1.31.2008
The Incredible Dirk Pitt
"In Shock Wave, Dirk Pitt meets the most intriguing and sinister villain of his adventurous and legendary career--a billionaire Australian diamond king with three beautiful Amazon daughters--in a conflict that is waged above and below the sea for the survival of vast numbers of sea creatures and more than a million human beings"
Got your interest yet? It gets better:
"In 1856, a British clipper ship sinks after a storm while transporting convicts to an Australian penal colony. After horrible carnage on a raft, the pitiful survivors, among them Betsy Fletcher and Jess Dorsett, are washed up on a solitary tropical island, where they discover an immense source of diamonds and found a powerful and wealthy dynasty.
One hundred forty years later, Maeve Fletcher, one of their descendants, is stranded on an island in Antarctica with a party of passengers after their cruise ship seemingly abandons them. Dirk Pitt, on an expedition to find the source of a deadly plague that is killing dolphins and seals in the Weddell Sea, finds Maeve and the passengers and rescues them from death.
When Pitt later uncovers the cause of the plague, he discovers that Maeve's father, Arthur Dorsett, and her two sisters are responsible because of their diamond-mining technology. A deadly race develops to stop Dorsett from continuing his murderous mining operations and to head off a disaster that will kill millions."
It's still not over:
"Pitt's struggle to foil Dorsett's ruthless plan to destroy the market for diamonds and thus gain a monopoly of his own takes him from harrowing adventures off the west coast of Canada to being cast adrift in the Tasman Sea in a small boat with his good friend Al Giordino and the lovely Maeve Dorsett.
Through trial by storms, hunger, and thirst, Pitt's inventive genius and relentless drive to survive eventually bring him to a final, spine-chilling confrontation with Arthur Dorsett himself, at the very heart of his domain, with the clock ticking against devastating tragedy--a confrontation in which Pitt gains triumph, but at the cost of great personal loss, as he discovers a lethal surprise that will shock and astonish the reader."
I've got to say that the flap reading alone as me shocked and astonished. Have you ever heard the amazing Beth Horner tell her story about her encounter with a romance novel? (basically Beth, a former librarian, reads a romance novel which eventually drives her to tearing the (library) book apart page by page for its sheer ridiculousness--very funny check your local library for a recording) Well, I think I have just found the book to match hers. I have started the book and am happy to report that at the very least the actual book is not as bad as the flap--I'm not saying it brilliant or anything as extreme as that just that it is readable, but I am still anticipating lots of fun rolling my eyes and throwing the book down--I'll try not to rip any pages out of it.
1.30.2008
Weekly Food Expenditure Across the Globe
Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Germany: The Melander family of Barfteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
United States: The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.)
Food expenditure for one week $341.98
Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55
Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
The email ended with a comment from the sender about counting our blessings. Mostly, though, I was truly embarrassed. We are supposed to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world and yet we clearly choose to have one of the poorest diets. Now it would be my hope that most of us don't actually eat as poorly as the American family in this case study does, but I'm guessing that if we laid out our food for a week we would be mighty shocked. In fact, that might not be such a bad idea. I'll tell you after seeing that family's food, I'm going to concentrate on buying and eating more fruits and vegetables. The other thing I noticed is the proof of globalization provided by these pictures. Did you notice how many families had bottles of Coke (or Pepsi)?
1.29.2008
I'm Getting Old
1.28.2008
President Hinckley
When I do think on all that he has done for us from building bridges between religions and community groups to urging us to be better, I think one of his great accomplishments is the work he has done in promoting temple building and temple attendance. Therefore, I think that since my poor words here can hardly do justice not only to the man he is but also the feelings I have for him, the best tribute I can give to him will be in taking some time this week to attend the temple.
Not that all this love and peace has made me any less annoyed with all the news outlets and world in general who devote hours and hours to the recent (and yes tragic) passing of an actor and barely note the passing of not only one of the greatest men of our time but the actual spokesman of God. How truly sad.
