awesomeness

I need a concise list of awesome things. Please leave your suggestion in a comment or e-mail them to me. Or, if you live nearby (or even far away), just come and tell me in person. Or you could send me a letter, or call me... really, most conventional forms of communication are acceptable. A fax is non-preferable.

EDIT: I'll make it concise, you just ramble on and on and on...

Merry third day of Christmas.

I got worse.

Standing up long enough to get a bowl of cereal is really tiring.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be better.

I got sick.

Merry second day of Christmas.

hey you

Fröhliche Weinachten.

Seventh Contest!

Okay, so I'm late.

Last week:

GRAND WINNER

PLOT: The Fifth Twilight Book (Bella finds a new boyfriend)
TITLE: I REALLY DO LOVE YOU! (Nick)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Plot: A girl buys too much fabric, stacks it on her bookcase, but one day adds one bolt too many and it all falls on her and she can’t get out.
  Title: Calico Captive (Squishy)
• Plot: A guy buys an engagement ring, but can’t decide among 8 girls whom to give it to.
  Title: The Fellowship of the Ring (Squishy)
• Plot: A woman tries to make the ultimate salsa
  Title: The Five Little Peppers (Squishy)
• PLOT: The story of a baseball player and his addiction to whiskey.
  TITLE: Catcher in the Rye (Ethan)
• PLOT: the story of the person who drowned in a ink pot
  TITLE: Inkdeath (Nick)

Um... next contest is come up with a weird gift and why you should be grateful for it.

Example: A rotten egg to throw at your brother.

You have at least a week for this one, who knows if I'll be on time. :P You know me.

something hates us

My family is here. Dad, Mom, Amanda Pearl, Naomi, Nat, Sita, and Susie. So. Happy, right? Yes. Except Amanda has to leave on Wednesday and Naomi + girls have to leave on Tuesday. Well, that's not so bad. We just have to have the Christmas present thing today, Monday. Well, that would be fine if Mom didn't get sick and the heater turn itself off. We can't even have more than one space heater on in the family room else we break the breaker.

At least this give me a good excuse to cuddle the girls.

big girl

I helped Nat move a little furniture and got stuff down from the attic (during which we sat in the attic and looked at old stuff for a long time), and then I set up the tree, put lights on it, most of the ornaments, and set up half the other house-decorations.

And then I edited my NaNo, and then I wrapped a few presents, and then I went to bed.

And now - hopefully - I'm going to go to the library.

Sixth Contest!

(sorry, this may have been accidentally posted earlier as a blank post with the title "Fifth")

A plot with a bad/ironic title. You may use existing plots and/or titles, but combinations must be original. You may provide as little or as much detail as possible, remembering that if it's too long, I'll just get bored and delete it. :P

Examples:
(not original)
PLOT Harry Potter book seven
TITLE Harry Potter and the Prolonged Camping Trip

(original)
PLOT The tragic love story of two leaves
TITLE Gone with the Wind

the four types of writers

1. There is the type that writes a first draft the way a first draft is meant to be written, and in the second draft expounds on it and makes it longer.
2. There is the type that writes a first draft fairly the way it will be in the end, which takes longer, and in the second draft cuts out all the trash and strengthens a few points, but overall makes it shorter. (Me.)
3. In-betweens.
4. Freaks.

This is my excuse that my NaNo is being cut down to between 35k and 40k. I'd kind of like to replace some of the parts that weren't worthy of being read, but who knows how long that would take me.

book challenge

I'm taking up this challenge to read 100+ books in 2009. Obviously, that means roughly 2 books a week, and I don't know if I can do it. But I can certainly try... and the only bad thing that'll happen if I lose is I'll be shamed for life. So.

Some rules:
1) You can join anytime as long as you don’t start reading your books prior to 2009.

2) This challenge is for 2009 only. The last day to have all your books read is December 31, 2009.

3) You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

6) All books count: children’s, YA, adults, fiction, non-fiction, how-tos, etc.

I will be posting my books below:

1. Coraline by Niel Gaiman 01/02/09 – 01/03/09
2. Wolf Princess by Alexa 01/02/09
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling 01/04/09 – 01/05/09
4. 90/40/10 lloɹɹɐɔ sıʍǝl ʎq puɐlɹǝpuoʍ uı sǝɹnʇuǝʌpɐ s,ǝɔılɐ
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling 01/06/09 – 01/07/09
6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling 01/07/09 – 01/08/09 (I feel like I'm cheating, starting this year with rereading. Easy rereading at that.)
   
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling 01/08/09 – 01/12/09
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling 01/12/09 – 01/18/09
   
9. MirrorMask by Niel Gaiman 01/15/09 – 01/15/09 (I liked this.)
   
10. Water for Elephants 01/15/09 – 01/15/09 (I didn't like this. It was not compelling. I wouldn't've finished it if I hadn't been lead to believe that it would have a good ending - which it didn't.)
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 01/18/09 (aprox.) – 01/21/09 (aprox.)
    
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 01/21/09 (aprox.) – 01/23/09
13. Nathan Quist and the Curious Affair of the Crescent Earrings by Adam Stück (I don't remember what day)
14. Here's Lily! by Nancy Rue 02/03/09 – 02/03/09 (Cute and ultra-predictable with annoying characters.)
15. A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories by Robin McKinley 02/03/09 – 02/05/09
    
16. Wesley Intrepid by Squishy 02/07/09 – 02/07/09
17. Leaping Beauty by Gregory Maguire
18. Nanny McPhee by Christianna Brand 02/03/09 – ? (meh)
19. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
20. The Metamorphosis: the Graphic Novel by Franz Kafka, adapted by Peter Kuper 02/22/09 – 02/22/09 (Hilarious. It only took about ten minutes to read, too.)
21. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card 02/22/09 – 02/23/09 (within 24 hours) (First time EVER.)
22. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott o2/23/09
    

InterWorld

by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves.

I was going to say a whole lot on this, but now I don't think I will.

I have to assume that Neil Gaiman did the plot and Michael Reave did the writing, because that's just how it is. The writing is... okay. I wouldn't've finished the book if it wasn't for the plot, because I liked that part. Plot and subplot and all of it.

See? Very little written on it. Tsk tsk.

Semland quotes

(Terrible)
Semmy: I feel about Texas how Europe feels about America, you know?
Finnish Semmy: Oh. That they're a bunch of pompous hicks? ... something to look at in a zoo?

(On the way to chapel)
Semmy 1: Are you ready for some Jesus?
Semmy 2: Let's get some Jesus.

(My favorite)
Semmy: You should never have a face like that! Ever!

*twitch*

I think I may be slightly Obsessive-Compulsive. It's either that or I have a bunch of weird habits that just look like OCD. Examples... I blink way more often than I need to, and occasionally in groups of three. I'm always clearing my throat (I do this very quietly), just over and over again until I get distracted. I don't think about it anymore, though. And I count stairs - though I don't care if I remember them or not. I count them in groups separated by landings, because that just makes sense. For instance, going upstairs is ten-four. (Go ahead. Make a joke. You know you want to.) Going out the front door down to the sidewalk is four-seven. In Germany, the first place we stayed was four-seven-four-eleven. In Semland, going downstairs of the commons is eight-four-ten. Going up (or down) the stairs next to the lake up to chapel is twelve-twelve-twelve. I also get prejudices based off of these numbers. I like the number twelve (like the stairs down to Pastor's basement), and whatever number my age is, and I don't like the number five. (You may already know this.) I find it somewhat annoying if the stairs are an odd number, at least because it's harder to skip along them. Grandma's upstairs is seventeen steps away, and I'm still wondering whose idea that was.

I need a new paragraph.

