Heh, Heh

So I discovered a new treasure trove of anti-Twilight things on Pinterest last night, and you know what happens when I find funny things I like on Pinterest or on Tumblr...

I POST THEM!! XP

(Oh, yes, and now I can get back on Tumblr, since I gave it up for Lent. Today is Holy Saturday, and we've always reckoned that Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday inclusively, with the exception of Sundays. So lalalala, I will be getting up to all kinds of shenanigans now, no doubt...)

So, without further ado:

Hahahaha! I hope you like this one, Audrey.

By the way, Snape is my favorite character in the books (in fact, he was what motivated me to go back and read the series all the way through, because otherwise I would have stopped with Chamber of Secrets in 3rd or 4th grade). I don't really idealize him (though I wish things could have turned out so much better for him); I'm fully aware that he's not a great guy and he's mean to little children... but... he made a mistake and spends the rest of his life atoning for it, never wanting the slightest bit of attention or glory for what he's done. He's the only one who ever seemed to me to really have to choose between good and evil (and have I mentioned that I'm always fond of the characters who turn from evil to good?), and it was a hard choice.

I also think Dumbledore was a little too manipulative with him. The Pensieve scene where Snape starts ranting about how he's done all this for Potter and to learn now that Dumbledore plans to have him killed... yeah... I think Dumbledore might have gone a little too far. Then again, Dumbledore terrifies me in the first place with his manipulativeness. Seriously, he creeps me out, and has from Philosopher's Stone. Harry mentions that he thinks Dumbledore let him try to protect the stone from Voldemort because he had earned it, so to speak, by what had happened with his parents.

HELLO, DUMBLEDORE!!! Revenge is not to be encouraged in your Chosen One! Nor should you allow any eleven-year-old to confront an extremely dangerous dark wizard, even if you suspect his mother's magic/love is protecting him! For crying out loud, you should have locked that door better! Hermione opens it with Alohomora and there's a THREE-HEADED DOG on the other side!

Sometimes I just think the Wizarding World doesn't really care about the safety of its children. It also ignores the rules of logic whenever it can, but I've ranted enough as it is...

On to more Twilight bashing!

I mean, Gollum doesn't want to eat the Ring. Granted, he acts all creepy and stalks it (and the Ringbearer), but, hey, it's still a better love story than Twilight...

Heh, heh, heh... RUN, SPARKLY VAMPIES, RUN!!!! FLEE FOR YOUR PUNY, MISERABLE LIVES!!! YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE!!!

Even I think this. In fact, there are many, many, many things I think are better than Twilight. And I only read the first book all the way through.

Objection (1): He's undead. Can you say 'Uncanny Valley effect'? I do not like the undead! The only vampire I might consider remotely cool is John Mitchell from Being Human (okay, okay, primarily because Aidan Turner plays him), and even then it's in spite of the fact that he's a vampire, not because of it.

Objection (2): He's way too old for her! I acknowledge that there is a different between physical age and mental/emotional/psychological maturity, but both factor in! There is an extreme imbalance here..

Objection (3): He's a stalker. HE COMES IN HER ROOM AT NIGHT TO WATCH HER SLEEP. Words just can't convey how objectionable this is. I would be fleeing the country, I think...

Objection (4): HE WANTS TO EAT HER.

Objection (5): She's an idiot. And helpless. Seriously, I don't think it's possible for someone to be that pathetic in real life. (Hopefully.) I mean, they pass off a vampire attack on her as falling down a few flights of stairs and out a window, and she has such a record of being clumsy that THEY BELIEVE IT.

I have a lot more objections, but I also have more pictures, so let us proceed to the pictures, which are what everyone is here for anyways...

'Madness' describes it aptly, enough, I think...

Hahahahahahaha... RUN, EDWARD, RUN!!!! A pack of dinosaurs is closing in on you!!! Hahahahaha... Actually, I think that would make an awesome movie, don't you think! "Vampires vs. Dinosaurs." It would be cool, especially if the dinosaurs won.

Have I mentioned that I have a weird love for parasaurolophi? And Lambeosauri? (I'd rather use the Latin plural that say stuff like "parasaurolophuses".) In fact, I think the duckbill dinosaurs are in general rather underappreciated in favor of the toothy carnivores. Speaking of which, I think Allosaurus fragilis rocks in comparison to Tyrannosaurux rex. T. rex has those stupid tiny little arms and a massive head, so it ends up looking dispproportionate and stupid. Allosaurus, on the other hand, has a much more balanced frame and longer arms. It also has three functional fingers on each hand.

