Looking into the archives.../completed goals

So, because people liked my poem it seems, I thought I'd give y'all a couple more. These I don't consider to be as good (I wrote them a long time ago) but I think they're nice.

Stars in the Heavens

Look into a clear sky and what do you see?
Stars like diamonds twinkling in the midnight sea,
When one shoots by, you must look fast for when
You turn around it will be gone again.

*~*

Sunset

God sets up his canvas,
And his colors He picks carefully,
Wanting to show His glory must be
Planned properly.

He takes up his paintbrush,
And dips it in deep red.
He brushes it over part of the sky
And His beauty is aptly fed.

He adds more colors,
Orange, maybe yellow,
Because His eye is always perfect,
None of them are ever mellow

When He looks back at His work,
He sighs contentedly,
And says, “I think that should give
Them a good example of my glory.”

~*~

Singing Psalm 95

Sing for joy to the Lord!
Shouting joyfully to the rock of our salvation,
With a joyful heart and dedication,

Sing for joy to the Lord!
Coming before His presence with thanksgiving,
To Him, we sing Psalms and from Him, we find forgiving.

Sing for joy to the Lord!
He is a great God where we find our peace,
He is the Great King over all other gods that our thought to them must cease.

Sing for joy to the Lord!
His hand is in the Earth, and His breath upon the air,
The mountains are His, and because of Him, they are fair.

Sing for joy to the Lord!
For He is the one who formed the seas,
And the land, His hands brought forth, and that it is good, He sees.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

99: I've left my Phantom graphic up for more than a week now, and because I'm feeling lazy, it'll stay for awhile, ha ha.

21: I watched the old black and white version of And Then There Were None the other day, and I will do the review right after this post.

*Evil Laugh*

YES! I have figured out how to master Mom's video editor, and have taken our video clips of Encyclopedia Salesman, put them together, and made a video worthy of youtube. Mwah ha ha!!!

Our take on the Encyclopedia Salesman sketch.

See also: The Annoyed Director montage

Wow.....

We have a video on youtube....that seems so weird..
So anyway, here's a video of Mom's tumor removal. DO NOT WATCH if you have a weak stomach or have just eaten....it's not pretty.....

THE PROCEDURE

New Feature!

I'd like to bring y'all something new: Quotes of the Week!
Every week, I will bring you, funny, inspirational, and what-not quotes from real life, movies, books, or whatever I deem fit.

"A poet can survive anything but a misprint."

"People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely because chickens run about so absurdly that it's impossible to count them accurately."

"Life imitates art far more than art imitates life."

"A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies."

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

"In this world there are only two tragedies: One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."

"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go."

Can any of y'all guess who this is?
Hint: one of my favorite playwrights.

THE Procedure.../Completed Goals

Wellll, yesterday Mom finally had her procedure. After 20+ years of having that bump on her arm, she had it removed. It was quite a day. This is the bump, its mere hours being numbered.

We rode into town with Mimi, and as soon as we got there, Mom went charging over to the door, and she broke the door handle!! We couldn't stop laughing for a long time, especially when Mimi said, "I've never seen her so excited to get into a doctor's office!" because as most people know, my mother hates about 98% of doctors. ("to be fair" she says)

So we finally got someone to let us in, and Mom is still super excited. After years of people saying, "Ewwww, what happened?" or "What is THAT on your arm?" she was finally getting that thing out.

This dermatologist was really cool. He had a Scottish name, so I envisioned him as a Scottish warrior in a kilt on the Scottish highlands, hee hee.

Then Mom got called in, and we all went trooping back there: Mom, me, Mimi, and Princess Geo.

Then she got the procedure done...I got it on video, and might post it on youtube but I haven't researched that yet. Let me tell you, it was disgusting. It was bigger than we thought it would be....oy........

So she finally got it out and there was much rejoicing. (yaaaaay............) To celebrate (and calm our stomachs...) Mimi treated us to Baskin Robins right across the road. It was delicious...

And as one final bonus, I've completed goal #32. I've worn alot of funky socks recently, including these:

(who says you can't wear knee socks with shorts? ha ha)

In other news, I went to the Geopalooza exhibit (80, I believe) which was AMAZING. There were tons of incredible geodes, most of them amethyst. There were rocks that looked like they were painted because of their color. There were rocks that glowed in florescent light. And finally lots of fossils. Definitely worth seeing.

Then, we hung around in the energy hall and we saw one of the pins being knocked down by the pendulum. Isn't it fascinating how that thing works? They get it started, then it keeps swinging because of the weight, and it swings (albeit slowly) in a revolving circle because of the Coreolis affect. For those who don't know what that lovely effect is, is is also the effect that makes water swirl around and makes people walking around in circles inadvertantly make the circles smaller. Basically, it swirls because of the speed of the earth's rotation. And I feel like a total nerd being so excited about the Coreolis affect....

Craziness!!!!!

101 update-19 completed

In Process:
99: Fighting the urge to make a new graphic....
70: I'm at Tom Bombadil!
30: I have weak arms!! Weak, weak, weak!!!!
20: I have so many half read books....
15: See Ghost of the Past
12: Numbers....oy.....
7, 3, 2: these'll continue to go

Completed: 19! I saw Highlander last night. As Dad said, yes it was an adolescent boy's movie, but it had some interesting story to it. Actually, come to think of it, it partially resembled a story that Princess Geo and I used for a pretend game one time...not the "there shall be only one" but the sword fighting in a modern city. I did love all of the kilts... I'll probably rate this one a three on Netflix.

Ghost of the Past

I wasn't going to put this on my blog, but Mom read it last night and said it was good.

As I step into the house, I feel a sense of loss.
Though no one seems to see it, they don’t even know the cause.
They go about their business as if you never left,
They go about their business as I try to forget.

As the time wears on, the feeling seems to come back.
Vainly I try to ignore it; I try to keep it back.
But a voice nags at me and says, “Why are you here?
You say you’re trying to forget, but this place brings him near.”

I realize that the voice is right, and as I look around
Images of the past seem to appear and flutter down.
I numbly watch as scenes of our most joyful times unwind,
I watch the scenes as madness seems to creep into my mind.

