My Conundrum

I have a conundrum. I like this show that is mostly geared towards younger kids, such as my cousin, EG. But I'm not the only person my age who likes this show- in fact, a lot of my close friends like it. Even some men like this show. But Mutt and my dad keep telling me that I should have outgrown this stuff years ago. Mutt out-right teases me. What do I do? Do I stop watching the show, to get rid of the teasing, even though I really like it, or should I continue to ignore the teasing, because I really like the show? In that second scenario, I don't know how long I could keep that up... Help!

Tinkerbell: Secret of the Wings

I just watched the latest Disney Fairies movie, The Secret of the Wings. Everyone who reads this will know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE pretty much everything Disney, and the Tinkerbell movies are no exception.

In case you haven't seen any of the hundreds of commercials on TV about this movie, I will describe the plot: it is almost time to go back to the Mainland for Winter, and all the fairies are busy preparing. After sending off a shipment of snowflake delivery baskets, Tinkerbell looks over to the Winter Woods, where no one from the other seasons has ever gone to, because of a rule.

Tink, under the guise of helping Fawn cross some animals over the autumn-winter border, secretly crosses. When she does, her wings begin to sparkle! Fawn pulls Tink back before too long, and the sparkling stops. Fawn insists to her that it is dangerous to cross the border, but Tinkerbell is still curious as to why her wings sparkled. She sets out on an adventure to the Winter Woods, and discovers a magical secret: she has a sister!

I was captivated by the plot, because I've always felt like there is someone or someplace out there that I need to discover. Plus, I love all Disney movies in general.

I was so excited to hear about this movie, and jumped at the chance to rent it. The Amazon instant video had a hard time buffering, of course, but other than that it had clear, crisp picture on my PC. I got to see the movie either way, so I can't complain too much.

I LOVED the animation. It is AMAZING! Especially when they showed Fiona the Lynx. It was so smooth, so beautiful! And I couldn't help but love the ADORABLE LITTLE FUZZIES that Tinkerbell helped Fawn cross over the border. My heart melted at the sight of that runaway bunny, and how scared he was to cross. Why does everything small and fuzzy have to be so cute?? Very well done, Disney! The only animal I didn't like was that snitch of a Snowy Owl that Milori rode on.

The movie included very good music, which to this moment I cannot get out of my head. I especially liked "The Great Divide". It's one of those songs where the lyrics are so general, you can take it out of context and make it a gospel song! At least, from what I remember from the lyrics.

The backstories were REALLY well written and interesting. For example, the one about the two lovers from opposite sides of the border. So sweet! So sad! So Romeo and Juliet-like, which is my favorite type of romance! And, the other, about Peri and Tink's Arrival Day. It was so cool how they both said the EXACT SAME THING when they first arrived.

I got why Tink and Peri were really alike because they were sisters and all, but there were other winter fairies that were really like some warm fairies we've met, even though we are never told they are siblings. I found it a little lazy for Disney to just cut and paste the old characters to new bodies. I liked when they formed a sort of Frost Squad to save the Pixie Dust Tree, though!

Overall, I LOVED this movie, and thought that the plot was heartfelt and amazing, even to the end. I'm sad that I only have the movie for forty-eight hours!

I have a few questions, though: Clank and Bobble led Tink through Winter when she first arrived. Their wings didn't freeze and break then. Why?

Is Vidia, like, officially Tink, Ro, Sil, Fawn, and Dessa's friend now? How did that happen? I mean, obviously, it had something to do with the events of The Great Fairy Rescue, but I thought Vidia was only slightly less mean after that?

How could a wing break if it just wilted, as a winter fairy's wing would if it crossed over to Summer, Spring, or Autumn?

How did Queen Clarian and Lord Milori NOT KNOW that Peri and Tink were sisters? Do they not share the arrival dates inter-seasonally?

When Milori told Peri the story of the two lovers, he somehow got on top of that floating snowflake in Dewey's library. If his wing was still broken by that time, how did he get up there?

Was it just me, or were some of the voices, mainly of Tinkerbell's friends, different in this movie?

Millsberry

Probably anyone who reads this has never even heard of Millsberry. It was an online game sponsored and run by General Mills cereal, mostly as an advertising gimmick. You would sign up, create and dress up a character, then go around a whole town of shops, arcades, et cetera.

My brother and I used to play this game a lot, mostly for the arcade mini games. We would constantly be fighting for the high score. My personal favorite game was the skiing one, Slalom..something. It was really fun!

