This blog is one year old today!
By-the-bye, I wonder how many of my posts, percentage-wise, have talked about milestones... probably a pretty high number there. Ah well.
One year with this little online journal, and today I enjoy it just as much as at the beginning. It keeps me in perspective, somehow; forcing myself to write and think through things keeps my mind from getting caught in analytical whirlpools :-)
At any rate, it's a good thing for me, and now and again someone tells me there's something good about it for them as well. Here's to many more years of blogging!
2.23.2007
2.22.2007
My Sister Blogs
...shocking, for those of you who know Beth :-P
Anyways, she posted a blog on her Myspace tonight and it made me laugh, so I decided to share it. Click here for Beth's thoughts on listening to music.
Love y'all!
Anyways, she posted a blog on her Myspace tonight and it made me laugh, so I decided to share it. Click here for Beth's thoughts on listening to music.
Love y'all!
2.20.2007
First Lent
Having grown up Baptist, I understand Christmas and Easter and know a little bit about Palm Sunday and Advent. Lent, however, as the acknowledged territory mainly of liturgically-driven churches such as Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans, has always been a bit of a mystery.
This year, therefore, I’m celebrating my first Lent, which starts tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. I'm pretty excited about it; there's an incredible awe and joy in taking a physical step intended to express and nourish spiritual devotion. I've fasted before, of course, so I'm at least familiar with that concept.
For my first Lenten season, I am giving up… dun duh dah… Harry Potter. Hopefully that doesn't sound blasphemous to anyone! I can understand concern about how Harry Potter takes a position in my life strong enough merit fasting from, though, so let me explain my rationale here :-)
I am choosing to go forty days without Harry Potter (except Sundays, which are free from fasting) because reading the Harry Potter books, as well as talking and thinking and reading about Harry and company, is for me a mode of relaxation and enjoyment. Some people play computer games, some people watch this or that TV show, some people eat chocolate. I thought about giving up chocolate, actually, but every girl does that; besides, chocolate for me ranks not in the category of mere wants, but basic needs :-P The point is, anyway, that I read Harry Potter for uplifting and an antidote to stress when my brain won’t handle much else. I go get a laugh at the exploits of Harry and friends or borrow some inspiration from their courage. I have also read the books quite a bit in the year and a quarter since I first brought home The Sorcerer's Stone, so a break seemed like a good idea.
While I could have chosen fiction in general as my sacrifice, that seemed more likely to accentuate stress rather than spur on devotion for me. Since I rarely watch movies or television, reading fiction is almost my only means of complete relaxation. And probably if this were not such a big year for Harry—with the release of movie #5 and the final book coming in July—the series’ effect on my life wouldn’t really qualify for sacrifice over such a limited time.
As it is, however, from Ash Wednesday to Easter I am not reading any of the books, following news (anything big that comes up can be reviewed on Sundays only), looking Harry up on Wikipedia or fan sites, or initiating conversations about the series. I will also remove Hermione from my IM pictures and should probably take her off my Xanga, too, come to think of it. If all this proves ‘too easy’ for me, I’ll add to the sacrifice for holy week.
Anyway, here’s to my first Lent. God grant that I find more of Christ through it…
This year, therefore, I’m celebrating my first Lent, which starts tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. I'm pretty excited about it; there's an incredible awe and joy in taking a physical step intended to express and nourish spiritual devotion. I've fasted before, of course, so I'm at least familiar with that concept.
For my first Lenten season, I am giving up… dun duh dah… Harry Potter. Hopefully that doesn't sound blasphemous to anyone! I can understand concern about how Harry Potter takes a position in my life strong enough merit fasting from, though, so let me explain my rationale here :-)
I am choosing to go forty days without Harry Potter (except Sundays, which are free from fasting) because reading the Harry Potter books, as well as talking and thinking and reading about Harry and company, is for me a mode of relaxation and enjoyment. Some people play computer games, some people watch this or that TV show, some people eat chocolate. I thought about giving up chocolate, actually, but every girl does that; besides, chocolate for me ranks not in the category of mere wants, but basic needs :-P The point is, anyway, that I read Harry Potter for uplifting and an antidote to stress when my brain won’t handle much else. I go get a laugh at the exploits of Harry and friends or borrow some inspiration from their courage. I have also read the books quite a bit in the year and a quarter since I first brought home The Sorcerer's Stone, so a break seemed like a good idea.
While I could have chosen fiction in general as my sacrifice, that seemed more likely to accentuate stress rather than spur on devotion for me. Since I rarely watch movies or television, reading fiction is almost my only means of complete relaxation. And probably if this were not such a big year for Harry—with the release of movie #5 and the final book coming in July—the series’ effect on my life wouldn’t really qualify for sacrifice over such a limited time.
As it is, however, from Ash Wednesday to Easter I am not reading any of the books, following news (anything big that comes up can be reviewed on Sundays only), looking Harry up on Wikipedia or fan sites, or initiating conversations about the series. I will also remove Hermione from my IM pictures and should probably take her off my Xanga, too, come to think of it. If all this proves ‘too easy’ for me, I’ll add to the sacrifice for holy week.