Or two. When I tap my feet or my fingers, I usually have a pattern, usually in groups of four. (I've wondered if this is because of all my musical groundings. You know, most measures are in four-four time. I generally imagine my beats as quarter notes.) It sometimes goes (R=right foot L=left foot) RLRL RRLL LRLR LLRR LRLR LLRR RLRL RRLL. And that's dotted quarter note, eighth note, six quarter notes. Repeat repeat repeat. And then I'm done. But I do this all the time... have you ever noticed me tapping my fingers in a pattern? If so, that's my "habit," or sometimes I'm just hyper.

Like now.

Oh, and I have keratosis pilaris for sure, but it's okay. It affects 40% of adults and 50-80% of adolescents, and women more than men. It doesn't hurt. I think the ways of getting rid of it are expensive lotion or just waiting a while. Good to know, though.

magic? is it me or them?

Bob Dies, Paul Dies, Aaron Dies, Nick Dies, and Nathan Dies: These are all real people on facebook. There's also an Eric Dies. "Ethan Dies" yielded somewhat creepy results, first time I tried and somehow accidentally made it search the web.

Fourth Contest!

Results last week's contest:

GRAND WINNER

• Birthdays are lots of fun. Now that you’ve eaten chocolate cake, you’ll weigh a ton. But that’s okay, cuz I /love you anyway/ and to prove it I will say:/HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (Squishy)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• My love,
  ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’
  Something to aspire to. (Me)
• Happy New Year. I bet not all your resolutions are about your lack of talent this year. Congratulations! (Me)
• Happy Birthday to you!/You look good in blue,/Though you’ve worn black and red/Since your husband turned dead. (Me) (I’m no good at anything rhymed, yet I keep trying. Why?? It’s not like I’m *that* fantastically interested in it, that I want to get better. Sure, it would be nice, but I honestly don’t care enough. I can let other people be poets. Like Paul.)
• ‘Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one.’ Is this how you feel about me? (Me)
• I love you, I love you, I love you... but I love someone else more. (Me)

Happy Birthday, Nat.

This week's contest: A conversation between to foreigners of different languages, neither of whom are good at English. Limit of 50 words.

Example:
"I don't take orange juice. I don't like the pulp."
"Who does not like the Pope?"
"Who?"
"What?"
"How?" (etc.)

(Played Madrigal Dinners twice today (Saturday), once yesterday, a rehearsal the day before, and one more performance tomorrow. Will expound if told to.)

Somewhere...

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

It actually doesn't look very pretty to me.

EMILY IS AWESOME

You know it's true.

tips on dealing with a cranky or otherwise emotional fifteen-year-old girl

(I try not to go into this subject much, but it seems some people would benefit instruction. Statistically, I'm probably not looking at you, whoever you are.)

1. If something you said seems to have struck a nerve, do not comment on this fact.
2. If she's upset, probably just leave her alone. She's sulking. Attention will make it worse.
3. If she's angry, don't be condescending. It will not help.

I'll probably think of some more later when I'm less calm.

applications

Now is the time to apply for your prize(s)! Remember, within reason, people. Some of them will need details cleared with me. Anan, Rachel D, Squishy, could you each tell me again exactly what prize(s) you want? I just want to be sure I get them right. Emily, I know yours.

NaNoWriMo

"You climb a long ladder until you can see over the roof, or over the clouds. You are writing a book. You watch your shod feet step on each round rung, one at a time; you do not hurry and do not rest. Your feet feel the step ladder’s balance; the long muscles in your thigh check its sway. You climb steadily, doing your job in the dark. When you reach the end, there is nothing more to climb. The sun hits you. The bright wideness surprises you; you had forgotten, there was an end. You look back at the ladder’s two feet on the distant grass, astonished." –Annie Dillard

This is exactly what it sounds like.

Third Contest!

First of all, the winners to last week's contest:

GRAND WINNER

• "I can kill you a thousand different ways. How does that make you feel?" (Robin)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• “Hand me your purse, or I’ll drink this cappuccino right in front of you, and you won’t get a drop!” (Squishy)
• "Soon the whole world will fall to my power and the pants factories will all be closed down and no more will their evil spread through the land" (Nick)
• "You're not dead yet? Wait." (Robin)
• “Tell me where the money is, or I’ll make you go to your orthodontist appointment, and I won’t let you brush first.” (Squishy)
• “The worms will eat your body very slowly, yes.” (Me)

Except I kept my personal best out because I plan to use it.

This week's contest: Bad Hallmark cards.

Example: Sorry for the loss of your loved one. Are you free on Saturday?

evidence

Not adequate, of course, but small evidence that my nieces are amazingly cute. This is Sita, who is now a little over two years old. Sorry if it's a bit grainy; my sister took it with her camera.

I am clearly masochistic

The obvious reasons:

1. I signed up for NaNoWriMo. Again.
   
2. I read Twilight and its sequels in their entirety. You can have at me later, but I must say I found them contrived, unappealing on several levels, and somewhat trite.
3. I ate a Mary Jane.
   

7777777

Tagged by Mrs. G. Yes, seven facts! Yay!

1. I read Twilight and it was... not as bad as I was worried it would be. (I read it to gain my own opinions.)
2. I think Beauty and the Beast is a terribly romantic story, when done right. I also think the Beast should be totally repulsive and/or terrifying, so she really does have to fall in love with him despite the fact she can't stand to look at him.
3. I can eat an entire can (six servings) of cranberry sauce almost within one sitting. I can if it's a kind of a long sitting.
4. I'm beginning to resent the fact that Thanksgiving falls in November. In NaNoWriMo.
5. I find it hard to believe that there are people who don't like babies.
6. When I was five I went to a Lutheran Pre-school. I remember four other students there: Nick, Luke from my old church, Chrystal (the only other girl), and a boy named Timmy. I remember Timmy because he left halfway through the year, and I was sure something bad had happened. I thought the government took him or he died or something. I'm still not sure.
7. I'm out of words. They're gone.

So. Tagging. Nick, Nat, Elle, Anan, Sarah, OFHP. If they want to.

mo' patterns

I decided to look through all the VOGUE PARIS ORIGINAL patterns, namely because of this dominant expression. I think it's hilarious.

So there's this one, which I actually kind of like, minus the flower.

Then you have funny pictures, like the one where the lady is being abducted. I suppose that isn't funny, though. In this one, Ms. Bright Red is about to slap the Mr. because he's making fun of somebody.

They are obviously aliens. Wearing wigs.

Here, Left won't look at Right because she looks like a clown and she doesn't want to laugh.

This seems to have been the inspiration for that one dress in the Narnia movie.

And speaking of fur... this hat on the immediate left is eating the lady's head. And as far as this pattern goes, the dress is nothing special, but the cape! Oh, wow!

expression

Wow. Do you see their faces? They definitely have huge superiority complexes. It's probably the dresses.

And they are burnt to a crisp. Poor things.

New boots

As somebody said, those are some serious boots. (And warm, and dependable for a snowball fight!)

Second contest!

Yay! New contest is to come up with the scariest/creepiest villain phrase/phrase-like thing, and the deadline is next Saturday. Entries should be original, e-mail them to me, send as many as you like.

*sigh* Here's another thing that has to be further explained because NaNoWriMo stole my brain... so a villain phrase, for example, would be "You'll never stop me!" or, "Mwahahaha." or other things they say to unnerve their foes. (I can't think of anything interesting anymore. I just can't.)