Yes, I'm discussing this entirely from memory. I'm that much of a nerd. (That, and the fact that I have spent many hours in the language lab researching dinosaurs while listening to German radio.)

Oh, and the Allosaurus has a much cooler color scheme in Zoo Tycoon than T. rex. T. rex just gets this plain mottled green-gold, while Allosaurus gets this beige with red stripes coloring. It's quite awesome, really. Oh, and Allosaurus has bosses over its eyes that give it a more fearsome appearance. Granted, it's not as cool as Carnotaurus (whose arms are even more pathetic than those of T. rex, by the way), but it's still better than T. rex.

Also, T. rex is too mainstream. XP

I think I would do anything rather than earn this punishment! Please, Snape, I'll scrub cauldrons! I do the dishes at home all the time; I'm sure I would get them nice and clean!

P. S. I always love how he adjusts his sleeves before doing this to Harry and Ron.

And that, my friends, is why we love Charlie and his moustache.

True dat!

Can we get a resounding "Amen"? Or at least a resounding, "Yaaaaaaay!"

XD I am obviously having way too much fun with this, but, hey, why not?

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Easter Triduum

The services in the Roman Catholic tradition for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil on Saturday evening are referred to collectively as the Easter Triduum, or the 'three days', approximately. The congregation is not officially dismissed on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, and it is not officially welcomed at the Easter Vigil, in order to emphasize that they are a continuous whole.

Of course, they are long services (last night for Holy Thursday it actually took a little over a whole hour, but then we have a very speedy priest who normally gets us out of there in about 40 minutes... how could you possibly object to a priest who loves to give short sermons??? XD).

The Passion is read on Palm Sunday and Good Friday- if memory serves me correctly, the Passion according to the Gospel of John is always read on Good Friday, while the one read on Palm Sunday alternates from Matthew, Mark, and Luke depending if the liturgical readings are in Year A, B, or C. (I think we're in C right now... It's terrible that I can't remember, but then I haven't been playing the responsorial psalms for the past couple of Masses, and that's when I see the little marker.)

Today there are actually two services: the Stations of the Cross around 3:00 instead of the usual late in the evening, and then the Veneration of the Holy Cross later. That one takes forever because there is a period where various intentions for various groups of people are read and the congregation has to kneel and pray, then stand up for the next intention to be read, then kneel again... It goes on and on seemingly ad infinitum.

Oh, well. I've been going for as long as I can remember, so it's become unthinkable for me not to go. I hope the choir sounds as good tonight as it did last night, because last night they rocked. (Sounded kind of sketchy on Palm Sunday; only a few of them turned up apparently... Of course, it was the Vigil Mass, but even so...)

For Stations earlier today I had to play the Stabat Mater, which I've never done before. However, I was pleased that it went off well, without me flubbing it horribly or something. It's a really beautiful song and if you start me off on any verse I can finish it for you. I can't sing it all the way through necessarily, but so many years of attending Stations has paid off...

I should find a video of it and post it. Because I feel like posting things today. Posting-itis it is, then!

No singing, but it gets the tune across. If it works. Google hates me, you know. I want to strangle it on a regular basis.

I should also mention the beautiful hymn Pange, Lingua that is traditionally sung on Holy Thursday. The last two verses out of the six are better known as the Tantum Ergo/Humbly Let Us Voice Our Homage. Humorously, I know the Pange, Lingua in Latin (all six verses! This is what happens when I am bored and am playing the piano...) but not in English, so I was left fumbling around for the book and trying not to finish a verse with, "Rex effudit gentium."

Lol, the problems of a Latin nerd.

Ooh, I should post a video of Pange, Lingua as well!

Basically I've been singing that song, all six verses, in Latin, throughout Lent this year! Whenever I'm just doing dishes or helping cook or something else in the kitchen, I don't know why but I just start singing stuff, and it's usually Latin songs. I just love the sound of them so much (I honestly love Gregorian chant; it's so soothing and I don't find it creepy in the least). Luckily, most Latin songs are also pitched low enough for me not to have a problem with them, since my voice doesn't really go high... at all...