Anyway, here’s to my first Lent. God grant that I find more of Christ through it…
2.17.2007
Schrödinger's Bedroom
Calling all AI fans! Even if you're not a regular American Idol watcher, though, keep reading--I've still got something for you.
FOX Network welcomes its new show, On the Lot, in the spring. Formatted just like American Idol--I wonder, by-the-bye, who they'll get to make offbeat analogies and harsh "realistic" comments, since presumably Simon Cowell won't be one of the judges--this talent competition will be for movie directors.
Which brings me to my friend Chris Knight, whose movie-making credentials include a hilarious 50-minute Star Wars fan film called "Forcery" and several school-board campaign commercials, one of which included a scene of a Death Star blowing up a schoolhouse and which got him in the New York Times for creativity.
Chris is auditioning with a five-minute short by the title of "Schrödinger's Bedroom" --a piece which he wrote, casted, shot, edited, and submitted in only a month. If you want a laugh, go over and check it out. If you're an AI fan (or movie fan, for that matter) and you think On the Lot might be interesting too--since I don't mind shamelessly plugging for friends with talent, I'll suggest you watch for Chris there, too :-)
And just in case you don't feel I've given you enough reasons to see this little movie yet: for those of you who tell me you read this blog, at least, I can guarantee that someone you know made a cameo appearance :-D
FOX Network welcomes its new show, On the Lot, in the spring. Formatted just like American Idol--I wonder, by-the-bye, who they'll get to make offbeat analogies and harsh "realistic" comments, since presumably Simon Cowell won't be one of the judges--this talent competition will be for movie directors.
Which brings me to my friend Chris Knight, whose movie-making credentials include a hilarious 50-minute Star Wars fan film called "Forcery" and several school-board campaign commercials, one of which included a scene of a Death Star blowing up a schoolhouse and which got him in the New York Times for creativity.
Chris is auditioning with a five-minute short by the title of "Schrödinger's Bedroom" --a piece which he wrote, casted, shot, edited, and submitted in only a month. If you want a laugh, go over and check it out. If you're an AI fan (or movie fan, for that matter) and you think On the Lot might be interesting too--since I don't mind shamelessly plugging for friends with talent, I'll suggest you watch for Chris there, too :-)
And just in case you don't feel I've given you enough reasons to see this little movie yet: for those of you who tell me you read this blog, at least, I can guarantee that someone you know made a cameo appearance :-D
2.12.2007
Not Posting about Not Posting
Standard operating procedure for bloggers who don't post faithfully is to put up a post about not posting faithfully, so I'm going to be a bit of a rebel, and post about something else.
For tonight, considering the current proximity to midnight, I don't have much to offer beyond the weather; so I'll just say that after ten Washington winters, I would not have expected pleasure at the sight of rain. This year's two full weeks of snow, however, binding me to the (albeit generous) WTA schedule for work, confining the Saint and I in different parts of town, and forcing me to get creative with canned chicken and tomato sauce, have given me a new appreciation for the normal 'rainy season.' I can drive my car without fear for either its or my own safety in the rain. And I have to admit that this beautiful little corner of the country even looks good in gray--gray with a green cast along the lawns and among the conifers, and occasional cream-colored scoring in the clouds.
I'm still holding out for summer, though. We had a glorious weekend--so warm that I took a walk in the sunshine without a coat. Spring is coming! 36 days and counting...
For tonight, considering the current proximity to midnight, I don't have much to offer beyond the weather; so I'll just say that after ten Washington winters, I would not have expected pleasure at the sight of rain. This year's two full weeks of snow, however, binding me to the (albeit generous) WTA schedule for work, confining the Saint and I in different parts of town, and forcing me to get creative with canned chicken and tomato sauce, have given me a new appreciation for the normal 'rainy season.' I can drive my car without fear for either its or my own safety in the rain. And I have to admit that this beautiful little corner of the country even looks good in gray--gray with a green cast along the lawns and among the conifers, and occasional cream-colored scoring in the clouds.
I'm still holding out for summer, though. We had a glorious weekend--so warm that I took a walk in the sunshine without a coat. Spring is coming! 36 days and counting...
2.04.2007
2.01.2007
We've Got A Date
At eleven, he learned who he was, made friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and faced again the man who, ten years earlier, had killed his parents and tried to kill him.
At twelve, he won a battle with a basilisk and saved the life of his best friend’s sister, Ginny.
At thirteen, he learned to face his own fears and saved the life of his godfather.
At fourteen, he jumped out from behind a tombstone to face a battle he knew he would probably lose—and lived to warn the world.
At fifteen, he taught self-defense to his classmates in secret, against the rules of the wicked usurping headmistress.
At sixteen he saved Ron’s life, realized finally what Ginny meant to him, and received the knowledge of the plan of action from Dumbledore, practically as an inheritance.
What will Harry Potter do at seventeen?
We’ll find out July 21, 2007.
(Thanks, Chris, for letting me know! I would have been shamefully behind the times if you hadn’t.)
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