. I was pleasantly surprised with how the trees looked, and the ability of the roots to run around all over the place.

The dance of the trees was much less detailed then Lewis had laid out in the books. It was much more mystical and strange because it occurred in Lucy's dream, which Director Andrew Adamson had noted was not necessarily a dream, but had a strange quality of a dream. Some reason that the dream was left that way because it was a promise of Aslan's arrival, not His actual arrival, whereas in the book it was the first time that Aslan's arrival was confirmed. Others will not vary from the book, asserting that it was no dream. Both of these viewpoints add some interesting thoughts to our Christian lives.

The Promise
The promise of Aslan's arrival is played out very clearly in Lucy's dream. She gets up and wanders away from the campsite, then notices the trees moving, and sees Aslan. The two converse, and then Lucy asks why Aslan didn't just come roaring in and fix everything like he had done earlier. Aslan replies that nothing happens "the same way twice," and Lucy wakes up. Later, when she does actually meet Aslan, they share the same conversation.

Many times in our Christian life we only get promises in dreams, or in some cases a dream of a dream. I think this leads many of us to doubt if it really was a promise for us, or if we were just indulging in wishful thinking. You can almost see Lucy go through this thought process. She tries to follow her path in the dream, but does not find Aslan. Peter and Susan are believing that they have to do everything on their own...so is Aslan not coming? Is Lucy holding on to an ancient myth that no one believes anymore? Or does she have a promise in her dream?

The Son of the Emperor Over The Sea in the Flesh
If, indeed, it is not a dream, but Lucy does truly speak and visit with Aslan, and we just miss out on the rest of her conversation, we have not lost much. Aslan has already asserted that he will make things right. But once again, Lucy's faith must come to the rescue. Aslan is there, living and moving, but for now only among the forest, not in and among the Narnians. However, he is doing his own work, and Lucy is revived by periodically seeing him, and more often then not, burying her face in his mane.

There is no second guessing yourself here--you can only second guess Him, but he provides strength. And strength comes from burying our faces in the mane of the Lion of Judah--or in our pillows, with our Bible beneath.

Aslan Returns, Part VII: Castle Raid

2008-05-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Castle Raid is not where the script deviates the most from the book, and if it is, it's the least offensive. However, it opens a whole new area up to our investigation, as well as interpretation.

The castle raid seriously develops both Peter and Caspian, while proving the Susan is remaining static. Edmund is only slightly involved, more for a light-hearted side of the raid than action. He still plays a key part though, and his "electric torch" (i.e., flashlight) aids greatly in the humor.

It is here, in the castle raid, that the conflict between Peter and Caspian reaches its climax. Caspian is against the raid, while Peter wishes to be the first to attack. Caspian does not stick to the plan, while Peter refuses to allow for changes. Caspian is looking for old friends and truth; Peter, for glory. The colliding goals absolutely spoil the raid. Because Caspian's heart is not in the raid, he is able to easily adjust his goals as he moves along. Unfortunately, Caspian and Peter do not have any way to communicate changes as the raid progresses, thus causing its demise.

Neither will take responsibility for the mishaps that result from the lack of communication, and so Caspian storms off into the How--where Nikabrik is waiting. Even with his wish that he had not called the ancient Kings and Queens fresh on his memory, Caspian is wary of the White Witch, as he should be. The noise attracts Peter, Edmund and Lucy. Why Susan is not here is a mystery, but fits with how she has been throughout the rest of the film. Nikabrik nearly kills Lucy, but, instead of Nikabrik's killer being an unknown, Trumpkin kills him to save Lucy, a turning point in Trumpkin's character.

Meanwhile, Peter pushes Caspian out of the sphere of the Witch's influence, only to fall into the same trap. If it was not for Edmund, the White Witch would have someone in her control, but Edmund breaks the ice with his sword, breaking the spell. When the ice falls, he is standing before a bas relief of Aslan. Coincidence?

Peter and Caspian look at Edmund, then look over at each other, suddenly realizing that they are both fragile humans, and neither of them has the strength to do this alone. Their reconciliation shows throughout the rest of the film, and when Peter leaves...well, perhaps my good friend Elisa explained it best when she said,

The first time I saw the movie, I left happy and satisfied, and the second time I saw it, I left with a smile on my face, humming the words to "The Call", that beautiful song that plays at the end of the movie. If anything, that song reminded me of why I love Narnia so much. It's not because of the action or the battles or even necessarily the people, but the fact that Narnia is my "special" place, the place I can go and be in a different world and see so many different people and places, all while seeing the truth in life mirrored there. The fact that I can go back there anytime I want, whether it be through the books, or the movies, or even just in my own imagination, is special, and these films that they make just intensify that feeling. And the best part is, there's still more coming...we get to go back in two years! And how fantastic is that?

Very.

Now we're back to the beginning,
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet.
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean you have to forget.

You'll come back when they call you,
No need to say goodbye.
You'll come back when they call you,
No need to say goodbye.

The Call - Regina Spektor

P.S. I think this may fall alongside Yoda's Theme from Star Wars as one of my personal themes.

Aslan Returns, Part VI: CG Characters

2008-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

For any of my following statements to make good and perfect sense, we must delve into one of my favorite areas of film making: computer generated animation, otherwise known as CG fill-in-the-blank.

As could be expected, the CG characters were wonderful, and were carried out perfectly. The movie, as was previously mentioned, begins in Narnia, and it isn't long before we see a computer animated figure in Trufflehunter, the badger that lives with Nikabrik and Trumpkin. Keeping--and even surpassing--the high standard that has been set for computer generated characters, Prince Caspian hits every note that was laid out in the book. the characters move flawlessly around, the stilted movement of early animation from the BBC version completely lost. The mice are mice, not puppets. And Aslan is larger than ever, just as Lewis had noted.

And boy, does it ever enhance the film. Trufflehunter is vaguely reminiscent of the Beavers, being of the same approximate shape and height, and the centaurs are--well, some of them are just darlin'. There are some smaller centaurs, including a child centaur, which I later found out was one of Tilda Swinton's children. More about that when we hit "Rumours."

The river god is amazing. I think the only thing that could have improved that segment was to actually mist the audience with water when the river god charges. The river god is not, as I had orginally thought, a nyad (the water version of dryads) sort of creature, but is actually a mass of water in and of himself, and quite reminiscent of the water horses in Lord of the Rings. The water is not static, but moves within the form. Unfortunately, he does not speak to Aslan as in the book, but that is definitely not the animator's fault.

And yes, Reepicheep is as cute as all get out.

Aslan Returns, Part V: Susan

2008-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lucy believes. Peter fights. Edmund grows. Caspian learns.

Susan doubts.

I never quite understood why Susan does not come back to Narnia with the rest of the Pevensies. I once read a very cynical explanation that C.S. Lewis thought that seven kings and queens of Narnia sounded better then eight kings and queens of Narnia.

That wasn't a very satisfactory answer.

I have heard others say that this was a refutation of the once-saved-always-saved belief. So why couldn't Lewis have picked someone like Eustace? He's not really a favorite of the series.

But, I have finally come to understand. In Prince Caspian, a small scene was inserted when we should hear Trumpkin snoring (he didn't, if you were wondering). Here, Susan tells Lucy that she was just getting used to being in England again, and now everything has been turned topsy-turvy. She acts as if she is moving in a dream and wonders, however slightly, if Aslan even exists anymore. I think, in the depth of Susan's mind, she is "grown-up" enough to be able to live in one place at one time and do so without assistance. Yet, while Peter goes through the same thought process, he realizes as he tries to lead the Narnians, that he can't. Susan does not. She seems to move through the movie as if the only thing to do was to get everyone where they needed to be and get home. While the others learned a lesson during their first visit to Narnia, Susan did not. She is facing the exact same lesson again--letting go of full control of all events.

And she receives another failing grade.

To look on the other side of Susan, or rather, to look at Anna Popplewell, is another story. Anna says that she will miss filming, and plans to visit ("but now I have to fight my way through security...." sounds like trying to fly somewhere!), but feels confident that she is ready to move on to other things.

She is beginning to care only about lipstick and nylons.

I have found some interesting progressions in photos of Anna. At one point, Anna, who is undeniably very pretty, no matter how you cut the cake, seemed to shine, no matter where she was or what she was doing. I remember looking at one picture where she was windblown, a bit dirty, and probably sweaty, and thinking something along the lines of "wow, I wish I could look that way in those conditions!" But Anna does.

Then she discovered the lipstick and etc. Since the release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Anna's lips have been slowly but steadily getting redder. Her neckline has been slowly and steadily getting lower (I hope it stops pretty soon.), and, while she will miss working with everyone on set, she says she is ready to move on to new things.

Just like...Susan.

Aslan Returns, Part IV: Caspian

2008-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

The first question that will appear in many minds is "why on earth is she looking at Caspian before finishing the Pevensies?!?!?!?"

I have a reason, and, hopefully, after reading this, you will understand why.

Andrew Adamson's Caspian, and Ben Barnes, have had an uphill battle with me. When I first heard who, well, after I first saw a picture of who, would be playing Caspian, I had a very cynical outlook on the entire film, which was, in part, justified. Being a die-hard C.S. Lewis fan, and having been very happy with the first movie's adherence to the books, I was unhappy with the difference in the age of Caspian in the book and Ben Barnes, and I was also unhappy with how different he looked from Peter. C.S. Lewis had specifically noted that Caspian was a boy like Peter. In fact, I even quipped to one of my buddies that it wouldn't have been bad at all if Ben Barnes and Orlando Bloom were cast as Caspian and Peter, which shows my utter dislike of the differences. While I did not expect Disney to come up with a carbon copy of William Moseley for Caspian, I still wanted something a bit closer.

But then I sat down in the theater.

Ben Barnes' performance blew me away.

Everything I had ever expected in Caspian was there on the screen before me. He was a young boy, but he was also a man. He was fighting for a throne, yet he knew how inadequate he was to hold it. I was so stunned that someone had to point out to me how his accent came and went before I realized it.

My skepticism about the differences between the book and the script was pretty much completely healed with Caspian. The writers had reached into the book and pulled out the heart of what C.S. Lewis had written about in Prince Caspian, and they built a story around it. This covered a multitude of sins, including the romance angle between Caspian and Susan. But even with the heart of the book in their hands, the movie would have been terrible--except there were some actors who understood the spirit of the story.

The Caspian that Andrew Adamson built had the spirit of the books, even though it lacked the exact details that were given by Lewis. Caspian is at the same brink in life as Peter is: he is no longer a boy, but he is not quite a man. Yet, he reacts in a much different way than Peter. Instead of looking inward and trying to use his own strength to conquer, he looks out, first to the Narnians, then to the ancient kings and queens, and then finally to Aslan himself. When he does try to work in his own strength, during the night raid, the raid is botched, but he seems to slowly begin to understand that it was, partially, his fault, and that he can't control everything by himself and still make out alright. In fact, he even trusts Peter and Edmund so much with the outcome of the duel that he is gone for a large portion.

Caspian's growth and change mirrors that of Peter's. The power play is truly a power play. Caspian knows that the kingship is his by right, and the concept of having a high king over all kings is foreign to the Telmarine mind, however different Caspian's personal views may be. While Peter is fighting the fact that he will not be returning to Narnia, Caspian is fighting for his rights. As Peter begins accepting the fact, Caspian begins to realize that a kingdom is not a right, even for a prince. It is something to be earned, and even then, the kingdom is not his--he is only the steward.

A steward is much different then a king. A king rules supreme. A steward is entrusted with duties, but is accountable to the king. Caspian first understands being a King of Narnia as something where he is the only ruler--a Telmarine mindset. As he watches the Narnians and the ancient kings and kings, he begins to understand that the Pevensies were untrusted with their rule by Aslan, and just as Aslan called them into Narnia, he called them out. And he begins to wonder if he has that sort of strength, to be Aslan's steward for so many people. But he begins to understand. A mark of his understanding, as well as his respect for High King Peter, comes just before the Pevensies leave.

Peter gives Caspian his sword. But Caspian does not take it as a gift. He simply says "I will keep it for you." He claims it not as a king, but as a steward.

It is then that he becomes the true King of Narnia.

Aslan Returns, Part III: Ed

2008-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Edmund has clearly learned his lesson from the first story, and is not about to make the same mistake twice. When the others don't believe that Lucy saw Aslan, Edmund does. Edmund's faith is as sure as Lucy's is, but Edmund is growing during this adventure in Narnia. There are two instances that show Ed as a changing man.

