The End of the Beginning of the End

*sigh*... my life's over. I just found out today that this season is the last season of "24" - EVER! The only thing I have to say is that they'd better pick it up fast because ending this with Bubba Gump, Freddie and White Trash Boy-Toy's Mole Girl is not my idea of going out with a bang.

But, please - let me weep over my impending loss... (and keep all ignorant and idiotic comments to a minimum). What am I going to watch now?

Okay, cry-fest is over - let's enjoy the 24 Rehashes while we still have time to do so.

***SPOILER ALERT***SOON THIS WON'T BE NECESSARY***SPOILER ALERT***

I guess it must be the end of "24" because Jack is suddenly not the only one who is clairvoyant to the bad guys' plans. Ethan has now magically gained the heretofore Jack-only power of being able to walk into a room where a dastardly plot has only been devised minutes beforehand and know exactly what the heck is going on. Sadly, Ethan has not been watching his cholesterol (Valiant effort, Mr. Secretary).

While we were watching tonight, the newest addition to our 24-watching group was surprised to find out there is a female president in "24." He remarked that in the scriptures somewhere it says that when women rule, men mourn (or something like that). I came back that we're mourning in real life, so what's the difference? And may I point out that President Allison Taylor has more cajones than our current real-life president has, so there (it's a foreshadowing of President Sarah Palin).

Renee Walker. ahem - I'll say it again - RENEE EFFING WALKER!!! Don't you just LOVE her??? Jack tries the whole "I love you darling, so I'm going to make you go somewhere safe while I risk my neck" thing and she comes back with "STFU, you need my help." And she KICKS ASS doing it!! Ah - Renee - we hardly knew ye.

Agent O'Connell (I think that was her name) - she is deserving of an honorary membership in Club Almeida/Dessler of Badass Coolness. Her and Owen - welcome my friends (get your applications in before we have to stop taking them).

President Hassan with a gun. Yeah, he's cool. I'll give him that. A word of advice to the Hassan women - don't try to run for your life in high heels.

Chloe is soooo going to bust Dana. Good riddance, I say. I don't even care how White Trash Boy-Toy factors into this plot - I just want the bimbo GONE!

Jack shooting crap up and busting the bad guys. Just savoring the moment...

Next Week - If Chuck Logan (aka the Nixon of the 24-verse) can show up to save the day in the 15th hour, then they can give Tony Almeida a BIG DAMN HERO moment in this swan song season. It's only fair that the character that has the second-most appearances in "24" be given a role here (only Jack has more). And I demand it.

I will try to not get all sappy and crap when this finally ends (I already did that with Harry Potter).

Random Thoughts - 3/29/10

I Believe the Term You're Looking for is *headdesk* - Just came back from yearbook. And found out that the school owns a copy of Adobe PageMaker! And we've been needlessly using PowerPoint this whole time!! The best line was the principal going "Oh - well, we used PowerPoint last year and it was a nice yearbook."

(Note - Last year's yearbook was the publishing world's version of cow manure. Even the kids said so. If you saw it, you'd think so even if you had the tact to not say it out loud. Which I didn't until this year's staff said it first. Then I felt okay about it.)

Is There Something You're Trying to Tell Me? - Upon my return home, I got the mail and saw that this month's church magazines had come. And one of the cover stories on the Ensign was "Confidence to Marry" and then listed four - count 'em, FOUR - page numbers on which related articles could be found. If that wasn't enough, the entire New Era is dedicated to the topic of "Dating for Beginners."

I'm almost afraid to look in the Friend...

Ending on a Upbeat Note and a Question - I also got a notice of my student loan awards and all I have to do is go online and accept the ones I want for the 2010-2011 school year (yay!!!) But I also have a question that maybe someone out there in internet land can answer - I've been awarded subsidized and unsubsidized loans and a Perkins loan. I accepted the subsidized loans because those don't start accruing interest until I graduate (unsubsidized accrue interest the minute they're issued). But, the Perkins loan - I'm not sure when it starts collecting interest. And I need a little extra because the subsidized loans didn't quite cover all my tuition and fees and I need money for books and such.

