Movie Review #5

Holy heck I'm excited for The Avengers movie!

Ahhhh, gotta love a superhero movie that can be enjoyed by people who have no knowledge or next to no knowledge of the origins can enjoy the story and learn the vital elements of the story. Not as predictable as Thor, and leagues ahead of Green Lantern in storytelling, this was a very enjoyable film and I didn't gripe about paying full price for a ticket. I thought the casting was very well done, and loved playing 'Spot The Actor Previously Seen In A Jane Austen Film'! Now, despite all that praise, I still liked Thor better. Probably because I saw Thor in I-Max 3D...ah, those crazysexy abs...

Ugh Again.

Hmm. Turns out that turning on a war movie right in the middle is one of the most confusing things you could do. Or maybe it's just me. It's probably just me.

Swimsuit shopping didn't work out. Oh darn.

Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind. Other times I'm more certain I am.

I was this close to buying the strategy guide for the new Pokemon game. But I didn't. Didn't seem to be much of a point in buying the guide for a game I don't even own....yet. Pokemon are awesome.

Work is, well....I don't think I'll be staying there long after I graduate. It's one thing to get along with some more then others. Its a whole different kettle of fish to blatantly play favorites and to bequeath hours to the bosses pets over those who have seniority and experience. I still love the job, don't misunderstand me, but I am much happier at work when I'm not scheduled to work with the boss.

In other news, can a girl be a Brony (Brony=male fan, or 'bro', of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic)? This is a legit question.

I promise I am working on a review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. But anytime I start working on it, I get sad and start crying AGAIN or just get frustrated with my inability to express my thoughts and feelings...bla!

Ugh

I guess it's because I really haven't hated myself in a while. Or maybe it's because I've been thinking I look good lately. Or maybe it's just because the universe can only stand so much awesome in one person for so long.

Sigh...

I'm going swimsuit shopping tomorrow.

UGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Not really looking forward to this....I love my figure, but even the thought of putting on a swimsuit makes me feel ill. Shopping for a suit has left me in tears more then once. This wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't love swimming as much as I do. Le sigh.

I Thought She Was Already Dead...

Amy Winehouse did a lot of drugs. For quite a few years. She wrote a song about not wanting to go to rehab. Soooooooo why is everyone surprised she's dead? I found out when I was sneaking a peek at Twitter in the bathroom at work. I shrugged and went back to work.

Wanna know how I found out about Michael Jackson's death? I was in Missouri with The Ex and his mom and sister. He and I had just gotten back from seeing a movie, we walk into the room and sister looks up from her laptop all excited.

Her: 'Did you hear, Michael Jackson died!' 

*beat*

Me: 'Wow I thought he already was dead'

And I honestly thought he had died.

No shock in either case. So world, lets move on shall we? There are many more important events in the world right now. Shootings in Norway, the wars, the recession...you get the point. So be sad if you liked her music, DON'T be surprised by her manner of death, and MOVE ON.

I Haven't Done A List In A While!

So here is a list of some of my favorite things!

Summer night bonfires with friends

Laughing so much my face and stomach hurt

Dressing up for movie midnight showings

Having an entire day with nothing to do but read

Dancing around at work

Grilled foods

Texting my friends for hours at a time

Sleeping in

Pay day (the day that makes all the other work days worth it)

Mythology, fairy tales, and sci fi

Movies

Stargazing in my backyard

Iced/sweet tea

My Ravenclaw robe my Momma made

Comic books

Jurassic Park movies

Pokemon

Wedge heels

Rainbows

Dogs (Pit Bulls and Carin Terriers are top faves at the moment)

Oldest Brother's cat

The smell of new books

The feel of old books

Chips with salsa

Dinners with my girls

Book Club with my girls

Cheesecake with my girls

Movies with my girls

Holidays

Lists ;)

Air Conditioning

Men in uniform (yummy)

Blogging

The desert

The ocean

BBC's Planet Earth

The color yellow

Sunflowers

Van Gogh

Because a Drug Addiction ISN'T Love...PART TWO!

Again and again in the Twilight series, Edward and Bella reflect on the fact that they cannot live without each other. In the very first novel, just moments after Edward admits to Bella [SPOILER ALERT!...no wait, its on the back of the book] that he is a vampire, he also tells her that she is his own personal brand of heroin. 

How a Twilight fan reacts: 'HOW ROMANTICCCCC!!!! THEY ARE SO IN LURVEEEEE!!!! BELLA+EDWARD 4EVERRRRRRR!!!!!'

How a normal person reacts: 'Hmm, heroin, you say? But sir/madam/talking duck, heroin is a horribly addictive drug! It creates physical dependency to the point that a person cannot function at even a basic level without the drug. This sir is in no way love, this is sickness and obsession!'

I cannot stress this enough, Bella and Edward are not in love. Love is not a crazed need to control the other person, love does not demand one person give up their whole life to be with someone, love never hurts those around you in a selfish bid to get what it wants. Funny thing though, Edward and Bella do all of those things.