The first involves the White Witch. Now, it is interesting to note that Tilda Swinton did no actual filming for this segment of the film. But that is beside the point. While both Caspian and Peter seem to fall under her spell, Edmund doesn't. He makes sure to stay out of her range of influence, and, like he once shattered her wand, shatters the ice of the spell. He knows the strength of the spell, but instead of backing up and leaving, he stays to deliver those who are afflicted. It is interesting to note that, when he breaks the spell, he is standing right in front of a carving of Aslan. Perhaps a flashback of Aslan's deliverance of him? Who knows.

While Peter is taking the "King" thing too far, Ed is learning to know the exact bounds of his authority. When he is sent with the challenge for the duel, Miraz addresses him as "Prince Edmund." Ed looks up at him, then says quietly, "Actually, it's King." Miraz is shocked, so Ed repeats himself, then explains that Peter is the High King, but he is a King, and he expects Miraz to deal with him as he would another King. He is not arrogant, nor prideful, but he is confident.

This confidence, combined with his faith, shows a new dimension of his character. While Peter feels he must take all responsibility on himself and be victorious without Aslan, and Lucy only looks for Aslan's arrival, Ed combines the two. He has faith in Aslan's arrival, but he also has confidence that he is doing as Aslan wants him to. He is ready and willing.

Shouldn't we all be?

Aslan Returns, Part II: Lucy

2008-05-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

For all the threats, fears and doubts that harass Susan and Peter, Edmund and Lucy have few. For all the responsibility Edmund picks up, Lucy carries little. But it is not because she is the youngest. I think her siblings learned that lesson last time. Instead, it is because of her faith.

Lucy, in a way, is the most static character in the series. While she does have the child-like faith that Aslan knows exactly what he's doing and will, in his own way, fix everything, she rarely feels challenged in her faith.

As the younger of the two Pevensie girls, Lucy serves as an open ear to Susan's doubts and fears. When Susan wonders why Aslan is not appearing, or if he even exists anymore, Lucy is quite confident that Aslan will appear, and will set everything right. When Susan continues to question, Lucy points out that "maybe he wants us to prove ourselves to him, first." This seems to be an encouragement to Susan, who promptly rolls over and goes to sleep. Lucy, on the other hand, has her first encounter with Aslan, which has a very dreamlike quality to it. While it seems real, when Aslan she and Aslan begin to speak, she suddenly wakes up, once again. It is upon her going to investigate, and Peter following her, that they discover the Narnians. But if her dream was a dream or not is for us to decide, as she and Aslan have a nearly identical conversation in a nearly identical setting later on.

Other than that, Lucy plays a very minor roll among the Pevensies, until the duel, in which, to note, Peter's shoulder is dislocated, whereas in the book he sprains his wrist. But Lucy is not there. She has gone into the woods. The original intent of Lucy's departure is undefined, but it seems she is going to get help. Whether she is looking for Aslan or not is unclear, but, she finds him, after an extended chase in the woods, that includes the famous picture of Susan and Caspian on a horse together.

Then the Lion roars, the trees awake, and Lucy sets to work beside Aslan. Her faith never falters, she never stops and looks back. She only asks Aslan for more courage.

And she is a lioness.

Update

2008-05-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have recently revised At Home in a City's layout. If you notice a quirk or a other problem, please refresh the page. If that does not take care of it, please contact me with the details, and I will do my best to fix it ASAP.

Aslan Returns, Part I: High King Peter (the Magnficent)

2008-05-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

In light of the recent release of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, I have been hurled back into the world of blogging. My notes on my initial viewing of Prince Caspian will be cataloged in the series "Aslan Returns." All posts will have some spoiler content in them.

The movie begins in Narnia, and then transfers over to England, where the four Pevensies are getting ready to go to school. Lucy runs up to Susan and demands that she comes with her, then leads her older sister through a throng of school children, finally coming to the middle, where Peter is in a fight.

Thus we see the High King for the first time.

Peter's character progression is very pointed and complex. He is still turning from a boy to a man, even though William Moseley is 21. But I desist.

There is, as was surmised by certain smart people who enjoy spoilers, conflict between Peter and Caspian. The very first time they meet, Peter and Caspian fight, and are only stopped from killing each other by Lucy. Once the Narnians begin forming battle plans, Peter and Caspian clash again, often looking to throw the guilt of all mishaps on each other. After the night raid, Lucy, who did not accompany the others, asks, "What happened?" to which Peter only says, "Ask him," jerking his head in Caspian's direction.

While it is true that Caspian is at fault for the mishap, Peter has his own guilt in the matter. But most of the conflict comes from a sort of power play between the two. Peter is still playing the part of High King Peter The Magnificent (which is what he introduces himself as to Trumpkin). Throughout the entire film Peter is fighting, and then slowly accepting, that he is not coming back. William Moseley noted in an interview that he went through the same process, first resisting, then regretting, and finally accepting that he would never play the part of Peter again. A mark of Peter's knowledge, acceptance, and the passing on of leadership, as well as his respect for Caspian, comes just before the Pevensies leave.

Peter gives Caspian his sword.

Three Days

2008-05-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

In three days...what will happen in three days?

In three days, it will be Friday.

In three days, the work and school weeks will be over.

In three days, Oklahoma will open.

Our Lord rose on the third day.

What makes the third day so special? Well, first of all, and probably the most obvious, is that Friday to Sunday is three days, so in American culture, we value those days as our days of freedom--not having to work for anyone else, not having to get up at any set time, not having to do anything on anyones schedule but our own.

To Christians, the third day is special because it was over three days that Christ was crucified and rose again. It is significant to note that our redemption does not come just by Christ's death, but by his resurrection. He could not have conquered hell and grave unless he rose from the dead, becoming our salvation not only by taking on our sins, but conquering the eternal consequences.

To debaters, the third day is very important. Why? Because that's the day we get to find out who goes to nationals. ;)

But this week, the third day is also special. Prince Caspian comes out on the third day.

Be watching for spoilers here.

Top Ten Things You End Up Doing (but don't really want to) When You're Bored

2008-03-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

10. Watch chick flicks.
9. Blow a hotdog up in the microwave
8. Drive around just to practice Chinese firedrills.
7. Read multiple forwards
6. Jump on Catsup packs.
5. Make carmel corn with bunny slippers on your hands.
4. Practice mimiking Tilda Swinton's voice.
3. Watch Stargate or Food Network.
2. Read old FCN articles.
1. Write lists like this one.

Thanks to decarus, Ellesar, Arianna, EdmundtheJust, Narnia_Nut and Lindir for helping me with this.

Just FYI

2008-01-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Just for your guys' info, if a comment doesn't post immediately, that's because I have to moderate them. I'm trying to figure out how to turn that off, but I haven't had the time to sit down and do all the techi stuff. Hopefully that will be fixed soon.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Amë

I Will....

2007-12-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

I will, I will, I will, I will.

And Elle MUST keep me from doing it.

I will NOT, I will NOT, I will NOT, I will NOT, I will NOT.

So far she has vacuumed me up (she always finds that crack in the floor I hide in!), stuck me in a bottle (which I broke.), locked me into the back drawer of her desk (which I also promptly broke.)

I will NOT, I will NOT, I will NOT.

But her major mode of keeping me from doing it is hand slapping.

slap slap slap slap slap

Suddenly, I'm reduced to eating cellary.

But we have fun with it. Even when I'm not hungry, I'll pretend I'm sneaking to get a cookie, and we'll have a rousing chase all round the room, that will end up getting Ara wet, poking MD and Briggs, and spilling the cookies.

Dieting with cookies in the house is hard. But I am prevailing over the cookie!

Avoiding the Holiday Pounds--and Rush

2007-12-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

To enjoy this commentary to the fullest, I would suggest reading We Wish You a Merry Christmas Without Us, including the comments. Since this is rather lengthy and only attached to the FCN subject in only vague strands, I decided to place it here, instead of using up FCN space.

Merry Christmas, FCN.

~~

That was funny-depressing. I'm trying to loose weight right now, guys. After I finish the cookies I made last night, I'm cutting sweets until I reach my prefered weight. For those of you that ever catch me eating, remind me of this fact if I happen to backslide. I will not be making any cookies in the foreseeable future. I will not ingest any hot chocolate until...really late in December. I will not consume any candy until January...AFTER PLNU. Bread and cheese are going off-limits, too.

All of my Christmas shopping, besides stocking stuffers, is done, and was done online the day after Christmas. I will not be purchasing See's Candy for anyone.

I WILL continue to post on my blog.

I will write Christmas Cards. Lots of Christmas cards. I do not plan to ship any gifts to my relatives. If it can't fit in a card, it's not going.

Instead of spending my days shopping, I will spend them not eating. I plan to curl up by the fireplace with a cup of hot water, and read. Or write. Or research.

Okay, so I guess you could boil everything I'm going to do down to one goal:

For every pound FCN gains, I want to lose a pound.

Isn't life so wonderfully simple sometimes? :)

Cannibalism!!!

2007-11-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

Isn't that just sooooo cute? There's your pilgrim, and there's your Indian, and there on the table is a turkey (with the stuffing falling out toward the Indian) and some veggies, among other things. Isn't it cute? Did I mention that your pilgrim and Indian are both...turkeys?

CANNIBALS!!!!

I Suppose....

2007-11-22T16:36:00.001-08:00

I suppose, for the patriotism, or the thanksgivingism, or the somethingism, I ought to write a Thanksgiving post. But the problem is, my Thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow, when people will be trampling each other for the best buys. So, in a cynically-thanksgivingy way, here's my thankfullnesses:

10. I'm thankful I do not need to go shopping tomorrow.
9. I'm thankful I have the Internet to take care of my shopping, if I happen to need to purchase anything tomorrow.
8. I'm thankful for the phone so that I can call my friends instead of driving somewhere to visit them.
7. I'm glad my club has gmail so I can pull tricks and annoy without setting foot out my door.
6. I'm glad I live in the country, where I'm less likely to witness traffic accidents tomorrow.
5. I'm thankful I don't have any friends that must go shopping tomorrow. I'd be really sad if they got trampled.
4. I'm thankful I don't work in a store. I'd hate to have to clean up the mess everyone would leave behind, not to mention having to explain to the cops, why, exactly, I opened the twenty-eighth register when I knew every person at the end of the lines would immediately run over, thus causing some poor person's demise.
3. I'm glad God gave me the brains to avoid most of the above.
2. I'm glad I'm oblivious to the brains that are missing.
1. But most of all, I'm glad for my family, my friends, and all the times we've shared together. Ya'll have been with me through a lot in the past year and a month.

Love ya all!

~Dresden

Day in the life of....Two Blondes and a Fax Machine*

2007-11-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, I would like to emphasize that I have very dark brown hair and Ta has very light brown hair. Neither of us are actual blondes. However, after Saturday and today, I think both of us should do a little “lemon juice and vinegar” work.

Hills and heels do not mix. Of course, my flat shoes were securely stored in the trunk of my car, and I didn’t particularly feel like hiking up that hill to retrieve them. So instead I made three trips up and down the other hill in heels and carrying my bag. I got smart before I made my fourth trip. I called to one of my friends and asked him to read postings for me. One point for smarts for me!!! The first time he didn’t answer. The second time, his debate partner had left to go check postings for his team, so I had to request that Zack follow his partner to check postings for me. It happened to be that my next debate round was in the exact room I was sitting in. I just had to move to the other table.

Me: Ta:
1 0

Much easier than hiking up and down the hill.

Soon, Ta and her partner arrived. Ta was wearing flat shoes and had her heels in her bag. One point for smarts for Ta. She’s gaining on me.

Me: Ta:
1 1

Thus we continued for our debate round, and Ta gained yet another point of smarts on me. Fortunately, my partner made up for my lack of points, and we managed to win the round. Two points for me! Once again, we were tied. Time to hike up the hill.

Me: Ta:
2 2

During the time following waiting for postings, a nice brunette, or not so nice, decided she wanted to swing dance. Since she couldn’t get anyone else to dance with her, she asked me. Negative one point for me. Ta’s in the lead again.

Me: Ta:
1 2

Then we found out that we were to go against each other again. Switch sides.

Ta’s still using her flats to walk down the other hill. Point for her.

Me: Ta:
1 3

During the round, Ta mentions that, since I said her criterion was too broad and she said ours was too narrow, we need to find a balance. I write “Social Benefits or Net Justice?” on a sticky note.

Ta’s phone goes off twice in the ensuing round. It vibrates enough for me to wonder who is calling me. Negative two points for her.

Me: Ta:
1 1

We go back up the hill. Ta stops to eat dinner, but my partner and I continue up the hill to dump our bags and for me to retrieve my shoes. One point for me.

Me: Ta:
2 1

On the return walk down the hill, my partner wants to know why I wear heels. He decides that I need to wear platforms for comfort’s sake. I counter that I have a hard time balancing on platforms. He suggests four foot stilts. I say two inches is more what I’m looking for. We wonder if stilts would be allowed under dress code.

