Tow Mater: "Where are you? Shoot! You're in Radiator Springs. The cutest little town in Carburetor County."
~ From Pixar's Cars, 2006
Cars is one of my most favorite Pixar movies; it juggles for the top spot with Brave and Up, Monsters Inc. and Ratatouille falling close behind. It's also one of the most bashed Pixar films as well with only a 75% rating from rotten tomatoes.
Cozy Cone Motel at Radiator springs
This expansion of California Adventure Disneyland opened last June, and I was biting at the bit to go! I first learned about Radiator Springs being brought to life in the D23 Summer 2009 issue and was ecstatic. The whole idea of it was so incredibly cool.
Sarge's Surplus Hut
Fillmore's Taste Inn
Ramone's House of Body Art
Flo's V8 Cafe
Luigis Casa Della Tires
It was a lot of fun walking through Radiator Springs, seeing it all decked out for the Christmas season. Pure awesome, and it got me in an early Christmas spirit.
I need to find some way to refer to the songs I'm working on, so that it's not so confusing, especially when two or three songs are being worked on at the same time, and I haven't announced the songs name yet. "This song or That song" can only go so far, so I've come up with a system.
OCJS stands for Original Cerulean Jade Song. OCJS #1 is actually Dream Maze, which came out earlier this year. The current electronic/synth/VSTI song we're working on will go by OCJS #2, until that songs title is revealed. Can't give it away yet! What's the fun in that? And OCJS #3 is a more acoustic guitalele/drums/piano in a more jazz pop style. I have a few jazz songs I've written, but the other songs must have a full on jazz band with good ol' swinging style, but OCJS #3 can lend itself to simplicity. Confused yet?
On Cyber Monday we picked up a drum VSTI kit! We've been needing good drum sounds, and it's been fun playing around with it. Sweetwater.com had great sales that day, so we picked up the Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0 by Crossgrade EZdrummer. We've been quite pleased with it, and Sweet Water's customer service has been impressive.
(Steven playing with the drum pad we also picked up on Cyber Monday)
I'm a little nervous about OCJS #2, in that we're taking some risks musically. There's some real quirk there! I think it's fun, and I'm loving the songs direction. But honestly, Steven and I can't quite figure out it's genre. It's not Imogen Heap, Lights, or Owl City, which is good. And I really like the songs message. This ain't no love song! I really don't like writing love songs, though OCJS #3 might be considered one . . .
(Edit 12-10-2012 12:16 pm MST. Steven and I were working on the song just now, figuring out timing issues, adding and taking away instruments, etc, and it's sounding really cool. My excitement is just growing and growing.)
And talking about OCJS #3, the original goal was to try and get that song out by the end of the month with #2, but with trying to do a full Music Video, it would be wise to wait till January. We've decided to release a new original vocal song each month next year, along with instrumentals that will accompany the single releases here or there. And by the end of next year we hope to have enough songs to make a full album compilation!
We're still experimenting and playing around with sounds, but we're having a lot of fun in the process.
Last night was a night out with the family, and we dominated in laser tag!
The first time I ever played laser tag was at the Adventure Dome in Circus Circus hotel and casino, Las Vegas. Back then it was called Grand Slam Canyon, and we went right after it opened in 1993, almost 20 years ago!!! I feel old . . . I don't know how many rounds we played; the line was long, but we waited anyway. It was so much fun. My family was addicted.
There weren't any laser tag opportunities in Porterville CA, maybe Bakersfield or Fresno had them, but the Internet was a growing beast back then. It still is a crazy, growing beast. When my family moved to Utah in 2001, we were excited to see there were quite a few places here that had laser tag arenas. It's really exploded these last couple years; practically every type of fun center has a laser tag, and there's a lot of fun centers here. We're a family/college town, after all.
The two games that I played my team won, and I didn't do half bad myself. This last year my groove was rocked a little, because my shot was off, so I always managed to rank low on the list. But last night I tried a new strategy. Usually I stake out an area and stay put, but last night I roamed and sought out enemy territory. And since it was super busy, the full arena was opened up, so it was fun exploring. The first game I ranked #9 overall out of 41 players and #5 on the team. And the second game I got #11 out of 43 players and #2 on the team. Never got that high before! My brothers are really good players, so they usually beat me. And my Dad always seems to place in the top couple places.
Having a whole lot of fun, Sarah :0)
(My shameless plug: There's an amazing activities program here in Utah called the Utah Pass of all Passes.
