Vacations and Destinations

Pastini Pastaria in Portland, OR. Wonderful Italian food that far outshone my birthday destination of Casa Mia.

"Hey you! You dropped my number!" -Original quote invented by me ;)

Again on the refrigerator words:
one could tell a story, planting sentences growing life & ideas

Sham-full

"Yes, but today is a new day, filled with new hopes and dreams and even a few misspelled words."

Of Birthdays

I'm seventeen today. Old enough to not expect much on my birthday, but not so old that I don't get excited at being a year older. Actually, I hope I never lose that excitement. A year longer to live is too much opportunity to become bored over.

I'm planning on going to see Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, which opens in theatres today. I'll come back later with a review.

But tell me, do I look seventeen?

Rather spring-ish shirt for the Winter Solstice, isn't it?

StumbleUpon and Its Goodness

Do you like those refrigerator word magnets?

"then keep eighty days,
to see what few found ways through:
five grew old last time."

Also, see what aliens think of us, or learn more about the
Elegant Universe surrounding us.

1/5/08 Edit: That poem I wrote above? I made it a haiku totally by accident, and didn't realize it until this moment. >_>

Indeed So

[ [ link ] ]

Do the Hula

Of Observations and Derivatives

I was talking with my father the other day and I was forced to categorize how I considered artists. I came up with the following theory:

Artists, of all venues, can be lumped into two categories: performers and creators. Then there are those who do both.

Those who perform others' material may be very successful based on their crowd-pleasing abilities, and those who create their own material may be very successful based on their creative genius. It is the difference between a magician who very successfully performs classic tricks to the audience, and a magician who is continually inventing new tricks and new interpretations to old ones. Both versions are considered artist, as both take a good level of skill and passion for the trade in order to perform; however they remain separate expressions of the same artistic passion.

The same may be said of actors versus directors, singers versus songwriters, instrumental musicians versus composers, even rubber stampers versus the stamp designers. And either category may branch into another: Mel Gibson has both acted and directed (as well as written scripts), and has done so quite successfully. He is an example of a performing and a creative artist.

The ability to create art, however, and the ability to perform it, seem to be caused by two separate motivations. The performance of art uses something already successful and enhances it or otherwise modifies it, using an already-successful medium to express to an audience. While this is a very useful skill, I tend to lend greater value to the creators, whose skills are bent towards creating something no one has seen before. It's more risky a venture, and takes time to gain popularity, but I can better appreciate what comes of such people.

Then again, a blend of traits is always good.

Going to School

It stopped snowing around noon. It has rained a bit since.

Dammit.

In other news, Howard Schnellenberger explains the difference between involvement and commitment: "When you're eating ham and eggs, the chicken that laid the eggs was involved, but the pig that provided the ham was totally committed."

You remember Bullseye's theme song from Daredevil? Been looking for it for awhile. Found it.


Or if you're looking for something a bit more peaceful:

Loveliness

It began to snow about an hour ago.

That is a ridiculously lovely idea to me. I hope (against all hope) that they cancel school tomorrow.

I'd look at the weather report to see how much snow we're supposed to get, but I don't want to jinx it. I've already prayed that it'll snow for a long time.

*SNOW ANGST*

Sisterly Affection

My sister will appreciate this, I think. I pretty much made it for her.


SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search

I mean, sheesh, if this isn't enough OK Go for some time, then I don't know what could possibly be.

As a side note, I really need to finish reading Carroll.

Death To the Untrained Ear

... by virtue of training it.

Found *another* good online music finding source.

This one manages to allow you to search across the podcast network to find the song you want. You can create playlists, manage them, change them, share them, and embed your music all in the same place. Rather terribly convenient, actually. And when one considers that as time goes on, the amount of podcasts allowing access to songs will only grow.

It's called SeeqPod.

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

I've always managed to know exactly what deductive reasoning was, which was assisted by my knowledge of how Sherlock Holmes came to his own conclusions. But while my geometry teacher attempted to explain the difference between that and inductive reasoning to me, the difference has remained one of the few cloudy points in my mental information reserves. That is, until today.

I received a document on argumentative essays from my teacher, wherein she discusses deductive and inductive argumentation. As her definitions seemed severely unclear, I finally Googled the definition for inductive reasoning.

