Monopoly's New Cat: I Blame All Those Cat Memes

(Copyright Hasbro)

This past week Hasbro made a huge announcement!  A new cat token will be replacing the iron.  There were two worldwide competition: One, to save a token piece, Second, to add a new token piece.  The Scottish Dog won the popular vote, while the iron lucked out.  I guess we're to assume Monopoly players are huge animal lovers.

(Copyright Hasbro)

The cat was against four other possible tokens.  Personally, I wish the robot won.  It has a cool vintage sci-fi vibe.  I must admit, I'm a cat person, and the cat really is cute.  (Darn, all those cat memes my brother Steven obsesses over are getting to me) Though I hope the dog token is bigger then the cat, because if the cat is bigger, that will look weird.

I've already collected a few versions of the game, and in so doing I have quite a few tokens.  What's sad is I don't have an iron . . . I may have to pick another game up just to get the vintage pieces for nostalgia's sake.  The new game piece will become available at the end of Summer when Monopoly is re-released, sans iron.

I have to throw this out there.  I don't know how many people have played the new, credit card version of the game.  At first I thought it was a travesty.  You can't play Monopoly without paper money!!!  But it's honestly really fun, and speeds up game play quite a bit.  And the money values are the same as the monopoly's "Here & Now" version.  So if I want to play the credit card version with paper money, I just barrow it from the Here & Now version, and I can play the Here & Now version with credit-cards. 

And there's a card game that's actually quite fun with even quicker game play.  How many more versions of this game am I going to buy? -_-;;

Finding a good Book is like finding a good Exercise

I always find it sad whenever I hear someone say they don't like reading; My first thought is they just haven't found the right book, or the right genre.   Not everyone likes Shakespeare or Hemingway.  As I've stated in past blog posts, it was the Star Wars expanded Universe books that got me into reading, and from there I started getting into other series.  There's something for everyone.

And I always find it sad when I hear someone say they don't like to exercise; My immediate thought whenever I hear that is they haven't found the right exercise.  Crazy as it sounds, exercising doesn't have to be a chore!  It can be enjoyable and fun.

On the Shape magazine's website they have an article 20 Super-Fit Chicks Who Don't Run.  Worth poking through, because it's refreshing!  I once thought that in order to get really fit I needed to be good at running.  All the celebrities seem to be doing it: Marathons here, 5k's there, the occasional triathlon.  It's inspiring, but there's a little something that stops me from running: I hate it!

I started training for a 5k last year.  I was motivated!  I had one of those 2 months to a 5k calender keeping me on track, and I actually got through the first month.  Plus I'm competitive and like earning awards and getting free shirts.  The world of 5k's seemed like a perfect fit for me.  The chance at a medal and an expanding wardrobe.  But I just couldn't like running.  

Hiking, on the other hand, is great fun.  Not the right season for it, but I love getting into nature and smelling the woodsy air.  And I love Zumba and Spinning.  Love it so much that it doesn't feel like exercise, even when I feel like I'm about to die.

There are so many great ways to get exercise, and it doesn't have to be the torture chamber we see on The Biggest Loser.  A fun bike ride, a game of tennis, basketball, a walk around the mall, etc.  So many possibilities!  Like finding a good book, there's a perfect exercise for everyone.

. . . and who knows, maybe one day I'll give the 5k another try and end up liking it.

My Moms Amazing Jewelry and Paintings on Etsy

 My Mom has an Etsy shop.  Her passion is making jewelry and Painting, and I wanted to show off some of my more favorite pieces of hers, which can be found in the Talea Studios store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios

And the last one is my absolute favorite!  I want this bracelet.

 And my Mom even paints!  She's talented like that:0)

This painting:

Is based on this picture I took while visiting the Grand Tetons:

 This next painting is so tranquil

 And the last is a painting of my most favorite place in the World.  Cambria. (You thought I'd write Disneyland :0)

 All of these amazing pieces of art can be purchased at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios

Pottermore and the Identity Crises

(Yes, I have a Sorting Hat)

It's 2013, which Harry Potter fan hasn't been sorted yet on Pottermore!? . . . hmmm, don't answer that.  For those who have, maybe you can relate a little to what I'm going to write . . .