Whenever Bella wants to go see Jacob (who deserves his own posting so don't you fret) she has to ask Edward's permission. He rarely grants it. When she sees her friend, it's on her boyfriends terms. Bella tries to sneak out one night to see Jacob only to discover that Edward had tampered with her truck so she was left house bound. But even after five seconds fury, she melts under his perfect golden-eyed stare and realizes Edward's probably right. NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE GOOD! These are all signs of a dominant/abusive partner, and my advice to anyone in a relationship like that: GET OUT. Bella is putting herself at the mercy of someone who can and does use whatever means necessary to bend her to his will. He manipulates her, guilts her, makes demands of her, and physically prevents her from acting outside of his wishes. While Edward and the reader justify it as him protecting her, the justification becomes a bit funny when we realize that its him causing all the danger! And even when he tries to back out of her life, he goes about it so horribly and only causes her more pain and puts her in MORE danger. Yet, rather then do the one thing that would remove the danger and keep his empty-headed love interest alive (change her into a vampire) Edward is constantly digging in his heels. He only consents when he has no other option after she nearly dies giving birth to their baby (oh yeah vampires can have babies now, who knew?! [yes vampire baby will get its own post])

Ultimately, after 3.5 books and only inches from death, Bella is made into a vampire. She had been begging practically from their first meeting to be turned. She wanted to be as much like Edward as possible so that he would accept her and love her. Oh, and what did Edward have to do to earn Bella's love? Ha, that's right.....nothing. That's right! All the changing was solely on Bella's side, from the very start of the relationship she isn't good enough for him! She's clumsy while he is graceful. He's smart enough to know the right people to associate with, she makes friends with every Tom, Dick, and Werewolf that comes along. He can protect her from the eeevil vampires that seem to have a GPS tracking collar on Bella, but she is forever blundering blindly into their eeevil schemes. But Edward remains adamant, Bella is NOT to be made into a sparkly vampire. Ever, if he can help it. Even as he slowly comes around to the idea of making her into a vampire, he still throws up impediments. We have to finish High School (Bella: waaaaahh I don't care about HIGH SCHOOL I want to be like yoooooooou) , we have to go to college for at least a semester (Bella: I'm a dumb stupid woman I don't need college because I have no aspirations beyond being live yoooooooooooooooooou), we have to be married first (Bella: I disagree with marriage because my parent marriage failed in what seems to at least have been a passive divorce but I want to be like yooooooooooooouuuu so OK!). She never thinks for herself because she has her wonderful vampire to think for her! Bliss! *Please excuse me for a minute while I shudder in the corner. Again, this topic is gonna get its own post*

 The final point of this post is also the most frustrating for me, personally. When Bella is abandoned by Edward, she plummets into a horrible depression that lasts for MONTHS. Pick up a copy of New Moon and flip around the first few chapters. You'll notice there is a sudden break in the narrative as there are several pages with just the names of months on them. Four pages, four months. As Bella grieves over the abrupt severing of hers and Edwards relationship, she spirals into a dark depression. Depression is bad enough, but Bella refuses to cope with her new life situation. She shuts down and puts her father through the wringer to piece his daughter back together. But despite the best efforts of her father and friends, Bella remains firm in her decision to make sure EVERYONE IN THE WORLD KNOWS SHE IS SAD. I understand depression, and as loyal readers of my blog will know I've been dumped once and broken up with once. It sucks, but you have to get over it. Bella, however, is a stupid teenager. And stupid teenagers think that if you are sad now you will always be sad. Boo-frikin-hoo. Bella puts her father, friends, and newly remarried mother through months of stress and worry....all because she and Edward have imagined themselves as characters in a most epic love story.

And that isn't love.



Meh, not as pleased with this one as the previous post in my Twilight series. If you missed the first post, click here.  
As of now, I'm planning to do at least two more Twilight-based posts, one about Jacob being the better choice, and one about why you can't mess with vampire mythology (featuring a special guest: SCIENCE!). Maybe more. We'll see. And if you think I'm wrong on any of these points, please let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear some good defense of these books.

Day 30: A Letter To Myself

Dear Mackaboo,

Hey gorgeous. I know what it's like to be you. I know how lonely you feel sometimes. I know how long you sometimes wait by the phone for someone, anyone, to text you and make you feel less forgotten. I know how you struggle with feelings of inadequacy. The mask of confidence you wear is pretty darn good at this point, but have you noticed (I sure have), that every days its a little less of a mask and more a reflection of you? I be you have noticed. You've certainly noticed how people seem to be treating you differently. 

Yeah, you're nostalgic for childhood, but what's up ahead is looking pretty exciting too. You're approaching a cross roads, one path will lead you to friends old and new and spiritual growth. The other path will lead you to family and new friends where your faith will be challenged daily by everyone around you. But either choice you make, don't fret too much. Mistakes WILL happen, but that doesn't mean the adventure is over. the confidence your building is gonna come into play soon, so gird up girl, who knows whats coming next!

