Wednesday, December 21, 2005

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*

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

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.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

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.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

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!!

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

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.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

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