I have since figured out that I use deductive reasoning to constantly evaluate my environment, while I use inductive reasoning to evaluate the people I meet. This is why I usually get a "feeling" when I meet a person, or a general definition of them based on scant information gathered, which later becomes proven quite accurate. I think the reason for its accuracy lies in the fact that the "scant information" is actually a subconsciously detected pattern in behaviours.

It's an interesting theory, anyway. I'll have to see if I see evidence of it in action.

Music Gets Into the Blood

Right now I'm on Pandora, and I'm totally digging the Howard Shore station. I mean, it's pretty much amazingly bomb.

If my title is true, than my blood is currently singing out wonderfully haunting vocals with epic soundtracks. You should honestly try this station.

Of Prophecies And the Prophetic

Had a bizarre dream last night.

In it I battled a black demon-possessed cat. But once I would kill it, the demon would somehow generate a new body and try to come and provoke me again into battle. A strange element in the dream was that the demon inhabiting the cat, usually unseen, could be viewed clearly through a hand-mirror held up to my face, which I looked through like a window and could see the demon. I would use the mirror after each battle as a sort of, "Ha! Now your true form is revealed!" cry of triumph. The residents of the house where the demon and I conducted our battles showed me how to use this mirror. There was one time that the cat and I battled with katanas, which was a fairly epic sequence.

In my dream, I also fought and killed a short demon man in the shape of a dwarf. The queerest thing about the battle were the weapons we used, which were strips of entire weeks that the dwarf had torn off of the calendar. He employed these strips like short swords. In the dream I remember being amused, knowing strips of paper couldn't hurt me. However, as he handed me one to use as I weapon, I realized that if he believed they were dangerous, the paper strips must hurt him, so I eventually killed him with the strips (without even a paper cut from the ordeal).

But during the battle, one of my favorite scenes in the whole dream occurred when I took one of the dwarf's two swords and added it to my single sword, and the dwarf began to run away from me. Until this point I had concealed that I wasn't able to be wounded from the paper, but now I stopped and lowered my weapons to draw him back. Instead of turning and charging me, he walked backwards quickly until he was close to me and then jabbed his strip of paper up and under his right arm inn order to spear me in the stomach (like in Kill Bill, you know?). Unfortunately for him, it was paper, and only bent; I laughed (I don't remember if it was in my head or not) at the silliness of the thing and began ripping at his back and sides with my two paper strips until he finally was defeated.

In addition to this scene, there was a point after killing the black cat for the last time when I turned around and saw the other residents in the house. They were grouped together at the far end of the room and were giving me black looks, whispering among themselves. They said that the reason the cat kept coming after me is that the cat's original self had been killed by me (which I didn't recall doing - I recall getting that I had done it in some other life or something), and now the cat's spirit had a personal vendetta against me. The residents sympathized with the cat, saying that I was a killer. As this was technically true, I didn't correct them (even though the demon in the cat was evil and it was self-defense and totally necessary warfare).

Like I said, it was a bizarre dream. Mostly I'm just sharing so that I remember both the dream and the date I had it.

50th Post

Not that this is necessarily a significant milestone, but if I don't notice, no one will. And that's just not right.

So I stayed up until two in the friggin' morning last night in order to finish my first draft, due today. I have my teacher look at the essay, telling her I didn't get a chance to finish, and she says, "Oh, that's just fine. Especially considering it's not due for another week."

Oh. Great, thanks. Might as well finish the essay and start on my history paper then.

Dammit. And to think I lost sleep over the bloody thing. *trundles off*

Discussion Between World Leaders

Freedom Rocks! says:
dude. I've heard rumors about you.

Freedom Rocks! says:
They say you totally rock.

Rebekah says:
I've heard people say you pwn

Freedom Rocks! says:
it's only 'cuz I do

Rebekah says:
I think we might be on level ground here - but, to be sure, let's never meet

Freedom Rocks! says:
I agree

Freedom Rocks! says:
there should be no interaction between such equals as ourselves

Freedom Rocks! says:
we're just too good

Freedom Rocks! says:
but we can't ever be sure

Rebekah says:
Yup, yup.