My favorite part in the entire game, though, was decorating your house. You could add furniture, buy pets
(<3) and show off your house to other Millberry "citizens" if you unlocked your house, or became friends with a person who wanted to see it. I thought my house was pretty cool.

Mutt and I grew out of the game, and never really had the time for it anymore, so we didn't go on it anymore.  Not that it matters anymore. Millsberry is gone. It closed yesterday, or something, and it's just...gone. They apparently announced it was shutting down last winter, but I haven't been on Millsberry in AGES. I didn't know until a friend of mine mentioned it on a social website I use...

Why are all the websites I like shutting down? First it was Virtual Magic Kingdom (long story), then World of Cars Online, then Barbie Girls, now Millsberry. What's next?

Sure, Millsberry wasn't a very interactive or exciting game, but it was fun and part of my childhood. And now it's just gone? Because of what, you might ask? Toucan Sam.

Yes, they shut down Millsberry because General Mills' characters are making kids biased on wanting cereal, and making them ask their parents to buy it for them. Millsberry was basically nothing BUT Toucan Sam, Lucky Leprachan (I think I misspelled that), CooCoo the Cocoa Puffs Bird, Chef Cinnamon, etc. It sounds as if they're getting pulled. Hasn't that been the gimmick all along? Colorful character= kids want the cereal= parents buy the cereal for the kids. General Mills is blaming the characters, not the parents who don't decide for themselves whether or not to buy their kids the sugary cereal.

I played this game for years. Did it make me want the cereal more? Overall, no. Of course, there were times when I really wanted Cinnamon Toast Crunch, because of this one arcade game, but I got over it.

Well, farewell, Millsberry, you were a fun game, and will be sorely missed.

Song Parodies!

I am obsessed with many things. On the top of the list is music, and mystery, particularly the Nancy Drew variety. So what if they were put together??

Some employees at Her Interactive, the creators of the ever-amazing Nancy Drew games, wrote a parody of the viral song "Call Me Maybe", called "Call Me Nancy", or "Second Chance Me", after a feature in all of their games. Whenever Nancy makes a mistake, you get a game over sequence and are given a "second chance" to do things right.

This is one of my all time favorite videos, since "Call Me Maybe" is also one of my favorite current songs, and Nancy Drew is my all time favorite teen detective! So, this video got me inspired to write a parody of my own. This one is called "I'm Nancy and I know It"

Yeah, when you walk on by

You might see me, this little private eye

I’m walking my beat, down River Street

Never see defeat

This is how I roll

Togo the dog getting out of control

It’s Nancy with the knack for clues

I’m so sweet how could you suppose

That I’m sniffing out clues (x3)

Uh huh I solve crime

Yeah, I’m sniffing out clues (x3)

Uh huh I solve crime

When I walk to the crime scene

This is what I think

Someone out there is watching me

I got a magnifying glass and I ain’t afraid to use it

Use it Use it Use it

I’m Nancy and I know it

I’m Nancy and I know it

Yeah, I wasn't able to finish it. I ran out of creative lyric ideas. I didn't make a video of me singing it, because   I would have to change keys A LOT to be able to hit all of the notes, and it would be overall catastrophic. Plus, I can't get the rhythm right.

Feel free to finish these lyrics for me, and maybe even post your results, and/or sing it!

(Disclaimer: all rights are reserved to respective owners: "Call Me Maybe": Carley Rae Jepsen. "I'm Sexy and I Know It: LMFAO. Disclaimer to the disclaimer: I would NEVER say that one acronym out loud... just FYI)

Beauty

Hi! Guess writing everyday wasn't as easy a prospect as I thought it would be. Lately, I have been busy with musical rehearsals, piano lessons, homework, church..everything has just piled up, and I haven't been able to write as much.

Today I am going to write on a topic that has been on my heart for a long time: beauty. If you look up the word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it would say beauty was defined as "the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit." So, beauty is directly correlated to our personal feelings/senses. It implies that how one looks might make one feel differently than another. It has nothing to do with a set line of rules we have to follow to be beautiful.

So beauty is in how one perceives things. Interesting. But why is a clear face more "beautiful" to some than, say, a broken-out face? Why is a woman who is slender more attractive than one who is overweight? Why? 

Going on the point that beauty is in how we perceive things, think about styles through the ages.  Ever notice how no one wears leg warmers these days, except for exercise, when they were a cute, popular accessory in the 70-80's? I think they are still cute. But they went out of style. People's perception of what is cute has changed drastically over the years. Who knows? maybe in the 2020's kids will look at...I don't know, TOMS, and call them silly-looking. But they're so cute now.

