Try the Priest - It's Heavenlys

Just came back from Utah State's production of "Sweeney Todd" (I figured all the "Attend the tale..." headlines were old. And that was one of my favorite lyrics).

Well, I've been to USU theater productions before and - dang, they are awesome. This was no exception. These are my initial thoughts:

- Holy cow - Sweeney can sing! There was one note he held for - I swear, two minutes. And - how many guys can sing about "pretty women" and his lovely little daughter while offing people left and right. Kind of felt bad for the guy. Awesome performance (the guy who played Sweeney is in one of my roommate's classes - I wonder if he'd give out autographs - ha ha)

- Mrs. Lovett - is insane. And the girl who played her was amazing. I think it's harder to play crazy, funny characters than serious, dramatic roles for the simple fact that it's hard to ham it up and keep a straight face. I admire people who can do it. Brilliant performance!

- One of my mission companions had seen the Tim Burton version of Sweeney Todd and she had told me how people sit in Sweeney's barber chair and once he kills them, they slide off the chair down into the place where Mrs. Lovett makes her pies. Well, that's all well and good for movies (Tim Burton is a freakin' creative genius), but I was curious how the stage production would pull that off. Basically - not to spoil anything - the "dead" actor just kind of slides off into a trapdoor. It's pretty slick. I wonder how long they had to practice to look dead but still get down the chute without breaking something. Personally, I would probably whap my elbow or land and break my ankle. I'm sure my screaming in pain would break some of the suspension of disbelief for the audience. Just a hunch...

- Mad props go to the... well, prop department (ha ha... heh...) It never ceases to amaze me what they come up with for scenery and stage.

- Toby for the WIN!!! Dang, that kid is a crazed little bugger. And he pulled off creepy like nobody's business (it's always the innocent ones) I thought Mrs. Lovett was a piece of work. I didn't see that one coming - honestly, I thought the kid was dead. But he offs Sweeney? Granted, by that point, Sweeney was a broken shell of a human being, but Toby rubs it in nicely. I'm just sad that he won't get his muffler now... aw...

- And how 'bout Johanna shooting the prison guard? About time she showed some gusto. (Anthony's a wuss... does he ever find out that Sweeney was Johanna's father? Does Johanna find out, for that matter? Just curious...)

All in all - you USU theater peeps did a great job. Hats off to you - 3.5 out of 4 cannibalistic meat pies (razors are extra - just in time for Halloween).

Prayers Are Answered

Okay, so, I've had a pretty crappy few days (no details - that's all you need to know). And not twenty minutes ago, the phone rang and it was one of my friends from Florida, Keshia, calling out of the blue just to see how I was. And we started talking and I told her how I was feeling about things and life. And she just cheered me up with her attitude and personality. Man, I love this woman like she was my older sister - she's seen it all, but it doesn't matter. She doesn't play the victim and expect people to pity her. She goes out and uses her wisdom and experience to help others. And she helped me today, without even really knowing that I was struggling.

I'm so glad I met her! I haven't felt like I could talk to anybody about my problem because they'd think it was stupid or I was being selfish - and to be honest, I do feel a little selfish for feeling this way. But Keshia set me right - I don't have to feel selfish because everyone has something that weighs them down. But you need to walk out that door and thank the Lord for this day because it's a blessing. Stop living in the past, enjoy the present because that's what God gave you (direct quote from Keshia - considering what she's been through in her past, it carries a lot of weight). And everything is going to turn out okay.

I really owe a lot to Keshia - even though I'm supposed to be helping other people on my mission, she helped me a lot with my confidence and... well, to use her words: Before I went to Florida, I was Fluff. Now I'm a Rock. And because of my experiences, I'll be a Rock for my husband and children. And don't doubt because Satan wants you to doubt. But we can kick his sorry behind out of our lives!

(I'm just trying to get this all down before I have to go to work - and I had my blog up before Keshia called, so it was convenient)

She might even be coming up to visit - I felt bad when she asked me when I'd be coming to see her in Florida and I told I didn't know because I just don't have the money. But she said that was okay because she might have it worked out to where she could come up here next year. And to call her anytime, day or night.

It was good to talk to her.

I know Heavenly Father is mindful of us and He answers our prayers in unexpected ways. He answered mine today.

After a Week of Neglect...

(Re-posted from LJ)

It's time for a blog dump! Oh, I went back and back to see how long I've been blogging (not on Blogspot, but other places) and my first blog was posted more than four years ago. Aw... the memories ^_^

Letssee... (ooh ooh - "New Moon" TV spot - pardon the ADD moment... okay, I'm back) ... the actual week was okay - nothing crazy to report. My second job asked if I could post my articles on his blogs, which amounts to some extra hours (yay!!) Then the weekend - I went home because our stake was having big devotional at the Manti Temple (like, in the upper priesthood room; like, a once-in-a-lifetime big deal thing). That was pretty sweet and I enjoyed it.

Also, we had our family Halloween party (apparently, this tradition started while I was on my mission - it's a tradition I can support, though). A few nights before, I decided I was going to go as one of the Twilight vampires (didn't have a particular one in mind, just whoever), so I had to scramble for what I needed. I had makeup (I'm fair-skinned as it is, so I just had to go a little paler) and some cool looking high heeled boots. I went online to see how to be a Twilight vampire and they all said you had to have colored contacts, which I can see. But I already wear prescription contacts and getting colored prescription contacts for one night is pretty stupid (I'm NOT going around with yellow eyes in real life). But - intelligent me, forgot the button-up shirt that I'd found to wear, so I had to turn my Gators shirt inside out (lucky it was black). But it was cool. When I go to the Scream on Friday, at least I won't be leaving parts of my costume other places.

(TV-ADD Moment: Oh jeez, these Redskins stink...)

The party was fun - got to see some cousins that I don't always get to see. Then Saturday, Mom and Dad went to the Utes game and I stayed in Delta with my sisters and the dog.

