CE: March, the Garden.

 

You can find Character Encounter's, and Kendra's excellent blog HERE.
And now, the story.

The progress on the roof was coming along nicely. Now if only I could get a picture of the roof without getting the apple trees in the shot too...
I stepped back several paces, holding the camera up, and backed into a wall. I took a picture, and then realized that my backyard has no walls in it. I whipped around and there was a stone wall! I moved backwards and ran into someone. Thinking it was a roofer, I turned, ready to apologize, and gave a violent start. It was not a roofer in jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap in front of me. No, it was a tall, dark-haired man. Underneath his black leather jerkin was a dark blue shirt. His pants were the same dark blue, tucked into black boots. His arms were filled with an assortment of oddities - clothes mostly, though I noticed a few masks. One had fallen to the ground when I bumped him.
"Excuse me," he said simply, with a hint of a smile on his lips, as he bent to pick up the mask. He succeeded in dropping a shirt and a slipper.
"No - it's my fault. I'm sorry! Let me help you," I replied, bending down and picking up the things that had fell. "It's always so difficult to carry large quantities of clothes, isn't it?" I said. "Whenever I'm doing it, I always drop something and have to come back for it later."
"Yes. I think I'm in that predicament presently," he replied. "Thank you."
"Wait!" I said. "Sorry... Can you tell me where I am?" I had gotten a look at my surroundings. I was in a courtyard-type garden area. My house was no where in sight. The wall I had backed into was a palisade built of rocks; the outer wall of a castle. Directly in front of me a garden filled with vegetables and herbs was laid out, and several women in long skirts and aprons bent double to pick the choicest of the harvest. When their baskets were filled, they raised them to their hips, wiped the sweat from their brows, and walked to a wooden door, which led into what could only be a castle.
The man looked at me, thinking my question odd. He fixed me with a penetrating stare.
"You don't know where you are?" he asked.
"Well... I, uh, kind of lost my way," I said.
"You're in the servant's courtyard," he said, "in the castle, in Kasteel City. Over there is the kitchen."
"Oh, of course, the kitchen!" I said. "I'm new."
"I see." He started walking again.
"Wait!"
"What is it now?" he asked, turning.
"Where are you going with all that?" I asked, not really knowing why I was keeping from whatever work he was about.
"To the dungeon."
"That's an odd place to bring clothes."
"Yes, well... I'm an odd man," he said. "Now may I carry on my way? My little wife would not take kindly to you talking to me so long."
"Your... little wife... Are you Draegond?" I asked. Suddenly it all made sense.
"Yes." His brows knit. "How do you know my name?"
"Long story... Speaking of stories - why are you taking it over? You weren't meant to be anyone! Only the nameless guard, and now you're only one step away from a main character!"
"I don't understand. Explain how you know my name."
"And no one told me you looked like Patrick Dempsey! Yes, you are definitely going to be the favorite."
"Patrick Dem- what are you talking about, girl?"
"And what a nice outfit you have... hmmm... I wonder how I could describe it... I like describing clothes, but I'm afraid I'm not very good at it. By the way, do you want to tell me what those clothes you are carrying are really for?"
"Only if you tell me who you are, and how you know my name. And who this Patrick person is," Draegond replied.
"Alright, like I said, long... confusing... story. Books, you know books?"
"Yes..."
"Well, I write books, and you are part of one of my books. And every month Kendra has a character encounter and this month I guess I wandered here and now I'm encountering you... so that's how I know your name. It kind of just came to me. It's supposed to sound like 'dragon.'"
"Yes, because I have always wanted to see the dragons."
"Exactly! Oh, and Patrick Dempsey is an actor."
"In a troupe?"
"Well, sort of... he plays a doctor on... in the troupe of Television."
"Ah." Draegond raised his eyebrows and said 'ah' in a way that suggested the thought 'oh, yes, she's insane.'
"So, what are those clothes for?"
"I'll tell you if you promise to keep the secret."
Evidently taking me for someone whose lost it, gone crazy, nuts, insane, bonzo, no longer in possession of one's faculties, three fries short of a happy meal... WACKO! [aside: I apologize for the StarGate quote, it just kind of came out] Draegond decided to trust that in my insanity, I wouldn't tell anyone his secret.
He leaned closer and said in my ear: "I'm breaking my friend out of his cell in the dungeon, and we're going to the masquerade held for the princess."
Maybe he thought that I would think that he was crazy too.
"I see. Masquerade. Paper faces on parade. Masquerade. Hide your face so that the world will never find you." I may have accidentally burst into song.
If we had been in America, and if Draegond had actually been Patrick Dempsey, he might have taken this opportunity to call some nice people dressed in white to take me away to a nice, white padded cell. Luckily, we were no where near America, and Draegond just stared at me strangely.
"I must get going now," he said. "Goodbye. I hope you get un-lost soon."
"Thanks," I said. "Good luck with the masquerade! If a bowl of punch accidentally gets spilled on someone... it's my fault."
He just turned and walked quickly toward the dungeon door, which also opened up into the garden-courtyard-thing.
I let out a sigh and turned around - and there was my house!
"Boy, these Character Encounters are just getting weirder and weirder," I said, as I ran back inside to the safety of home.
THE END

I have NO clue why Draegond looks like Patrick Dempsey. Or why he's taking over the story. Actually, I haven't written a word for probably a month. Hopefully this CE and some homework for SAT class I did today will get me back in the writing mood. I've been on a reading kick.