Winners from last week's contest:

BEST OPENING LINE WINNER

• It was a murderous day, the day I was killed. (Ethan)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• A curse smothered the whole town. Or was it a curse? But since the boy was a rabbit, and the hog a deer, and the queen a beggar, it was very hard to tell, and only the small girl could figure it out, although she didn’t know that yet. (Juicy)
• A shot rang out in the gun factory; nobody looked up. (Ethan)
• Her face was like that of a beautiful woman, because that's what it was. (Ethan)
• Everyone said that Roger acted like a pig. Even his classmates said he must be the ancestor of a pig, that is, if evolution really happened, but nobody had ever guessed that Roger really was a pig - in disguise. (Juicy)
• In the land where hopefully someday something will go right a greatly scientific thing happened. (Nick)

WORST OPENING LINE WINNER

• Gregory watched the paint on the wall. He watched it slowly dry. (Squishy)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• This is the true story of my incredibly boring life. (Squishy)
• The kitten lived in a little house with a young girl. The kitten got cream and fish every day and was very contented. (Juicy)
• "Well," she said, wiping the remains of her brother's armadillo pie off her face, "next time we decide to bike to Peru, you had better remember to leave your shoes at home." (Rachel D)
• It was a dark and pleasant night…. (Squishy)
• Once upon a time, as onces are wont to do, there was, as one might say, a person who was not very intelligent, only he wasn't very intelligent in the way that he was an impoverished orphan who had no time to study, or that the government had done terrible experiments on his brain, it was simply that he didn't want to know anything, because of a terrible mix-up when he was a baby that made him think that knowing things brought instantaneous hideousness that would render him an unlovable person by all not possessing a soul, and as the girl he wanted to marry was in fact a statue and it was fairly certain that she had no soul, this boy decided to refrain from learning things ever, and that is how he died, because he never learned to live. (Maggie)
  

Contest!

1. Come up with the *best* opening line. OR
2. Come up with the *worst* opening line.

I'm the judge. I probably won't enter. Unless everything's pitiful. Entries should be original.

[EDIT: You could probably e-mail them to me. I think everybody who would enter has my e-mail address. If not, comment and I'll contact you somehow.]

Lord, in Your infinite mercy, grant Obama wisdom, strength, and all he needs to lead this country in Your will.

How dare they?

So y'all know I am a big fan of Shannon Hale and her Bayern books, right? Well, I think the following is an abomination (or for you politically-minded folks, an obamanation, which is a bit more extreme.).

The Goose Girl old cover



The Goose Girl new cover



Enna Burning old cover



Enna Burning new cover



River Secrets old cover




River Secrets new cover




This is what the Shannon Hale website says:

Bloomsbury is repackaging the Bayern books in the US. That means, the original Alison Jay covers will remain on the hardcovers, but the paperbacks get completely new looks.

Before I reveal, let me answer the probing question:

"WHY? Why, why, WHY?!"

Well, it's a good thing, really. I know we're all very attached to the original covers. Alison Jay's paintings are just beautiful. But repackaging paperbacks gives them new life. They figure everyone who would pick up the book based on its cover already has, so time to reach a new audience. Bookstores might order in the new books if they'd stopped stocking the old ones. It can revitalize a series.

On the other hand, these two posts of hers convinced me to read her blog.

Prizes for NaNoWriMo

(to get people to try it!)

Starting: Choose from the available prizes.
Getting half your goal: A cameo in ... Dies.
Still writing on the 20th: A cameo in ... Dies. (Yes, that means more
than one cameo.)
Getting your goal: Choose from the available prizes..

I could put you in the dedication, or as a character, or in the back under 'TOTALLY AWESOME' or something. The order of the books is Bob, Paul, Ethan, Aaron, Erik, Nick, Nat. (Rachel D, I done told you wrong.) You could get up to four cameos, and exchange them for something specialer.

Available prizes:

• Cameo
  
• Cookies or cake or pie or something.
• I can sew. Ish. And when I say sew, I mean I could sew something and mail it to you. Do you want to find out what I can sew? What I can't?
• I can... tell everybody for a day that you are the number one ruler of everything.
• I can mention you to a Seminarian.
• Some discarded parts of Paul Dies, before I made it a poem? It's in the style of Bob Dies.
• Free copy of a ... Dies book.

CHRIS BATY IS MY NEW BEST FRIEND

I got this e-mail yesterday:


Dear NaNoWriMo 2007 Winner,

Last November, you and those typing fingers of yours did something amazing. And while you were busy bashing out your novel, we were frantically trying to line up a prize worthy of your feat.

Our goal was to find a self publishing company who would give every NaNo winner a free copy of his or her winning manuscript in paperback book form. It's taken us until now, but we've finally found them.

CreateSpace, an Amazon.com Inc. owned company, is generously offering every NaNoWriMo 2007 winner a "free proof copy" of their 2007 manuscript. What this means: A free proof copy of your manuscript in paperback book form–just by following the instructions below. They'll even cover the costs of basic shipping to you.

To redeem the offer, you'll need a special NaNoWriMo winner's promo code.

Yours is: [code here]

It's good for six months from today. Here's how you go about using it:

1) Go to http://www.createspace.com/nanowrimo and create a free member account.
2) Set up your title: you will be asked to fill in information such as title, author name, page count, etc.
3) Submit your title: make sure that your title’s information is accurate and complies with CreateSpace's Submission Requirements. Your Submission will be reviewed to ensure it can be printed.
4) When everything's uploaded and perfect, just request a proof copy and use the above discount code at check out. Presto!

After you receive your proof copy, you can then choose if you want to make it available to the public at large—everything from showing up for sale on Amazon.com to complete invisibility.

We asked CreateSpace to write up an introduction to who they are and what they do, and I'm pasting that below. You can also read a bunch of their helpful FAQs about copyright, ISBNs, and other important matters at http://www.createspace.com/Help/Book/FAQ.jsp

And if you have any further questions, you can contact them directly: http://www.createspace.com/Special/SalesInquiry.jsp

Thanks so much to CreateSpace for making our dream-prize come true! And congrats again on your NaNoWriMo victory. We look forward to another year of literary abandon together this November.

Warm regards,
Chris Baty
Director, NaNoWriMo
www.nanowrimo.org

CreateSpace, an Amazon.com, Inc company, provides one of the easiest and most economical ways to self-publish your work. CreateSpace offers self-service publishing tools that allow you to upload ready-to-print PDF book files and make your trade paperback book(s) available for sale on Amazon.com and your own E-store with no setup fees. Your product is manufactured and shipped only when customers order so there is no need for a large upfront investment in inventory to start selling.

CreateSpace Key Features & Benefits:

· No setup fees for the CreateSpace Standard Program and no print minimums
· CreateSpace Pro Plan enables you to keep more on every sale and pay less when you order copies of your own book
· An inventory-free fulfillment model
· Earn monthly royalties based on the list price you set
· Non-exclusive agreement keeps your publishing options open
· One of the easiest ways to distribute through www.amazon.com
· CreateSpace ISBN provided at no additional charge
· Amazon's Search Inside!™ feature for your book
· Choose from many different trim size options and print in full-color or black & white
· CreateSpace also allows you to self publish video and audio content via DVD, CD, MP3, and video download; and distribute your music or video through Amazon.com as well.

post for the sake of it

Yes, I'm posting on my blog because I feel guilty that I haven't in two and a half weeks.

Susie made a Sita face today. It's only been two years, but it seems like so long ago Sita was that dependent. I mean, really. S1 can walk and talk and feed herself, to an extent. S2 seems to have trouble turning her head.

Oh, but she is such a cutie.

By the way, I enjoyed Inkdeath immensely. But now I think I'm going to rant about the Inkheart movie.

So. Dustfinger's scars? Itty scratches on one cheek. In the preview Meggie is reading before her time comes, if you know what I mean. And Dustfinger's firepowers are a little too strong in the world. Y'know how he needs matches? It doesn't seem that way.

Still. Mo is played by the actor off of whom he is based, so that's going to be accurate. I do like the looks of Meggie. And Capricorn. And Elinor. And maybe Farid. And Gwin. And Dustfinger, mostly. Really, though, Capricorn looks great. Not at all how I'd imagined him, but still. I couldn't find any pictures of Mortola.

Peaches, page 385. (Oh boy, Squishy, I'm just dangling this in front of your face, aren't I?)