And for every time you've felt forgotten or left out...it's ok. Those are just temporary feelings that don't reflect how others around you actually feel. You are loved by so crazy many people! You have a personality like a lightning bug, people are fascinated by your glow! Just keep glowing kiddo.

Hugs and kissies,

Mackaboo

Wow. The final prompt. Honestly thought about giving up on this, giving up on the blog, and just blogging under a new name. But I kept going, even though it took me MUCH longer then 30 days! Thanks for sticking with me. I've been re-bitten by the blogging bug, so keep watching and reading.

Hugs and kisses to YOU!

Mackaboo

Day 29: Something I Hope to Change About Myself

Ah here we go. This is a good, thought-provoking question.

There are a few things I would like to be different. I do like my weight and figure, but I do wish that my tummy wasn't quite as Pop 'n Fresh-esque as it currently is. I want to always be striving to be a better person. I want to be a better friend, to be more comfortable in my own skin, to be more focused, to become a real lady. I want to stop lying, stop being lazy, stop speaking before I think, stop being so critical of Little

Brother.

But then, a perfect woman would truly be a fearsome thing to behold, wouldn't it?

Day 28: Whay Would I Do If I Found Out I Was Pregnant?

I'd call my pastor since the only way I'm getting knocked up right now is if its 

Immaculate Conception Round 2.

Waiting until marriage For The Win!

If, however, I was married I'd tell my husband and we'd probably be pretty thrilled!

Day 27: What is the Best Thing Going for Me Right Now?

As I've mentioned before (many a time), I hate being in college. It's a necessary annoyance for me. I don't like sitting in classes I don't care about, dealing with narrow minded liberal professors who jump down your throat any time you express an idea counter to their 'correct' opinions, I'm sick of dealing with people my age who are just some of the worst people you'll ever meet, and just tired of the college game. I want the real world!

But, I know in the long run that college will more then pay off. Having a Bachelors Degree will open doors and help me land a good paying job. And at this point its just one year left to go! One more schedule to make, two more rounds of drop/add, two more midterms, two more rounds of final exams.

Hold on to your hats people, come September, the Sprint to the End starts!

Day 26: Have You Ever Thought About Giving Up on Life? If So, Why?

I've gone through some emotionally trying times in my life, but I have never seriously contemplated suicide. Rather, when I want to leave my life, its more of a desire to pack up and slip away, to start over with a new life and a new me. Somewhere no one knows me or my family or has any expectations for me to try to live up to. I could make myself over, see who I become.

Maybe someday I will leave this town. But now with some maturity under my belt I've realized I could never just up and cut all ties. I'd miss my friends, family, and routine too much to just leave everything I know without a plan or time to adjust to the idea...

Day 25: The Reason I Believe I'm Still Alive Today

It's simple. I'm still alive because I haven't blinked.


'And that's it, I'm afraid. There's no more from you on the transcript, that's the last I've got. I don't know what stopped you talking but I can guess: they're coming. The angels are coming for you, but listen, your life could depend on this: don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink! Good luck'
-The Doctor
Doctor Who 'Blink' 2007


Can you tell I'm getting bored with these questions?

Day 24: Make a Playlist to Someone, and Explain Why I Chose All the Songs

Wow, this is a surprisingly tough one....I guess I'll just do a one for me and for how I'm feeling at the moment. My very last summer vacation is here, and I'm enjoying every minute!

Everyday-Dave Matthews Band. Such a happy song, makes me want to hug everyone.

Dive In-Dave Matthews Band. The song isn't the 'happiest' of songs on the list, but I love the line 'Summers her to stay and those sweet summer days will last forever'. That is exactly how I'm feeling right now. Especially a few nights ago, I had a fire with my friends and I kept thinking of those lines.

Uncharted-Sarah Barellis. 'Compare where you are to where you wanna be and you'll get..nowhere'. Again, not crazy optimistic, but I love the sound of this song. Its kinda where I am in my life, not knowing whats ahead, but knowing I'll make my own way.

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall-Coldplay. Cannot get ENOUGH of this song! Chris Martin is gorgeous. I think I'm in love with his voice.

We Are Golden-Mika. I cannot listen to this song without dancing and jumping around crazily.

Don't Fear the Reaper-Blue Oyster Cult. This got stuck in my head the other day at work and it hasn't left. Not that I'm complaining!

Day 23: Something I Wish I Had Done In Life

Back at my Community College, I had the opportunity to go to England. I didn't go. I was still with the Ex, and I had to save my money to fly out and see him graduate. Mis-TAKE.

I tell myself that there aren't any plans to move the island, and that I'll get there someday. But the reality of it is, that would have been the best time for me to go. Soon I'll have a 'real job' to work around and grown up responsibilities to deal with. What I'd now like to do would be, when I get married the husband and I would do something small for my honeymoon, and for our one year anniversary we'd fly to England for as long as possible...hey, a gal can dream!

