Friday, September 28, 2012

8 Virtues of a Godly Woman.

In my literature class, me and my two friends (who make up the rest of the "class") are reading Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography.
Benjamin Franklin came up with 13 virtues that he worked on weekly to try better himself.
For an assignment last week, my two friends and I each had to come up with a list of our own virtues.
Here are mine.

8 Virtues of a Godly Woman.

1. Respect.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for it is right. "Honor your father and mother" - that is the first commandment with a promise - that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.
Ephesians 6: 1-3.

Wives submit to your husbands.
Ephesians 5:22.

However each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:33.

2. Modesty.
I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
1 Timothy 2:9-10.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
1 Peter 3:3-4.

3. Wisdom.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26.

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
Proverbs 11:22.

The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
Proverbs 15:14.

4. Kindness.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for the building other up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32.

5. Joy.
All the days of the oppressed are wicked, but the cheerful heart has a continual peace.
Proverbs 15:15.

6. Contentment with submissiveness.
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1 Timothy 2: 11-15.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Ephesians 5:22-24.

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
1 Peter 3:1-2.

7. Chastity.
Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.
Philippians 4:8.

Do not be hasty in the laying of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
1 Timothy 5:22.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Hebrews 13:4.

8. Know God.
My dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for a man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
James 1:19-20.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
Psalm 73:25.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:1-4.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

A dilemma. And Rosey.

People have been inquiring after Rosey lately so I thought I'd post a picture.... She's doing well. When she's not sleeping she's glaring at me or playing with me or whining for no apparent reason.


Now onto the dilemma.
NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month AKA November) is coming up soon. I have the perfect idea that I have been planning for months. The plot is ripening; the characters are more developed than any characters I've ever come up with.... and I haven't even written about them yet!
There's two problems.
One: I still haven't finished last year's NaNo novel and I promsied myself I wouldn't do NaNo this year. I am confidant that I will have last year's NaNo novel done sometime in the middle of October.... The second reason is more pressing.
Two: Time. I don't have time to do NaNo. As well as having a good plot and characters, this novel will require research. I don't have time to do research.... And I don't have time to write for fun every single day. I'm kicing myself over this becasue the idea for my novel is just so good! The characters my own! But I can't do it. Sigh.
I could do my writing in the evenings - when I usually watch Doctor Who or Star Trek or play board games with my dad. But is it worth it? Would I really have enough time?
So there's my dilemma.

Live long and prosper.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

A noble cause.

I put off watching the Doctor Who episode "Doomsday" (the title speaks for itself why I don't want to watch it.... It is going to be sad) by watching Star Trek: Nemesis, the final Star Trek Next Generation movie.
I picked Nemesis because I've only seen it once and that was about three or four years ago. I barely remember the plot... But I do remember that Data sings "Blue Skies" at the beginning. I also remember that Data dies at the end.
So.... I put of watching Doomsday to watch Data die.... I ended up being sad tonight anyway. Oh well.

Now onto the noble cause.... I love American Girl Dolls, as you all know. On youtube there is a community of "AGtubers" that make videos about their dolls. Mostly it's stopmotions or series where the dolls are the actresses (and actors as well, since people are now making American Girl Boy dolls).
A popular AGtuber is Ali (channel: girloftheyearstudios). She has been making videos for over four years.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ali at the American Girl Doll Place a year ago when she came for a meet and greet.
(I'm on the left, Ali is on the right.)


Right now Ali is doing something amazing. Ali earns money every month from youtube when people watch her videos. She has decided that from now until December, all the money earned from her videos will go to charity. But not regular charity... Ali is going to try earn $1,000 before Christmas so that she can buy 10 American Girl Dolls to give to toy drives all over the USA and Canada so that poor girls (who can't afford the $105 American Girl Dolls) can get a special doll!
The only thing we have to do to help is watch one of four videos she has put on her channel called "Christmas AnGels Project."
To make it easy for you, I'm just going to post two of the videos here.

This first one is called "Once in a Lifetime" and the story is about a girl getting an American Girl Doll from a toy drive.


