Saturday, October 30, 2010

Links Saturday
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME!


I found this great web series parody of The Legend of Zelda and there are about thirty episodes, all of which are hilarious, but the third one is, by far, my favorite. Knowing the Legend of Zelda series is a big plus, but even if you don't, you should be able to still appreciate a lot of the humor. Although, I do warn you, the humor is VERY adult. I don't think I have any particularly sensitive blog readers, but just in case, you've been warned.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Review Friday
The Goblin Wood




Summary

After her mother is murdered by her own village, Makenna runs away and only survives by making the unlikeliest of friends--goblins. She renounces her humanity and defends the goblins against people, but soon a plot to destroy them all forces her to accept the aid of a human knight and find a gateway into another world.

Overview (No Spoilers)

I actually owned this book for quite some time, but I didn't read it until recently because goblins aren't really my thing and the cover wasn't that prepossessing. It made me think the story was just some little girl wandering into the woods and meeting plucky goblin friends. But when I got an advanced reader's copy of the sequel, The Goblin Gate, at the library conference back in June, my sister read them both and loved them. Since we usually have similar taste I figured I'd finally give it a chance and I loved it too. The characters have so much mettle from the very first page that I immediately liked them all. Independent, determined, Makenna and her devious but faithful goblin companion, Cogswhallop. I also felt Tobin the knight's perspective of Makenna, the feared sorceress, added a depth to the story that we would not have otherwise had. It's a morally confusing but satisfying mix of rooting both for and against the main characters when they find themselves pitted against each other and having to decide what they truly believe is right.

Another thing I loved about the story was the moral ambiguity in general. The characters struggle throughout, never quite knowing if what they're doing is right, even at the very end. We see both sides are fighting to survive. Is one any more justified than the other? The question's never really answered in this book, but I still loved the characters enough not to care if they were always morally right. I liked the fact that they questioned themselves, but there's never any convenient or easy answer--just like in life.

The sequel, The Goblin Gate officially came out just this month, but since I already read that, I must now eagerly await the third book, The Goblin War, which does not yet even have a publication date. I guess that's the only downside to advanced readers copies, now I must wait even longer for the next one!

Book Club (Spoilers)

In the beginning it was Makenna's vengeance on her former town that cemented how I related to her. I know if I had seen someone I loved murdered by villagers she had helped all her life, I too would have wanted to flood the town. I probably would have wanted to do worse, but what she did is clever and so human. We mostly acknowledge that our desires for vengeance are often wrong or won't really solve anything, but almost all of us feel it. I always prefer a flawed protagonist to one who always does the "right thing."

I was also surprised to find that I didn't mind so much that the attraction between Makenna and Tobin never fully blossomed into romance. Although, one can interpret Tobin's actions at the end to be largely based on how he feels about Makenna--they're still also based on the love he develops for the goblin people.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Info Thursday
Greek Vs. Egyptian

I recently had an argument with my sister about the pervasiveness of Greek Mythology in modern times versus Egyptian Mythology. I argued that more people knew the stories and gods of the Greeks, whereas the archaeology, history, and culture of the Egyptians was more common knowledge than their mythology. My sister insisted I have actual data. Though I still think that the overwhelming presence of media for Greek myths, such as Hercules and Xena the TV shows, Hercules the Disney film, the Percy Jackson series, O Brother Where Art Thou, Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, and a myriad of other things, not to mention the the many stories indirectly inspired by Greek hero myths. And, yes, all of these things have inaccuracies to the actual myths but the point is that we know Greek monsters and creatures like Medusa and centaurs much more readily than we could recognize Egyptian counterparts. I can't even give any because I don't know any off the top of my head. Yes, Stargate and the Mummy movies have taught us the names of the Egyptian gods--Osiris, Isis, Anubis, Horus, Ra....crazy crocodile dude who weighs your heart to see if it's light as a feather. But can we recite any of the stories other than maybe the one where Isis brings Osiris back from the dead? Do we know any of their heroes or mythical creatures other than their gods? Did they even have any? I don't know.