Rebekah says:
We shall rule our minions on separate parts of the world and remain respectful of each other's domain

Freedom Rocks! says:
our domineering must never cross paths, lest we destroy one another, and likely the rest of the world along with us

Freedom Rocks! says:
the resulting epic battle would cost too much

Rebekah says:
Our very presences combined might destroy the world

Freedom Rocks! says:
and it's only 'cuz we're so dang awesome.

Rebekah says:
Pretty much

*Edit 1:11AM : I felt it needed clarifying that Rebekah is, in fact, my sister.

** 1:14AM : Also, I can't seem to stop watching that cat clip I've put on here. I don't know what I find so fascinating about it. Maybe I just need to go to bed.

"Proceed With Gravy"

I believe they're having a deep and philosophical discussion about the consistencies between Greek and Roman mythology.

Obviously.

Also, the Buttercup Festival has played temporary havoc with my sense of humor.

On a side note, I need to remember to ask Michel about this.

Hm. Been Awhile

New things: Mom's and sister's birthdays; Thanksgiving goings-on; saw Beowolf in 3D.

Birthdays weren't very exciting, but pleasant enough. Thanksgiving didn't end up in its usual location at my grandmother's due to her feeling ill, so the holiday was held at my parents' place this year. My cousins and I played lots of Live Halo 3, and that also was good.

As to Beowolf: If I hadn't already seen Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and Lord of the Rings' Gollum, I would have been extremely impressed by the animation alone. But as I had seen all of those, it wasn't that big a deal. As a matter of fact, in not having real-life actors, I think the movie lost a bit of realism and depth. The three-dimensional aspect was the only thing that made the movie worth seeing, but even then there were some points were the dimension wasn't at all convincing. It was rather like having paper cutouts with rounded edges, an animation without anything deeper than what the audience was seeing on the surface. It was nice, but I think the animators were trying to pull something off in terms of realism which wasn't quite within their grasp.

I give the movie three-point-five of five stars, for good effort and the talent of Neil Gaiman, whose literary portrayers should stick to graphic novels.

As for the cell phone thing, we're still trying to work out the shipment of a new phone with the online sellers. We've already received two cell phones, the first of which had a bent shell, and the second of which had flawed programming. So far we haven't heard back about the shipment of a third. I'm of the opinion that they should give it to us for half price, but maybe that's just me.

I Feel Violated

My cell phone was stolen today.

I was riding the bus at the time. The guy sitting in the seat behind me stole it. He had asked me a couple of questions about my wireless headset, after which I continued to listen to my tunes, during which I really paid no attention at all. I watched him leave the bus without marking it as significant. I only really began to notice things when my headphones' reception began to break up. I reached for my phone to see what was the matter, only to press my hand to empty space.

I didn't realize how attached I was to the device until it was taken from underneath me. It was like an aficionado's favorite car - he may have set a couple of dents in his precious car, but they're his dents, and he knows each one by heart, because he put them there. His car has become far more than just a method of transportation. In the same way, my cell phone wasn't just my emergency telephone. It was my music library, my picture album, and a contacts list full of all the people in my life. It was completely customized to me: I had bought the clear plastic case protecting it (which I loved) as well as having completely tailored every setting and display. My 1-gig SD card the phone was equipped with was dear to me as well - I had just loaded my new favorite tunes on it the previous morning. When that man stole my cell phone he stole away my Linus' Blanket, my Prometheus Stone, my precious blue Mustang, a hank of my hair while I wasn't looking.

I didn't cry when our family's dog died. I cried when my cell phone was stolen. I wanted to choke the guy who had taken it, but I settled for annihilating Flood in Halo 3 instead. Just a way to run away from reality, really, but it was better than re-experiencing the same pain so many times over.

My mother, who had the same model of phone that I had had, offered hers as a temporary use for tomorrow. It almost makes me nauseous to even touch the thing, necessary though the evil is. I can't help thinking, "Why must I? It's a pathetic mimicry of my own precious, a copy which can never measure up, because that one was special."

My wireless headphones seem absolutely superfluous in their existence now. It seems rather ironic, for I praised them and valued them so highly before; they are nothing without the cell itself.

College Is Strange

You know, I think I'm going to have to keep telling you about my experiences. Might happen every post. Just a forewarning - it tends to be on my thoughts a lot.