I have a beef, however - Why is it that Utah State's football team, who aren't exactly headed for any championships anytime soon, can get on ESPN, but the two teams in the state that are ranked in the BCS (Utah and BYU) have to cater to the small fish at Versus and Comcast? We have DirecTV at home and the idiots at Comcast has bought out Versus and said that no one else can carry that channel. Versus was the ONLY chance Mountain West fans had to watch the games on TV because we have to have that insanely retarded mtn. channel - it's not even big league enough to spell anything out, I'd like to point out (hate you, Dave Checketts, HATE YOU!!!) It sucks that I can watch every NFL game that I want, but I can't even get a simple local college team on TV. Sigh... an argument that's been levied for at least three years and probably will be revisited until the rest of forever. It's like universal health care - no one wants it, but they snuck it through and now that we have it, we can't get rid of it.

Oh well - the Utes won. BYU got spanked. Even though they beat BYU, TCU is fast becoming the Patriots of the Mountain West - where the crap did they come from, can we please shut up about them and will the Utes please beat the snot out of them? I just don't want them beating MY team, that's all.

(TV-ADD Moment - I usually love adaptations of "A Christmas Carol," but this Disney 3D version looks like a hack job just so they can have a kiddie 3D Christmas movie. Hm...)

And last night, I got back at 12:30 am - and I'm getting a cold (Zicam, NyQuil and orange juice are on hand), so I am wiped out.

PS - Amazon.com is selling Sarah Palin's new book for $9.oo for pre-order (plus shipping - amounts to about $13.00). Beats the nearly $30 that it will be once it's out. Just a little free promotion for Governor Palin (future President Palin ^_^)

Welcome to the Imagi-Nation!

**This is meant for any of my writer friends or others who considers themselves an intellectual or creative type. Even if you don't think you are, chances are you'll find an application here anyway.**

Wow - had an excellent Institute class today (given - I've never had a non-excellent Institute class. I've long since determined that, like Apparating inside Hogwarts or outrunning Edward Cullen or the Detroit Lions having a winning season, this is impossible). I gained some great insights that apply to me and quite possibly a lot of people and I feel compelled to share them.

Currently, I'm in a class on the Pearl of Great Price. It's a short book, but it's chock full of great doctrine, if you dig deep enough (oh boy, do we ever dig!) Right now, we're talking about the Creation and how science and religion add up, but that's not what intrigued me today. It's something our teacher said. At the beginning of class, he held up a brick and asked us all to list as many uses for a brick as we could in 60 seconds. So, we did - at the end of the time, he asked us to tell us how many things we thought of - the class average was around 15. To illustrate the point, when he would do this exercise as a student, the class would come up with 30-50 uses.

Conclusion: we are less creative and imaginative nowadays. We let other people be creative and we just be entertained by their creativity.

To tie all this into the Creation, he asked us a series of questions: What does God imagine? What kinds of things does God daydream about (inasmuch as He would daydream - just go with me here)? What does the Greatest Creative Genius in the universe imagine in His free time? And how does that show our potential as His children?

He said some things that really struck me that I want to share. Of all God's creations, we are the only ones that have the ability to imagine - to create literature and art, to build a space station, to develop the Internet, to reason, to philosophize. BUT - what does that amount to in each of us?

And this is the one that hit home: Are you letting someone else's imagination stifle yours?

I had to think on that one. I've been working on a novel since high school that has gone through so many incarnations, for better or worse (I hope better). Sometimes, when I find a fellow writer friend, I will share some of my ideas because I am so in love with this story and the characters and I really, really, REALLY want to write it and I want to have a sounding board. But sometimes (not all the time, but now and then) the person I share it with says "Why did you call your town X? That sounds a lot like the town from book Y." Or even - I'll read a new book and there'll be something in the plot that resembles something I've included in mine, and that'll frustrate me because I feel like I'm the last one to the table and I can't do that now because someone else did. For instance: I picked up a book that retells the legend of King Arthur from the perspective of the women in the story and one of the characters had a piece of jewelry that resembled something I had one of my characters own. And I'd never read this book before - it was pure coincidence! (not to mention, English majors are conditioned to be deathly afraid of anything remotely resembling plagiarism. It's like the swine flu of the literary world).

Sadly, I concluded that I do let others' imaginations stifle my own. And it's not solely reserved for my writing, either. I've wanted to pursue a Masters degree since I knew it was something I could do, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to study - I had a boatload of options and Masters degrees in any field of English are highly specialized. You have to pick Medieval Literature or Studies in 20th Century American Folklore or Literary Fiction or Poetry ... the list goes on.

While I was on my mission, I decided that I wanted to do it in Library Science. So, when I got home, I started researching programs, picked one that felt right and began applying. I am in the ending phases of the application process and I am very pleased with myself and there are others who are happy for me. But - there are a few that give me funny looks when I tell them I'm getting my Masters degree to become a librarian. It's like "You'll have spent six years in school just to be a librarian?"

Honestly - it hurts. And I started to second-guess my decision, just like I second-guess my story decisions. Decisions that I have pondered long and hard on (yes, I think LONG and HARD on my story - I've worked on it this long, it's going to be good, gosh dang it!) And I hate second-guessing my decisions - makes me feel like all the work I've done is a waste and I'm no good at anything. And even though the criticism might not really be worth my time or even energy, somehow it gets stuck. It's something I have to deal with - that's when I go to the people whose opinion really does matter - usually a member of my family or a close friend and they put me straight and all is well with the world.

But the lesson in Institute really helped. It's nice to know that part of my purpose is to be creative (shoot, creation is one of God's hobbies, why can't it be one of mine? Maybe not on the plane that He operates, but I can work in my own sphere. "Worlds without end" "My words never cease" - sounds like a pretty creative God to me).

I have a really creative mind, you know (at least, I like to think so). I don't mean to sound prideful or full of myself, but I'm a good writer and it's something I enjoy (and I love books and nothing would thrill me more than to be a professional bookworm ^_^). I just have to stop taking what other people say to heart as much as I do (unless it's warranted - but that's on a case-by-case basis).

That's my story - hope it helped any of you creative-imagination-driven types out there. What do you think? Let me know! (even if it's bad - hey, if I'm ever going to be published, I need to get used to negative feedback).

And I'm going to post this now before it gets any longer. But it's something good to muse about (ha ha - "muse" - no pun intended ^_^)

The Honeymoon is Over

So... I downloaded a boatload of PotterCasts (pretty much everything I missed on my mission) and I downloaded the audiobook for "Harry, a History" by Melissa Anelli (who is also a PotterCaster and the webmistress of The Leaky Cauldron. And calm down - I downloaded it from Audible.com, so it's legal). I've been listening to all these - and, quite honestly, everyone is getting on my nerves. Sue's constant apologetic tone for theories and reporting the news is annoying. Melissa's thinly veiled attempts at political-correctness-and-objectivity-that-really-isn't ticks me off. Even John's jokes have gotten vulgar. Frak is okay - to a point (I guess since I've been introduced to him in post-mission life, I can handle him).

