Thank you

This past weekend I attended a family reunion.

It was the big one, with all the cousins coming from all over the US. We gathered at my grandparents house, where we would car pool to whatever activity was on the schedule, or just sit and talk.

I haven't seen some of my close cousins in 2-3 years, so it was great to see what they were up to (mainly school and work) and talk about the summers my brother and I used to spend with them. It was also interesting to talk to all my relatives, because after the usual "Hi, how have you been? So good to see you" ect., they would say "I read your blog. Why haven't you posted in a while?".

Umm.....

Any excuse I make would be a moot point - I have the time. Just sometimes can't find the motivation; if there is one thing I abhor, it is weak material. If I can't take pride in what I'm writing, then I won't publish it. That would discredit myself and insult the readers (anybody who has read Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer knows exactly what I'm talking about).

However, now that I know that people are awaiting my thoughts, I will double my efforts.

I am truly honored and touched that people read and enjoy this blog; it was started on a whim, just an idle pastime where I could use really big words and type a lot (I love the sound that keyboards make). My family and friends didn't have to ask me next time I would post - I didn't know they even read it.

So thanks. It's really cool that you look forward to what I write.

The Dark Knight

Amazing. Amazing and beautiful and not quite as terrifying as I thought it would be. I was really expecting absolute terror. Suspense, absolutely. Terror, occasionally.

We ordered tickets on Fandango, which was a good thing. There was a line about 30 people long inside the theatre, but we just walked right in (and then to the concession stand, where my friend got Muddy Bears - chocolate covered gummy bears. Ewwww). Sat through the commercials. The person reeling the commercials must have been sleeping through that bit because we got a commercial for, guess what? The Dark Knight.

Overall, the movie was very very good. It was pretty long, and about 2/3 through it seemed to stop then start again. I still loved it.

There was quite a bit of violence, and lots of pretty explosions. The violence was pretty crucial to the movie, but I bet they could have cut some out. Maybe not a lot, but some. The explosions were awesome though.

One of the saddest parts was when *********very very minor spoiler warning***************




he crashed his Lamborghini. There was a bit of angst (which I naysayed with perverse vigor) but it really worked in this.

Ah, the Joker. Psychotic and brilliant. I've never seen Nickelson's (I spelled that wrong. I know it), but I don't see how he could be any better then Ledger. Every little mannerism was so well executed, every word delivered with unbalanced fervor. What makes him so disturbing is the unpredictability in which he goes about. You think he is going to do one thing, but he does the opposite. He makes blinking freaky.

Watch out for the pencil trick. Thats just wrong.

I would definitely recommend it and I am going to see it again. And buy the DVD.

The Dark Knight and White bug hybrids

Tomorrow, I go to see the Dark Knight. And I'm pretty excited. Super duper excited one might say.

I have a question. Can spiders and scorpions breed?

Because today under my desk, on my shoe (my feet were thankfully not in my shoes at this point) was a spider/scorpion thing. Its body was a little smaller then a credit card, and it had more then 4 legs. I can't tell you exactly how many because I sure has anything wasn't going to lean down and look. The weirdest thing was the color.

It was a smoky white-ish color. And if it hadn't been for the lack of a tail and possibly leg count (again, I didn't investigate very closely) it would have been one big spider. But it was built lower, more like a scorpion. I'm not sure as to whether it had pincers though.

I didn't have my camera, so I couldn't take a picture.

Is there any possibility that a medium sized spider and a medium sized scorpion had a love child?

Speaking of hybrids, Porsche is coming out with a hybrid 4 door. You can choose from a 3.6L V6, 4.8L V8 and 4.8L Turbo (with 300, 405 and 520 respective bhp). Porsche is also allowing you to outfit your Panamera with a 3.6L V6 engine, paired with a 110hp electric motor. Aesthetically, it looks like a 911 with 2 extra doors. More doors, but just as lovely.

Ya, its freakin awesome.

OMG!!

How could I have forgotten? It's just pitiful...

So You Think You Can Dance Season 4 has begun. Actually, it began a while back, but it just now occurred to me I should review like it did Dancing with the Stars. So, with no further adieu, your contestants!

THE GIRLS

Chelsea Hightower: If she is not in the finals, I will shoot my foot. Started as a ballroom dancer, is now doing everything and doing it very very well. Her hip hop routine gives me the chills. In the video, 3:06, 3:31, 4:06 and 4:12 are my favorite moments. Whats so intriguing about her is how she turns into a completely different person on stage. You see rehearsal/backstage footage and she is your average 18 year old. Put her on stage and she is on fire. Amazing talent.

Comfort Fedoke: A hip hop/popper. Coming from her style, with limited formal training she is good. At this point in the competition though, she just isn't consistent enough. She goes up and then down. I do enjoy watching her dance, but not enough to vote.

Courtney Galiano: Her audition was amazing, and most of her performances have been as well. Her solo last week seemed a little desperate and over done, but other then that a steady stream of good. Trained in contemporary, she has handled the other styles with success. Except for the disco. But nobody every does the disco good, so there you go.

Jessica King: Another contemporary dancer. On the fence about her. While I can see that she has the potential to be a great dancer, at this point she is only good. Psychologically, she needs to let go and just dance. I think the problem is her partner Will is always getting unreal praise (he is a good dancer) and because she is not on the same level she is having a hard time bringing herself up there. Alone, I believe she could do it. Since she has the added pressure of constantly being compared to Will, she is struggling. Which may or may not have made sense.

Katee Shean: Really unsure about her in the beginning. Her attitude just wasn't hitting me right. But now, so glad they kept her. A contemporary dancer (is anybody seeing a theme?) who has been killing every style thrown her way. Another fantastically versatile dancer.