So, my question is does anyone know if a Perkins loan starts accruing interest when I get it or if it waits until I graduate? I tried looking for the answer online, but nobody has a satisfactory plain-English-non-legalese answer and the financial aid office in Kansas is closed (color me an idiot).

Now the Dog is On My Lap...

Scout wants attention and she doesn't want me to blog today. Well, guess what, Puppy -

Okay, I'll go let you out...

All right - the dog is outside now. So, inbetween watching mourning for my country and watching Pearl Harbor get bombed again (this time, by a guy in the White House), I managed to catch "24" and "The Big Bang Theory." And I realized that life will go on in spite of all this crap. And the Rehashes must continue as well.

First - TBBT -

It's official. I am an unashamed Leonard fangirl. In spite of Sheldon walking out in that extremely HOT suit - mothers, hide your daughters! - I wanted to give Leonard a big *squish* hug because his stupid mother compared him to his stupid brother and made my Lenny-poo cry (there - I gave Leonard a nickname).

Sheldon and shopping for a suit - "I found it in the prom department." XD

Howard's "pretending to give a damn" power doesn't count. I do that every day.

I wonder where I can find that YouTube video... on second thought... maybe not

Okay - to "24"!

***SPOILERS AHEAD!***TO SCROLL IS TO BE SPOILED!***

A moment of silence please, for our favorite CTU Boy Scout, Owen. If that other dork hadn't peed his pants, everything would have been just fine (just like Jack said. If I had a nickel for every time that happened...)

While we are mourning, can I get a big hand for our favorite smarty-pants genius Chloe? She's been around Jack waaaay too long to be just like these protocol Nazis. And Dana's "oh shit" look was priceless (of course, we're all thinking that maybe Chloe will be able to find that damning file so the Hazzard County Parole Officer will know she was in with White Trash Boy-Toy - but more on that later).

Speaking of crash and burn romance - poor little Kayla - next time, do a background check on Prince Charming. But give Daddy the credit for knowing what was best - even though we all thought he was crazy (and he actually kinda was crazy at the time).

Renee Walker - I'll say it again - RENEE EFFING WALKER!! Shows up to save the day - and mere seconds after Jack made Cole promise to make Bubba Gump keep his promise to keep Renee out of play. Jack - I know you're not used to hearing this (and we're not used to saying it, either), but you might not be the only BIG DAMN HERO anymore (and you probably should accept the help).

Back to Dana - ummm... she doesn't watch CSI, does she? Where's the first place they're going to look for the body? Wherever its stench is, that's where. Yet - *exhales exasperatedly* - how does this whole White Trash Boy-Toy fit in with her mole profile? And what about Freddie-poo? Oh, is he going to love this. I hope he can get back the deposit on the tux.

So This is How Liberty Dies - With Thunderous Applause

(x-posted from my LiveJournal)

I've been on edge all day with this health care voting nonsense that's been going on in the House. I'm not going to say too much about it here (if I'd come here directly from watching it, there would have been much foul language and venom spewing. As it is, I spent some time at therightfangirl and that calmed my nerves a bit. I'm glad there are places in this universe that still make sense).

I have thought long and hard why I oppose this bill on substance. And here are a few my reasons:

1. I don't want the government telling me and my family what to do. My parents are self-employed and we have purchased our own health insurance my entire life. Only recently have we had to drop it because times are tough, but it was a risk we chose to take. We're all pretty healthy anyway and we'd rather take the chance on getting hit by a bus (or whatever craptastic sob-story the creatures in Washington are peddled to get this BS through) than go without food and clothing. But now that Princess Pelosi got her way, you could get fined for not having health insurance. What the crap? Since when does not having health insurance hurt somebody else? It's my damn money - let me do with it as I please!

