May the Fourth be with you

Happy Star Wars day!

May the fourth be with you

Happy National Star Wars Day!

Valentine's Day

 Character Encounters: Surprise Date.

 

   A Disney-Pixar movie was in the DVD player, I was snuggled under a blanket in comfy clothes, my computer was nearby… and I was all ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day Han’s way, Solo. 

   And then the doorbell rang. My face looked something akin to Bilbo’s when the Sackville-Bagginses would come visiting. 

   Oh well, no need for me to get the door. My dad got up and, accompanied by the barking Rosey, went to answer the door. But, being the busybody that I am, I silently slipped from under the quilt (more like noisily fell off the couch, entangled in the blanket) and tip-toed Legolas-like to the sliding door, separating the kitchen/TV room from the rest of the house. I peeked around the door, but couldn’t see much. But I could use my other senses – namely my sense of hearing.

   The man at the door was enquiring for… me! The voice wasn’t familiar. Who could be asking for me on Valentine’s day? A creepy creeper! And my sword was in the other side of the house! The one time I really need it, of course it’s going to be in the other room.

   My dad was trying to dissuade the man from coming in to speak with me when suddenly I felt the strange need to go to the door. I walked forward and next thing I knew, I was standing face to face with a familiar being, though I’d never met him before.

   “It’s okay, Daddy,” I whispered. “It’s Character Encounter time again.”

   He nodded knowingly and sat down on the couch. He was on his phone watching a hockey game, but I could tell he was very alert to what was happening at the front door.

   “You are Abbey,” the man at my door stated, rather than asked.

   “Yes,” I replied. “Am I right in assuming you are King John?”

   “Yes.” He looked perplexed. “I received this note telling me to come to this address and ask ‘Abbey’ out to dinner, as it is a celebration of love in your country.”

   I nodded. “Yeah, it’s Valentine’s Day. It means that couples all over the world go out on dates together – out to dinner, maybe catch a movie… you don’t know what a movie is. Just believe me when I say they’re pretty cool.”

   “Right.” King John nodded, but didn’t look convinced. “I will take your word for it. Will you attend dinner? I have here the name of an inn.” He showed me the slip of paper.

   “McDonalds, pretty fancy,” I said with a nod. Though I desperately wanted to stay home and watch the movie, maybe if I went out to dinner with King John he’d tell me why he was such an evil overlord. “Well,” I said, “if we’re going out to dinner, we need to dress in fancy clothes.”

   “I am dressed in fancy clothes,” King John replied.

   “Yes, well, that’s not what we call fancy in this country. My dad can lend you some of his clothes; you’re about the same size.”

   Since my date would be dressed in dress pants and a button-up shirt, I decided to pull on the only dress I owned. Brown, slightly World War Twoish. Since it was freezing outside, I pulled on brown leggings to match the dress, and red high heels.

   “I’m ready!” I called. “Whenever you are!”

   A few minutes later, King John came out, dressed handsomely. He looked like a business executive. I took his arm and we went outside.

   “I brought my carriage,” King John said, opening the door for me.

   Though a carriage in the McDonalds parking lot would look strange, I would never pass up the opportunity to ride in one, so I climbed in.

   Shortly, we reached the restaurant.

   “Whoa! Cool ride, bro!” several teens said as we walked into McDonalds.

   “Wow, you are one lucky girl,” said a woman (thought I noticed that, as we turned away, she eyed us strangely… what was one so young doing out with one so old?)

   King John scanned the menu. “Hmmm… what are these ‘Big Macs’?”

   “Why don’t you let me order for you,” I suggested.

   “I am King and I am fully able to order for myself,” King John replied, holding himself just a little loftier. “Give me one Big Mac,” he told the woman at the cash register.

   “One Big Mac. Would you like fries and a drink with that?”

   “Yes.”

   “Alright. Anything else for you?”

   “No.”

   “That’ll be six-fifty.”