Beauty shouldn't be based on outward appearance: what we might think looks beautiful is so inconsistent. It's all relative on the day, and the person's own opinion, supposedly.

But what should we base beauty on? To find true beauty, we need to look at people through God's eyes. He can't see just the outward person. He looks in a person's heart. A person's character and Godliness is what we should rank beauty by, not superficial appearances. I challenge you all to think of one person in your life who you don't think particularly "beautiful". Tomorrow, find that person, and spend some time with them. Sit with them at lunch, chat over the weather- just something. You might be surprised at the kind people you never knew existed.

I should know- my two closest friends at school aren't exactly the thinnest girls in our class, but they are more fun to talk to and more supporting than a lot of people that I have ever met. THey are the kind of friends you hope never to lose. I plan to know them even through when we are neighbors in Heaven. 

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that people who try to look their best aren't kind. All I am saying is that appearance shouldn't matter. If they are beautiful to the eye, and beautiful in their heart, then power to them, too.

Until next time!

Crazy Cousins, and Lanyards

As you may know (I think I've mentioned them before) I have four cousins, all silly. We'll just call them R, J, who are closer to mine and Mutt's age, EG and EB, who are still little kids.

We were all over at R & J's house last night for a huge family get together. From the moment EG and EB walked in the front door, they pounced on me and Mutt. EB wanted me to give him a piggy back ride, and EG was dog-piling on Mutt. Their mom got onto them,  so Mutt, J, and EB went to J's bedroom, and R, EG and I went to R's bedroom.

We played dolls, and fended of the boys when they invaded. Occasionally, we would invade the room they were in, too. The boys, needless to say, were playing much more rough then us girls.

One moment, we were dressing up Barbie, then we heard a thunk-thunk, then nothing. Freaking out, R and I went to investigate. One of J's closet doors had come completely off it's track (it's a sliding door)! I looked at Mutt, but he and J teasingly blamed EB. Luckily, no one had gotten hurt, so Mutt just set the door down and we went back to R's room.

After a while, some of he family, including all the boys, went outside to play croquet. I don't usually play, because I am terrible and Mutt is usually a really sore loser, and I don't like getting in the middle of his fits.

EG, however, wanted to go outside, just to bug her brother. She handed me a small fan, and a string of beads, and led me outside to where EB was playing. I didn't understand what she wanted me to do, until she started using a craft stick as a sword. She was imitating Barbie and the Three Musketeers! We pretend fought with EB, who said he was a spin-jitsu ninja, for a while, before we went back inside by order of my dad, who didn't want anyone to get seriously hurt.

When we got back inside, it was pretty close to the time that I knew to be EG and EB's bedtime, and thought things would wrap up pretty soon. EG led me back to R's room to play with  a stuffed dress-up dog he had found. EB came in a couple of times, bugging us, saying he'd leave us alone if we'd give him the money for a Lego set he had been wanting. Of course, neither of us had it. He left, and we shut the door.

Eventually, EG had the idea to hide in R's closet so that no one would find us when it was time to go, and we wouldn't have to leave. I decided to humor her, just for a little bit. But it was cramped in there! Whenever EG opened the door to go get something, it scraped my knee! I could feel my back getting out of alignment, but whenever I tried to get out, EG would come back in the room and tell me to hide again.

Finally, it was time to go, and EG's mom came and found us, and we all went home for the night. I had fun, but next time, I want to meet up with them in a place that doesn't have any closets!

Today,  my mom and I went accessory shopping. At my school, you have to wear a picture ID on a lanyard at all times, but the lanyard they give you is boring-looking. So, my mom took me around town to look for a different one. We went to two different places, but I couldn't find one that wasn't either too flashy, or too plain, like the one I have now, just in a different color.

We went home, and started looking online. At this point, I was ready to give up and just bear the one I already have. We didn't find anything special online, so sometime today or tomorrow we are going to the craft/hobby shop to look for material to make one ourselves. I don't know whether to be excited, or terrified at this prospect. The most creativity I have is in writing. Crafting isn't my strong suit. I can barely crochet on my own!

So, this will be interesting. Until tomorrow! Happy Labor Day!

Manga

Last week, I recommended Beastly to a friend of mine at school. In turn, she recommended that I read a manga book. I have tried reading manga before. It didn't work out well.

For those of you who don't know, manga is a style of Japanese writing through pictures and dialogue bubbles. What we consider to be a book's back cover is a manga's front cover. The pages are read from right to left instead of left to right. It confused me at first, but I've gotten used to it. It's all so new to me

For my first manga book, I am reading I am Here! by Ema Toyama. I picked it because it sounded a lot like my life. A girl finds herself practically invisible, and her only friends are the people who comment on her blog. Otherwise, she is completely alone. She decides to re-invent herself when the most popular boy in her class talks to her. 