2. It grows government. I'm not one of those anarchist nuts that says we should totally abolish the national government, but I am in favor of states' rights and, more importantly, individual rights. All I want the government to do is keep us safe from evil people who want to kill us. I don't want them to provide a blasted thing for me. They are not my parents (shoot, I'm old enough, I should be providing for myself). I just want them to stay the hell out of my life. Up until a few years ago, I had a very live-and-let-live attitude toward government. But when I started noticing all these creepy little things they've been doing, I'd had it and I got mad. Oh boy - you have not seen anything yet. With this health care beast passing - they are soooo in for it!

3. The few that would be insured under this is not worth the many that are going to lose their already-excellent health care plans. There are other better avenues to health insurance reform than the government regulating everything under the sun - starting with taking the trial lawyers to task for their ambulance-chasing and other shenanigans. It's called Tort Reform. Love it. Embrace it. And let insurance companies compete between states. The bad insurance companies will fail (as they should) and the good ones will flourish and provide amazing-yet-affordable health care plans. That's how capitalism REALLY works (and I know that those of you educated in public schools have been taught differently, but don't believe everything you learn in school).

4. Health care is not a right. Home ownership is not a right. Employment is not a right. Formal education is not a right (hell, Abraham Lincoln was basically homeschooled). Communist Russia tried all that. It was great at first (well, "great" - depending on who you ask), but by the end of the Soviet Union, they were pretty much holding guns to people's heads to get them to fall in line. Yep - that communism - sounds great. Where do I sign up? *end sarcasm* The rights afforded us by the Constitution are merely avenues for us to pursue happiness - they are not the ends to happiness themselves. And really, the Constitution itself doesn't actually afford us anything - those rights in the Constitution are God-given rights. But the Founders had enough foresight (or they themselves had just come out from under a bastard dictator scumbag - take your pick) to know that some dipwad would come along and try to take over unless there was something set down in stone (parchment - whatever) to stop them. And - wow - look what's happened? The government has come to the point where it assumes that it is God.

That's what it boils down to - government wants we the people to bow down to it as our deity. The politicians don't give a flaming turtle butt over health care or if people have insurance - it's all about power (there are some good congresspeople in Washington, but they are becoming increasingly rare). That's what it's been about through history - who has the power and who is going to exploit it? Until America came along and said - "No, the power goes to the little guy," it's how Rome and the Middle East and all of Europe and China ran themselves - they set up one all powerful leader and erased any kind of Higher Power - and look how that's going for them now (and how it will be going for us soon if we aren't careful).

Guess what? I have a God - and it ain't the United States Congress and it sure as hell ain't the President. And my God's power isn't going to run out at the end of a 4-year or a 6-year term. In fact, God gave these leaders their power and He's looking to see how they're going to handle it. And He gave me my power and He's looking to see how I'm handling it. Honestly, I have no control over how those individual politicians conduct themselves or the choices they make. I do have control over what I do (contrary to what Dr. Utopia, Princess Pelosi and Dingy Harry want to accomplish) and I hope I do my Heavenly Father proud (or "well-pleased," if you prefer).

I have little faith in government and, after today, I feel justified in that respect. The American people yelled out loud and clear that we don't want this mess, but they went ahead and did it anyway. In case you missed it in your 1st Grade Civics class, that's not how this works. The elected officials represent the people - not talk down to us like we're a bunch of two-year-olds. Would you talk to your boss that way? We voters are these politicians' boss - and they'd better remember that this November.

Oh, and if you want something to pick you up, go watch "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson (I DVR'd it edited). I was watching it earlier today and watching that depiction of the Revolutionary War motivated me. The lengths that people went to be out from under tyranny (and the British were tyrants - don't let the watered-down version of history fool you) were astounding and I think it's foolish to presume that we have to give anything less. Our country is falling apart - but it can be saved if we act in time. One of my mission companions said "Don't just die for the gospel - live for it." I want to apply it here - Don't just die for your country - live for it.

