Friday, September 28, 2012

Philosophic Question

In general I try to stay away from what I call "conventional philosophy." I don't think anything you can use to help you through life is going to be conventional. But there's one conventional question that's had me thinking for a few years, and it's this: if there's a sound that nobody hears, is it still a sound or is it a mere noise?

Well, my gut feeling has been yes, of course it's still a sound. I couldn't really explain why I thought that. I had a few ideas - for example, is the mere presence of humans enough to change what is? Humanity may be the crown of creation, but we're not powerful enough to change the truth. Anyway, long story short, I found an idea in a poem by Bryant, the Father of American Poetry. He wrote one poem called The Yellow Violet. One thing he says to this violet is that even if he is the only one to see it - even if no one ever sees it - it's still beautiful. So then - is a sound no one hears still a sound? Is beauty no one sees still beauty?

Is honor no one perceives still honor? Is courage no one recognizes still courage? Is righteousness no one praised still right? Is the sacrifice made by an unnamed soldier less noteworthy because it was never noted? Does human observation really change the value of something? No. Of course it doesn't.

In closing, if anyone has anything to say on this subject, please make a comment below. I really want to hear what you think.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

What Do You Know!

The title above applies to two separate topics. First, of course, the Seahawks!! Way to beat the Packers! I know, I know, everybody's saying the last Hail Mary was a bad call by the refs, but I still say the Seahawks won it fair and square. The play before the Hail Mary was an awful call by the refs - if they had called that one right, the Seahawks would have won a play early. And come on! Aaron Rodgers was sacked nine times! That's outlandish!

Secondly, more movies. Mom's final package of movies arrived today, and among them were Curse of the Black Pearl, which I haven't seen in at least five years, and Dead Man's Chest, which I've never seen. I have seen At World's End, so I know all about Davy Jones and Calypso (by the way, I dislike her fiercely! Ten years and she couldn't even be bothered to be there???? But I love the movie. After all, part of a good story is having a person to really hate. But I kinda like Davy Jones. For ten years -loyalty in the extreme. When he is briefly shown in his human form, he would be a really handsome man if he just shaved. But enough of that.) I remember not liking Pirates at all when I was about twelve. Now the movies are the next best thing to Narnia, which is the next best thing to Lord of the Rings. Movie wise, anyway. If you were talking just basic stories, Harry Potter would be in there somewhere between Pirates and Lord of the Rings. Those movies aren't as good as they could be, though, so movie-wise they're somewhere below Last of the Mohicans. Anyway, thanks again to my Mom for sending the trilogy, even though she's not very fond of Jack Sparrow. Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Random College Stuff

Apparently in college the first few weeks is when everybody breaks up with their old boyfriend/girlfriend and finds a new one. My classmates have already had as many disappointments with boys this year as there were my entire Senior year. Of course, I have more classmates than I did my entire Senior year ... Maybe that's the real reason.

Something else about college is how popular movies are. If you have a movie, you have a bunch of friends whose names you don't even know. And if the dorm television is free, you are in for the time of your week.

And finally ... The most important thing I have to say is ...

Football!
Or, more accurately, the Greenbay Packers vs. the thunderous, wild, back from the brink Seattle Seahawks!! That's tonight, and I am completely excited! And for me, this is a big deal, since I usually don't give a darn about football. But I cannot wait to watch my home team pummel last year's champions! Of course, if they lose, things will be different, but I am confident in the Seahawks' ability to pull off a win. Go Seahawks!!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Movies

I don't know if you've gotten this vibe from me, but I really like movies. Out here in college with no movie collection, I've been surviving on Netflix. A lot of the stuff on Netflix is good, or at least enjoyable. The thing is that the good ones just aren't going to be on Netflix because they don't have a problem selling elsewhere. So I've gone without any Miss Congeniality, Galaxy Quest, or The Blind Side ever since August 15th.

My wonderful also-movie-loving Mom sent me a bunch of DVD's. Four of them - Galaxy Quest, Men in Black, Miss Congeniality, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - arrived this morning. I am watching Miss Congeniality on the dorm tv, the only one with a dvd player. It's such a nice change from Netflix...