This second one I'm posting just because I like it so much. It is about a brother who sells his guitar to buy his little sister and American Girl Doll.


I hope you enjoy and share so poor girls can get the doll of their dream!

Live long and prosper.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Two songs for you.


The song is called "Vuevlo Al Sur."
I'm playing both the saxophone and the piano accompaniment. No, I haven't sprouted two extra arms to play both instruments at the same time.
First I recorded myself playing the piano accompaniment and then I recorded myself playing the saxophone and put the two together. I think it turned out rather well, if I do say so myself.

And here is me playing Prelude in C by Bach.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Sucess!!

1. I finished typing the edited portion of my novel into the computer so I can continue with editing! Yay!

2. I drove from my house to my friend's house today! She lives 10 minutes away and there are a bunch of intersections in between.
I nearly hit a brown car while I was still in my neighborhood... I forgot to scan both ways. Don't tell my driving instructors! I got up to almost 40 MPH today which is as fast as I've gone yet. I'm quite pleased with myself. =D
On this corner there is a sign that says "watch for deer." Now, we have been driving on this road for years and have never seen a deer. As we appoached the turn I said to my mom, "I bet this is going to be the ONE time that we see a deer, now that I'm behind the wheel." Sure enough, we get around the corner and there are two deer! It was pretty funny.

In other news... My neck is making a strange crunching noise similar to the noise made by Minecraft people when they fall and take damage. I don't know why I felt the need to tell you that... Maybe because I have a cousin and some friends out there that are reading this that play Minecraft.

I'm getting back into school (no easy task) fairly smoothly and am proud with my progress thus far!

This is my mood:


How about you all? Doing well? Getting back into the grove of school?

Saturday, September 15, 2012

My opinions on Caroline Abbott and her collection.

No, Miss Jack, you are not dreaming! American Girl did just come out with a new historical doll and I am going to ramble on about her for this blog post!

Meet Caroline:

Caroline is from the War of 1812. When Caroline's Papa is taken by the British, Caroline and her family must stay strong.
 
The Caroline doll has an all new eye color which no other American Girl has!
Other than the new eye color, Caroline isn't very original. Some have compared her to Lanie (Girl of the Year from 2010).
 
 
Lanie and Caroline together. The differences between the two dolls are:
Lanie has hazel eyes while Caroline has "aquamarine" eyes.
Lanie has side bangs.
Lanie's hair is a tad darker than Caroline's.
Lanie's hair is a tad shorter than Caroline's.
Lanie's curls are tighter curled.
 
Personally I think Caroline looks an awful lot like the MAG (My American Girl) #56 and #22.
 
As an original doll, Caroline scores very low. 
Now onto Caroline's collection. I'll start with the big stuff.
Caroline's parlor set:


This set costs a whopping $300. I think it's a very nice set, I especially like the window seat and the little boat. However, it is very very overpriced and not worth it, I think.

Caroline's Bed:

$125. Again, I don't think it's worth the price. Especially when you can find $20 doll beds at Ikea! (if you have Ikea in your area).

Caroline's Table and Chair set and Party set:

The table and chairs alone cost over $100 while the dishes and accessories cost an extra $68. This set looks a lot like Felictiy's table and chair set which is alright I suppose since the latter is retired.

Now onto clothes.
Starting with Caroline's meet outfit (pictured above in the first picture). I don't really like the outfit. Like Caroline, it's very unoriginal. Mostly because of this Felicity dress:


If you look closely, it's pretty much the same dress. Also, I really don't like how American Girl thinks that EVERY single outfit has to have something pink in it.

Caroline's Holiday Gown:
This outfit comes with the dress, gloves, shoes, and a braided hairband.
I love this dress. I've seen comments that people don't like this dress and I can't imagine why.... I think it's gorgeous! I love the pattern and the clothes and the color. It's just very pretty. It reminds me of a Disney princess - Rapunzel, combined with Caroline's long golden tresses.
The big downfall is this outfit costs $36.