I'm maybe an eighth of the way through, and so far it's pretty good. I always love manga characters. Boys are super cute, and girls look beautiful, with their flowing hair, and all that. 

This will be an interesting experiment! I will tell you how it goes in All About Books, probably.

I am going to try to update this blog daily. So, expect this blog to be much busier in the future! It might be just Mon-Sat, though, since Sundays are going to become super busy for me. Early church, brunch with my family, last minute homework, then choir or Bible study. 

High School

A couple of weeks ago, I started up school again. That's why I haven't written a lot recently. It's been crazy, because this is my first year of high school.

So far, I have enjoyed my high school experience. I can't complain too much about my classes. I only got lost once when I tried to find my locker, and then got turned around looking for my first class on the first day. I've gotten into a routine by now.

My favorite thing is that finally, after two years of being apart, my BFF and I are at the same school! We hang out at the library before school, have lunch together, and share one class. I am glad that now I can say that all my friends (well, ALMOST all of my closest friends...) are at the same school now. We have so much fun together, and I know that, with them, this will be the best four years of my life.

While I'll always keep my current friends, I wonder if I should really make an effort to make new ones, and how I would keep them, since I always spend lunch and before-school with my current friends and don't have time to hang out with friends otherwise, except in class.

My only complaint is my lab partner in biology. She has a bad attitude, hates school, has called our class h-e-double-hockey-sticks, and doodles all through class and doesn't pay attention. I reminded her that once we actually start labs, I would hope she would pull her own weight in our assignments, and not just leave everything to me and let her put her name on it at the end, to which she replied, "You can't tell me what to do".

Tonight is the night of my school's annual rivalry football game with one of the other schools in our district. I am going to be there, and look forward to it! I am really trying to be involved in my school to have the best experience possible. I am going to join the NHS when I am old enough, and the Literary Club once it starts. I am already in choir and on the newspaper staff.

I am excited for this year, and hope you others going back to school are too. Abinata!

Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated

As of recently, this has been one of my favorite shows and one of the few I watch on a consistent basis. I am a long-time fan of Scooby-Doo, having discovered re-runs of the original series. I have to say, it's much better than this debris of their modern series.

The plot of this series has the first ever story-arc in any Scooby-Doo shows. It revolves around "the curse of Crystal Cove", a planospheric (don't care if I misspelled that) disk, and "Nibiru". It is certainly the darkest plot of any Scooby Doo series. 

In the town of Crystal Cove, greed, evil, and mystery lurk behind every corner. The mystery gang have to solve mysteries and are seemingly the only good IN the town. Nobody appreciates them, though. One of the plot points is that "this has all happened before". Apparently, there is a long streak of mystery solving gangs in Crystal Cove's history, all with two boys, two girls, and an animal mascot. They all are undone by evil, starting with the animal mascot, because of the planospheric disk, which supposedly leads to Spanish conquistadors' treasure.

First, let me say, WHY?!?!!?!? WHY make Scooby Doo so dark? Sure, the world is dark and cynical sometimes these days. But why ruin an innocent, hilarious cartoon with the condition of society? Scooby Doo isn't evil! He's just a scardey ol' mutt who loves Scooby Snacks, and hanging out with his best pal, Shaggy. 

Another thing: One of the things I can't STAND is how in some of the Scooby Doo movies, the monsters, ghosts, and stuff end up being real. This is how it seems this series is going to end up. *sigh* Warner Brothers had so much potential with a Scooby Doo re-boot, and they blew their chance.

Imagine old fans tuning in to show their kids THIS. Can you imagine how this trash could influence them? Nobody DIED in the old series. Sorry, spoiler alert: Angel Dynamite/Cassidy Williams dies in the episode "The Midnight Zone".

This show, if turned around, could be GREAT! You could keep it modern, say give them cell phones and still have them be in high school, et cetera, but keep the old gags, like "Those meddling kids and their dog" (sometimes they don't do that anymore) "Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?" (they NEVER do that anymore, that I remember), and Velma losing her glasses, non-intentionally bumping into the ghost/monster, and take away the cynical-ness. Old fans would tune in, introduce the show to their kids without fear, and the kids could become life-long fans like their parents! 

Needless to say, as this show is now, I am no longer watching. Tonight, I shall cancel my recording of this from my DVR. If anyone who reads this is connected to Warner Brothers anyway, or knows someone who is, pass this on to someone who can change this! 