Friday, September 21, 2012

Musings

So I have a question - what does everyone think Graystone will be about?

Graystone is the book that follows Pasadagavra. It takes place after the war with the Darkwoods Foxes has ended. This is all well known. But I wonder what people expect it to be about.

By the way, you won't find any hints in the Quest for Rinaria. 

Pasadagavra left off with many creatures either returning home or going to a new home. Princess Zuryzel's story ended with her wondering about the loyalty of someone close to her. She knows deep down that something odd is happening, and she is ready to face it with her friends there to help. But don't forget the story of another princess - Anamay the river otter. How will their stories be tied together? 

Anybody who has any thoughts, feel free to post them! I look forward to seeing what you think.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Quest for Rinaria (Part II) ~ Hoist Yer Sails

Ahoy, me hearties! Today be national Talk Like a Pirate Day. Because o' that, I felt today be the perfect day to reveal the second part of the tale of Rinaria, legendary city in the Western Seas. To remind ye all, Rinaria had been lost for countless yearrrs, with neither chart nor star to show the way. When Princess Zuryzel discovered written directions to the fabulous city, she gathered to her a group of pirates she trusted to help her find the city.

So without further ado, me hearty brethren of the sea... The Quest for Rinaria: The Riddle!

The Quest for Rinaria 
Part II ~ The Riddle

“This is it?” Ksheygha muttered. “Where are your translations?”
Winterblade lifted the first page to show beneath it a parchment with her translations on it. Ksheygha glanced at them, then returned to examining the original manuscript.
“It’s complete and undamaged,” Winterblade muttered defensively.
Ksheygha nodded, still absorbed in the paper. “Mm. No words missing, either. Nor is it even scrambled up. It just … doesn’t tell anything.”
“Well, that’s why we invited you,” Winterblade growled.
Ksheygha ran her paw beneath the riddles, murmuring the words as she did so:

The mist, the fire, the sea all strive
To keep the hidden Isle alive.
A smoth’ring roar, a poisoned air,
But those who can survive are there.

West past the dragon’s nested clutch,
North through the whale’s eyes,
Then league and league both north and west,
To where the sea-nymphs rise.

Sail in their realm at north and west,
Once here stray neither left nor right.
No sun, nor star, nor moon to guide
Until the Gray Shore is in sight.

Through Gray Water swiftly fly;
Light no fire, trust no ground.
Then up the icy cliff ascend,
And behold the treasured city found.