I wasn't a beta tester.  Tried, but the system wouldn't take my email for some reason.  So I waited with everyone else, jealous of those who got into the site September 2011, and watched as the promised October 2011 public opening flew to April 2012.

So in April of last year I giddily signed up and got sorted . . . into Hufflepuff.  Stufflebeam, Hufflebeam, I've got that whole "uffle" thing going on with my last name.  But I'm not a Hufflepuff!  I'm a Gryffindor!  Yes, I'm one of those people who always identified with those lions.  If I was sorted at 11 years old, there's no doubt I'd be a Gryff.

I was so disheartened that I stopped going to Pottermore altogether.  Then I started thinking about it, never a good thing, which meant I was playing mind games with myself.

 

I did go to a Harry Potter party at the movie theater when the last movie came out, and was unofficially sorted into Hufflepuff by a Twelawney cosplayer pulling out buttons from a jar.  And when my Dad finished watching the movies I asked him what house he would be sorted into, and he said Hufflepuff.  As genius as he is (he used to go to bed reading a calculus book), he really would be sorted into Hufflepuff.  Loyal, kind, hardworking, honest, trustworthy, humble, etc, are all qualities we should strive to have.  Maybe it's genetic, but then my Mom is a Gryffindor, and she doesn't need Pottermore to tell her so. 

J.K. Rowling said in a Web Chat October of 2012: "Hufflepuff is my favorite house in some ways.  There comes a point in the book where each house has a chance to rise up to a certain challenge. The Slytherins decided they’d rather not play, the Ravenclaws – some play, some won’t, but the Hufflepuffs stay to fight. The Gryffindors – compromised of lots of full hearty and show off people. The Hufflepuffs stayed for a different reason. They didn’t want to show off, they weren’t being reckless, that’s the essence of Hufflepuff."

So you know what I did?  I deleted my account and signed up again!  And the second time I was sorted (I was being completely honest, and took ample time with each question), I was sorted into Gryffindor!  Of course I started feeling super guilty.  Was I a true Gryffindor?  Was I lying to myself?  So I got sorted again . . .

To date I've been sorted 8 times.  3 Gryffindor, 2 Hufflepuff, 2 Slytherin, and once in Ravenclaw.

In the end it really does come down to choice.  Dumbledore did say, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our Abilities."  And he also later states about Snape, "Sometimes I think we sort too soon."

In the end, regardless of what the sorting hat says, we belong where he feel we belong, and I personal have qualities that work within each house.  I would be sorted into Gryffindor, get turned off with all the pride and ego in that house, and go make friends with Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws through clubs, choir, etc.  I'm a happy Gryff/Huffle mix who would be sorted into Slytherin before Ravenclaw, though I'm obsessed with books and love spending hours at the Library . . . those blissful college days doing research.

And in the end it's all a bunch of fun.

Oh, and we also get a wand.  Each time I've created an account, after deleting the last, I've gotten the very same wand, and that's because I answer the questions the same each time.  There's no other way I would answer them.

Length: 12 1/2 inches

Wood: Ebony

Core: Dragon

Flexibility: Surprisingly Swishy

I want to know what surprisingly swishy means.  Is it an insult or a compliment?  But I do like the described characteristics of those who get ebony:

"This jet-black wand wood has an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, and to Transfiguration. Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual or comfortable with the status of outsider, ebony wand owners have been found both among the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix and among the Death Eaters. In my experience the ebony wand’s perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose."

  

Below are some fun videos of those who've also had identity crises.  I'm not the only one!!!  But then I did get re-sorted . . .

Warm Bodies: Movie Review

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

Zombies!  They're everywhere!  Actually, it seems like they are.  I first became aware of how popular the Zombie genre was when the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies came out.  I never read it, but everywhere I looked, there it was.  I'm personally not into Zombies, though that Zombie 5K run last Halloween looked quite fun.  A movie about Zombies never seemed all that appealing . . . until I saw the trailer for Warm Bodies.