Alcohol
Sorry, I digress a bit. As you can see the title of this post is Alcohol so lets get on topic. (Actually a plastic cup of beer would be something else I would need to fit into the country world--sorry, I really do have a great respect for the country music world. Apart from all the songs about leaving your girlfriend for fishing, killing your husband for sleeping around, or other songs on adultery in general, I find that country music is very home-town value centered and not at all ashamed about singing about religion and God. Sorry, again I digress a bit) I would just like to leave a few comments directed at those of you sitting around me that got drunk at the concert a couple of days ago. You know who you are (skanky couple who kept making out in front of us).
1. Just because you are drunk doesn't make me your best friend.
2. Alcohol doesn't make you better looking. (Unless, perhaps, I'm the one who is drunk)
3. Alcohol doesn't make you funnier.
4. Alcohol doesn't make you smarter.
5. Alcohol most definitely doesn't make you a better dancer.
6. I don't care who you are, how high you think your alcohol tolerance is, or what you are drinking, one drink does affect you (see above for how or rather how it doesn't). Trust me, as a sober person who has watched people start at sober and end up drunk from here to Ireland, all it takes is one drink for me to see the side effects start and they aren't pretty. Just in case you were wondering, the reason I leave after you order your 3rd drink is that your pathetic behavior is not charming or funny but rather embarrassing to the both of us.
In closing, please, please tell me you didn't drive home.
p.s Check out my pics a couple posts down again. I fooled around with the lighting and they are a bit better.
1.25.2008
Should've Done My Homework
I must give you a little context for my somewhat irrational response to not knowing the lyrics. You see, not so long ago I was a student in Belfast, Northern Ireland studying conflict. As part of my unofficial study I went to as many community events as I possibly could. One particular evening I heard about an "unofficial" IRA memorial taking place not too far from where I was living and thought I would go and check it out. I arrived and staked out a place in the general midst of the 50 or so people who had gathered down an alley way. As it turned out it was a memorial service for 5 young men who had been murdered or killed (depending on your point of view) by the British army in that spot. Well, all was going well and it was very interesting when an older man stepped forward and began to lead the crowd in a Catholic prayer (the sort that everyone knows and says all together). Well, not being Catholic and not having done my homework, I didn't know any of the words and I was suddenly sticking out in the crowd like a throbbing sore thumb as an outsider in exactly the kind of situation that you don't want to be seen as an outsider. Well, leaving right then would not have been a great option as it would have brought even more attention to me, so I was stuck between trying to pretend I was saying something and hope it wasn't too obvious that what I was saying didn't match the words of the prayer or stand very solemnly in silent respect. I went for the later one and hoped that if anyone was suspicious of me they would at least give me the chance to explain who I was (I can't even tell you how many times I had random people come up to me over the course of my study there and not very discreetly try to figure out "who" I was--who meaning was I a threat they should be worried about). Well, eventually it ended and the crowd dispersed (me faster than usual) and nothing happened (by the way, nothing ever did happen to me while I was there). But for a good 20 minutes or so I was rather nervous about the situation.
So anyway, right in the middle of this country music concert I had a sudden flashback to that experience and I briefly felt very nervous about my situation. As it turns out, the screaming girl next to me did take notice and told me that I needed to get into it a bit more, but if I didn't succumb to the peer pressure of a terrorist group I was hardly going to give in to her (although, she may have been the scarier of the two).
Two posts from me in one day. I'm exhausted.
Brad Paisley Concert
So anyway, back to the concert. After Chuck Wicks (who I accidental kept calling Chick--but obviously I knew that was wrong when I would say it) a man by the name of Rodney Atkins took the stage. I recognised one of his songs (the going through hell song--we sometimes spin to that song in spinning which I think is quite appropriate and fun) which was good. I did however mistake his fiddle player for him at the very beginning and was about to be very impressed that a fiddle player was making it big, but then I realised everyone else was looking in a different direction than me--how was I supposed to know? I just looked for the guy in the center. Anyway, Rodney is incredibly talented and the chatting he did between songs was very entertaining--even more so than Brad's commentary later on that night.