And friends, the time to live for it is now. Here's a place to start. And there are others. Write or call your representatives and chew their butts out (in a nice, dignified way, of course). Educate yourself. Start with history - try this book out. If you can't afford it, get it from your library. If your library doesn't have it, get it through Inter-Library Loan, which all libraries have (I'm a Library Science major - I know these things). Donate your time and money to worthy campaigns. Go to rallies. Ways to help aren't hard to find if you care to look (half the time, you don't even have to try to look). Get involved. Now.

I didn't intend this to be a call to action, but it ended up being that. And it's your choice what you do now. But I've said my peace and I'll leave it at that.

March Madness - Round 1.1.3

The games in this section are on-going, which is why this will be an open thread.

Some initial thoughts:

I think Tennessee should change their name to the "Dreamsicles." Seriously - every time I see a Tennessee player, I get the image in my head of a creamsicle. Usually, I savvy the wacky color combinations and oddball mascots of college sports (St. Mary's Gaels, much? Richmond Spiders?) - but Tennessee just makes me want ice cream.

"The Blind Side" is coming out on DVD!! YAY!!!!! ^_^

Those inane "2010 Census" lines in the the commentary - (You know I had to have a political barb in here, you just knew it, didn't you?) - What's the betting that it's costing us taxpayers $1 million+ to have the play-by-play guys say "Fill out your census form and send it back?" Even the commentators think it's ridiculous. I don't think I need to say anything more about that.

March Madness - Round 1.1.2

Well, my bracket is shot to heck. I have Northern Iowa, Ohio and St. Mary's to thank for all that. Oh well, I've never been one to put much stock in predictions (which is why I've never put money on it).

I discussed this with my friend Dallas today - you pick teams with your head, but you cheer with your heart. I've made it a policy of mine: if I have no one to cheer for or against, I cheer for the lower seeded team. This is what makes the NCAA Basketball tournament so much fun (and the football BCS system such a joke) - pretty much anyone has a chance to win (unless you're a 15 or 16 seed, then you just enjoy the fact that you were there). The Cinderella teams are endearing and just flat-out fun to watch because no one expects them to do anything, but all of a sudden, they've beaten #3 Georgetown. And they enjoy doing it.

The most boring tournament happened a few years ago (in 2007? I don't remember the exact year) when there were no Cinderella teams. The NCAA selection committee were congratulating themselves for "getting it right" (whatever the crap that means), but the fans wanted to shoot themselves in the head - who on Earth wants to cheer for Duke or Kentucky? (unless you actually went to Duke or Kentucky).

Well, Washington is gaining on Marquette. Boogers... (now watch - the teams I picked as upsets won't even fly a fart in the direction of a win).

March Madness - Round 1.1.1

Florida - WHAT THE CRAP???? Your idiotic football blueblood BCS nonsense pisses me off during football season, and your basketball team has a chance for redemption - AND YOU FAIL MISERABLY!! You would have been a Cinderella team - EVERYONE LOVES CINDERELLA!! (except Duke, but they're jerks anyway) Oh, I forgot - you're too snotty to be a stinking Cinderella team. (I'm glad I didn't get to serve in Gainesville. Punks).

K-State - That was a freaking boring game. I don't know why CBS thought we wanted to see that over the St. Mary's-Richmond game (like I said, everyone loves a Cinderella team). I don't blame you - just whomp on the zoobies on Saturday and I will love you forever.

Vanderbilt - THANK YOU FOR SCREWING UP MY BRACKET!! I HAD YOU GOING TO THE SWEET 16! (losers...)

Murray State - I can like you, even though by beating Vanderbilt you messed things up for my bracket. This is how March Madness works - you pick the winner with your head, but you cheer for the underdog with your heart.

Villanova, Old Dominion, and Baylor - Thank you for not screwing up my bracket. *cookies!*

Later tonight - UNLV-UNI, Tennessee-SDSU, UTEP-Butler and a bunch of other teams that I don't know off the top of my head.

Rise and Rise Again

Thus, I formally begin my list of movies I must see this summer ("Alice in Wonderland" is definitely on the list, but it came out in that weird spring-not-quite-summer movie season).