The reason I don't know is the reason I believe the majority of people don't know--they didn't teach it in school. They taught us the Greek Mythology and Egyptian Archaeology. Not the other way around. I don't know why, but I have my theories. For the purposes of my argument, however, I just needed numbers so I started with research but was unable to find any relevant studies (in my opinion because it's obvious!). Then I suggested a Facebook poll but I knew that it wouldn't be a significant data set so I asked my sister if that would count. She said yes.

It seems she changed her mind. Thank you to all my friends who voted, though.

Okay, I'll be fair on my sister, mostly she just decided she found a better way to check this theory with a much larger data-set. I'm just annoyed I didn't think of it first.

So she googled Greek Mythology and got over 3,000,000,000 hits. Then she googled Egyptian Mythology and only got over 700,000 hits. Even with the Google margin of error (i.e. llamas labeled "Greek mythology") this is certainly enough significant data for my sister and enough for me (possibly even if it hadn't proved me right).
Wildcard Thursday
Diary
Forgetful, Pirates, and Hats

Argh! What is it with this week? I keep forgetting to post. Possibly because I've been cleaning my room all day. But usually my forgetfulness is spaced out a little. I'm worrierd, though, that aside from posting, it has also seen the demise of another hat. I don't think I've ever had a favorite hat I didn't lose. I had a hat from a city in France that I lost, a hat from San Diego that I lost, and my Denison hat that I lost. It's so frustrating! Right now I can't even remember when I last had my current favorite hat which has a Camp Half-Blood Patch. Sigh... I was hoping I'd find it when I cleaned my room, but I still don't see it.

On the upside, I got Dread Pirate in the mail today. The best board game ever! Now I just need people to play with me.

EDIT: Found my hat. It survives another day. I don't know why but I get very attached to certain hats, a little like an Indiana Jones complex. But unlike Indiana, I'm not nearly as good at hanging onto them, nor is it nearly as epic when I lose them.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Diary Tuesday
You Get What You Pay For

I was talking to a friend about the current state of libraries and she commented that people get what they pay for. I think this is actually the problem with libraries. People get what they pay for--and they never know what it would be like if they did pay for it! It's not that libraries aren't useful, even essential services, it's that underfunded libraries often aren't.

A lot of people say the library never has anything they want, or they don't read for pleasure and they can get more information from the internet. Sadly, this is true in a lot of cases, but if you neglected any public service to the level most libraries are neglected, this would be true.

For example, if our public school system consisted of a raving homeless man on the street (not to say in some places it doesn't, but that's for another post...), then you could bet people would ask themselves why we need a public school system at all when kids would learn more plopped in front of an internet access computer (they'd also see a lot of porn, but that counts as anatomy, right?)

I have seen libraries that are palaces of learning and community. The Columbus Metropolitan Library has millions of books, so many free movies that you would never need Netflix, and a downtown building of awe-inspiring white marble, with a Rosetta stone of braille and huge metal globe hanging from the soaring ceiling. Not to mention the topiary garden in the back. Is this because Columbus has more money than other places? Hardly. But they have a community who knows what they're paying for and frequents this wonderful library often. Unfortunately, this is not the norm for libraries.

Many libraries do make valiant and even successful efforts to stay relevant even when funds are low. But the homeless man can only do so much to gussy himself up. So next time you wonder why your library doesn't have this or that resource, remember, you get what you pay for.
Writing Stats Tuesday
Oops...

Science-Fiction Novel

352 Words. Well, better than nothing. It was the first time my sister and I had time to write together in a while. Still getting the hang of collaborating and not quite there yet.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Ninja!



I've been trying to think of a cheap but fun costume, and I finally found it when I devised this ninja outfit from the black clothing in my closet. The head part is a black t-shirt with a black ribbon tied around my forehead to hold it in place. Safety pins would probably also work but I couldn't find as many of those. It looks like I won't be doing anything this Halloween, but for another Halloween, this could be great.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Links Saturday
Galleria Fire



I don't usually like to highlight bad news, but this event has me very shaken, as I used to live right across the street from this mall and spent quite a lot of time there. I happened to be going to Roseville the day this happened. The smoke was gone by the time I got there, and from where I stood, the mall looked fine, if empty and surrounded by helicopters and disaster crews. But it was still hard not to think of the huge negative impact one person has had on the lives of so many people.