A Zombie plague has infected the human populace, ripping family and friends apart.  And there's a third group threatening the humans, Bonies: Zombies who have completely given up on life and have ripped off their skin.

R, played brilliantly by Nicholas Hoult, is an unusual Zombie.  Though he can't talk, he's reflective, and listening to his thoughts (which could get annoying quick) really adds to the movie.  R is friends with M, (Rob Corddry), and together their friendship consists of grunting.  To protect the living from the undead a part of the city has been walled up, but every so often Julie, (Teresa Palmer), must go outside the walls with her friends to gather supplies and medicine.  It's in the hospital where R and Julie meet, during a Zombie attack, of course, and R saves her.

The movie really was delightful, and the balance between horror and humor was perfect.  I laughed a lot, and the audience was really engaged.  It's been a long time since I've been to a movie where everyone was thoroughly getting involved.

Warm Bodies is Zombies meet Romeo and Juliet . . . there's even a balcony scene.  Overall the movie is a fresh take on a popular genre, and I can easily go see Warm Bodies again.

MPAA: PG-13 for Zombie Violence and Some Language, including the token "F" word.

Groundhog Day: More or Less Winter?

(Public Domain)

Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog didn't see his shadow this morning in Philadelphia, and you know what that means!  Spring is coming early . . . or is it?

According to the Stormfax Almanac Phil has been right only 39% since 1887.  Those aren't great, dependable odds, and that only leads me to realize that I should believe the opposite of whatever tradition dictates.  Technically with that average we have a 61% chance of more Winter.  That I do believe.  This Winter has been insane with snow, fog, and freezing rain.  There doesn't seem to be an end in sight.   

I've always believed the groundhog tradition to be counter-intuitive.  If a groundhog sees his shadow, that means there's Sun.  If there's Sun there's warmth, and anything warm isn't Wintery.  So where did this backward thinking, and proven more times wrong then right, tradition begin?

In early America February 2 was called Candlemas day, A Christian Holiday celebrating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, and like all good Christian holidays, the Christian Holiday mingled with the pagan Imbolc, which is a Gaelic season festival between the Winter solstice and Spring equinox.

A diary entry written February 4, 1841 by James Morris in Pennsylvania reads:   

Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.  

And an old English poem reads: 

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

Another fun note: Back in Europe they depended on the badger instead of the groundhog.

I do admire a holiday that hasn't been overly commercialized, because everything is commercial these days.

So bundle up!  Grab some Hot Chocolate, because, no offense Phil, we've got many more cold days of Winter ahead of us.   

Sarah

Freezing Rain in Utah

Last month was insane weather wise!  January 24th we had freezing rain, so the ground was covered in black ice.  Crazy and scary at the same time.  The above video shows what it was like at BYU Provo.

Cerulean Jade Update 01-31-2013

 We filmed some more scenes this last week.  It's a group of scenes where I'm piloting a ship into space.  Looks a little crazy, right?  There's a method to our madness!  For these scenes what's important is my silhouette, 

so the clothes I'm wearing is for shape.  

Robbie showing me what floating in space looks like.

  The jet pack scene that I mentioned in the past got thrown out, much to my dismay, jet packs are retro cool, but the scene was proving too difficult for what we have.  It was a wise choice, and I got my ship back! Now I get two space ships: One, the ship taking me to space is of the old fashion classic 60's sci-fi variety, and two, the ship I originally picked out that got swapped with a possible jet pack scene. When we threw out the jet pack, I got my personal ship back.  Can't complain about that.  And I've got to say it's looking really cool.

Steven's finishing up and polishing assets today, which is really exciting, and then the composting begins, and fingers crossed it all fits!