Me: Ta:
0 1

That’s how the score stood at the end of Saturday. The only problem was, on Saturday, our last ballot was not copied. Four people, one ballot. I get the ballot because I can fax it to Ta.

Me: Ta:
1 1

Today, Ta and I can’t figure out how to work the fax machines.

“Push the green button!”
“Ooo!! It beeps and flashes when we push that button! Pretty!”
“I thought you didn’t have to put a one before a phone number any more.”
“Why isn’t the ballot coming out of the other side? Is that a paper jamb?!?!?!?”
“What’s a paper jam?”
“It’s kinda like a paper cut, except you put it on bread.”

We accidentally copy the blank side of the ballot.

Me: Ta:
0 0

Ta decides that I can figure out how to send it by myself.

Me: Ta:
0 1

After e-mailing back and forth for half the day, I finally send it…without calling to ask for the fax machine to be switched on.

Me: Ta:
0 1

I call, and successfully (!!) send the fax.

Me: Ta:
1 1

After all that, who cares about the score, anyways? We’re scheduling a bleaching session for our hair. Like, really bleaching. Like, White Blonde.

Lemme know what you think.

*Note: All truth in this story may or may not be real, and any representations of actual events have been exaggerated for the benefit of both blondes, and, I would presume, the fax machine.

Another Top 10....

2007-11-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

Top 10 ways to know you're a debater:

10. You're doing something next Saturday (November 17).
9. You like Skittles.
8. You have a Gmail account.
7. The rest of your club has a gmail account, and you use Gmail to chat with each other.
6. Staying up all night researching before a Saturday, or Friday, is not uncommon.
5. You can't say enough in five minutes.
4. When you aren't spending time researching, you play with Photoshop or take pictures.
3. You fear the team from Zimbabwe.
2. When someone makes a "C" with their hand, you immediately think "30 seconds!"
1. Names like "Winther" "Trujillo" (:P) "Herche" or "Jorgensen" make you faint. Especially if you have to debate against them.

If none of the above apply to you, you are not a debater.

This isn't about Politics 2

2007-11-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

She look familiar?

I would resent using the hard language that Ms. Clinton is "bewitching" the American public, or at least attempting to at any rate, but the pointy hat just kind a got to me. And, of course, all the stories that could be changed....

The land that is covered in snow and ice and where all the peoples get free health care that really isn't good health care 'cause anybody that's sick gets turned to ice.

The Hillary Potter series that sweeps the majority of the world's population off its feet, only to find themselves out of money, owning some useless books and with one woman richer than Queen Elizabeth herself...like, three times richer.

*titters*

Yes, this isn't about politics.

However, I do have one suggestion for our dear friend:

Reform your laugh.

To quote another blogger (reputable, I'm sure):

No doubt, as Halloween approaches, children across the land will begin emulating that cackle as they prepare for Trick or Treat.

Of course. So that you know what cackle, exactly, they will be emulating, please hit the "play" buttons.

I Feel Sick.

2007-10-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

Very late last Friday afternoon, the governor of California signed three bills.

Having those bills explained to you while you are eating is not a good idea, so I suggest setting aside all edibles for the moment.

Bill 1: Textbooks will be re-written, so that fathers will become "sperm donors" and mothers will be "egg donors." Since California is supposedly the largest textbook purchaser in the nation, that means that other states will be significantly affected. This change in text books will go all the way from K to High School.

Bill 2: Cross dressers may now use restrooms of opposing sex in places such as highschools. They may also have lockers in the same manner.

Bill 3: Deals with parents of children complaining to teachers who are homosexuals. The teachers can press harassment charges.

Another Bill is waiting for a veto or a signiture: one that would clasify anything said aginst the homosexual lifestyle as hate speech.

Whatever happened to free speech?

EDITED: This isn't about Politics

2007-10-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

Normally, I would not post anything about politics, because I don't really care for random blogging people to tell me why I should listen to them whine and complain about our government. For all I care, they could be talking to a brick wall, expecting it to respond.

So this isn't about politics. It happens to be about a politician, religion, and values. Again, I repeat, this is not about politics.

Barak Obama, a hopeful for the Democratic Party's bid for the presidency, has decided to take up religion. But not any religion. This was at a Christian Church.

Whoa, let's back up here for a moment.

Obama once claimed the Islamic faith. Now, he claims the Christian faith. Can't quite pin-point when the change happened, but I'm wondering if it had anything to do with his political career....

Earlier, Senator Obama had said that he hopes to be an "instrument of God" (What "god" are we talking about here? Allah?) and "create a Kingdom right here on earth."

For those of you who are not familiar with the Islamic belief, "Kill the infidel" and "Jihad" are two very important things. In other words, kill everybody that doesn't agree with you, then you can have set Allah's kingdom up. Obama is not talking about Jesus Christ, the one true God and our Lord and Savior. He is talking about a god that is no god.

Most people are worried about the "separation of Church and State," not by the principles that would be brought in by someone who's religious basis is, "kill the infidel."

Perhaps Obama isn't an active Islamist. I mean, I don't think he's tried to blow up any buildings.
But that basic underpinning is still there.

Although I'm probably breaking copyright laws, I must quote the American Chronicle:

"An "instrument" doesn't mediate, think or contemplate, it's an inanimate object that's totally under the will of the person that's holding it."

I do not thing that, if Obama's "god" is Allah, that is a very good plan for Obama to be the leading instrument in this nation.

Lord help us.

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." Proverbs 29:2 KJV

{Thanks to Hol for noting my mistake}

NOT my Drug of Choice

2007-09-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...I almost titled this post "Getting High," but that didn't quite sound right, plus I don't think that this will fulfill the normal definitions of drugging ones self into happy oblivion. Plus I didn't want to get in trouble with the IRS...I mean, well, whatever. I guess the IRS is more widely feared.

It all began last night while a friend and I were discussing weird beeping noises that emit from air freshener dispensers when they happen to be out of, well, air freshener. This got us on the discussion of things that irritate little noses when we landed back on our dear friend, air freshener. My friend walked into a room in her church that had just been exuberantly sprayed with air freshener and had to immediately sit down.

She got a "happy high" from air freshener.

~~

It all began with a tournament where there was no partner nearby to stop him. It was then that he decided to experiment. Three days and 48 cans of Coke later, he finally had to quit--cold turkey.

He got a "happy high" from Coke.

~~

It all began with my partner telling me that we really should do well at this tournament. Actually, it didn't begin with that. It all began when he told me it would be best for me to be awake before we went to our first round. As I was tired, I got a coffee. One venti with an extra shot or two has been a necessity.

I got a "happy high" from coffee.

~~

It all began when Halo III came out. He played until he could conquer. He lost a night's worth of sleep. He has re-conquered the game yet again.

He got a "happy high" from Halo III.

~~

It all began when she decided to bring "Apples to Apples." She made us all play, and play and...well, play. We got together with friends, and she brought the game. We went home, and she brought the game. We played that night. We would have played in the car, but I can't read in the car without getting sick.

She got a "happy high" from that game.

~~

It all began when he first set eyes on the little Emergen-C box. That, my friends, was the beginning of the tale. The little packages are supposed to give you an energy boost and have waaaay over your daily requirements for vitamin B. He used about a dozen packets in one day.

He got a "happy high" from the dietary supplement.

~~

It all began when she asked to bake cookies. Actually, it began long before that, but I first witnessed it when we baked the cookies. She decided we should make snickerdoodles. And put peanut butter in them. She used a lot of peanut butter in the cookies. She also ate a lot. Every physical malady can be solved by using peanut butter, in her estimation.

She got a "happy high" from peanut butter.

~~

It all began while he was searching for a snack. But a munch here, and a munch there, and suddenly, the whole box was gone.

He didn't get a "happy high" from Taquitos.

Study Music, Part 2

2007-09-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had mentioned that there are two types of people: those who can study while listening to music, and those who cannot. As I am not in the latter group, I have lumped them together as a bunch of people who are easily distracted…like I’m not, but that’s beside the point. (Just so you know, right now I’m listening to Martha’s Dance/The Russian Dervish, which is a very frenetic song. In a moment I will be listening to The Battle from Chronicles of Narnia, which is much more relaxing and uplifting. I simply know that is what I will be listening to as the player just switched over to that. I would tell you what I would be hearing next, but that would require my switching windows to look up the title, so I’ll leave you with the clue that it’s a slightly longer piece, and wait until it switches on to tell you what it is. Isn’t iTunes wonderful? You can tell it to play songs by shortest to longest or visa versa.) The former group, that of people who are able to study while listening to music (and, by my previous fallacious reasoning, those who are NOT easily distracted), can be further divided into two more groups: Those who simply ignore the music, and those who actually listen to it. There is a very fine line between the two.

Those who ignore music have been gifted with the ability to focus on only one thing. Kinda like Annie, who could only focus on zoning during class. But I digress. Like (Ah! The track just switched. I am now listening to Reel Around the Sun….) those who cannot listen to music while studying, I do not fall in this group, so I will move on to the group I find more interesting; those who can actually listen to music while studying.

Those parentheses really mess up that sentence.

Ah! I’ve found out what we are. We are multi-taskers. How exactly that differs from being easily distracted, I don’t know, but it does, somehow. Perhaps just by the fact that it makes me feel better.

Actually, Zack, if you want the bare bones truth, I’m just very hyper and sensitive, and nice relaxing Catholic Masses seem to soothe my nerves. And, once my hyper-sensitivity is soothed, I can actually focus on grammar, logic, and intensely complicated problems of any type, be it Algebra or C.S. Lewis’ more complicated and deep writings.

That said, I do not really care to listen to La Musica Notturna Delle Strade Di Madrid Number 6 Opus Whatever-it-happens-to-be (30) by Lugi Boccherini. Although, from about 4:15 to 6:32 is a really neat cut. It also happens to correlate to a really neat scene at the end of Master and Commander: Far Side of the World.

But I digress. More music notes tomorrow.

Study Music

2007-09-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Throughout my life, I have found that there are two types of people: Those who enjoy doing studies while listening to music, and those who cannot study while listening to music.

I fall in the former group. In fact, there are times where I cannot concentrate if I do not have music playing. Most of my study music sounds like what is playing right now, or is a nice, relaxing soundtrack. For me, music is a stimulant for thought and a catalyst for the written word. Just nice and softly in the background. Not blaring. I just turned my tunes down because, at the moment, they were blaring.

Another favorite, besides Catholic Masses (no, I am not Catholic, but I love their music), is Into the West, which is the song that has been played most on this computer's iTunes player.

Isn't music great?

That was a rhetorical question, Zack.

I've found that study hobbits...I mean, habits, vary, depending on the studier. When I went to Ohio, my cousin and I would often find ourselves working on differing projects in the same house, usually my aunt's house. In fact, always my aunt's house. My aunt's house is quite open, so that unless you're sitting on a bed to study (not the best when the definition of study includes a computer), you will be hearing everyone else's work.

I was reduced to listening to music through a single ear bud.

It was hard, I tell you. Especially once another cousin decided to turn on the TV.

Two girls working and one boy watching TV=one boy turning TV off.

Music is an integrated part of my life. The simple fact that I, on average, buy more than one CD per month ought to be witness to that.

:)

~A City

She'll be Come'n Round the Mountain When She Comes

2007-09-15T16:17:00.001-07:00

Sit tight, peoples. Surprises in store...I just have to unwrap them.

BTW, just so you know, all backgrounds unless otherwise specified are from arwen-undomiel.com . Check it out, especially if you happen to be a LOTR fan.

Revisiting the Untitled Rodent Project

2007-09-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

I saw it again.
Gasp.

And I discovered the one minute-thirty long bit that changes a whole lot of the movie.

Its not as sweet anymore.

That one minute-thirty second part was when Remy let the entire rat colony into the kitchen to raid the fridge. Linguini had realized he shouldn't have gotten mad at the rat for wanting Linguini to say that the great cooking wasn't "just in my blood, I guess" but was really from a little chef who pulls on his hair like stings attached to a marionette. But because Remy had decided to retaliate and raid the fridge, their relationship got worse. Linguini got mad at Remy for stealing, and Remy got offended that he had been told that he was doing something wrong.

Sure, it all worked out in the end, but that change the whole perception.

I suddenly can identify more with Linguini. How many times have I gotten mad at someone for something that wasn't major, and been ready to make up, only to find out they've done something twice as bad to me?

I can also suddenly identify better with Remy. How often has someone forgotten about me when they suddenly got good at something? How many times have I looked for a way to retaliate before either of us had time to cool off?

Speaking of cooling off, my grandmother just died. Do not expect too much updating during the next week.

~Dresden

Home Invasion, Part 2

2007-08-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, of course, brought new surprises, along with a trip to see Ratatouille.