The fact that I do actually know what I am saying when I sing them helps, too.

Semi-amusing story: I went to Midnight Mass for Christmas last year for the first time (yay!) and the opening hymn was Adeste Fideles. They sing it in English as O Come, All Ye Faithful for the children's Mass, but keep it in Latin for Midnight Mass. I was delighted and was happily singing it along with the choir while the rest of the congregation was fumbling around for the books, messing up the Latin words, or having other similar issues.

Oh, and then after Communion one of the choir members sang Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (in German, naturally). I knew it (at least the first two verses, and that's all he did), so I was pretty much the only member of the congregation who was singing along that time!

The weirdest thing is that I don't find this unusual in the least... I've been taking German and Latin for so long that when I realized today that sooner or later I might as well slap the label "trilingual" (especially as I think I'm going to shoot for a German minor) on my forehead I was actually surprised.

Lol.

I really don't know where I'm going with this blogpost; I'm just sort of celebrating Latin stuff and my faith and having fun along the way.

Oh, and just to prove that Catholics have a better sense of humor:

I just think that picture is hilarious. I giggled like anything when I saw it. From the fact that Dwalin is staring off at nothing to the fact that Gloin is Judas... just, you name it.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

300th Post - A Tribute to Tolkien

I mean, in what better way could I have commemorated my 300th post on this blog? Really. There simply is not a better way than the celebration of all things J. R. R. Tolkien.

This is quite appropriate, as I have also just finished re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and therefore I shall share seven of my favorite quotes from it, along with relevant (or semi-relevant) pictures. Because pictures are worth one thousand words, as the saying goes. And they are pretty to look at. And I have embarked on (ANOTHER) meme-making expedition lately, so I have lots of screencaps and things to play around with...

*Ahem.* Anyway.

1. Elrond: "Yet such is oft the course of the deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere."

2. Frodo: "I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way."

3. Gimli: "Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens."

-- On that vein, I was playing around with Paint with this exact same picture and quote, and this is what resulted:

Of course, now that I look at it, it seems as if the text has mysteriously shifted upwards, but oh well... It's just an amateur playing around with Paint, anyway. I found a new favorite font, though. I usually stick to Book Antique, but Lucinda Calligraphy and Lucinda Bright turned out very well for most everything I was doing. It's amazing how little tweaks can change something so much.

Anyway!

4. The Gaffer: "It's the job that's never started as takes the longest to finish."

5. Gandalf: "He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."

6. Galadriel: "Maybe the paths that you shall tread are already laid before your feet, though you do not see them."

7. Legolas: "For such is the way of it, to find and lose, as it seems to those whost boat is on the running stream."

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

LotR Pics of the Day

Lalalalala, it's spring break and I can do whatever I want, lalalalala....

Ahem. *composes self* Now that we have banished that fit of giddiness, let us proceed to more interesting stuff than me twirling about the room and celebrating no homework.

First off, I found this a long time ago, but it was so tiny and of such poor quality that I could never do anything with it. Now that I have discovered how to use Paint, I could just find the picture and add the caption myself. So, without further ado, here it is:

I feel so proud of myself. *giggles* This one has been a favorite of mine for some time (really, why is Boromir looking at the camera and Faramir looking off as if to say, "Oh, no! Here comes dad!") and so it's a delight to share it without it being the size of my thumbnail...

So, in other Tolkien-related new, the other week a few of the TH actors (namely Richard Armitage/Thorin, Andy Serkis/Gollum, and James Nesbitt/Bofur) held a live Twitter interview, some of the results of which are priceless. For one thing, the fanart:

Whoever drew this (it looks like piangchan.tumblr in the bottom left, or something like that), I salute you! Especially for the little question mark by Thorin's head. PRICELESS. In an interview with Martin Freeman, the question being, "Have a Twitter account, or I'd much rather keep what I had for lunch to myself, thank you?" Richard Armitage said, "I'd rather keep what I had for lunch to myself, thank you."
I don't blame him. I hope he NEVER, EVER gets a Twitter account. He would be inundated by creepy fans. Can you believe that in the Twitter interview someone apparently asked him if he knew about the Bagginshield pairing?? O.o I can't believe someone did that. That's just cruel. I mean, one of my guidelines for Sane Shipping is: Always Leave the Actors Out of It. Amusingly enough, Martin Freeman may know about Bagginshield. Apparently, he caused a mass panic in the Sherlock fandom when he admitted to reading fanfiction.