Brave

Today, I went to see Pixar's new movie, Brave, in theaters, with my mother and a friend. This is Pixar's first attempt at a princess movie, and I say, they highly succeeded in making a beautiful movie!

This story revolves around Merida, a Scottish princess. She is a master archer and swordswoman. Her mother, Queen Elinor, is arranging a tournament for Merida's hand. Merida, of course, is adamant about being forced to marry, being very independent. She runs away, and is led by little blue blobs, also known as "whisps" to the cottage of a witch/wood-cutter, whom she asks for a spell to change her fate. And that it does.

The result of the spell is a cake, when eaten, turns whoever eats it into a bear, unbeknownst to Merida, who gives it to her mother. Chaos ensues as Elinor's husband senses the bear in the castle, and leads the visiting clans in pursuit. Merida enlists her triplet brothers to create a diversion so that she can take her mother back to the witch, in hopes that she can be changed back.

Only, the witch has disappeared, leaving only the message that the spell becomes permanent in two sunrises, unless Merida can "Change the fate. Mend the bond that pride broke.". Merida and her mother are now on a  quest of bonding, and figuring out how to break the spell.

Overall, this movie was beautifully animated, with colorful, round characters, and amazingly real environments. Kudos to Pixar for the atmosphere of this movie! This movie was hilarious, had a wonderful, heartwarming message, but it wasn't my favorite movie. Perhaps it's partly because Merida is the only independent, single princess, so it lacks the cliche, yet sweet romance that is usually in these types of movies. But I admire Merida for wanting to be independent, and having the ability to save herself, not needing a prince.

I especially like Merida, because she is the only princess that looks relatively like me. Too bad she is also the only one that ends up single. Oh well. In conclusion, Pixar made a great movie! Au Revoir!

YouTube

I have just posted my first ever YouTube video! it is a video walkthrough for Nancy Drew: Tomb of the Lost Queen. Check it out at "youtube.com/user/NancyDrewGuru" My brother and I are doing commentary along with the game. Hope you enjoy it!

The Hunger Games

Hey! I have a review of The Hunger Games, and its movie up on my other blog, All About Books. Go check it out here!

Professor Layton and the Last Specter

Hello all! It's been quite a few months since I last posted, hasn't it? Anyway, today I am going to talk about my latest craze, Professor Layton!

I got the latest game, Professor Layton and the Last Specter (or, the Specter's Call, or the Specter's FLute, depending on where you live). The plot surrounds this town that is supposedly haunted by a specter that, according to legend, used to protect the town from invaders, whenever summoned by a flute. Professor Layton, a true British gentleman, top-hat and all, is asked by his university friend, Clark Triton, to investigate.

Just as the professor is leaving in the Laytonmobile, he is intercepted by the spunky, terrible driver, Emmy, who turns out to be his new assistant. I'm not kidding when I say she is a terrible driver. She nearly T-Boned the professor on her scooter! Please be careful in the future, Emmy!

When our heroes arrive at the town, Misthallery, they are shocked at the fact that Clark claims not to have written the letter the professor received. However, the contents of the letter are still true. Plus, there seems to be some sort of oracle that can predict exactly when and where the specter will strike next. The professor's intuition acting up, he goes upstairs to meet Luke, Clark's son. It turns out to be that Luke is the oracle, and wrote the letter to Professor Layton, wanting outside help on the mystery. Prequel Luke is very stoic at times, and wears odd-looking suspenders instead of his sweater vest combo we're used to. His latest prediction is that "Very soon- the world will end." Gasp!

Will our heroes solve the mystery of the specter? Will Arianna, Luke's pseudo-girlfriend whom we meet later in the game, ever talk to him again? or will Emmy get distracted by Aunt Taffy's candy while the whole town gets destroyed?

Overall, I liked this game OK. It didn't quite live up to the other games, in my opinion. Well, it's sort of hard to top, or even match, a game as good as the Unwound Future. The explanation didn't have the same absolutely-ridiculous quality that the last games did. It did have some ridiculousness, but not much. Some of the puzzles are real biters! Watch out for puzzle 170- it's got TWO PARTS!!

Oh, and I found an Easter egg within the game. After a while, eventually you will get special dialogue between Emmy and Aunt Taffy: Aunt Taffy says that if Emmy runs around the entire market within a minute, she'll give her candy, against her no-selling-candy-to-adults-policy. Do it, she really WILL give you candy! Just don't tell anyone...

Bye!