Bring in the coffee

I can finally stop growing; I've reached my goal of 5' 10", which is how tall Amanda is. I'm so proud.

On another note, I have mixed feelings about the song Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven sung by Kenny Chesney. It's catchy and whatnot, but I really can't just listen and not hear... stupid things.

There's the chorus:
Everybody wants to go to heaven
Have a mansion high above the clouds
Everybody want to go to heaven
But nobody want to go now

Says who? Godwilling, this should be why we don't fear death. Who wants to put it off for a little more time in sin?

And this sounds like indulgences:
Said preacher maybe you didn’t see me
Throw an extra twenty in the plate
There’s one for everything I did last night
And one to get me through today
Here’s a ten to help you remember
Next time you got the good Lord’s ear
Say I’m comin’ but there ain’t no hurry
I’m havin’ fun down here
Don’t you know that

Fun?

Speak!

I do not support animal rights. God didn't make animals in His image, or die for them. It seems rather obvious to me that they are not sentient. (I think sentient is the word I want?) For instance, animals don't talk.

EXCEPT.

Except in Genesis 3 when the devil takes the form of a serpent to mess with Creation. He causes Adam and Eve to sin, and while he's doing it, he breaks the rules of normal animalness.

And then in Numbers 22 a donkey talks, but it specifically says:
28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam…
(Context, there's an angel with a sword in the way, and Balaam is trying to get past because he can't see the angel. The donkey can and keeps refusing to go down the path because Balaam would get killed. Balaam beats his donkey three times [three] and then God makes the think speak.) So that's a God thing, a way to warn Balaam so he doesn't die.

The Uncyclopedia says if your parrot talks, it's possessed and you need to take it to church (or a televangelist?) to get the demon thrown out.

Hair: A Rant

I always thought having long hair would be the coolest thing ever. So I grew my hair out. (Not just like that, though, it took a couple years.) But now it's "half-way down my back" and most people call it long, and I am finally learning the drawbacks. (Some of these are just drawbacks of my hair.)

1. I can't leave my hair down or with just a headband. If I do, I need to rebrush it periodically and stay out of wind. (I often do this anyway.)
2. I can't have it in a ponytail the way I'm used to, right on the back of my head. My hair is now too heavy and the ponytail sags.
3. (My particular hair:) If I put it in a bun or a braid, it has to be wet. My hair is too straight (or something like that).
4. If it's wet and I put it in a bun with the big clip that encases the bun, I can't have this in all day, or it will itch. It usually works to switch to smaller clips.
5. (My hair:) I can't sleep on it wet, or at least not if I want to look presentable the next day. It comes out with the weirdest lumps. (This is why I wash it in the mornings.) And it seems more trouble than it's worth to learn to blow-dry my hair.
6. If I twist it up and put it in a clip, it has to be a big clip, sometimes carefully placed. Again, because my hair is heavy.
7. (My head:) I have to have a floppy headband, as opposed to one that keeps its shape when off the head, which gives me a headache. I think my head is weird.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm considering having some inches taken off to help with 1, 2, 4, and 6. (When I'm annoyed, I want just enough to put in a ponytail and no more. I even think of putting it in a ponytail and just chopping it off myself right below the hairband.)

[insert nice post ending here]

Home!

Where I can post pictures out of order!









These are all from her birthday.

I didn't take these particular ones

These are ones Nick took, I think. They're on facebook.

That was quick.

Susie was born at 9:58 am weighing at 7 lb. 12 oz., 20 in. with a full head of black hair, even moreso than Sita. Labor was around six hours, and Naomi is doing well, considering.

Susan is so cute!

Susie!

Susan Camille is coming! Today!! (probably.)

I'm going to chapel in about a minute, then to the clothing bank for a gift to appease Sita, and we're off to Cleveland.

Hide and Seek on its head

My cousin Ben finally warmed up to me. He was born between two and three years ago. Yesterday we played Hide and Seek briefly, and he obviously didn't get the concept, just the motions. I would go crouch behind a chair or a desk or something, and he would come find me, after I talked a bit so he could tell where I was. Then he would go under the kitchen table (every time) while I "looked" for him.

Me: Is he under this chair? No. Is he in a cabinet? No.
(I move to the other side of the table and open the small pocket on his backpack. He can see what my hands are doing.)
Me: Is he in here?
Ben: Pacifier! (which is what goes in that part of the backpack.)
Me: (trying not to laugh) Ben isn't in the backpack, either.
(A little hand appears, holding a pacifier. I take it and put it in the pocket.)
(I find Ben.)

I did it 'cause Rachel D did it

http://kevan.org/johari?name=MargaretAnn

http://kevan.org/nohari?name=MargaretAnn

It's not urgent. But I'm curious.

EDIT: I think it's right this time. Maybe.

So creative

To be part of the All Glorified Writing Group recently created, current member number 9, contact me. And it is very nice, may I tell you.

I should be off to bed. We're going Garage Saling tomorrow.

I really, really like to breathe

I think this is a good way to start out explaining why I like cold more than hot. Like Nat, but not so extreme. There have been - frequently enough - time in church when I've felt about to faint. The symptoms are pretty clear: Hot (often a cause, actually), my breath starts going out, weak, and if I stick it out long enough, black dots. That's when I sit down, and it goes away, and often I go get a little water from the drinking fountain, and it's okay. Now, the heat was there before; it might've been what caused it, along with a few things like not having slept a full night's sleep the night before, or even the one before that, and sometimes the wine from communion makes me feel a bit uneven too. I'm not used to being a strong person, so the weakness isn't much, I just lean on the pew a bit more. The black dots aren't alarming any more. They're not really dots, either, just kinda vague spots that I can't focus on that get bigger and connect if I let them. (I dreamt skin cancer was like this once.) But the breathlessness is seriously annoying at least.

People here know I sing. I daresay I sing fairly well, and I really enjoy it. (Really really a lot.) Now when we're getting to the Service of the Sacrament and I can't hold a breath big enough for a phrase, I'm between a rock and a hard place: Either I stop singing, or I sit down. I don't want to do either at that part, which is the most common part for me to feel woozy.

Recently I have been in the position to stick my head halfway out the window while driving, and it was amazing. All that wind going by, so quickly I had to close my eyes for all the watering and plug my ears for fear of a headache (I got a nasty wind headache in Chicago at 2 am once); and I couldn't stop breathing. Not only was it cold, which is when I can really feel the breath in-out-in-out, but it really wanted me to breathe it.

It's late. My vocabulary and spelling are dissolfing (purposeful), so I'm going to bed. Maybe sometime I can talk about another plus to having the window down, aka why I get depressed wearing sunglasses.

extra real post

Our Ju Jutsu* teacher has scary ideas about girls my age, even if they are homeschooled. A classmate asked me if I had contacts, since my eyes are so bad and I have to remove my glasses so often during class, and teacher said, "No, we have to keep her away from the contacts, because once she starts wearing contacts she'll be hanging around with boys, and she'll never be home, and her mom will lose her baby…" They laughed at me when I was skeptical. Really, though, how many boys of the right age do I know in this state? I know if he's not Lutheran I will be tied to a chair until I come to my senses, and that leaves… Ick-ick, and that obviously won't happen. Too many awkward situations to go through.

* Spelling is inconsistent.


(NOTE: Ick-ick is good for a friend.)

I DUSN'T FEL DIFFENT

but i mebbe is


Does this count as a real blog post?

killer bees

Oh yeah, I was in Semland this week for the Organist Workshop, news on that probably not to follow, and next week I'll be at Friendship Camp. (for developmentally disabled adults.) Joy.

So we were painting Nat's room (blue) when I found, written on the wall, in ink, upside down, in my early cursive handwriting, an ancient text:

Nat is stupid
Nat is dumb
Nat is an idiot
Nat can't spell
Nat is an imbecile

*sigh*

Okay, so writing-wise, Paul Dies is better than Bob Dies. "You can see the growth of maturity between them," I think somebody said. Heck, you can see the growth of maturity in my writing in the one book. I mean, come on. In the beginning, things happen to him about twice a sentence. Then at the end, we get a bit of dialogue and rest and it's a different tone. Why didn't I have an editor??

