Why oh why...

...Would the BigRedHammer write two posts in one day? Well, because this deserves blogging!

Those of you who know me well know that I don't mind repetition in songs. I love electronica music and repetition is paramount to that. I also enjoy internet phenomena such as "the hampster dance, the Star Wars kid, etc." Well, both of these beautiful things have come together at last. I warn you now that this will take repetition to a *new* level.

Please go to each of these sites in order:

Badgers! - The classic

Potter! - Always wanted more Harry?

Zombie! - For the living impaired

Aragorn! When the elves fail

Santa! The Jolly Old Elf has been replaced

Wikipedia! Pay special attention 4th paragraph. Someone has *too* much time!

I've had badger playing in the background for 15 minutes now. I think the original is my favorite. If you listen to (at least) the original Badger... the word "badger" seems to morph into the word "magic". Also of interest, follow the link to inherently funny word on the wikipedia article. Now I should have successfully dislodged any song you had stuck in your head with my new earworm. And if you're wondering what an earworm is... go *here*

Star Trek musings

Well, for some reason I'm in the mood for Trek tonight. Well, I want to watch a Star Trek movie... but none of them interest me. So I looked up info on the "next" movie on Yahoo. That kept me happy for a little bit. Then I started checking up on my old Star Trek rpg. I didn't recognize any names on the crew.

So anyway, here are some of my ideas on Star Trek.

My idea has always been to have a non-UFP based series. At first I thought Klingons... but I scrapped that for two reasons. I don't find Klingons that interesting as a species. There isn't much in way of Klingon diversity of personality. Second, it would be hell for the makeup artists to put Klingon makeup on every character for every episode. So I came up with the Romulans. I never really considered Romulans as very much in the Trek world until I saw Nemesis. But face it, they're devious, intriguing, sneaky, emotional and multi-faceted. They take minimal makeup and costuming as well.
It would be fantastic to see the inner workings of the Romulan Empire. How are they coping with the fall of Shinzon? The Romulan-Vulcan unification movement, the awful Federation, etc.? There's so many possibilities. Now I think this could work for a movie too. The way I see it, we either need a spectacular movie and then follow it up with a great series or vice versa. I think a Romulan series would do better than a movie, but I'll take either! I miss watching Trek.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Saturday, I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Let me tell you, it was wonderful. As a child or preteen I had read the books after seeing the BBC series based on the books. I really was captured by the magical world and the religious influence in the books. I figured out that Aslan represented the Savior and I thought I was the only one who I had guessed. lol.

The wonderful thing about the movie, was that it stayed true to the magic of the books. The religious nature was subtle. The story was strong and the characters were interesting and you could relate to them. I think it was a beautiful adaptation. I hope that this movie will do very well in the box offices so that we can be sure the other movies will be made. I read in some article that Narnia has the second place record for ticket sales on a December weekend. *eyeroll* I don't know what that even means. Narnia has number one spot for a movie released during a new moon and peanut sales are up. Anyway, it is an excellent movie and it is definitely worth seeing many times.

**Stop reading if you haven't seen the movie**

The thing I would have changed in the movie:

Aslan is a wild lion. Yes, he is gentle and good. But there needs to be a little bit of fear when you're interacting with him. When you are bad, you could expect a scolding on one side and being eaten on the other. Aslan is just and you will only get what you deserve, but he is not a tame lion. If you haven't read the books, it's very hard to explain. In the movie, he seemed only tame. You never feared him in the least.

Special mention:

Lucy really stole the show. Her cute, child-like wonder and precocious wit really stole the show. Her acting was superb. And her smile really lit up the screen. I'm glad that we get to see Lucy throughout the series. Wow.