At first, weak and resigned to my fate,
I let it in thinking it’s too late.
But then I close my eyes in prayer,
A prayer for my unleashed despair.

God sees and hears, and soon I know,
Though it may be long, though time seems slow,
I can trust in God’s perfect plan.
I know someday I’ll see you again.

~by Lady Brainsample

Character Interaction exercise

Write down the first ten book characters who come to mind. Try not to use more than one character from any given book.

Character 1: Bonnie Silver from Dragons in Our Midst
Character 2: Faramir from Lord of the Rings
Character 3: Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre
Character 4: Ford Prefect from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Character 5: Cor from Horse and His Boy
Character 6: Philip Lombard from And Then There Were None
Character 7: Katherine Moreland from Northanger Abbey
Character 8: Westly from the Princess Bride
Character 9: Jason Bourne from the Bourne Identity
Character 10: Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility

Now answer the following questions, based on the characters you wrote down above. Absolutely no going back to change the characters you've chosen!

Characters 4 through 10 are on Survivor. Who gets voted off the island first? Katherine Moreland because she has no useful survival skills and she spends all of her time reading the gothic novel she has as her luxury item.
What are the chances of characters 1 and 8 falling in love with each other? No chance. Bonnie is prophesized to marry Billy Bannister, and Westly is taken by Buttercup
Character 2 and character 3 get into a cat fight. Who wins and why? NO! I can't imagine why my beloved Faramir and beloved Mr. Rochester would get into a fight!
Of the other nine characters, who is character 7 most likely to have a crush on? Probably Colonel Brandon, at least before she meets Henry Tilney
What would happen if character 4 got turned into a vampire? Ford Prefect would thirst after Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters all day
Two of the characters are twins separated at birth. Which two are they? Mr. Rochester and Colonel Brandon
Characters 1, 2, 3, and 9 are stuck in an elevator. What do they do to pass the time? They wouldn't pass the time. Jason Bourne would get them out of the elevator
What would happen if character 8 and character 5 were roommates? They practice their sword fighting skills. Westly would be the better and teach Cor.
What do character 10 and character 6 have in common? they're from England...other than that....they're each gentlemen but in different ways

I encourage y'all to do this one too; it was alot of fun.

Time....

I have only just a minute
Just sixty seconds in it;
Forced upon me-can't refuse it,
Didn't seek it, didn't choose it,
I must suffer if I lose it,
Give account if I abuse it;
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it!
-Author Unknown

101 in 1001

EDIT 12/28/08: I can't make up my mind ever what my goals are, so don't be surprised if you see one that wasn't previously there.

In other news, I think I'm going to do the 101 in 1001 days, I got this from my friend Tricia, who got it from another friend, so I'm guessing it's one of those internet things that gets passed around. Basically, one thinks of 101 goals whether big or small to fulfill within the next 1001 days, which is around 2.75 years. Some may happen, some may not, but it also gives material for blog posts. By my calculations, I have until May 14, 2011.
So...here I go to try to make a list. Completed tasks are in purple, in process tasks are in italics.
1. Make the list
2. Memorize the elvish beginning of Lothlorien
3. stretch every day to keep my splits
4. Write more EJC scripts
5. Go to the Renasseince (not looking it up right now....) festival
6. Audition for at least 2 theater productions (2/2)
7. Spend MORE time in prayer than I do now every day
8. Watch the old (good!) Original Series Star Trek movies. (Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, Voyage Home.)
9. See Phantom of the Opera live
10. See Spamalot again (whether it be on Broadway or on tour here)
11. Wear my wig
12. Read all of the books of the Bible I've never read
13. Go camping again
14. When camping, if with Princess Geo recreate the pic of our moms camping
15. Start writing more poetry16. Do more hair experimentation
17. Read something by G.K. Chesterton
18. See Les Miserables
19. See Highlander (there shoulda been only one!)
20. Finish all of the books on my unread shelf that have been sitting there for ages

Ok, this is hard! I'm going to come back to it later.....

**a few hours later**

21. Watch 25 classic movies (25/25)
22. Hold off dyeing my hair again till after summer
23. Film some Monty Python sketches (our versions of course...)
24. Work tech on at least one play
25. Apply to junior college
26. Run a half marathon
27. Have the Official EJC convention
28. Get Season 5 of Lost when it's out
29. Find a suitable event for wearing my five dollar dress
30. Finish Ender's Game series
31. Start side business with friend32. Wear funky socks more often
33. Wear my cape more often
34. Memorize ten useful things to say in Elvish (3/10)
35. Give a gift to someone for no particular reason
36. Read something by George MacDonald
37. Donate to a Pregnancy Resource center
38. Read the books I'm borrowing from Erustan (they're piling up....)
39. Update my resume
40. Ask Mimi to take a new headshot of me

I'm taking another break......

***still hours later***

41. Attempt to dye the tips of my hair
42. Have a Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate factory marathon
43. Get through Level 1 of German on Rosetta Stone
44. Have the official EJC convention
45. Visit each of my friends up north (if not up there, then get them to come down here) (1/2)
46. Watch past seasons of NCIS
47. Get up on a slalom at the Lake (waterskiing)
48. Watch all of Animaniacs in order
49. Re-read Jane Eyre
50. Visit my friend in San Antonio
51. Get a good score on the PSAT
52. Get a good score on the SAT
53. Get good scores on whatever other tests Dad wants me to take
54. Get my driver's license
Gee, this is hard! I'm coming back to it tomorrow......

