Camp is Over!

As much fun as this job was, I am exhausted. I was sleeping in the car on my way home. Many of the things I tried to say to my parents were slightly incoherent because I was too tired to care. Tonight...I get to sleep!

Also, I'm aware I missed posting yesterday. I had to pack during my free period, and the camp dance went late so lights out was later than usual. I just didn't have the time. I promise to do an extra post one day before the end of the month. For now though...sleep.

TV I've Been Watching

Lately I started watching two new (to me) series. I started watching Roswell and Parks and Recreation. I'm about midway through the first season of Roswell. I like it, but I don't love it. It's fun but I haven't clicked with it in that "I have to see what happens next/I need to have watched so I'm in on all the jokes" kind of way.

Parks and Recreation on the other hand...I'm midway through season 4. I started season 1 forever ago, and didn't like it. Then I heard season 2 was better, so I powered through season 1 to get to it. Now I love this show.

So yeah, that's wat I've been watching lately.

Oh and Cupcake Wars but I mean, c'mon. Cupcakes.

Quidditch Pictures

So about two weeks after I joined the Quidditch team at my school, we played a tournament against other local schools. Here are some pictures from that weekend. In case you were wondering, we were seeded 6th out of 8 teams, and came in second.

Common Questions People Ask When They Learn You Play Quidditch

I joined my school's Quidditch team in April. Since then I've learned that there are some questions you just get used to answering.

1. How do you play Quidditch?

It's basically the same as wizard Quidditch.
The chaser and keeper play are basically the same, except they use a partially deflated volleyball as a quaffle.
For beaters, obviously the bludgers don't fly around, we use dodgeballs. If we hit someone on the other team, they have to run back to their hoops.
The snitch is a person, rather than a tiny flying ball. They have a sock with a tennis ball in it tucked into their pants and the seeker has to grab the sock. The snitch is also worth 30 points, not 150. For the first 20 minutes the snitch doesn't have to be on the field. He or she can climb a tree, grab a drink at a nearby drink stand, sit in a parked car, you name it, they can do it. After 20 minutes the snitch has to return to the field.

2. But you don't actually fly around, do you?

Well obviously not. You have to keep a broom (or PVC pipe, or bamboo stick) between your legs the whole time. If you dismount, you have to run back to your hoops.

3. What position do you play?

I am a subbing beater. I'm new to the team, so I only go in if one of the starting beaters gets tired and needs a break. Sometimes I start if we don't have enough girls though.

4. What does the number of girls have to do with it?

Not counting the seeker, Muggle Quidditch requires there to be at least two boys and two girls on the field at all times as players. Equality! (The actual rule is a little different, but in most cases this is what it ends up meaning)

5. Have you seen The Internship? They play Quidditch in that movie.

No I have not seen it. Nor do I plan to.

The Twelfth Doctor

So yesterday the actor playing the twelfth doctor was announced, Peter Capaldi. I don't know much about him, but going by his interview, I'm excited to see what's to come.

Personally, I'm excited that they're going back to an older Doctor. I think it will change up the dynamic beteween him and the companion from what it's been since Rose and Nine. I'm hoping we can go back to some of what we had with Donna and Ten honestly.

So yeah, I'm excited, though I won't really know how I feel until I see him in action.

Sleep Schedules

I don't know how it happened but somehow I got on a nice regular sleep schedule during spring quarter at school. I went to sleep around midnight and woke up around 7:30. This kept happening until I finally learned to accept it. Once I accepted it, it was fabulous. I woke up refreshed, not cranky. Although I set an alarm, I never needed it, so the alarm ended up being a "okay, you should start thinking about leaving for class in about 15 minutes" alarm, rather than a "wake-up" alarm.

I kept it up for a while after I got home for the summer, but after about a week I left for my current job as a camp counselor. My sleep schedule has been ruined. I have no consistant sleep time, or wake up time. It's all dependant on when I want to shower, or if I have a staff meeting, or how much sugar I had before bed.

That being said, when the other counselors and I hang out after lights out, I'm the one who falls asleep on the couch in the lounge. Regularly.

Hopefully this means I'll be able to readjust back to my sleep schedule once I finish this job.

Six Flags, more flags more exhaustion

I'm already regretting making myself do this.

Let's see...

I went to Six Flags New England today with the camp I'm working at. I got to go on Bizarro (formerly Superman) pretty much right away, becaue the weather was sort of icky, so there was no line.