Many of you are probably thinking it's just a mall, but it's a lovely and enormous place that defines Roseville. More than that, it represents a huge part of the local economy. I'm grateful that no one was physically hurt, but it has displaced more than 2000 employees who can ill afford such a disaster.

NEWS ARTICLES
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2010/10/22/state-of-emergency-for-westfield.html

The comments on this article are horrible. I think the SWAT team, police, and firefighters did the most they could in a terrible situation. People who think that the backpack probably didn't have explosives are welcome to go retrieve it themselves! The police and firefighters are meant to protect and serve us. They already risk their lives in the course of their work. As huge a blow as this will be to the local community's economy, I would not have preferred anyone to die in order to save property.

http://cbs13.com/local/roseville.galleria.store.2.1974197.html

Friday, October 22, 2010

Review Fridays
The Frog Princess



Trailer



Overview (No spoilers)

When I still had my free Netflix trial I watched The Frog Princess on instant streaming. As I suspected from the trailer, it wasn't my favorite Disney film. There wasn't a good enough balance of humor and dark, even with the voodoo guy, there was an overabundance of comic relief. And with the exception of The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp, Disney films about mainly animals are all like this. The problem is that animals in Disney films are always the plucky comic relief, and in this film they were practically all animals, so they were all plucky comic relief. Overall, it wasn't the worst Disney film I've ever seen (that's still The Black Cauldron), but its claims of bringing back the Disney magic are highly overrated. However, I do have high hopes for the newest Disney film, Tangled. It annoys me that they didn't call it Rapunzel, but it looks really good otherwise. I've been waiting for them to do Rapunzel since I was eight years old. But my feelings for that are for another post.

Spoilers

I liked the theme of hard work not being the only thing important in life because it is so valued and even though we shouldn't be too lazy, like the prince, it was a good idea to point out that it could be just as much a waste to think that your work is the only thing important in your life. It sounds cheesy and cliché but love is the most important thing in life. Still, 'I think it would have served the theme better if they had fleshed out the characters a little more.
Italic
I would also be very disappointed if I was an African American girl and I had been waiting this long for an African American Disney Princess--just to have them turn her into a frog for 90% of the film! To be fair, I don't think Disney did this on purpose for any actual racial reasons. I think it was just a stupid decision and would have been regardless of race. But it also means that Nala remains just as much an African Princess as Tiana (And Nala's the cooler of the two).

None of the songs did it for me either, and those are a big part of any Disney film. On one hand, it's not really my type of music. But nor was the kind in Toy Story, and I still loved You've Got a Friend in Me.

Despite this film being overly humorous, I will admit the shadow voodoo creatures were probably one of the scariest things I've seen in a Disney film. So that was cool. There needed to be more of that and less talking animals and bugs. Although, I confess, I did cry when Ray died.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Celebration Thursday

No blog post today.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wildcard Wednesday
Driver's License


I passed! Apparently third time's the charm. Hooray! My examiner was very good but he was so laid back that I wasn't really sure I had passed because he didn't say anything one way or the other while I was driving. Also when we pulled in he told me what I should watch out for in the future so I thought I must have failed but then he said I passed. Yay! And with only 4 things marked on the sheet.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Diary Tuesday
Bodices and T-Shirts



As you can tell from my Photo Sunday pictures, I went to RenFaire this weekend and bought myself a bodice. Those are supposed to be quite small. Today I finally received my first nerdfighter shirt, which is awesome but also quite small. I do not think it is supposed to be quite this small. But the trouble is I grew up wearing clothes too big for me, so now I always try to get things that are more fitted. Unfortunately, no one expects someone as small as me to be quite as tall as me.

Oh well, it's still awesome. If I order another shirt from them, perhaps I'll go one size up and just hope it doesn't envelop me.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Writing Stats Monday
Fail


Nothing to report.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Photo Sunday
Renaissance Faire




For the first time I both lived close enough to a RenFaire to get there myself, and I was able to make myself a costume. Huzzah! I was proud that I already owned everything for the costume except the bodice, which I bought at this RenFaire. I had so much fun!