I guess it's time to move on. As I listened to Melissa's book, I realized how little I have to do with that fandom anymore (that I probably never had much to do with the hardcore geekery in the first place). Oh, I'm still excited about the next Harry Potter movie and the possibility of going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando - but Leaky has gone too liberal for me (or maybe they always were and I had the excitement of the books to disguise it).

I dunno... between dealing with the "Dumbledore is gay! Hooray!" puke-fest and the socialist HP Alliance, I feel like my fandom's been hijacked by people whose opinions routinely spit in my face and insult me on a personal level constantly.

A note related to Dumbledore's sexual preferences: as part of my playing catchup, I listened to PC's "Harry goes to Comic Con" live show. Here, Melissa and several others were part of a Harry Potter panel. Most of the audience, it seemed, were there for things other than Harry Potter. Someone, not of the HP fandom, brought up the question of what Dumbledore's "outing" had done to the fandom. Someone from either the Sugar Quill or Fiction Alley (neither of which I frequent, seeing as how I am not a fanfiction devotee) responded that it was great because they finally had ammo to throw at all the "hateful" people who requested that fanfiction be kept clean and that homophobia has no place in Harry Potter, so get out you intolerant non-homosexual religious person, you!

That's not exactly how it was said, but that's how I felt after she said what she said. And the fact that people cheered for it just rubbed salt in the wound. It's the first time that a podcast has made me cry. Honestly, I thought all that hullabaloo would die down and life would go back to normal, but I guess it hasn't and it won't.

I don't believe homosexuality is moral or even natural - BUT I don't believe that makes people who have chosen to be homosexual inherently evil. I believe they are human just like the rest of us and, just like the rest of us, they make mistakes that can thankfully be forgiven through the Atonement. The choices they make are between them and their Creator and none of my business.

Don't Harry Potter fans know what it's like to be laughed at and ridiculed for something they treasure? Sorry, but my moral values are a touch more deeply held than my love of Potter and they come first. I never knew that Harry Potter fans could be bullies, but when you get to interview JK Rowling and are on Scholastic and Warner Brothers' speed dial, I guess there comes a point where you become "The Man" that you fought so hard against.

(As an aside, I laughed during the Wizard Rock chapter when the DeGeorge brothers of "Harry and the Potters" fame, who had worked so hard to flourish and not sell out of mainstream rock and "stick it to The Man" suddenly became "The Man" of Wizard Rock when they told Alex Carpenter of "The Remus Lupins" that he couldn't perform unless he was opening for the Potters. Talk about hypocrisy. I was happy when Alex told them - in effect - "screw you" and continued to play. I knew there was a reason I preferred his music over the others.)

Anyway, that's one example of how I suddenly feel disenfranchised by my once-fandom-of-choice. And it doesn't feel like I can do much about it because I'm just one person - one person who's been out of the loop for a year and a half doing something that, quite frankly, I'm sure I would get laughed at if I were to mention it on the boards at Leaky.

Mission life changes you. You see things you once loved in a new light and, sometimes, that stuff has to drop out of your life. I still enjoy the Harry Potter books, but the fandom continues to disappoint. I'm not ready to give it up completely - I promised myself I would finish listening to all these PotterCasts - maybe some kind of redemption is possible, but I doubt it. However, I hear Twilight has a big following - maybe I can find some intellectual grownups over there.

Or, maybe I should just read the books and forget about any kind of fandom interaction. I know I'll listen to my own theories.

(x-posted)

FAIL, NFL. MASSIVE FAIL

Rush Limbaugh is dropped from a group to buy the St. Louis Rams. I will try to keep the capslock to a minimum, but no promises.

This has gotten me so infuriated. Number one: Rush Limbaugh can't buy an NFL team, but Keith Olbermann can flap his gums during analysis on Sunday Night Football? And people say it's not the same thing, but Olbermann is involved with the NFL's public image more than Rush would be because Keith is on TV. Tell me what is wrong with this picture because I'm apparently too stupid to get it.

Honestly? Fans don't care who the team owner is - unless your team stinks (which, the Rams are awful - sorry, it's true). NFL fans knows the name of one, maybe two people who owns any professional sports team (everyone knows who Jerry Jones is because ESPN craps their pants every time someone associated with the Dallas Cowboys bends down to tie their shoe). The players don't care because they get paid as long as they play well - even some who don't play well get paid. To my knowledge, no active NFL players have said anything about his bid for the team (I've heard some vague reference to "players who wouldn't play" for Rush, but none were named. Granted, that came from the players unions, so I don't know how reliable that information is).

BUT... the lovely players unions have to get involved (which, because of the unions, there may be an NFL lockout next year). And Commissioner Roger Goodell... I really respected him because the NFL hasn't had a lot of problems other pro leagues have had largely due to his efforts, but his comments on Rush's ownership of the Rams are hypocritical, especially after he let Michael Vick back into the league (which, great that he's forgiving and what-have-you). Even the owner of my Colts, Jim Irsay, has to give his two cents and that ticked me off (to illustrate my earlier point, this is first I've heard the name of the Indianapolis Colts owner and I've been following them for a good ten-twelve years).

Number two: Rush has been a big fan of the NFL for a long time. He references football quite often on his show and discusses it when it comes up, to the chagrin of some listeners that would rather Rush "stick to the issues." But it's something he enjoys and, honestly - it's fun. After a day of deconstructing liberal idiocy, everyone needs hobby. So, Rush has had success in his career and he wants to use his OWN MONEY to dabble in a hobby of his and they all say "Oh no, you can't do that because you're controversial and we can't have any controversy in sports" (Controversy? Sports? No...) Rush has given the NFL quite a bit of free airtime on his show. It's mostly water-cooler-type talk, but it's still coverage. Next question: Is this how you repay someone who has been a fan for years and years and now has the means to be involved on an executive level? Good grief - you let the morally-image-challenged Fergie buy a share of the Miami Dolphins but nobody's getting their shorts in a wad over that.