The White Witch was equally impressive. Her single-minded determination shown from the screen. Once she set her eyes on some goal, she worked towards it and removed everything in her path. This fits perfectly with what we know about the Queen from the other books in the Chronicles. She inspired fear because of her ability to accomplish whatever she wanted.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was my eight year anniversary of when I entered the Missionary Training Center. Wow. How time has flown. It's interesting, I look back at that time... Back then I thought I was this intelligent, wise adult. Being a typical teenager, I thought I knew everything. I remember making fun of things I didn't understand. I also had weird coping strategies for the stresses of the MTC. My MTC district can attest to that. lol

In four days I'll celebrate my sixth anniversary of arriving home. I remember that well too. I remember walking off the plane and meeting all my family and relatives at the airport. Everyone had grown so much. Little cousins and nephews were no longer so little. It was very overwhelming. I remember telling my mom that I really wanted to cry but that the tears weren't coming at all. Then we walked into the parking garage and I'm sure my eyes nearly bugged out. The cars were all so *HUGE*. I remember thinking how rich Americans were. Driving home I was wondering why everyone was yelling. Everyone speaks so much louder here than in Romania. When I first watched TV I was amazed at how fast people talked and things happened. On Simpsons, people would walk in the room, speedily say something, leave and then the scene would change. Wow, it would just blur by. I came home on the 15th of December. I don't even remember that Christmas. I wasn't ready and I was in full culture shock. My mom said I didn't really leave that "weirdness" until I got back from my return visit to Romania in August the following year.

Hehehe, I'll stop the reminiscing now... I didn't say a thing about the two amazing years between then. That's a whole 'nother 100 blog posts.

Merry Christmas!!

BigRedHammer Indicted in Murder Case

Yes... I've been indicted again. I can't seem to keep myself away from these "shady dealings". It seems I like to hang out with suspected murderers. I actually wish it was me... I'm never the murderer! Thanks to Kate and Gill for hosting another excellent Murder Mystery! We had a lot of fun. This Murder was a convoluted family affair. I could have won an entire English estate. Sadly, I was happy just buying it from some other heir. Dang.

Christmas Tree OR Holiday Tree

So I just read about the most ridiculous thing I've heard in awhile. Let me preface this by saying I am distinctly 'anti-pc' or political correctness when it comes to the English language. I receive mail from my mail man no matter his gender. Anyway, back to the story.

In many places across the country, there are tree lighting ceremonies for cities. And in order not to be offensive, some of these cities have begun to call their trees "Holiday Trees". So stupid.

"Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, a legal group that focuses on religious issues, said the mayor's use of 'Christmas tree' means there's no need to go to court over the issue. His group's Christmas campaign aims to stop what it views as religious censorship and 'political correctness run amok.' It is endorsed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
'It's like calling a menorah a candlestick,' Staver said. 'It's wrong. It's offensive. And it disenfranchises a large segment of the community.'"

I agree with Mr. Staver. It is offensive. If there are people out there who are offended by the term "Christmas tree", they need to reevaluate themselves. By definition a Christmas tree is: "An evergreen or artificial tree decorated, as with lights and ornaments, during the Christmas season. " That's how it's defined by the dictionary. So let's call it what it is. None of this PC crap to try to placate those PC thugs among us.

Getting to know me...

I copied this idea from my good friend Amy. You can see her answers and blog at the PSRaT link on the right. Enjoy getting to know me better.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 10:30
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls, I guess
3. What was the last movie you watched? Return to Oz
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Simpsons and Family Guy
5. What did you have for breakfast? Good question
6. What is your middle name? Roy
7. What is your favorite food? Lasagna
8. What foods do you dislike? Coleslaw, Au gratin potatoes
9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Vinegar
10.What is in your CD player right now? A mix of techno songs I’ve made
11. What kind of car do you drive? none
12. Favorite sandwich? Sweet Onion Teriyaki at Subway
13. What characteristic do you despise? Boring people
14. Favorite item of clothing? My “I have candy” t-shirt
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Back to Romania, by way of England and Italy.
16. What color is your bathroom? Beige mostly
17. Favorite brand of clothing? Aeropostale and Hollister
18. Where would you retire? Somewhere warm with a short winter, California perhaps.
19. Favorite time of the day? Summer nights
20. What was your most memorable birthday? Mmmm… good question. They’re all good.
21. Where were you born? Yakota Air Force Base, Tokyo, Japan
22. Favorite sport to watch? I don’t watch sports. But basketball is good.
23. What kind of desert or treat could you go for right now? Chocolate cupcakes sound good.
24. How tall are you? 6'
25. What fabric detergent do you use? Western Family Economy with bleach
26. Coke or Pepsi? 90/10 Pink lemonade and Sprite
27. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night owl. I can be a morning person too if I need to be, but if left to my druthers I will stay up late.
28. What is your shoe size? 10.5
29. Do you have any pets? Not allowed. However, I’d like to have a cat and a dog
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family & friends? I’m pregnant.
31. What did you want to be when you were little? A pediatrician
32. Favorite Holiday? Christmas, it’s a time full of love, memories and traditions.
33. Do you consider yourself political? Yes. Registered Republican voter
34. Do you consider yourself religious? Very much so.
35. What is the latest book you have read? “Prey” by Michael Crichton

A different perspective

"Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare -- at least with photography," C. S. Lewis wrote.

"Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) would be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan would be, to me, blasphemy."

Another One Bites the Dust

The BigRedHammer puts on his black mourning clothes. My good friend is dying. He gave me the gift of movies and music for free. We only knew each other several years, but it was a good friendship. I'll miss dear Kazaa very much.

For those of you who are in the dark:

The operators of the Kazaa file-sharing service have until December 5 to update their software with a filter to screen out copyrighted material or else face the rospect of being shut down.
The filter will prevent users from trading files containing 3000 keywords selected by record companies, including the names of popular artists and songs. The filter can be updated every two weeks to include the latest and most popular releases, the international Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a statement.

But in the battle of pirates versus the media industry, you can expect to have casualties. We've lost Audio Galaxy, Kazaa, Napster, among others. But the good thing is I've already moved on to LimeWire Pro. It actually is a much better system than Kazaa. I have no doubt that it eventually will fall to the evil lawyers too. So keep your eyes out for more P2P programs.

BigRedHammer throws his rose onto Kazaa's grave.

Saturday!

Yesterday was an excellent day! That morning my friend Aaron came over. We were planning to play Capcom vs SNK (which is a Street Fighting-esque game). But we ended up watching The Goonies instead. I'd never seen it before. It's a fun movie. I imagine it would have been especially nice as a 10 year old boy. We made some lunch and then I headed to work. I was only scheduled for three hours, but I ended up only having to work two hours. They sent us home early. That made me very happy. I would have enough time to make my scalloped potatoes for the Murder Mystery. So yes, I went to a Murder Mystery. I was Rogan S. Coundrell, a rich millionaire who made his fortune through blackmail and thievery. I won't tell you who the murderer was, in case you play the game. However I did not guess correctly. We had a great time though! After that, some of us came to my house and we watched Return to Oz. I'd never seen that either. It stars the girl from The Craft. She was way young in Oz. That movie was very interesting, very different from the original. It was a little darker and a little more realistic. I liked it.

What an excellent day!

Vacation! (2)

I'm here in Morgan Hill, California. It is awesome! Let me tell you, the weather could not be more perfect. Mid-seventies and blue skies have been the norm. Yesterday we drove south along Route 1 which follows the beach. I saw beautiful scenes, waves crashing on the rocky coast, driving along a beautiful cliff, and then at the end seeing the sun set over the water. It's so cool, it's light much longer after the sun goes down because there's no mountains blocking it. Just ocean going on forever. Way cool. We also went to this apple orchard and got fresh apple pies. Let me tell you, that stuff is way good. Just the right amount of tartness and sweetness. I am having a great time.

Vacation!

So this Friday at 9:05 AM I will be flying out of Salt Lake City Airport to San Jose, CA. I'll be staying with my friend Chris till Monday night. Well, I just looked at the forecast for that area: a high of 72 degrees! We currently have a high of 39 and a low of 23 here in Provo! I just walked home from work (5 blocks) and it's COLD! But in a few days I will be nice and warm, shirt sleeves and the like. *grin*. I will also be doing fun things like visiting the Bay, going to Muir Woods Park and walking among the redwoods. You know, when I planned this vacation I didn't really need it. But I was invited out and it was cheap, so I did it. Now... I need it. I need a break from the mundane and the repetitive. I know it will freshen my outlook. I still have a lot to do be ready, but it will be done.

Yeah for sunny and warm California!

Et Cetera

It's Saturday night. It's cold outside. But I'm feeling warm and comfortable sitting here in my hoodie. (This is the first hoodie I've ever owned.) I have some food in the oven. It will be ready to take out in about 12 minutes. It's penne pasta with marinara. Mmmm.

A few recommendations:

Fall Out Boy - Dance Dance
The song has energy! And as the song suggests... Dance! I only know one other Fall Out Boy song, "Sugar, We're Going Down" and I recommend both for download. They have a unique sound.