Even when I don't know the answers to my history test, I still end up being the first one to finish. It's not a bad thing - I'm just a bloody fast reader and a pretty good first-drafter. I'm usually happy with what I write at first go.

Anyway. After I was done I went to Starbucks with a couple of other students, a boy and a girl in their early twenties, who had finished. We had fifty minutes to muck about until class started up again. For some odd reason I figured that we would walk there. After all, I had been planning to. But instead we trekked across the parking lot and into the girl's car. It wouldn't have been too bad, except that both the kids smoked. I hate the smell, and I'm smart enough not to show it. They cussed a bit as well, which I didn't mind nearly as much: mental stench is easier to ignore than physical stench. The girl wanted to go to Fred Meyer afterwards, which I declined, wherein she drove me back and then took the boy to Meyers.

On the trip back she played Hotel California. A truly remarkable song. Classic rock, and I like it.

Also I finished a fascinating book: Eccentrics by David Weeks. I really was impressed with the book, and his insights into the joys of originality. If one realizes where the personal originality would become even better with the marvelous joys of Christ, one is even better off.

I'm Still In College

But with a slight difference. Now I have orthodontia with my college experience. Maybe I'll post a picture, but I doubt it.

Ortho is more painful than a flat hallelujah chorus, in case you were wondering.

In other news, having my mouth hardwired doesn't have seemed to have hindered the interest of a couple of guys at college. Not sure if that's wonderful news or not; so far it's just news.

I'm going to be late to school unless I get the hell off of here. This update has cost me precious minutes, for I have gotten up late.

First Day of College

First quarter in college began today. I've been grateful for the late start in the school year... everyone else around me started classes up to three weeks ago. I've been taking full advantage of my free time to slack off by reading Austen and playing the 360.

Right now, however, I'm stalling in the college library until my next class, U.S. History. I expect it to be rather dull, especially considering that every other class I've had today has been an Introduction to the Course rather than the beginning of real work. I suppose I shouldn't be expecting to dive right into the material on the first day... alas, I am bored anyway. And nervous. Do you have any idea what kind of whacked combination that is, to be bored and nervous at the same time? It creates a lot of nervous energy, which is mostly being let out in the form of constantly jiggling my leg, or tapping my fingers around. And some whistling.

I'm not used to this sort of discomfort.

Next week should be better. I'll know where all my classes are by then, I shan't get lost and consequently late, and I'll know how to manipulate my teachers.

I'm joking, of course. I'll probably still get lost. ;P

Also, I adore the H3 version of the 360.

Of Resurgence and Reanimation

Lately I've been drawing.

Physically drawing. In my drawing journal. Not the dinky Photoshop drawings I tend to crank out for no reason.

I haven't drawn like this all summer. And frankly, I'm kind of impressed with my own work so far.

This is weird. Why haven't I been drawing all along? I'm enjoying myself.

At Port Townsend!

It's Because They're Real

I don't hate Bush at all. I just support his policies.

But seriously though, this is a really well-done clip that I can't help but giggle about.

Dude, This Is Creepy

No, not your face. I mean, that's creepy too, but this is what I'm talking about.

And, well, this is just stupid.

I Must See Disco Pigs

I just figured out something vital to humanity.

Tyson Ritter (pic) looks like a cross between Tom Welling (pic) and Cillian Murphy (pic).

Okay, maybe not vital. But hey, it was weird.

Maybe I just need to sleep.

Musical Tastes

Although I like many, many genres of music, I had never known if I favored one such above the rest. I have now discovered that I do. Jazz and swing are the ones that make me move, and the ones that make me want to sing along the most.

How did I find this out? I discovered Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's song You & Me & The Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (which I discovered, of course, on Pandora Radio). So much fun, I downloaded the entire album. The other songs aren't quite as hopping, but still a lot of fun.

I want to sing jazz. Apparently I also have a "jazzy voice", whatever that means. I've been singing soprano for ages, but I'm actually an alto.

Funny how that works out.

Hiro!

So basically Zeroes make me giggle. A lot.

Also I can't wait to see Run, Fatboy, Run when it comes out Sept. 28. Probably will only see it on Tv-Links, though... probably won't come to my theatre.

And I've been trying to find A Gentleman's Duel in its full length online. Can't seem to... it's been taken down from everywhere. Dangit.