Day 22: Something I Wish I Hadn't Done In Life

Start this challenge, oh my stars DOES IT EVER END??!!?!?!?!

Day 21: My Best Friend is In a Car Accident and We'd Fought Only Hours Earlier

This is a ridiculous question.

So here's the main cast of A Very Potter Musical instead!

From L to R:Joey Richter as Ron Weasley, Darren Criss as Harry (Freakin) Potter, and Bonnie Gruesen as Hermione Granger.

Both of my best friends like this musical very much.

As do I.

If they were in the hospital after an accident, I'd be there singing them songs from the musical to make them feel better.

I Can't Live Without You....PART ONE!

Twilight.

Considered a love story for the ages, a Romeo and Juliet crossed with Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy tale for teens, Twilight has takes the world by storm. Easily ninety percent of young adult novels now contain vampires or werewolves in a love triangle, with the occasional ghost, demon, angel, or mermaid thrown in for 'variety'. But if we think for a minuet about the relationship being portrayed between the teenaged mortal and her vampire beloved, does the love story played out in the pages honestly measure up to some of the greatest love stories of all time?

Lets first consider the whole age matter. Bella Swan, our intrepid heroine who we are meant to emulate, is a mere seventeen years old at the opening of the novel. And while to a little 13 year old reader, 17 might seem very mature and grown up, it really isn't. Seventeen is so young! It's certainly no age to be falling in 'eternal' love with someone who was alive at the turn of the century! At seventeen who you are is still changing, you haven't seen much of the world yet, but according to this book we are meant to believe that this vapid girl is mature enough to be ready to marry?! We can take our brains out for a minute and try to forget that Edward is a vampire and that vampires don't age. But when you realize that, in linear time (read: real world time), he was born in 1901, changed in 1918, and has spent 90 years as a vampire when the books take place, things get creepy. Thus, using the magical powers of MATH, we can realize that Edward has been on this earth for just over a hundred years...ummm, does anyone else think this is a little skeezy? Its like extreme pedophilia!

Bella truly will do anything to be with Edward. In the 'New Moon', the second book in the series, Edward realizes that being with Bella isn't safe for her cause...well, it isn't. One of his vampire 'siblings' nearly kills her and Edward decides to up and leave with his family. From the minute Edward leaves her in the forest (which we later find is rife with monsters) Bella becomes a hollow empty shell of a person. Literally. She does nothing but sit and cry and freak out and worry everyone around her because EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW HOW MISERABLE SHE IS. Like many teenaged girls, she sees herself as imperfect and flawed while he is marble-like and perfect. Great chunks of the novels are dedicated to Bella moaning over how she can never attain Edwards level of perfection. He is so much more beautiful then she is, so much more immortal, so much more...glittery! I don't pretend to be much of a fan of teenagers, but a whole series of books dedicated to a relationship that preys on every single teenage girls insecurities, seems so very not ok.

I definitely have more to say on this subject, but considering how many long posts I've put up lately, this will be enough...for now.

Day 20: My Views on Drugs and Alcohol

I dunno, the picture made me laugh. Of course it's not relevant but who cares!

Erm, drugs are bad. Dur. Don't do em.

Booze is ok, so long as you can hold your liquor. Don't drink and drive. Don't puke on me or on my stuff. If you need booze to socialize, be a better person. You'll meet better people and won't need liquid courage.

I'm Bored, So Here's Another Blog About My Job!

Remember that one time I blogged about my job? For those who missed it/forgot, here ya go. Go read. No, really....go read it. FOR HECKS SAKE CLICKY THE LINKY!

I mentioned something towards the very end of the post that I wanted to continue with in this blog. All our library 'regulars' who have some distinctive feature about them that credits a....special name:

One last thing for this post before I go, hello all you regular patrons. Hello all you people who have earned nicknames based on your behavior or appearance based on how often we see you. Hello Katie Cobalt, Kurt, Purple, Limper, Porn Guy, Little Porn Guy, Thursday Guy With His Cute Little Daughter, Cute DVD Guy, Friendly Old Black Guy, Russian Guy, Annoying Girl Who Always Needs To Use Bathroom AFTER I Lock It, and anyone else I missed. Each and everyone of you is special, and each an everyone of you is remembered for a special reason. For some, the reason might be obvious. For others, they have a longgggg story behind them...Maybe someday I'll share with the rest of the class....

First one listed is Katie Cobalt and also one of the youngest people on the list. He used to come in on Monday nights when my friend Katie was still working at the library. Now, kids in the library aren't usually that big a deal. Yes they can be loud and obnoxious, but you learn to ignore them. Unless they are kids like Katie Cobalt. For some reason, the boy was fixated on cars and Katie. Any time he came in he would ask her some persistent, and at times, unsettling questions, 'What kind of car do you have?', 'What kind of engine does it have?', 'Do you get good gas mileage?', and 'Where do you live?'. While we all understood that the boy was mentally challenged, it was still unsettling to hear this boy say he was going to look up her house on google maps. But what was strangest was his granfather who always came into the library with him, never said a word to distract the boy. He hasn't come in since Katie left....hmm.