However, it seems the 'randomness', or rather, the inconsistency of BD is what people liked about it. Should I just continue to write like it's 2 AM and/or there are several weeks in between sentences? (Meaning the one is hardly related to its neighbor.) I dunno. I am/was rather prouder of PD than of BD, but now I'm just confused.

What?

Is it their purpose to be baggy and unflattering? Why are they on their toes? I must know.

To the one on the right: It doesn't work that way. It just doesn't.

hahahahahhahahahahahhahaha…

At the Palindome

"In a regal age ran I!
Raw was I 'ere I saw war!
Oh who was it I saw, oh who?

Too far away, a war afoot.
Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
No, in union,
Name no one man.
Now do I repay a period won.

Draw, O Caesar! Erase a coward.
Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.
Live not on evil deed, live not on evil.

Draw noses onward!
Dump mud! Dump mud!
Draw putrid dirt upward.
Puff in, sniff up!
Pull up if I pull up.
No, it is open on one position.
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots!

In words, alas, drown I.
A day, a day... yada yada..."

*this* means I'm done

Paul Dies is available. Colors are yellow, pink, blue, and green. Colors are approximate and I cannot account for different monitors.

Book: $2.00
Signature: $0.50
Mailing: $0.50

Bob Dies

If ever there is a movie, which I don't intend to make, I am officially claiming the rights at this moment.

this doesn't mean I'm done

Accepting reviews for Bob Dies to put on the back of Paul Dies. If you want to give one, e-mail it to me. Writing a review will probably get you a discount. So far I have reviews from M, Rachel D., Bob, and Ethan.

Truthquestioner! Snap! Obviously Fantastic Honest Person! I don't think you have copies. That should be fixed.

"ablaze for what they believe in"

just one more dreem

It started out, Anna and i were at a Bethel admissions meeting, but we kept mocking them and they got really confused, and we laughed at them.

Then we realized we really needed to go home to pack for Higher Things, so Anna went home, but i got dropped off at M's house. I played with their dog for a while (out of character for me), until M + L came home. M was wearing a lot of make-up. (extremely out of character!) I finally got home to pack, but i didn't get very far. I got my hats, so i wasn't very worried.

I was thinking about it on the plane there.

Then we got to PA and were going to register, but instead of registration, it was DoRena's wedding again. (The original was beautiful, by the way.) There were a lot of MHers playing a game afterwards, but i was too scared to join in. I think it was Truth or Dare. All the boys were chasing Paul.

They might have been trying to get him into a mailbox.

Then i woke up.

And i went back to sleep.

My next dreem was about Scottish accents. That's all i remember.

Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms

Happy Anna day!

Yes, i think that's what i'll call it. I think i'm giving her her present tomorrow, but in honor of the occasion, the promised Nathaniel's Graduation Speech. (Rhymes with peach!)

Nathaniel, as we look across the field of your past eighteen and a half years, i see very few prickly, dried-up patches. Your schooling has had plenty of rain and sunshine and dirt. The mowing lines are not obvious, and the mountains in the distance aren't very pointy.

Now you've done a lot of terrible, horrible things. A lot of them. Numbers don't go high enough to count. However, I've gotten kinda fond of you, so though it is very tempting, I will not tickle you as you lie right now on the couch beside me. Besides, you'd just tickle me worse later.

Many moons ago, when Mom was starting to shove knowledge into your little skull, she almost definitely started with the ABC's. Don't you think that's an... ugly babyly horrific way to end?

• A is for AlbAtross, which you Are sometimes.
• B is for Breaking things. I saw you.
  
• C is for developing hand-eye Coordination, A. K. A. playing video games.
  
• D is for Don't eat that banana.
  
• E is for Eat that banana.
• F is for iF only, iF only, the woodpecker cried, the bark oF the tree was as soFt as the skies.
  
• G is for Gradually realizinG that you were mockinG me. Thank you.
  
• H is for i just want you to be... Happy.
  
• I is for It's harder than It looks to be wItty wIth these thIngs.
  
• J is for Joy! Yay!
  
• K is for KicKing and Killing Kings with frostbite.
  
• L is for you being way bigger than LiLLiputians. And even taLLer than i, thank you.
  
• M is for Me, Maggie. It always is.
  
• N is for NappiNg, because you are right Now.
  
• O is for what if yOu were really big? Like a giant?
  
• P is for Purse-holding, which you have not yet done, but i will laugh at you the moment you do.
  
• Q is for answering Questions. Especially the ones like "Where's Mom?" They're very helpful.
  
• R is for making shakes for me, too. The shakes you make taste the best.R
  
• S is for Sylvia Russia, where all of uS are belong to your baSe!
• T is for Thank you for reading This far.
  
• U is for Undertakers, and thanks for not being one.
  
• V is for the Valiant way you... defend me... the castle... from... Vikings. With Vindictive weatherVanes.
  
• W is for Wine, again.
  
• X is for Xenophile-ness, because that's better than the usual.
  
• Y is for You, because i think this is technicallY what this is supposed to be about.
  
• Z is for Zorro. Why couldn't you be more like him? *sigh*
  

Enjoy college.

DREEM

Not much, just the three people i remember. Rachel D was a donut. Rachel E was there to stop everybody from eating her. Paul was there with Rachel E. (hehe) (PAUL DIES is on my mind! And on paper! And textedit.)

Prince Caspian (no spoilers)

Of course, i think everybody reading this blog has read the book, and it seems most of them have seen the movie. (I saw it at 3:50 on Friday. No, P. M.)

Most of the problems in the movie (as opposed to the book) started with Caspian. He's too old, his hair is too long, he's too arrogant. Of course, they did give Peter some pride issues, for interest. He was too perfect before. Couldn't have that, now could we? A whole extra battle scene because of it.

Don't get me wrong, i enjoyed it. Lovely movie, lovely company. Something specific. It was a large-ish group: Mom, Dad, Nat, Me, Nick, Ariksander (great commentary), Anna, Timothy. That last one had to steal a car to get down here, too. Shocking.

BABY

I'll be the aunt of *two* little girls!

UPDATE: Susan Camille!

Is it wroking yet?

I wanna send my posts.

About Sunday (11th)

After church we had some company (Mom cooked, mostly): Assistant Pastor, our friend from Kenya, and his parents. Ha. How many bishops have you had in *your* house?

Later we had a piano recital at Bethel. It was worse than others, but not terribly so. Pretty small, only nine students could come. Mom didn't want to make a program, so we picked numbers out of a hat (a fedora that's my Dad's, was his Dad's, and maybe his Dad's too.) I was number eight, which suits me pretty well. I played Hungarian Dance, page 34 of Alfred level 6 Lesson Book, and i got the tempo wrong, but people said they didn't notice. I'm officially annoyed with being this tall, because my leg was too long to fit properly under the piano.

ANNA DID VERY WELL, whatever she says.

Saturday, 10th of May

Last evening i served company alone. Well, Dad and Nat were here, but they didn't cook any. It was very easy, but company still makes me nervous. Pork roast, baked potatoes, corn (from the freezer, previously from Grandma's fields), and a can of peaches. Grandma canned those peaches. I could tell because she always stacks them neatly. (Company was two seminarians, including the son of the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Kenya, who we've had over before. They left after supper.)

Last night was a really miserable night. First i had a headache. I was still wearing the wrong glasses, though the ones with untinted lenses, so i assumed that's what it was. I took two ibuprofen… and nothing happens. Ibuprofen *always* works. Great. I drank a glass of water in case it was dehydration, and though it didn't feel like a fatigue headache, i tried resting. It didn't help; if anything, it made it worse.