I had no idea they were making a new "Robin Hood" movie. And to see the trailer, this makes me happy. As does the fact that Maid Marian gets to kick ass. I really have nothing more to say about it except - SQUEE!!

On a personal note - this movie is coming out the week of my birthday! I've decided that all good things happen around my birthday - the NBA playoffs, summer vacation, summer movie season - I'm sure there's something I'm missing, but that's enough for now.

Instead of Nuclear Holocaust, You Get the 15th Century

Before I get into the "24" Rehash - can I just say that the night sky out here is brilliant beyond all reason? Where I used to live had a great view, but when you get out in the sticks with absolutely zero outside lighting - there are stars that show up that I don't even think NASA has seen yet. Just - wow. You city-dweller-types are missing out. See what happens when you punt on third down? (I think only my flist will get that obscure reference, but they are my flist and as such are entitled to certain inside benefits) ^_^

Okay - that's enough of the Discovery Channel. And on to "24!"

***SPOILER ALERT***BACK THE CAR UP OUT OF THE TUNNEL!***KABOOM!***

My creativity's back! Huzzah!

Dana's toast. I know I said it last week, but it never gets old. Can't she just call White Trash Boy-Toy a stalker and get it over with??? Who knew that the Hazzard County Parole Board would be so connected? Jeez - he's got every NYPD guy on speed dial.

Speaking of New York's Finest - this is the only show I know of that portrays NYPD as a bunch of chumps. I guess the whole not-believing-Jack-Bauer-even-though-he's-r

ight-99.99%-of-the-time knows no law enforcement agency bounds (Oh, and the .01% of the time he's wrong, that's just because they need to have something for Chloe to do).

The whole "File 33" shock-and-awe thing was a little lost on me. It was like they wanted all of the audience to fall out of their chairs and go "NOOOOOOO - YOU CAN'T DOOOOO THAT!!!!!!" - but none of us did.

Teran is an ass. Kayla's an idiot for believing the ass. Daddy President should have clobbered the ass when he had the chance (I guess Jack's the only one around here who's allowed to be aware of his inner-terrorist-creepward-alarm. Well, boogers).

Now that CTU is down for the count, two things are going to happen - Jack is FINALLY going to get the free rein he deserves (but without Chloe running tactical - well, it just adds a new challenge to the situation). And Dana caught the luckiest damned break in the history of forever (boo...) Whatever - just as long as Jack starts shooting crap, I'll be happy.

Oh, and you know what's really weird? I was recently reading a series about the impending Second Coming and the terrorists in that book use an EMP over all of the United States to throw everyone in the country into chaos. It was a little creepy watching tonight's episode with that in my brain... Hm...

Well, This is Quite Fortuitous

We had Branch Conference today and there was quite the happy announcement that I knew was coming, but it's really cool to announce it when it's all official and junk. In April, there will be a singles branch in Delta! It officially starts April 18th and I am ecstatic beyond all reason.

Not that I don't like going to church at my home branch. In fact, if I could just go there, I would. But people make idiotic comments and wonder when you're going to start dating and when are you going to leave the home fires to seek your fortune? (Individuals who are nicer than me refer to this as "Those with an underdeveloped sense of appropriateness." I just call it "Those who like to make asses of themselves.")

When I got on the plane to come home from my mission, I had a lot of weird emotions. One was that I was excited to come home, but sad to leave Florida. But another thought I had was that I had no idea where I was going to live or even where I would go to church. I have already chronicled my hate and disdain for singles wards. And that was just a student ward - I haven't carped about actual singles wards that aren't attached to a college.

Coming home, I did NOT want to relocate to Salt Lake for any reason because when I lived there a couple years ago, I learned that people go to Salt Lake singles wards to just ferment until they turn 35. That's just not something I fancy doing. But what other options are left to me? Provo and/or Orem? (I think I just threw up in my mouth...)