An Undignified Way to Sprain an Elbow

When I was a kid I wanted to be a competitive ice skater.  It was one of those fanciful dreams that held no bases in reality.  The closest ice rink was in Fresno growing up, and only having gone a couple times there was never a chance to discover if I had the potential to be good or not.  I watched all the specials on T.V., the competitions, etc.  When music plays I still choreograph routines in my mind.

Now, more then ever, I've realized that some childhood dreams 

are better left as dreams.

Ice skating terrifies me!  The last time I was on the ice was two years ago.  Spent the whole time hyperventilating!  Not once did I get use to the skates.

Then this last Monday I went again with my church singles group.  Once again the first hour was pure drudgery.  Nerves running rampant, clutching to the wall when I wasn't having to go around those who were trying tricks or being reckless.  I was miserable!  And I don't think I kept it a secret because a look of horror constantly graced my face.

We were there for two hours.  One girl from our group fell about seven times.  By the end of the session I was feeling quite proud for not falling once.  Pride!  Never a good emotion.  I should have known better, because karma was about to attack.

The clock showed there were only fifteen minutes left to skate.  I was getting braver.  Skating stronger.  Moving further away from the wall with each lap.  Then something dreadful happened.  Something dreadful in the name of the toe pick.  Those nasty little spikes at the tip of the blade.  I know they're great for jumps and fancy skating elements, but for the novice they're just plain evil.

I was skating faster, leaning forward, being careless in my footing when my right toe pick caught the ice.  I don't know how far I flew, but I landed sprawled out, arms flat under me, keeping my face from crashing into the ice as my glasses flew off my face.

Thankfully no one ran over me, and several people came to help.  I lay there a good minute or so as I realized I couldn't feel or move my left hand.

Nothing's broken, but I did badly sprain my left elbow, and bruised my left arm, wrist, hand, and right knee.  Overall it could have been worst, so I'm quite lucky.  I'm healing.

I take so many things for granted!  This whole entry was written with my right hand.  I've been counting my blessings, and I'm really lucky to have what I have.

Still, I don't believe I'll ever stop dreaming up ice skating routines.

Big Bang Theory and Vasquez Rocks

 (Picture taken from the 14 Antelope Valley Freeway)

 Geology 101 made me a total natural science nerd.  It was one of those college general ed. classes I was absolutely dreading, but in the end I was completely loving.  Whenever I now see an interesting rock formation, I like to try and figure out how in Earth's history it was formed.

The above rocks are viewed from the Antelope Valley Freeway in the Santa Clarita area, Los Angeles County.  In the last 10 years I've driven by this place many times on the way to Ventura, and each time I get super excited.  

Seeing the rocks only lasts a minute or so, but right before it happens I seem to know it's just around the corner.  This happy feeling bubbles up inside letting me know.  (Geology nerd.)  On all those trips I never found out what the rocks are called, only that the Escondido Canyon Road exit would lead me to it.  Since we tend to pass this way towards the end of the day, usually after 10 hours on the road, we never pull off to check it out.

Funny enough, thanks to a Big Bang Theory episode I finally know the name of the rocks!  They're the Vasquez Rocks.  Leonard and the gang are heading to a convention in Bakersfield, only to get distracted by a spontaneous photo shot.  Honestly, their Star Trek: The Next Generation cosplay outfits are awesome.

But in the Big Bang Theory episode "The Bakersfield Expedition," it was mentioned that several Star Trek scenes were filmed at Vasquez Rocks . . . suddenly images of 1994's Star Trek Generations flashed in front of me, and an overwhelming feeling of stupidity engulfed. 

Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I must have made the Star Trek connection with these rocks, so I was being a geeky nerd on two accounts!!!

  

And I now know how these rocks were formed.  From wikipedia: "The Vasquez Rocks were formed via Quaternary sediments deposited in alluvial fans, approximately 25 million years ago, from the erosion of the San Gabriel mountains located to the south.  The collision of the North American and Pacific Plates created an anticline, due to the Elkhorn Fault, that then weathered away from the top."

I actually understood that, but this makes me regret selling back my geology book to the college book store . . . the life of a poor student.