Caroline's Winter coat and ice skating set:

The winter hat and coat cost $32 and the skates and mittens cost $22. Again, waaaaay overpriced. However, the jacket is VERY adorable and a gorgeous color! It does look like a very well made coat.

Caroline's Birthday Dress:

Another outfit that I think is gorgeous! $28 for the dress and shoes.... (American Girl is WAY overpriced, just sayin'. Almost none of their stuff is really worth the price... But we doll collectors still buy it....). I love the empire waist and ruffled look of the top of the dress. Gorgeous.
Caroline's unoriginal looks are totally made up for in her totally unique and gorgeous dresses!
And while I'm at it I'm just going to insert another little thought.... People say that Caroline's outfits look too much like Felicity's. While I agree that Caroline's meet dress looks an awful lot like one of Felicity's dresses, I don't think it's right to say that all her clothes look like Felicity's. After all, the two dolls are only 40 years apart (Felicity is from 1774 and Caroline from 1812) and styles didn't really change drastically in those 40 years.

Caroline's Nightgown:


 
I'm going to say it right now.... I love all of Caroline's outfits. They are soooo pretty. I'm not a very big fan of American Girl PJ's but this one is very nice. I like the simplicity of it. It's very pretty.
 
Now my absolute FAVORITE piece of Caroline's collection. Her Travel Outfit and Hat and Spencer.
First the Travel Outfit:
 
I absolutely LOVE this outfit! It has a high, empire waist, and a ruffled top. The print is salmon colored with flowers and the shoes are red (I love red shoes)! This dress reminds me of one worn by Emma in the 2009 adaption. All of Caroline's dresses remind me of stuff worn in Jane Austin's time and especially this last dress. You can bet that it will be making it's way into my collection just as soon as possible!
And the Travel Outfit isn't complete without the Spencer and Hat!
 
A spencer was a jacket worn in Jane Austin's time that only covers the top half of torso. Elizabeth from the 6 hour Pride and Prejudice wears lots of them.
 

I'm not going to do any reviews of Caroline's accessories.... I don't think they're worth it.
Overall, I really like Caroline's collection. I think her dresses are gorgeous. However, I think that Caroline is very plain looking. As basilmentos (a youtuber who makes American Girl Doll stopmotions which are amazing) put it, Caroline looks a lot like a Barbie. Long blond hair and pink. And the new full size stuff American Girl is making (Caroline's parlor, the chalet, Julie's car) is very Barbie-ish as well.... Not that I'm complaining. I used to love and play with Barbies all the time.
I'm upset that American Girl has turned from being quality doll makers whose plan was to educate girls about history, into a company that just wants to sell things. I guess that's what happens when you get new management... Sigh. Oh well.

Live long and prosper!


Friday, September 14, 2012

What I really do.

What my piano teacher thinks I do:


What my parents think I do:


What the rest of the family thinks I do:


What the neighbors think I do:


What my dog thinks I do:


What I think I do:


What I really do:

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A fun DIY project!

What's this sticking out of my science book?


Is it.... is it...? Yes it is! The TARDIS has materialized inside my science book!

 
If you're like me, you read a lot and frequently run out of bookmarks. Sure scraps of paper or tissue or even the dust jacket serve as an O.K. bookmark... But they don't look nice and rip easily.
Today I was reading my science and decided that I needed a bookmark. I began to reach for a piece of scratch paper but then decided against it. Why not make my own bookmark? And why not make it the TARDIS?
So I went to Google images and typed in TARDIS, chose my picture and printed it out. But paper by itself is very flimsy and foresaw the bookmark ripping after a few chapters of use.... I started to think, what would make my bookmark more stable? Cardboard taped to the back? Maybe, but then it would be very bulky. I know! Tape!
I pulled out the packing tape and wrapped the TARDIS in it and behold, I have a bookmark that won't break easily!
Have I mentioned how much I hate packing tape? Well, now I have. That stuff is impossible to work with! But it makes nice bookmarks if you can get it to come out right. Sadly, my bookmarks have fingerprints and wrinkles in them due to poor taping... Oh well, they still look cool!
I had so much fun with the TARDIS that I made four more bookmarks.
 