****the next day****

55. See Hamlet
56. Read Much Ado About Nothing
57. See the movie Much Ado About Nothing
58. Read A Midsummer Night's Dream
59. Watch Chariots of Fire
60. Start voice lessons
61. Eat some Baked Lays
62. Memorize to-be-determined passage of the Bible
63. Memorize to-be-determined passage of the Bible
64. Memorize to-be-determined Psalm
65. Memorize to-be-determined Psalm
66. Get my family to play Clue with me
67. Play competitive solitaire with Grandpa
68. Look for better audio editing software for short films
69. Pay my library fine
70. Finish LotR on audiobook
71. Make some good short films
72. Pay off my computer
73. Make my five dollar dress wearable
74. Come up with a new alias that I like (I've never been able to beat Lady Natasha E. Brainsample of the planet Skyron....ever)
75. Transfer all EJC Productions videos to digital
76. When I get a laptop, transfer everything
77. Read Mere Christianity
78. Buy some new geeky t-shirts
79. Finish memorizing the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
80. Visit the Geopalooza exhibit at the museum
81. Get a solo part in a musical
82. Improve my precision with Mom's Glock
83. Write a short story that I think is worthwhile
84. Watch Annie/My Fair Lady to prepare for the auditions

Stupid list!!! It's going to take me 1001 days just to make the list!!! ARG!!!!

85. Find a new plaid skirt
86. Find a new black skirt
87. Get Season 4 of Lost when it's out
88. Apply for a real job
89. Trim down my Netflix list
90. Watch some old animated movies I haven't seen in ages
91. Learn something on the piano I can accompany myself with
92. Listen to Phantom of the Opera on audiobook
93. Read Three Men in a Boat
94. Listen to the Screwtape Letters on audiobook
95. Find some new audition monologues
96. Finish watching my Flying Circus dvds
97. Read something by Ted Dekker
98. Finish my Ideal Husband document
99. Go for a week without changing my header graphic (sorry, couldn't think of anything else)
100. Whack off hair
101. Blog about the interesting stuff on the list

PS Mom and I ate some Baked Lays while we were trying to come up with stuff, so I get to cross that off!!! YAY.
PPS Classic Movies watched:
1. And Then There Were None~1945
2. Chinatown
3. Around the World in 80 Days
4. Thomas Crown Affair, The
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. 42nd Street
7. Fiddler on the Roof
8. Breakfast At Tiffany's
9. Singin' In the Rain
10. Footlight Parade
11. Casablanca
12. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
13. The Pink Panther
14. Rear Window
15. To Catch a Thief
16. The Great Race
17. My Fair Lady
18. The Sound of Music
19. The Princess Bride (I don't care what anyone else says, it's a classic)
20. Psycho
21. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
22. The Breakfast Club
23. Star Wars
24. Empire Strikes Back
25. Return of the Jedi

Thoughts....

Last night I went to a community theater production of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was very good, however they used the same script I did from about a year ago, so I knew all the lines!
That's not the point....their production was excellent, but what caught my eye was their listings of next season's shows and under each show they had dates for auditions! The first plays of the season I wouldn't be able to do because of dance scheduling, but in the summer, they have open auditions for Annie and My Fair Lady. The wheels were turning in my head as well as my grandma's, so I found someone to talk to after the performance. They welcome all performers, not just the ones from the surrounding town. In addition, this community theater happens to be closer to home than the company I've been doing classes with in the city. Another thing is that I would have a better chance at getting good parts because this theater isn't in the middle of a large city!
I talked to Mom about it, and she liked the idea! I'm thinking about reducing the amount of ballet I do next year as well because A. It'll be less stressful and B. I'll have more time free for shows I may audition for. By no means would I quit ballet entirely, but I would probably not take at my current school because they require lots of classes for the level I'm at.
Soo, those are my thoughts. I have time to think over them because the next audition my schedule would allow will be next May. Who knows? I might make Mrs Hannigan! That would be fun!

My Newly Discovered Obsession...

If y'all hadn't already noticed, I changed my header to a graphic I made of my recently realized obsession: Phantom of the Opera. The first time I watched this movie (2004 version), my mind kind of went into culture shock A. because it was stunningly beautiful visually and B. because I loved it so much!

The movie takes place at the Opera Polulaire in Paris in the late eighteen hundreds. The opera house has been sold to two new managers who find that there resides the Opera Ghost, who makes certain demands such as permanent use of Box 5 and a salary. When a set piece "somehow" falls and almost hits the opera house's diva singer Carlotta, she storms out and refuses to sing for the performance. Christine Daae is volunteered for the role, and she impresses the managers with her singing. The story that ensues is dark, but incredibly good.

Of course, it being an Andrew Lloyd Webber (otherwise known as Alfred Floyd Webster around here) the music is FANTASTIC. At first I only bought the title song off of iTunes, but then I completed the album because it's just that good. Even if one doesn't see the movie, they would probably love the soundtrack by itself. (must buy favorites include Overture, Think of Me, Phantom of the Opera, and All I Ask of You) The singing is phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. Emmy Rossum has the clear voice perfect for Christine, Patrick Wilson perfectly soothing for Raoul, and Gerard Butler deep and mesmerizing for the Phantom.

Minnie Driver is of course hilarious as Carlotta the diva, lending facial expressions and attitude one would normally expect from Minnie Driver. However, Minnie Driver is not a soprano opera singer, so her part was voiced by a professional singer whose name I cannot recall.

Another thing I loved was the Phantom's style. He has the coolest sense of style EVER. He's got the underground kingdom, the candles that light when they rise from being underwater, the white mask, the black cape, everything! Plus, he has awesome habits such as sending a red rose with a black ribbon to people he is pleased with.

To close, I say this: see the movie or see the musical!!!

10/4/08 EDIT: See also my review of the book.

At first I only saw this movie to see Jack.....

I honestly didn't expect much from the movie Vantage Point...I expected it to be a regular B-grade thriller, maybe with some good acting from Matthew Fox (referred to as Jack) and Dennis Quaid (the dad in Parent Trap) but beyond that, I thought it wouldn't catch my interest. I was dead wrong.

Just to get them out of the way, the movie has some cons.....bad language is one. But the other had to do with the music. Not that I didn't like it; on the contrary. But I am a Bourne fan before I am a Vantage Point fan, so it seemed to me that some of the music was copy and pasted from the Bourne movies. The final con was that the story seemed to end too quickly. They could have tied up the loose ends in a little more drawn out fashion.