The stake I finished my mission in had a singles branch very like what the Delta 8th Branch will be. And I liked how they ran things. It was a smaller group (well, duh, it's a branch) and they were all pretty close-knit. And it didn't seem like they were all expected to "just" get married (which is one of my biggest beefs about singles wards/branches). They all had a lot more in common with each other and they actually had fun instead of just manufacturing their fun. So, I'm happy about this.

(Dang, Utah State Aggies playing Texas A&M Aggies... Hee hee hee ^_^)

Well, This Is a Great Time to Deny It!

ARGGGH!!! I just had my "24" rehash AND my analysis of "The Big Bang Theory" typed up - then I hit "post" and it all WENT AWAY!! And it didn't post!! I must go cry...

Okay - I'm back - will try to reconstruct... (stupid didn't copy/paste... stupid, stupid, stupid... *headdesk*)

Since I was coming home last night, I missed "24" and "The Big Bang Theory." But - that's what DVR is for!

Short carp session - can someone explain to me why I schedule myself for so much crap this week? It's all stuff I want to do (some are a lot more fun than others *points to Thursday night*). And since my car is still in the shop, I am at the mercy of others for rides into town. Luckily, in the "I am blessed" column, my dad is coming back to the desert tomorrow night and then he has to go back Thursday morning and has agreed to let me hitch a ride. And before you all say "Are you crazy?" let me just mention that this is normal for my family. And yes, we're crazy.

Okay - "The Big Bang Theory" - last week was Stan Lee and Marvel, this week was Lord of the Rings. It's has been a non-stop-geekery-fest for me these past two weeks. Watch - next week will be Narnia or Harry Potter :)

Things to love:

- Sheldon going Gollum (and here I thought he'd just drop the Ring down the drain)

- Penny punching Sheldon when he tried to molest her in the middle of the night and Leonard going "That's my girl."

- Leonard. He just wins.

- Raj's lawyer cousin and the jet-ski ultimatum

- Howard flinging insults at Sheldon's Me-Maw and Sheldon's resultant indignation.

- Leonard's total sell of having sent the Ring back to New Zealand and really he had it stash under his bed in a shoebox (Anything Leonard, really. Have I mentioned he wins at life. Too bad - he wins at life).

On to "24" - I am more concerned with these spoilers because if I spoil "24" for people, they hate me more.

***SPOILER ALERT***I'M TOO TIRED TO BE CREATIVE HERE***SPOILER ALERT!***

It's about time Chloe got a little more love around this place. Do you see how much has gotten done since Dana and Freddie went AWOL?

Speaking of Dana - Honey, the time to deny you know White Trash Boy-Toy is when CTU security first called you about him, not when the Hazzard County parole officer flies in from Podunk and calls you in the middle of the night. My bet is that Dana's gone by the time McDonald's starts selling breakfast.

Arlo is an idiot. He's the Milo of season 8 - hormonal, whiny and a pain in the butt.

Don't you just love it when the terrorists are all "Ha ha - you stupid federal agents and your stupid code of ethics" and Jack is all "Dude, I'm not a federal agent." I bet Marcos wet himself a little more at that line. But I highly doubt that Jack would make Mommy Al-Farquad clean up her son out of the chamber. Ewwwwww....

Speaking of Mommy Al-Farquad (and I can't remember her name for the life of me and the 24 Wiki isn't working right now, so that's her name), it's nice to see a blonde be reasonable and not ask stupid questions and obstruct CTU when they're trying to do their job. Then again, Jack sent Freddie in to collect her, so it had to be pretty easy.

Daddy President had a total Jack Bauer "I'm-right-and-nobody-believes-me!" moment and he didn't even know it!

Kayla has a perfect excuse to dawdle in the hotel room until CTU gets there - "Honey, I'm going to take a 20 minute shower because you were only in there for 20 seconds and why let all that hot water go to waste?"