Me: Ahahahahahahahaha...

Anyway, if I ever met someone from LOTR or TH and if I were brave enough to say anything to them (so that's two impossibilities), I would just want to say thank you. And ask if I could hug them. Maybe. And then I would grab a flamethrower and help them chase away the creepy fangirls.

Anyway, back to the Twitter interview. So someone asked RA what was his 'recipe for life'. His response?

"Chocolate ice cream. Treat others as you would like to be treated. And lots of chocolate ice cream."

Can I get a resounding AMEN? Is any other reason needed to like this guy?

Sooooo. Now that I have had my say about various Tolkien things, yesterday was, of course, Palm Sunday. (If you do not know what Palm Sunday is, there is this little thing called Google...) My brother has dubbed it 'Facepalm Sunday' and took the opportunity of saying it several times throughout the day. So, in honor of Facepalm Sunday (which I seriously doubt will be adopted into the liturgical calendar anytime soon), I must share something I found a long time ago on Catholic Memes:

No irreverence intended! It's just so appropriate. I try to read a chapter of the Bible every day, and currently I'm in Exodus... or is it Leviticus... Nah, I think it's still Exodus. Y'know, all the rules and regulations- this is unclean, don't eat this. Don't do this, you'll become unclean. If you become unclean, kill a bunch of animals and it will all be okay...

Once again, no irreverence intended, but even once all the rules and regulations were set out straight the Israelites just couldn't stay away from the idols, now, couldn't they? You'd think they'd go for pagan religions that didn't require burning your first-born alive to Moloch, but then again... Of course, how much better are we today, now, mmm?

Yesterday was also the sneak peak for The Desolation of Smaug! I was expecting ten minutes of footage, with a few questions at the end, and we got so much more! It was great to see Jed Brophy and Peter Jackson carry on, particularly with the jibe about New Zealand and England's cricket match (lol) and how time travel was involved since it was early Monday morning over there during the live event.

We got to see a few nice clips of Martin Freeman doing one line half a dozen different ways (prompted by Bilbo noticing Kili is injured, which I'm betting leads in to the reveal that Thorin really didn't want to take his nephews on his epic Erebor quest- SAYING IT NOW, just as I predicted, "If there's a key, there must be a door," would be labeled Fili's 'blond moment'). We also saw pre-recorded videos from various cast members (the one of Dominic Monaghan outside his house was pretty funny), including one from Stephen Fry that apparently went on and on... so much so that they switched to a couple of other videos in the meanwhile, coming back to it twice to find that he was still talking! LOL.

One of the best parts had to be seeing greenscreen clips of Thranduil. XD Him lounging on his Moose Throne (as I have dubbed it) as the Dwarves are brought in. Neener neener neener, I have a throne, Thorin, and you don't, lalalala... And then the scene where he got right up in Thorin's face to yell at him! I had to clap my hands over my mouth since it was like seeing fan speculation brought to life!

I was giggling insanely afterwards. I mean, the fans are going to love Thranduil. The same people who brought us Majestic Thorin are also bringing us Thranduil Sass. Behold.

I was also pleased to see Legolas (not because of his looks; I've moved on from Elves) since I always thought that adding him to any movie adaptation of The Hobbit was a no-brainer. It looks like we'll have some nice scenes with him, including scenes of him disagreeing with his dad. Since I've been seeing fan-made gifs of Legolas in the background of the infamous moose scene going, "Daaaaad! You're embarrassing meeeeee!" and other things in that similar vein, it was priceless. To add to the fun, I found this:

That sword twirl... Okay, I'm officially dying of laughter. Better sign off before my gigglesnorting wakes up everyone else...

Oh, no, I can't! First I have to post my Bofur Optimism Meme of the Day!

Cheers!

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Even MORE LotR Stuff

Because the Internet is a wonderful thing, when it is not a terrible and horrible thing.

Now this next one I saw some weeks back and wanted to post it on the appropriate Sunday when we set our clocks ahead one hour, but when I looked for it then I couldn't find it. So, now that I have found it again, here it is.

And, finally, we have proof that the Maiar do, indeed, exist and are living amongst us:

I know I should probably do more actual writing on this blog than sharing of pictures, since writing is good for me and all that- keeps the creative juices flowing, blah, blah, blah. However, I have to make up for the fact that I was not in a position to appreciate it when the LOTR movies came out 11 years ago, so that's why I'm binging on Tolkien-related things now.