And to top it off I came home with my own Rodney Atkins guitar pick given especially to me by him.Okay, so actually he just threw it into the crowd and it landed on the floor where no one noticed it until the concert was over and the lights come on--maybe I should take up the guitar now that I have some equipment.
So next up was Mr. Brad Paisley himself. This part of the concert seems part country and part special effects rock show. It was a lot of fun--especially being so close to the action--and I even recognized like 3 of the songs. I wished he had talked a little more about the songs, but he packed a lot into his show which went by way too quickly. Like I said, there were a lot of special effects that really added a nice to touch, especially during the "Where I Get Where I'm Going" video tribute to some famous people who have died--even included Heath Ledger (Two people sitting near me only found out that he had died when they flashed his picture up on the screen--where have they been for the last couple of days?). The special effects went on to include video footage of local SLC bars (including one drawn into the background for a shot of The Simpsons) for the song about Alcohol. It was a bit loud (I guess I'm getting old) and I could have done without the screaming girl standing next to me (tune in tomorrow for my commentary on the drunks in the audience), but like I've already said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and who go again in a heartbeat.
Brad looks down a lot when he is playing so it was hard to get a good picture of him.
Then again, my camera isn't that great and really needs to be replaced so maybe my inability to get a really great shot was do more to my camera (or me) than being Brad's fault. If the latest economic stimulus package goes through I am going to by myself a new camera. Any suggestions on which one to buy?
p.s. I'm putting a few of the songs on my jukebox for your listening pleasure for the next few days--sorry no Chuck Wicks was available.
1.24.2008
I've Been Tagged
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
10 Years Ago: I think I was still living the single life in Boston. Good food (Great food); Good Friends; and lots of history. It was great.
5 Things on my to-do list today:
1. Make it through work.
2. Do some homework.
3. Waste some time on the Internet (I had to steal it Cranat)
4. Drink lots of water.
5. See Brad Paisley in concert.
What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: Pay off my student loans, buy a mini cooper, and then travel Europe.
3 of my bad habits:
1. I have no portion control: I see, I eat.
2. I procrastinate.
3. I watch too much worthless television (I'm working on cutting back though).
5 places I have lived:
1. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
2. Mammoth, Wyoming
3. Boston, Massachusetts
4. London, England
5. Belfast, Northern Ireland
5 jobs that I have had:
1. Babysitter/Nanny
2. Student
3. Cashier at Food 4 Less
4. Security Guard at Stadium of Fire (at the VIP entrance no less--not that I would have been able to stop anyone from coming in since I was just a skinny 17 year old kid.
5. Work-study student employee in the Ethics Center at UVSC
5 Things people don't know about me:
1. I'd love to get a nose job, but I'm worried about the dangers and about being too vain.
2. I'm a closet skinny dipper (haven't done it lately, but used to in Boston)
3. I wish I spoke a couple of foreign languages
4. I have a fear of the dark--serious fear of the dark.
5. I love planning vacations and taking people on tours.
Ok, I tag...
1. Denise
2. Jillian
3. Kimberly
Thanks Cranat for giving me something to post today.
1.23.2008
Google Searches
1.22.2008
Leeks are Lovely
Another new thing this book has gotten me into is yogurt--plain yogurt with no preservatives and stuff. Now plain yogurt, if you've ever tried it, is just a bit bitter or sour tasting, but I tried it with a teaspoon of honey (book's suggestion) and wow was it good. It may just become one of my new favorite treats--thereby turning me into one of those fake celebrities who tries to tell us that their favorite treat is steamed veggies--yeah right! Only plain yogurt with honey is actually really great--or maybe anything would have been really great after eating nothing but leek soup for 2 days. Umm, hadn't thought of that before. Anyway, am very pleased with new soup and yogurt finds.