Sail through a whale’s eye,” Eneng muttered. “That’s lovely.”
Gray water,” Ksheygha muttered. “Gray water … that has to be some kind of swamp. And it’s on the island where Rinaria lies.”
Is this icy cliff liter’ly a cliff of ice?” Korep asked.
What difference does that make?” Eneng snapped.
Korep faced Eneng straight on. “Because it c’d tell us how far north Rinaria is.”
Ksheygha lifted up the other pages – there were six – to find that each one had a drawing. She flipped to the second-to-last, which depicted a tall, barren cliff with what looked like a river running down the middle. “I can’t tell.”
She laid out the first picture, which, presumably, was the dragon’s nested clutch. “Look familiar to anyone?”
About a third of the way up the page was a wavy line, which was presumably the sea. Above it was a collection of strange round mounds. They must have been islands, but there was nothing distinctive about them.
“I’ve never seen that before,” Shartalla murmured quietly. “But I know where it is.”
Korep rolled his paws in a “go on” gesture.
“Or I should say,” Shartalla amended, “I know the places they could be.”
“Before you go on, Shartalla,” Ksheygha interrupted, “there is one thing I want to get straight.”
“Name it,” Dejuday said.
“What do we plan to do with these clues?” Ksheygha demanded. “Are we all going to sail in search of Rinaria?”
“No one c’n stop you if y’ want to,” Eneng pointed out.
“That’s well and good,” Ksheygha snapped. “But I want to know who else is. Before we proceed, I want to know everything I need to know.”
She was right to be cautious. Her captain was an overbearing drunk tyrant, and her crew looked to her to lead them through murky waters. She couldn’t just sail off whenever she pleased the way the others could. Zuryzel knew very well that she would never lead her captain near the treasured city of Rinaria.
Korep, it seemed, knew this as well. “Y’ c’d come onboard Oceanflower,” he suggested. “This voyage might last three months, at most. Yer crew c’n do without y’ for that long, Ksheygha.”
“Will my captain let me?” Ksheygha muttered.
“Come on,” Korep insisted. “Yer captain’s been known t’ stay ashore drinkin’ fer six months. Jus’ tell ’im I gave ye a job offer fer a few months, an’ ’e’ll letcha go.”
Ksheygha smiled wanly at him but spoke to the gathering at large. “Do you all plan to sail after Rinaria?”
“Of course,” muttered Winterblade.
Ksheygha nodded slowly. “Then know that if I cannot come, I will not betray anything that passes here tonight.”
Korep nodded in his turn. “A’right. Shartalla, you were sayin’?”
“What was I sayin’?” Shartalla asked, looking puzzled.
“You know where the dragon’s nested clutch might be,” Zuryzel prodded her.
Shartalla slapped her paw on the table. “Right! When I firs’ came o’er to the Western Ocean, I ’ad my father’s old charts. They were drawn up in the east a long, long time ago. There’s three islands that’re referred to as some kinda dragon on those charts. One of ’em was Ribasco Island; on the charts it was called Wyvern’s Crags. Then there’s Salamander Archipelago, least that’s what it is on the charts. T’day I think it’s called the Scattered Stones Keys. Then there’s Serapis.”
“What’s Serapis?” Zuryzel asked.
“It’s a great ring o’ rock standin’ eighty feet tall in the middle o’ the ocean,” Winterblade murmured. “There’s said t’ be an entrance to the inside, but I’ve sailed round it four or five times. Never seen no entrance.”
“On the old charts,” Shartalla murmured, “it’s marked as the ’ome of a great dragon. It ain’t, though,” she added cheerfully. “I’ve found that entrance, an’ I’ve been inside. But that ain’t important. What is importan’ is that those are the three places in the Western Ocean that c’d be the dragon’s nested clutch.”
“They’re all within ten leagues o’ each other,” Korep observed.
“Three o’ them … we ’ave four ships atween us,” Winterblade murmured. “Five if y’ count Ksheygha’s.”
