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!

The Rainbow Connection

If you're a nerd like me, or you actually grew up in the original Muppet era, you've probably heard Kermit the Frog's song "Rainbow Connection". I first really discovered it when I saw the most recent Muppet movie, but I looked into it and learned all of the lyrics yesterday. It's basically a song saying "Hey, what's so mesmerizing and romantic about rainbows? What makes us always want to look up and stare to the sky at them and the stars?" Jim Henson may not have lived to find this, or understand this, but I think I have found the rainbow connection: God.

If you remember, in Genesis, God created the first rainbow. Why? To find that out, you would have to go back and hear all of Noah's story. You probably know it by heart: God was going to flood the entire earth to try and rid it of evil and He requested that Noah, who loved God and always followed Him, to build an ark (or, in layman's terms, a big boat) so that he, his family, and a male and female of each species of animal could survive the flood  and recreate Earth's population once the land was dry again.

Forty -years, days? Days, I'm pretty sure. Forty years is something else...- later, Noah sent out a dove, and it came back with an olive branch in its mouth, to symbolize that there was dry land. Once Noah and his family had gotten off the ark, they saw a cascade of colors in the sky: the first rainbow, God's promise never to flood the whole earth again.

I believe that's why we love rainbows: deep down in our hearts, we know that there's a promise behind them, more than just no more great floods: it is a promise that there is a God, a Creator, and life after death in Heaven. I'm not saying that we're all necessarily religious, but I think it is in our blood to believe it.  We all want to believe that. Everyone wants to believe that there's something better out there than what we have here on Earth: crime, death, and debt, etc.- and, believe me, there is. It's a beautiful kingdom, more beautiful than we can ever imagine: pearly gates where the angel Gabriel lets you in if you're in the Book of Life (you're automatically written down in there if you accept Christ as your savior into your heart), beyond that there are streets of gold, a mansion for each of us that God built by hand, waters as clear as crystal. Someday we will find it: that Rainbow Connection- the lovers, the dreamers, and me. I hope to see all of you there someday. God bless!

The Muppets

Tonight, I went to see Disney's attempt at re-booting the Muppets. Few in my generation even know who the Muppets are, but my grandparents showed my cousins, my brother and me a few episodes of theirs when we were snowed in one night and I rather enjoyed it. That, and my parents' nostalgia, led me to the local movie theater.

When the movie first began though, all you see is one puppet- like man who never grows among humans who grow as they age, like normal. The puppet's name is Walter, and the only actual tie to the Muppets is Walter's life-long fascination with them from the other side of the TV screen. He can't wait to see Muppet Studios when he goes to Los Angeles with his brother, Gary, and his girlfriend, Mary.

It turns out that no one frequents or uses the Muppet Studios anymore and the trio and two others are the only ones on a tour of the grounds. Walter slinks away from the group to see Kermit's old office. When someone comes in, he hides and watches as the two critics (I can't remember their names.. I think Statler and Waldorf or something?) give some sort of tycoon-looking fellow a tour.

It is discovered that this tycoon, an eccentric oil dealer named Tex Richman, will own the studios unless the Muppets can buy it with ten million dollars by the time the contract expires in a week. Richman, under the pretense of renovating the studios into a museum, plans  to tear down the studios and drill for oil. Horrified, Walter goes to Gary and Mary to plan on finding Kermit the Frog.

Only, once they find Kermit, they find out Kermit hasn't seen any of the other Muppets in years. To raise the money to save the studios, they'd have to put on a show, but without the other Muppets, that couldn't happen. (Gonzo now has a successful plumbing company, Fozzie has a solo care with a band called the Moopets, Animal is in the nuthouse, Miss Piggy has her own fashion company, etc.) Kermit has tried to ask Riochman for the Studios back, but Rchman, once he owns the name "Muppets", plans to use the studos to promote a darfv cynucal group called the Moopets. (you can argue that this is the same group Fozzie left).

Now, they have to find the old gang through cliched montages and traveling by map to get together and make a show. There are other conflicts, like getting a TV station to put on the show, getting a host for the show, fixing the theater, etc. Mary gets upset with Gary, Piggy is upset with Kermit, etc. Walter is afraid he has no talent. All of these conflicts are resolved in time, with cheesy self-discovery songs ("Man or Muppet", "Rainbow Connection", etc.)

Overall, I liked this movie. From Fozzie's fart shoes, to the breaking of the fourth wall ("This is going to be a very short movie") there was a lot of comedy.  The Muppet show could have stood a Swedish Chef segment, in my opinion. It ends in a "cliffhanger" unless you watch the credits. You have to watch the credits to get the full-circle ending. There's little clips of video as a sort of epilogue.

So, yeah! Go Muppets! I am so tempted to borrow my grandmother's Muppet Show DVD's right now... Read ya later! Bye

Fan Fiction

Dedicated blog readers (and people who just know me outside of this little box called a blog) know that I LOVE Disney movies. I don't know why exactly; I just do. I know I'm a bit old for them, but I don't care.

Recently, I have been focusing on Stitch. Stitch has always fascinated me for some reason: maybe his mischievous manner or his funny dialogue, or maybe just the fact that he's different- a lot different: like me. I don't fit in most places. My friends admit that sometimes I seem weird and I'm okay with that. If I have to give up any part of myself just to fit in, then I don't want to fit in.