 
Now I have a sonic screwdriver bookmark, a TARDIS bookmark, a Star Trek logo bookmark, a Klingon logo bookmark, and a Star Trek Original Series communicator bookmark!
If you are in need of stylish bookmarks, try making your own! It's very fun and easy and quick. =D
 
Today I did something that I thought would be impossible on the first try.
In piano, I do scales to warm up and I also do Hanon excercises which are just that. Excercises to warm up the fingers and hands.
 
 
That's the first Hanon excercise. They get progressively harder as the book goes along. There are 20 in each book and each excercise has a repeat sign to indicate that one should do it twice.
I recently finished the first book and my piano teacher challenged me to do all 20 in a row (no easy task - your wrists get VERY tired). Well, I did 20 in a row. Then I decided to do 20 in a row with repeats. Basically that's like doing 40 Hanon excercises in a row.
I tried it tonight.
Sucess!
I did all 20 in a row with repeats!
My hands still hurt and that was over an hour ago!
I got sore in places that I didn't know you could get sore in from playing piano (shoulders and feet).
But I did it! I can't wait to tell my piano teacher. It's definitely a great excercise if you can stand the pain.... 
 
In other news.... I love Star Trek.com.
Under their "videos" section, they have ALL the Original series episodes!! For free! Complete!
They also have all the Animated series episodes.
AND all four seasons of Enterprise (I don't recommend Enterprise until you've seen all the other Star Trek series {Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and of course Original} it isn't very good in my opinion).
Star Trek.com also has picture galleries where members can upload pictures of various Trek related things (costumes, props, etc.).
I had fun looking through the "art" gallery which had a lot of funny pictures.
 







 
Hahahahaaa.... I feel kind of sorry for the red shirts. They always die. I wonder what they would say if they found out that in Next Generation they switch the colors and gold is security and red is command?
 
Live long and prosper. =)


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Day 22: A few websites I frequent.

Blogger (no link, I think you can find this website on your own).

Youtube.

Tintinology.

The Internet Movie Database.

The Official Hobbit Blog.

NaNoWriMo's website.

Aaaand that's about it. =) Also frequent my email and sometimes amazon. Otherwise, that's pretty much it.

Live long and prosper.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Day 21: A picture of something that makes you happy.



I found an amazing youtube channel. This man is a one man choir, basically. Sometimes he does collaborations with other singers like himself. He does covers of many songs.


He does lots of Beatles and his cover of "Blackbird" is particularly nice. And I LOVE his covers of older songs such as "Good Old Summertime" (which Veggietales sings in one of their videos....) and "I've Got Rhythm" and "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" from the Aristocats (one of my favorite Disney movies)!

Live long and prosper (in the good old summertime)!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Day 20: List five amazing non-fiction books.

(In order of their amazingness).

1. The Bible by God (through various physical authors).
2. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.
3. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.
4. Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris (sequel to Do Hard Things).
5. I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris (older brother of Alex and Brett Harris. The only reason this one is last is because I haven't actually finished yet.... But what I read promised greatness!).

On a different note.... I'm really really really excited for Christmas.


Plastic Christmas trees have been in stores in my area since the end of August....

Live long and prosper!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Dah dah dot, daah dah dot, dah daah.

Many, dare I say, excitingly new things have been happening to me as of the past few days.

1. In choir, we got our new music! For ensemble we are singing "Beautiful Savior" and "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy" (you know, the one that goes, "Plum, plum plum, plum, plum, plum, plum, plum, plum, plum, plum, plum, fa la la"?).
In regular choir we are singing "Amazing Grace (my Chains are Gone)" by Chris Tomlin, "Away in a Manger" (the pretty version with the different melody), "Christmastime" by Michael W. Smith (I LOVE this song! "Ring Christmas bells, ring them loud with a message bringing peace on the earth, tidings of good cheer...." M.W. Smith has the best choral Christmas music), and *drumroll* ......
LINUS AND LUCY!!! =D
You may be thinking, "You can sing the theme song from the Peanuts??"
Yes, yes you can. The lyrics are the title of this blog post.
This is what it will sound like (turn your speakers up, it's quiet):


I absolutely LOVE this song!! My friends know, as I often play it on the piano. Now we get to sing it in choir! How exciting!