I met many fine ladies.



...And gentlemen



I got to see the queen enact child labor.



Nothing more touching than the sight of a boy and his dinner.



I saw my favorite board game at RenFaire, Dread Pirate! And, yes, I am so nerdy that I had more than one picture taken of myself and my favorite board game. We played it today when I went to RenFaire the second time, but I was so excited about my amazing victory. Take that ye scallywags! That I forgot to take pictures. Disappointed arr....



Preparing for the joust. I only took video of the actual joust.



A proper lady always rides sidesaddle.



I have no idea why I'm making this face.



...Or this one.



Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, nobody knows my sorrow...

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Saturday Links
Beastly Belle and Sassy Gay Friend



I love the Disney film Beauty and the Beast but that doesn't mean I can't still laugh at the flawed reasoning.



This one is my favorite. Props for To Kill a Mocking Bird reference!





For all those people screaming "not all gay people are like this," I know and I agree. This is plainly an over-exaggerated stereotype. But I very much enjoyed these videos because I hate tragic stories and I love anything that would turn them on their head like this.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Review Fridays
Al Capone Does My Shirts



Summary

Moose Flanagan always does what he's told. He takes care of his sister, who has autism in the 1930s before science really understood this condition. He moves with his family, who must live on the famous prison island, Alcatraz, so his father can work as a guard there. He even gives up his beloved baseball when he has to take care of his sister instead. But Piper, the Warden's daughter, is a trouble-maker who can even get the obedient Moose in trouble. Even more shocking, is when the heretofore straight-and-narrow Moose finally finds something worth risking everything.

Overview (No Spoilers)

What I liked most about this book was that it wasn't depressing, in spite of the subject matter. It would be so easy to make a Depression era story taking place on Alcatraz with a boy who must care for his severely autistic sister a sob-fest. At the same time, it's also not unrealistically cheerful. It's the mark of good writer that Gennifer Choldenko managed to perfectly balance darkness with humor and light.

It's easy to relate to Moose's problems. Perhaps none of us live them to the extreme of Moose, but many people feel overshadowed at some point in their lives, like Moose does by the needs of his sister. Having to move to Alcatraz and away from everything he's ever known also taps into the lack of control that the majority of children (and even some adults) have over their lives, which makes this a fitting youth book--not surprising that it won the Newbery.

Yet, in spite of his relatibility, Moose is not a tabula rosa by any means. Instead, he feels like a friend walking you through his world, and I was glad that he shared it with me.

I was also pleased to find out this book has a sequel called Al Capone Shines My Shoes and I look forward to reading it.

Book Club (Spoilers)

The amount that I liked Moose is on par with the amount I hated Piper. A spoiled, selfish, and insensitive little rich girl with no redeeming qualities who inexplicably is nice at the end but I still think she wanted something. I hope she and Moose don't end up together. I would like Moose's sensibleness to win over his growing hormones. He was only twelve in this book, so it wasn't played up much, but it was unmistakable that there was an attraction that baffles even Moose himself who simultaneously cannot stand Piper. So I suppose that you're supposed to hate Piper just like Moose does. But I think I hated her more. I am firmly on team Annie. I'd love to see Annie and Moose end up together. Unfortunately, I doubt that will actually happen in the sequel, if he ends up with either one, it'll probably be Piper, so I just hope Choldenko redeems her character somehow.

I was a little bored by the scene where Moose actually plays baseball, but since I liked his character so much, I was sad for him when he couldn't play. The pain and frustration of having something like that promised and ripped away is another thing I think many people can relate to.