I fell asleep on the bus ride back to camp. That part was nice. The part where I had to be awake after that was less nice. But once I post this I can go to sleep so yay!

First Line Challenge

So there's this writing magazine called "The First Line" and they hold a competition where they provide the first line of a story and you write the rest. They do one for each season. I wrote a story for their Fall competition. The deadline to submit was August first. Guess who forgot to submit it? So I'm going to post it here instead.

First Line Challenge (There must have been thousands standing in the rain that day.)"

There must have been thousands standing in the rain that day. Of course, it started as a nice day. A few clouds in the sky, then, gradually, as more and more clouds began to gather strange things started to occur.

Mary Lockwood, the pastor's wife, was in the library, scanning the shelves for the latest AJ Tennent novel when she straightened up and went outside. Robbie Brown was biking to the baseball diamond when he dismounted and walked the opposite direction towards town hall, leaving his shiny, blue bicycle lying on the sidewalk. Drew Edwards, the mayor's assistant stood up in the middle of a budget meeting and walked outside.

If you'd been standing just past the town border, say on Williams Hill, looking through a pair of binoculars you would have thought the whole town was affected. Up close it was easy to tell the difference between those who were compelled to go and those who were just following along, out of concern or curiosity.

Those in the first group were walking slowly but purposefully towards town hall, not stopping for anything including oncoming traffic, reacting only to obstacles like doors or stairs. Their eyes were dull and once outside they traveled like salmon swimming upstream, relying on instinct to get them to town hall.

Those in the second group were noisy, some people calling out to their loved ones with fear, others asking each other what they thought was happening. They moved in starts and fits, attempting to stop those who walked on.

They stopped trying after what happened to Becky Lurna. At first she tried to stop him by blocking his path, but he walked around her with no reaction. She became more determined, stepping into his path once more. When he started to move to the right, slowly and deliberately, she shifted to her left, blocking his path. He paused, then started moving left. Again, she mirrored him. It was when he tried going right again only to be blocked by her once more, that he picked her up and threw her to the side.

Word spread quickly through the crowd, the rumbling voices mimicking the thunder in the distance. People made a point to stop trying to physically block the walkers. Instead they walked alongside, making passionate pleas to their families and friends.

Gradually the crowd flowed onto the lawn in front of town hall, arriving as the last of the clouds gathered, filling any gaps the sun had tried to peek through. Horace Spector, the mayor, had his staff direct onlookers off to the side, separating them from the mob.

Everyone was holding their breath, some eager, some nervous, wondering what would happen next.

That was when the skies opened, drenching the crowd in an ongoing sheet of rain. The bystanders huddled togther, some shrieking, others swearing while the others simply looked up to the sky.

Dottie Marsh was the first to notice the blood. At first it merely trickled out the noses of those who stood still as a statue. As it began to gush more heavily the townspeople began to approach their loved ones, pressing clothes to their faces to staunch the bleeding.

Their hands were pushed away. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as they began to bleed more heavily, blood gushing out of not only their noses, but also their ears and eyes. Mothers continued to try and push through to their children, but were held back by the other onlookers, who ignored their wails and protests, muttering things like "you can't help them" and "you'll only make it worse".

The dark sky lit up as a bolt of lightning hit town hall, followed immediately by a deafening boom.

All of the bloodied townspeople fell to the ground, along with several of the onlookers. Only the onlookers stood back up a few moments later.

All told, the town's population went down by about three percent, just a few hundred people. Yet there must have been thousands standing in the rain that day.

BEDA's Back!

So it's been a while, huh? The weird thing is I did have posts planned, I just never got around to writing them. So, I'm going to do BEDA again to get back in the habit of writing blog posts about things. Yeah. This is happening. I'm working 16 hour days until August 10, but yeah, I'm doing BEDA again. This is insanity.

In case you were wondering what you can expect this month I will be writing:
-Reviews of the remaining Doctor Who episodes from this last season
-What it's like being on crutches for a week
-What it's like being a sleepaway camp counselor
-Knitting Updates
-Cross Stitch updates
-And More!

Cold War

Of the three episodes that have aired so far in this back half of the season I think this has been my favorite. It was a nice return to a classic monster of the week episode. Last week may have technically been monster of the week, but it was very arc heavy, what with Clara's back story and the Doctor questioning who she was. This week on the other hand was a great stand alone.