99.9% of controversy around Rush comes because the idiot out-of-context media can't quote him right on anything. I've listened to Rush since childhood and I am hard pressed to think of something that was LEGITIMATELY racist (you know, something that wasn't sarcasm or a joke. I guess conservatives aren't allowed to joke. Add that to the list right underneath "like football" - by the way, to any liberals that are lurking around here, I was making a joke.. Go ahead and take me out of context and run me through the mud. I eagerly await a call from Katie Couric - wait, I wouldn't even have that much notice, would I?).

The Rams need help. They are 0-5 (good grief, the Detroit Lions, who were winless last season and are perpetually awful, have a better record than the Rams) and have stunk for a while. I've said it since it was announced Rush was part of the bid to buy the team: Rush knows football and he would certainly be an asset to any organization that wants to win. And I have to point out that (A): Rush wasn't even the head of this operation. Dave Checketts was (which, I'm not a Checketts fan for reasons too numerous and too unrelated to get into here) and (B): The Rams aren't even officially up for sale yet (the organization is only reviewing the team's ownership, which means there's a chance they won't be sold at all - correct me if I'm reading this wrong).

You know, my mom is the biggest fan of the St. Louis Rams and has been since she was a little kid - she was vindicated when they first won the Super Bowl. And I liked them too. And I wished they would do better. But after this nonsense, I hope they pull a Detroit Lions (and they're on the road to it). Apologies to St. Louisians, but this is so ridiculous.

(x-posted)

Well, I've Never Done This Before

You'd all laugh at me - I'm sitting here with a cold washcloth perched on top of my head because I cracked my head on the corner of our very poorly designed kitchen cabinet. And it won't stop bleeding (at least it isn't pooling blood like it was an hour ago - oy, that was scary). So, now I have a goose egg on my head (and I gave it a nice cold-compress nest to sit in. I'm sooo nice).

Just what you all wanted to know, I'm sure.

PS, The Colts won tonight. They basically won in the first half, so we football TV watching-types have to suffer through listening to Chicken Neck try to make a 28-9 game exciting. I almost feel sorry for Tennessee, but it's their fault for not playing better. But my vomit reflexes at all the Austin Collie-love are getting more and more under control. I guess it helps when he scores touchdowns for your team. It would make it easier if they didn't keep referring to the fact he went to Zoobie-land. My flashback reflexes are as good as any (again, I blame Collinsworth. Everything bad that happens is Collinsworth's fault because I can't stand the idiot).

Oh - here's another question that people can't seem to shut up about: According to the NFL Players Union, it's not okay that Rush Limbaugh wants to buy part of the St. Louis Rams. If it's so terrible that a political commentator wants to be involved in professional sports, why in the world is Keith Olbermann doing analysis for Sunday Night Football? I'm more irked that Dave Checketts is connected with the deal - it's his fault I can't watch the Utes on KJZZ anymore - him and his stupid mtn. scheme to fund his retarded soccer team. But that's neither here nor there.

If anyone stands to gain, it's the Rams. They've pretty much sucked the last few years (sorry, Mom, it's true). Rush Limbaugh is a football guru. He's not going to make a bad investment on a team that stinks (notice he's not buying part of the Detroit Lions). Insofar as owners have a bearing on team success, he's going to protect his investment by doing everything in his power (hiring decisions and what-have-you) to help the team do better. So - if players want to win, they can tell the players union to put a sock in it.

I'm pretty skeptical of players unions anyway (actually, unions of any kind are bad news). They're the reason professional seasons get locked out and everybody loses out on watching the games. As far as fans are concerned, players unions are run by Satan himself. Oh for the day when he is bound!!

(That was a long PS)

No More Twitter!!!

I found this video on YouTube. Pretty much describes why I am not - and never will be - on Twitter. Miley Cyrus just won +zillions of points in my book



(Does anyone else have a weird mental image whenever you hear "So-and-so is on Twitter?" It sounds like some kind of drug.)

Why Can't We Be Friends?

I'm listening to PotterCast, playing catch-up from the 18-month hole of my fandom life. I'm to the point where Half-Blood Prince was moved to summer 2009 instead of Thanksgiving 2008, which, I was happy about because it meant I got to see the sixth movie in theaters when I got home, instead of having to settle for waiting for it on DVD. The non-mission fandom was pissed, with good reason. I would have been the same if I was home. But I wasn't and I'm selfish, so I'm glad Warner Brothers made the change. So there *blows raspberry*

But here's another thing that I'm annoyed about: they just keep ragging and ragging on Twilight! And I am very upset by it. In my view, you cannot compare Harry Potter and Twilight in terms of content and story. Harry Potter is a coming-of-age fantasy story about a kid who has to defeat evil. Twilight is a semi-clean romance/fantasy novel geared toward teenage and adult females (and their boyfriends or husbands that want to impress them) about a girl who falls in love with a vampire and they have to find a way to make their relationship work. The only thing HP and Twilight have in common is that they're fantasy. Hell, they don't even take place on the same frickin' continent! (well - "New Moon" goes to Italy for a short stint, but that's about it). I personally think they are both very well-written and geared for their audiences, which are certainly NOT the same. The only reason - and I mean the ONLY reason - they get compared is because they both gained huge fanbases so quickly (and Robert Pattinson was in the fourth Harry Potter movie). I enjoy both for different reasons and there is nothing wrong with it.

This reminds me of the idiotic "competition" between the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies back in 2001-2003. It's so incredibly stupid. You are allowed to like more than one thing - it's not going to kill you. Honestly, you really don't even have to like anything, but give it a rest already! Sheesh.

I have to say this: I was initially impressed by Twilight because it was a fantasy/romance (and I am a hopeless romantic-type, so I tend to gravitate toward those things), it was a vampire novel, which I usually eschew because most vampire stories are all about sex (like, graphic, X-rated porno sex. No. Thank. You.) - but this one WASN'T. And it was good!! It also didn't hurt that Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon - REPRESENT!! I was excited because here was a member of the LDS Church that was having success in a genre related to the one that I want to pursue in my own career and I wasn't sure if I could do it and still keep to my deeply-held values and standards. But Stephenie Meyer did (at least, as far as I know) and that gives me hope in my own goals and ambitions (not saying she hasn't come into her own share of negativity, but you get that with anything).