I liked the end but it felt unresolved. What did happen with 105? Why was the warden at the dock to meet Piper? Seems strange that it would just be about grades. My theory was that Al Capone never got Moose's letter but the warden did and he managed to get Moose's sister in that school but let Moose believe it was Capone by leaving a note in his shirt. Maybe that's too crazy, but the idea that Capone could do anything from Alcatraz was the only unrealistic thing I found in the story. So I'm interested to see how the sequel resolves these issues.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Info Thursday
Logic Puzzles

So, yesterday my sister came into my room with several logic puzzles. I had told her previously that I wanted to try my hand at logic but I had forgotten about it until now. In any event, she gave me two if statements and said I was not supposed to assume anything not expressly written in the statement. The statement could also go contrary to reality but you still have to follow its logic and not reality's. One of the statements I did perfectly at but the other I made a fatal flaw. Below are the statements followed by the questions that pertained to them. See if you can guess which one I flubbed up on. Then, if not, I'll tell you, but I'm also curious if anyone makes the same mistake. So try the problems, IF YOU DARE...or, you know,...if you wanna...I won't make you or anything...

1. If an animal is a lion, it is a feline

i. An animal is not a lion. Is it a feline?
a. yes
b. no
c. can't tell

ii. An animal is not a feline. Is it a lion?
a. yes
b. no
c. can't tell

iii. An animal is a feline. Is it a lion?
a. yes
b. no
c. can't tell

2. If you eat your dinner, then you get dessert

i. You don't eat your dinner. Do you get dessert?
a. yes
b. no
c. can't tell
d. is it cookies?

ii. You don't get dessert. Did you eat your dinner?
a. yes
b. no
c. can't tell

iii. You get dessert. Did you eat your dinner?
a. yes
b. no
c. can't tell

Highlight the following for the answers: c, b, c - c, b, c

So which do you think I got wrong? It was the second one about dinner and dessert. It's because of the implied threat that I got the first and the third questions wrong since the logic is that it is possible that you could get dessert if you don't eat your dinner. In my experience, people don't usually say that unless it's different from the alternative, though, so I wasn't even consciously thinking it was an assumption.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wildcard Wednesday
Video Clip




I haven't made a YouTube video in over half a year due to a variety of factors but one of them is definitely because I've yet to learn how to edit videos on my new computer. But this is a silly little unedited clip that I made ages ago and always meant to put in a larger video but didn't. I feel under pressure to post more elaborate videos but I think I'll take a page out of my sister's book. She believes in improvement in small increments whereas I too often take the all or nothing approach and end up with nothing.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Diary Tuesday
The Reluctant Organizer and Mangy Grass

I don't particularly like planning, but I also don't really like to expect others to plan for me, so I end up planning a lot of things. Not anyone's fault, really. My personality just won't allow for things to happen spontaneously if I can plan them. Right now I'm trying to organize a Halloween party. We'll see if it actually works out or not. Ideally I'd like everyone to be able to come, but I don't think that's going to be possible.

In more emotional news, I was talking with a friend of mine about whether it's better to have a crush on someone you can't have, or not to have crushes at all. I concluded that whichever predicament you found yourself in would probably seem worse than the other--in the way that the grass is always greener on the other side. Unfortunately, in this case, I think anyone's willing to acknowledge that the grass is pretty mangy on both sides.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Writing Stats Monday

Fantasy Novel
Last week it was 218,295 words
This week the story is 214,457 words.
That means the story is 3,838 words lighter but still not a candidate for the biggest loser.

I had a dream that I trimmed it down to 29-32,000 words, but even my subconscious was skeptical of this.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Photo Sunday
He Works Hard For the Money...



...And they never treat him right. My sister and I were riding our bicycles yesterday and I saw what I first thought was one of those people paid to wave signs for businesses rather unenthusiastically waving a sign. But when I got closer, I noticed the sign was tied to the guy's shirt and that the guy wasn't a guy at all but rather a fashion mannequin electronically rigged to wave a sign. Even though it was a mannequin, the lackluster movement and lack of joy on its face made for a far more depressing scene than when I see real people doing this job. And that's saying something. I just had a feeling that if the mannequin was a real person, he'd be walking in front of a bus.

But, even more terrifying, the end is neigh! No longer should people complain about illegal immigrants. Not it's mannequins stealing our menial jobs!