In other news: I actually might be three fries short of a happy meal... WACKO! Yesterday, while it was super windy, it was "Whoa! That's so amazing! Let's go outside and see if we can get hit with a branch!" Today it's, "I wonder what my fruit smoothie would taste like if I put frozen peas in it?" (Mom: "No."). Tonight... I'm listening to Hannah Montana's first album. SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE! Actually no, don't. I'm enjoying her first album. Once, my friend and I were huge Hannah Montana fans. I bought the CD, but before my parents let me listen to it, my dad and I sat down and read through the lyrics of the songs, and he told me what was wrong with some of the thoughts, and which songs I shouldn't listen to. Some of the lyrics are kind of great. "I know where I stand, I know who I am, I would never run away when life gets bad." I think that lyric kind of backfired in Miley Cyrus' life, unfortunately.
Just listening to her early music again brings back such a flood of nostalgia and emotion. It almost makes me want to cry, because I miss being ten, and putting on Hannah Montana concerts with my friend down the street. I miss rocking out to this music on summer nights. I miss our sleepovers, and our games of make believe. Life wasn't so complicated then, it was just naive innocence.
Anyway, I should be off and away to bed. I've got a Jeeves and Wooster book to read. Thank You, Jeeves, of which my favorite episode(s) of the TV show are based.

Live long and prosper.

Nerd Life: StarGate.

I had a long thing explaining StarGate... but it was too messy so I decided to delete it all and start over because I can't figure out how to explain this show because IT'S JUST TOO AMAZING FOR WORDS!!!!!!
So what exactly is StarGate?
Well, first it was a movie in 1994. The StarGate, a circular ring that, when the right code is punched in, will open up wormholes to other planets, is found in the movie (titled 'STARGATE') and the first trip though it is taken.
After that, StarGate was made into a ten seasons long TV show (with several spinoff shows) with the same characters (though not the same actors) as the movie. It follows the team SG-1 as they travel through the gate to make friends - and enemies - and to find more knowledge.

 

(The poster for the movie)

This is a show like no other sci-fi show out there. For one, it's set in modern days. Also, it isn't all spaceships, aliens, must-blow-things-up. It's kind of like space-travel-meets-archaeology.
I really love that the primary means of travel in this show is not spaceships. The SG teams have to gear up and walk through the wormhole to get to the other planets. Not until much later do they figure out how to make a spaceship (with the help of alien technology and help from the Asgard's). In this show, the humans aren't the rulers of the galaxy - we're just starting to get out there in the universe, and there are a lot of people out there that want to take advantage of our planet.
Which is bad, because, besides the president and all the people working for the StarGate program (which is run by the Air Force), no one else knows about it! The rest of the humans on earth no nothing about all the enemies out there and it's up to SG-1 to save the planet over and over again! Which they do, of course.
Another thing that I love about this show is that it is SO WELL MADE! Watching it makes you think that it really is happening because the writing is so superb (as is the acting). And I LOVE how they include so much archaeology and Egypt and pyramids (which are actually alien spaceships) and even the Arthurian legend. They make it so it all seems real. Oh, it's just so amazing.
I'm gonna talk about the characters because they are so lifelike and likeable that really, anyone should watch the show just for them:

Colonel Jack O'Neill (played by Richard Dean Anderson).

 

He is an Air Force colonel who leads the SG-1 team through the first eight seasons of the show, before being promoted (and, subsequently leaving the show. I believe it was because he wanted to spend more time with his daughter).
He is a gruff man, very sarcastic, but a great leader. He has some personal baggage - his son accidentally killed himself with Jack's gun, and as a result, Jack's wife left him. Jack is a very lovable character and very funny. It's sad to see him go at the end of season eight, but he has a recurring role, so he shows up again.

His best friend is Teal'c, he watches hockey, he's never seen Star Wars, and his favorite show is the Simpsons.

Samantha "Sam" Carter (played by Amanda Tapping).

 

 

AKA one of the most well done female characters on TV. She's part of the Air Force, carries a gun (and uses it) with SG-1, can hold her own against men, but still remains feminine. She's a bit of a geek, in terms of computers and stuff. She's an astrophysicist. Sam is very down-to-earth and kind. She's a really great character.