Besides my invader squealing over that rat and laughing over the preview for Underdog ("You don't see dogs stealing from each other..." "You don't see humans sniffing each other, either." "Hmmm...Touche.") we had a wonderful time, as I had mentioned previously. We finished off the day making Spitterdoodles---I mean, Snickerdoodles. We went through a lot of time draining the eggs instead of cracking them, as we had plans for the next day.

Oh yah, that morning I had broken an egg over my invader's head. At first my invader thought it was a real egg. Then she touched it and discovered it wasn't, which set us to laughing, and then inspired us to drain the aforementioned eggs, so we could stuff them with confetti and break them over unsuspecting people heads. Our chance came when we went to a picnic the next day....

Confetti everywhere. We had a few people react like my invader had, wondering if we had just actually broken a real egg over their heads. Then we played Apples to Apples (hilariously, of course) played ultimate, and then played hide-and-seek in the Japanese gardens. Before you complain that we're too old to be playing that, you should try it some time. Its wonderful.

Thursday brought the drawing to the end of my home invasion. We went to a street fair, which happened to have some of my friends playing there, and did some "dancing in the streets." It was during this time that my invader broke her camera. Fortunately, I was not responsible, nor did I happen to be swinging with her at that time.

*Sigh of relief*

Friday we took our Home Invader to her home.

*Larger sigh of relief*

I like my invader, but it was nice to get a full night's sleep....

10. Invaders will give weird looks if you break an egg over their heads.
9. Invaders like their own club name to be in a movie.
8. Invaders like music. It is wise to bring an invader to listen to music.
7. Do not do anything that would hold you responsible for damaging an invader's property while they are listening to music.
6. Do not tell invaders that you have never played "Apples to Apples"
5. If you do tell your invader that you have never played "Apples to Apples" make sure you have an equally fun game to teach them.
4. Bring a blanket to a picnic.
3. Play Hide and Go Seek or other childish games in Japanese gardens. This gives Invaders the chance to take cool pictures.
2. Invaders like taking cool pictures.
1. Hug your invader hard when she leaves.

~Dresden

Home Invasion Pictures

2007-08-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

I promised them. Here they are.

There is one more picture of the glasses...that is really dorky. Unfortunately, it is on a phone that I don't have the download equipment for...something to look forward to....

~Dresden

Runnin' Just to Catch Myself

2007-08-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Please grab a piece of paper and a pen. (Yes, for the two of you that think pens do not need to be in existance, grab a pen. That's the round thing that doesn't have an eraser on the other end.)

Okay, this is what I would like you to do. Listen to the song (you can watch the video too, but I'd like you to also listen.), and write down what it makes you think of. This can be a list of words, simple phrases, people that you think are perfectly described, anything.

Please post what you came up with!

(Hint: Your posting will help me in my creation of a post, and I don't mind crediting people in the least.)

~Dresden

Support yer low-cal sheriff

2007-08-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

Support yer low-cal sheriff! He's always got some weight-reducing food on hand, and is always ready to jump you through the hoops of your exercise regimen. What would the sheriff say? Go, go, go, go!

And then the temptation of Krispy-Kreme? Well, the last one in the valley just closed, and the good ol' sheriff will be more than happy to point at your gas gauge and remind you that gas is about $2.75 a gallon right now. Why not get out and take a brisk walk to the nearest jamba-juice? And make sure you get the protein boost! No, don't turn in at the starbucks. You need to be able to sleep tonight. Jamba's just up ahead...there we go.

Augh!!! NO!!! Do NOT even THINK about getting that bready item! It has sugar in it! You are simply to get a 16-oz Jamba with a protein boost. And not that dream-sickle one. Get the green tea one. That'll boost your imune system. There we go...see, its almost ready for you. Now all you need to do is walk back home and scrub the kitchen.

VIGOROUSLY! We want to clean up you! The Sheriff in Support Your Local Sheriff cleaned up the town. I'm here to clean up you! We need everything to be nice and in order so that your little house will run just as well as that little town ran under the Sheriff. And that's what I'm for! Clean! Scrub! Exercise! No coffee, no caffine, no soda, no junk! Slim down and clean out!

Don't hear it? Well, it's time to rouse your little Sheriff...Where did mine go?

Okay, let's quit being silly.

Support Your Local Sheriff is an older western movie (not too old, as it is in color) that is...pretty good, actually. The movie has a good mix of shootin' and rough-housin', along with some idiotic scenes that should make you laugh.

Story line is simple enough: Gold rush in a town, the whole world comes over to speculate, the bad guy's family takes 20% of all the gold, since the gold has to be shipped through their territory, town needs a sheriff, and James McColough just "happens to be passing through on my way to Australia." Which, he claims, is the last real frontier country. He ends up becoming the sheriff, and after lots of bang! bang!-s he defeats the bad guys, explodes Madame Orr's house (completely by accident. He didn't know the cannon was loaded!) gets married, and never makes it to Australia.

Wonderful movie. I feel a top 10 list coming on...Ought to think about that one....

Home Invasion, Part 1

2007-08-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

It all began with a simple CXing at a simple round at a simple tournament....

The question itself was simple:

"What would your parents feel like if one of your friends just decided to invade your house?"

The answer, in fact, was even more simple:

"They wouldn't mind. They like my friends. In fact, they are quite happy with one of my friends invading this week!"

Groans all around, and a few laughs. My friend makes appropriate noises for being called an invader.

But that is what she is. I, according to the CXing debater, have just survived a home invasion.

Thus it began. After a perilous 15 minute ride to a nearby restraunt, made perilous by POTC music being played in the back seat off of a cell phone, the Invader and I donned dorky glasses and set foot outside the car.

It must be said that the glasses were increadibly dorky, and we have pictures of almost every teen at the dinner wearing one of the two pairs. I will do my best to get pictures as soon as possible.

Anyways, after we ate, we barely survived the road trip home. Evidently a car had been lit on fire, and the firefighters were just putting it out when we drove by. I don't want to know what chemicals we drove through...But, to say the least, that put a damper on our conversations.

Sunday went by quickly, and I'm sure you will see an oyiandclari story about that Sunday in early January.....

Monday was made happy by a trip to Panera's. Invaders like Panera's.

Tuesday in like manner was made happy by a trip downtown. Our little town has one of the best downtowns. Besides a nice theater (we went to see Ratatouille), Scooters has a very tasty lunch (we went there, too), the Second Hand Rose is a treasure trove (don't think that this is a clothing store...if you do, you have a whole 'nother thing coming....), Pret has overly-expensive clothes (I could make some of the dresses we tried on for a quarter of the price of the dresses on the 50% off rack), and our day was done too quickly...But we did have to stop at the grocery store, where my invader insisted on buying peanut butter.

Thus, from the first four days, I provide the following:

Tips for Survival of a Home Invasion:

10. Do not wake up the invader too early. Invaders are crabby if they get woken up too early.
9. If you MUST rouse an invader out of bed, make sure you do it with a small dog with a wet, floppy tongue.
8. Make sure you have a brand-new container of peanut butter. Invaders are suckers for peanut butter.
7. Do not kid invaders about seeing a movie they have seen three times in theaters already. Invaders may get violent.

6. Invaders like to eat at Panera's. If your invader is crabby, make sure to make a trip to Panera's.

5. Invaders are usually camera bugs. If you must break an invader's camera, make sure you do it on the last night.

4. If you must break an invader's camera, make sure you are not responsible for it.

3. If you must break and invader's camera while not being held responsible, make sure that the invader is swinging with someone very apologetic.

2. If at all possible, make invaders wear dorky glasses. (Pictures coming!)

1. Offer invaders beads. It makes them happy.

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 6

2007-08-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

Technological Critique

I know, this is terribly overdue. The movie isn't even in theaters any more. But that's okay, 'cause it means I can get the multi-disc soon...Which will tell me all about how they made it, which is really really cool. * thinks about inserting a jab about OB in here, but decides that T&M won't be reading any time too soon, so it isn't worthwhile. *

Anyways, we can start out looking at the soundtrack. Very well done, very expressive. Even though I do not care for some of the pieces as stand-alones, they represent the film very well, and complement the corresponding scenes.

Next, all our computer animated friends, including Davy Jones, with his forty-someodd tentacles. Very good, looks like real things, and the parts between Davy Jones and Tia Dalma were very good. Those scenes brought out some sort of human connection for our dear departed friend, and made a bit more sense out of the nonsense parts in the second movie. But I digress.

Camera shots were quite good, although in a few places different angles may have provided better views, such as with the section about the freeing of Calypso.

I feel like an idiot...the rest of this post is delayed until I can watch the movie with a notepad and pen in hand.

Cooking for Two, Part 2

2007-08-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

All that to say that I did NOT post the correct bit the day after I posted the first one and that I've been gone for two weeks.

Anyways, to continue:

The other day, which, if I had posted when I should have would have been yesterday, but now it's not....Scrap that.

The other day, I decided to make a somewhat complicated meal for two. One thing I have known for quite a while is a complicated meal should not be made in small amounts. If you must make a complicated meal, make it so that you can have multiple servings.

But I didn't want leftovers.

Meaning I had to make it for two.

So thus I began. I had decided that a half an hour would be my aim for making this meal, and, when I finished, I had barely squeaked by. As it was, I had broken four coffee cups, shattered three water glasses, burned two fried pita breads, left a huge scorch mark on the ceiling, and generally wrecked mayhem in the kitchen.

But the meal was very good.

And nobody noticed the scorch marks, as they came off with a bit of scrubbing, the pita bread could get thrown out and replaced, we have an overabundance of coffee mugs, and water glasses can be replaced at your nearest garage sale.

All done in 1/2 hour! Don't you feel proud of me?

Alright, that's not what really happened, but that story isn't half as interesting...What good is life without exaggeration?

Cooking for Two, Part 1

2007-07-23T18:25:00.001-07:00

My dearest Aunt, the aunt we keep upstairs in the attic (we keep her sister in the basement), has this thing about food. When she knows a certain number of people will be present for a meal, she will cook for twice or three times as many. She will eat a small amount of food, after serving you enough for three. When you have somewhat successfully cleaned your plate, she will push the leftover food toward you, grunt, and point at it, demanding that you eat the food. I remember as a little tike wondering how I would be able to fit out the door to descend into mine own abode, and feeling like I was going to explode after imbibing all the food that got shoved at me. No wonder I'm overweight.

The day my mother told me, "You know, you don't have to eat everything your aunt offers you" was a day of great celebration and rejoicing. It was a feeling of empowerment to not have to eat everything that was set before me. It was like...wow. It is so hard to explain in words. I felt like I could float above the world, and fly. Plus I didn't dread climbing the stairs as much.

I had lots of weird ideas as a little tike.

As I grew older, it seemed inevitable that I would have to eat at my aunt's once or twice a year, but I made up for the excess of food by being dubbed an anorexic by the boys.

I only ate half of my PBJ.

Only half.

And I hadn't eaten breakfast.

And I wasn't planning on eating it.

And the boys, who's faces were covered with enough food to feed a tribe in Africa for a day, and who had an equal amount, if not greater, on their plates, decide I'm not eating enough.

Logan: Is that all your eating?
Me: Yah.
Logan: *stares*
Me: What?
Logan: You're anorexic.

I am NOT. I would like to weigh around 130 pounds, and that would not be considered anorexic. Now, if I weighed 130 and thought I was grossly overweight, I would beg you, my friends, to step in and help me.

But I don't.

But, anywho, this is all to say....

Wait for part 2 tomorrow to find out exactly WHY this is entitled "Cooking for Two."

The Poke Monster

2007-07-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

It is always wise, before you go to sleep, to beware...of The Poke Monster.

This is someone you may not want to be scared of. Infact, I know several Poke Monsters. They are usually very nice, although one of them has a tendency to attempt to poke her finger in the light socket(that's my mad scientist friend). My other Poke Monster has other nicknames too, but doesn't answer to some of them. Anyways, the Poke Monsters work in shifts, so there really is only one on duty at the time. One lives in the Cup and Platter, or nearby, at least, and the other lives down south, and comes up to visit me when she thinks I'm in desperate need of a poke.

But they are both Poke Monsters. Things characteristic of a Poke Monster:

10. They usually dwell in hot, deserty places.
9. They are masters of "Pip-fu" (a way of fighting invented by Pippin)
8. They turn FaunSong into a duck by poking her magic button
7. They like throwing/mixing things in/with water
6. Try to fool you into letting down your guard by being very quiet before poking
5. They like to ding people in IM conversations
4. They poke you for no reason
3. They do it very sweetly
2. They claim you started it
1. They like fudgesicles

Seeing all of these characteristics at one time can be very interesting. Watch for the fudge lines around the mouth, and be sure to warn Fauny if you see more than one sign of a Poke Monster. I like it when Fauny can talk, not quack.