The movie follows an assasination attempt on the president during at a world summit in Spain, but from different points of view. I have to say that the first point of view is misleading (in amusement value), but that's probably because Sigourney Weaver doesn't impress me as an actress that much. (I'll give her the Village, but that's about it) Once it started jumping around to different points of view, it REALLY started going. About every five minutes, Princess Geo, Mom or I would mutter, "I'm so confused...." but then to balance that out, we'd also yell, "DUDE!!!" or "NO WAY!!!!" or "THAT'S WHY SUCH AND SUCH DID THIS OR THAT!!!!!"

Overall, this was a very good movie, and I'll probably rate it 4 out of 5 on Netflix.

Middle Earth geeks~edited!

From our photo shoot a while ago......edited finally.

If I were.....

1. If I were a food, I would be...potato soup
2. If I were a book, I would be...the Princess Bride
3. If I were a TV character, I would be...Sabrina from Charlie's Angels
4. If I were a flavor of ice cream, I would be...vanilla
5. If I were a word, I would be...sequipidelian (look it up, it's a real word)
6. If I were a number, I would be...5
7. If I were an animal, I would be...a racoon
8. If I were one of the seven dwarves, I would be...Sleepy
9. If I were one of the seven deadly sins, I would be...sloth
10. If I were a Hollywood starlet, I would be...Audrey Hepburn
11. If I were a drink, I would be...English tea

Side note: I'm finding most of these fun questionaire things here. I encourage y'all to go there and fill out one you like on your blog.

A very important message...

No Letter?

Ain't you got no paper?
Ain't you got no pen?
Ain't you got no envelope
To put my letter in?

Is you lost my address?
And my letter, too?
Don't you know I'm 'bout to die
From lack of word from you?

Is you got writer's cramp?
Is you broke your arm?
Is you got rheumatism?
Or is you come to harm?

Ain't you got no thought of me
Feeling kinda blue.
Don't you know it's ages
Since I last heard from you?

-author unknown

Dream questions...

Ok, I know I just did one of these recently, but I found this one on dreams. Since I have MANY weird dreams, it seemed appropriate for me.

Do you remember your dreams? most of the time. some of the details get fuzzy, but I usually remember the gist of it

What's the best dream you've ever had? All of my secret agent/running away from being captured by bad guys with friends dreams. also, the time I dreamed I jumped from a Titanic ship and felt the tingly sensation one gets from falling. Also the times I've dreamed that I was a mutant. (think X-Men)

What's the worst nightmare you've ever had? I don't write down my nightmares unless they're interesting, so I don't remember. Except for the dream about running away from a scary director of a play. I do remember dreaming about Rasputin from Anastasia when I was a kid though. That was the first dream I ever had that I can remember.

What's the absolute WEIRDEST dream you've ever had? too many to count...

Can you control your dreams? not really. I dream about stuff I'd rather not dream about sometimes, but other times I dream about people I've been doing stuff with recently

Do you have any recurring dreams? dreams of my being a secret agent with two of my friends

Have you ever had a flying dream? I've had a dream that I was flying in the Blackbird from X-Men and we jumped out of the plane and landed safely in a shopping mall

How about one of those dreams where you go to school/work and realize that you're naked? unfortunately.....yes

Have you ever had a dream that featured characters from a book, movie, or television show? OHHHHH yeah....I've had Lotr, X-Men, Narnia, the Breakfast club...the list goes on. I've also had a dream where I WAS ROGUE!!!!! That was awesome.......Gambit was even there..

Have you ever had a dream where your teeth fall out? no......

Have you ever dreamed something that later came true? YES...I dreamed someone from church died her brown hair golden blonde, and about a year later she came home from college and it was that EXACT COLOR......sCaRy............

Again, I tag Tricia, Princess Geo, Mom, and any other volunteers.

Christians Under Trial

I have a friend who has recently been under verbal attack from an anonymous commenter, so just as a refresher course, and since I have alot of Bible verses related to this handy, I'd like to discuss something that isn't often taught in churches these days.

We will suffer. Our faith is an offensive, politically incorrect, getting-to-the-core-of-things faith. It's not a faith that sits in the shadows. Our faith is something that we are going to be hated for.
Jesus doesn't ignore this; "If the world hates you, know it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world and I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. If they persecute me, they will persecute you," (John 15:18-20a) In Matthew 16, Jesus says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 24:9b says, "You will be hated by all nations because of my name."

But there is hope. God doesn't just leave us alone in the world to fend for ourselves. He gives us the privilege of prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, and He gives us His promises in the Word.
In John 16, Jesus comforts the disciples by promising them the Helper (the Holy Spirit) who will guide us. We also have hope because later in the chapter, Jesus tells us, "in the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

In Matthew 5, Jesus says "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." We will be blessed when we suffer for Him! Our reward in heaven is worth it.

Finally, as one of my old youth pastors liked to say, "I feel GREAT because of Romans 8:28!"
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His pupose."

And in verses 35-39 of the same chapter, Paul tells us, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

A tag!/questionaire thingie

Miss Erin's from a LONG time ago...

1. What's the book you've cried hardest in? probably Little Women
2. What's the movie you've cried hardest in? Overboard or Lord of the Rings
3. What's the worst movie you've watched? Harriet the Spy (they RUINED a great book) or Watership Down (hippies using bunny gore!! ugh!!!!!)
4. What's the most ridiculous movie you've watched? Lady in the Water (ridiculous in a goes on too long with no point way....the only Shyamalan so far I don't like) or a Walk to Remember
5. What's the most disappointing book you've read? almost every extended universe Star Wars book I've read
6. What's the funniest movie you've watched? Monty Python and the Holy Grail
7. What's the silliest book you've ever read? silly in a good way: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or the Princess Bride
8. What are a couple of books you're dying to read? Bones of Makaidos and Eternity's Edge by Bryan Davis (not out yet, darn!)
9. What are a couple of movies you're dying to watch? Adaptation to And Then There Were None, Inkheart next year (hopefully it'll be good!)

I tag Tricia, Princess Geo, Mom and any volunteers.

Meet Joe Black

This is ANOTHER underappreciated movie. When Meet Joe Black came out, it had a disappointing run at the box office. Critics varied completely. I believe personally that the reason it didn't do well is that when people go to the movies these days, they don't want to think. They want to be mindlessly entertained. This movie does not do that.