Off To Camp

Going off to Miracle Ranch to spend the next month as a counselor.

*sigh*

Somehow I just want to stay home and relax rather than endure a month of camp. I haven't seen my dad nearly enough lately, and my mom and sister aren't going to be back for a few days (thank God) so if I didn't have to go, I could hang out with Dad. That would be lovely.
Unfortunately I've already signed up, and they're counting on my presence.

*sigh*

Reminder

When you get a chance could you look up the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire near Corvallis?

Congratulations! You Have Just Recieved...

THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR!

Ooooh, buuurn... :3

Been Gaming Awhile

My dad discovered the Fancy Pants Adventures on a site called Kongregate. I joined and have since gotten totally carried away, between 3D Logic, Speck Oppression, Particles, and Bubble Tanks. So I've been spending all my time upping my ranking on the site. I have 227 points, I'm a level 3, and I only need 33 more points to be a level 4.

My Lord, I'm a geek.

Maybe this tells me a little about myself, though: once I have a goal, I will strive after it until I get it (or just get really bored), and I'll try different methods to reach my destination. I can spend all my time distracted in my goal, once I have one.

Maybe this is why I like this site so much. It's a total distraction.

Of Death and Funerals

Isn't it weird to go to a funeral for someone you never knew? But then, I think it's weird to go to a funeral for someone you did know. The very act of honoring someone who is not able to bear witness to their honoring seems a very strange ideal. If you didn't know the person, you have no claim to their life; why should you have claim in their death? And why should we honor their death, anyways? Honoring their death is not an honor to their life. It is an honor to their death, and that is all. And who are you giving the honor to - their memory? I don't understand the concept. If the person is not alive, why should we lend our senses to them? Why should we drown ourselves in the memory, when life is waiting for us? Their time of changing has passed. If anything, we should learn a lesson from those passed: live life while one can. Doesn't that lesson in and of itself throw the idea of a grand funeral into doubt?

Then again, I've never lost someone who is extraordinarily close to me. If and when I lose a parent or sibling, perhaps then I will understand better the need for closure from grief.

Just Exploring

Found a cool site with a ton of games. The site only went public recently, so it's not totally polished, but I've been having a lot of fun anyway.

Well, time for a lunch break.

Also Decyferdown has kind of a cool sound to them. Here's their mySpace.

It's A Wonderful Night, You've Gotta Take It From Me

It is such a beautiful night outside. It's easily room temperature. One could sleep out there if one could find a good solution for the mosquitos.

I wish that I didn't live in such close proximity to the city. What I wouldn't give to see the unadultered stars adorning space. I want to see the stars so badly. It hurts that I can only see the few brightest on such a gorgeous night.

I want to live in a place without mosquitos. Then I could sleep outside in a hammock on nights like this, with nothing but a light blanket and a pillow, and fall asleep admiring the moon. I could awaken with the dawn and the sparrows.

*sighhhh*

I need to stop dreaming about things like this. It makes for a sour heart when you realize how far you are from the dream.

Indeed, I Think Randomosity Works Here

Was editing my profile and got this for a random question:

The children are waiting! Please tell them the story about the bald frog with the wig:

So, of course, I write a short novel. Here you are.