*Squeaks, and tries to avoid a poke*

Run for your lives, peoples!!!!!

~A City

Thanks to Ellesar (a confirmed Poke Monster) and FaunSong612 for helping me compile my list.

Untitled Rodent Project (Working Title) WARNING: SPOILERS

2007-07-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

"Drama Queen said... Hi! im hollys friend, and i LOVED your POTC 3 review! i found it helped me understand it better."

I'm glad somebody like it. DQ, you made my day. I'll make sure Hol's nice to you in the Touche stories. I will, I will, I will. :)

Well, I have just returned from the theaters. Despite the fact that Pirates 3 is still showing, I did not go and see it again. Instead, we went and saw Ratatouille(Rat-a-too-ee). Ah, what a wonderful ratfullness that movie had!! Since it is much less complex than movies like Pirates, one post will do.

For a movie about cooking, it was quite exciting. Where else can you get washed through a drainage system on a cooking book? Wake an old lady up with saffron? Like the bad guy 'cause he's so short that he has to carry a stepladder around with him to see what everyone is doing? See a kitchen get taken over by rats--and produce the best meals in Paris? Okay, that was a bit interesting...For those of you that have rats (Ahem, Hol) you may want to start training them. Of course, the movie wasn't all wonderful. You can't seem to have a movie made by Disney or Pixar without having the Dad be wrong. Ratatouille was no exception. Dad was wrong. If Dad had just let Remy follow his dreams, everything would be fine. But, this was only a slight undertone, and didn't detract too much from the film as a whole.

The movie, of course, is completely animated, and very nicely, I must add. Directed by Brad Bird, the movie is quite funny, but not dirty, even though it is about rats. It deals with success, and encourages Remy to follow his dreams. After meeting Linguini (whose name sounds oddly like something that would be served at an Italian restaurant), the two pair up and work up becoming the best Chef in Paris. Toward the end, Linguini forgets the importance of his rat friend, but quickly remembers when things start going wrong.

The movie starts with Linguini getting his head banged against the wall by aliens, then switches to Remy. Remy and his brother cause some trouble, which makes the whole clan have to leave their home. Remy gets separated from the rest of the rats because he tried to save Gusteau's cookbook from the house. He succeeded in saving the cookbook, but as a result got separated from his family. He ends up floating off to Paris, and then...He falls through a roof into the kitchen of the famed deceased Chef's restaurant. After a mad chase through the kitchen, Remy is about to escape through an open window, when he realizes that Linguini has made a mess of a soup. He quickly begins to fix the soup, and ends up making a creation of his own. Everyone thinks that Linguini made it, and the head chef, who has no use for Linguini, tells him he will have to recreate the soup.

Then they find the rat. After a mad chase, Remy gets captured. Linguini takes him out to throw him in the river, but starts telling the rat his woes. After realizing that the rat can understand him, the two form a pact, in which Remy will learn to control Linguini's cooking by pulling on his hair.

About this time, the rest of the rat pack has also found its way to Paris, and the family is reunited. However, Remy's Dad wants him to give up cooking, and Remy wants nothin' doing. Remy begins stealing scraps and feeding his brother and some friends the food.

In the next few days, Remy finds that the door to where the food is kept is locked. In his hunt to find the key, he finds Gusteau's will, and a letter explaining the Linguini is Gusteau's heir, and the restaurant is supposed to be given to him. Remy takes the papers to show to Linguini, but Skinner, the head chef and the man that should have owned the restaurant in the case that no heir appeared, finds him and makes a mad chase to catch the rat. Remy, however, escapes, and Linguini is put as the rightful heir just two days before the date that would allow Skinner to own the restaurant.

Then, of course, Linguini and Remy have a falling out, but when a prominent food critique comes to the restaurant, the two straighten it out. But, unfortunately, that means that Linguini ends up losing all of his kitchen crew, including Colette, who has been falling in love with Linguini, and visa versa. But, as Colette goes home, she sees Gusteau's book, "Anyone can Cook" in the window of a store. As she thinks about it, she decides to turn around and go help Linguini. She returns to find the kitchen overrun with rats. Remy had decided to do something to help Linguini, so while Linguini waits tables on roller skates, several hundred rats do the kitchen work (Remy being the conscientious rat he is, makes them all go through the dishwasher before cooking). Colette, after a moment of repulsion, immediately jumps in and starts to work. The prominent food critique absolutely loves the food (Remy had given him a special version of Ratatouille), and wishes to see the cook. At the end of the evening, he is introduced to the rat behind it all, and, surprisingly, rights a wonderful review about it.

One thing I didn't mention, though, was the health inspector had shown up in the middle of all the rats cooking. The rats had tied him up until the evening was over, but as a result of seeing all the rats, the restaurant was closed down, and the food critique lost his reputation. However, he decided to invest in a new restaurant ran by Linguini and Colette, called La Ratatouille.

Happy ending, everybody cries.

~The City

"I hate to be rude, but...we're French!" ~Colette

Bad Humor

2007-07-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Great Books Class
Bad Poetry
Nathaniel, Abby, Logan, Claire

Now listen good people,
And hear me tell,
The tragic tale of Attila the Bun,
Hero of the commons.

There once was a city, Geneva,
A European Union of United Nations
Gathered to have a convention,
With noble Jack Iraq the 14th.

Their convention's objective
Was inventing new torture,
Namely, to panic.
Or so thought the commons.

Panic was the reaction of the commons,
But one Attila the Bun
Was too dumb to panic
He baked his pastries and tastries.

Attila, he also made
Cookies of terrible smell
To solve his addiction
To mustard.

But alas! The panic that convention ensued!
The chief cause of panic was
That none entering the castle
Had ever returned.

Attila the Bun
Went on a run,
To deliver his pastries
To the dreadful nobles.

Attila entered the convention
And smelled the greatest smell.
He saw a pile of bones and heard
The sound of munching.

Further investigating,
Attila discovered behind the bare bones,
Jack Iraq the 14th,
Eating turkey and hurling bones.

With Jack Iraq sat
Some good people:
Dear friends, three friends,
Of Attila the Bun.

The youngest was a Viking Bowman,
Strong, and of good aim.
Short and stout with a steady hand,
His strength had won him fame.

The next, Attila's brother. In fact, his twin.
Grown up together
They both a-chewin'
Fine mustard cookies. Yum.

The last, a hobbit,
That lived in a Hoel.
A light haired and light aired
Sure one was he.

These three sat
With Jack Iraq the 14th
And on their laps they were holding
Plates, and bowls, and cups, and cutlery.

In these were fowl,
Soups, and English tea,
And now to a saucer,
Attila placed his pastries and sweet tastries.

"Stay! Eat! Be merry!"
Said the good Jack Iraq.
"We wish not for needless wars,
But for needful peace."

Attila, alas! He was too dumb.
He smiled and bowed, said he would come later.
Then he skipped out the door
And called the town crier.

"Go!" He said, "Tell the people!
Gather the small and the tall
To my pastry shop,
And I'll give you a penny."

The crier ran and yelled as he went
"Foes! Famine! Flood! Go to Attila the Bun!
Meet him at the pastry shop!
It's at the corner of the square!"

The people they ran, in a hurry they were,
To see what had happened.
With pitchforks and knives,
With tin pans and horns, they ran.

There Attila did greet them.
"Put your forks down!
And your horns away!
This is no war, but peace I say.

"Let us go to the castle
And there let us eat!
These good kings
Have prepared us a treat!"

So leaving their weapons
The people, they ran
To the castle they went
They ooed and they aahed

Impressed so they were
To see such abundance,
Such great wonder
At this time of the year.

So Attila the Bun became a hero.
But this was not to last long, I fear.
For dear Attila, he curled up and died
From O.D.ing on sugar, and that, from a pie.

Special Thanks to Nano, Abby, and Logan, who were willing to be so weird and write oddities with me. I don't know if they know this is here.....

~A City

Something Snappy needs to go Here (Or, A Day in the Life of a City)

2007-06-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

It does. It really does.

But my snappy ran away. Can you help me find my snappy? Perhaps it fell into One Night in a Museum. Or, perhaps I could say,

"My dinosaur, Rexy, ate it."

In case you're wondering, I saw One Night(Museum Version, not to confuse with One Night with the King) the other day. Perhaps I should tell the story of how I happened to see it before I talk about it.

A friend of mine happened to be having her birthday party Friday night. After arriving late, and finishing some birthday present scheming when the birthday girl wasn't looking, we all piled in to start One Night. We all became instant fans of the snapper, as none of us could snap. After watching the first fifteen minutes, it was time to go make our pizzas for dinner. Everyone made their own. In the old Sarge technique, I put lots and lots of cheese on, with other items. After the pizzas went into the oven, we all went back and watch fifteen or twenty more minutes of the movie.

After retrieving our pizzas, we returned to the couch to watch some more, wondering what on earth was up with this guy who decided to invent a snapper, as everyone could snap, even those of us who were sitting on the floor because we weren't smart enough to get a seat.

So we watched the movie, entranced by the wonderful performances. Everybody loves Dick Van Dyke, don't they? The old night guard was just wonderful. So nice to show Larry around, and help him feel at home. He also had enough humour, as we saw when he scared Larry with an Aztec (or something) costume. We thought it was great, and looked forward to spending a Night in the Mueseum with Larry.

But then the dinosaur went missing. Bad dino.

So thus, the adventures began. Besides Larry getting the nickname Dum-Dum from the Easter Island Head Guy, he met Jed and the Centurion. Jed and the Centurion were wonderful. Weren't they cute, so small and petit?(No e if it's for a guy.) They couldn't have been more than an inch tall. Rexy, with his dog like characteristics, would be a wonderful homework eater. Actually, Dexter (the monkey) would be a better excuse. Can't you just hear some little kid talking to his teacher?

"Dexter ate my homework."
"Who's Dexter?"
"The monkey where my dad works."
"Does your dad work at the zoo?"
"Oh no. He's the night guard at the natural and ancient history museum."

Anyways, Larry somehow survives his first night and promptly went to go read "An Idiot's Guide to Attilla the Hun"*

Because of his research (he read other books, too) he returned armed to the museum for One Night in the Museum, 2. Or, rather, his second night in the same museum, same movie. He's a bit more crafty, but makes the mistake of giving a lighter to the cavemen, who "light hair on fire." One of the cavemen wanders outside and gets caught out after dawn. Street sweeper comes along, and whoops!!! No more caveman. Larry gets in trouble again, and almost loses his job.

Night 3, Larry returns with his son. Excitement insues; the old guards have decided to steal the tablet that makes the museum come to life, and end up locking Larry and his son into the area where the mummy is.

Bad idea. Larry lets the mummy out of his casket, and the mummy sits up and pulls his facecloth off to reveal...a twenty year old boy, the owner of the tablet.

The whole museum gets on the search for the bad guys, but not until the Easter Island head thing proclaims,

"My Dum-Dum wants to speak." (Easily my favorite line from this flick!)

Eventually, riding Texas, Larry catches up with the lead bad guy. The used to be mummy and Larry's son are riding the dinosaur. They retrieve the tablet from Dick Van Dyke's character, who was really nasty to be so mean to Larry and try to frame him for stealing the tablet.

The world returns to beautiful.

Larry almost loses his job again, but through a twist gets to keep it.

The End of Movie.

We open cake and eat presents.

~A City

*More on that, tomorrow

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 6

2007-06-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

Actor Critques

Perhaps slated to be the longest of any of my posts. The main people who will get the brunt of my critique:

1.Willy Wonka
2.Queen Amadala
3.Leglolas Greenleaf

Oh...Oops. Let me try this again.

1. Johnny Depp
2. Kira Knightly
3. More Orlando Bloom
4. Bill Nighly
5. Geoffrey Rush
6. Everyone else

Now...Johnny Depp...As usual, he did a very good job acting, although Jack seems to be getting weirder and weirder. I did, however, like his different renditions of himself in Davy Jones' locker and cell. No special odities or funny stories to go here. Sorry, mates.

Kira Knightly...I had been afraid when I saw the second movie that Kira had lost the wonderful skill of portraying her character that she showed in the first movie. Thankfully, it reappears in the third, although she does have some moments when she lapses back, such as during the freeing of Calpso.

(More) Orlando Bloom...What can I say that won't drive certain persons nuts? Love the eyebrows and innocent looks....

Bill Nighly...Wonderful acting, and I still love the lip-pop noise. No matter how hard I or my friends try, we can't seem to duplicate it...Great facial, voice and everything else. I know that Jones was computer animated, but most of that actually came from Nighly's acting....

Geoffrey Rush...Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together in the sight of God and man....Very good, love it. I like the monkey, too!!! Eye rolls are wonderful.....Think I like the dot dots?