   “Six-fifty what? I am King! I do not pay for mea-“

   “Um, ahahaha… My date here is just joking!” I interrupted. “If we wanted royal treatment we’d be at Burger King. No, that’s a bad joke. Sorry. Anyway, I’ll be paying. You can add a cheeseburger with ketchup only (along with the meat, cheese, and bun, of course, haha) and another order of fries and a chocolate shake to the order. Thank you!”

   I paid quickly and ushered King John to a table in the corner. I sat him by the window so he wouldn’t see all the attention his carriage was attracting. People were stopping on the road to stare… little kids were being posed next to it while mommy took a picture… His carriage-driver was shooing people away like they were ants.

   “You stay here while I get our food,” I told King John. He seemed willing enough to wait. After all, he had been waited on his whole life.

   I juggled our two trays and somehow managed to pour us each root beer without dumping everything on the ground. The trip back to the table was trickier; the fries fell to the floor. After much embarrassment and apology on my side, the cashier gave me another bag of fries.

   Stupid heels… I thought.

   For the next few moments, King John and I ate in silence.

   “This is good,” he remarked, nodding to the burger in his hands. “I must instruct my cook to make this back at the castle. And what do you call this drink?”

   “Umm, it’s root beer,” I said.

   “It is the best beer I have tasted! You say it is made from roots?”

   “Not really… I’m not really sure what it’s made of,” I replied. “Let’s talk about something else. Why are you so villainous?”

   “Villainous? Me?” King John’s eyes grew wide. “Not I, surely.”

   “Well… you treat your peasants poorly and cheat them of the necessities of life. You manipulate people into thinking you’re this great guy when all you really want is power power power… I know all of the facts, what I want to know is why. Why do you manipulate and cheat people?”

   “Well,” said King John, “you said it. I want power.”

   “But why? What’s so great about power?”

   “My father and I have always strived for power.”

   “Your father, now he’s an interesting man. Why did he want power?”

   King John shrugged. “My grandparents had six sons in quick succession. The first five died before reaching one year of age. My father, the youngest, was the only one to survive. Because of this, and because he was prince, he received everything he wanted. This included the best education, which sharpened his already keen mind and made him the smartest man in First Country. He came up with brilliant strategies during the Goblin Wars and he became a hero. It is no wonder then, that he thought he could rule the all five Countries better than their own rulers.

   “The only thing he didn’t count on was having an equally brilliant son. He underestimated me my whole life; he treated me like a naïve child from the moment I learned to speak. It was my older brother he favored, but my older brother was a fool, gaining his brains from my mother’s side of the family. No amount of learning could make him smart. But my father didn’t see that. When my brother died mysteriously, my father hated me all the more. He thought that I was the stupid son, and for awhile, I bought into his lies, until I realized my worth – realized that I was stronger than him, smarter than him; it was easy to slay him on the battle ground. Now I am King of First Country, and soon, the whole realm.”

   “Interesting…” I said. “So, you’re father always treated you like dirt, made you think that you were worth nothing… and because of that, you got your revenge, and now are trying to make everyone think you are the best by ruling over them all. Thank you, this has been a very productive date! Now please take me home. I want to watch my movie.”

   King John stared at me. “Very well. Come.”

   I threw our garbage away and we went back out to the carriage. We were gone no more than thirty minutes, but I learned much. It was indeed a very productive date. 

Live long and prosper!

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.

Postponed. Oh no, Christmas is canceled!

I am postponing today's Top Tuesdays until tomorrow because I have something important to talk about that I have been thinking about for a few months now.

Fandoms.

Wikipedia says that a Fandom is....
Fandom (consisting of fan [fanatic] plus the suffix -dom, as in kingdom, freedom, etc.) is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices (a fandom).

So basically, a fandom is a community of fanatics.... Some examples of different fandoms would be: Sherlock, Doctor Who, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.... it goes on and on. Anything geeky and popular will probably have a fandom.