I was getting kind of annoyed at this point, and it really was a bad headache as far as my headaches go, so i resorted to caffeine: i ate a Hershey's bar and drank two cups of coffee. This reduced the headache to an ignorable level, if not very comfortable.

Naturally this was the most caffeine has openly affected me. I was cranky, bored, and tired but not sleepy. It was ridiculous; it got to the point where i saw black spots while sitting. At least, i think they were black spots. After that i made myself lie down and not do anything, but it was still a long time before i slept, with the occasional stab somewhere above my left ear.

I realize i could have put this in a less pitiable way, but honestly, i'm still tired and i think i want a little pity. Just a little.

NOTE: Blogger won't let me send this right away.

i'm so coo'

• Saturday, 19th of April: I took a ride with Mrs. S. and her two younger daughters to close-to-Semland for her oldest daughter's wedding shower. That was fun. I won some tulips there. That night i went with Naomi (and Sita) to Grandma's for the night.
  
• Sunday, 20th of April: We went to church, of course. I missed Emmaus a bit, but it was a good church. With Naomi and Sita we drove to Nick and Naomi's house.
  
• Monday, 21st of April: At Naomi's, nothing in particular. Fell off their computer chair because Naomi forgot to warn me that it's missing a leg. That hurt.
  
• Tuesday, 22nd of April: Ditto, without the chair.
  
• Wednesday, 23rd of April: And again. Packed everything up.
  
• Thursday, 24th of April: We woke up early, but not quite early enough. We made it in time, though. Just getting out of the car, there was a great guy that took our baggage and put it right on a cart and checked it out and everything. We also got to the head of just about every long line because we had a baby. We did the airport thing and then the flight thing, which Sita just hated. For a while she screamed, for a while she sat on my lap and played with my ipod, in the case, out of the case, in the case, out of the case, until she got frustrated when her teeny fingers weren't coordinated enough to do it all without me. When we got some food, she dipped everything in the chicken dip, i think it was. Her fingers, crackers, cookies, whatever we let her have. The time change was annoying, but not terribly so. Amanda looked very tanned. It was nice to see her again. Palm trees look just goofy. We absolutely stuffed her car, barely fitting in ourselves. Naomi was blocked in by a suitcase. I had no leg room (an obvious problem, as i have legs), and it was not that great. Oh well. We went to a store and Saranita fell asleep in Naomi's arms in the store, so she was obviously tired. We stopped at Amanda's place for a while, where Sita (re)discovered fish and plants. Then we went to the hotel we were staying at for the first half, as Amanda's roommate had a friend over for that time too, and that would be just a little too crowded. Finally Amanda and i went to a play at her college, Bureau of Missing Persons i think it was called, which was really really neat. Really really sad, almost enough to inspire tears, which with plays and literature and movies etc. is saying something. I also got to meet the playwrite, also cool. In the end i was up for at least nineteen hours straight, and i really appreciated the sleep that night.
  
• Friday, 25th of April: This day we drove for a few hours, which did not make us happy. I mysteriously didn't have my book, Saranita screamed, Naomi got carrot stains, and… it really wasn't that bad, but that's the sort of thing i remember from long drives with a baby. We saw the place where Chilton (from the show Gilmore Girls) is filmed, and we saw the HOLLYWOOD letters, and walked around Las Vegas for a long while. We saw the stars in the sidewalk, and the hand & footprints. My feet are almost exactly the size of Harpo Marx's. Heh. Judy Garland had teeny feet! It was amazing. The Harry, Ron and Hermione actors already have their own square. A little later we wandered into a little Audrey Hepburn restaurant. Amanda sang two songs for them. It was neat. And we went home.
  
• Saturday, 26th of April: Part of the reason for the when of the vacation was to see Amanda in a play. So in the afternoon i babysat Saranita (easy, she took a nap for most of the time) and my sisters went, and that evening i went. It was called The Further Adventures of Suzanne and Monica. I won't say much about it, but it was good. Oh, and when i was waiting in line to get in the theater, i almost attacked somebody: a stranger kind of patted me on the shoulder in a friendly way. But then he said "Hey Jess, how are you doing?" and apologized a lot when i turned around and was not Jess. If Jess is reading this (i don't know how), our heads must look the same from the back.
  
• Sunday, 27th of April: This was the hottest day. Must've been in the nineties, and humid. As always we went to church, but it wasn't that great. The readings were great, the sermon was better than it could have been, and the organist was good. (she was Amanda.) Other than that… bad, folk-y hymns, a guitar, drums, a tambourine, even a Diaconal Minister! (basically a woman pastor.) And they call themselves LC-MS… actually, with the things that have been happening lately in our synod, i really shouldn't be surprised, should i? Ugh. I was singing in the choir, but somewhere along halfway through i left to "help with the baby," as i knew i wouldn't go up for communion, the way the service was going. I missed Emmaus a lot. The rest of the day we stayed inside.
  
• Monday, 28th of April: Finally, we went to the beach. It was great. Sita had a great reaction to the sand, not so much to the water. She'd wait and get real excited, then when the water was coming towards her and whoever was holding her, she just freaked out. Screamed and cried and kicked, everything. So we took turns playing in the sand with her. Naomi went first, and Amanda and i went out to meet the waves. The water was very pretty, millions of little lights glistening on each and every wave, ever changing, each pattern giving way to the next, never to be seen again. I loved seeing everything. But the water was very cold that day, and i was not enjoying that. It came up to my knees, and my waist, and it was still too cold. I knew the only way to get used to it, within reason. "Are you going to go under?" Amanda asked. I nodded. The next wave was coming. I ducked, and got very wet. I felt something thin on my face, a bit like a wire… we resurfaced, and i realized: I had forgotten to take my glasses off. (Is this news to anybody?) I said so, and when asked where they were, i didn't know. So. Great. Not only do i lose my glasses for the first time, ever, in my seven or so years of wearing them, i did it by the stupidity of leaving them on, and now they're in the Specific Ocean. What will happen to them? Will they wash up on the beach? Here or in Australia? Will a fish swallow them and choke? Will they simply sit at the bottom of the ocean and slowly erode till there's nothing? It wasn't very fun. I never even named those ones. I moped for the rest of the outing and when we got back to Amanda's place, i donned the one-prescription-old sunglasses i'd brought. So for the following five days, i wore sunglasses, was very cool, and got both suspicious looks and fierce headaches. I called home and asked Mom to schedule me another visit to the optometrist. I also got sunburned.
  
• Tuesday, 29th of April: We went to the zoo. It was very fun, for being dark and slightly blue and slightly blurry. I like the zoo. (too bad it was near the end of the trip, now i'm getting tired of remembering and typing.)
  
• Wednesday, 30th of April: The flight. Naomi and i weren't sitting together for either one (before or after the layover in Phoenix, Arizona), but i switched seats with somebody for the first one. The second wasn't so bad. I bought my own Snack Box, and it was fairly good. We got to Nick and Naomi's in one piece.
  
• Thursday, 1st of May: Not much, i don't think.
  
• Friday, 2nd of May: Drive home. We met Mom somewhere close to halfway. We had really good pizza and shopped in outlet malls. Mom and i went home.
  

not minor

It's interesting to see how i've changed from then. I'm just annoyed that they don't have options for music or teaching.

What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as English You should be an English major! Your passion lies in writing and expressing yourself creatively, and you hate it when you are inhibited from doing so. Pursue that interest of yours! English 100% Linguistics 92% Dance 83% Journalism 83% Psychology 75% Art 67% Theater 58% Sociology 50% Mathematics 42% Philosophy 42% Engineering 25% Anthropology 25% Biology 17% Chemistry 8%

Eureka!