What will next weeks' plot twist be? Renee's in with the terrorists? Kayla's been feeding intel to the bad guys this whole time? TONY SHOWS UP TO BE ALL AWESOME AND JUNK?? *hope springs eternal* Or is it just Freddie's really a girl (well, that's not much of a plot twist). I really have no clue - I'm just throwing stuff out there.


Guess I'll Just Sweat All Summer

The girls were out of school today, so Mom took all us sisters shopping for new clothes and I was excited - until we got there and found that everything was (a) out of my price range and (b) ugly beyond all reason. Like, fat old lady ugly. I`m really sad about this becuase all of my summer clothes are worn out and I could use a few new things. Most of the cute thing I own are for the depths of winter. I hate dressing for summer.

Wait a sec... when did I become so clothes-conscious? I used to hate this crap. Now I`m all... girly. Ugh...

In my defense, I didn`t get much sleep last night. My sister, the Fireplace Nazi, wouldn`t let us turn the electric fire on last night, so the basement was freezing and I was up until about 2:00 trying to fall asleep. Then I threw on a pair of socks and stole a blanket from the aformentioned Nazi`s bed and all was well (Holy Jimmy Carter... XP)

Saturday Wrap-Up

Just came back from a baptism (yay!) They are rare events out here in our tiny corner of the Lord's vineyard, but it reminded me of my mission *is nostalgic all of a sudden*

But now I have boatloads of homework to finish and I needed to reprint one of the articles I'm assigned to read because I can't read the microscopic print on the one I originally did (sometimes, conserving paper and ink is just not worth it - to hell with the trees if I can save my dwindling eyesight). And this thing had four - count 'em FOUR pages of bibliography (and each printed page is a two-page spread from the textbook, so, yeah, it's more than a little ridiculous). If I'd paid better attention before I hit print, I could have completely skipped all that garglemesh. But that's neither here nor there.

In other news, I've been on a "Wicked" kick lately and on the way back from the baptism, I was singing along to the soundtrack. I was being a goofball and trying to hit all the high notes on "Defying Gravity." And I did pretty good for being so out of practice. But the very last part where Elphaba holds that really long "Bring Me Down!" my vocal cords gave out. But I was sooo close! Well, as much as I did, I'm quite proud of myself.

And I have a big week coming up - going shopping with Mom and my sisters and my aunt is going through the temple on Friday! If you're not LDS, just know that this is sort of a big deal and it's even bigger for my aunt because she's come a long way to be able to do this. The best way I can describe what going through the temple for the first time is that at baptism, you make pretty important promises with God to be the best you can be and follow His commandments and He blesses you. In the temple, we make even more promises which help us come closer to the possibility of becoming like Christ. Everything in the temple directs us to the Savior and helps us remember Him even better than we could without that perspective. We don't talk what goes on in the temple outside the temple and we catch some flack for that. But I think what some people don't know is that those of us what have been to the temple don't even discuss it amongst ourselves because it's simply not appropriate to do so. It's like trying having a deep heart-to-heart with your significant other at something as rowdy as a football or basketball game. It just isn't the right place for such a conversation. But I digress - if you're curious, I certainly encourage honest questions (not ones that just want to be belligerent or prove some kind of ignorant point that I'm going to hell because I'll shut you off right there - I don't debate religion. Period. It accomplishes nothing other than a nasty fight over something that is really stupid to be fighting about). If you want to have an honest discussion, by all means, let me know and we can PM or something. But that's what that's all about and I'm really excited for my aunt, so I must share my excitement with my friends! :)

Anyway, I have work to get done and I should wrap this up. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Being Bold Tingles

So, I'm on one of the conservative right-wing websites that I frequent (hillbuzz.org - just to give the Boyz some more publicity ^_^) and they're talking about some issues that I'm quite passionate about. I logged on to make a few comments - holy crap I got heated. And snarky - don't forget the snark.