Those who know about fandoms and BBC are probably aware of this phrase:

 

I have mostly seen this phrase in correlation to Sherlock... And Doctor Who whenever someone dies. "Right in the feels" pretty much means that something angsty (anxiety, pain, fear) happens (usually a character dies) and because the person behind the screen was so attached to the characters or the storyline that they feel pain at whatever happened.

Now, this post is going to take a random turn... But remember "the feels."

In "A Scandal in Belgravia" (Sherlock season 2, episode 1) Irene Adler says, "Brainy is the new sexy" and I think she's right (despite my dislike of the S word. And of Irene herself). A few years ago you were popular if you loved makeup and Justin Bieber and Twilight and frilly, girly things. And boys and Disney Channel and stuff like that. Now, however, the tables are turning. With shows like Doctor Who and The Big Bang Theory becoming so popular all over the world, the tides are turning towards geekiness. More girls are now becoming obsessed with BBC shows and sci-fi and fantasy are replacing Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place - the Highschool Musical that every little girl dreamed of. Now girls dream of The Doctor coming to pick them up in the TARDIS.
I look at people's blogs (mostly random people) and I see people's Pinterest's (again, mostly random people) and I feel sad. They obsess over these BBC shows and these BBC guys and really, I see no difference between girls obsessing over Zac Efron and David Tennant. I see true geekery as knowing everything about the shows... For example, knowing how to talk in Klingon, or knowing the history of Gallifry, or knowing how to write in Elvish. Knowing the little things. Simply obsessing over something, doesn't really give much depth.... The depth comes in knowing the little things.
Anyway, that's not my point.
I feel SO sad for the people that only obsess over TV shows, geeky or not. For me, it's great to be known as the "Trekkie" at church. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel unique. For other girls, I think it feels good to be "geeky." They want to fit in (and hey, if hot, time travelling aliens are involved, it's just an added bonus!). It's fun to post funny pictures and "get the reference." (Did you guys get the one in the title??? It's from Sherlock!!)
I know I enjoy looking at funny pictures. But... is that all?
It that all there is to life?
No.
Of course not.
But do all the fangirls know that? I don't know. I don't know what they think.
But it makes me very very sad to see people obsessing over TV shows. Things that don't matter. Life should be spent doing better things. Getting a good education.... Working.... Family.
GOD. Getting to know God.
In youth group we just started a new series where we're talking about being a follower, verses being a fan. A fan sticks around the sidelines while a follower... Actually, we haven't talked about what a follower is yet. I believe that is next week (that or I wasn't paying attention).
Similarly, our pastor is always stressing the point that being in the Word of God is very important. We should spend time daily in the Bible, getting to know God.
I think, how much time do people spend watching Doctor Who?
Then I think, how much time do Christians spend watching TV shows. Time that could better be spent getting to know God better.
I know that I spend waaaay too much time watching TV or surfing the wide web. I don't spend nearly enough time with God.
Some say that their teen years are for partying. They use their teen years as an excuse. I am finding that I am using my teen years as an excuse for watching TV. I keep thinking, "I don't want my kids to grow up watching too much TV - ruining their imaginations. I want them to read books. Maybe I won't even HAVE a TV when I get married and have kids! I want them to be closer to God." Then I think, ashamedly, what about me? I could stop watching TV right now. But I'm a teen, I can goof off if I want. I'm a teenager!
I'm using it as an excuse. I realise that. And I really am trying to change. It's hard, though.
Anyway, these are my own personal convictions I've been going through lately... I don't mean to change any of your minds.