“But once we set sail, we ain’t got no way o’ communicatin’,” Eneng pointed out. “If one o’ us finds this whale’s eye we gots t’ sail through, how’ll we tell the others?”
This bit of logic left in its wake an irritated silence. Ksheygha frowned at the table, Shartalla glanced around the tavern for inspiration, and Winterblade gave her brother’s paw a fierce kick under the table.
“I have an idea,” Zuryzel said after a few minutes. “You all know Craic, right?”
“Lady Raven’s raven?” Korep clarified. “Yeah, I know him.”
“As do we all,” Ksheygha added.
“He’s at Arashna now,” Zuryzel murmured. “I can ask him to carry messages between ships.”
“He would, too!” Winterblade whispered. “T’ be in one last adventure? ’e’d love it!”
“Don’t say it like that t’ him, ’Blade,” Eneng advised.
“Yeah, I know.”
“I take it then,” Ksheygha murmured, “that Zuryzel and Dejuday are in on this as well?”
“Of course we are,” Dejuday replied, sounding surprised.
“Una too,” Zuryzel added. “After all, she found the clues.”
“So which ship’ll you be on?” Korep asked.
“Shartalla’s, of course,” Zuryzel replied, an amused smile playing on her face.
“An’ the queen’ll give y’ permission for this?” Eneng added.
“We think so,” Dejuday answered.
Zuryzel transferred her gaze to her mug of ale, staring at it contemplatively.
“We sh’d sail early t’morrow,” Korep said quietly. “I’ll sail for Scattered Stones Keys. I know those waters well.”
“I’ll go fer Serapis,” Shartalla added.
“An’ that leaves Ribasco Island fer ’Blade an’ me,” Eneng finished. “We leave at three bells t’morrow – unless Queen Demeda says otherwise fer Zyna an’ Dejuday.”
“There ain’t much more t’ talk about righ’ now,” Shartalla mused. “I ain’t got a clue abou’ the rest o’ this stuff.”
“Me neither,” Winterblade agreed. She rolled the manuscript back up, then stood and said, “G’night fer now. I’ll see ye at the mornin’ tide.”
With that she pulled the hood of her seacloak over her head and started for the door.
“It seems unreal t’ me,” Eneng murmured as he, too, stood to follow his sister out. “That we’ll really be the one’s t’ find it.”
“If it’s still there,” Ksheygha reminded him. “It was abandoned for no known reason, don’t forget. It may have been destroyed by now.”
“Yes,” Zuryzel added, sounding slightly annoyed. “Right at the start of the Dark Ages. What I hope to find out is why it was abandoned when it was needed so badly.”
Ksheygha smiled sadly. “One more mystery that will never be solved,” she said with melancholy. “I’ll see you around. Doubt I’ll be able to sail with you.”
With that she rose and departed like Winterblade, drawing her hood up to hide her face.
Korep waited until she was out the door before he rose. He tossed a coin on the table to pay for his drink and said quickly, “See ye tomorrow.”
He departed more swiftly than the female corsairs, and there was no doubt in Zuryzel’s mind that he was in a hurry to talk with Ksheygha.
“We do need ’er,” Eneng said reluctantly. “She knows more about the seas ’n any of us. But I’ll take my leave, too, an’ go get ready t’ sail.”
Shartalla drained her drink as he left. “Zyna,” she murmured, “yer mother. Yer sure she’ll give ’er consent? I wouln’ blame ’er if she didn’.”
“She will,” Zuryzel replied confidently. “She trusts me.”
Shartalla smiled. “It’ll be jus’ like in the Darkwoods war,” she reminisced. “When we wen’ trackin Poison’s army up inter Zinnta’s territory. Remember?”
“Yeah,” Zuryzel replied nostalgically. “It was a great time.” She glanced at the faces of her mate and her best friend. “But I think we three have adventures ahead of us that will far surpass those behind us.”
Dejuday extended his paw, palm down. “Here’s to adventures ahead.”
Zuryzel put her paw on top of his. “A long road lined with trials and adulations.”
Shartalla put her paw on top of Zuryzel’s. “An’ seas that’re never still.”