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Links Saturday
The Reason I Love YouTube



Sadly these illegal video clip mash ups are one of my favorite things on YouTube second only to my favorite YouTube shows. I love that the moment I thought of a Captain Kirk mash-up to the song womanizer, I knew there'd already be plenty on YouTube. The same goes for any other fun mash up I can think of or happen to spot. I think there's enough parody in them that it should fit under the parody copyright clause and the companies should just chalk it up as free advertisement.

The thing is that it annoys me that they're illegal because people do take a lot of work to create them. They're not just reposting something; these things take serious video editing skills. True some of them aren't as good as others but even the worst ones would be more work than I'd be willing to do, and the best ones are an art-form in my opinion.

Friday, October 08, 2010

Review Fridays
Palace of Mirrors



Summary

Cecelia has grown up believing that she is the true princess, but when she journeys to the capitol to finally take her rightful place, the story she grew up with begins to unravel.

Overview (No Spoilers)

At first glance, despite the fact that I really enjoyed Haddix's other book, Just Ella, to which this book is loosely a sequel, I didn't like the summary of the plot. But I decided to give it a try and strangely found myself rooting for Cecelia even as I was rooting against her being the true princess. It was an interesting conflict of interests. What Cecelia truly wanted, and at points, what seemed truly needed, would be too facile to enjoy. At the same time, her character proves to rise above what I initially expected. All in all, it was a great feel good story.

Book Club (Spoilers)

At first I wasn't sure how this book related to Just Ella at all and began to suspect that it might have simply been a marketing ploy to mention it. But when Ella finally cropped up she was fun, yet slightly extraneous. It made me wonder if Haddix had been contracted to write a sequel and this was her way of mostly writing a completely different story.

I think the ending was possibly the best that such a plot could have. As I said, I did not want Cecelia to be the actual princess, but I really enjoyed how the actual ending explored the idea of identity and destiny. How sometimes it's enough to believe you're on the right path and that becomes your path. Cecelia grew up believing that she was the princess and being trained to be the princess, but she ends up choosing to be the princess and working hard with the other girls to set her country to rights. I liked how the princesses weren't princesses by blood in the end, but much better in that they have all been taught to be the true princess.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Info Thursdays
The Political Situation in Nepal





I was watching a documentary called The Last Royals and when they mentioned the Nepalese King, King Gyanendra. That documentary was made in 2005. I recalled John Green talking about the political situation in Nepal back in 2007. So as an update to John, they did have the elections on April 10th, 2008, and the King became a commoner that same year, but now there's serious talk about taking back the king.

Sources:
The Last Royals
John Green
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyanendra_of_Nepal#cite_note-urges-16
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Ex-Nepal-king-on-comeback-trail/articleshow/6536654.cms#ixzz10nFU0fzN

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Wildcard Wednesday
Recipe

Anyone who knows me, knows I hate cooking and generally live off a diet of frozen foods, restaurant food, and other people's food. But I still get a craving for real food from time to time, and I was rather proud of the snack I just created. I wanted some cheese and I wanted something crunchy but didn't feel like crackers because after my fast food lunch, I've probably reached my sodium quota for the week. As a result, the snack seems like it'd be healthy, but more important to me, was it was tasty. Despite sounding like something Ned Flanders would feed his children. So here it is:

Cucumber Crackers and Apple Smoked Gruyère Cheese

Different kinds of cheeses might work, but I can only vouch for the tastiness of the gruyère. Besides, it'll make you feel fancier than cheddar.

Ingredients:
Cucumber
Apple Smoked Gruyère Cheese

Instructions:
1. Slice cucumber into cracker-shaped slices. I cut mine into squares but circles, triangles, or dinosaur shapes would probably taste the same. Just so long as it's flat and you can put cheese on top.

2. Slice cheese.

3. Put cheese on top of cucumber slices.

4. Take a picture, because I forgot to and it be cool to have one.

5. Eat

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Diary Tuesday
Star Trek Exhibit

Last week I saw the Star Trek exhibit at Sacramento's Areospace Museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but if you're curious about the kinds of things I saw, you can look here. I think a large part of the reason we weren't allowed to take pictures was because they were charging obscene amounts of money to take pictures for you. There was a recreation of the deck from the original series and I got to sit in Sulu and the Captain's chairs, even if I don't have a $15 picture to prove it. Sulu's was more comfortable. The Captain's chair didn't even swivel! Although, there was a Klingon warship chair that swiveled. I guess the bad guys get all the comfort.