Erasure - Breathe
The song is soft and slow. I'm sure you could do some kind of zen meditation with it in the background. (As if I knew anything about zen meditation.) I'm going to be downloading the other Erasure songs from the same album. I've high hopes.

Axe - Touch
Sounds like a heavy metal hair band doesn't it? This acutally is not a song... but a deodorant bodyspray. You've probably seen the commercials. Well let me tell you, it's almost more of a cologne than a deodorant. And well, women love it! So men, here's the BigRedHammer's recommendation! (And the bottle is red too. Perfect.)

So that's all I have to say tonight. Here's the BigRedHammer signing off.

Salute to Elder Evanko!

My roommate Kyle left for the MTC this afternoon. Tonight is his first night there. In fact, he's probably headed to bed right now. (What a difficult transition that must be for Kyle!) He would often stay up later than I did. And I'm sure the shock and loneliness could be there tonight as he lays in bed. Wow. Just thinking about all the transitions a teenager has to go through to become a missionary... it's mind boggling. But he will be there two months. People who have been there 4 weeks will seem like old timers to him. He'll be there Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. It's like the group right before me in the MTC. I hope he has good teachers and does his best. I know he'll do very well as a missionary.

Here's to you Kyle!!

Happy Birthday!

Well, Sunday was my 2xth birthday! Now those of you who don't know how old I turned.... quick, take a guess. Got it? Well, I just turned 27. Two days before my mission I was at work and talking to two girls. I mentioned that my birthday was soon. They asked how old I was turning. I told them 27. The one girl next to me said "No way. I totally thought you were pre-mission." The other said she wouldn't have guessed I was that old either. *grin* Other people have guessed 23-24. It's good to look younger than I am. Though a preemie... hm, that's kinda out there.

So here is how my birthday went. Being on Sunday as it was, I wasn't expecting much to happen. My parents wouldn't be coming down till Monday and I hadn't planned a party or anything. So I figured I'd just have a quiet birthday. That morning my friend Aaron called me and woke me up to wish me happy birthday. I also talked to my mom on the phone, my sister, and my nephew Shane (who turned 11 that day too. He was born on my 16th birthday.)

Later, my friend Kristen asked if I was going to the CES Fireside that night. I did go to that. President Monson gave an excellent talk. He's great because his stories really illustrate his points and he has a great sense of humor. Anyway, when we came back the house was decorated! Kristen had made me a cake as well. It had homemade chocolate frosting that was wonderful. Amy came over and had made an apple pudding cake that was incredible too. :D Amy also gave me real Romanian chocolate! Mmmm!

After that my friend Mike came and picked me up and brought me over to his house. He and Robert had baked me a giant cake. It was shaped as a ying yang. One side was chocolate and the other white cake. heheheh, the thing was huge! Some more friends came over and we hung out and played Settlers of Catan. I lost the first game and won the second. *grin* We also watched "The Interpreter". The movie was pretty good. Though it was pretty confusing too.

Monday I got to spend time with my friends again. We went to an Italian restaurant on Center St. It was waaaay good. We also went miniature golfing and to the movie "The Fog". I had a great time. Then they dropped me off and I went to the Olive Garden with my mom and dad. Mmmm, the chicken paramgiano I had there was so good. And filling. We came home and I opened my gifts. I got a really nice coat and new shoes too. So it was a really great birthday! I'm happy to be 27! Menace nothing!

Halloween Aftermath

So this Halloween was a success. A grand success. This weekend I went to a Halloween party that was a blast! There were so many incredible costumes. There was an ethnic Albanian costume, plenty of cowboys, devils, and angels. Let me tell you wings are so overdone. I am so tired of being poked by those stupid wings! I didn't actually know about this party until it was underway, so I didn't get to dress up. But, they did have a pool and hot tub. So half-way through we went and got our swimming trunks and soaked in the tub. That was fun.