PC isn't the only place that I've seen HP fans getting their panties in a bunch over Twilight. A well-loved HP icon maker on LiveJournal even is on this tirade (or was a few months ago - I was looking at some of her stuff). And the PotterCast I'm listening to mentioned that one of the wizard rock bands (I forget which one - everyone and their Kneazle has a wizard rock band) made a snide comment about Twilight, saying it was the Hannah Montana of fantasy (idiot - why do you say stuff like that at ComiCon?) And, as far as PotterCast is concerned, I guess it's just John Noe being John Noe (darn Slytherins).

You know, just because the media are a bunch of blowhards that can't make any kind of substantial comparison doesn't mean we fans have to be at each others' throats. Both Twilight and Harry Potter tell good stories that haven't been told before. If one isn't your cup of tea, you don't have to trash it. Until Stephenie Meyer says something snotty about Harry Potter or until JK Rowling says that Twilight is retarded, I want everyone to keep their inane opinions to themselves. If anything, just be happy for one another's success. Good grief, MuggleNet is affiliated with a fansite for Eragon (or they were last I checked) - which, Christopher Paolini isn't exactly Shakespeare. But, hey, there is plenty of fandom love to go around for everybody. I for one am willing to give anything a chance (Exhibit A: Philip Pullman - I finished the entire Golden Compass series before I decided that I didn't like it. And I haven't picked it up since. But I don't go on fansites or whatever and say "OMG U SUCK!" because that is a waste of my time and energy (and there will likely be people that do that to me if my book is ever published).

Seriously, people - get over it.

I know this is old news, but I want to carp about it because I didn't get to when it first happened. And it was all over the place, but that's me and my blogging.

Update - It's Cold. And it Only Gets Colder

It seems that I only update when I watch football and not so much updating on regular-life things. So, this is the quick version from my weekend.

Friday - Drove to Salt Lake for my Emporia interview (for the people that I don't tell things to - which amounts to pretty much everyone - I'm applying to Emporia State University's Masters of Library Science program. They have a distance program that comes to Utah every two years and it's pretty sweet). Interview went great - don't want to jinx myself by saying anything else.

The interview was at 8:00 pm and the genius in me had planned to drive to Delta from Salt Lake that night. It really wasn't that bad. By the time I got to Delta, I was ready to put my feet up and watch a movie or something - if it wasn't midnight already.

Saturday - General Conference weekend - yay!!! Temples announced - double yay!!! (wish one was in Jacksonville - be a nice excuse to go visit... oh well...)

Mom had a Lia Sophia jewelry party. Not much to report there.

Sunday - more General Conference - and TiVo'd football (thanks Dad!) Indianapolis ate Seattle's lunch (why does Seattle have a football team, anyway?) - Mom's hatred of BYU is extending into the NFL. She says I can't cheer for the Colts because Austin Collie plays for them (I'm pretty sure she's being facetious, but sometimes it's hard to tell). As for me, I don't care. Sure, I have painful flashbacks to 2007 when he scored and beat the Utes in the last seconds every time I see him on screen (why-oh-why does he have to wear number 17?) - but as long as he doesn't screw anything up for the Colts, I can get over it. Bear in mind, the first touchdown pass he drops, he's dog food.

Sadly - the internet was down at home, which stunk.

Anyway, I came home after Conference (by the way - Elder Holland is wonderful. On my mission, I wished more than once that I could just play his talks for people as I tracted because he dominates the socks off everyone). It took me four and a half hours in the rain to drive back to Logan. I can't wait until I don't have to drive insanely long distances at the end of a weekend (feh - yeah right). On the other hand, I got a lot of good thinking done and worked out a few plot points for you book fan-types (all two of you).

Okay, dinner's ready and I have to go - yay for homemade chicken soup!!

I Hate it When Chicken-Neck Tries to Make Jokes

Sunday Night Football - I missed the first quarter because of a church meeting and I got back to see the score as Colts 0 Cardinals 3 with the first quarter almost over. I was surprised - but not as surprised as the Cardinals were about to be.

Come on, folks. It's Peyton Manning. Colts went through and scored three touchdowns. Cardinals scored a bit, but the score ended up being 31-10. Nothing much happened in the fourth quarter. Except NBC had a graphic of Peyton Manning in a suit, which sent the fangirl in me reeling ^_^

The fourth quarter was dead boring. I know my Colts ate the Cardinals' lunch and I'm happy that they did. But I came to the point where I was quietly cheering for Arizona to score, just to make things interesting. Anything to shut Cris "Chicken-Neck" Collinsworth up. He and Al Michaels should never eye Jay Leno's job, just so you know (actually, I wish Collinsworth hadn't been eying John Madden's job, but what do you do?)

Chris Berman is wonderful, speaking of commentators. One of my favorites.

(I've always said that the Lions could do with a logo update. They've had the same logo and colors that they had when Uncle Jack played for them in the 1930s. And I just am now seeing a replay of their win and I see that they added some detail lines to their lion. Yippee. Yes, you read right, the Lions beat the Redskins. Begin the Second Coming watch).

Whoa - I'm watching SportsCenter right now and saw that Tim Tebow got hurt and sent to the hospital. That's intense - wish I was back on my mission and in Gainesville. There are some Florida fans that could use some religion right about now.

EDIT - Wow - there's a Wikipedia entry for Uncle Jack. That's awesome. I should expand on it.

It's Some Smart-People Thing

It's been a few days - between getting the rest of my grad school application mailed out and taking the GRE, I'm pooped. Mercifully, I have recovered (I hear a collective sigh of relief throughout the flist). Here's a run-down of my week, just in case you care to know.

Tuesday, I spent the day compiling all my letters of recommendation and finishing up my statement of objectives and tweaking a cover letter ("tweaking" here meaning "a process that I copy-edit a table of contents and try to make it sound professional all under 200 words") Yes, it took all afternoon. I meant to catch up on "Heroes" - luckily I have managed to remain unspoiled thus far. Happy day.

I spent Wednesday at work, getting a second job, doing my one and only written assignment for my guitar class (what are the odds that my only written assignment for an actual college class this semester would be due the same morning I take the GRE?) and studying for the GRE before the home teachers showed up (nice kids, really).