Besides, the only person I know of who looks at my blog on a regular basis is my sister and she only looks at the pictures anyway, so...

MORE PICTURES IT IS!!

Oh, and since I sort-of promised, here's another Bofur Optimism meme. I do hope it catches on. Somehow. Someway.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

*Sniff*

I was afraid to look up Green Lantern: The Animated Series for a week or so to find out how the series ended (WHY was it cancelled?? It was seriously amazing!!), since I was so sure that both Aya and Razer were doomed.

***CAUTION, READ NO MORE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED***

But I finally did it. I looked it up. Then I found the episode on YouTube and watched it. Come to think of it, I probably should have watched the episode first and then read the recap, but it probably would have just made me sob even harder.

So, yeah. Aya goes back in time to the moment of the creation of the universe (and I don't care if that's officially the DC Hand of Creation. I reject their reality and substitute my own! That was the Hand of God starting the Big Bang. You cannot convince me otherwise) in order to ensure that the universe will never be able to support organic life. Hal tries talking her out of it, with no success, and ends up calling in Razer to kill her. Razer can't bring himself to do it, though, and when Aya reflexively attacks him and fatally wounds him, that snaps her out of her all-organic-life-must-die funk. So they race back through the portal and she heals him- and, yay, she turned all green and white again!- and it's not sappy at all because it is so BEAUTIFUL, and she downloads a virus in all the Manhunters to kill them but she takes herself with them and collapses into energy in Razer's arms.

*sniff*

OH, AND IT DOESN'T END THERE!

Hal and Kilowog try convincing Razer that Aya is gone, but he refuses to believe it. He tells them goodbye (and he actually shakes their hands! This is Razer who didn't understand the meaning of that gesture in episode 4!) and actually acknowledges them as his friends. It's so BEAUTIFUL! And then he flies off into the stars... and just when you think that is the last image of the show, a Blue Lantern ring appears and zooms off after him.

MIND. BLOWN.

However, I also wanted to do a little dance and point at the computer and say, "HA! I guessed that from the very beginning!" Because I did. People's Wild Mass Guessing on TVTropes did not influence me at all. Someone even speculated that he would be the first Star Sapphire. O.o I mean, really...

I mean, they overlooked the most important reason of all! Razer's eyes were blue. I mean, duh. I saw it coming a mile off. But that doesn't make it one whit less beautiful. Even more awesome: his voice actor posted a clip on YouTube of him doing the Blue Lantern oath in Razer's voice.

AWESOME.

And so I had to make a Bofur Optimism meme in honor of the demise of GL:TAS.

Of course, now is the perfect moment to illustrate the difference between the comic book fandoms and the Tolkien fandom. To the comic book people, I would probably be a poser.

I found this on Tumblr, a while back:

NEW MARVEL FANS: Hi, I'm new here.
OLD MARVEL FANS: Wow, you must be a poser, then.
NEW TOLKIEN FANS: Hi, I'm new here.
OLD TOLKIEN FANS: You're one of us now. You can't turn back.
--
NEW MARVEL FANS: Wow, these actors sure are hot.
OLD MARVEL FANS: You're only here for the hot guys, you must be a poser.
NEW TOLKIEN FANS: Wow, these actors sure are hot.
OLD TOLKIEN FANTS: Now you've got the right idea.
--
NEW MARVEL FANS: I didn't read the comics.
OLD MARVEL FANS: Poser.
NEW TOLKIEN FANS: I didn't read the books.
OLD TOLKIEN FANS: It's okay. Some people just don't have time for that, but you should try it one day.
--
NEW MARVEL FANS: I am going to make a cosplay.
OLD MARVEL FANS: You just want attention.
NEW TOLKIEN FANS: I am going to make a cosplay.
OLD TOLKIEN FANS: Oh, we don't cosplay in this fandom. We embrace our true forms.

'Nuff said.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

I Don't Even Know Why I Am Posting This

...Yet I am.

Here is my Official Guide to the Bathrooms On the UNA Campus, provided out of the graciousness of my heart for all the high schoolers who inundate our campus with their screeching and irreverence and who may or may not be considering attending UNA.