Kurt. Ah, Kurt. Work wouldn't be half as amusing without you. For many of the pages, Kurt is our introduction to library creepers. He's forty years old, has never worked a steady job, and asked out one of my coworkers.....who was still married.....while her 13 year-old daughter was only one shelf away. Yeah, he's a charmer. There is a strong difference between chatting with a page for a few minutes, either trying to flirt or just being friendly, and doing what Kurt does. Kurt is like a shark. He waits until you're elbow deep in a cart of books to shelve, and he pounces. He'll stand in front of your cart, obliviously blocking you from the shelves. And he'll talk. And talk. And TALK. He's serially single, and would constantly complain how most single women his age were full of baggage, had kids, or were just weird. Then in the same breath he would complement me for how smart and mature I was. Dude, I'm 22. the only way you'd have anything like a chance with me was if you were rich. So STOP telling me to sign up for the same dating site you are on!

Purple isn't so much a creeper as he is just an oddball. His name comes from the purple shirt or black and purple jacket he wears. That, along with a red shirt, seem to make up his entire wardrobe. If he comes in and sees one of us shelving in the section he likes to sit and read in he will say his as he walks past and give a little wave. If we go close to his table he'll always ask us if we're in college, do we go to his alma mater, are we philosophy majors? Sometimes he's mentioned a wife, but he doesn't wear a wedding band and we've never seen him in with anyone. Odd, but definitely more harmless then some of the other folks on the list. Moving on!

Next we have: Limper! an old man that has a beard and a limp, Limper really bothers some of the other gals. I don't like that he just sits for hours at a table near the front desk and watches us for hours, but like Purple, that's all he does! And I really can't dislike the guy too much, he's a Veteran who has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Last I saw him, he was horribly gaunt, moving even slower, and didn't even stay a half an hour.

PORN GUY! Probably the most hated of all the library patrons, his name should be kinda self-explanatory. He comes in almost every day and makes a bee line for the public computers. Sequestered away in the middle of the back row, he will not speak to anyone, and instead spends hours on the web. Sometimes he checks his email, sometimes he lurks around on facebook, but mostly he just looks at porn. For HOURS. And not just run of the mill stuff, this guy watches some nasty stuff! We've seen him watching stuff filled through bushes, night ray vision stuff, anime stuff....ick ick ick.

Little Porn Guy is like Porn Guy, but shorter. He doesn't come in as often, and doesn't spend as much time looking at porn. Funny thing, Kurt's pretty buddy-buddy with him. Super weird.

The next two guys are my favorite regulars. And nooooo, it has nothing to do with how attractive I find them! Thursday Guy With His Cute Daughter is older (obviously, if he's got a daughter who looks like she's about 8), his daughter loves coming to the library. She likes different books every week, one week sign language books, the next week owls. Whenever I work in the kids section and they are in, he watches me. Gosh that sounds creepy. It's not. Maybe, he notices me is a better way to put it. And sometimes I don't mind being noticed.

And now for my very favorite patron, Cute DVD Guy! He's a cute guy that comes in and checks out DVDs (I'm very clever with names)! But what's even more attractive then his face, is that he talks to me. Nothing really serious, we've talked about the movies and tv shows he's talking out. But last time he came in, he checked out a book I love. I mentioned that it was one of my favorites, and the next time I saw him, he came up to me and started talking with me about the book! Made. My Life. OH! But what's even more interesting, my coworker knows him. Apparently Cute DVD Guy has a big family, my coworker is friends with one of his brothers so they've met. The same bother that is friends with my coworker? Yeah, we took two classes together in Community College! *sings* It's a small world after all!
EDIT: Funny that I posted this and the very next day, I find out Cute DVD Guy has a girlfriend. Bah!

I gotta get a better name for this guy, but Friendly Old Black Guy is just what his name implies. He asks all the pages who wait on him how our days are going, and always thanks us effusively for the smallest thing. Nice old guy!

Russian Guy used to come in  at least once a week and check out over 20 DVDs at a time. He would then return the next day and return all the DVDs. Now, the DVDs can be taken out for a week, so its possible that in a week he could watch about 20 movies. But even so, 20 is a LOT of DVDs to take out at a time, especially with a $2 a day fine fore EVERY late disc! He rarely spoke, had a leering face, and some serious body odor. And a Russian accent.

Now this kid pisses me off. She's been coming in for YEARS, and by this time knows the schedule of hours pretty well. So why this girl ALWAYS, without fail, needs to go to the bathroom after they're closed for the night is just rude. Annoying Girl Who Always Needs To Use Bathroom AFTER I Lock It likes to go in the bathroom and just....dawdle.....for 10, 15 minutes......just chilling.....blargh. But she's not alone, oh no! She also has a large family that come sin with her! Her mother bugs me solely because she is probably well into her 60s, overweight, and wears Twilight clothing with Edward Cullens idiotic face all over it. SO disturbing!