It's incredible, and if you live in northern Utah and don't have a
pass, then you're missing out. For those interested, it's still $32.00
with tax on citydeals,
and at kiosks located at the University Mall in Orem, and South Towne
Mall in Sandy. For a full year I get unlimited games in the largest
laser tag arena in Utah, unlimited mini golf, Ice Skating during certain
times of the year, shoe rental not free, bowling, once again shoe rental not free, and a whole lot of sports. Plus they just added a location in Draper called Planet Play
that has unlimited mini golf, mini bowling, laser tag, and go-karts for
only a $1 each time you visit. Oh, and unlimited access to the water parks in the
summer. There's this bird place
that's free on Mondays that I want to check out. Rocky Mountain
Raceways. Real Salt Lake Soccer. Etc. All for $30. It sounds too good
to be true, but it's not. Get the pass if you live here! You wont
regret it. It pays for itself and then some.
I only write this because we had two family friends with us last night who didn't have a pass of all passes. 3 games total cost $18. It adds up, and we felt really bad for them. My Mom helped them get the Utah passes, so unlimited laser tag for a year! We're not waiting long to go again)
I'm a Disneyland freak. A pretty huge one in fact. My whole family is, but then is there anyone out there who isn't? Disneyland is a pretty awesome place. Last month while visiting our Grandfather, we decided to reserve one day for a quick visit to the happiest place on Earth. Ventura is only a couple hours away, which means we did the wake up early and get home around 3 a.m. deal.
Traffic in Southern California is never fun to navigate, but we must have over planned, because we got to the park an hour early. That was a good thing! When we pulled into the parking garage, we went to the far left ticket booth. I was sitting in the passenger seat, $20 bill hanging out the window several feat before we got there. I was excited!! Then this really nice guy said to the other worker "I've got this." And then he told us we didn't have to pay for parking, and that we were Mickey's guest for the day. He grabbed several buttons, hopped in a cart, and we followed him to Pinocchio's parking.
With all the gazillion times we've been to Disneyland, nothing like this has ever happened before. We didn't even know this sort of thing happened at all. He gave us buttons indicating we were honorary citizens of Disneyland (this I really geeked over). So after all that we had to give this nice gentlemen a hug!
It was amazing, really. Disneyland sure knows how to make people feel special. It's that Disney magic, after all. And we wore the buttons the whole day! What's fun about Disneyland is how they give out buttons to people, and there's a huge assortment of buttons they give. The one we got must have been rare, because during the entire day, hopping between Disneyland and California Adventures, I only saw one other person wearing it. So cool, and memories forever made:0)
Someone told me once to be careful in my actions towards others; that it's best to assume that everyone we meet is fighting a harder battle. We all have something we're hiding.
For me it's my insecurities towards reading and writing, and it's founded on some experiences I had in the 3rd grade. I couldn't read, at all, and was in danger of permanently falling in between the cracks. My Mom sought help, and found out the school had a reading program for 1st graders, but felt 3rd grade was beyond help. So they weren't going to help me.
My Mom's pretty special. She's gutsy and doesn't take no for an answer. A full-blooded Gryffindor. She spent many, many hours asking questions and getting help, and with the help of my teacher a program was developed, and during reading/writing time I would go with a handful of other students to learn phonics and read Curious George. I was told it would take many, many years to catch up to grade level, but I worked really hard and was testing at grade level by the middle of my 4th grade year. Regardless, I still felt stupid. I have clear memories in the 6th grade doing social study worksheets and not finding the answers. My friends would point to the paragraph where the answer was found, and still, reading the section repeatedly, the answer remained buried.
By my Freshman year of High School I received one of only two English awards in my class of 600+. By my Sophomore year I was placed in honors English. And in my Junior year I took AP Literature. Still I felt like I didn't know anything. I decided to attend Porterville College and took the placement test, and out of 50+ testers I was one of three that was allowed to go right into English 101. You would think that would boost my confidence, right? I transferred to the College of the Sequoias in Visalia CA, got a 4.0 that semester, transferred to Utah Valley State College and had a 3.98, making the deans list. Transferred to BYU and got an academic scholarship. You would think I would be getting a clue, but doubts still overwhelmed, regardless. Those 3rd grade memories not giving me any ease.