Oh, and I lost 2 pounds over the weekend. (But from here on out the book warns that weight loss will be around 3 pounds a month which sounds very reasonable and healthy and not too restrictive)
1.18.2008
A Bit of Fashion
I have discovered a new favorite store: Steve and Barry's (at 5546 South Van Winkle Expressway Murray, UT). If you haven't yet heard of this store, its basic premise is that fashion and quality needn't be expensive. What they do is go out and get famous people to come in and help design clothes for their stores that they sell for no more than $20. Sarah Jessica Parker (a bit of a fashion icon) is one of these individuals and has helped design a label called Bitten. And she actually wears this stuff around (I've seen pictures) so for $20 or less you can wear the same shirt, jacket, pants, skirt as Sarah Jessica Parker. That way when someone compliments you on the shirt you are wearing you can casually say, "I saw Sarah Jessica Parker wearing it the other day and just had to have it." That would impress me. Among the other stars helping us out are Amanda Bynes (her line suits teens and young 20s) and Venus Williams (a sporting line). There are men's and children's clothes as well, but I didn't check out that part of the store. So far I've only been once (sadly I don't live close enough to go a lot--maybe that's a good thing) but I came home well satisfied and looking forward to my next trip up. So there it is, a little fashion advice from a struggling fashion victim.
1.17.2008
What I'm Reading
It is a book that I have been meaning to pick up for quite some time now and finally got around to borrowing it from my local library and may I say I wish I had picked it up sooner. Guiliano has a really nice way of writing that makes it seem more as if you were sitting down with an old friend for a chat. Plus, who doesn't like a "diet" book that tells you that dessert and chocolate are good parts of a healthy diet. Her basic mantra seems to be eat what you like in moderation while taking care to make sure that what you are eating is made up of fresh (non-processed) food and then walk around some. I like this. I have never really tried to do a typical diet because it has always made sense that moderation was the key to long lasting success. Of course, moderation isn't always easy but I am looking forward to trying some of her tips.
Just this morning, in fact, I put one of her tips into play. She suggests eating sitting down sans book, newspaper, or tv. This is a tough one for me because I almost always have a newspaper in front of me when I am eating. This morning, though, I sat down with just my breakfast. Then she suggests eating slowly and putting you spoon down every couple of bites and doing a mini review (in your head of course) of the food in your mouth. This way you are truly savoring the food which is supposed to make eating more of it less necessary. So that is what I did--with my Special K with Strawberries. I was actually rather surprised. I had thought I like the cereal because of the strawberries (which for dehydrated strawberries aren't bad) but I discovered that the flakes themselves are very nice--sweet tasting. Just think how much better it would be if I had fresh fruit instead of dehydrated! And guess what? It worked. My bowl was much more satisfying than it usually is and I didn't feel like grabbing a piece of bread on my way out the door. Mind over food that I just don't need!!!
1.15.2008
My Review: Persuasion Pt. 2
I don't know why ITV decided to try to do the adaptation in just 90 minutes (especially if Pride and Prejudice proves nothing else it proves that those of us who love Austen will sit through hours and hours to see her stories acted out for us) but having done so why on earth would they choose to waste valuable time following Anne around her house at the beginning and running all over Bath at the end? And if we are going to try to save valuable time, please don't tack on an ending that is so unnecessary. We want Austen stories to end with a kiss. We are happy to end it with a kiss. Why make up some silly ending about renting or buying her childhood home for her--especially since you never bothered to develop the story enough to indicate that the home was important to her. One area I would have liked to see some more time spent would have been Capt. Wentworth and Anne's relationship because I couldn't really figure out why it was the Capt. Wentworth would even want Anne in the end. For the most part I found her to be rather weak (which is not what she is in the book). In the adaptation she merely moves around from place to place at the insistence of others, falls and sprains her foot, quivers in the corner, or refuses to speak to a cousin because her father wouldn't want her to. In reality (book reality) she is a strong character who everyone relies on and really couldn't live without (even when they don't entirely recognize this themselves). After having Wentworth give a speech about his only requirement in a woman being a woman who knows her own mind I would think it would be important to show that now (8 years after their original courtship) Anne knew her own mind. I wasn't convinced. I could go on about the lack of story development, but I think I have made enough of a point to let it stand here. Besides who wants to talk about a lack of a story when we can talk about Rupert Penry-Jones who played Capt. Wentworth and who is the entire reason I will, despite all of its flaws, watch this movie over and over again and be happy about it. I suppose that there is really not much to say, except that I enjoyed very much watching him as Capt. Wentworth (even if he was a little too pretty and pale to be a weather-worn sea captain). So maybe lets just take a moment to look:
Also, I found this pic when I was searching for the one above and thought you might enjoy it:
Aren't the bows on his shoes precious? I wonder if the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City would/could try to get him? Cause I'd go several times for him.
