I Didn't Watch Any Christmas Movies! 0_0

The Holidays are full of traditions, and it's a little different for everyone. One of my traditions is to watch Christmas movies leading up to the holiday, and I just realized I didn't watch any of my favorites!  I didn't watch any Christmas movie at all.

Well, I started watching The Holiday, but fell asleep a third of the way through. Does that count? Also, I watched Serendipity. Does that count as a Christmas movie? It seems a little Christmasy. That was spontaneous. I'd been thinking of that movie and frozen hot chocolate, and Serendipity popped up as a movie suggestion. Weird. Oh, but it's such a cute movie.

A week ago my Dad said he was working through his four Christmas movies he watches every year: The Family Man, Muppet Christmas Carol, The Holiday, and Dan in Real Life. Technically the last movie isn't a Christmas movie, but it's all about family, and he watches it every year. Several days ago I went into his office to give him a message, and he was watching Die Hard, so that must also be on rotation.

Usually I watch a bunch of Hallmark movies, but had a hard time watching any. It's what I did with my Grandma, and she passed last December, so I just couldn't watch any of those types of movies. On Christmas Eve some of my family was watching The 12 Dates of Christmas. They said it was really cute and recommended it. Maybe I'll watch it later. It's all a bunch of silly predictable fluff, but they are cute. Maybe next year I'll watch some again. 

It's just weird. I didn't watch the Muppet Christmas Carol! How did that happen? There's so many good songs. One more sleep Til Christmas is such a sweet song.

So it's just weird. New years is a couple days away, so I've still got time to finish The Holiday. 

Next year I'll do better!!! :D

Sarah

Awaiting a Snow Squall

Squall: "a sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm, especially one bringing rain, snow, or sleet."

A few hours ago there was an emergency weather alert, my phone buzzing, a square message covering mindless internet wandering. A snow squall was coming. Beware of limited visibility.

A snow squall? Sounds exciting... and dangerous.  I quickly consulted a weather app, screen shot the rader map, and sent it to my family. A couple of my sibs were in Salt Lake dealing with it there, trying not to bump into cars or slide off the road. They're now safe.

But here? Visibility was never a problem and the snow was more of a dusting. This isn't a bad thing, as safety is most important, but I'm a little disappointed. A snow squall would be fun to witness.

Several years ago we got a weather warning in regards to a blizzard. Salt Lake got hit hard. My sibs and I were nesting in preparation. As soon as the storm came around the point of the mountain it dissipated, scattering, barely any snow falling, and as soon as the storm moved south of the valley it came back together wrecking havoc down I-15. Storm systems are weird and unpredictable in Northern Utah.

I don't know how the squall affected different spots around these valleys, but as exciting as bursts of wind mixed with snow could be, I'm glad people are safe.

Sarah

This is the First Time I Want to Watch the Rose Bowl... but I Can't

So....

I learned something today. The University of Utah is playing in the Rose Bowl. They are PAC12 champions and got an automatic spot. (I didn't even know they won the PAC12! That's how aloof I am).

Being a sports dunce, I don't pay attention to sports, but with growing up in California I always loved watching the Rose Parade. It's a favorite childhood tradition. Even though I never watched the Rose Bowl, I knew about it. It's the only Bowl I knew about, and thought if a team I knew ever made it, I'd watch it.

Now I live in Utah, and watching the Rose Bowl would be fun this time around, only I no longer have live television, having given it up for streaming and YouTube. It seems the only way to watch it is ESPN and ABC.

It's exciting the U of U football team made it to the Rose Bowl. That really cool. And it's amazing they won the PAC12.

Good luck! That's a lot of really hard work. 

Sarah

Charles Dickens Christmas Tradition

"The Life Of Our Lord. This religious work was written by Dickens between 1846 and 1849, while writing David Copperfield. Always a devoted Christian, Dickens wrote The Life of Our Lord exclusively for his children, to whom he read it aloud every Christmas. He strictly forbade publication of the text during his lifetime and begged his sister-in-law to make sure that the Dickens family "would never even hand the manuscript, or a copy of it, to anyone to take out of the house." The handwritten manuscript was passed down after Dickens' death in 1870 to Georgina Hogarth and on her death in 1917 it came into the possession of Sir Henry Fielding Dickens, Dickens' last surviving son. The Dickens family continued to read it every Christmas and delayed publication until the last of his children passed away."