Korep caught up with Ksheygha before she hit the jetty. “Ksheygha! Wait!”
She hesitated, but she turned to face him. “Yes, Korep?”
“You gotta come,” Korep insisted. “Ksheygha, y’ can’t let yer captain think ’e commands the seas inside you.”
“Korep,” Ksheygha said sternly, “in my life I’ve learned not to expect much good. Then you’re never disappointed.”
“That don’t mean y’ can’t hope for it,” Korep insisted. “Ksheygha, please.”
“You hope, Korep,” Ksheygha said levelly. “And I will try. I will try with all my might. But I will not expect much, and I don’t see how you can.”
“I expect much because I got faith in you,” Korep replied quietly.
Ksheygha didn’t reply. She merely swept onto the jetty and started for her own ship.

The sun was bright and clear the next day, and the sea sparkled like so many diamonds. There was a brisk wind that blew Zuryzel’s fur flat. It was the kind of day that lured pirates and mercenaries to the sea. The jetty – a long wood-and-stone construction – was as busy as usual, with pirates scurrying every which way. The smell of salt and sand flooded the air, and the cries of seabirds wheeling overhead set fire in the hearts of all sailors.
Korep looked towards Wideprow every five minutes. But he saw no sign of Ksheygha coming. He delayed shoving off for as long as he could, checking and rechecking his charts, examining the supplies aboard his ship. He checked that the ballistae were working perfectly – as if they would be needed on this voyage anyway – and made double sure that the copy of the clues Winterblade had made for him were stashed safely in his cabin.
But when he could delay no longer, he said to his bosun, “It’s time t’ sail.”
The crew had just hauled up the ladders that led to the jetty and were about to cast off the lines when he heard a shout. “Ahoy, Oceanflower!
Korep leaned over the side and saw Ksheygha hurrying along the jetty toward his ship. She stopped directly beneath him, her face upturned.
“Captain let you come along after all?” he grinned, extending a paw toward her.
“On one condition,” she said firmly. “I have to be back aboard Wideprow before three months are out. Your word on that, Korep.”
“You have my word, Ksheygha,” he replied.
She grasped his paw and he pulled her over the side. Then he turned back to his bosun. “Shove off!” he called, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice.
Shartalla’s magnificent ship, the Wynraser, was ready to go long before Oceanflower was. Shartalla hung around only long enough to ascertain that Ksheygha had indeed agreed to come along. As soon as she saw the ferret board Oceanflower, she strode along the deck of her ship joyfully shouting out commands to leave.
“Cast off!” her voice carried jubilantly across the Wynraser. “Loose the sails! Pull up the bumpers! Helm, two points to starboard!”
There was a lurch as the Wynraser dipped and turned at the same time. Una, Zuryzel and Dejuday grabbed the railing, but the sharp motion sent a thrill through all of Shartalla’s crew. They were sailing on a fine seas, and their delight was more infectious than the sea itself.
Craic the raven sat perched on the railing beside Zuryzel’s paw. “Ah, Zuryzel,” Craic murmured. “How much Lady Raven wished she could sail on this voyage.”
Zuryzel sighed. “I want to know why Rinaria was abandoned,” she murmured.
“As did she,” Craic agreed. “I am glad that someone is finally setting out to find the answers she yearned for.”
Zuryzel lifted her face to the breeze. There was another lurch as Wynraser left the harbor and hit the open sea. This time she didn’t have to grab for the railing. The thrill of adventure raced through her from nose to tail tip.
And now it begins, she thought, laughing aloud.




Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Thomas Paine

I have two things to say about the Great Propagandist. At least, that's what I'm planning on right now. It may very well turn into a lot more than two things.

First I'll start with the item that sounds like complaining but isn't - or at least, it's no one's fault but my own. For my American Lit class, we have to write a research paper on an American pre-Civil War author. My first choice was James Fennimore Cooper, author of Last of the Mohicans. Then I read an excerpt from one of his other stories, which is in my Lit book. And... no. I don't like his style of writing at all. So my second choice was Thomas Paine. Cool choice, right? I mean, COME ON - not only did he write eloquently with "lofty language," but he wasn't a-freaking-fraid of offending people!! Then, right after I got my request for Thomas Paine approved by my professor, a thought comes to me. Lewis and Clark are authors. They wrote their exploration journals. That's literature! That's definitely pre-Civil War! Moreover, they were the first people to map my dear Pacific Northwest. They're right up my alley. Nobody else is doing Lewis and Clark. I wish I'd thought of this before the due date...

As I said, no one's fault but mine.

My second thing is this. Ironically, we covered Thomas Paine in my Lit class this morning, and while I had known a bit about what the guy wrote, I learned a lot about him. He was a loser in England - divorced, jailed, drunk a lot, no reputation, and almost broke. When he met Benjamin Franklin (my professor speculates they met in a bar) and Franklin wrote him a letter of recommendation, he turned his life around, sailed to America, and went on to be an inspiration behind the whole war. That's the kind of story novels are made of. Does anybody know about a historical fiction novel focusing on Thomas Paine? I might just have to read it.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Young Falcon

A lot of people have told me that there's nothing new under the sun, and Mortimer Adler said in How to Read a Book that there are some plots that have been done to death.

Young Falcon was not, repeat NOT, one of them.

A general idea in Elizabeth Anne McKinney's book is this concept of back from the brink. Humankind was thought to be extinct, a fairy tale, no longer worthy of concern, and all at once they're back wrecking an epic revenge. Back from the brink has not been done enough, which is too bad because it is an epic way of telling a story.