Thursday: guitar class, turn in assignment (it was all about transposing sheet music and a few other cool things that I probably would have appreciated more if I wasn't on a hard deadline here - well, maybe I can try it again in my spare time). GRE at 11:00 - now, if you know anything about the GRE, there are three sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal and Quantitative. Analytical Writing and Verbal - not a problem for me. Quantitative is a fancy word for math (I find it fascinating that math people have to give their section a word that starts with Q and has three T's in odd places). Now, I didn't know this about the actual GRE (probably should have), but after you have taken the Verbal and the... my fingers are having a hard time spelling Quantitative, so I'm just going to call it Math... section, you are given the chance to re-take the section you had the most trouble with. I didn't find this out until later, so I just thought it was someone's sick idea of a joke to give me an extra section of the Math test to do.

Another thing: in the first section of the math, the procedures and such weren't too bad - but the arithmetic was horrible (like, I knew to multiply 85 by 76.9 or something to that effect, but actually doing it without a calculator was a little tricky (if not impossible). But - in the second Math section the computer gave me, I was allowed an on-screen calculator. But by that time, the computer had me allll figured out and it only gave me problems like "Solve x+y+capybara." So, the calculator was pretty pointless.

Anti-Math Rant: I am an English major. Letters and number do not mix without serious consequences. Putting letters into math problems is like breeding a cat with a gecko. It does not occur in nature and when you force it in the lab tests, some pretty bizarre things happen that just are sick and wrong. Beyond the Sierra Club and Greenpeace on your butt - denizens of the cat and gecko populations would laugh at the poor thing and then it would want to go kill itself. Letters should never be added to numbers - it's just not pretty.

Anywho - GRE. Finished it. Lost some brain activity for a few hours, but it returned from Mordor eventually.

Friday (being today): Got an email from the Master's program I'm applying for - they want me in for an interview as part of the application process. Don't entirely know what that means, but it's got to be good. I have an interview next Friday. I'm pretty excited ^_^

That's my smart-person update for the week.

A Win in Fifteen Minutes or Less or This Game's Free

The Indianapolis Colts beat the Miami Dolphins 27-23 on MNF. And I have a few thoughts:

1. It Helps When You Score in the First 12 Seconds: Proving once again that Peyton Manning is freaking made of awesome - and Dallas Clark is a stud in his own right - the first possession of the game and Manning throws to Clark. Clark breaks a potential tackle and cruises into the end zone. So, the whole third quarter, the commentators are carping about how little time the Colts' offense has been on the field, I can't help but think - "Yeah, but what did Miami do with the ball all that time?" In the end, the Colts wound up winning the game with only having had the ball a total of 14 minutes and 53 seconds. Apparently, that's a record of some kind (I missed the ESPN graphic and I'm too lazy to go look it up). When you're the Indianapolis Colts, it's about quality, not quantity, my friends.

2. Lassie Stayed Home: The Ute in me cringed when I realized that Austin "Last Minute Stab to the Heart" Collie was starting for the Colts offensive line. There's an unnerving trend that occurs when a BYU alum starts playing in the NFL, particularly for teams that I like: when they're in college, they beat up on the Utes and gloat about it incessantly, but then they trip over their own (tied) shoelaces when they make it to the NFL, thus undoing all that "Quest for Perfection" crap that the pansies at KSL pee themselves over every week. Luckily, Lassie stayed nice and quiet and didn't let the Zoobie curse impact the game (thought I did roll my eyes after he missed a pass and the commentators chose that moment to mention that he'd served a 2-year mission for "The Church of Latter-day Saints" *headdesk* He just freaking missed a catch and you choose that moment to mention his religious affiliation? Must you lump him in with us when he does stupid stuff like that?)

3. I Find it Interesting that There's an Ad for the Paris Hotel in Vegas on the Side of my Screen Right Now: Rookie Pierre Garcon made the game-winning catch for the Colts. There will be more shouts of "Run Little French Fry!" coming from my living room this season (I doubt he's actually French, but it works. Heck, he's playing down the line from the white Mormon boy. Football doesn't discriminate).

4. Win or Lose, You Still Look Like Lisa Frank: I know, I know, I missed a year of football and apparently the Dolphins are a renaissance team. Yippee for them. I can't ever cheer for them (Sean Smith notwithstanding - though I'm glad he's doing well for himself). They're still wearing that craptastic turquoise and orange motif. Look, I know Miami has this weird affinity for the '70s - what with the 1972 Dolphins' perfect season, blah, blah, blah. But can't you update the logo and the uniforms? You're already represented by a mascot that gives Greenpeace reason for being - why make it worse for your dignity? I'm sure the Williams sisters would be happy to draw up a new design for you - something that doesn't say second grade and pigtails. That's all I'm saying.

(Guess I shouldn't talk - the Utah Jazz play in purple and powder blue. Hard to take something like that seriously.)

5. The Term "Paydirt" Should Not Be Taken Literally: Can we not play on those hybrid base/football fields? Beyond the fact that the referees' safety is in danger when they get their signals mixed up (for the non-sports educated, the signal for "No Good" in football is basically the same for "Safe" in baseball), baseball's lost all its pride - I would rather not be associated with their brand of athleticism.

What Money Can't Buy

Increase of sales tax in Arlington, TX: 0.5 cents

Tickets in the nosebleeds for the season opener just so you can watch the game on TV anyway: $50

(tickets underneath the cage dancers: $65)

Premium Parking: $75

Nachos: $15

The publicity from Jay Leno and Frank Caliendo making jokes about the new home of the divas of the NFL: $0

(jokes about the cheerleaders cost extra)

Watching Eli Manning and the Giants' offensive line march down in the last two minutes for a field goal and thus ruining Jerry Jones' party: Priceless.

Oh - the irony.

Cheer up - at least your girlfriend got a ride home. With Lawrence Tynes.

The Evening You CAN Leave at Home

(x-posted in LiveJournal)

First of all, I want you to know that I'm not questioning my testimony of the gospel. I will continue to be an upstanding member of the LDS Church and do everything that is in harmony with my deeply held beliefs. That being said, if I ever had to question something in the church, it would be this: Family Home Evening groups in single wards.

I hate them. With a passion unbridled.