2. I started drivers ed today.... It went well!
I'm have been a very shy person in the past. I have really worked over the past 4 years to get out of my shell and be more outgoing. Shakespeare class really helped with that because instead of force feeding the plays down the student's throats, it was more of a "play fun games that MAKE you be out going" class with a Shakespeare theme.
Today, during the break at drivers ed, I actually initiated a conversation with a stranger whom I had never laid eyes on.
Let me explain something a moment, in my class there are about 20-25 kids, all of whom are strangers. This is my first class being with non-homeschoolers and my first class where I know no one for a veeeeeerry long time. I was scared out of my wits. I was glad that my parents got to stay for the first hour of class which was for both the students and parents. When they left (at breaktime) I moved closer to the front of the room.
There was this girl who was sitting reading. Most of the other students were from 1 of 3 local schools, so they all knew each other. This girl was just sitting alone reading. A real book, not on any kind of device.
I always bring a book everywhere I go just in case I get bored (today I had "The Two Towers" by Tolkien in my purse. I was suprised and glad it fit!). So I went over to this girl and sat down next to her and asked her what she was reading.
Guess what she answered?
Sherlock Holmes!
I was so surprised I didn't know what to say! I asked her which one she was on and she said "Scandal in Bohemia." Then I asked her if she had ever read Sherlock Holmes before. She said no, she was reading them because she watched Sherlock BBC!
BAM! Instant friend.
So we talked about Sherlock (the first season, she hasn't seen the second yet) and we talked about The Hobbit a bit and then class started.
My saxophone teacher (who's son went through the same course) warned me about a graphic video of accidents and the consequences of accidents so I was alright through that bit. I just turned my eyes down. It didn't help that they were playing a really annoying song about hurt and pain... Still, it got it's point through and I won't be drinking and driving anytime soon (not that I was planning to anyway)!.

3. I found the most incredible website EVER. You geeks out there will LOVE it!! Especially the sci-fi fans (Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who....).
On this website you can find Doctor Who socks (I want these SO bad! For those who don't know, I love socks. Give me a pair of cool funky socks and you will be my best friend forever), sonic screwdriver TV remotes (which cost a fortune, being a geek ain't cheap!), Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite ice trays (these things are super cool too), T-shirts with cool quotes, Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutters, Tribbles that purr (for only, like, $20! That's pretty good)! Spock ears, Star Wars Tauntaun sleeping bag (you know that thing that Han cuts open and sticks Luke inside?), inflatible Captain Kirk chair (who needs the real thing anyway?? Just be careful that you don't end up like that guy in Doctor Who Classic who got eaten by a chair... and then the chair went on to kill Tasha Yar), Spock cookie jar, red shirts that say "expendable", TARDIS beach towel, talking Dalek plush.... Why don't I just give you the link to the site? Then you can check it out.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/

It's so cool! I could spend a lot of money on that site....

4. This really isn't exciting but I figured I'd talk about it anyway.... I watched "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" last night.


Strange movie. Very strange movie. It's about aliens coming (peacefully) to earth and the government trying to keep that fact from the people but some of the people are being drawn to Devil's Tower, a mountain.


They also keep hearing five notes repeated over and over. (The beginning notes are the notes that the people keep hearing. The rest of the scene is earth "talking" with the space ship. Music composed by John Williams, that brilliant man.)


The movie is very strange.... very strange.... but sci-fi geeks like myself will probably enjoy it to some extent. And make fun of it. And laugh at it. Old sci-fi movies and TV shows (made before 1980) are just so cheesy and laughable and enjoyable!

And so I don't leave you with nightmares of 5 notes repeating over and over again... I'll leave you with the "Dance of Sugar plum Fairy" song we're doing in choir! Sadly, the ensemble (which is doing the song) is only girls so we won't have any of the amazing tenor and bass notes. Oh well. =)


Live long and prosper!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The one where I take a break from CATs to play tag.