Another thing I loved about Elizabeth's book is that her characters are fabulous. The likability of characters is super important to me - most particularly that the good characters be good and the bad characters be bad, not complicated with depressing childhoods. Another really important thing is that they characters come alive, and Elizabeth's characters really do come alive. Veryan is my favorite character for two reasons: first that he was bullied in his troop of soldiers and he had a depressing (possibly abusive) childhood and was still heroic, and also because he really just jumped off the page. All the characters seemed to do that. If there was one thing I didn't like it was that Elysia was just a little wishy-washy. She needed a little more grit - but then, from another perspective, the other characters had more than enough grit to make up for her. And besides, she was no coward but was downright admirable. It's so great to find a main character that's actually likeable!

So now that I'm almost done with my unconventional book review, I would just like to say - well done, Elizabeth. Five stars!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Haunted House

I know, it's a little early to be posting about haunted houses, since it's not even October yet. In my defense, there are people talking about playing Christmas music during our jamming sessions, and I'm not one of them. Not that I object to Christmas music - I love it. I just don't think it's wise to be jamming it in the middle of September.

Anyway, back to the haunted houses. I actually don't mind the things. I think they're kinda cool. Therre is, however, one thing I remember vividly about each one, and it's not the darkness, or the gore, or anything else like that. It's the fact that every time I go into one with a friend, they always end up grabbing my arm and hiding behind me. This turns the place less into a haunted house and more of a house of laughs. I remember one time the person who really, really, REALLY freaked my friend out was a security guard standing at the entrance. If I'd had a camera on my phone, that would have gone on Facebook.

The reason I'm musing about haunted houses is that there's a corridor in my school called the Nun Run. Basically a very creepy hallway where a few nuns were rumored to have killed themselves back when this school was a convent. Somebody took me, a very calm guy named Adam, and my easily excited friend Emily to the Nun Run last night. We didn't actually go in it, but when we returned to the jamming session, we found it deserted except for a friend's iPad. It was playing creepy music and had a picture of a nun on it.

Did not scare me, Tom and Sarah. Not at all.  I can't vouch for Emily, though...

Friday, September 14, 2012

US Embassies Under Fire

US embassies and other western buildings have been attacked in Libya, Cairo, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia, and LondonRemember to keep those people in your prayers and thoughts. 

For more information regarding the attacks, I recommend either Fox News website or Twitcy.com. Those are giving the best coverage.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

What The Heck Happened?????!!!!!!!!

I like to think of myself, if not as a fighter, at least as someone who admires and respects those who fight for what is right. I have the utmost respect for those who stand up for freedom in the face of tyranny and don't back down. Something I like to think has come out in my books.

Something else that has come out in my books is that I am most definitely old-fashioned. I do not hold onto the modern definitions of "tolerance," of "tyranny," of "oppression," and especially not of "standing for what's right." Let me just say right now that right and wrong NEVER CHANGE!! No matter what the person, belief, century, needs, wishes, or culture may say, right and wrong are above all these things. So in other words, what was wrong in sixteenth century England is still wrong in twenty-first century America.

Another phrase that seems to have changed over time is "freedom of speech." Like I said -- I'm old-fashioned. I believe in the First Amendment the same way the Founding Fathers wrote it. It means I can say whatever I choose, whether or not it offends somebody or "hurts their feelings," and no one has the right to persecute me for saying that. I can say that all blonds are stupid and should be eliminated from the voting process (which, by the way, I don't believe) and the government cannot stop me from saying that, no matter how bigotted it is. That doesn't mean I should say it, because it is wrong, but my point is that I can say it and the government can't stop me. Moreover, the population of the United States can yell back at me how wrong I am, because that's the freedom of speech. They can use reason or rage, they can talk calmly or shout at me, and the government cannot stop them because they have the right to say all of this.

They do not, however, have the right to riot, hurt, steal, or kill because I said this. Nor do have the right to storm embassies and kill diplomats, no matter how many feelings were hurt. The government most definitely can stop them from rioting. So why didn't they?