~  Delphi Complete Works of Charles Dickens

What a beautiful tradition.

This morning I woke up and listened to an audio recording of The Life of Our Lord, taking in the beautiful testimony of Charles Dickens.  It seems almost intrusive to listen to it, knowing now the sacredness of this text.  

Theater houses everywhere show A Christmas Carol this time of year, another one of Dickens writings.  A ghost story telling of a haunted scrooge until he discovers and awakes to the wondrous Christmas spirit.  I don't know how often Charles read this story to his kids.  Was this a Christmas tradition?  

Charles Dickens reading aloud his telling of the life of Christ to his family every Christmas is... there are no words to describe what I'm now feeling.  There's a gentleness, a peace, a love.  Remembering more than Christ birth and taking in what it means to be a Christian, and the gift of Christ's life for us, his blessings, his miracles, his goodness.

I was reading a one star review criticizing doctrinal errors in The Life of Our Lord.  Criticizing something that Dickens never wanted published.  Criticizing the testimony and faith that was a wish to remain private and sacred, a gift Dickens gave to his children.  And in this text we see what Dickens believes and values.

It's so easy getting caught up in the little traditions of this season.  There's nothing wrong with Santa and Christmas trees, but lets never forget the "Christ" in Christmas.

Merry Christmas,

Sarah

Suffering Through the Star Wars Holiday Special

The Star Wars Holiday Special is the stuff of legends, coming out after the success of the first Star Wars movie in 1978.  The special capitalized on the popularity of the movie, a way to keep the budding franchise in everyone's mind before VCR's were widely available, giving movie goers a chance to see their new favorite characters on the small screen.

It's rumored that the Holiday Special was so bad that George Lucas wanted it erased from peoples memories... (in the same vein as "Han shot first").  Thankfully the VCR came out in 1977, and lucky for us some people taped it, and the show can now be found on YouTube.

I grew up hearing about the Star Wars Holiday Special, wondering if it was real or not, hearing about the catastrophic legend.  Turns out the special was real, like a mystical beast coming to life.  So... I went to YouTube and finally sat through all 1hr. 37 mins...

And it lives up to the hype, fully earning it's 2.2/10 IMDb score and 27% Rotten Tomatoes score.  Apparently 44% of Google Users like this special.  Who are you!!?? :P

Okay, in all fun, it was weird.  I'll only see it once.  The special is just a really weird mix of music acts, Wookies jabbering for eons with no subtitles, a random animation section in the middle, etc, oh... and Mark Hamill wearing too much makeup.  

The story line is simple, Chewie needs to get home to celebrate Life Day, a Wookie holiday, to see his family.  Also, Chewie is an absentee Dad as his parents take care of his son.  Han tries to get his friend home while the Empire is making everything difficult. 

Honestly, though, the most redeeming section of this show was a "Day in the Life on Tatooine," watching a guy fall in love with a bartender at the Cantina.  I don't remember the name of the lady bartender, but she was awesome.  That character needs to come back in some way, somewhere.  Also, the cooking demonstration Chewie's Mom does was amusing, albeit a bit strange and odd... random... everything is just so random...

So... I've now seen the Star Wars Holiday Special. I don't think I'm all the better for it, but a childhood mystery has now been solved, so that's good, I guess.  

Also, Disneyland celebrated Life Day at Galaxies Edge last November.  I wasn't there for it, but there's videos of the event on YouTube.  A bunch of fans wearing red cloaks while holding glowing orbs.  Actually, it looks fun.

Well,

Hope you're having a great holiday and a Merry Christmas.

Sarah

P.S.... Han shot first.

 P.P.S. "Come back soon, I'll be waiting." ~ That bartender lady.

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 88: "Doctor McDuke" ~ Time Loops

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 88: "Doctor McDuke" ~ Time Loops

Hosts: My bro Robbie and I

This turned out to be one of my favorite episodes!  And it almost didn't happen.  A lot of things were going on Saturday morning during recording, each in our homes with our individual set ups.  Robbie has two adorable kids, but as what happens when children are awake and playing, there was some crying.  On my end a plane was flying by in close proximity.  We were both a little spent, a little lost, and were about to hit the "stop recording" button and literally record the entire thing again on another day.  We didn't.  We pushed through... and I'm so happy we did.  This episode was really quite fun.