The lovely Miss Jack Lewis Baillot has tagged me! Thanks Jack! =D
It is the Liebster award but I'm not going to go find the picture for it.

First, post 11 random things about yourself:

1. I am right in the middle of my CAT testing (California Achievement Test). I have just finished one of the two math tests and now I'm blogging to try get my stress level down.

2. I can't think of any more random stuff to say about myself.

3. I absolutely love the new American Girl Doll historical character's clothes, although I'm not too fond of the actual doll (she's too plain if you ask me... But more on that later, perhaps).

4. Last night I thought of more nicknames. My mom has called me "precious" from practically the moment I was born. My dad used to call me "girl" or "princess." One time he wasn't paying attention and he said, "See you later man."

5. Peaches are my favorite fruit.

6. I hate posting 11 random things about myself because I've done it so many times I've run out of random things. In reality, I'm not a very interesting person. I'm very boring.

7. I know of at least three Captain Jack's. Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Harkness, and I don't remember the third one... he was from another TV show, though.

8. I think a lot of people are genius's. Like George M. Cohan and George Washington and the other Founding Fathers and George Lucas and J.R.R. Tolkien and all the actors that I like and Danny Kaye and Donald O'Connor and John William and... the list goes on. Lots of George's.

9. The Doctor likes the Muppets! He said so! He said, "1979! China invaded Korea, the Muppet Movie... I love that film." Me too Doctor, me too.

10. I start driver's ed on Saturday.

11. I have been to two funerals and about 12 weddings in my life.

Next, answer the 11 questions provided and think up 11 new ones.

1. What is your opinion on the word Discombobulated?
It's befuddling!
Really, though, I like the word. It's the first song on the Sherlock Holmes soundtrack and also my favorite.
 
2. Would you fight in a battle or attend to the wounded during and after it?
I would probably attend to the wounded after the battle. I'm not sure I would have enough strength to go and fight on the battlefield and kill people.

3. How would it be, if you came and had tea with me?
We would have a lovely time! We would dress up in odd clothes and talk Sherlock Holmes or Doctor Who or books and then we would go watch a movie.

4. Do you think hot dogs should be considered a food or a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong?
I think hot dogs are food.... But they certainly aren't healthy. I was watching a documentary on how hot dogs are made and it is really disgusting! But not all hot dogs are made like the ones you get at the fair or at a baseball game. There are some hot dogs that are healthier than others.
By the way... why do hot dogs always come in packages of 10 while buns only come in packages of 8??

5. What do you think is in Twinkies, or would you rather not know?
We're all just Twinkies in a Ding Dong world....

6. What do you know of the Unicorn?
The Unicorn? Ah the stuff dreams are made of.... We children's dreams....
Oh.... you don't mean those horses with the narwal tusks on their heads? Well then....
It is the year 1676. The UNICORN, a valiant ship of King Charles II's fleet, has left Barbados in the West Indies, and set sail for home. She carries a cargo of... well, anyway, there's a good deal of rum aboard....
Two days at sea, a good stiff breeze, and the UNICORN is reaching on the starboard tack. Suddenly there's a hail aloft....
"Sail off the port bow!"
"Thundering typhons!... She's mighty close-hauled! Ration my rum if she's not going to cut across our bows! And she's making a spanking pace! Oho! She's running up her colours... Now we'll see.... ?! The Jolly Roger! Pirates!..."
What do I know? Not a lot, that's why I should ask you. Let me guess, the secret of that ship is known only to your family?
 
 
7. Is the World Quiet Here?
The world is never quiet where I go.... I think people get overwhelmed (either that or bored) when I start to talk.... But I don't mind. I just talk even more and then start to annoy people. =D

8. Did you read too much into that question and think I was being horribly clever and witty and asking about politics or something?
Not until I read question number 8. xD When I first read the above question I thought it sounded like a book title so I looked it up and it's a poem! Very clever.

9. Do you think someone should teach medicine companies what fruit tastes like?
YES! And while they're at it they can teach the candy companies as well.