I don't think I could do that face-to-face with somebody. I'm too timid in real life. Unless I know you very well - then I could call you a dirty, rotten you-know-what to your face and not bat an eyelash. Especially if you really are a dirty, rotten you-know-what. But the internet makes it so much easier (for the record, just calling somebody a dirty, rotten you-know-what really doesn't solve anything. Just like the terms RAAAAACIST and homophobic and Nazi have lost meaning - you have to have facts behind why you're disagreeing with somebody. Otherwise, people will think you work for MSNBC. And, yes, we've determined that RAAAAACIST is now spelled with five "A's" and your resident English major has signed off on it. So it is written, so it shall be).

These are precarious times we're living in (honestly - study history - when are we not in precarious times?) and there's a lot to be passionate about. I think the more you educate yourself and really think about what's going on around you, the more you want to do something about it. And we all do that in different ways (my way just happens to be the most correct - lol). But my hat's off to those who are passionate about their beliefs.

I have no patience with moderates. Moderate is just another way of saying "I don't know what the crap I think, but I need to have a position to look hip, so moderate sounds like a safe choice." Moderate may okay in eating habits and exercise, but it doesn't cut it in core values.

Maybe I'm too passionate about some things - but somebody has to be.

This is What You Got Your Merit Badge in Kayaking For!

I'm on the shiiiiiiny computer in Delta today ("Star Trek" ain't got nothin' on this bad boy). And through the combine efforts of DVR and Hulu, I was able to catch both "24" and "The Big Bang Theory" a day late, but never a dollar short.

Spoilers, yes. Laughs aplenty, even more yes (and heaven knows I need them):

***SPOILERS LIE IN WAIT TO EAT PUPPIES AND SMALL CHILDREN (someone call the pansies from KSL News!)***

The Big Bang Theory - Excelsior!!

I always pictured Stan Lee as this kindly old grandfatherly comic book artist. Proving once again that Laker fans are nice when they need to be, but when the cute little fanboys start showing up, you're better off being Penny (poor Sheldon - but he is an arrogant genius and he really ought to tone it down. This is why I fangirl Leonard)

I want one of those t-shirts Raj had. And he finally got to express something in front of Penny without having to go through a mediator!! Awww... I'm so proud of him. Even though all he did was push a button that made the "ehhh." sound from those old 60s game shows - it's progress!!

Leonard's Spider-Man ringtone made me smile. (I want a Leonard. I really do. He's so cuddly ^_^)

I wanted to cry for Stuart. It takes a special sort of comic book store proprietor to be stood up by eight stray cats.

I don't write too much about TBBT because it's just so darn funny on it's own. What do you need jokes from me for?

On to "24" -

The Lady of Shalott Meets the Swamps of New York - Or was that Ophelia of "Hamlet?" My knowledge of literature has been rusty of late.

Dana and Freddie are pretty much done. It's only a matter of time before they get caught. Sheesh - Freddie's as bad as Jenny Scott was/is/whatever (this name-change business is fricking screwed up). You should have just come clean, Nancy - I mean Dana (crap, now I'm even more confused).

One, two, three - AWWWWW... for Jack/Renee. I hope Miss Renee isn't done this season. And you know what, I think Rob has some kind of vendetta against Renee. Or maybe Bubba Gump. Anyway, he's pissed at somebody. I haven't seen someone that vengeful since Sum Ting Wong showed up to cart Jack off at the end of season 5 (I'm going to get shot for that joke).

Nothing gets a president and his estranged wife un-estranged faster that the prospect of their daughter having run off with the heretofore trustworthy head of security. All I have to say to President Dennis Miller Hassan is that you had your blonde American bimbo - at least Kayla stayed within the country for her fling.

Today, You Become a Man - Can I get a "Big Damn Hero" for The Boy Scout Formerly Known As Owen?? The kid is about to pass out from the sheer stress of being cornered by a suicide bomber (who is actually just out of diapers himself) and he pulls it off! There is much Owen love from the "24"-verse today.

What's the betting Marcos wets himself before he gets the bomb re-wired next week? I'm not even remotely worried about the situation. He wasn't this big of a pansy when he played the Pharoah in "Night at the Museum." What the heck happened?