First of all, the acting in this movie is AMAZING. Yes, Brad Pitt is a scumbag in many ways, but he's a darn good actor! When he plays two different characters, you KNOW they're different. When he does an accent, it's not subtle, you KNOW he's doing an accent because it's so flawless and smooth. Anthony Hopkins is also amazing. Whenever he speaks as Bill Parrish, you immediately want to listen. In the minor characters, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jeffery Tambor as Quince, partially because he was in Muppets from Space..hee hee....
Every single one of these characters are REAL. You see their weaknesses, strengths, hopes, all in their eyes or behavior. You see the straightfowardness of the man in the coffee shop. You see the hidden motives of Drew. You see the longing in Allison. You see a husband who loves his wife in Quince.

Next, the writing of the story and script are amazing. Every single one of Bill Parrish's speeches is full of wit and wisdom. The story is engaging, full of character development. The premise of the movie in a nutshell is that Bill Parrish is approached by Death, who wants to take a vacation. Death takes on the name Joe Black and wants to be shown the world through the eyes of Bill Parrish. In exchange, Bill gets more time. (Just as a disclaimer, this movie does have one "romantic scene" that was not needed.. ) The movie is full of bits of humor as Joe goes from one experience to another. And, of course the end leaves Mom and me sobbing.

To close, here is a sample of a Bill Parrish speech:
Joe Black: I don't care Bill. I love her.
William Parrish: How perfect for you - to take whatever you want because it pleases you. That's not love.
Joe: Then what is it?
Bill: Some aimless infatuation which, for the moment, you feel like indulging - it's missing everything that matters.
Joe: Which is what?
Bill: Trust, responsibility, taking the weight for your choices and feelings, and spending the rest of your life living up to them. And above all, not hurting the object of your love.
Joe: So that's what love is according to William Parrish?
Bill: Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I'm talking about.
Joe: Those were my words.
Bill: They're mine now.

Seussical pictures!!!!

They are here!!! Except for the few that I am about to post below...

The End of Seussical......

Just to get this out of the way, fun withdrawals stink.....every year this happens to me. I get home from our last show, and I get so depressed cause it's all over...I'd have pics for y'all already, but I'm not done editing them. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to take good pictures without red eye in that theater...and to make things worse, our microwave just kicked the bucket, so I can't make popcorn....ugh!!! Where was I.....Seussical! yes...
All of our shows went really well. None of us had any major misshaps. I only wish we could do more performances at the end. That of course brings up the question of what are we doing next year? We know it won't be a musical, so that narrows things down a bit...but only a bit...
Picture, for fun if you will: Spamalot Jr.!!!! No? How bout Sweeny Todd Jr.!!! No? I can't picture it either.....
Until next time,
Lady Brainsample
P.S. Pics tomorrow I promise!

Interesting Voices and Accents!

Ok, I stole this from Miss Erin's blog, and I thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, I'm having issues with embedding a youtube video properly, so here it is, 21 Accents!

For someone who doesn't have the knack for it, learning accents is HARD. I got a cd to learn a standard British accent, and it hasn't been easy at all. I'm probably just too southern to sound refined, ha ha.

Isn't it amazing what people can do with their voices??? Consider such cartoon star voices such as Jess Harnell. He is most notably known (in this family) for Wakko Warner on Animaniacs, but he's been voices in SOOOO many notable movies it's absurd! Also, he was the voice of Wooten on Adventures in Odyssey. If you listen to his interview on the Adventures in Odyssey podcast, you'll hear him do the voices of each of the Beatles which was fascinating. (by the way, I do NOT love the Beatles, just to clear that up. I know just enough about them to laugh at the parody of them on Pinky and the Brain)
Then consider Joaquin Phoenix....he sounded almost exactly like Johnny Cash in Walk the Line it was scary...yet in the Village or Signs he sounds completely different.

Grr...a Rant....

Ok, so ever since I got home I've had a terrible urge for A: junk food or B: something crunchy. Well, at first I was able to repress the urge by eating some of my favorite boxed dinner pasta, but then it came back....
The worst part is that we have nothing! No chips, no cookies, nothing. Then I thought popcorn....BUT the only kind we have right now is the butter-less mini bags. Scratch that.
Then, I think toast. It's crunchy, so it'll help and it's not unhealthy. Guess what...
Currently, we have two kinds of bread, but it just so happens that all that's left is the crusty ends that no one ever wants to eat!!!! So now here I am ranting.....at least Mom is amused. She's been watching this whole thing and listening to my frustration.
Well, I'm done now cause I need to go butter my crusty ends of toast. After that, I'm off to watch DS9 with Mom. Yay!!!!

Wacky as always,
Lady Brainsample (with her toast)

No More Rehearsal!!!!

We had our final dress rehearsal for Seussical today, and I think it went really well. In addition, it wasn't just our director and assistants watching, some of the members of the AD Players company came and watched including one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Jeff. He took pictures of us during the dress rehearsal which he'll probably post on either his or the AD Players flickr album. His pictures are amazing!!! He took pictures of our Shakespeare class last fall found here when my friend Sam and I played Lord and Lady Macbeth.
But anyway, back to rehearsals....I think we're ready. We just need to be louder and smile more at appropriate times. I'm so excited!!! Another plus is that our costumes are really fun. We each have a solid color t-shirt with our part written on them, but that's only the beginning. We also get to add all sorts of Seussian wacky stuff like striped socks, scarves, sparkly hair pieces, and feathers to name a few.
So anyway, break a leg to everyone, and anyone who's coming, I hope y'all enjoy it!

Humor for LotR Geeks

The Two Towers~CONDENSED
and
The Return of the King~CONDENSED

These are definitely worth reading. Many of the humor sections hit close to home..especially "That's it! No more listening to the Cure for you!"........***cough cough-Mom-cough cough***

And, to all random lurkers who read my blog, PLEASE COMMENT!!!!!!