It finally clicked one day, and it sadly happened the semester before I graduated. I was in Music Literature 304, and we were about to get our blue books back after having taken our first essay tests. Before that happened our teacher decided to lecture us, telling us he gave very few A's, and that in all his years of teaching he's never had to tell a group of upper division University students how to write a proper essay. He went through all the points on what he expected, and each point he mentioned I did; I was freaking out. Then I got my blue book back, and at the top of both essays was an A. I went home that night dumbfounded and had a good cry. Why did I doubt? Why did I allow myself to feel insecure? Why did I waste all that time with worry!? Why?
(This was getting passed around on Facebook)
I worry about kids. I worry that there are many who are falling in between the cracks and are getting lost. Who are not learning to read, because someone, somewhere, felt they were a lost cause, unable to see that hidden glimmer of potential. Of greatness. How many times are we on the verge of something great, but give up when it's within reach, because we've stopped ourselves? Some voice from the past coming to haunt? Some bully? I had an eighth grade teacher tell me once, in private after school, that I was worthless, wasn't going to amount to anything, would never get into a University, and would never earn a scholarship. I proved her wrong, but that voice could have eaten me whole if I let it.
We're all special. We all have worth. We all have something great to give. And there is no comparing, because we are all unique and individual, with unique talents (not all talents are showy: love, kindness, patients, understanding are talents as well). I'm glad Leonardo da Vinci isn't Mozart; that Michelangelo isn't Einstein. No one would want them to be any different.
And I'm thankful to have people in my life I love.
About a couple years back my brothers, Steven and Robbie, and I had a fun-filled day at Magic Mountain California. It's one of those places where I find myself wishing I'd stick with contacts and stop defaulting to glasses, because roller coasters are not glasses friendly. Steven learned that the hard way.
It was towards the end of the day, an hour till closing, when we decided to ride Goliath. I had already decided to wear my glasses for this ride. As we were climbing the first hill of the coaster my brothers, Robbie sitting next to me and Steven positioned in the seat in front of him, were passing the time playing a rousing game of Jyan Ken Poo (Jan Ken Pon/Poi, or translated "rock, paper, scissors).
I was looking around admiring the view when I heard my name called. I looked at Steven and he was pointing at his face, glasses free. I thought he was trying to tell me that he took off his glasses, turns out he bumped his glasses off and they fell to the trees below. We then spent 2 hours at the lost and found, no luck, and then several hours the next day at the Ventura mall waiting for Steven's new pair of glasses to be made. Ah! Lesson learned. Rock, paper, scissors is a dangerous sport.
(My brother just sat down at my laptop to write this part, wanting to set the record straight.)
(Here is the experience in Steven's own words: "It was a fine day at Six Flag's Magic Mountain. A place that I have particularly enjoyed since mine own childhood. Since coming home from serving a mission in Japan, I had picked up a few new ways to pass time. Jyan-Ken-Poo, or the Japanese version of Rock Paper Scissors (wow that's a spelling mistake waiting to happen) Just happened to be the perfect solution to waiting in line for a few moments of roller coaster bliss. I taught the game to my brother Robbie and we spent the day with people staring at us with wonder and awe while others had only wished that we had stopped. Sarah just so happened to be one of those people. I'm sure you can only take "Saisho Guu!" so many times. "The day was also spent with an epic conversation about glasses. Sarah had insisted for most of the rides that wearing them was not the brightest of ideas. I defended, stating that I have never had a problem before, and I was not about to start. As the day was coming to a close, we decided to ride Golieth, a particular favorite of mine, if not my all time favorite roller coaster. As expected, Robbie and I played Rock Paper Scissors while waiting. It was finally our turn to ride. Robbie and Sarah sat together, as I sat directly in front of Robbie. While we were making that first epic climb up to the top of the coaster I hear Robbie yell "Saisho Guu!" That beautiful initiation call to battle, and without hesitation I gave the courageous reply "Jyan-Ken-Poo!" and swiftly thrusted my fist into the air barely knocking the edge of my glasses as I went. "That knock, however, was a one-hit Fatal Blow that ended it all. My glasses flailed in the wind and fell to the trees below. Try as we did the frames could not be recovered and thus ends the tale of Jan-Ken and the Glasses.")
In truth Japanese rock, paper, scissors is quite fun to play, and wonderfully epic. Of course they invented the game back during the Edo period (about 19th century). Now the game is used for a whole lot of reasons: passing time, determining who cleans what, deciding order, etc. Somehow they can play the game with a room full of people and whittle down to a single winner within a minute.
Below are several groups, different ages, playing Jan Ken Pon. There's a long introduction by the Australian host:
Here's my brothers explanation on how to play the game. There's several variations, but this is the one he was taught.