This topic comes as a result of a comment made at an Institute activity tonight. The subject of church callings was brought up and how people seem to get the callings that require you to do something that you haven't exactly been involved in (example - you haven't been to an Enrichment activity, you'll probably get called to be the Enrichment committee leader). I made the comment that I dodged the bullet - I thought that I would be called as an FHE "Mom" because I hate FHE, but instead I was called as a Gospel Doctrine teacher.

(for those not versed in LDS terminology: LDS families are encouraged to set aside one night a week (usually Monday) to get together as a family and have some kind of family activity - anything from a spiritual lesson to a board game or even a night at Chuck-E-Cheese's. This is known as "Family Home Evening" or FHE for short. Those of us single people who are living on our own are not left out - our leaders put us in "FHE" groups with other single people. Each group is overseen by two group leaders - one male, one female - who are affectionately known as the "FHE Mom" and "FHE Dad." The official idea is that we can be social and make new friends in our single state of life. The unofficial idea is to put single men and single women in an environment that lends itself to getting them married. That's the basic rundown - this knowledge is crucial to my post).

The girl making the comment seemed shocked that anyone would hate FHE! She and another guy who was listening in asked me how I expected to get to know people in my ward and make friends with them. I just glared at them and said that I don't want to get to know anyone in my ward beyond seeing them on Sunday. I failed to mention - and I wish I would have had the presence of mind to say this - that if I met a small handful of people that I could get along with, that's another story. But I do NOT enjoy being put with a bunch of random strangers and being compelled to be their bestest-best friends.

I have a disconnect about FHE. It may be the fact that, growing up, whenever a new couple moved into the ward where I lived (again, for the benefit of non-LDS - where you go to church is determined by where you live. Everywhere is divided up into geographical boundaries called "wards" that are led by leaders who are from the area. Several wards put together is called a stake - which is also led by local people). Anyway - whenever a new couple moved into my ward, more often than not their introduction talks would be include something along the lines of "We met in a Family Home Evening group in the BYU 494.3rd ward." After 18 of hearing this in my home ward, you tend to think that singles FHE groups are purely meant to be meat markets. And I am totally anti-meat market.

(I'm sorry if any of you married peeps met your spouse at an FHE group in the BYU 494.3rd ward. No really, I'm sorry).

Nothing in my life is normal (I can enumerate the reasons why later, if you really want to know). If I am going to meet that "somebody special" it is going to be a completely organic, out-of-the-ordinary experience. It's not going to be the way that everyone else and their goldfish meets their spouse. It's unoriginal and it's boring. I'm actually a fan of how my sister met her husband: our family dentist set them up. That's the short version, but how's that for a story? Not to mention the fact that they can get killer discounts on dental work (my parents have a cool story too - involves a wheelbarrow and a bag of Weed-n-Feed).

I am a homebody anyway. I do not enjoy hanging out with large groups of people. I hate being in large groups of people, especially when a significant portion of them are strangers that I will likely never see after this year/semester (I find it interesting that they put us in "Family" Home Evening groups. None of us are related and likely never will be. Obviously, there are exceptions). I don't have fun in groups of people. Period. Trust me, I've tried. Hasn't worked in 24 years and it will likely never work. And that's okay. If FHE groups are your cup of tea, I'm not raining on your parade. This is my perspective and I think it will be beneficial to see another opinion out there. If you're having fun at these deals, don't let what I say stop you (unless you really want to).

It's kind of like Ultimate Frisbee. I don't particularly enjoy Ultimate Frisbee. It's great if you do, but don't expect me to wet myself over the prospect of playing. Ultimate Frisbee is for people who want to play football but can't throw or catch a football. So, they play with something that will mask their inability to catch. But I digress - I was trying to draw a parallel.

Bottom line: I want to have fun - but with people that I am extremely comfortable around and that I know for a fact that I can be myself around (those are hard to come by - even within my own family). I'm an odd duck. My preferred relaxing evening is a movie or TV show that I've seen probably a hundred times and will probably watch a hundred times more. Or a book that I'm re-reading. Or writing. Or watching whatever football game is on. I will from time to time go out and wander around Borders or Wal-Mart or Hastings (that last one's only in Logan) - if I'm feeling adventurous, I will order some KFC or Chipotle or Panda Express and bring it home. I don't socialize for the sake of socializing - there has to be a discernible purpose. Which the vast majority of FHE groups lack.

Besides, how many Book of Mormon Pictionary games can you play in college?

This is slowly becoming a tradition

I think I should just blog after church. That's where all the interesting stuff happens.

First, from the "It's a Small World" file - my old district leader was at church (don't want to say who in case I embarrass him). He said he wasn't sure if he was in my ward - but he's at least in my stake. It was odd seeing him outside the mission. Or maybe I just have a weird sense of... whatever.

Well... I'm the Gospel Doctrine teacher. It could be worse - I could be the FHE "Mom" (oh, smell...) It's actually not too bad. It's something I've wanted to do before, but I've been stuck in Relief Society and what-have-you. I'm excited for it.

Also - people in the USU 1st Stake - you need to learn how to sing "Called to Serve" (here's a lesson). That was the most anti-climatic, unfeeling rendition of the most beloved missionary song I've ever heard (I guess I can't blame the general congregation - that organ needs to be retired where it will have no chance of coming back. Unlike Brett Favre).

(I joke - I actually like Brett Favre, but Keith Oldermann keeps ragging on him. Wish someone would retire that idiot... yes, I know his name's really Olbermann, but he's a twerp, so he deserves a few typos.)

I can't hide from these people, can I?

Some people are more comfortable in hell

Finished season 7 of "24" last night. This post will be rife with spoilers (not sure how to do a cut on Blogspot - that's probably just a LiveJournal thing anyway), so if you haven't finished the latest season, better go do something else (honestly - if you really cared about "24," I highly doubt you would need to worry about spoilers at this point).

Like I said - I finished watching season 7 of "24" last night. Thus, I am in the whole 24 happiness bubble, which necessarily follows that I find images and such from season 7. And I find this piece of wonderfulness that is now sitting on my laptop desktop. Oh - the joy! (we'll just put my desktop icons over the top of Sean and Janis, shall we?)