This review concerns the girls' restrooms only of course. For obvious reasons. Also, girls are more likely to care about this sort of things than guys.

Collier Library has the best bathrooms. They are always very clean and tidy; they are not cramped; and there are enough stalls so that it is never crowded. In fact, they are my favorite bathrooms on campus and I will walk across campus in order to go there rather than in a building that is not so great in that department.
NOTE: I am speaking about the bathrooms on the second/first floor (depends on whether you use the European or American numbering system in this regard). The basement bathroms are not so nice. The faucets work backwards and will spray water up on you upon the slightest of provocation.

In my experience, the bathrooms in the math building are the worst. It seemed to me that the girls' bathroom hasn't been repaired since it was part of Kilby. Once it was flooded. You have to hold the faucet with one hand to keep it steady while you turn the knob with the other. I have sworn never to go there again.

I would also like to say that rumors that the bathrooms in the Guillot are haunted by... what's her name... the ghost of the girl that hung herself... ah, well, I have never seen her in the mirror, at any rate. Those bathrooms are fairly well-kept and but at certain times can become very crowded. Particularly when said high schoolers flood campus.

The bathrooms in Stevens are very tiny and cramped, and they are also liable to be crowded with people right after/before class changes. I have also sworn never to go there again if I can help it after an incident in which the queue extended right out the door.

I have only ever been to the bathroom in Floyd once, and I found it tiny and disreputable-looking. I will also never go there again if I can help it- and, in fact, the one time I did go it was because I had no time to walk across campus to go somewhere else.

The bathrooms in Bibb Graves are rather cramped for space. Also, a lot of the times some girl has brushed her hair over the sink and there are hairs in it. Even I know better than to do that. (I also do not obsessively brush my hair.) I wonder how often the drains are clogged. Also, these bathrooms tend to be crowded just before/after class change.

The bathrooms in Keller are generally roomy and well-kept, but also have a tendency to be crowded. Also, some of the toilet paper dispenser are held together with scotch tape and spit; if you bump them the side may come off and attack you at a very... inopportune moment. Just sayin'.

Of course, almost every building has the obligatory stall whose latch does not work. This is when heavy backpacks are useful for holding the door shut.

Thank you for reading this Official Guide to the Bathrooms On the UNA Campus! I hope this has be very informative and helpful to you as you consider colleges across the country.

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Some More Stuff I Did In My Spare Time

As you no doubt know, if you've looked at my blog at all, I got my hands on a DVD of TH:AUJ yesterday, and memes happened.

We watched it last night. I managed to keep my comments to a minimum so family members who had not yet seen it could hear what was going on, so I was not threatened with duct tape, mercifully. However, I did go through it again today so I could pause it on favorite parts, look at stuff in the background, and take screenshots. Lots of screenshots.

And memes happened.

Bofur is the Boromir of The Hobbit as far as having the most memetically mutating lines. "Think furnace, with wings!" and Ridiculously Lovely Bofur and the Hat and it goes on and on...

This is one of my brother's favorite lines to quote. Whenever someone does something silly, stupid, or otherwise questionable, he is liable to pop up and say, "Thorin Oakenshield will not be responsible for your fate," or some permutation thereof. So, naturally, I knew I had to make a meme of it. I would actually be really happy if this one became memetic, as I can think of instances in Real Life where I could justify saying this.

For some reason, the image of Bofur trying to smoke his pipe in the rain (while on horseback, mind you... or should that be ponyback?) always gets me. I find myself telling the screen, "Ain't gonna work, honey," and (even stranger) not feeling very apologetic about it...

This is another meme I would like to catch on. Bofur should be memetic for many things: his Hat, his Ridiculously Lovely status, the 'furnace with wings' line and his 'well, that could have been worse' optimism. I have made two other memes with this picture headed by 'Optimism' with something at the bottom; I'll post them some time in the next few days.

Of course, seeing as how I am trying to start a trend, it will never catch on.

Now I just need to learn how to make gifs. Problem is, if and when I do learn how, I will inundate my blog with Fili gifs. I took a lot of screenshots of him, come to think of it... *innocent smile*

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

IT'S HEEEEEERE!

So, guess what comes out today and what I am going to go buy as soon as my last class is over?