Kherington Payne: LOVE her. Lovelovelovelove. Yet another contemporary dancer who can blow everybody away. Her personality is so well suited for dance/performing and she just lights the whole place up. Every week exceptional performances. Lovelovelove. To top it off, she has super cute hair.

THE BOYS

Gev Manoukian: A break dancer from Kazakhstan. Whats surprising about him is that his contemporary/Broadway dances were amazing, but his hip hop was only ok. I do really enjoy watching him though, which is something more technically skilled dancers don't always have.

Joshua Allen: Another break dancer who is good at contemporary. Unlike Gev however, this one has had formal training. Partnered with Katee, every week they deliver excellent performances. Will definitely go a loooong way.

Mark Kanemura: My one of my favorite male dancer's in this season. No, not just because he did his solo to "Bohemian Rhapsody". He's just so quirky and off the wall. I love it. A contemporary dancer who did an awesome jazz routine. Love him so much.

Thayne Jasperson: None of his performances have been particularly good or memorable for me. Which means I can't critique him, because I haven't watched him enough. He just blends in to well, nothing sets him apart. Sorry Thayne :-(

Twitch Boss: Auditioned last year, got beat out by Hok (who is amazing). Soooo happy he came back! His personality and talent are out of this world. My other favorite male dancer in this season. Absolutely breath taking.

Will Wingfield: Everybody just adores him. He is a very beautiful dancer, you can't deny it. But he doesn't reach me emotionally the same way Twitch and Mark do. He seems...closed off. Just not a huge fan of his. Like, not love him.

OVERALL
This is a great season, shaping up to be a fantastic finale. Can't wait to see who wins!! Very pleased with all of this years dancers who made it on, and absolutely adore the new choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon.

Um, what?

Do you ever have one of those moments where you stop and think "How the heck did I end up here?".

The guy on TV is having one right this second. His life journey has led him to film grizzly bears as they hunt salmon (or whatever grizzly bears hunt for in rivers.). Which would be fantastic if he had a wide angle or zoom lens. But since he couldn't afford to get one because the flight is expensive, he just has your normal run of the mill lens. Forcing him to stand in the river. Right up next to the bears. Closer then any sane person should be. I hope his mom doesn't see that.

(that part about not being able to buy a wide angle or zoom lens for his camera because of transportation costs was facetious. but really, why else would you willingly stand in a river with grizzly bears??)

I had a moment like that early last year (I have those all the time). My old (as in former. he was 28 in September, so he couldn't be any other kind of old) teacher was demonstrating how my knees should be when I did the time step. Since I don't have hyper extending knees, they didn't (and don't) like to go that straight. Which is how I ended up standing in front of a mirror at a ballroom dance studio with a 28 year old Ukrainian man pushing my knees back in the time of International Cha Cha. Weird, eh?

I get to use the term "eh?" because I have 2 new friends from Canada, and they say that all the time. And by my sick psychological reasoning, that means I get to say "eh?".

Brilliant, eh?

In all the buzz to make robots that can think and function like humans, I think we first need to work out a few bugs with every day electronic devices.

Take my phone for example. It hasn't been charged in a while, so its dying. No, if it were a person (assume this person is quickly bleeding out), it would say "Help, I'm dying!" once, and then go on with its life. Or death.

But my phone, a piece of technological equipment that allows me to talk to people across the country (instantly), text people, buy ring tones from online... (and this is just an average Samsung flip phone. Think of all the things an iPhone can do), my phone is an idiot. Instead of being a good person and just announcing once its imminent doom, it keeps lighting up(the screen. not a cigarette.) and giving a little duh da ling! to let me know its dying.

Just how many people do you see sit up (while they are dying, remember), give a little whistle and say "I'm dying!". Then repeat the process once every minute, whilst blood is gushing out their femoral artery.

Not very many.

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Taken in a place with no name (See more photos or videos here)

The way to find out about happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you are really happy — not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what is called following your bliss.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Recently I have been thinking about my life and future. Where do I want to go, what do I want to do, what is important to me now and what has taken the backseat.

It's somewhat of a scary thing to realize that what you thought was absolute fact in your life, is not. What you thought you would give your life to, you are no longer willing to take that jump. Like you took all the fan fare, lights and paraphernalia away and are now looking at the bare fact.

I don't know if that is why I haven't been blogging recently, but it definitely has something to do with it. Its hard to write about what you see and believe in life when your vision and beliefs are being considered at a new angle.

But one the bright side, Dad is doing great, my summer job is going swimmingly and my Mom still makes kill scrambled eggs.

:-)

Go check out my cousins blog here!

Prior to the release of Pride and Prejudice (the version with Keira Knightley), I decided to read the book. It was heralded as one of the great love stories, so it must be a good read. I read it. I hated it. The plot was confusing and only vaguely explained, it was hard to differentiate the characters, and the punctuation was almost unreadable (and yes, I am aware it was written who knows how long ago, when writing and such was completely different. But it was just moronic the amount of ; : ' " ! ? that were thrown in there).

So I had low expectations when I got Wuthering Heights from the library. Boy was I ever wrong. The plot was great (if morbid), the characters were well explained, and dialog was downright hilarious at times (other times it was so romantic and touching. Shoot, sappy again. IRON MAN!) and the book was over all very good. I loved it.

The next book in my bag is Jane Eyre, which is another love story. Love stories are pretty popular in the classic section. Following my conclusion of the book, I shall chuck in my 2 cents.

You know how I love to chuck in my 2 cents.