10. ROUS', do you believe they exist?
Yup, and I have proof. The giant rat of Sumatra from Sherlock Holmes.... It has ROUS written all over it.
The other night my mom was kept awake by rats is our garden. When I went outside to see what damage they had done, the carrots were all lying down, as if something big had lay down and flattened their leaves.... Only Rodents Of Unusual Size could do that.
I know of one person who even managed to catch a Rous.... Jabba the Hutt.
 
 
See it?

11. What do you mean when you say, "As you wish"?
"I love you...." Actually, I'm not sure if I've ever said, "as you wish" before. I'll have to be careful who I say it to....
 
Now my eleven questions.
 
1. Do you find my lack of faith disturbing?
 
2. If you had a feeling you weren't in Kansas anymore, what would you do?
 
3. How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?
 
4. Where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him.
 
5. Do you like waffles (yeah we like waffles!)? Do you like pancakes (yeah we like pancakes!)? Do you like french toast (yeah we like french toast!)?
 
6. Am I being rude again?
 
7. Would you name a shrub after me?
 
8. If you were forced to choose between two weevils that were exactly alike in every way, would you choose the lesser of two weevils?
 
9. Is today a good day to die?
 
10. I know you're not trying to be fulsome, but do you covet my skull?
 
11. Did you realise that the previous 10 questions are either from TV, movies, music, commercials, or books?
 
I tag Jessica at Authorly Insane.
I also tag Clair at Working Title.
 
Live long and prosper!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Star Trekkin' across the universe....

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You two? I thought I was the only one!'"
C.S. Lewis.

You know your a geek when you write Frodo and Bilbo's birthday (Sept. 22) on your calender and forget you wrote it there.... Guilty!

On Saturday my dad and I drove up to Canada where all of his family lives. We went to a mini-reunion where I met two great-aunts and one great-uncle visiting from Holland. How wonderful! I really enjoyed hearing them all speak Dutch with my Grama and then switch to English so Dad and I could understand.... Plus Dutch people just have wonderful accents. I love them.
Hallo. Hoe gaat het met u? Ik wassen mijn handen met zeep. Mijn vader had drie kopjes van koffie.
(Hello. How are you? I wash my hands with soap. My dad had three cups of coffee.)
That's pretty much what I've learned in Dutch thus far. Thanks Rosetta Stone. =D

Anyway, I'm not here to talk Dutch. I'm here to tell you what I did in Canada.
On Saturday I hung out with my cousin and went over to my aunt's for dinner and a game of Apples to Apples (we played a different way - try NOT to get the green apple cards! I lost...).
Then on Saturday - after a hearty breakfast of Grama's pancakes, mmmmmmmmm - my dad, uncle, and cousin and I went to the PNE. Aka the Pacific National Exhibition. Aka the fair.
We had fun watching the people riding the rides (they were too expensive for us to ride, thank goodness), looking at all the different food venders (half of the PNE was food venders. It was sad), trying fried foods (fried Wagon Wheels are better than friend Oreos), watching a Super Dog Show (those Super Dogs are so amazing! They danced freestyle and jumped over nine bars and raced... it was so cool! I never thought that I would say I love Justin Bieber but that dog sure was cute. Really, though, who would name their dog Justin Bieber?), and I had an immensely fun time going through STAR TREK THE EXHIBITION!!!!
I now feel that I can really claim the title "Trekkie."
Unfortunately no photos were allowed.... However if you were willing to pay $25 you could get your picture taken in Captain Kirk's original chair, on the bridge of Picard's Enterprise, and in the transporter beam. We weren't willing. So no pictures.
But let me start at the beginning....

"On Sunday before the reunion we want to do something like go for a hike or maybe go to the PNE." Daddy says a few days before we leave.
"What's the PNE?" I ask.
"It's a fair that I used to go to when I was a kid. And they have a special Star Trek Exhibition-"
"LET'S GO!"