"What if you could have the perfect day? Nothing went wrong, all you did was right, and in the end you come out on top in every way. What kind of effort would be required to do that? It would take a culmination of all effort or very special circumstances. Or, maybe you could just relive the same day over and over again until it was just right. Time-loops are a story phenomenon that find themselves getting told again and again. Join Robbie and Sarah as they explore the inspiration behind time-loop stories."

Time Loops.  Funny enough I was watching a cute little show on Hulu this morning, Find Me in Paris.  It's for kids.  A little cheesy.  But super adorable.  The main character, a ballet dancer from 1905, time travels to 2018, and in the episode I was watching this morning one of the characters got stuck in a couple second time loop.  How annoying would that be??!!  But time loops are a fun plot device.  A movie about a seriously underrated holiday is all about a time loop.  In this episode my brother Robbie and I have fun talking about time loops, role playing a little, and then creating a story about a time loop.

Creator's Playbook is a podcast about the creative process, hosted by my brothers and I, and each week we tackle a new topic.  It can be found on Spotify, Apple, etc.

Hope you're having a great week!

I just looked at the weather report and I think we're getting 11 days of snow... :\

Sarah

    

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 87: "Soul Bleeding" Dystopias

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 87: "Soul Bleeding" Dystopias

Hosts: My bros Michael and Robbie

"Cold and dark days have come to The Creators Playbook here in episode "Soul Bleeding" where Robbie and Michael delve into the backdrop of dystopian societies. You, Great Author, have a choice before you in how your characters are going to live through an oppressive regime! Will they be triumphant and conquer in majesty? Or will your society crush them? Join us as we delve into this wonderfully awful business of making our characters' lives terrible as we create a dystopia, and place our characters in it to live, thrive, or die."

It seems like dystopias are all the rage, and have been for sometime.  Something I've never quite understood, as they're depressing at times, but I've gotten caught up in the Hunger Games with reading and watching the series and other dystopias as well.  Michael and Robbie have some fun with this topic, and the episode is an interesting listen.  Michael, that opening is pretty slick.

Creator's Podcast is about, simply, creativity.  Taking different ideas and genres, playing around with tropes and the like, and finishing off by creating a new story. You can find the podcast on Spotify, Apple, etc.

Have a great week!

Sarah

 

Bright at Night

It's interesting how we all have different experiences depending on where we live. Natural events. Things we read about but cannot truly understand without living. 

Someday I would love to know what it's like to see the aurora borealis, glow worms in caves, fireflies.  I've tried to imagine, looked at pictures, seen videos, but someday I hope to see these things in person. 

When I was a kid I always wanted to live where there was snow.  Snow days and snowmen and sledding down hills.  With all the imagining there was something I never knew existed: How the world can be bright at night.

This phenomenon happens every time it snows at night. Each time I'm equally amazed. Looking outside everything is milky white, cloudy, swirly, lit up and glowing. It's strange and wonderful, something I never knew existed as a kid.

Heh, I have a love/hate relationship with snow. Childhood wonder mixed in with not wanting to clean frozen fluff off my car. 

In the end it's all amazing. Someday I hope to see the sky drapped in waves of color. For now I'm enjoying daylight in the dark.

Sarah

It's a Howlin'

Winter Storm Warning.

That's what the weather app says.

Whistling wind gives it away, no looking at apps needed.

Outside the air is glowing white. 

This is one thing about living in Utah I haven't quite gotten used to yet. The snow storms. Tomorrow there's supposed to be a break, then a couple days of snow, another break, and all next week more storms are passing through.

Looks like we're getting a white Christmas.

I do love a white Christmas, makes the day so much more magical. It's friends and family traveling about the worries me, hoping they stay safe.

But right now there are howls outside. Loud and winding, screeching in screams.

Lights flickering. Hopefully the lights won't go permanently out.

Tomorrow morning should be beautiful. There's nothing quite like freshly fallen snow sparkling in sunlight.

Hope you have a peaceful night!