Yesterday (on 9/11, no less!) a group of Muslim fanatics stormed the US Embassy in Cairo. They tore down the American flag and replaced it with a flag bearing an Islamic slogan. They did all of this because of a video that had a picture of their prophet in it. And the Embassy's response? They apologized to the mob! Then they issued a statement along the lines of, "We will not condone bigotry." A pretty clear underlying message is that the movie (which did not storm any embassies or kill any people or tear down any flags) was bigotry and the mob was allowed to kick and scream until they got their way. And on 9/11!! Earlier this morning another mob stormed the American Embassy in Libya and killed the ambassador and several other people. So far there hasn't been any better response than to the mob in Cairo.

Why is nobody standing up for America anymore??? When did America go from being a wonderful nation and a beacon of liberty to an embarrassment? I know America is still the best country on earth because so many thousands of people fight so hard to get here every year. They wouldn't do that if America wasn't better than the place they left. But everywhere the people in power are apologizing for America! And on 9/11! On 9/11 America apologized to the very ideals that led terrorists to fly their planes into the World Trade Center. Why did they not stand up for America? Why did they belittle the country that men and women die for overseas? Why did they show so much disrespect to the people who died on 9/11? People in government, get some guts and stand up for America already!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Outdoor Movie Night

Needless to say there aren't too many outdoor movie nights in Seattle. It rains every time one gets planned without fail. Somehow I didn't expect the same thing to happen in Milwaukee, too. I mean, I know this week has had lots of rain - we even had a thunderstorm Tuesday night - and it's certainly been cloudy every morning. I don't mind it at all, but there are some people walking around in rainboots with big umbrellas. I tell my midwest friends that this is what Washington is like from September 29 to July 5 - cloudy with little bursts of rain. They all say how glad they are not to live there. Anyway, it rained enough today that the outdoor movie, which happens to be Snow White and the Huntsman, got moved inside to the Underground. I am REALLY not complaining, because I love the Underground. I also spent most of the summer trying to get to see Snow White and the Huntsman, so the chance to see it for free is pretty epic.

Earlier today one of my suitemates came over because she was bored. We watched clips of Messy Mondays for about an hour. For those who don't know, Messy Mondays is something done by a college student. He does this comedy thing every Monday and puts it up on YouTube. I absolutely love his comedies - not only are they clean and still funny, but you can glean something from them too. He does a lot about dating, I've noticed, and it's something I think all teens should check out. The guy's pretty smart, and he knows how to make people laugh. That's something a lot of people seem to need these days.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Great Movies

For my honor's class in college, I have to read a book entitled How to Read a Book.

I know, the title sounds dubious, but it actually isn't too redundant. It explains how to read a book in order to gain understanding -- not knowledge, but understanding. Anyway, it talks a lot about bad books, good books, and great books. I really don't think I'd agree with the authors about what great books are, but it's really got me thinking.

I figured you can apply the great principle to movies, too. Lord of the Rings definitely falls into the category of great movies. So does the Chronicles of Narnia. Just about everybody I've talked to agrees with me on that. But one movie that almost no one I've talked to here at WLC has seen that I think is a great movie is Last of the Mohicans. That movie is fabulous (and not just because Eric Schweig, who plays Uncas, is very good-looking.) That movie has fantastic fight scenes and great music.

The thing is that it is a very intense movie. You have to watch it all the way through or it will drive you crazy.

I discovered that I can watch Netflix stuff on my iPad, and I found the movie and began watching it Friday night. It was getting right to the ante-climax (or the part right before the climax -- I made that up, so I don't know if ante-climax is a real term) when all of a sudden the movie disappeared. Frustrated, I went back to look for it, but it was gone from Netflix!

I'm sure some of you figured it out sooner than I did. As far as I can tell, Netflix rents its movies on a monthly basis. Friday night at midnight, it went from August to September. Last of the Mohicans is not available this month. GRRRR!

Thank goodness one of my friends let me borrow the DVD to finish watching it. As soon as I can get to a movie store somewhere, I am buying that movie. (Or Blu-ray, if it has Blu-ray. That way I can leave the Blu-ray with my parents and take the DVD to college.)

So, anybody who would like to add to the list of great movies, make a comment under this post!