Everybody else...I like Tia Dalma's facial expressions, along with her accent. The cool thing about her accent is that it didn't vary, as some will. Calpso's exploding...was okay. The problem I had with that scene was I didn't really care for the score, and there were a few tech problems. Beautiful girl, what a goregous creature....wait....

Why am I writting about Pirates when I'm listening to Singing In The Rain?

Oh!!! The Commadore!!! Wonderful acting, you could see his thoughts on his face. Those cuffs were huge....

Ummmm....I like how the two English soliders reapeared in the last movie...I was sad when they didn't show up in the second one. I really thought it was funny when they turned into pirates.

"You may throw my hat."

"Now go get it."

A Quick Post Before I Vamoose

2007-06-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving eeeeeeaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrllllllyyyyyyyy tomorrow morning, and won't return until Friday. I'll do my best to get the posts for POTC out when I return, and before I leave again.

God Bless and Break a leg to the following people at Nationals:

TPers: Sam & Allison, Logan & Courtney Joy, Trevor & Jessica, Nic & Kat, Jeana & Ben, Kirby & Kelsey

LDers: Anthony, Holly, Laralyn, Mark, Joe, Chris, Mackenzie, Joanna

Speech: Anthony, Holly, Mark, Jessica, Logan , Courtney Joy, Sam, Trevor, (Envoy rocks, you guys!!!)Nic, Kat, Princess Weemie, Grace, Mackenzie (I'm sure you qualified in SOMETHING), Jessie, the rest of the Claires (you guys never sent me a full list of what you did!!!), Patrick, Dan (go Vikings!), Alex (you gotta tell me what color it feels like), Chrim, Ben, Kelsey, Kirby, and all my other So Cal friends that I know you qualified, but ya'll confuse me too much to remeber who did what.

~Dresden

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 5

2007-05-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

General Critiques, including discrepancies from previous movies.

This one isn't exactly the high point of my critique, but it will do.

Oh!!! And an announcement!!! Taking the place of my experience at the theater with this movie will be a very special post. It will still deal with POTC, but it will also be dedicated to a very special blog. Stay tuned for part eight. :)

Other than that...ah yes, critiques. Discrepancies:

1) As previously mentioned, Elizabeth's hair changes.
2) Will has an earring. Now, this especially irks me, because I don't really care for earrings, unless they are in very good taste on certain women. When anyone who does not fall in the category of a woman-with-earrings-of-very-good-taste gets an earring, I am hurt and offended. It just isn't right. Okay, I don't even wear the danglies.
3) Barbossa's hat comes back. Jack had whacked it mostly to destruction in the first movie.
4) Skirts on women appear and disappear. I think the same thing might have happened with some jewelry, but I'm not quite sure about it.

To note, some of my friends and I call this the "hat problem." This has a somewhat long story, so let me take you to another time and place that speaks of a man, like Jack, who had a very precious hat. This man, however, was an archeologist. His name was....drum roll, please....Indiana Jones!!!

In every fight that Indiana Jones gets into, his hat is (supposedly) never knocked off. When the films were made, lots of movies had hats getting knocked off repeatedly during fight scenes. So the producers decided that Indiana Jones' hat would not get knocked off.

So for some reason, when ever something appears and then disappears, we call it a hat.

So yah. There was a tiny bit of hats.

I was planning on sticking the following in Actor Critiques, but I'll stick it here because 1) This post isn't very long, and the Actor Critiques one will be, 2) I've been making fun of Orlando Bloom, so I want to even it out, and 3) I'm not really sure where this would belong anyways.

There is a scene where Will is on the Flying Dutchman, and is having tea with Lord Beckett. Please note for this scene that the boat is out of the middle of nowhere, and only because you've seen previous scenes do you know how he got here. Davy Jones doesn't know. But anyways, Beckett summons Davy Jones to the cabin, where he discovers dear old Will and Beckett having a nice tea together. Throughout the time in the cabin, Will mentions little odds and ends that are important to either Davy Jones of Beckett that they didn't know previously. Whenever he says something important to Davy Jones, Jones looks at him. Will, with a complete look of innocence on his face says,

"Oh...didn't Jack tell you that?"

Of course, Davy Jones didn't know that Jack wasn't in the locker anymore.

I know this wasn't the swellest post, but I would like to say one thing: For those of you who think Orlando Bloom can't act, hold your tongue until you see this scene.

Now tell me, could you do that? And make it look like you were just having a civilized cup of tea? And keep a straight face?

Chances are, you couldn't.

Sorry, S. Sorry, Boys.

I will now retire to my den and laugh evilly over the next post(s).

~Dresden

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 4

2007-05-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Costumes/Aesthetic Elements

As I have now actually completed telling you MOST of the storyline, I have to leave something to make all four of you want to go see the movie...wait, I think you've already seen it...grrr....Well, to make you want to go see it again. That work?

Anyways, now that we have established what happens in the movie....

I must interrupt myself. I have been kicking myself since early this morning because I forgot to post something important!!!!! So, I edited and added it in, but I'll paste it here so that you don't have to go trawling for it:

It is somewhat hard to describe a battle scene, especially when you've only seen it once. One important part is that Will and Elizabeth get married in the middle of the fight.

Will: Elizabeth, will you marry me?
Elizabeth: I don’t think now is the best time!!!!

Will replies that it might be the only time. Then they both yell at Barbossa to marry them.

Barbossa: I’m kinda busy right now!!!
Will: Barbossa!!! Marry us!!!
Barbossa (Slices and jabs, fires a gun) Dearly beloved, we are gathered her today in the sight of God and men….

Ah yes...a wonderful sequence. Now, back to our feature presentation, as dear hol says on a regular basis.

Costumes: The costumes were very well done. The only problem I had with the costumes were 1) The skimpiness of some of Elizabeth's costumes and 2) sudden changes of costumes when clothing changes wouldn't have been easily accomplished, and shouldn't have happened.

1) Skimpy clothing: several of Elizabeth's costumes go quite far up the thigh. This is somewhat of an annoyance, and detracts from her image overall. Lower the skirt six inches, and you'd keep the beauty and her good image.
2) At several points costumes are suddenly changed when they shouldn't have been. An example is Elizabeth's costume when Sao Feng's boat is attacked. The costume is very unique and looks a certain way while Sao Feng dies. Elizabeth goes up to the main deck, and her costume goes through a change. When was that supposed to happen? Unless I terribly missed something, it wasn't.

Another point that illustrates both of the above is when Calypso is freed. Calypso's floor-length dress suddenly shortens several feet, and is at the point of great impropriety, especially when there are camera shots looking up at her.

I like the English soldier’s costumes.

Admiral Norrington has some HUGE cuffs on his coat jacket sleeves.

Some neat costume changes includes Will's when he changes into Captain Turner. His shirt color changes. And his hair seems to get an inch longer. And it gets curlier. And he is wearing a bandanna. And he has a huge scar on his chest. And for the first time, Orlando Bloom appears to be...manly? Well, anything is possible, I suppose. (Please note, T, that this last comment was instituted by a dear friend of mine and is not necessarily the opinion of the editor, as my binders can proudly attest. :P)

Aesthetic elements~Prosthetics...as usual, wonderful false teeth. Sarge claims that Jack Sparrow's teeth are whiter than before, but I'd have to watch the two movies side-by-side to be able to prove or disprove that. At one point, Barbossa's nails are no longer black, but then return to their previous condition in later shots. When the frostbitten toe gets broken off...ewwwww.

~Hair...wonderfully done. In this movie, Elizabeth's hair lends itself much better to her actions then it did in Dead Man's Chest. It has obviously been cut, but it doesn't go through different lengths, as in DMC. (To note real quick, the different lengths were 1) at the wedding--she had stray danglies that appear no where else in the movie--, 2)when she "barters" with Beckett and 3) everything after her escape.) Jack gets more hair when Barbossa disappears with his boat, Murtogg and Mullroy's (I think that is their names….) hair seems to grow a few inches when they become pirates. I really like Will's hair...it never seems to change except when it is absolutely necessary, unlike the previously mentioned peoples.

~Sets...Wonderful. No huge problems here...I didn't really catch any huge inconsistencies.

~Hmmm...I think that's it. You may want to check back, though. I may end up kicking myself again because I left something I thought was important out.

~Dresden

P.S. Thanks to Hol for getting me the music!!!!

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 3

2007-05-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thus have the adventurers come so far, yet are still in the locker. How will they get out? They're wondering that, too.

And they don't know the answer.

Jack is messing with the map, and finds a part that says "up is down." They have to get out of this middling place between life or death between sunset...If they don't, they will be forever doomed to sail between the seas of the living, and the seas of the dead. Jack gets them all running back and forth, trying to get the ship to flip over. Finally it does, the green flash appears (see movie for details about the flash) and they flip over again, landing right side up and in the seas of our world. So they return. Now that they are back in our world, they can continue to the meeting of the Pirate Lords, but not before Will betrays Jack and Barbossa, Sao Feng betrays Will, Beckett betrays Sao Feng and Jack betrays Beckett. Savvy?

Hope so. A lot more betraying goes on, as Jack also betrays Will, and Will turns on almost everybody. During this time, he has tea with Beckett and riles Davy Jones' feathers...or his tentacles...More about that later, in actor critiques.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth lands on Sao Feng's ship, Sao Feng gets killed, but before he dies, he makes Elizabeth captain, and tells her to take his place at the brethren court. He also gives her his "piece of eight." The ship is captured by Davy Jones, under the command of Admiral Norrington (Jack Davenport) as Sao Feng dies. Elizabeth chooses to stay with her crew instead of taking Norrington's cabin. That night, Norrington helps Elizabeth and her crew escape, and gets killed in the process. Elizabeth and her crew head out to Shipwreck Cove, where the meeting of the brethren is. A note about Shipwreck Cove:

Jack: Us pirates are not very inventive with names.
Gibbs: ?
Jack: Shipwreck Town in Shipwreck Cove on Shipwreck Island. You know, I used to know a pirate who had lost both arms, one leg and part of his eye.
Gibbs: What'd you call him?
Jack: Larry.

So the brethren court meet, act like a bunch of pirates, and elect Elizabeth Swann the Pirate Queen. She wins by one vote--Jack Sparrow's. She promptly goes out to parley with the enemy (the three from the East India Company: Beckett, Davy Jones and Will. The three from the pirates: Jack, Barbossa and Elizabeth.) Everyone (except for Jack) agree to trade Will and Jack, and get back to fighting. At this point, the pirates release Calypso...Details in the movie, quite complicated and doesn't have much to do with my critique.

Everybody fights.

This is a GREAT (yes, all caps and italicized...I'd underline, too, but I can't seem to get it to work.) battle scene, wonderful in just about every way. It is somewhat hard to describe a battle scene, especially when you've only seen it once. One important part is that Will and Elizabeth get married in the middle of the fight.

Will: Elizabeth, will you marry me?
Elizabeth: I don’t think now is the best time!!!!

Will replies that it might be the only time. Then they both yell at Barbossa to marry them.

Barbossa: I’m kinda busy right now!!!
Will: Barbossa!!! Marry us!!!
Barbossa (Slices and jabs, fires a gun) Dearly beloved, we are gathered her today in the sight of God and men….

Other than that, let it suffice that Jack goes and does a little bit more surfing in Switzerland (he's imagining multiple Jack Sparrows, again. "Nobody move!!! I dropped my brain."), then goes and battles Davy Jones for the chest and the key, is holding the heart in his hand, when Will gets stabbed, ironically enough with a sword that he made in the first movie, and is dieing. There is only one way to save Will.

He (Will) must stab the heart.

He stabs. Jack takes Elizabeth away in a makeshift parachute while Will's heart is cut out and put in the chest. (No, you do not see the heart getting cut out.) The Flying Dutchman disappears under the waves, and then resurfaces with a new Captain: Captain Turner. The Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman then both go across opposite sides of the E-something (Beckett's lead ship...I couldn't quite read the name of the ship) and destroy it. Beckett has failed, and I presume, is now dead.

The Pearl returns to Tortuga.

Barbossa makes off with the Pearl and...well, if you want to know what happens, watch the movie. I will leave you with one little tid-bit about the plotline, though.

Will can only set foot on land once every ten years now. He and Elizabeth spend their last day together for the next ten years. Make sure you wait until after the credits are over to see what happens ten years later.

~Dresden

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 2

2007-05-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

We left off with Will banging the really bad-bad guys over the head with a bar. Next, everyone escapes to...go find Jack. We now have Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa, Tia Dalma, the charts, a boat and a crew.

Let's cut to Jack, as he is more important to my post at this point in time. I'll leave you all to wonder how the previous peoples get to Davy Jones' locker. If you really want to know, watch the movie.