I finally had the inspiration for Paul Dies! (Yes, i know i'm not supposed to put off writing till inspiration comes, but this time it worked. Is working. You'll see.) Of course, i'll have to sort of start over because our main computer crashed, taking all writing documents with it... *sigh* But THIS will change it a bunch, and Dad said that once we get a new computer, (the one in the office died too,) he can probably get some, if not all, documents and things off the old one.

I'm leaving about ten tomorrow morning with Mrs. S. for the seminary area for DoRena's shower. Spend the night at Grandma's with Naomi and Saranita, church in the morning of course, then at N+N's till Thursday, when comes (drum roll, please) the flight to California and Amanda Pearl. And that's flight as in on a plane, not flight as in we're escaping to there. We're staying for a week or so, and i don't remember when Mommy comes to drag me away from Sita.

"Cleaning this room is like a archaeological dig." (--Aaron N.) Why does Mother Dearest want my room to be spotless when i'm leaving?

I give up!

I tried, i really did. Very hard, for very long. But this is it, i'm confessing: In general, i like dancing. Maybe it's the music. Now i still don't like certain kinds of dancing, dancing to certain kinds of music, and with certain people, i. e. most of them.

Mollie Ziegler Hemingway in Wall Street Journal about Issues Etc.!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120667366412170875.html?mod=taste_primary_hs

Ha HA!

PG 13, i suppose.

I like this analogy here: Mr. Kruta explained that Missouri Synod members should have drawn the line sooner about how much deviation they would tolerate in the church. "Seriously, this has been like waking up in the hospital after surgery only to find that the wrong limb has been amputated and no one will admit who the surgeon was," he said.

make me stop looking at vintage sewing patterns

This lady in purple here thinks you killed her friend, and is wishing she'd put on MORE mascara, and earrings that actually WERE bigger than her ear. Close, but not quite. You can see how she hates you, how she just itches to take a glove and slap you across the face with it before grabbing a sword from some unknown place. Probably behind that huge, modern painting in the background. She won't though, because you interrupted her going out. She must be somewhere. Another time, perhaps she can avenge her friend, but now she can only stare. The one on the right thinks she's better than you, because she has a huge brain. She's probably right, but we'll never stop laughing long enough to care. I need a hat like that.


What are these guys thinking?
The one on the left: Let's take stock: I've got my best foot planted firmly
forward, my lemon colored suit with a breast pocket *as well as* hip
pockets, one hand in a pocket, one reaching nonchalantly behind for
the gun, and the mysterious smudgy halo. Ah good, I have the largest
one. Now I must be sly as I turn to shoot the legendary Robert L.
Green. Of course, I can't untilt my head or I'll bonk it right into
the words.

Middle: Man! I *knew* I shouldn't've worn my rich, silk burgendy tie?
shirtthing? and handkerchief with my matching black suit, I should've
worn my sickly brown plaid pants and gray jacket! Oh the humanity. At
least my hair is so handsomely curled.

Right: No one can get me now. That's right, they can't even see an
edge of my eye. I'm ready, be it mafia or disco. Nobody's gonna pull a
gun on me.

Also, i think the middle on has some sort of pocket complex going.


Does Red have half a golf club? Why are they so squinty? I think Black cut Red's pants to the silly height they are now, and is laughing at him for that. Red is unaware of his silly appearance, but is naïve and dim, and is laughing with Black because if Black is happy, it must be something that's good for Red too. (I'm ignoring the cigarettes because i think this was back before they know it was bad for them. If not, those are twigs painted white.)


Lefty is an airhead and is watching a birdie. She doesn't know she's about to step off something (a cliff, maybe). Righty just realized she dropped something, and is wondering how to pick it up without getting her plaid circus tents in the dirt. The clowns would get tangled with the lion-tamers, the midgets in bearded lady's beard, and it would just be a phenomenal mess.


The mother in the blue shirt was just leaning in to lecture one of her daughters, when she stopped to smile at the one she likes, the one who's surprised because of this surprise birthday party. The unloved daughter in stripes is furious because they're twins and she's not having a birthday. But she's very polite and will not set fire to the presents, however much she wants to. But if her best friend's brother "happens" to do it, well…


Oh dear. Ohhhh dear. First of all, Red Belt just got a crew cut. She's pining. Gold Sash is walking through that immensely slushy slush we got yesterday. You can see with her pants pulled up and her pretending not to. She's tip-toeing. And Big Gold Buckle has no excuse. I think she's just remembering that she dressed wrong, as this looks terrible in any activity. Gah. So- ugly- can't- look- directly- at it-

Alleluia!

He is risen!
(this is your cue-)

I love Easter! I forget, every year, how happy it makes me. But here it is again, making me laugh with delight, singing loudly these glorious hymns, alleluia, alleluia! And the Gospel, how those women went to the tomb wondering how to get in, and instead they find He has Risen! Ha HA!

I hate it when we strip the alter. It's so empty and cold and unforgivingly, smotheringly dark, especially with the black cloth over the crucifix. It was relief both when Pastor took the cloth off, and when they brought the communion out.

It would seem humiliating to some people, worshiping this disgusting, bloody and naked Man, hanging off a tree, but to me it is the look of victory. Seeing what He did out of unconditional love for me, me, this one who appears disgusting, bloody and naked. Shameful.

And through this His own Father, the One who loves Him more than any other, is comforting me. I see this reflected in my life through my parents and other authorities, like Mom comforting me at Grandpa's funeral, and Pastor absolving me*, and i not paying attention because i kept thinking of their miscarriage, and feeling sorry for him. (apologies that that doesn't quite fit, but i kept thinking of it anyway.)


* I love when Pastor lays his hand on my head. Dad did that to me when i was little, and it's a very comforting, safe feeling. It was to me the only drawback of receiving communion, because then i wouldn't have that every Sunday. I reasoned that getting the body and blood of Jesus is better, and i could still have the hand-on-head thing during absolution.

and i thought i was sick BEFORE

Newspaper article in a Long Island paper. E-mail me if you want the scan of the original.

Lutheran’s new ‘Life’
• In attempt to attract members, church in Old Westbury will take on a new look and younger feel
BY JENNIFER BARRIOS
jennifer.barrios@newsday.com
(Picture: From left, David Benke, president of the Atlantic District; Gerald Kieschnick, president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; and Rev. Bill Harmon discuss new plans for church.)


The Rev. Bill Harmon of the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Garden City admits he isn’t much of a gardener. But Harmon and his church are undertaking an ambitious “planting” - creating a new type of church in Old Westbury.

Instead of robes and vestments, Harmon said, “We’ll wear a jacket and polo shirt. We’ll probably have more of a band, music that is more in tune with what people are hearing today.
“We want to tear down barriers that unchurched people feel keep them from coming to church.”

The effort is part of the Ablaze! movement by the national Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the second-largest Lutheran denomination in North America, with about 2.5 million members. The Garden City church is one of 10 congregations in the United States - and the only one in the state - participating in the new program, which offers grants to create the churches.

Harmon said that the new church, dubbed “The Life,” has taken over a tiny Lutheran congregation’s building on Jericho Turnpike. When it is up and running in October, Harmon said he hopes the laid-back experience will attract those who previously were turned off by church or who have never gone at all.

The Ablaze! project - which also includes more proselytizing by lay members of the church - is part of the Lutheran movement’s response to a world of more immigrants and more diversity, said David Benke, president of the Atlantic District of the Lutheran movement. It also is a response to the flat or declining membership that this and other types of religious organizations are facing.

“We want to reach out with the Gospel. But we have really walked right past a whole bunch of people in the past, especially in the New York metro area, Benke said. “As our older membership matures, moves out and moves on, we have to redevelop a lot of the parishes that we’ve been in for a long time.”

The movement’s national president, the Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, said the Lutheran church on Long Island and across the country will look very different in the next few decades.

“Our church is going to be more multicultural in the future,” Kieschnick said. “There are more and more congregations that will see their Sunday morning and their other activities during the week populated by people who are not just old white guys.”