The Man In Black~Johnny Cash

Well you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well there's a reason for the things that I have on
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Livin' in the hopeless hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime
But is there because he's a victim of the times
I wear the black for those who've never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why you'd think he's talking straight to you and me
Well we're doin' mighty fine I do suppose
In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there oughta be a man in black
I wear it for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear the black in morning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men
And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believin' that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died
Believin' that we all were on their side
Well there's things that never will be right I know
And things need changin' everywhere you go
But till we start to make a move to make a few things right
You'll never see me wear a suit of white
Oh I'd love to wear a rainbow every day and tell the world that everything's okay
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
Till things're brighter I'm the man in black

♥ Texas! ♥

We went to San Antonio this past weekend, and one of the things we did was the Alamo. That is one of the best things a Texan can do. The Battle of the Alamo is such an epoch of Texas Independence, after hearing it, one can't help but feel pround of our great Republic/State. There was a t-shirt I saw at one of the stores there that said "It's hard to be humble when one is a Texan." I agree...like Mom says, "Every state should be required to take Texas history."



~------------~

To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World:
Fellow citizens & compatriots;
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH.

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. comdt 2495

P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.

For Geeks....

Ok, so I know what some of y'all are thinking: "This whole blog is for geeks! Why title it as such for this one post?" Two words: Chad Vader.
Chad Vader is the internet sensation of Darth Vader's younger less charismatic brother. He works as the day shift manager at Empire Market. But will that change? Will Jeremy become his apprentice? Will Chad ever do battle with Clint? Watch the series to find out.

Amazing Voices....Part 3

Annie Lennox singing Into the West

Amazing Voices....Part 2

Next, Josh Groban and Charlotte Church, singing the same song, the Prayer.

Amazing Voices....Part 1

First in my amazing voices series is Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion.

Lots of Random announcements...

1. First off, this is my 50th post!!!! Yay!!!! I've been on blogger for about...four months now, and I've loved it.
2. My awsome friend Tricia and I are in the beginning stages of setting up a company of sorts that will sell different things we make and donate money to different charities and causes. Please be in prayer for the planning and beginning stages of it. I'll have more information later.
3. People are becoming dumber....we got a new sunshade for our car today, and it actually said on the box: warning-do not drive while using sunshade. Good grief!!!
4. I feel as if I'm in the deep breath before the plunge, to quote Gandalf...this week is going to be extremely hectic, so I have no idea how often I'll be able to update. Additionally, I don't even know if I'll be able to successfully publish this post cause my internet is having MAJOR issues....
5. To close, I'd like to leave y'all with a portion from Chapter 2 of the Fellowship of the Ring:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

LOST in the desert....

Ok, so fellow Losties, we can't wait for January, yes? (Six months to go....) Because I'm feeling the angst and I'm hard up for ideas for blog posts, I am going to write about my favorite Lost characters and why I love them.

1. Charlie Hieronymous Pace
Ok, so maybe I was predisposed to like him because he's played by Merry's Dominic Monaghan from LotR, but so what. Charlie is an amazing character because there's so much redemption and renewal in him that takes place on the Island. He comes to the Island a drug addict, but through the help of John Locke, he struggles against it like the Moth in the chrysalis. And at the end of season three, he sacrificed himself in order to see Desmond's vision through of Claire and Aaron on a helicopter...which came true half way since I think Claire's technically dead. (see my post on Cabin Fever in May)

2. Desmond David Hume
Being stuck in the Swan station for all that time could drive anyone mad, but only Desmond could be driven mad then come back and be a perfectly normal Scotsman. Well, perfectly normal time-traveling, future-seeing Scotsman. Though, since he found his Constant, he should be normal now. I also love how they used the Greek Penelope myth to make Penny's character. For those who don't know, Penelope was Odysseus's wife, and she waited faithfully for him for twenty years.

3. James "Sawyer" Ford
Sawyer's another one of those characters who experiences great growth on the Island. Think about it; when we first met him, all we saw was a confidence man who didn't give a dingo's kidney for anything, much less loved anyone. Yet by the end of season four, he's done some selfless things for others. He braved the attack on New Otherton to save Claire; he jumped out of a helicopter to prevent it from going down. Another thing that makes Sawyer stick out for me is his love of reading. Any man who would sit on a beach and read A Wrinkle In Time has my respect.

4. John Locke
The Great White Hunter.....Locke has always had a coolness factor that's hard to beat. No matter what, he's just....cool! As soon as he arrived, he was healed and knew that he was supposed to be on the Island. Even though he had had so many traumatic things happen to him, he was the man of faith ready to do what the Island wanted him to.

5. Benjamin Linus
The man who always has a plan.....Ben is so smart and crafty, one can barely keep up with him, so I won't even try. I do find it very disturbing that he can't return to the Island...

Honorable Mentions:
Sayid Jarrah (the Jason Bourne of Lost)
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
Alex Rousseau
Karl Unknown

What are y'all's favorite characters? Losties, I know there are more of you than just Mom and Dad. Please leave comments!!!!

PS An important announcement: I got a good grade on my AP World History test!!! YES!!!!!!!!

Results from the audition.....

I made it!! I was cast as a Bird Girl. I have no idea what the part will entail, but I don't think it'll be a bad part at all. Rehearsals start next Monday, yay, and if any of y'all are interested, the performances are at the ____ Theater on August 2 and 3. I don't know when tickets will go on sale, but when they do, I'll let y'all know.

Updates/mini book reviews

Being reminded by a comment, I realize I never said anything about my audition. I think it went well. My voice didn't crack terribly, and it's doing better now than it was before.
As for casting.....we won't hear till Wednesday. Because of this, Mom already enacted the anti-LadyBrainsample-sits-around-in-angst-all-day plan. It's been fun!
On Saturday after the audition, we went all over the place. Bed, Bath, and Infinity for a gift for someone, Borders for books, and JC Penny originally for a gift, but coming out with alot of random stuff cause it was all on sale. I found a dress for five bucks and I love it! It's very me; black with purple spots, so I'm happy.
At Borders, Mom got An Inconvenient Book by Glenn Beck, and I read it in a matter of a day and a half. I don't know if I've said this before on my blog....but I love Glenn Beck!!!
Also from Borders, finally a new edition of the Princess Bride is out!!! Yay!!!!!! For those who have seen the movie, the book is just as good if not better than the movie, so go find it and read it! For those who have not seen the movie, read the book AND see the movie in no particular order. This is the sort of book that doesn't get ruined if you see the movie first.