Spoilers from here on in.

The Rings of Akhaten

Right. So. I don't know guys. This wasn't a bad episode. It just wasn't great. Honestly I think the main issue was the pacing. This episode felt very slow. It was a very different format from normal episodes, which normally I like when shows do. This episode though, not so much. I liked the story we got at the beginning, and the number of aliens was cool to see. There was just a lot that I feel like didn't make sense, even for Doctor Who.

Like the who "objects of sentiment" as currency. Say I pay for something with a necklace that means a lot to me. The person I gave it to won't have any emotional attachment to it. Can they still use it as currency? I just didn't get it.

Also, I realize that Clara said the TARDIS didn't like her. At first I thought this explained why at first, the song wasn't being translated, but later was made up of words, it took a while for the translation matrix to kick in. But Clara had a conversation with the little girl before the song started making sense so I don't know what was going on there.

Maybe on rewatch I'll like it more because I'll know what to expect from the episode.

A Technical Success

On Saturday, a group of my friends and I set out to visit Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. We hopped on the "L" (El?) and went went south, departing the El ("L"?) at the Roosevelt Red Line stop around noon, all of us hungry for lunch. We walked around a little and finally came across "The Artist's Cafe".

This was an awesome choice for lunch. First of all, as soon as we walked in, the hostess thanked us for choosing to eat with them. Sincerely thanked us. Over the 30-45 minutes we were there, she thanked us four times. They happily rearranged some tables to accommodate our group of six, and to food was amazing. I got a grilled cheese that came with three different kinds of cheeses.

Mozzarella, Cheddar, and Goat Cheese, with Pesto

If you are in the area, I highly recommend it!

So, happily full of food, we struck off towards the Shedd. After a short(ish) walk we spotted it!

The Shedd!

 Then we spotted the line.

This wasn't even half the line. It went on, and on and on.

So we decided not to go to the Shedd. We considered the Field museum, but even though the line was short, their ticket price was three times more than that of the Shedd.

The Field Museum

Instead we went for a very windy walk around the Shedd, and the Adler Planetarium to a nearby beach, as it was a warm(ish) day.

Chicago skyline with a bit of the Shedd

Adler Planetarium

Beach. 

In a not-so-shocking turn of events, despite the nice weather the beach was very empty. In an actually shocking turn of events, I cut my foot on a stick in the sand.

I didn't say I cut it a lot. 

After a while at the beach we headed off. The line to Shedd had diminished, so we had hopes of being able to enter after all. These hopes were dashed when an aquarium worker told us they had lost power and closed the aquarium. Some of us stopped to take a picture with the horse statues nearby before heading off to our next location.

I'm the one in yellow.

Our next stop was *drumroll*

The Bean! Okay, technically it's called "Cloud Gate" but come on, it's a giant bean. I'd wanted to visit the Bean since I got to Chicago and I finally did.

Proof!

After a little while chilling in the park with the Bean we headed off to our final destination, the Lincoln Park Zoo!

We saw a jaguar.

 And we saw swans.

And a beaver.

And a sloth.

And finally, making our trip to the aquarium a technical success

we saw fish.

The Bells of St. John

DOCTOR WHO IS BACK!!!!! That needs to be emphasized.

As always, SPOILERS are below.

Job Hunters Season 2 Kickstarter

Hey everyone!

So there's this great web series called Job Hunters. It takes place in a dystopian future where graduate have to go into an arena to fight and kill in order to get jobs. It also serves as a form of population control. The show is very funny. Season 1 aired on youtube about a year ago. There are 6 episodes of about 10 minutes each, so it only takes about an hour to watch. Here, I'll put in the first episode for you.




So, as you can see, it's really good. And they did the whole thing on a budget of $14,000, donated through a kickstarter campaign. The main reason they could do it so cheaply? Lot's of people donated their time and resources. So a lot of people worked for no money, and the creators feel bad about that.

So, in order to make a season 2, they've created another kickstarter asking for $50,000 this time. They have a chart showing where the money will be going, but a plurality of it will be going to paying the crew.

Right now they have about $17,200 pledged and 9 days to go. If they don't get the rest of their funding, no one pays anything, and the show goes unmade.