So there ya go. Hope you now know how to NOT be a library creep. If your behavior in any way resembles the people mentioned, please stop. Just please. Unless you're more like Cute DVD Guy or Thursday Guy, then you're alright. ;)

Better get to bed now so I can go into work tomorrow (Thursday) all rested and ready to deal with the crazies!

Day 19: What Do You think of Politics?

Look at that logo, then look at the sate of American politics today. Then look back at the logo, then back at American politics. How do you THINK I feel about politics?!

And the Verdict is In...

Casey Anthony is probably the most hated woman in America right now. We are all shocked by the results of the trial as she is only convicted of lying to the police and will face a maximum of 4 years behind bars (please correct me if I'm wrong). Now the American people are furious, calling this trial rigged, saying she got off to easily, bemoaning the state of the justice system in our country today.

So go ahead, get mad. Yell, rant of facebook, twitter, your own blog, just go get the angry out. when you feel better come back and we'll talk.

...

......

...

Alright. First off, I am not very happy with this convection either. It doesn't feel right that this woman was so flippant about her daughters disappearance will serve so very brief a time behind bars. I don't like that this female was able to have a beautiful child and then didn't seem to care at all for her once she was gone.

But remember, this is still America. Our justice system work on the premise that the the defendant is innocent until proven guilty. To gain a convection, evidence for or against has to be airtight and beyond reasonable doubt. The defendant is entitled to a trial by a jury of their peers, in the hopes that the verdict will be as unbiased as possible.

So lets see, there was evidence at the trial....and as much as I would love to say it was clear and decisive evidence, it simply wasn't. The evidence they had was good, but so very circumstantial. So very....unclear. The jury recognized that. The jury of twelve randomly selected strangers who have been sequestered away for about a month now could not, in good conscience, present a convection beyond reasonable doubt. And I, for one, don't blame them. They will have to carry this burden for the rest of their lives.

Personally, I don't know if Casey Anthony murdered her daughter, or if it was the father, or if it was the mysterious nanny, or if it was simply an unfortunate accident that got too big to handle. We might never really and truly have a good answer to what happened to Caylee. The true tragedy of the whole story is just that, this little girl is gone. We don't know who or why this thing happened, but it did. This has spun so far out of control, thanks to the media and tabloids that we have forgotten about the little girl as we bay for the mothers blood. And no matter what her fate will be, she will regret the loss of her daughter. Maybe not for a long time, but if she doesn't yet, she will one day know the full weight of grief that comes when your child is gone.

Day 18: My Thoughts on Gay Marriage

Romans 3:23-24

ALL of us struggle against a burden. For some, its gambling, for some its drinking, for others its vanity or pride. Personally, I struggle with laziness, anger, apathy, and gossip.

But for some, their struggle is with matters of sexual desire. Whether its desire towards someone notably older/younger, someone within your own family, or someone within your own gender, they have something to struggle against that I can't even imagine having to deal with. But God didn't come for the perfect people, perfect people don't need saving. God sent His Son for the lost. For the imperfect. For those of us who struggle.

Some of you might be wondering with this has to do with the days topic, but don't you fret, I'm getting to it!  

God established marriage to be a sacred bond between a man and a woman, representing the bond between
God and his church. People that cite divorce rates of straight marriage don't realize that there is something wrong with how we as a nation look at marriage. It's not just something fun or cute, its not easy. Marriage has become less about the joining of two lives and more of an excuse to buy a really REALLY big/expensive dress and be a bridezilla. We need to fix our marriages, we need top prepare those heading towards marriage. Letting gay people marry isn't going to fix the divorce rates, its not going to be a magic fix for broken families, it won't be the magic cure-all that people think it will be.

Day 17: A Book That You've Read That Changed Your Views on Something

I've mentioned in previous posts, that I am a born-again Christian. But even having grown up in a church environment, having gone to a Catholic school until 3rd grade, and knowing more pastors by age 12 then most people will know in their entire lifetime, there are still some aspects of the Christian walk that I'm 'fuzzy' on. I've been trained from childhood that prayer is an important part of our daily walk, but until reading these books I had no clue of how important prayer is to daily spiritual warfare. Though these books are indeed fiction, there is so much in these books that made me aware of the constant unseen battles surrounding me as two opposing teams duke it out over my soul.

Day 16: Something/Someone That I Definitely Could Live Without

My iPod is black, Little Brother gave it to me two years ago when he got a new iPod.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my iPod, but sometimes I worry that I've become too reliant on electronics. My generation demands constant amusement, we must be up to date with the latest electronics all the time. Why do we play the game? Why do we waste our money on technology that will be obsolete within 5 years?

Movie Review #4

Dear DC Comics,

Stick with what you know. You make excellent comics. You make lousy movies.

Sincerely, Me.

The one good thing I have to say about this movie is that Ryan Reynolds was a perfect casting job as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. The entire movie, I saw HAL, not RYAN. But ultimately, the best review I've heard for this movie is summed up like this: In brightest day, in blackest night, I wish Green Lantern didn't bite.