The Basic Script
Saisho gu
Jyan ken poo (Jan ken pon)
Aikode-sho
(and a bonus game Acchi-muitte-hoo!)
Translation
First comes Rock!
Then sword and paper!
It's a tie
(You're gonna look that way!)
The video shows a couple variations, but in the version I was taught, by my bro, everyone says "Saisho-gu," and on "gu" everybody throws down "rock" to get the game going. Then everyone says "Jan Ken Pon" and on "Poo/Pon/Poi," depending on preference, everyone throws down what they wish (rock, paper, scissors). If you're playing with a group, those who lost go into their own game to determine 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc, place. And winners keep playing with each other. If there's a tie everyone involved says "Aikode-sho," with "sho" being the word in which you throw down your next choice. If there's another tie, you keep repeating this step until there isn't a tie.
You keep playing all the way through until there is a winner.
There is a mini game option if you wish to play with a decided, obvious winner. After someone wins a round of Jan Ken Po, the winner says "Acchi-muitte-hoo!" and on "hoo!" they point their finger in one of four directions (up, down, left, and right), and the loser looks either up, down, left or right. If the loser looks in the direction the winner points, then the winner is the overall winner. If the loser looks in a different direction, the whole game starts all over with Jan Ken Pon. This can go on for quite a while until someone wins both games (rock, paper, scissors and the looking game) in a row. It's pretty funny to watch.
I hope I explained that right, and this could be different then what a native teaches, since there are a few variations, and it's different in different regions, but it's a lot of fun.
Of course if you're too cool for Jan Ken Pon, there's always the geek version "Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock:"
Leave it to the Big Band Theory to introduce us to this
scissors cuts paper
paper covers rock
rock crushes lizard
lizard poisons Spock
spock smashes scissors
scissors decapitates lizard
lizard eats paper
paper disproves Spock
Spock vaporizes rock
and—as it always has—rock crushes scissors
And this is for the clinically insane. Looking at this chart makes my brain hurt! So, I guess if someone can figure this out and memorize it, it makes them a genius. Good luck finding someone to play with!!
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
Section 1: Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Review: 4.25 Stars out of 5 Stars
The year is January, 1865, and the Civil War has been raging since April, 1861. Abraham Lincoln, a staunch abolitionist, is on a mission to end slavery. On January 1st, 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation by executive order. The order freed slaves in Confederate territories, but didn't outlaw slavery itself. Now Lincoln is pushing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing slavery, but it must happen before the war ends, since returning slave states would out rule the 13th amendment, and there may not be enough time to wait for a Republican majority in the House of Representatives come February (the bill passed quickly in the Senate.)
Lincoln is a cerebral film. The trailer makes it seem as if the movie is nothing but epic battle scenes and raging war/congress rooms. Instead we get a movie that takes us into Lincolns life as we see another side of the Civil War; one where blood is not being spilled, but words still act as knives. The battle lines are drawn when it is realized that all Republicans must vote for the 13th amendment (not one can falter or be absent) and twenty votes must be found on the Democratic side of the aisle, which would bring the vote to the 2/3rds needed to pass the amendment. The film illustrates beautifully the losing battle Lincoln and his fellow Republicans are fighting.
The movie is based on the Lincoln's biography Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which takes place in Lincolns last four months of life. In public Lincoln is known for his short, to the point (and may I add refreshing) speeches, but in private he loves to tell stories and anecdotes. There's a gentle wit in this, and a softness in Lincoln portrayed that's different then any history book I've ever read, but I quickly grew to love Lincoln as a man. Of course he's not perfect. He knows how to be a good father to his youngest, fourth son, but feels distant to his eldest, having lost his second and third sons to illness. His eldest son, Robert, wishes to join the Union army, and Lincoln does what he can to prevent it, thanks to his wife Mary's wishes, so that they would not then lose a third son.
The acting throughout the film is superb by the entire cast. I read a news story once outlining what Sally Fields, who plays Mary Lincoln, did to assure herself the role. She met up with Danial Day-Lewis, who plays Lincoln, and the director Steven Spielberg for a one hour screen test. The entire hour was her and Lewis improvising. They were both so committed and prepared that they were living and breathing Lincoln and Mary. That commitment and passion is beautiful, and it shows on the screen. Tommy Lee Jones, who plays Thaddeus Stevens, is also a marvel to watch.