If you like what you see, please consider giving even a small amount to help get season 2 made. I chipped in $21 but there are rewards for amounts as low as $3 (though if you want to be the first person to pledge/donate $5,000 that's your business).

Oh and if anyone was wondering, I'm not affiliated with Job Hunters in any way. I'm just a fan, trying to get the word out, so this great series can continue. And so that I can found out the result of that cliffhanger. Because seriously, the way the final episode ended is not okay. I need to know what happens.

Thanks!

What "The Veronica Mars Movie Project" could mean for your favorite TV show

Earlier today Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell, the creator and star of Veronica Mars, announced that there will be a Veronica Mars movie next year...if the fans helped pay for it. Enter the kickstarter asking for $2 million by April 12. Basically, the deal with Warner Brothers, who owned the right was that if they could get the money to make the movie, WB would pay for distribution and marketing.

As you can see if you go to the campaign, The Veronica Mars Movie Project met its goal, in one day, and still has people making pledges. 

All this has sparked a lot of discussion about what this means for the future of TV movies. Some people have expressed concern that this will become how all future movies are made. Mostly people are just excited about what it means for their favorite cult shows that got canceled. Everyone is throwing around names of shows that could get made into TV movies now, so I thought I'd share my opinion of some of them. 

Firefly: The Movie

One of the most commonly suggested shows to get this treatment, given that the first movie got made on the strength of the series' DVD sales, it isn't that much of a stretch to imagine it would try a kickstarter campaign.  The stars have also expressed interest in coming back and continuing their roles. Unfortunately, it also has a lot of things working against it. The first movie didn't do very well at the box office, so the studio might be wary to make it, even if the fans chip in. Also, given that the show is science fiction and takes place in space, it's going to need a MUCH bigger budget than $2 million, so any realistic amount asked for might just end up being too much to actually get. Also a problem (though a good one), Joss Whedon is pretty busy right now with Avengers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so even if it does happen, it'd be a while. Besides, like with Buffy and Angel the story has already been continued in comic book form.

Gilmore Girls: The Movie

In honor of Rory Gilmore, a Pro/Con list.

Pros: No real dangling plot threads means they can write a real stand alone movie, Can be done on a low budget since there were never really any massive special effects, Also owned by Warner Brothers the success of VM means they might be more willing than other studios to try, Fans clearly want it to happen.

Cons: Do the creators and actors want to make a movie? While they've expressed interest when asked, they haven't gone out of their way to say it's something they want to do, the way Thomas and Bell have.

Chuck: The Movie

While special effects cost would drive up the price to make this a reality, the fans have shown in the past that they are willing to put their money where their mouths are. Chuck fans went to Subway restaurants (a main sponsor of the show) and bought sandwiches, leaving suggestion box notes to "Save Chuck". It worked, the show was renewed and got five seasons in total. Given the open ended nature of the finale, a movie would be a great way to show just how things finally ended up. Also going for it? Earlier today Zachary Levi, who played the titular Chuck, tweeted that the Veronica Mars news "bolstered [his] faith that [he] can bring you a Chuck Movie". 

Leverage: The Movie

One thing that kept repeating in the back of my mind today while waiting to see Veronica Mars reach $2 million was that $2 million is also what John Rodgers has said is the budget for an episode of Leverage, so I imagine a full on movie would cost more, but not a lot more. The show was only just canceled, but Rodgers says TNT has been letting them shop it around to try and find a new home, so why not let the fans, who stole a People's Choice Award to try and get the show renewed, pay for a movie?

Arrested Development: The Movie

Years after the show was canceled, Netflix got the rights to the show, and has now made a season 4, to be released in May. Ron Howard, the creator has said that the episodes will stand on their own, but also as a lead-in to a movie which, as of this writing, hasn't been ordered by any studio. The hope was that if the soon-to-be-released season 4 was successful enough, a movie deal would come through. And that may still happen. But maybe instead, the movie studio will ask them to do a kickstarter. Luckily, an Arrested Development movie could probably be done on a fairly low budget, and the fans have been very clear in their desire to see it happen. 

My Essay Writing Process

I recently changed majors, from one where there were no essays required from me, to one where there are lots of essays required from me. As such, I've become very aware of the process I go through to write an essay.
Note: This is just a general format, obviously each essay is different.