Anyways, Jack:

The scene opens with...a nose. A Very Large Nose. The nose sniffs, and continues to sniff, as it walks forward and then discovers a peanut. It is at this point that you can actually see something more than a nose, and discover that the afforementioned nose belongs to no other than...Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Sparrow takes a napkin, ties it around his neck and prepares to eat his peanut with a fork and knife when he is suddenly shot. You see that he is shot by Jack Sparrow, who simply says,

"My peanut."

It turns out that the crew is made up of Jack Sparrows. Jack is the Captain, First mate, coxswain, carpenter, sailor-before-the-mast, etc. Very confusing, and very weird.

Jack's gone mad.

Finally, Jack the Captain proclaims to all the other Jacks,

"Gentlemen, I wash my hands of this weirdness." And swings down off of the ship to land in...the salt flats of Utah. (Technically, this is supposed to be Davy Jones' locker....)

He walks around, observing his ship, and then sees a rock. He picks it up and throws it away from the ship and turns to find....

A rock.

He picks that rock up and throws it away from the ship. The rock lays where he threw it for a few moments, and then starts to wobble and crack. Meanwhile, Jack tries to pull his ship by sheer manpower, and, since he is the only man, finds he can't do it. But fulfilling the definition of insanity, he continues to do the same thing over and over again, expecting different results each time.

The rock finishes cracking open and becomes a granite crab. It slides over to a bunch of other rocks, taps its claws, and the other rocks begin to wobble and crack and turn into granite crabs.

Jack passes out from either exhaustion or from being beat by his ship. The crabs crawl over and start moving the ship. Jack wakes up to find that his ship is running away from him. So, he runs after it.

At this point, the ship that everyone who was in Singapore but is now in Davy Jones' locker comes ashore. I would like to mention here, I don't know why I didn't do this in the previous post, but the fight scene in Singapore is fantastic...especially what the monkey and the parrot do. Definately a must-see.

Their boat is destroyed, and they are all sopping wet. They start discussing how they are going to find Jack on this barren wasteland, when his ship comes "sailing" over the sand, with him on board. The ship sails from the sand into the sea, and Jack returns in a row boat. He thinks everyone is part of his imagination, and so they all take time bickering over that. It is in the middle of the bickering that Jack says one of my favorite lines from the trailer:

"Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you tried to kill me. One of you suceeded." Everyone looks at Elizabeth. Will looks hurt. She didn't tell him.

Finally, everyone ends up on board. After sailing for a while and some very interesting conversation (again, I won't tell you everything that happens in the movie....), the ship sails by those who have died at sea, those whom Davy Jones was supposed to sea to the afterlife. He has neglected that duty.

Here something very very sad happens. To cut really quickly to discussing actor's performances, this scene was done wonderfully by Kiera Knightly. It is at this point that Elizabeth discovers that Beckett killed her father and dumped his body overboard. Kiera does a wonderful job expressing the pain and emotions that any girl would feel if they found out like this that their Daddy had died.

"I'll give your love to your mother!!!!"

to be continued....

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 1

2007-05-26T19:34:00.001-07:00

I have seen it.

Yes, second true day in theaters, and I have attended, and am now ready to critique, Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End.

It was wonderful. I suppose one of the FCN staff will growl at me for saying that (we talked a bit earlier about this), but I am hoping his two companions will restrain him from hurting me, unless they decide to turn on me too. In that case, I appeal to you, my other friends, to hide me and protect me. :P

To be able to accurately present to you the wonder of this movie, I am going to divide this into eight parts. Please note that these parts only graze the top of the movie.

Part 1: Storyline/Plotline, Sub-Part 1
Part 2: Storyline/Plotline, Sub-Part 2
Part 3: Storyline/Plotline, Sub-Part 3
Part 4: Costumes/Asthetic Elements
Part 5: General Critiques, including discrepencies from previous movies
Part 6: Actor Critques
Part 7: Technological (including sound) Critiques
Part 8: What happened before (and after) I saw the movie

So to begin: Storyline/Plotline

The movie starts out with the hanging of probably near a hundred people from Port Royale (I didn't think their population was large enough to handle this!!!), all in the form of mass hangings. These people, comprised of men and women, young and old, have all been arrested for at any time in their life either being, having contact, aiding or setting eyes on a pirate. Those who aid the East India Company are miraculously exempted from this. The way this scene is put together is quite good, despite the morbidness of it. An official is reading a list of rights that have been "temporarily" removed. After he names a right, you see the hangman pullback the lever and about eight pairs of feet fall through. Now, LDers, pay attention here. Some very important rights were removed, show that the East India Company actually undervalued democracy. Lost rights included:

Right to Assembly
Right to Trial by Jury of Peers
Right of Expressed Opinion
Etc.

The scene continues like this until a small boy walks up to the gallows, preparing to be hung. He holds a small piece of silver in his hand (a piece of eight) and, while looking at it and turning it, begins to sing. The other doomed prisoners hear the song and begin to sing with him. (The song is NOT Yo-ho, yo-ho a pirate's life for me.)

In the next scene, we meet a young caucasian woman paddling a boat and softly singing the same song. She is in Singapore, and sings softly as she paddles past both locals and soldiers from the East India Company. She docks her boat and is stopped by three locals, who tell her that it is very bad for her to be singing that song, especially since she is a woman, a caucasian, and alone. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) then suddenly appears, and says that she isn't alone. The woman, if you haven't guessed, is Elizabeth (Kiera Knightly). The three locals then escort Elizabeth and Barbossa into the Bathouse, where Sao Feng awaits them. But before they can enter, they have to give up all their weapons. Elizabeth has an interesting aray, and and interesting way of giving them out. Some of this is quite funny. However, I will leave you to your imagination, or to see the movie, on this point.

In the bathouse, it is discovered that Will (Orlando Bloom) has been caught trying to steal a certain map to Davy Jones' (Bill Nighly) locker. Barbossa and Elizabeth deny knowing Will, and Will almost gets killed. Then everyone turns on Barbossa and Elizabeth, but their good pals throw some weapons up through the cracks in the floor and the two are instantly armed. Suddenly, the East India Trading Companie's Soldiers burst in, and everybody starts fighting them, since they are the real bad guys. Will, who had his hands tied to a bar, does a wonderful job of fighting using the bar with his hands tied to it, and an even better job of fighting once someone cuts the ropes that tie his hands to it.

Everyone escapes and heads out to find Jack.

A Day in the Life of A City

2007-05-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I deserted you all.

But I had a marvelous time.

What I did for that long period of time where I wasn't at home, and I wasn't musing over what to write here, I was up at a retreat. Besides having wonderful oportunities to council a few girls, I did experience many other wonderful things. The coolest one of all, literally, was a trip to Bridgeport.

Bridgeport, as you might have guessed, has some water located in it, in the form of a river. The river is pretty cool, temperature wise and look wise. What is really fun is wading in it. The water will come up pretty high, depending on were you wade. I skirt the outside of it so that it wouldn't get much higher than my waist. Trying to cross a river without getting much deaper is kinda hard.

But I succeeded.

In the process, I banged up my toes and bruised my feet, to the point that it was painful to walk later that evening. But it was worth it.In the middle of the river is a huge rock. We found this most valuable for sitting on and drying off on if you got your clothes wet. It was also fun to try to climb on the rocks without falling into the water.

I am proud of myself. I kept my clothes pretty dry and I did NOT fall in.

Others did. I didn't.

Thanks to all of you that made that trip special, for wading across the river, slicing apples and bringing that yummy carmel-ish stuff we dipped the apples in.

~Dresden

A Day in the Life of A City

2007-05-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ty just scared me.

Bad.

And he got Oyi to help him, naughty little girl. :P

It happened quite simply, like this:

I was on the internet, chatting away with Oyi, when I suddenly got an invite to chat with a username that looked very weird. I asked Oyi if she knew who this was. She asked some questions about he/she/it, then told me to accept the invite. I quote myself:

me: who is _____ ?
Oyi: Who?
me: Who is that? do you know?
Oyi: Is he/she talking to you or something?
me: it wants to chat with me.
Oyi:Accept the invite
me: And say what?
Oyi: You don't have to say anything. Just start by accepting the invite. That just means it added you to its buddy list
me: Okay....I'm trusting you. Please don't steer me wrong.
Do you know who this is?
Oyi?
I'm scared.
Oyi: What's he saying?
me: Nothing. He's busy.
Oyi: Ungh brb
me: Who is it?
OYI!!!! DON"T LEAVE ME!!!!
Oyi: Back
Ah yeah, I know ____.
me: So do I/
The silly.
Oyi: He's perfectly harmless.

Yah, he's perfectly harmless. Very harmless. Our conversation begins:

Ty: Did you know that in foreign countries, licking doorknobs is a crime punishable by death and/or taxes?
me: Who are you?
Ty: Bored.
me: Is this M?
Ty: Probably not.
me: Do you carry around tissue boxes growling "my prescious"? (long story, I'll tell later if you really want to know)
Ty: Could be, though. That'd be really cool.
I wish I did
me: Is this someone I know?
Ty: Unless you've forgotten
me: Where would I know you from?
Ty: Clear your cerebral cortex, the answer will come...
me: E?
Ty: In the meantime, (some addy) So close.
me: (I figure out who it is) TY!!!! You silly!!!
Ty: I was just starting to have fun, too.
me: Okay, I'll pretend I didn't realize that this is Ty.

Etc.

They were being vewwy Naughty. With an accent. This is wierd. And I rewarded their naughty conduct with a post. Tsk tsk.

~Dresden

Forwards

2007-05-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

I have a thing about forwards.

I think they are fun. In small quantities. However, when I get multiple forwards multiple times, they lose their funny side and become annoying.

Such was the case today.

I received the same forward twice within five minutes. By checking who the forward was sent to, I can predict that I will receive it anywhere from 0 to 4 more times.

I am annoyed.

When I receive a forward, there are several options as to what to do:

1. Read the forward
2. Read and respond
3. Read and delete
4. Read and send to multiple people in the same circles so that they will receive the same forward multiple times.
5. Forget to read and leave unopened in my inbox for six months.

It is quite tempting to enact the fourth option. This was the case today. As I read through this forward (I more skimmed then read, but whatever.) I was tempted to send this little e-mail to several people...that I knew had already gotten it, and, when I sent it to certain other people, would most likely receive it several more times.

The temptation was great. I sat for a few minutes, deep in thought. Should I? or should I show a bit of mercy? My hand slowly reached for the mouse....

I didn't send it. Perhaps I should...perhaps I shall...but I think I will move it to a new category, the infamous sixth category:

Leave it in my inbox until it falls into obscurity.

~Dresden

The Gift of Pain

2007-05-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

Pain...what good is it? Pain is usually associated with something bad...but this week, I have discovered the Gift of Pain.

I have a condition where, every little while, the nerve running down the back of my leg will get pinched, resulting in immense back pain, while removing my ability to run, jump, and other forms of monkeying around that need your legs. When that nerve gets pinched, doing such things is out of the question. Too much pain.

While limping around the house and growling at my nerves, I thought of something I had done a looooooooooong time ago when I was very little. I don't know if I had skinned my knee or what, but something had happened that made my leg utter complaints to its owner every time skin or muscle changed position. What I had decided at that point, as a little girl, was to thank God every time my leg hurt until that wound healed. That was one annoying time, especially when I needed to go up stairs, but I found that I didn't really have huge longings for things I couldn't do. Instead of longing to go outside and run, I found that our bookshelves had dozens of very interesting--and sometimes dusty--books. I also found myself thankful that I would be able to use my leg again, unlike other people, who couldn't.

A story that comes to mind is, I believe, from the book Ten Fingers for God. A certain doctor that dealt specifically with leprosy spent a long day traveling. When he arrived at his destination, he discovered that he had lost feeling in a certain area of his foot. Prepared for the worst, he decided to go to bed and map out the effected area the next morning. The next morning he began to map the area by sticking a pin into his skin. He pricked himself with the pin in the middle of the effected area and let out a loud yell. His circulation had been cut off while he had been traveling, explaining for the loss of feeling. I bet that pain had never felt quite as good as it did at that time.

But that still doesn't make me very happy about my back.

Although, through pain, I have discovered what toes are for. To find furniture in the dark. That still doesn't make me very happy about my back pains.

For days I have been searching for what, exactly, about this pain is my gift. I finally found it. Because of where the pinched nerve is located, it hurts to bend over. If I want to pick anything up off of the floor I have to sink down to my knees and then rise in the same manner. Sort of the "lift with your legs, not your back" thing. I also must do my best to keep my shoulders parallel to my hips. Any movement shifting my shoulders from that position hurts. But, because I cannot bend over and my body must stay straight, my posture has improved. I used to have a terrible back hump for someone my age.