Fast forward a few days and we enter the fair and frantically search the map for the Star Trek Exhibition. There it is, just a short walk from where we are standing. So we walk there and the lineup is huge! I really don't know why I was expecting it to be otherwise.... Star Trek = a line of Trekkies - and probably a few Trekkers as well - dressed in costume. Not too many people were dressed in full costume (there were about 5 or 6). Some were wearing Star Trek T-shirts.
So we get to the line and we're all thinking, "I hope this is worth it... A long wait... probably hours..." I was sure that the others would outvote me and we would leave. But we didn't, hooray! And the best part? Under the tent was the line, but also 6 TVs! And playing on the TVs? The newest Star Trek movie! So while we waited in line (thankfully it wasn't the promised 1 hour 30 minute wait, it was only 45 minutes) we got to watch some of the new Star Trek movie and sooner than I would have liked (we didn't even get to see Scotty!) we were at the front of the line and entering Star Trek: The Exhibition.

The first area was Captain Kirk's original chair which I got to sit in! I felt honored to place my bottom where William Shatner's bottom once sat.... and everyone else's bottoms that sat their that day.


Then onto the next area. A big Star Trek timeline was on the wall - not a real life timeline but a within-the-Star-Trek-universe timeline which can get pretty confusing because Enterprise was the last TV show made but it happens first in the Star Trek timeline. And then Old Spock messes things up when he accidentally destroys Romulus and Niro and his angry group of Romulans go back in time and mess up the timeline....
Basically this is the within-the-Star-Trek-universe-timeline.

Star Trek: First Contact (Next Generation movie where they go back in time).


Enterprise seasons 1-5.


Star Trek 2009 movie in an alternate timeline.


Star Trek Original Series seasons 1-3.


Star Trek: The Animated Series seasons 1-2.


Star Trek: The Motion Picture.


Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.


Star Trek: The Search for Spock.


Star Trek: The Voyage Home.


Star Trek: The Final Frontier.


Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country.


Star Trek The Next Generation Series seasons 1-7.


Star Trek: Generations.


Star Trek Deep Space Nine Series seasons 1-7 (overlapping with Star Trek TNG and Generations and Insurrection AND Voyager).


(JULIAN!!!!!! He's up there in the middle, the one behind the Feringi with the ears and he's MINE! My own. My precious....)

Star Trek Voyager Series seasons 1-7.


Star Trek: Insurrection (a TNG movie).


Star Trek: Nemesis (a TNG movie).


There you go. Star Treks confusing timeline.

Now back to the Star Trek Exhibition.... After the timeline, there were a few miniatures (a Klingon warbird and a Vorta ship I believe... it might have been an Andorian ship) and some heads (a Klingon, an Andorian, MORN!!)

Morn:


A few Klingon high council chairs.... And costumes. Oh my word they had so many costumes! Kirk's, about 4 Spock's, two Uhura's, Charles Trip Tucker the 3rd (is it bad that I recognized his uniform before even getting near the name plate?), Data, Geordi, Guinen (minus the hat - it probably didn't fit haha), Picard's original uniform and his dress uniform, all the uniforms from the newest movie, General Chang (I love Klingon shoes... They have little Veliceraptor claws on them), Worf, Seven of Nine, Chakotay, Neelix and Kes, Sisko, Kira Nerys, Khan and more!
There were lots of data PADDS and phasers and com badges and communicators and other props like that.
There were a few Borg.


(Personally I like the Borg better than the Daleks... I think that the Borg are the best sci-fi villains ever).

There was a green screen that made you look like you were on the bridge of Kirk's Enterprise and then there was a line to get out.... Yeah. It turns out it was actually the line for the second picture, the one on Picard's bridge.
I sat in Picard's chair (the middle) and did his signature "engage."


Then onto the last are, the transporter. We didn't stand in line for that picture and instead looked around the gift shop and then left.

It was the perfect beginning to the day and now I cannot wait until next year's Star Trek conference in Las Vegas... Mom? Dad? Are you reading this? Can we go? Pleeeeeeaaaaasseeeee???!

And now to finish this blog post... If you are a Trekkie, this song is ESSENTIAL to listen to.