My Review: Persuasion
First of all, who in their lack of brilliance decided that Gillian Anderson would be the best spokesperson for Masterpiece Theatre? I realize that she has done some work with Masterpiece, but still I don't think that qualifies her to give a mini lecture on Jane Austen or host an entire season of Masterpiece Theatre. Rather, if I hadn't already been an avid Austen fan, Anderson hosting the season would probably have convinced me to steer clear--if it were a science fiction marathon (or X-files) she would make a great and credible introduction. I am mostly refraining from commenting on her affected "British" accent which just further ruined her credibility in my mind (the people in England that I ran into didn't actually talk like that unless, of course, they were Madonna). And finally, cutting 10 minutes out of the movie so we could listen to her does not make me happy or feel confident about the direction that Masterpiece Theatre is heading. Who in their right mind would actually think, "lets cut 10 minutes of a Jane Austen film adaptation so we can talk about what we are shortly going to air"?
Okay, on to the movie itself. I thought Anthony Head as Sir Walter Elliot was brilliant as the "evil" father and I quite enjoyed Amanda Hale's turn as the obnoxious Mary Elliot. In fact, as a whole, I found that the casting was fairly well done (Sally Hawkins' portrayal of Anne Elliot's lip being the exception--the quivering just didn't do anything but annoy me). This actually makes the fact that the movie itself was not as well done all the more frustrating by providing a sense of how good it could have been. I'll discuss Rupert Penry-Jones and his Capt. Wentworth shortly.
So obviously I found the movie frustrating. I did so on two basic points. First, I found the camera work itself distracting. To my very untrained eye, it just felt as if they were trying too hard to be a little different or artistic. But I think if at any point your audience is distracted enough to notice your work you have failed in what should be your main objective: telling a story.
And the second point is going to have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry.
1.14.2008
New Year, New Nursery
Unfortunately, over the next couple of months we will continue to add kids to our class bringing us close to the number we had before (and of course all the new kids will be 18 months which means they can't talk(much), color (much), or participate in what we are trying to do as a class). One of our 4 teachers has also been moved up to Sunbeams as a teacher so I hope they are planning on calling someone new by the time we are up to our higher numbers. (They pulled one of our teachers because they decided there were going to be so many Sunbeams that they would need to split them into two classes. Never mind that we had all those Sunbeams plus all the nursery kids we still have for most of last year and they never allowed us to split. This is my main complaint about nursery--they tell us we are not just babysitters but that it is important that we have lessons, etc. But they don't actually enable us to do that. If they want us to teach lessons, etc. then they need to gives us the teachers to be able to manage the class or allow us to split the class otherwise let's just call us what they are enabling us to do: be babysitters--sorry, small tangent.)
I am teaching the lesson in 2 weeks and looked over the lesson last night. It is about Heavenly Father's plan for us--focuses on how we lived with Heavenly Father before we were born and that there are certain things we need to do on earth so that we can return to Him someday. For our craft I thought I would get some crowns for the kiddies to decorate to emphasize the point that we children of God (the crown idea is actually from lesson 1, but since they didn't get lesson 1 and since the craft was just coloring again I thought I would steal it) and that we lived with him. Then we will move on to the lesson. The thing is, though, I am not a crafty person (I often feel sorry for my nursery kids cause most of the time we just color, and that can get kind of old) so I need to get some crowns. I was thinking about going into Burger King and asking for some, but I'm not sure how they will feel about donating materials for a church class. Anyone else have some ideas (easy ideas)?