Newsday (Long Island, NY) Friday, March 7, 2008 edition.

geen

Happy Birthday, TMSJW

Yup, the Truly Golden Birthday: Eighteenth of February, eighteenth birthday, *and* he turned eighteen! (That's how Justinian S. put it on his golden on the sixth.)

For his birthday, i got an AWESOME ORANGE PURSE!! (Thank you Pasto' and family!) Pictures will probably follow, soon as camera is found.

Ah, went cross-country skiing on Saturday and loved it. Still sore, but had a blast. Downhill was going to be tomorrow, but will be too cold and must be postponed a week or so.

Return of Bab

So remember this about Saint Bab that looked like Saint Bob? Well here i have: The Bab Ballads! (dun dun DUN) (by W. S. Gilbert)

Are the two things related? I'll leave you to figure it out… i'm too lazy. However, i will include the contents (I counted a Babette and a Bob):

Captain Reece
The Rival Curates
Only A Dancing Girl
General John
To A Little Maid—By A Policeman
John And Freddy
Sir Guy The Crusader
Haunted
The Bishop And The `Busman
The Troubadour
Ferdinando And Elvira; Or, The Gentle Pieman
Lorenzo De Lardy
Disillusioned—By An Ex-Enthusiast
Babette’s Love
To My Bride—(Whoever She May Be)
The Folly Of Brown—By A General Agent
Sir Macklin
The Yarn Of The “Nancy Bell”
The Bishop Of Rum-Ti-Foo
The Precocious Baby. A Very True Tale
To Phoebe
Baines Carew, Gentleman
Thomas Winterbottom Hance
The Reverend Micah Sowls
A Discontented Sugar Broker
The Pantomime “Super” To His Mask
The Force Of Argument
The Ghost, The Gallant, The Gael, And The Goblin
The Phantom Curate. A Fable
The Sensation Captain
Tempora Mutantur
At A Pantomime. By A Bilious One
King Borria Bungalee Boo
The Periwinkle Girl
Thomson Green And Harriet Hale
Bob Polter
The Story Of Prince Agib
Ellen McJones Aberdeen
Peter The Wag
Ben Allah Achmet;—Or, The Fatal Tum
The Three Kings Of Chickeraboo
Joe Golightly—Or, The First Lord’s Daughter
To The Terrestrial Globe. By A Miserable Wretch
Gentle Alice Brown

quot

I waited my whole life for Mr. Right. Then you came along, and you weren't anything like I'd imagined… you were cynical… and cranky…

~Jane, 27 Dresses, probably paraphrased

Remembering our baptisms

(playing with a toy xylophone)
Brigitta (3): This is my favorite color and this is Daddy's favorite color and this is… is… what is your favorite color?
Me: It's orange, like Julianna's.
Brigitta: Yeah! And what's… Mrs. R's favorite color?
Me: I think it's blue.
Brigitta: That's Daddy's too! And what's… what's…
(she's looking around, and spots a picture on the wall, one of Jesus and the little children)
Brigitta: Hey! Jesus died on the cross!

Cute though that is, i don't think that's the way we're supposed to remember our Baptisms, just once in a while exclaiming over it.

Hey! I'm baptized!

No, that's definitely not it.

It's probably not like Dumbledore's Howler ("Remember my last, Petunia,"), something like Jiminy Cricket to remind us when we're about to do bad things. Oh yeah, i'm baptized. That means i shouldn't booby-trap my brother's door, even if he did paint my guinea pig green.

Or maybe that's how it's supposed to work, but doesn't because we're poor miserable sinners and we need to actively remember all the time, and we just can't do that.

Perhaps it's like the Series of Unfortunate Events' (yes i know, Anan, you don't have to read them) "Remember you will die," to put everything in perspective. Is this another "in the world but not of it" thing? Non-Christians can't remember their baptisms because they don't have any.

Hmph. I'm getting nowhere.

So this is to influence every decision we make, every word we say, every move we make? That's good with me.

Woohoo!

Fourth post today!

fog

can't see ahead
going one step at a time
taking everything at face value
never planning ahead
figures appearing suddenly
ad libbing forever

fog is so philosophical

pouting

It's not fair! Nat has a computer with TWO monitors, and he got an old laptop to use for NaNoWriMo, and Anan has a puter, and Nick says he has an oold laptop, and i have nothing…

… and Anna has money and shiny hair and pearls and pretty jewelry and seemingly everything…

… and it really really hurts to hear Nathaniel and Anna laughing together in another room while i write out Biology vocabulary.

ceiowe

cmiewohhwsnyn lofhsnsn fnsh fshfisxm hvhkhiuYUI HJK HYkh khhkf hsf hsdfius hsyfsj xhfkJfd hooooooooogois ido odgiioi ogso gorgo oor i'm bored.

book

I'm only posting this because it turned out interesting.

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
6. Tag another person.

Hm. It's hard to tell which is closest… ah, this one will do.

But not a word did he reply.
Despairing of him, therefore, I determined to go to bed and to sleep; and no doubt, before a great while, he would follow me. But previous to turning in, I took my heavy bearskin jacket, and threw it over him, as it promised to be a very cold night; and he had nothing but his ordinary round jacket on.

MOBY DICK or THE WHALE by HERMAN MELVILLE

Um.
Anan, M, Nat, TruthQuestioner, and Snap.

And, eh, Freddy. If Freddy happens to read this.

I'm being sued!

Yes, Bob is suing me for using him in a book without written consent. Would you like to be a lawyer of mine? Payment is negotiable. If not, you could be a juror, or even a judge, if you are deemed impartial.

Written by somebody else, unfortunately, but i agree

I am boycotting Black History Month, and changing it to American History Month.

You black people who always preach against segregation, why not preach against this month as well? It is no longer the Caucasians who are separating you, but you yourselves. If you have a Black History Month, you also need a Native American, Chinese, German, Japanese, Mexican, Caucasian, Norwegian, etc, history month. Because every single one of these people are Americans, a part of the greatest country in this world. You are too, with the same rights as everyone, yet you chose to separate yourselves by giving yourselves your own month.

Yes, you do have the same rights. You have the right to work, to make yourselves better, to be rich, to make your own name in history, right along with the other black people noted in history. Yet you choose to stay on welfare; to not work; to have children out of wedlock; to make ghettos; to commit crimes. The definition of black today is usually associated with ghettos, crime, and prostitutes.

And the black people who are to be very much admired for getting themselves out of this mire are called 'Uncle Toms', 'too white', etc. You shameful people! You are the ones who run down the name of your race, yet you blame us whenever we call it like it is. You would make Martin Luther King Jr. ashamed of you! All the people who have helped you to have the same rights as everyone else would be ashamed of you, and every bruise, every cut, all the names they have been called, everything they have faced is in naught. Because most of you have thrown away the opportunities they have gotten for you out of their own sweat and blood. You have taken everything for granted. Do you really think they came that far, and suffered so much, to see you in ghettos and broken homes, to be afraid of having money because you would be called 'too white'? That is what they fought for! They fought so that you could have the same rights as the other Americans, so that you could have the same opportunities to be rich and successful like the other Americans, so that you could not only be called Americans, but be Americans in every meaning of the word.

You are not African Americans any more, just as I am no longer a German American, and just as the Chinese are no longer Chinese Americans. You are simple and plain American. And that is a name to be darn proud of and to hold your head up for, because countless millions, of all colors and races, have come together under the red, white, and blue, and under the name 'American', to shed their precious blood so that you could have these opportunities and to remain free.

America gives any citizen, any citizen, the chance to fulfill any of their dreams, if only they work hard and follow them. So don't be afraid to dream too high, and most importantly, don't be afraid to make that dream come true. You are an American - you can achieve anything you put yourself to. Only your laziness, pessimism, and racist views of being too white will get in your way.
~Kimberly L.