You Want the Full Story?

Holy frik this took me ages to write!

That's what I get for trying to be loquacious.

And for going so long without a proper update on my life.

Blogger FAIL.

May has been a rather good month for me. And for my friends! My friends got married!

She was a breathtakingly beautiful bride, and he was a wonderfully besotted groom.

I love them both so much and am so very happy they met and are starting a life together.

But this story does not START with a wedding! The wedding is only a PART of the story I have for you all! So, lets get started!

My dear ones got married in Virgina Beach, and, since I do not live there I had to fly in on May 4th. I was lucky enough to be staying with the bride and her family (mother, father, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin/photographer, grandmother) in their rented beach house. And when I say 'beach house', I mean BEACH HOUSE. I literally woke up every morning and saw the ocean from my mattress.I got this photo the day of the wedding after my first of three walks on the beach. See those toes in the bottom of the frame? Yeah that's me! Closest thing to a self portrait I've posted!

 Could get used to a view like this!

Now, the lovely bride was a bit frazzled on that first day, what with her impending nuptials and family dramaz. Being my sunny and helpful self, I did everything I could to soothe nerves and tempers as the brides aunt did her best to give my friend a nervous breakdown. The aunt was an unending fount of criticism, crude humor, and dissent at a time when the family ought to have been rejoicing. The first day and a half I was there were tense to say the least! But by noon on the second day, after a massive row between her aunt and father, the aunt from heck left. The bride, a bridesmaid and I had holed up in our room and left them to their quarrel. We were doing our best to keep the bride calm and find a replacement photographer in case her cousin left (He didn't end up leaving, thank God! I didn't want to have to take photos if he'd left!). The bridesmaid and I casually walked upstairs to figure out what was going on, and to our delight, the aunt was leaving! We delivered the news to the bride anxiously waiting downstairs. The bridesmaid was nice, when the bride expressed disbelief I piped up with 'Ding dong the witch is dead, babe'. I deliver news so well! From that moment on the wedding became fun. We laughed, relaxed, and enjoyed our time together.

For some quick clarification, I knew the bride, groom, and only one of the guests vaguely. But within minutes of meeting the bridal party and guests that stayed with us at the beach house, I was everybody's friend! I was exhausted but buzzed with excitement so I wasn't half as shy as I normally would have been. I called myself the 'spare bridesmaid' and had a grand old time just getting to kick back and relax during things like the rehearsal, photo times and ceremony. But for as much as I was enjoying meeting new people and making new friends, there was an unexpected part of being a fish out of water...with lots of other fish all out of our own waters....

I got lost. A LOT.

Lest see, the first time we got lost was on the way from the rehearsal itself to the rehearsal dinner. I was put in the car with two bridesmaids (one who had driven in from NYC just a few hours earlier), and the brides brother. It was perhaps a ten minute drive from the venue to the restaurant. Welllll....we made a wrong turn. Lets have a quick geography review: Virginia is right below Maryland, and the coasts of the two states are connected via a bridge. Its a very LONG bridge, I think my friend said its about an hour commute...I dunno, I didn't really pay attention. Why would I have listened?! It wasn't like I'd NEED that knowledge for anything! I'm sure you all see where this is leading to...

We made a wrong turn. Onto the bridge. With less then a quarter tank of gas in the car. I was pretty sure at that moment we were going to Maryland. Or going to die stranded on the bridge. But don't worry, this story has a happy ending! I DIDN'T DIE! The bridge was entirely empty, so we were able to execute an entirely illegal U-turn IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BRIDGE! Go team us! So we ended up getting to the dinner right on time tra la la la. But don't go thinking that was the last time the car I was in got lost! Oh no, the fun was just getting started!

My next unplanned adventure was less 'ZOMG WE'RE DRIVING TO A DIFFERENT STATE' and more 'oh goodness this is silly'. It was the day of the wedding and me and a bridesmaid were running some lunch to the bride waiting at some hair salon. We couldn't find it. The salon was in the corner of one plaza, and shouldn't have been difficult to find. Except for the plaza we were looking for was in plaza-opolis. SO MANY PLAZAS! Of course the only person we say to get directions from was another person from out of state! But we did find it, so this mini-adventure was of far shorter duration, the bride was fed and we puttered back to the Beach House to pretty up for the wedding that afternoon.

Earlier that morning, three of the brides friends had driven in for the ceremony. I had vaguely met one of the guys before (Wedding Boy), and had heard about the other guy (British Boy). The girl they were with was a mystery (Blondie). I was driven to the ceremony by Wedding Boy and the brides brother. After my usual thirty seconds of shyness, Wedding Boy was already talking about he and I hanging out when we got back home. I'm beginning to realize, I'm very charming.