1.11.2008
Persuasion
Man-Candy Friday: Sexiest Brits
Diane Kruger (of National Treasure 1 & 2 and Joyeux Noël)
Most Attractive Man (I'm going to put this one out there because I hear after I see P.S. I Love You this is how I will feel about him):
Gerard Butler
Most Elegant Woman (say what you will about her marriage, she just didn't do much wrong fashionwise in 2007):
Katie Holmes
Who are your picks? Do you agree with the Brits?
1.10.2008
The Zookeeper's Wife
Prose attributed Abraham Joshua Heschel:
- Man is a messenger who forgot the message
- Pagans exalt sacred things, the Prophets extol sacred deeds
- The search of reason ends at the shore of the known
- The stone is broken but the words are alive
- To be human is to be a problem, and the problem expresses itself in anguish
- [Heschel felt] Loyal to the presence of the ultimate in the commonplace
- in doing the finite [we] may perceive the infinite
Also, here are some great Yiddish curses (in English, though):
"May you piss green worms!"
You should own a thousand houses
with a thousand rooms in each house
and a thousand beds in every room.
And you should sleep each night
in a different bed, in a different room,
in a different house, and get up every morning
and go down a different staircase
and get into a different car,
driven by a different chauffeur,
who should drive you to a different doctor
--and he shouldn’t know what’s wrong with you either!
I've already used the longer one today--hope you can put them to good use as well.
p.s. I've found the writing in the book a little long-winded and awkward, but the story is generally interesting.
1.09.2008
Resolution Keeper
1. A Love Affair (very good love songs--you never know, I might need these this year--stop laughing!!!)
2. A Rainy Day Production (I like rainy days so this isn't a mix of sad song. It is more soulful and mellow--something I can curl up in a blanket, read a book, while sipping hot chocolate to)
3. Rhythmic Joy (Songs for my niece Grace to dance to--have tested the mix and according to 1-year-old Grace I am not a hopelessly uncool aunt, but I can create danceable dance mixes--although some of the songs seem to inspire running in circles)
4. Up from Apathy (Great songs that examine what is wrong with our world and encourage us to do something about it--most of them anyway a couple might just be angst ridden songs or songs with a good head-banging beat.)
5. Feminist Doctrine (Strong female vocals about strong females)
1.08.2008
Project Night
I will keep you posted on how well this particular project goes (I have 4 nieces--yikes). So anyway, we had fun and chatted a bit about politics, the how-young-can-you-date theory (Apparently you divide your age by 2 and then add 7 and that is the youngest-aged person you can date. This means that I can go as young as 23. It also means that I can go as old as 50 and still be within "his" age-appropriate dating range--which just doesn't seem quite right, but it does put me within Viggo's dating range.), and some other stuff that Janel doesn't want posted on the Internet. Next time, though, I think we need food--even if that does become problematic when we are "working" on projects. I am totally willing to sacrifice a few minutes of project time for food.
1.07.2008
I just recently found the site and love it. I can't wait to get out and discover all the wonderful things they know about but I have never even heard of--who knew that Orem/Provo was so hip. If you happen to be in the Orem/Provo area click on that tab under categories on the left. Enjoy!
1.04.2008
The Dark Side of Blogging
Another strange phenomenon with blogging is that I now read blogs that belong to other people. And these funny, intelligent people write some really interesting things that I want to pass on to others. But when I go to tell someone about something they have written I often start of with the same "a friend of mine was telling me"...and then I pause because this person I don't even know (don't even know the first name of) is not actually a friend and perhaps not strictly speaking not even an acquaintance. So how do I go about sharing this information? Do I just say "a friend of mine," do I say "a friend of a friend," (cause so far most people I don't know are friends of a friend) do I say "a complete stranger who I feel very close to because of daily contact was telling me?" What is the proper blog etiquette?