Maybe I'm a little biased in this review, because I find the Civil War so intriguing, owning a few books on the subject, doing a little research here and there. One of my ancestors, a Union soldier, received a really bad battle wound and soon after died at home. Another ancestor, also Union, fought at Gettysburg. So when the film opened to a battle scene, immediately I was brought to that time, grateful for my forebears who were brave enough to fight and give their lives, and overwhelmed by the pain and sacrifice that entails.
A beautiful movie for an amazing man.
MPAA: PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage and brief strong language.
"No man is good enough to govern another man without the other's consent" ~ Abe Lincoln
"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." ~ Abe Lincoln
"There has never been but one question in all civilization-how to keep a few men from saying to many men: You work and earn bread and we will eat it." ~ Abe Lincoln
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally." ~ Abe Lincoln
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."~ Abe Lincoln
(Showing the size of my Guitalele next to a regular guitar.)
My brothers and I have made a decision in regards to Cerulean Jade: We're no longer going to do cover songs (unless the songs are in the public domain). It was a big decision we made last night after a long talk. From the beginning I was nervous doing cover songs, but we went ahead with it because it's the best way to get noticed as independent musicians. The covers we've done have been great practice in learning to create and master music, and in finding our sound. Thing is we don't want to be a cover band. We want to produce original music and make that our focus.
It's a little nerve wrecking. Will anyone find us? Will our music get lost and buried in the emptiness that is the intergalactic web? There's risk here, but then risks must be taken, right? There's so much music within us that we want to share, both vocal music and instrumentals. And we're excited to share what we're creating. Our next original song, which I haven't announced the title of, will be released before years end. It's an important goal of ours. I'm going to start sharing pictures of the process on the Cerulean Jade fan page and on my twitter feed.
That means, then, that I wont be putting up a cover to Jason Mraz's "Living in the Moment," though I love the song and it's a lot of fun to sing. I've learned a lot practicing the song on the Guitalele, which has such a lovely tone, and the lyrics to the song have become my personal mantra.
"I will not waste my days making up all kinds of ways
to worry 'bout all the things that will not happen to me."
and
"I'm letting go of the thoughts that do not make me strong."
It's a great song and worth a listen.
So that is the path we're on. Exciting things are around the corner :0)
"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk
disappointment. But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in
life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing,
sees nothing, has nothing and is nothing. He cannot learn, feel,
change, grow, love and live." ~ unknown
Last month I set out to accomplish two things: finish a nanowrimo novel and blog every single day in the month of November. Both were accomplished, though there were quite a few days I felt really close to giving up.
If you don't know what nanowrimo is, it's a month full of insanity. For the month of November you commit to writing 50,000 words of a novel, but in the process it's okay if plots change, points of view change, etc, all things are possible as long as you keep writing. If you finish you're a "winner," and a link to a PDF certificate of completion is provided. All you have to do is finish.
This is my fifth year attempting nanowrimo, but failed the first three years due to being a college student. Homework, tests, and class attendance is important after all. Both last year and this year I pulled off the 50,000 words, though I must admit that the quality of my writing greatly suffered as my typing needed to grow faster to meet deadlines. Though, regardless, I stumbled upon some great ideas for this sci-fi series I'm working on, and an idea for a third book spin off, which makes me giddy with excitement. So even though I spent several days writing nothing but garbage, there are gems scattered about that makes it all worth while.
Above is a nanowrimo temporary tattoo that I got a few years ago. This year I made a pact with myself that if I finished, I'd wear it. Below is the tattoo pre-application. It's totally imitating an HP death mark.
And of course my other goal last month was to post a blog entry every single day. A couple months back I got pretty close, but I thought it would be cool if I was able to pull off both tasks, and now I have a happy literary/blogging habit.
This got me thinking, who needs New Years resolutions when you can start fresh each month with new goals? They say that it takes 3 weeks of constant work to turn a bad habit into a good habit, or to simply form new good habits.
So what are my goals for December? Besides getting the original song finished that Steven and I are working on, I've decided my goal is going to be to finally learn the Japanese kana (katakana and hiragana). They're the phonetic characters in the Japanese language. Not learning them is holding me back in my studies in a big way, and I've placed a few learning blocks on myself in the process. I'm going to blast through those learning blocks! and get back to learning Japanese so I'm not able to just speak the language, but I also what to be able to write original Japanese Pop songs without having to translate English to Japanese. So that's the goal! One step at a time. Anything's possible when you set your mind to it :0)