Teal'c (played by Christopher Judge).

 

Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior. The Jaffa are kind of like guards to the bad guys (the Goa'ulds) but Teal'c defects from them in the first episode and spends the series trying to free his people from the slavery that their false gods (the Goa'ulds) have put them in.
He's pretty cool. He doesn't speak all that much and hardly ever smiles.... But in a cool way. That's the way he was raised. He does enjoy an occasional hockey game ("The Canucks of Vancouver are superior warriors"), though, and has seen Star Wars, what, eight times? Nine.

His catchphrase is "indeed" which he says all the time.

And now my favorite character... ever. In the whole wide world. Okay, maybe not. But he's right up there with Julian from Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes and Tintin. I mean, seriously. He has got to be the best character....

Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks).

 

AHHHHHHHHH! I LOVE HIM!
Sorry....
Anyway, Daniel is the nicest guy in the whole wide world. He's kind and compassionate. Plus he's an archaeologist which is super cool. And he knows a whole bunch of languages. He also dies, like, ten times in the show. Most of the time it's his clone or the version of himself in an alternate reality. And he makes the WEIRDEST faces. Seriously, if you were take a screencap of all his weird faces, you could laugh your way through life.
His first three seasons are spent trying to find his wife, who was kidnapped by one of the Goa'ulds to be his wife.
He's just such a good guy. It's kind of sad in the last two seasons when his character changes from nice guy to gruff guy.

Those four, Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Daniel, are the primary characters for the first six characters. Then, in season seven, Jonas Quinn joins them just for one season.

 

He's a pretty nice guy as well, though is he kind of a filler character.... But he's cool. I like him. He's an alien. And he likes to watch the weather channel.

In season 8, Jonas leaves and it's just Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c again. But then in season 9, Jack is promoted to General and leaves the show.

Colonel Cameron Mitchell take his place (played by Ben Browder).

 

After the amazingness of Jack O'Neill... It might annoy some people to have a new leader.... But I LOVE Cam Mitchell. He is so cool. I realized the other day that he's a totally geek. He makes all these Star Trek references, even if people don't have a clue what he's talking about. And there's this one episode where he meets an alternate reality version of himself and they are talking and making jokes and they're like best friends.

 

That's how he is, but with an alternate version of himself.
He's a really great character. He's so cool.

And the last character... Vala Mal Doran (played by Claudia Black).

 

Vala is a bad girl. She shows up a couple of times and then becomes a pretty regular cast member during seasons nine and most definitely ten. She's not a character that most people would like, but she grows on you. She is sneaky and manipulative and only does stuff for others if she gets something out of it. She's gone through a lot in her life... abandonment and being a Goa'old host and lots of other stuff. She likes to seduce people and have fun and is kind of childish.
Despite all her faults, though.... She does grow on you (at least, she grew on me). She grows a lot in her two seasons for the better and eventually joins SG-1.

So, all in all, this is a very wonderful show. If you like sci-fi and archaeology this is definitely the show for you. It is so intricate and well done. The acting is superb (there's an episode where all of the characters switch personalities with each other and they do brilliantly acting as each other. It is so totally amazing) and the writing is superb. This show is definitely a 10 out of 10!

Live long and prosper!

Little disclaimer thingy... Like all TV shows, this one definitely has it's faults in language and sexual content. If you start watching this show, BEWARE of the first episode. The made-for-TV version of it is just fine (I believe) but if you watch the extended edition/feature length version of it has a full screen image of a naked lady.... So, just watch out.

Museum.

Yesterday my dad and I went to the museum we had meant to go to on Monday (but then I got sick and you know the rest).
It was so cool! Among other things, they have a sci-fi exhibit and also a fantasy exhibit. And a super cool tower of instruments!

 

Now onto the sci-fi exhibit.... They had a replica of the robot from the movie "Forbidden Planet" which is possibly the weirdest sci-fi movie I have EVER seen. The music made it even weirder.
Anyway, the robot was cute.

 

That was across from the gift shop. Then you went down, down, down some stairs into the actual exhibit.... A quick jump to warp and you were there!

 

Right away we were drawn to the first exhibit: Captain Kirk's chair! And Uhura's uniform. And TRIBBLES!

 

Also, Jack O'Neill's goggles and ID, if you are a StarGate fan:

 

Turning the corner we beheld a fearsome site! "Exterminate!"

 

A Dalek from the Sylvester McCoy (7th Doctor) era.
And next to that, Lieutenant Commander Data's uniform!

 

The exhibit was set up with different questions pertaining to each artifact. Data and the Dalek were in the android section. As well as the displays of costumes and props, science fiction books were displayed! That was pretty cool. They even had a reading corner where you could pick up a book and read it (I only recognized two. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, by Douglas Adams, and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card).