Because of my pain, I've received a new gift: a better posture. I think that is better than mapping the floor of my house with my toes.

~Dresden

Chippy's Smile

2007-05-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

I must explain about Chippy's smile. Earlier, I had ended a story with "Did I ever tell you about Chippy's smile? Now...that is another story...."

Evidently, several people wanted to know about Chippy's smile. Now. So, I will tell the tale of the Chippy's smile.

Chippy is a young hispanic CHP officer that, in the previous story, gave us a ride. And, in the previous story, he had given a girl a ticket for rolling through a stop sign. I entered the car after that point. As before, I was sitting sandwiched between two guys, when Chippy decided to pull a vehicle over for speeding. Chippy got out of the CHP car and walked over to the passenger window and began asking the driver the usual questions. After he asked each question, he would quickly glance back at us, sitting in the car.

"Watch for the smile...he's gonna smile...ya just...gotta...look close!!!!" One of the guys had said. We all laughed, and watched intently for Chippy to smile.

Not blinking for five minutes can really dry your eyes out.

Just as I was about to blink, Chippy looked at us again, and flashed...the smile. The best way to descibe Chippy's smile is to reference The Great Leslie (played by Tony Curtis) in The Great Race: Every time The Great Leslie smiles, he shows all his teeth, and either his eyes or his teeth actually sparkle. And I mean sparkle as in, you aren't going to miss the sparkle. The glint fills the whole screen. That is exactly what Chippy's smile looked like. We laughed so hard that the car shook.

While Chippy may have a good-guy smile, he definately has the bad guy's theme music. Not because he is bad, but because things seem to happen to him and his company that are quite reminisent of what happens to Professor Fate and Max (Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk, respectively) when they try a new scheme to do something to, before, better, or faster than The Great Leslie. The cool thing is that Chippy doesn't yell "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax!!!!" when something goes wrong. He goes out and solves it.

But back to Chippy's smile. We were almost at our destination when he found out that there was a car crash up the street a bit. Being a good CHP officer, he had to go and check it out. He had been "working the scene" for about twenty minutes when another officer showed up. The guy that had told us to watch for the smile decided that CHP officers must have a secret handshake or something.

"I'm telling you, they gotta!!! Watch Chippy carefully, and I'll watch the other guy. They have some sort of secret code or handshake that they use."

We all watched dutifully for a few minutes. Suddenly, the guy yelled "That's it!!!" when Chippy and his co-worker were about twenty feet apart. At that distance, they couldn't have reached to use a secret handshake, and neither of them had said anything.

But they smiled. They smiled that huge Great Leslie smile. There were the teeth, there was the glint. I don't think any of us will be able to convince that guy that it isn't a secret code. He's probably standing in front of his mirror right now practicing The Great Leslie smile. But I don't think he'll ever get the glint The Great Leslie had or the sparkle Chippy's smile had, dispite all the whitening strips in the world.

For he is not The Great Leslie, nor is he our beloved Chippy.

On the note of the Featured Movie, The Great Race:
The Great Race is a wonderful movie, even though it is old. It goes a little flat in the last minute, but after you think about it, it is pretty good. The movie has so much humor, it will make your stomach hurt and your lungs collapse, especially concerning Prof. Fate and Max. The movie doesn't have any bad content (meaning graphic scenes or gratuitous vulgarity), and any violence is purely humorous (their is a huge pie fight that is to die for, it is so funny). Even the bar fight in Boracho (Spanish for "drunk") is quite humorous. I consider this a good family movie. To note, the heroine does at a few points wear the 1906 version of "skimmpy" clothing.

With that said,

"Push the button, Max!"

Pictures of the Doughnut of Death

2007-05-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

Kindly provided by a friend of mine...I don't think she knows these are here yet.

A Day in the Life of A City

2007-05-09T18:40:00.000-07:00

This spring, it has been my honor to attend several different events sponsored by the CHP (California Highway Patrol). These events were all a presentation of a certain anti-drinking and driving program, Every 15 Minutes. To quickly explain the program in a nutshell, I'll give you this memorized quote that everyone knows who has been to more than one of these events: "Every 15 minutes someone is killed or seriously injured in an alcohol related incident."

Is that enough information?

If its not, throughout the career of this blog, you will be to know it much better. Anyways, today happened to be the first part of the two day event for one school. The crash was uneventful (a double fatal car crash is staged in the football field...again, more later), as was the arrival at the hospital. To quickly note, all of this is filmed and then edited and presented the following day. After that point, I usually would go to the mortuary along with the not really dead dead person, along with Sarge and a cameraman. But today, I had a little spice added to my life. I got to go to booking, to watch the "drunk" driver get instated in the local jail.

The guy that was acting as the drunk was a real weiner. He even looked like a hotdog. His first complaint was that the handcuffs were uncomfortable. Could someone please tell me when they were supposed to be comfortable? We wondered if he needed fluffy padding between his wrists and the cuffs, but fortuantely, good sense prevailed. The Chippy officer told him to hold on a minute until we were done filming, then he could take them off. That was before we drove over to booking.

The trip to booking was quite interesting. I have never actually been in that section of the jail, and while I had no intention of ever going there except for under my absolute free will, that intention was strongly re-inforced.

While we were waiting for the Chippy to set everything up (you don't just bring a teenager into a jail without first setting out some precautions), we discovered that our "driver" had a peculiar way of popping his head out of the squad car to say something. It almost looked like someone had set a jack-in-the-box on its side and then turned a hidden crank about once every minute and a half. One of the things he popped his head out for was to ask one of the deputies if he was so-and-so. The deputy answered,

"Yeah. When did I arrest you?"

The answer, it turned out, was never. The deputy was the boy's old Scout master. Its so nice to see reunions that begin that way...I guess.

Anyways, after going to booking, we returned to the school. Now, one thing that I was not planning on was spending a fifteen minute car ride sandwiched between the equivalent of two football jocks in the back of a patrol car. I got squeeshed. But, it was okay. I had more room than if I had ridden in the back of Sarge's car. But, at the end of the day, I rode back to the school in the CHP car. I kinda asked for it, though. One of the ladies that works in the E15 program is a nurse, and rode shotgun to the hospital with Chippy driving. She claims she will never ride in a car driven by him again. I wanted to see if it was really true.

It wasn't.

Anyways, while we were driving home, on the freeway, this little bug zips by us going at an excessive speed. Chippy, asked us if he should pull her over. The boys let out a resounding yes. To note, Chippy had evidently pulled over someone else on the way to the hospital for rolling through a stopsign. Anyways, this girl got a ticket for speeding. The rest of the ride was uneventful until we almost reached our destination. Note that I said "almost." there had been an accident involving five vehicles. Chippy was the closest CHP officer, so, of course, was the first responder. It was a mess, although an interesting crash. I feel bad for the guy whose car got the worst of it, though.

His trunk was full of computer equipment.

Did I ever tell you about Chippy's smile? Now...that is another story....

A Day in the Life of A City

2007-05-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Sleepovers...the blessing all girls love. It was one warming evening not too long ago, alright, it was this last weekend, that I was able to experience a two night sleepover. Please note that it my family, this is very rare, as everyone but me thinks that a sleepover is some phenomenon that takes a year or two to recover from.

Anyways, this sleepover was special, partly planned and partly unplanned. The planned part was simple: One of my friends who lives a few hours away was going to come and stay at my house for the duration of a tournament. The unplanned part was that she ended up sleeping in my room. Being girls, of course, this was no problem. We made room and settled in for the evening. What was the problem is, being girls, we talked.

A lot.

Besides telling stories, we critiqued our day's performance at the tournament, bantered about who we would like or not like to go against and other oddities. This went on for about two hours when some matronly voices reminded us that we had another day of competeing begining in about eight hours. We agreed to that fact, and continued talking. Very soon a patronly voice told us that we would be required to roll out of the bed and into a car in about seven hours, and we needed to get some sleep. So we did...for a bit. Only too soon my dear alarm (set to Celtic Woman's Caledonia) began to play and the house began to explode. First off, somebody went and showered in the bathroom that doesn't have a shower curtain. Perhaps this was partly my fault, as I didn't warn them that it didn't have a curtain, but on the other hand, wouldn't it be just a bit obvious? Whatever the answer to that question is, the floor was still soaked. Other such explosions happened throughout the morning, ending with me almost forgeting my suit jacket and notes before we sped out the door and were happily on our way to the tournament.

One thing I ought to note is that I routinely get ready for a tournament on the way to the tournament. I usually exit the house wearing a hoodie, flat shoes (flip-flops, if I happen to get away with it) and hair unkempt, and exit the car to the tournament with a dazzling do and in a suit, complete with high heels. Somehow wrinkled shirts get pressed in the back of the car, but I'm not really sure how that happens; it might be the hoodie's influence. Anyways, I arrived at the tournament in one piece, and ready to debate. And Debate I did. Everything went fine until my third round of the day.

I went against a very good, graduating debater. I wasn't sure how I would survive, but I tightened my belt (I wasn't wearing one, so I'm not sure how that happened) and strode into the room. My debater friend and I had quite a good time before the judge came in. My friend knew what my case was (I hadn't expected to hit him, so I had told him, and even offered him the case if he wanted it), and I knew what his case was...I had ran it earlier. So we debated. IT was an interesting round, and I had lots of fun.

After we were done, I walked out to the playground that was located nearby and amused myself by sitting and watching a mentor play on the "doughnut of death." The doughnut of death was somewhat like a huge tire, about five feet in diameter, and was slanted and on some sort of wheel or rotating device, as it would go around in circles if not correctly balanced. Watching ten guys try to keep their balance on the doughnut of death while standing up (and while screaming like girls) is quite...interesting to say the least. Later on that day I was able to partake of the doughnut of death myself, except for two small differences; one, I sat on the doughnut of death, and two, I did not scream.

Besides breaking to quarterfinals, the rest of the day was uneventful, until I had to watch two people that I really wanted to qualify go against each other for one slot. That hurt.

Anyways, the rest of the day went well, and finished just the way it had began: with two girls, talking late into the night.

A City

At Home

2007-05-07T17:20:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my sphere of influence.

That was weird.

Anyways, this is my little blog, for me to note the oddities that are only supposed to happen once in a while, but seem to happen almost constantly to me. I hope you enjoy. To note a very good blog that I must recommend (this blog also has some very good recomendations) please vist http://oyiandclari.blogspot.com/ .

A City

At Home in a City In Germany

The First Church of the Heretics

Looking For Some Friends

Conference!!! Day 1!!!!!

The Red Envelope

Crushed Perfection (Girls Only)

And what did YOU have for dinner last night?

Aslan Returns, Part XII: Rumours and Guesses

Aslan Returns, Part XI: Aslan

Young Hillary Clinton

Aslan Returns, Part X: Duel and Corresponding Battle

Aslan Returns, Part IX: Miraz and Queen Prunaprismia

Aslan Returns, Part VIII: The Trees and Lucy's Dream

Aslan Returns, Part VII: Castle Raid

Aslan Returns, Part VI: CG Characters

Aslan Returns, Part V: Susan

Aslan Returns, Part IV: Caspian

Aslan Returns, Part III: Ed

Aslan Returns, Part II: Lucy

Update

Aslan Returns, Part I: High King Peter (the Magnficent)

Three Days

Top Ten Things You End Up Doing (but don't really want to) When You're Bored

Just FYI

I Will....

Avoiding the Holiday Pounds--and Rush

Cannibalism!!!

I Suppose....

Day in the life of....Two Blondes and a Fax Machine*

Another Top 10....

This isn't about Politics 2

I Feel Sick.

EDITED: This isn't about Politics

NOT my Drug of Choice

Study Music, Part 2

Study Music

She'll be Come'n Round the Mountain When She Comes

Revisiting the Untitled Rodent Project

Home Invasion, Part 2

Home Invasion Pictures

Runnin' Just to Catch Myself

Support yer low-cal sheriff

Home Invasion, Part 1

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 6

Cooking for Two, Part 2

Cooking for Two, Part 1

The Poke Monster

Untitled Rodent Project (Working Title) *WARNING: SPOILERS*

Bad Humor

Something Snappy needs to go Here (Or, A Day in the Life of a City)

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 6

A Quick Post Before I Vamoose

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 5

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 4

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 3

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 2

Pirates of the Caribbean III *SPOILERS* Part 1

A Day in the Life of A City

A Day in the Life of A City

Forwards

The Gift of Pain

Chippy's Smile

Pictures of the Doughnut of Death

A Day in the Life of A City

A Day in the Life of A City

At Home

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 6

Untitled Rodent Project (Working Title) WARNING: SPOILERS

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 6

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 5

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 4

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 3

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 2

Pirates of the Caribbean III SPOILERS Part 1