So, spending more time with God is my first point.
My second point is family.
Tonight I have been watching family videos from a family reunion on my Dad's side in 1998. The whole family was these - every child and every grandchild (except for my Favorite Cousin, who was not yet born). That is no easy task... My dad has quite a few siblings who each have a few children of their own.
Anyway, my dad was videotaping the whole event. He was asking everyone to tell a story that they remembered of Grandma and Grandpa (or Mom and Dad, for his siblings). He was also being teased for always videotaping. He said at one point, "It's all part of the memories!" and I couldn't help but think, "OHH! RIGHT IN THE FEELS!"
You see, my parental Grandpa passed away last July. For the last 10 years or so, he had been suffering from Alzheimer's, a heightened version of dementia (says Wikipedia). All I know, is that Grandpa didn't know anything when he passed away. His soul was gone and all that was left was an empty shell.

 

Near the end, all he would do was sit with his eyes closed. He would have to be fed and bathed and put to bed. Through it all, my Grandpa loved him and took care of him - everyone in the family did, really.
It was a blessing when God finally took him home. The memorial service was a really really good time. Stories were shared and it was a time of rejoicing in my Grandpa's life.
I never really had a close relationship with my Grandpa, because his Alzheimer's was already pretty bad when I was old enough to have any sort of relationship with him (though from what I hear, he was a pretty hard person to get to know). It was really good to hear stories about him. I kind of got to know him through hearing other people talk about him and I am so grateful for that. I really regret not being able to "get to know him" or even just to observe him. He was my Grandpa, after all.
Anyway, on this family video that I'm watching, he's there. He's not just there, he's there. As in, his mind hasn't gone yet. He was interviewed by some of the family. He was talking, telling stories, telling jokes... And all caught on camera! I was really happy to see that as well.
Tonight I was going to watch Star Wars but I popped this in instead since it was sitting there and I had been wanting to see what was on the tape.
I am SO glad I did.
I am enjoying watching this SO much more than watching Star Wars or Doctor Who or any other TV show.
Watching TV isn't bad. Watching movies isn't bad. But too much TV, to the point of not doing other things, is bad.
Someone said (people say it is Einstein, but I don't know) that "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots."
I think that day has come. We are so caught up in our own little worlds.... We can talk over the internet but it is so impersonal. We watch TV shows and feel like the characters are our friends... Is that right? Shouldn't we be spending more time getting to know our friends, family, relatives, and God? than getting to know TV characters?
I'm not a fangirl. I try to make that known to people. I enjoy TV, and occasionally it becomes more important than other things... But I try really hard not to let it overtake my life. I don't want to be a fangirl. I don't want to spend my whole life talking about TV shows and characters because there is no substance to that sort of life. It is an escape, sure. But for how long? We all have to come back to reality sometime. And when we wake up, we'll find ourselves all alone because we've spent more time watching TV or cat videos than building relationships with people. I don't want that kind of life. There's nothing to that life! It's so dull and surface! There's no depth!
Watching these home videos, where everyone is laughing and talking has really opened my eyes, I think. (And when people weren't laughing or talking they were all sitting in the same room reading. Hee hee. How times have changed... Now we sit in the same room glued to our screens.)
Anyway, this is all my own opinion. It's just stuff I've been thinking about lately.

And seeing my Grandpa smiling and laughing may just be the best thing I will see this month.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

And I'm just fine with that! I wouldn't want to celebrate Valentines Day any other way right now. No relationships of that sort for me until I'm in college. For me, highschool is a time to prepare myself for my future - to figure out who God wants me to be, and to go after that goal. Romantic attachments would just get in the way.

My day, however, has been less than stellar. I have spent much of the day on the couch, under a quilt. I'm fighting something. (For now) I don't have a fever.
I did get some schoolwork done, though! I nearly finished my science chapter on ecology, did some Dutch (mijn trui is roze), and read what I had to in my essay book. I tried reading some Moby Dick... But only got two pages before stopping. I'm a bit behind, but I have the whole weekend to catch up.

Now I'm watching cartoon Tintin from the 90's.

"Acting the goat! Acting the goat indeed!"
Acting the goat aside... I have a Valentine's Day present for you all.
So, without further ado, HAPPY HEARTS DAY!!!

 

Happiness is a warm puppy.

Live long and prosper!