Anyway, Stitch has been a focus of mine. I even started a manuscript for a fan-fiction piece. It was a sort-of spin off of Lilo and Stitch, happening way after Leroy and Stitch. Well, not way-way, but a while. It's still a work in progress, but I think it could be great. What would be AMAZING, is if you, my blog readers, would take it, read it, and comment on it and how to make it better. I would LOVE to share my ideas with you. So how about it? Anyone who is out there, actually reading this, would you like to read my fan-fiction? Is anyone out there, reading this? 

If, or if not, you'd like me to post my fan-fiction, PLEASE comment down below. I love comments. Comments let me know that people are actually reading this and I am not wasting my time. I'll talk to you later. Bye.

Six Flags Over Texas

Hello, one and all, to another edition of Fresh New Start!

Yesterday, I went to Six Flags Over Texas with my Sunday School class. It is an annual tradition for my teachers to take their students to Six Flags for Fright Fest. It was my first time in four years to ever go to Six Flags: we used to go every summer when I was younger, but one crazy summer that all ended. So, you can see that I was excited to go.

We had a comedic and smooth, traffic-free ride down south to Arlington. We shared jokes and talked, and anticipated our full day of roller coasters and other rides. You may not believe this, but I had never been on a for-real roller coaster before. The closest things to a roller coaster I had been on were the Mini Mine Trains, and Test Track at Disney World. Today, I was going to ride real coasters, and I was excited!

When we first arrived, we had a group picture with a zombie in front of the garden. We laughed and cringed as we watched another zombie stick a screwdriver through his nose (eeewww!), and a couple of us investigated a "zombie statue" that was sitting on a bench, only to find him turning to look at them and go "Boo!". I'm not easily scared, because of some events that happened when I was only seven- but that's for another post, another day.

While some of us went to brave the Titan, the others, including me, went to this one ride where, it was the equivalent to the teacups at Disney world, only the seats were sort of swings and they themselves didn't spin a lot. It was fun, but after a while I got used to the rhythm of how the things rotated, so I got a bit bored.

By the time we got off that, the others were already in line for the Texas Giant, so we rode a log flume in the meantime. I love log flumes! They're roller coasters, without the intensity, and you get wet on a hot day in Texas. Log flumes remind me of this one time, in Silver Dollar City, I was on the American Plunge, and as we were going down I lifted from my seat a little bit- haha!

We got off the log flume, and the others were still in line for the Texas Giant. We considered El Sombrero or the Cobra next, and ended up choosing El Sombrero, because the line for the Cobra was too long. I didn't like how the Sombrero lifted randomly, and also, the ride was very short.

We stopped for a snack, and discovered that our friends were still in line for the Giant. We raced each other to the Judge Roy Scream. I loved Judge Roy Scream. I liked how is was at an enjoyable speed, and the hills weren't too steep. My friend, Madison, told me that if I enjoyed Judge Roy, I would enjoy others, like Batman. I was willing to give it a try.

The others were just getting off of the Texas Giant as we left Roy. We met up in front of Batman, and decided the line was a bit long. Some of us went to Superman, while I went with the others to Runaway Mine Train. It was fun! It was basically the same intensity of Judge Roy.

My group went to our sponsor, because we didn't know where to meet up with the others. We were going to call them if they were still in line for Superman, but discovered that out sponsor was holding all of their cell phones for safe keeping! Someone had their cell phone, because Camille, another girl in our group, was able to get in touch with another sponsor.

We all met up at Batman, and some of us wanted to ride Mr. Freeze, and others wanted to ride Texas Shoot 'em (the parachutes). We split up and agreed to meet to wrap up the day with Batman.

Here's the thing about Mr. Freeze: it is the most difficult coaster in Six Flags! I was unaware of this fact, and went with the group to the entrance. Little did I know, that that coaster was the same coaster I had been watching all day in terror. It speeds you up to seventy miles per hour in less than four seconds, shoots you through a tunnel, and up a tower, where you then back down, and go back up and over a loop. I was terrified! There I was, hanging upside down on top of all of Six Flags! I wasn't even screaming.

Once we got off Mr. Freeze, I started feeling dizzy. There was a lot of pressure on my head. I didn't want to go on Batman anymore. I just sat on the curb and watched the loops, and held my head in terrified silence. My group ended up not going on Batman, anyway, because the line was too long.

We still had time left, so we decided to go on Pandemonium, not that I heard them. I trudged along, barely mumbling when someone asked me something. Suddenly, a zombie jumped in front of me, yelling "Hello!" and I was nearly brought to tears! Remember what I said earlier about not scaring easily? I honestly don't- scare easily, I mean. It only proves I was in a deteriorated mental and physical state at the moment.

We got closer to Pandemonium, and stopped for drinks. I wasn't getting anything, and my Sunday School teacher looked at me with concern and told me to go get some water, quickly. The water instantly started to clear my head. I shouldn't have gone on so many rides without hydrating or eating. While everyone else went on Pandemonium, a teacher stayed with me in the shade, along with one other girl who wasn't a fan of the rides there. I felt better, but my head still was a little funny.

After Pandemonium, we were going to ride Yosemite Sam, because it was funny, and mild enough for me, but half of our group slipped away to the the Rock n' Rocket! We sat on a rock to watch them, and I went to get a caramel apple. With something on my stomach, I finally felt like myself again.

By the time the group got off the Rock n' Rocket, we had to leave. One of my friends said "Hey, at least you can say 'I rode Mr. Freeze- I didn't mean to, but I did it!'"

In the end, it was a good day, but I was still a little lightheaded when I went to bed last night. I'm fine now, though. In fact, I have to go- choir rehearsal!