Monday I was in Preston, ID for annual haunted garage/barn. My brother, sister-in-law, two nephews, mom, dad and I were in it. We scared 100 something kids from the neighborhood. I used my air horn from my own haunted house. It was really cool. In my haunted house I didn't get to use it myself. When you use it right, people jump two inches into the air. I was very glad the weather cooperated. Often it's already snowed in Preston or actually snowing as we scare. It can get so cold. But not this year, it was a clear night and relatively warm. I got by with just a fleece on. The foggers were a very big success too. They give such atmosphere! For whatever reason, there were less adults that went through the house. I think that adults can be more fun to scare. The best though are pre-teen and teenage girls. They scare so easily and we love to hear their screams.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Scott needs...

Okay, so I read my friend Bob's blog and I'm going to use her idea. (Okay, I asked her first.) So you go to google.com and you put your name with the word 'needs' with quotes. Like this: "Scott needs". It can be very uh... interesting. Here are mine:

Why Scott needs Mozilla I actually wonder why I need Mozilla. I'm not even sure what it is. But you can need something you don't know exists... so I guess this follows suit.

Scott needs nude models Uhhh.... don't ask me! What would I even do with them!?

Scott needs to get out more Now that is debatable!

Scott needs to step up now To what? And for what purpose?

Scott needs to back up his regrets with action Wisdom. However, right now I have no regrets. But if I were a fortune cookie, that would be my fortune.

Whatever his issues, Scott needs to get over them Are these googles fortelling something amiss in my future? Only time will tell... and google.com I guess.

Scott needs a partner Agreed!

Scott needs the practice It has been awhile since I've tickled the ivories.

Scott needs more of Mike's guitar Mike! I didn't even know you had a guitar!

Scott needs to access all seven sites I wonder what sites those are? The Seven Sites of the Devil? The Seven Sites of the Ancient World?

Haunted House

Saturday we had the ward haunted house, dance, games, party. I was in charge of the haunted house. It went really well. At first we were really afraid. As we went around the ward to recruit people to be in it, all we got were people telling us that they wouldn’t be coming to the party because they’d be out of town, or that they’d probably get the very end of it and thus they couldn’t volunteer at all. So we were afraid the haunted house wouldn’t be very good, let alone have very many people come at all. So when the party started, there weren’t very many people and we were getting nervous. I knew that no party actually starts on time… they are always an hour late. Even still we were worried. All day before the party we were buying stuff for the house. My family didn’t give me even a fourth of the stuff that I thought I would get. So I had to go buy it myself. I’m sure I spent close to $150 on it. Yeah, I had that money, but I really didn’t want to use it on that. But it had to be done. We could have used 2-3 more people helping us out but we had enough to do very well.

(More to come...)

I'm a Pirate! Arrrrrrrr!

It's true, I am a pirate. I love downloading music! A friend just referred me to a new tool in my quest for new and good music. I started out with Napster. They had quality downloads and were on the forefront of piracy. Eventually they had the crosshairs on their forehead and went down with a fight. Not long after I discovered Kazaa. Their network was extensive. You would often hear stories of how they were eluding authorities. *grin* Eventually I switched to Kazaa Lite, Kazaa's safer little brother. I have been a Kazaa-litist for many years. But only last week I was referred to LimeWire. I have been very impressed. I find the good music quickly and on the first try. There are not as many spoofers on this network. I highly recommend you try it out. I just got "Fallout Boy - Sugar We're Going Down" It's a *great* song!

Now once you start downloading music, you'll need something to play it on. I've recently changed from MusicMatch to jetAudio's player. Kyle will agree, this thing is good. And those you know my tastes in music... I love music with a beat. I also like my music danceable and a little faster. Well jetAudio's player has effects that will allow you to do that easily and seamlessly. Wow. I'm listening to Missy Elliot's "Lose Control" at 110% speed and a flange effect. Incredible.

Now those of you who would like to know more about my stance on pirated music, take the following link to an editorial article I wrote. I'd love your opinions on the matter after you've read the article.

Arrrrrr! That be nice!

Touche

In an 1860 debate between the Darwin-doubting Bishop of Oxley and Darwin protégé Thomas Huxley, the bishop asked Huxley which side of his family was descended from an ape.
Huxley famously replied, "If there were an ancestor whom I should feel shame in recalling, it would rather be a man, a man of restless and versatile intellect, who ... plunges into scientific questions with which he had no real acquaintance, only to obscure them by an aimless rhetoric, and distract the attention of his hearers from the real point at issue by eloquent digressions and skilled appeals to religious prejudice."

Bravo.