Step 1: Read the prompt.
Step 2: Look at the number of pages expected from me.
Step 3: Panic.
Step 4: Read the prompt again, hoping desperately that I think of something to say on the topic.
Step 5: Go off and do other things, occasionally thinking about the essay and worrying.
Step 6: Out of nowhere, think of an argument or fact that can be used for the essay.
Step 6 1/2: Go back through my readings/do research to find facts I can use.
Step 7: Write down the fact(s) in my outline.
Repeat steps 6-7 until I have an outline that is at least half as long as my paper needs to be, because the outline is single spaced, doesn't use full sentences, and doesn't include anything regarding the introduction or conclusion.
Step 8: Go over my outline, rearranging things until I feel like there's at least some transition between main points.
Step 9: Try to start writing an introduction.
Step 10: Get annoyed because every attempt to start the paper is garbage.
Step 11: Skip straight to writing the first body paragraph because I have an outline for it so I at least have some idea of what I want to write.
Step 12: Get inspiration for my introduction in the middle of writing a body paragraph.
Step 13: Go back and write my introduction.
Step 14: Finish my body paragraphs.
Step 14 1/2: Every so often write a sentence that I just hate so much that I delete it, then rewrite it only to delete it again until I just give up and decide to let future me deal with the problem of the terrible sentence in editing.
Step 15: Try to write a conclusion.
Step 16: Get frustrated because conclusions are hard.
Step 17: Just write something as a conclusion, mostly by reiterating my main points.
Step 18: Wait 8-24 hours before rereading the essay.
Step 19: Reread the essay, expecting it to be terrible.
Step 20: Become pleasantly surprised that it isn't a steaming pile of turd after all.
Step 21: Fix the terrible sentences that annoyed me earlier, because for some reason I can now figure out how to phrase them so that they aren't terrible.
Step 22: Reread the essay, fixing spelling and grammar mistakes as I go.
Step 23: Turn the essay in.
Step 24: Panic that it's actually a horrible essay and that I should have spent more time fixing it. At no point reread the essay to reassure myself that it isn't bad.
Step 25: Listen to the person who graded the essay explain in general terms what we as a group did wrong and should improve on for the future.
Step 26: Assume that every single one of these errors applies to me, even if the part of my brain that remembers the essay knows that they can't all apply.
Step 27: Get the graded essay back.
Step 28: Congratulate myself on having tricked the TA/professor/grader into thinking I'm a good writer.
Step 29: Briefly consider that maybe, just maybe, I have unrealistically high standards for myself as a writer.
Step 30: Disregard that thought. It's clearly stupid.

Why Rory Williams is the Best Companion

Note: Most of this was written before The Snowmen, so Clara isn't in the running here. Also, spoilers.

“…you are always going to have the same sort of person, just because it’s the same man choosing them, and it’s the same person being chosen.

I think the function of a companion is pretty simple. I don’t think that’s very difficult. It’s just a question of who credibly is going to agree to go in the TARDIS? Who’s going to do it? Is it going to be a mother of 15 children? No. Is it going to be someone in their 60s? No. Is there going to be a particular age range? I mean … who’s going to have a crush on the Doctor? You know, come on! It’s more than a format. It’s evolved from good, dramatic reasons.”

-Steven Moffat in Doctor Who Magazine

Moffat makes an excellent point about what makes a companion. It's true that the different companions add their own flavor, but ultimately they have basic common traits. It's worth noting that Rose, who is unemployed and Donna, who is a temp, plan to travel forever, only checking in on occasion, while Martha, who is on her way to being a doctor, and Amy who is getting married the next morning, travel only after confirming that they can return to their lives as though they never left. They all want to escape their "boring" lives, either forever or just to see what else is out there.

Then there's Rory. Rory has no desire to leave the little town he lives in. We see that his dream is to be settled down with Amy, having a family and a career as a doctor (Amy's Choice). He craves responsibility and stability, essentially the opposite of the Doctor's life. Rory travels with the Doctor, not to fulfill his own dreams, but to be with the love of his life. However, while traveling with the Doctor isn't the life he would choose for himself, he still participates fully. He is ready for the next adventure, but would always be fine with a stop and rest at home. In The Power of Three, we see a slight shift to Rory. This Rory is more excited and willing to travel with the Doctor, but he stays true to himself and enjoys his stability. He is the one to bring up the option of choosing not to travel to Amy, though ultimately he does happily join in on the adventure.