Once upon a time there was a bald frog named Jacob. He spent all his time leaping about from shadow to shadow, frightened that the bright sunlight would bake his head to a crust, and worried about how to prevent it.
Finally he went to visit his aunt, whose name was Petunia. Petunia was very wise, for a frog, but not so much as compared to humans. Jacob asked her what he should do to cover up his head without having to jump from shadow to shadow. "Well," said Petunia, "'Tis my belief that a wig should look a right side better than a blackened skull." Jacob was amazed at her wisdom, and gave her three large glossy green flies from his pouch as a token of his appreciation before hopping away to find the wigmaker.
The wigmaker was a small ostrich who lived at the outskirts of town. As he was the only wigmaker in the area, he got a monopoly on the business and was quite successful. His name was Mr. Maltbrook. Jacob hopped over to see him, being very careful to keep in the shade.
"Mr. Maltbrook!" he croaked loudly. "Mr. Maltbrook!"
"Here I am," said a very flustered ostrich. "What can I do for you, fine sir?"
"Well, you can make me a wig!" said Jacob impatiently. "That's what I came all the way over for!"
"Oh, my," said Mr. Maltbrook. "There's a bit of a waiting list, I'm afraid. All the rabbit family wanted theirs done at once, you see. I'm quite tied up. Is there any way you might wait a couple of weeks?"
Jacob pondered for a while. "No," he finally croaked. "I'd like one now, if you please."
Mr. Maltbrook sighed a big long sigh - he only ever sighed long sighs with his long neck - and said that he supposed he could do something. Jacob was very happy and thanked Mr. Maltbrook ecstatically, then settled down to wait for his wig. After a while Mr. Maltbrook sent in a small fieldmouse to obtain Jacob's cranial measurements, but after that no one bothered Jacob in his patient wait.
It took Mr. Maltbrook six hours to make a satisfactory wig for Jacob. It was a lovely wig, all done up with white powdered curls and green ribbons to complement Jacob's skin tone. Jacob was very proud of it, and paid an almost unheard-of amount of twelve bluebottle flies for his new wig.
From that time after Jacob sat happily in the sunshine upon his lily pads, where he could easily reach the gnats that danced in the sunbeams. He grew very large and fat and wealthy, since he was free to roam about as he chose, and lived to a very old ripe age before handing his wig down to his children.

Such A Bloody Seattleite

I had a day in Seattle with some friends. It was a lot of fun.
As pictured, I went to Borders and found a near-lifesize cardboard cutout of Michael Buble, and was happy.
Also we went and had tea and crumpets with Nutella and went about the Pike Place Market a bit, then went to several clothing stores, because we are teenagers and thus idiots.

Can't say I didn't enjoy it, though.

Severely unflattering photo, innit?

To Love Your Soul

At the risk of sounding emo, have some song lyrics.

Am I a man who knows how to love, yeah?
When you hate what you fear the most, yeah
I'll wash your feet as you spit in my face
Hey you, I love your soul

I'm gonna love when you hate
You can't outrun or escape this liquid
My life poured out like water
I'm gonna drown you with maddening forgiveness
Hey you, I love your soul

I can't depend on your hate to define my love
Am I strong enough to love your soul?

Love doesn't care to receive what it gives
Bleeding compassion to extreme
Love stretches out to die for its enemies
Hey you, I love your soul

I can't depend on your hate to define my love
Am I strong enough to love your soul?
No bounds on the deep, no bounds on the wide
Am I deep enough to love your soul?

GOD I want to swim in the deep of You

GOD in You I'm strong enough,
strong enough, strong enough

I can't depend on your hate to define my love
Am I strong enough to love your soul?
No bounds on the deep, no bounds on the wide
Am I deep enough to love your soul?

- Skillet, Hey You, I Love Your Soul

At the risk of sounding melodramatic and emo, suffice it to say that I'm feeling this song right now.

Want to Listen to a Bunch of Free Music

... which is based off your favorite artist or song - a generated playlist? One that you can change the song, the lineup, and have multiple playlists saved? All online, for free?

Well, heck yes! But there's no way anyone would do that for free.

I've never been so glad to be proved wrong.

Basically what you do is go to MSN's new Pandora Radio and type in your favorite band or song. A playlist is generated based on that, and you get to listen to the entire thing for free.

Just found it today. I've been messing with it. I'm pretty much in love.

Of Insensibilities

I came home from Ashland yesterday night. Almost simultaneously with my stepping in the door, my cell rang. I picked up, and the call was ended. I saw who called - it was Bacon from school. His cell randomly calls people; it's demented like that. I called him back and asked him what was up. After apologizing on behalf of his phone, he explained that he had just gotten back from being in Ashland in Oregon, where he had been at the Shakespeare Festival.

Well, that pretty much struck me dumb. After making sure he wasn't lying, I found he had even been to the same play Saturday night that I had - The Taming of the Shrew. Ashland isn't that big a town. I have no idea how we missed seeing one another. It was pretty strange.

On a side note, Bacon and I have some unfinished business left over from the schoolyear. We must burn Bacon's bunnies and kitties - small stuffed ones he was given for that purpose on his birthday - in creatively explosive ways. I have yet to work out when or how, but it will happen, and my pyromania will (hopefully) be temporarily assuaged.