Since I didn't get to do my episode-by-episode analysis for this season like I usually do (that will resume in January - fear not), the following are my initial thoughts of the whole season. Events occur in real time:

Jack Bauer cannot die!!! And he probably won't - smiles to Kim for showing up the save the day (we hope) at the last possible moment. I guess something about being a mommy puts things into perspective for a person (who else grinned when she mentioned her daughter's name was Teri? Begs the question - would she have named a boy Jack?)

Even if this uber-experimental treatment doesn't work and it turns out that the show's mainest-of-the-main characters does die (unlikely - but this is 24 we're talking about - Tony Almeida's hero status has just gone up considerably. Sadly - I'm not sure how redeemable he really is in the eyes of the powers-that-be (ie the President and the entire nation). Even though Jack had the Senate after his hind end, he still had some diplomacy skills that got not only David Palmer, but Allison Taylor on his side (only in the 24-verse can you get the President of the United States to listen to Jack Bauer's true-yet-seemingly-unreasonable requests. Tony... he's just been running around with the terrorists and trying to bring them down from the inside.

Then again, it has worked out for him so far. And he can pull it off. (Thus - my subject line is a Tony quote from season 4.) I could live with Tony being the hero if Jack does snuff it. Believe me... *waves Tony Almeida fangirl banner* And - it'll be territory that 24 really hasn't gone into very much - taking out the bad guys from within.

My next question - which is more attractive: Head of CTU, professional, curly-haired, cleaned-up Tony or deeply, darkly, angst, pretending-to-be-militant-terrorist, black leather (black leather!!), Tony? It's like choosing between peanut or peanut butter M&Ms. It all winds up in the same place. (Personally, I like peanut butter.)

My favorite part (as heartwrenching as it was) - when Tony had Alan Wilson at gunpoint and he was yelling about how Wilson was responsible for Michelle's - and their unborn son's death. Up until that point, I was bemoaning the loss of good-guy!Tony - but ... oh man, that just won Tony +equal to the national debt points in my book (forget "book" - Tony Almeida has a friggin' series of billboards to record how much I love him!!! - second only to Jack - but we already know Jack is amazing, so that's redundant).

question - what is it with 24 villains and offing pregnant women? Just asking... I wish Michelle had never died - I knew this would cause utmost anxiety in the 24-verse the minute it happened. Tony's never going to get over her and that makes me sad. Sad Tony is not a happy thing...

I get so involved with these characters. It's like their real people. It's sort of sad, really.

Eh - I'm going to go find season 3 ^_^

What Happens When Those Blessed With a Sense of Humor Do Their Homework

This happens.

In the aftermath of Obama's speech to Congress last night (which I could barely stomach ten minutes of - but I do regret missing Rep. Joe Wilson calling ol' Barry out on the carpet), Larry Correia took the time to go through the speech and give his own input. Underneath all the snark, there is a lot of truth to it. So read, enjoy and learn something.

(Just goes to show that politics and current events do NOT have to be boring and infuriating. The mere existence of CNN may lead you to believe otherwise, but take heart, my friends.)

Oh, PS - I've read some people wondering what the big deal was about the Prez's speech to schoolchildren on Tuesday. In the end, nothing was wrong - because the dip emasculated his speech from "Thou shalt honor the President and him only shalt thou serve" to "Ummm... be cool... stay in.... school" (I'll bet the farm that he changed it - the preview lesson plan points that he had it one way and when parents got mad, he changed it). But I bring up the fact that in 1991, Democrats got their collective granny panties in a bunch when George HW Bush gave a speech to students. But when Barry Obama gave his little "Stay in School, Rah Rah" speech, he gets a medal and a pat on the back.

This is why I abandoned my journalist aspirations. I tend to become violently ill at this sort of hypocrisy and I have no desire to become bulimic.

If that pledge video gave you the jibbilies, check this one out. It'll ease the socialist sensation you're feeling.

Ready in More Ways than You Know

The NFL season starts in a half hour - tonight's game is the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Tennessee Titans. Iiiiii'mmmm going with the Steelers on this one. It's tradition to cheer for the Steelers (and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Arizona made it to the Super Bowl last year. Just as much as I'm still trying to understand the Seachickens in 2006. I'm beginning to think that the Steelers' calling in life is to tell these cupcakes to sit down).

Besides, I've never been a huge fan of the Titans. They played the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV (in 2000 for those who are stumped by Roman numerals) and the Rams beat them, so that ended that. You have to know how I pick who to cheer for, I guess. Once I'm a fan, I'm a fan for life (on the flip side, if I ever dislike you, forget it. I take loyalty to my sports teams very seriously. Potential mates, take notes).

Another reason I am eagerly anticipating this season? I missed last season. Ironically, for the last year and a half, I actually lived in a city that is home to an NFL team and I've never been more out of the loop on football (granted, I had a legitimate excuse - besides, the Jaguars aren't that great anyway. I'd probably cheer for them if my only other option was New England or Dallas - whom I NEVER cheer for on principle).

Well, that's it for me. Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Steelers.

(x-posted to LiveJournal)


ETA: The Steelers won in a very defense-heavy game. Came down to the wire, which, those games are always fun. Now, I've been happy with NBC's coverage of the NFL, but I don't know if I can stand a whole year of Cris "Chicken-neck" Collinsworth commentating. The Steelers are marching to the endzone and all he can carp about is how stupid it was that the Steelers went to no-huddle and let the Titans' defense put in freshbodies. Just his voice grates on me...

Well, it could be worse. Keith Olbermann could be doing commentary (oy - I just threw up in my mouth).

Madden - we'll miss ya. And I'm not just saying that.

KAMIKAZE BLUEBIRD!!!!

That got your attention, didn't it?

After doing a bit of digging (and taking the advice of a somewhat experienced friend) I figured out how I COULD get into the Emporia State graduate cohort that comes to Salt Lake in January. It's going to be a narrow opening, but I think I can manage hitting the October 1 deadline. That just means that my formerly calm and easy semester in Logan has suddenly become significantly less-so.

I feel like I've gone from zero to 120 in 0.0000001 seconds. My brain is feeling somewhere between fired up and frazzled (but I bring that on myself). I can't be just calm and mellow - I have to be either completely lethargic (which gets boring after a while) or completely bouncing off the walls (which starts to hurt after a while). I am extreme - there is very little middle ground with me. Which could be good or bad, depending on what it's referring to.

(don't you all just enjoy my self-psycho-analysis?)