Then came the ceremony. Seeing two people so in love is always beautiful to me. Seeing the bride walking down the aisle with her father was enough to get me choked up. I enjoyed the brief time to just sit and enjoy myself and be 'off'. But it wasn't meant to last. I got through the receiving line and was immediately sent off by the bridesmaids to go do this and get this please and put this in the limo. Sigh. OK, back to work I go. Then I realize something: My luggage is still at the Beach House.

At that point I wasn't supposed to go back to the Beach House, I was going to stay in the brides apartment with the bridesmaids and Blondie before my bright and early flight the next morning. Ohhhh snap. Then we all realize that Blondie will need her things too since, again, we hadn't planned on going back to the house! As we're figuring out who needs to stay for pictures and who can take me and Blondie back for our things, we have another  epiphany. The church the service was held at is not where the reception will be, we're all supposed to go to a hall on a Military Base (The grooms father served in the Navy). So without a street name, address, or really good idea of where to go, Wedding Boy, British Boy, Blondie and I had to find SOMEONE who could give us directions to the base from the Beach House.

Man alive this is a long post.

After going in and out and up and down and over and under, we kinda sorta get directions. So its back into the car for the next leg of the adventure! Wedding Boy gets us back to the Beach Hose safely and Blondie and I cram our luggage into the car. Wedding Boy and British Boy had been tinkering with the GPS and thought they had the right address and directions to the reception. According to the GPS, it was only....five minutes away....I already knew this was wrong. There was no way the main entrance to a MILITARY BASE would be smack in the middle of such a residential area. But I figured we'd end up somewhere so I kept my very tired mouth shut.

I was right. But so was the GPS. There was a gate to the base, but it was closed, and there was no one around to open it for us. I joked that was the gate where they let out the terrorists who were apologetic and wanted to integrate into normal society. With that, it was back to the side of the road to fiddle with the GPS. After a few minutes, Wedding Boy finally got the right directions and (once AGAIN) we were on the road! The four of us were all relaxed and joking, British Boy and Blondie began discussing their own upcoming wedding, so Wedding Boy and I were left to our own conversation. After a few minutes of glancing from the GPS screen to the road, and me chiding him to keep his eyes on  the road since I really didn't want to die, he tossed the GPS over to me.

'Here, could you read off the directions?'

'Sure, *in GPS voice* in-400-yards-make-a-right-turn'

To clarify, I have a freakin' AWESOME GPS voice. Its robotic, distant, and kinda a bit hot, if I do say so myself. He laughed and told me he liked my voice much better then the voice on the GPS. Oh yeah, I blushed. He said if the whole sign lanuge thing didn't work out as a job I could be the voice of the GPS. Smitten? Why, yes I was.

I'm happy to say we did finally make it to the reception not long after that exchange. Oh what a night! The bride and groom danced to Michael Buble's 'For Once in My Life', and once they were done, it was time to hit the dance floor, and hit it I did. The bridesmaids swept me along with them in the first round of dancing and form that point forward I wasn't off the floor for longer then two songs together. I think I danced for three hours in 3.5 inch wedges...does that qualify me for some kind of medal? Sadly, Wedding Boy was too tired to dance, so I wiggled and shimmied with the bridesmaids all night.

Right as I'm about to drop with exhaustion, its time to say goodbye to the newlyweds and pack up the cars. I'm pulling some strangers over to take loads of gifts and bridesmaids back to the Beach House (Yeah we went back so yes that whole post-ceremony trip WAS for naught) and I pile BACK in the car with Wedding Boy, British Boy and Blondie. British Boy and Blondie were asleep in the back seat within minutes, so it was just me left to keep Wedding Boy awake for the drive. British Boy asked as we pulled out of the parking lot if he'd need the GPS back on, or if Wedding Boy was going to trust my vague recollections of where we were to get us back. With a smile, he said, 'I don't need the GPS, I have my Mackaboo'. Except he didn't say Mackboo of course, he said my name. So very smitten I was. We talked about a favotie TV show of mine, Doctor Who. A guest at the wedding had told him he looked like a character from the show, so he was asking about that and pretty strongly hinting that we should watch it together. Naturally, getting ANYONE into Doctor Who is exciting for me, but the thought of getting to see him again made it more so.

The drive was too short this time, its amazing how quickly you can get somewhere when you don't get lost! With final hugs to Blondie, British Boy (Who was such a gem, carrying my suitcase up the stairs whenever I asked), and Wedding Boy, I went off to bed to catch a few hours sleep before my flight at 7 AM. Not hard to guess what I dreamed of that final night in Virgina Beach....yep, dolphins!

So, that was the wedding. The trip home was not nearly as exciting as the trip itself. Recall, the wedding was hte beginning of MAY. It's now the beginning of JULY. Since the trip, I've hung out with one of the bridesmaids once and had a grand old time. I've seen Wedding Boy.....wait, no I haven't....blargh. We're friends on facebook, but I don't know if I'm supposed to wait for him to make a move or something....

But no matter what happen with Wedding Boy, my dear friends are now married! And now I have another place to consider moving to when I graduate college. Hmmmm.......