Sarah

At Disneyland During the Genie + Launch

 

First of all, being at Disneyland last week during the Genie + launch was not my intention.  If anything, I was hoping it would have launched a few weeks later.  As an annual pass Dream Key holder, I reserved last weeks dates early last October.  Two months ago.  The Disneyland app said "coming soon" for Genie +, so I was quite shocked opening the Disneyland app on December 8th with the program announcement.

Backing up, what is Genie +?  It launched at Disney World last October, and is a paid replacement for the fastpass system.  All the previous fastpass lanes have been renamed to Lightening lane.  I believe it's $15 a day at Disney World and $20 a day at Disneyland.  I don't know the prices, as I choose to not buy in and did the stand by lines.  On top of the daily fee is the fact that Rise of the Resistance, Radiator Spring Racers, and Webslingers are not apart of the daily fee and are separate add on prices.  Apparently Rise of the Resistance topped off at $20 a ride, per person.  

Last week I was at Disneyland Monday through Thursday.  The weekends were already reserved and unavailable by the time I selected the dates.  Also, whenever there's rain that affects line wait times and crowds in the parks.  Tuesday had rain in the morning and Thursday was a little drizzly.  Wednesday had perfect weather.  It was so nice!  It was also when Genie + launched.  Also, the Holiday parade was recorded that day for broadcast on ABC on Christmas day.  I rushed to It's a Small World and got off the ride right when the parade was starting in Fantasyland.  The 45 min wait time turned out to only be 20 minutes.  Total win.  I then I left halfway through the parade to hop on Big Thunder Railroad because the line was only 10 minutes.  WIN!!

 

Just putting this out there, I'm not a fan of Genie +.  I loved the fastpass system, but in hindsight I view it quite differently.  Defunctland has a video called "Disney's Fastpass, A Complicated History". I haven't seen it, plan to, but apparently it talks about the fact that fastpasses cause the problem it solves.

 

Thankfully Genie + was having issues that day, so I had crazy good luck with the line wait times in standby.

Experiencing Disneyland last October and Monday/Tuesday of last week, I realized how much I didn't like the fastpass system.  Without the merger of fastpass/lightening lane users, the regular line moves so fast!  I got into Indiana Jones on Tuesday, 45 minute estimated wait.  It was about 15-20 minutes.  The line was constantly moving.  Same with Big Thunder Railroad.  Without the fastpass/lightening lane mergers, that line kept moving with little wait, half the time that was projected.  I did Rise of the Resistance twice.  On Monday it was a 60 minute wait time, and it ended up being so.  On Thursday it said the wait time was 65 minutes, but ended up being 45 minutes.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing people trying out standby verses lightening lanes.  Apparently lightening lanes win out time wise, though I wonder what the wait would have been otherwise.  From my experience I had pretty good luck.  Honestly only averaged 4-5 rides a day, on purpose.  I didn't do the ticketed holiday event.  Not paying an extra $170 for that party.

Where the real slam happened was Thursday night at California Adventure.  During the holiday event on Tuesday, which boots out "day guests" (loved being called that...), out of the park at 7pm, I hung out at Downtown Disney and did stuff there, so no idea what was happening in DCA.  Now, on Thursday night DCA was crazy crowded.  Guardians has a 95 wait time.  Radiator Spring Racers had a two hour wait time.  For Racers the single rider line was so long it was closed!  So I watched a band perform on the stage next to the Paradise Pier Lake.  Got a hot chocolate macaron from one of those food wagons.  And found a table close to the Mostly Kosher stage and enjoyed their performance.  It's all good.

Side note.  When I visited Disney World in 2016, I didn't use a single fastpass, mainly because guests of their hotels can book them so far in advance, and I was staying at the Holiday Inn and just didn't want to mess with them.  I found a website, studied which parks were doing magic mornings/evenings and when, and then planned accordingly.  Certain times in the day have lower wait times.  During those six days I did so many rides, all with short wait times except Space Mountain (so bumpy compared to Disneyland), and Snow Whites Mine Train was just so long I never made it on that ride.  Not a big deal.

Anywho, I don't like this pay to ride scheme Disney has going on.  I want it to fail, but it seems it won't.  Just another way for Disney to bleed us dry.

Walt Disney, may you rest in peace.

Sarah