 

They had lots of sci-fi weapons....

Klingon Bat'leth.

 

Ronon Dex's energy pistol from StarGate: Atlantis.

They had lots of weapons from StarGate... And an Anubis guard head. It was pretty cool.

They had Yoda's cane (my dad's comment: "It looks bigger in the movie.") and Darth Vader's lightsabre which he used to cut off Luke's arm in the fifth movie.

And my dad met Superman....'s suit:

 

Then it was time to move on to the fantasy exhibit! Oh my goodness it was SO cool! It was set up like a castle with little secret passageways (that I, of course, took!) and there was a huge "tree" and a dungeon with a dragon in it.

 

 

(Picture not by me.... picture by someone who was lucky enough to go on a day when there were no groups of little school children blocking the way.)

They also had original Tolkien documents, showing where he changed Smaug's name to Smaug from something else.... I don't remember what it was. And changing Aragorn's name - three times! That was cool.
They also had a bunch of Narnia stuff which I took pictures of, for my friends out there who love Narnia:

 

And now my favorite part of the fantasy exhibit.... Princess Bride stuff!!!

 

Inigo's costume, Buttercup's wedding dress, and the Dread Pirate Robert's outfit and sword. They also had the six-fingered sword.

 

(The one on the left.)

All in all, it was a very good day and a very cool museum! I will definitely be paying it a visit again in the future!

Live long and prosper.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Take a moment to contemplate how much freedom has been won for us. But never forget that freedom is NEVER free.

Freedom is not Free

By Abbey

6/28/12

(Written for the ceremony where I received my dog tags.)

If there is one thing that I have learned in the history class I just completed, it is that freedom is NEVER free. Whether it be a free sample of food or the freedom of a nation, someone is always paying the price.

In an age where we rely on our government to supply our every need and want, I have to ask, what is wrong with us?

Our Founding Fathers fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy today. They shut themselves up in a hot room during the summer months to bring us our Constitution.

The Civil War was a war fought about freedom.

During World War 1, men were "privileged to spend their blood for the principles that gave the United States of America birth and happiness," as President Woodrow Wilson said.

If we had not joined World War 2, who knows what foreign occupation we would be under now.

Thomas Paine said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

So much blood was spilled to bring us so much freedom. Why, then, do we not show our gratitude?

I recently returned from a long historical trip with my mother. We went to such places as Boston; Philadelphia, the birthplace of America; and Washington DC.

Over and over again in these places I witnessed children disrespecting the very places where our freedom was won.

They did care that they were standing in the very room where the Declaration of Independence AND Constitution were signed. They did not care they were holding the exact handrail George Washington did as he ascended to his bed every night. They did not care to learn the history of our nation and the Constitution which has made us who we are.

Is this the future our Founding Fathers intended for us? A nation of people who don't care about anything important, just so long as the government is taking care of them?

What happened to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

What happened to, "We the people."

Our freedoms are slipping away. If we want a change, we must make it ourselves, not rely on others to do it. I am willing to die for my freedom if it comes down to it. What are YOU willing to do?

My debt of honor is to educate myself and others of that very point: that freedom is never free.

It's not the best thing ever written, but I didn't have much time to edit it as I wrote it about an hour before the ceremony!

But it nicely fits my thoughts together in a coherent way.

Right now my family and I are watching live footage from Washington DC where they are having a big 4th of July celebration. And we're watching it on our new TV! Our old one had something wrong with it and had annoying lines on the top of the screen... So now we have a new TV. And we bought a blu-ray player so I can FINALLY watch the Tintin DVD special features!!!! =D

To quote my mother, "I feel like such a loser.... Everyone else is at the store to shop for 4th of July BBQ supplies... We're here to buy BBQ supplies, but not for a party."

So yes, we are not attending any big parties. We probably won't even see any fireworks. O.o Unless we climb on the roof.

Is it strange that I can remember EXACTLY what I was doing last year on 4th of July? My mom and I were visiting my grandparents. They were at a party while Mom and I stayed at their house and watched StarGate SG-1. If you think I have a good memory now, just wait for what I tell you next. I can remember which episode we were watching!! People, it's a 10 season show! I remember the most random and strange things. I can remember these two guy's Bdays from my church because I saw their Bdays mentioned in the bulletin once a long time ago.

Anyway, not the point. The point is that I was watching the SG-1 episode where Sha're's son was visiting and Daniel Jackson has this whole elaborate vision of himself taking over the world.

I also remember pausing this particular episode to look outside and catch a glimpse of fireworks.
I wonder if I will remember this particular 4th of July? Probably, because I'm blogging about it. :P

Anyway... I don't really have anything else to say, except HAPPY 4th OF JULY! =D