Aside from these extremely coincidental occurrences, I have two three things to say: one, that I have been so lazy that I have not called either my current nor my potential jobs to fix them up, and two, that I really need to go to bed. and three, that the series Dark Angel starring Jessica Alba is stupid, and I now know why they show it at midnight.

Nature Is Pretty

... in case you were unaware.

Went for a walk in the park the other day... Look who modeled for me.

The Vacation

Leaving for Ashland tomorrow. I'll be gone until the 19th. We're going past Portland on our way... I was hoping we'd get to stop by this really really good seafood joint in Newport, but alas, it is too far out of our way. Doubt it'll be on the way back either. I suppose I'll have to clamp down my craving for delicious crustaceans and merely enjoy the rest of my Shakespearean-themed vacation.

Of Secret Weapons

I've finally found out the real purpose of the paper shredder... it's been masquerading as innocent this whole time.

Music + Discovery

= Musicovery!

This site is a rather well-polished little gem I found. I play around with it when I get tired of listening to my own music library but don't really know anything new I want from LimeWire. Sometimes it gives me great new songs, other times it just sort of makes me cringe and rush to change the song. Either way, I love the fact that you can pick your playlist based on genre, mood, tempo, or a combination of these.

You should check it out.

SINGLE WHINE: No skip button. You click on a new song, it switches the playlist order. Annoying as heck until you decide to ignore it. >_>

I'm Such a Nerd

Look, I make rice tiger.

Reviewing Some Stuff, Because I Feel Like It

We're now watching the Chronicles of Narnia, even though I've seen it more than enough times for my lifetime. Also I've read the book too many times to think of the movie as a completely different adventure from the book, so as a result I can't see the movie without comparing the two versions. And while the movie is good, I think the books preserve a certain character of childlike adventure that I grew up loving and still adore (which is likely why I love books like Tom Sawyer and Peter Pan). The movie does not do this at all. It tries to make the story of Light and Hope Combating Monsters more dark than it should be. The movie lessens the sense of innocence and childlike faith that's in the books to almost nil. Maybe I'm just prejudiced. I love the soundtrack, though. CoN gets 4 of 5 stars, mostly for great special effects and for Georgie Henley.

I just saw The Illusionist recently. I have to admit it is exactly my type of movie: one isn't certain what is real and what is pretend until the end, and there's enough fantasy and somehow-noble-duplicity mixed in to give the whole movie a fascinating undertone. I have yet to read the short story that it was loosely based off of, but I'll see if I can't find it (or an anthology containing it). For the moment, this movie has become one of my favorites. 4 1/2 of 5 stars.

My sister wants to see Flushed Away again. I think it's a funny movie, but there's a bit too much American comedy in what should be a British comedy. Perhaps not entirely, but my penchant for British comedy (Monty Python and Spike Milligan are weak spots for me) completely sways me. Plus the story happens in England, anyways. Very nice animation, though, and some of the lines and jokes off of other movies are worth a few good chuckles. 3 1/2 of 5 stars.

I Don't Feel Like This

"Don't feel like what?" You ask.

You don't have a right to know. I don't have to answer. Cryptic sentences, I have decided, are now the order of the day.

For the remaining half-hour of it, anyway.

(Incredible artist. I like this one.)

Haircuts and Acne

Check out my new hair... Much better suited to summer.

For the Purpose of Displaying the Inanity of My Convos

They're pretty inane. Here is a slightly edited version of one such.
Here you may also see that I use big words even in the context of casual IM conversations.

Freedom: I don't know if you've heard... a common side effect of sunburns are rampant silliness at awkward and otherwise inconvenient moments...
Beware the powers of the sunburns
That's my excuse and I plan on using it a lot

i.am.a.fox: I must have a perpetual, invisible sunburn

Freedom: I think you have mental sunburn

i.am.a.fox: I believe it

Freedom: It's a usual trait in computer users... they step outside and their brain isn't used to such brightness outside of an LCD, so it fries

i.am.a.fox: thus creating social awkwardness

Freedom: Exactly

i.am.a.fox: or in my case, mild popularity XD

Freedom: XD
Exactly right
Likewise for myself
^_^

i.am.a.fox: "That Fox, he is so crazy."
"That Freedom, she is such a cat."