Some of Rory's greatest moments come from the fact that unlike these other companions he doesn't idolize the Doctor. The Doctor does not represent all his greatest hopes and dreams, and as such he can see the flaws much more clearly. He chastises the Doctor for putting other people in danger (Vampires in Venice). In  The God Complex he reminds the Doctor that "everyone is important" not by quoting that belief back to the Doctor, but by simply mentioning that the dead boy in front of them had gotten over his stutter. 

Like many of the female companions who've traveled with the Doctor, Rory is able to gain more confidence in himself and his abilities through knowing the Doctor. And yet, Rory really was amazing before he met the Doctor. He was the one to notice that the coma patients were up and about and he took video footage of it (The Eleventh Hour). After meeting the Doctor, rather than just go along with things, he started doing research and thus was completely unimpressed by the TARDIS (Vampires in Venice). He is an incredibly self aware character from start ("Did he just save the world from aliens, and then bring all the aliens back again?"-The Eleventh Hour), to middle ("Can you ride a motorbike?" "I expect so it's that sort of day."-Let's Kill Hitler), to end ("You think you'll just come back to life." "When don't I?" -Angels Take Manhattan).

Just as TV shows' best episodes tend to be the ones where they break from the format (Buffy has "Hush" and "The Body", and Blink is considered one of the stronger episodes of Doctor Who), Rory is the best companion because he is different. He doesn't thirst for adventure and he isn't in love with the Doctor.  Donna, the first companion of the new series not to be in love with the Doctor is also considered one of the better companions. But he does it anyway. He makes the best of a not ideal situation.

This isn't to say that the other companions haven't been good. They have. But Rory is the best. Of the new series at least. 

Childhood Book Tag

1. What were your favorite books read to you as a child? Why?

Both my parents read to me, but some books stand out a little more than others. Both my parents read me various Magic Treehouse books. I think I stopped right before the book Christmas in Camelot because I remember asking for a copy for Hannukah and being told that it would be better to get some other time. And then I never got around to reading it. My Dad also read me The Chronicles of Narnia series, as well as The Hobbit. My Mom  read me the first few chapters of Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone to get me interested and now that's one of my favorite series. 

2. Do you have any special memories or traditions associated with these books?

There was a period of time where I would get up to three bedtime stories. My babysitter would read me a bedtime story, then my Mom would come in a read me a story and then my Dad would come in and read me a story (or something along those lines, the exact line-up is a little fuzzy). I don't remember how aware each of them were that I was getting three bedtime stories, but I loved it.

With my Dad, when he read me Narnia and Hobbit every so often he'd give the book to me and make me read for a while.

Also with Harry Potter, the reason my Mom stopped reading them to me was because I got so into the books that I just started reading them on my own because I wanted to know what happened next. I didn't want to wait for the next night to find out. I also came into the series late (book four had just come out when I started reading them) so I had a lot of catching up to do.

3. What were your favorite books or series when you were old enough to read? Why?

I really loved The Frog Princess series by E.D. Baker. I think this was the start of my love for alternate takes on fairy tales. Similarly, I loved (and still love) The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede. I also really liked the book What is the Teacher's Toupee Doing in the Fishtank? by Jerry Piasecki. It was just a really funny book with pranks and heist like actions. I also loved the T*Witches book series. It was about twin witches who were separated at birth. The series starts with them meeting as teens and learning to use their powers. Also Harry Potter 1-5 came out while I was in elementary school, so those count too, right? Ohh! A Series of Unfortunate Events! That's a great series. It's just really funny in weird ways.

4. What was your favorite book character in these?

The Frog Princess - It's been so long since I read the original books (there's a prequel and sequel series now). I guess Emma. Grassina's also great. I think I like her in the latter books a little more. 

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles - Cimorene. Or Kazul. Maybe Trouble. Can I just love all of them?

What is the Teacher's Toupee Doing in the Fishtank? - Mr. Finelli. He was the teacher. This guy was awesome. "[Written on the blackboard]'I've left you all a package on each desk. Can you guess what it is?' [Frankie] 'A TV dinner?' [Blackboard] 'No Frankie, it isn't a TV dinner.'"

T*Witches - Alex. She was awesome.

Harry Potter - Confirming that no one's favorite character from Harry Potter is Harry Potter, Professor McGonagall is my favorite.

A Series of Unfortunate Events - I think the narrator/Lemony Snicket was my favorite honestly.