A lot of the props were recreations and not actual props. Probably the most puzzling was the Klingon sash "believed to be" an actual prop. How can you not know? There were several costumes and none of them said they were recreations so we assumed they were the actual costumes. They did look worn in places.

I also really enjoyed the recreation of the transporter set. They had a screen set up so we could see ourselves being transported if someone pressed a button while we stood there. My sister and I rose a simulartor ride where we destroyed some Borg ships and then we toured some of the rest of the Aerospace Museum with the group we went with. All in all a fun afternoon for someone who grew up watching the Next Generation and enjoyed the original movies and the reboot.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Writing Stats #5

Fantasy
Last week it was 222,514 words.
This week it's 218,295 words.
That means I nixed 4,219 words this week. It helped that I cut an entire chapter.

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Photo Sunday
Enlightenment

The following are pictures I took of the Library of Congress back in June. I think the tour guide said something about it being one of the first buildings to incorporate electricity, or something important about electricity, as you can see by the statue below's torch of electric light, they wanted to flaunt the new technology.




Saturday, October 02, 2010

Links Saturday
Take Our Jobs


The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Fallback Position - Migrant Worker - Zoe Lofgren
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes2010 ElectionMarch to Keep Fear Alive

http://www.ufw.org/toj_play/TOJNEW_12_JAL.html


I love Stephen Colbert. When his interviewee first mentioned this website, I thought it was great. Now I decided to provide it to all of you, should you want to go for a career in migrant work.

Friday, October 01, 2010

Review Fridays
Easy A


Align Center

I've changed the name of Book Fridays to Review Fridays because they were always meant to be either a book or movie review. Anyway, a few weeks ago I saw the movie Easy A, but haven't had the chance to review it.

Trailer



Overview (No Spoilers)

Overall, it's the best teen movie I've seen in years. Of course, it would be fair to say that I haven't seen many, if any, teen movies in the past several years. But still, a thoroughly enjoyable film which I highly suspect is the best in a while. When I first saw the trailer I knew I wanted to see the film. I dunno, maybe it's just that I enjoy the song, Pokerface. Or maybe it's because Emma Stone is smokin' hot. Her hair isn't naturally red but she certainly looks good that way, and I have a weakness for redheads. I saw that she was rumored to be in the reboot of Spider-man, and if they plan on making her Mary Jane, I might actually like Mary Jane. Or at least understand a lot better why Spider-man likes her.

Anyway, the story looked like lots of fun as well. Not exactly profound but it looked like it had the potential to be fun, and I'm happy to say that it exceeded my expectations. It actually managed to be more than just laughs but also, to a moderate extent, explore the theme of identity and how we define ourselves by others' opinions of us. I also liked the characters and thought they did a rather good job fleshing most of them out.

Spoilers

I really liked how unconventional but still happy and functional Olive's family was. It seems so often that unconventional families in modern media are usually dysfunctional. So it was great to see Olive's healthy relationship with her mother, step-father, and adoptive brother. On the other hand they weren't boring either and it was great that being functional didn't mean they had to be the Cleavers.

On the other hand, I wasn't sure how I felt about the film's stance on the actual adultery. I don't really think it was a bad thing that her English teacher finally learned the truth about his wife. I can see where you might make the case that it was more altruistic of Olive to keep the secret even when it hurt her. But I think it was clear there were deeper issues in the marriage. If it had been more of a one time thing that was never going to happen again and the marriage was otherwise fine, then maybe it would have been better left unsaid. But since I don't think that woman got Chlamydia from Christian dude or her husband (who she said she hadn't had sex with in some time) it's clear this was not by any means a one time thing.

The romance in the film was also sweet, but for once I liked the other aspects of the film more and found Olive's journey more interesting than her happy ending.