We Shine

For those who went to camp with me, you need no blog article to tell how great our band was. But for everyone else, if you have never heard of the band Fee, you must go to iTunes right away and see their album, We Shine. These guys are amazing! Each of their songs is Christ centered and sticks in your head (in a good way) so much that I had many of their songs memorized after only five days of hearing them. My absolute favorites off of this album are the title song, We Shine, and Glorious One. Other favorites include All Because of Jesus, Happy Day, and Beautiful the Blood. Please check out their album!

Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday Paulie!!!!! I love you!!!

I have returned!

Well, I don't know where to even begin. God has done amazing things in my life, as well as everyone who went to camp with me.
After the six hour car ride, all 2700ish students at the camp were in the auditorium that we would spend a majority of our time in for the next four days. As the lights went out, a great cheer errupted. Everyone stood as the band started to lead us in worship. Just standing there at the beginning, it was amazing to be around so many other believers that were my age and to worship God.
The first few days were rough. The schedule took a lot of getting used to as well as where everything was located and how long it took to walk from place to place. As a side note, I'd like to thank my small group leader Paul, who was our Daddy Duck leading us from place to place. But anyway, by Tuesday night, our hearts were prepared for one of the most convicting and challenging messages to be directed at us.
David Nassar was our speaker, and he gave us illustration and story after illustration and story to show that GOD IS EVERYTHING. He talked about how he loved his wife and kids, but they make lousy Gods. God is everything, and he deserves NOTHING BUT to be praised 100%. He doesn't deserve to just be put on the top shelf of our life, because a shelf can share room with other things. He deserves to be on the THRONE of our lives and NOTHING ELSE. Every single one of us in the youth group was convicted in a specific way. As we were dismissed, David Nassar asked that we be silent except to sing the closing song (Everything, by Tim Hughes) with Fee, the band leading us.

Be my everything,
Be my everything,
Be my everything,
Be my everything.

Christ in me,
Christ in me,
Christ in me,
The hope of glory,
Lord you are everything.

As we walked out, I was weeping as I sang. I knew how God wanted me to respond, and it broke me. When we got to the room where we did our church group time, Bryan opened up the floor by saying if the Spirit had convicted us with something specific, we should quietly come up and write it on the board in front of us. After everyone finished, Bryan asked if any one of us wanted to share what we had written and why. I was the third to speak, and I was still broken and crying. I shared that I had been bitter and self centered. I had remembered everything bad that anyone had ever done to me, and I had trouble forgiving them. As I spoke, people laid their hands on me and held my hands, and for that I am so grateful. Thank you to everyone there who understood and encouraged me, and thank you to everyone who forgave me for specific things I had done to them and for not forgiving them.
That Tuesday night, our youth group grew closer than we had ever become. We shared our struggles, prayed about them, and we all walked out of there elated and free. Free from the lies of the devil, and free from any kind of dislike for one another. That night, I was happier than I had been in months, probably even years.
The next night, Wednesday, at church group Bryan opened up the floor for anyone to stand and share what God had taught us this week. When I talked, I told how God had helped me release my bitterness and how He had shown me that He was everything. I told about how I had come to this camp with a broken friendship, and the night before, we had each heard the call of the Spirit to forgive each other and not be enemies any longer. I also shared about how during camp I found out that at least two different people were suffering from depression at the same time I was. I wished our youth group had been as close as we were that night because we probaby would have been able to each get out of our depression faster through prayer with one another. I also said that I hoped our group would continue to become closer so that we would be able to lean on one another when more trials were to come.
To close, if I had to describe my camp experience in one sentence, I would say, "God is everything, and I'm not alone," because now I know that I have incredible Christian friends who are there to pray for me, to encourage me, and to hold me in their arms when I cry, as they did many times over the course of this camp.
Standing in the love of Christ,
Lady Brainsample

PS Thank you to anyone that sat through this very lengthy blog post. If any of y'all have any questions, please leave a comment and I will reply to the best of my abilities. And as always, comments are greatly appreciated anyway!

On a lighter note...

This morning Mom got an email about my SAT subject history test. The news is good, I got a 700 out of 800! Praise God!!! Yay!!! Now I just need a score for the AP....
In other news, I saw Prince Caspian again today with Martin, Paulie, and Dad. Again, this movie is awesome! Seeing it for a second time, I was able to catch more details such as the quick appearance of a Bulgy Bear sucking his paw.
In other other news, this may be my last post for about five days (unless I can think of something this evening), because I'm leaving for camp tomorrow with my youth group. We're heading to Louisiana Tech in Ruston for the Student Life Camp, which should be fun.
Until I return,
Lady Brainsample

This Makes me Sick...

North Korea's Kim Jong-il: "We will see a better relationship between the U.S. and the Korean Peninsula with Obama, who sternly criticizes Bush and who would meet the leader of Chosun without preconditions."
Libya's Moammar Gadhafi: Obama should "be proud of himself as a black and feel that all Africa is behind him."
Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega: Obama's "laying the foundations for a revolutionary change" in America.
Cuba's Fidel Castro: "the man who is doubtless, from the social and human points of view, the most progressive candidate to the U.S. presidency."

America, these are communist dictators! Do you want someone with the support of tyrants to be our next president?
As for me, in the words of our late great Charlton Heston: "I'll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands."

I love Glenn Beck....Part 2

I found this article
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/25/beck.conservatives/index.html by Glenn from reading his newsletter, and I'd like to quote his definition of a conservative:

"A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.
A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.
A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.
A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.
A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.
A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.
A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.
A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.
A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.
A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.
A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.
A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.
A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.
A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall."

Thank you, Glenn! Your newsletters are one of the highlights of my day!

What fantasy geeks do in their spare time

They get all dressed up and have a photo shoot! I had my godsister over, so we got into our medieval-ish garb and Mom took around 200 pictures of us. Of course, some of them were junk, so these are the best of the best. And, all of these are the raw pictures. I haven't edited a single one of em.