5. What was your favorite book in a childhood series?

Chamber of Secrets has always been up there for me. Prisoner of Azkaban is pretty high up as well. I guess Calling on Dragons is my favorite in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, but that's only because of the cats. And Killer. All the others are tied for a very close second. The Ersatz Elevator was my favorite for A Series of Unfortunate Events.

6. Did you ever dress up like one from your favorite books?

I'm sure I dressed as Hermione at some point. And if not, I've worn Hogwarts uniform stuff to Wizard Rock concerts, so close enough.

7. Was there a movie adaptation of any of your childhood favorites? If so, did you like it?

Chronicles of Narnia - I only saw the first 2 movies they did but I remember being really impressed by how well they stuck to the book and made a good movie.

The Hobbit - I want the next two parts out now, so I can see them and love them, that's how much I loved the first part.

The Frog Princess - Apparently Disney's The Princess and the Frog was based off of The Frog Princess. I mean, it's mentioned in the credits. Honestly the only thing the two movies have in common is that the girl turns into a frog after kissing the prince, and a swamp is involved. There is literally nothing else the same. I like The Princess and the Frog as a movie, but as a movie adaptation ... I don't know how they can call it an adaptation, honestly. 

T*Witches - Disney made it into a Disney Channel Original movie. It...wasn't great. As a movie OR an adaptation.

Harry Potter - For the most part I've liked the Harry Potter movies. Though I will sometimes rant a little about the stuff that got left out.

8. Have you read any children's series as an adult/teen that you loved? If so, what were they?

I guess the Percy Jackson books count. As do the later Harry Potter books. I think I read Peter and the Starcatchers too, though I don't think I finished that series. Umm, I only this summer read the most recent books in the Princess and the Frog series, so those count too I guess.

The Snowmen

Between today's (light) snow, and the BBC's announcement that Doctor Who return Saturday March 30 (YAY) I think the signs are clear that the universe wants me to actually write my recap/review of The Snowmen. Here's the thing. It's been weeks since I last saw the episode, so I may get some details wrong. I would rewatch it, but with homework and whatnot, I probably don't have the time. That's also why this will be (relatively) short.
SPOILERS AHEAD

The Disney Tag!

So there's this thing where people make lists of questions and ask people to make youtube videos responding to them. And they're usually themed. But not always.

Anyway, I don't make videos, but I saw someone who did a Disney themed one and I like the questions so here we go.

1. A scene in any Disney movie you wish you could experience. 

Being in the flying house from Up would be cool. I think the "Be a Man" sequence from Mulan would actually be pretty cool.

2. An unforgettable experience/moment you've had at the Parks. 

When I was like, six (three? I have no idea, I'll ask my parents) we went to Disney World (the one in Florida) and I saw Mickey Mouse walking down the path. And I decided that I wanted to try and follow him without him noticing me. I was not a very good ninja. As I was following him, he stuck out his hand for me to hold, so instead of following him sneakily, I held his hand and walked down the path with him. There's no picture of this (I think. Something else to check with my parents) but according to my parents it looked like the commercials.

3. What non-Disney song(s) reminds you or brings back memories of Disney and/or the Parks? 

"Dashing Knight" by All Caps. A lot of Christmas/Winter songs. Like "Winter Wonderland", or "Jingle Bells".

4.When was the first time you went to a Disney Park? 

I was a baby. My sister is a few years older than me, so she had more fun than I did. I don't remember this, as I was a baby at the time, but apparently Mickey Mouse came over and stuck his nose in my face. According to my Mom I screamed bloody murder and punched him in the nose. Mickey and I have a complicated relationship.

5.If you could choose any of the characters to be your best friend, who would you choose?

Rapunzel. I think we have a lot of shared interests. Mushu would also be fun to hang with.

6.Who are your favorite Disney princesses?

Rapunzel. Nala. Mulan (I don't care what you say, I think she counts). Merida. They are all strong independent women. 

7.Name a scene/moment in any Disney movie that never fails to make you cry.

The end of Toy Story 3.

8.What is the first Disney movie you remember seeing? 

Uhhh...no idea. Lion King? Cinderella? Beauty and the Beast? Snow White? I have no idea. Probably one of those.

9.What is your favorite Disney movie?

Counting Pixar movies, The Incredibles. Not counting Pixar movies, Lion King.