Freedom: "Must have that mental sunburn..." "Oh, aye, heard that's been going around."
Of course it's totally not contagious, but every affliction must be catching in casual conversation, so that it can be spoken of
Otherwise people would forget which illnesses are catching and which aren't, creating seriously damaged verbal interplay

i.am.a.fox: I like that word
Interplay

Freedom: "Doesn't Jane have breast cancer now?" "Oh yes, I heard George accidentally gave it to her."

i.am.a.fox: XD

I Have a Confession

I've been thinking. Terrible, I know... probably going to hell for it. Anyways.

Lately I've been asking God to prepare me for a husband. I've got a couple of guys I know who are amazing, and while I don't seriously think (just dream) that either will eventually be mine, I have prayed for God to make me worthy of such men one day. All I've wanted for a while has been the chance to make a man happy.

Then today I read I Corinthians 7. I first began to read it because verse 4 caught my eye: "The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife." I had just read this passage in this text, which I linked to in my last post. But then I read the verse in the context of the rest of the chapter.

What Paul essentially writes in this chapter is that being single will best serve God, because then one won't have to concentrate on world and spouse responsibilities. If one is already married, then definitely stay married (and he says a bit about marriage). Then Paul repeats that being single is a gift from God, even as marriage is. He doesn't dis on marriage at all, merely points out that marriage will cause a bit of a relational strain between the one and God. This only makes sense.

So I can't help but wonder. Have I been praying for the right thing? I don't think I should be asking to be prepared for marriage... I should be asking to get closer to God. And don't I need to do that anyways, before marriage?

At least this way, if and when God gives me a husband, I will treat it as the gift it is, rather than with the impatience of something that has been due me.

Know Everything About Sex?

I don't think you do.

Simplicity In Technology

This is my entire Humanities presentation. Beautiful, no?

Le Fleurs

Spring has sprung... Along with the Princess Bride.

"The SOD has spoken!!" ;P

New Toys

We switched our cell phones from Verizon to Cingular. So I went from my Samsung SCH-A950 to a Samsung SGH-A707, which is "much more better" (in the words of our favorite captain).
Also, while I was there, I bought this wireless headset, which I find practically indispensable. It is absolutely beautiful, and the fact that it's Bluetooth means it was made for Freedom. ;)

I Believe I Need Some Alone Time

"Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available." - Gregory Benford

While not applying to romance, this describes my Humanities class utterly and completely.

*sigh* Can I just leave the world and go off with God for a couple of years? I'm a bit fed up with the rest of humanity at the moment. Researching abortion for a grand school report does not improve my sentiments on my fellow man, either. I could do a half-decent job by my opinions and likely still get an A from public school teachers.

I'm so tired. Mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually exhausted. I want to curl up and rest in the arms of my God.

*sigh*

I Love Thursday Nights

Mom is usually up cooking tasty stuff for her cooking class, which she teaches Friday mornings. Right now the house smells like yellow cake - the really, really good homemade kind.

I don't smell too badly, either... this helps.

I despise Maya food bars. They're disgusting. I much prefer Clif bars, which are quite yummy.

Randomosity occurs upon bedtime newfoundland.

Just Killing Time

I kill it. I kill it DEAD.

Check this out:
--> http://www.conservativestudent.org/

And I rented both Good Burger and King Kong to watch later... but I forgot to rent Sky High.

The first one is for laughs, the second one for Adrian Brody, because I <3 him. Because, um, he's a great actor, of course. The third one because I just like it.

I'm very, very tired of the Disney channel. Or any television at all, for that matter. I find it an entirely disposable medium... except for the show Heroes. Which I can get online, so it's still disposable.
Can I just be tired of life in general? Because that's how I feel.

Maybe I should go eat something.

In Vancouver

^ That's Janae, the girl that I'm staying with.

We went to the Farmer's Market here. I LOVE farmer's markets. *happiness!*

Bookstore Stop

You know, this company reminds me a little of NotW. Which I happen to like way better, anyway.

Drawing Class Assignment

We're supposed to draw a flower with something hidden in the center. I chose an orchid.

At the Oregon Coast Aquarium

This wasn't here last time I was here. It's utterly awesome.