The Thirty-Sixth One

I posted exactly three times last year. If I beat that by one this year, that means I'm at least posting quarterly! Here goes nothing.

In honor of this being the first post of 2012, AND since it's still January, I thought I'd post, not my resolutions, but my "manifesto." You read that right, I have a manifesto.

I cannot take credit for the idea, I found a post on Pinterest and simply made my own. I had a lot of fun writing it. It's specific enough that I'll know whether or not I've accomplished anything in twelve months, but it's vague enough that it's not just a checklist of achievement (something I've never been great at long term...).

When it comes to design of any kind, I am hardly a professional (or even an accomplished amateur). If you would like to see a great one, here is the original that inspired mine.

Happy 2012 everyone!! Have fun, and God bless.

The Thirty-Fifth One

or, Everything's Coming Up Hawaii!

Everything in my life is pointing to Hawaii.

1.  My cousin and his beautiful family moved there a couple years ago.
2. My mother and grandmother went to visit them.
3. The parents of a good friend moved there.
4. The new Hawaii 5-0 came out this year.
5. There was a faculty luau.
6. The baccalaureate was luau-themed
7. Multiple facebook friends have visited Hawaii in the last few months.

Because of all this, I have decided that my mother and I should visit Hawaii ourselves. So now I'm planning one for next year. And by planning I mean I am now saving my money. In honor of this decision I give you the following list:

Things that make me think of Hawaii (other than the people I know that live there)

1. This episode from Adventures in Odyssey. I listened to this radio program almost every night growing up. I would watch the time waiting for. The whole family (sometimes) would sit around the radio listening to it. It was wonderful, and the episodes when the Barclays and the Rathbones went on vacation to Hawaii together are some of my favorites of all time.

2. The Tick is another remnant of my childhood. You can trace this show (as with almost any cartoon I watched as a kid) to my father. He was a HUGE Tick fan ("SPOOOON!"). And this is a family-favorite episode featuring guest-stars: The American Maid, Yank the Space-Monkey, and Pineapple Pokopo.

3. The new Hawaii 5-0 series. Gratuitous violence, lots of explosions, and a complete ignorance and disdain for the US legal system and criminal rights. It surprised me how much I liked this show considering the similarities with another CBS show that I despise with the depths of my soul: CSI: Miami. I figure it's probably because of the cast. Scott Caan and company are delightful and know when to take themselves not-so-seriously. David Caruso and his people, however, are more than a little ridiculous. Freaking Horatio Caine.

4. Lilo and Stitch



5. When I was a kid, my family had certain tapes that we would listen to every Christmas. One of these tapes had this song on it. Isn't it just so charming?





the end

The Thirty-Fourth One

Netflix has deepened my addiction to movies. And so I offer up a few reviews of movies I have recently seen. As I look over this list, I realize that there is nothing particularly deep or enlightening about any of them. Really, these movies could be labeled "just-for-the-heck-of-it."

I am a self-proclaimed M. Night Shyamalan (if only I could learn to spell his name without looking it up) fan. But until recently I had never seen Lady in the Water or The Happening. Netflix was able to provide with both.

Before I had ever seen Lady in the Water, starring Bryce Dallas Howard from M. Night's The Village and Paul Giamatti, I had been told that it just wasn't very good. I was used to this when it came to movies by Shyamalan. In fact, just a few days ago I was openly ridiculed for liking any of his movies other than The Sixth Sense. But with Lady even other fans were shaking their heads in disappointment. This is probably why it took me five years to get around to watching it. And frankly, I don't understand what everyone's problem is.

Alright, it's not as good as his other stuff, not by a long shot, but I thought the plot, if not completely compelling, had a lot going for it. It was a sweet story centered around finding your place in the world and discovering who are. If anything, the worst part was that the movie had way too much exposition (show, don't tell!) which is a little ironic considering the main character used literary analysis to figure things out.

So, not his best, but certainly not terrible. Will I watch it again? Probably. Will I buy it? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Only to certain people.

The Happening had a lot going for it, not the least of which were its stars Zooey Deschanel, Mark (say "hi" to your mother for me) Wahlberg, and John Leguizamo. The story was at times genuinely disturbing and other times absolutely terrifying. [possible SPOILERS ahead] It turned out to be a natural disaster film that went an alternate route. Instead of following the scientists and professionals that would save the world from whatever was happening, it followed ordinary people just trying to survive what was happening. Perhaps the most terrifying part of the movie was the fact that no one really had any idea what was going on for most of it, they just knew they had to get away.