My blonde roots are really obvious here, ha ha.

At the end of the shoot, us with all of the junk we used.

Power to the People!!!!

"The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." Those words were given new life when the Supreme Court announced they had come to a decision regarding the District of Columbia vs. Heller case in the first high court voice on central gun control issuses for two centuries. In a five to four ruling, the court reaffirmed an individual's right to bear arms, especially in the home for self defense. It struck down the DC handgun ban, and will probably have similar effects for bans in other cities.
See also:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/ap_on_go_su_co/scotus_guns
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,372041,00.html

VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Glenn Beck....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlF12X1dCeo

Nuff said.

Blonde root girl moment..an important announcement

As one of my friends loves pointing out, I am a blonde and often miss the completely obvious...this time being I do actually have something else worthwhile to post that was completely underneath my nose.
I realized after I did my previous post that I do have an announcement... *ominous music*
It's audition season again.....
This year the audition is for Seussical at the _______, and we have to have a song and a monologue prepared. I've already decided to do a monologue I've done before (Mabel Chiltern from An Ideal Husband) but I still have around six or seven choices I'm deciding among for the song!
I have the Prayer, a Celine Dion song that was used in Quest for Camelot.
Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear, from the Muppet Show,
Rainbow Connection from the Muppet Movie,
Moon River, from Breakfast At Tiffany's,
Looking Through Your Eyes, from Quest for Camelot,
Diva's Lament, from Spamalot,
and finally, Walking After Midnight, a classic Patsy Cline song.

What are y'all's thoughts on my pool of choices?

Welcome to a new Lostie!

Because I've been racking my brain for something to post, and this just came up, I'd like to make a quick shout out to one of my best friends (you know who you are) who just started watching Lost. I'd like to welcome you to the Lost fan community, and look foward to whatever theories you will come up with.
I'd also like to take a moment to thank some other fellow Losties including Mom and Dad, RB, SM, TS, LT, and SS. I've enjoyed discussing and debating the show with y'all and I hope we'll discuss and debate it for many years after the show ends.

PS Y'all can probably tell I'm kinda in a geek mode (even more than usual, ha ha)

Such a tolerant cat....

Yesterday I was reading my Literature and petting Charlie. Well, she moved from my shoulder to my book as seen here.



Then I wanted to discuss something with Mom, so I picked her up by folding the book and hanging her. She didn't really care.



Then I went back to sitting down and reading my book, and she didn't run away!

She just went back to sleep.

Little known link....

For those who buy things from http://www.christianbook.com/, there is an area of our church website here: ________________________ that features a link to christianbook that will help support our ministry. If I have any blog readers who don't go to our church and use christianbook, please use the link because it will also give you discounts.

Top Five

Following Tricia's footsteps, I am stealing the Top Five idea from her.

5 things under $5 that I cannot live without:
1. God's Grace (free of course, but I cannot live without it) [ditto Tricia]
2. my family/best friends
3. my books (alot of em are under $5. half price rocks!!!!!!)
4. pens
5. sunscreen


5 ALL TIME Favorite Movies:
1. the Princess Bride
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. Lord or the Rings
4. Star Wars original trilogy
5. Bella, Chronicles of Narnia, Sixth Sense, plus MANY MANY more


5 baby names I love
1. Lisa
2. Elizabeth
3. Deborah (but not Deb)
4. Jared
5. William


5 people who have influenced me in a positive way:
1. my parents/grandparents
2. Bryan Glass
3. Pastor Burckart
4. James
5. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Bryan Davis, and a whole slew of Christian authors


5 things that are always in my purse/in my pocket or with me:
1. phone
2. wallet
3. a pen
4. most of the time a book
5.


5 Moments that have changed my life
1. becoming a Christian
2. my first acting class
3. seeing Star Wars for the first time (that started the epoch of my geekiness)
4. each of my brothers' births
5.


5 obsessions I have right now:
1. my Lord (that's a permanent thing)
2. Reading (see above)
3. my pets/family
4. ranting about liberal educators re-writing history
5. blogging


5 places I would like to go
1. New Zealand
2. Germany again
3. Star Wars weekends at MGM studios
4. Renessaince festival
5. NYCity to see Spamalot on Broadway!!


5 Celebrities I don't hate to admit I keep up with:
1. Python (Monty)
2. the Muppets
3. Andy Hunter
4.
5.


5 Goals I am currently working on:
1. reading the Bible and praying every day
2. reading all of my unread books
3. getting in shape for the WDW half marathon
4. getting my *cough cough* laundry done regularly...
5.


5 People that come up most often in my Normal Conversation:
1. my pets
2. my brothers
3. characters from Lost/Lotr/Narnia/other fictional people
4. political people that I like to rant about
5. historical people

And Then There Were None

The title of "world's bestselling mystery" belongs to the classic And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, the queen of crime. The story starts with the account of how ten people came to an island for various reasons. They soon find out they are each accused of a murder that cannot be proved and that they are trapped on the island. The only clues as to what is going on are a record accusing them and an old nursery rhyme known as the Ten Little Indians.

One by one, people are killed in perfect accordance to the nursery rhyme. A thorough search of the island clearly points out that one of them must be the murderer and planner of this scheme, but it is impossible to prove who it is. As they dwindle in number, life on the island becomes full of terror, suspicion, and alertness as each fights for his life.

This book is amazing. Just when the reader thinks he has figured out who the murderer is, something happens that throws the whole theory off. Even as the last of the ten dies, he doesn't really know who the murderer is. If it weren't for a revelation in the epilogue, we would have an unsolvable mystery.

MORE Picture Manipulation

This time it's vacation edition.

Paulie holding Dad's hand in the line for Test Track.




Me, sorting my m&ms at a break. I always do that...


Sean as Galahad in the World Showcase Players

Did you hear about the peanut who joined the army?

They made him a colonel! This joke courtesy the Muppet Show Season 3, which Mom surprised me with this morning. It's great so far!

Just for fun...

Having rescued the Princess from the Death Star, the gang decides to cut loose by bashing a few mailboxes before heading to Yavin.