Alright, the acting wasn't the greatest (despite the big names) and the dialogue was a little sketchy at times, but I think overall M. Night has a pretty good grasp on human nature and human reactions.

The worst part was probably that it turned out to be a pretty heavy-handed message about the evils humanity is inflicting on the world.

Creepy fact: according to a friend of mine, there are actually trees that can emit some sort of scent or pollon or something that makes giraffes not want to eat them. Or something like that.

Conclusion: Will I watch it again? If the opportunity presents itself without me having to pay for it? definitely. Will I buy it? Doubtful. Will I graciously accept it as a gift from someone? Absolutely. Again, not a great movie, but I don't know why everyone was so down on it. Lighten up.

I am a ridiculously huge fan of gratuitous action flicks, and The Transporter did not disappoint. I would own this and watch it to death. One of my new action favorites. Thank you Jason Statham.

Despite its producer's assurance that the supporting characters were much better developed in this film, they apparently sacrificed plot for character development. Not nearly as good or as fun as the first one. But that kid: adorable. And Jason Statham, it is always a pleasure.

Except in this movie. I can't believe there are sequels to this. What a terrible movie.

The Thirty-Third One

... or "things that make me wish I did more cooking/baking." Seriously, these are the things that make me think "if I had that, I WOULD cook more." I know myself well enough to know THAT'S not true, but it doesn't make these little gems any less delightful or fun.

Seriously. If I owned these things I would cook more.

The Thirty-Second One

Too fun.

The Thirty-First One

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

The Thirtieth One

I can't believe it's taken me almost three years to blog thirty times.
At any rate, continuing on from post #28:

My Childhood in Stories

pt. 2

All the books mentioned in this post were part of "Story Time" in my house. My parents boldly home-schooled us all which meant we could move at whatever pace we (they) wanted or needed. Often in the morning we would begin with Story Time. Mom would gather us in the living room, during the winter we would fight over the heating vents, and then when we were all settled she would read to us.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

We read through all nine books in the series. These series probably began my love for all things western, even if the books themselves are not technically westerns. I delighted in hearing about the country before it was settled, the traditions of the families that first settled the area and the hardships they faced. It was fascinating to me that the place I was living at the time was roughly the same place that Laura and her family lived in the books.

Every year for a few years we had the opportunity to spend a day living like the settlers lived. One year we celebrated Christmas as they would have, another we spent a day in a one-room schoolhouse. For me, this experience did not make the past come alive, it made these books come alive. The books had already made history real for me.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

My list of stories is teeming with different series, but no book list of mine would be complete without these. They are delightful. They inspired my imagination and appealed to the part of me that still believed in fairytales. They brought Biblical stories and principles alive in ways that only truly vivid and thorough allegories can; at the same time Lewis created stories that exist and live on their own, allowing people of all backgrounds to be just as inspired as I was.

We read through these books as a family at least once, and I read through them myself at least twice. We had this set books, which are apparently sort of collectors items. My personal favorites are The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Magician's Nephew (because I have always been a sucker for an origin story). My mom, however is partial to The Silver Chair about which I cannot remember a thing despite having it read to me and reading it myself.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien

These books were probably the most ambitious books my mom chose to read to us. In these books, Tolkien created an entire world, multiple cultures and societies and mythologies that sucked me in and left we with the same awe of elves that Gimli had. I treasured these stories, although to be honest I went many years thinking I had only ever heard The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Rings. In my memory we got to the end of Fellowship and Mom needed a break, so we read something else and never returned to them. Mom maintains, however, that she made it through all three books of TLoTR. She may be right, but when the movies came out, I was still surprised by the second and third.

Even as a youngster, aside from the elves, my absolute favorite character was Boromir. I related to his weakness and admired his strength and fortitude (not surprisingly, my favorite apostle is Peter). Personally, I believe that Sean Bean was perfect as Boromir in the movies, no other character or actor moved me like he did.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

I don't know how Mom found these stories, but they thrilled us kids to the extent that my younger brother Charlie actually requested them as a present one year. Each book consists of short stories divided into different chapters, and each chapter focuses on one child or group of children who have a specific problems (usually with their parents). My personal favorite is the "I-thought-you-said" kids who had problems listening. Inevitably trouble at home would lead the parents of these delinquent kids to give Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle a callMrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the beloved old lady that lives in the upside-down house or on the wacky farm depending on which book you read. She loves and understands children, they in turn love her, and their parents (if you can believe it) love her even more.