Yeah... My original plan was to wait until the extended editions come out in October or November, but it should be little surprise that my patience cannot tolerate that long of a wait. I think my laptop can play a Blu-Ray (I have never had it explained to me how a Blu-Ray is different in its operating system than a DVD, especially as they are outwardly similar), but I'm not going to bother chancing it just in case. So we'll save that for the EE and just get the DVD for now. Plus, it's cheaper.

I did consider the special Target version, which comes with a LEGO minifigure of Bilbo. Then I figured that it's not worth the extra $5 just to get a mini of Bilbo when he doesn't even actually wear a blue jacket with a red waistcoat as far as I can remember. However, stills from the set indicate that he may get a blue coat in Laketown. That will, of course, send the Bagginshield shippers wild as up till now blue has been pretty much a Durin color (Thorin and Kili, in other words).

Gah.

Someday I need to post my thoughts on Why Fanatical Shipping Is Evil. Now, I recognize that deep down in her heart every fangirl is a shipper, but I prefer to ship Canon and Sanity. (This becomes hard with fandoms like Fire Emblem, where in many cases there is no official pairing. And so it degenerates into squabbles over which character is a better tactical unit and which support is best.)

The only fandom I can think right off the bat in which I do not ship Canon is Avatar: The Last Airbender. And that is because I ship Sanity before Canon. I'm sorry, but Kataang scares me. Aang is 12 and not mature enough.

YES, I'M A ZUTARAN AND I'M NOT EVEN SORRY, LALALALALA...

Anyway. Now that we have composed ourselves like gentlemen (or gentleladies... is that actually a word? Huh... I don't guess it is. But I don't care! It should be!)

Of course, I am still a tad upset that UNA did not show The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for its movie night. (Even if I think Brave is better than most of Disney's latest offerings.) However, since this has forced me to get the movie in order to sate my cravings for Majestic!Thorin and Wannabe Majestic!Kili and the bravest little hobbit of them all, Bilbo. So I suppose I should be thankful.

I really think that all the initial negative media reception for The Hobbit is reponsible for the lack of interest. On the other hand, however much the critics complained about Radagast (personally, I believe he is the epitome of Crazy Awesome), 48 frames per second (I would love to see this), and 3D (which was sort of a let-down for me- I think 48 fps would remedy that- but which I see no need to complain about if you can view it in both 2D and 3D anyway), Azog, and various other issues, the fans seem to love it.

If I can escape being bashed with a one-volume edition of LOTR (and that's over 1000 pages, mind you), I would actually venture to say that TH: AUJ was better than the LOTR films in some respects. I actually appreciate the lighter tone. (Leaving aside my whole beef that The Hobbit as a book suffers in some respects by being insistently marketed as a children's book. Sure, children can love it, but I appreciate it more now than I ever did when I first read it five or so years ago.) The 13 Dwarves are infinitely more entertaining and loveable than the Fellowship was. (Don't get me wrong. I was a huge fan of Aragorn and Legolas. I'm gaining a new appreciation for hobbits and for Gimli. I am starting to admire Gandalf. And the movie changed me from someone who didn't care about Boromir to someone who considers his death probably the most moving scene in the trilogy.)

But the thing is- I really don't mind so much what they do to the plot was what they do to the characters!

Books, I think, should have plots that grow naturally out of the characters' personalities and decisions rather than plots that just happen via random circumstances, to which the characters take a back seat. So I don't mind so much that Faramir took Frodo, Sam, and Gollum to Osgiliath in TTT as I do the fact that Frodo and Sam lie to Faramir ("There was no other."). I don't mind the fact that the people of the Riddermark take refuge at Helm's Deep rather than Dunharrow as much as the fact that Theoden went on a spiel about how Rohan shouldn't help Gondor because Gondor didn't help them. I want to scream at the screen every time: "HELLO! Your ancestors swore ON THE PAINS OF HELL to aid Gondor in its hour of need! And the Steward of Gondor swore BY GOD to do the same for you! You had better get your butt and 6,000 Riders to Anorien pronto!"

So, yeah. I don't mind the plot changes so much because I know that some things have to be sacrificed for simplification in a cinematic adapation. What I do mind is when the characters' personalities get mangled. Then I'm up in arms.

Sad to say, the LOTR films mangled several personalities. Elrond was grumpy, not "as kind as summer" and seemed to dislike Aragorn (remedied somewhat in the EE's) instead of considering him as another son. Aragorn is more doubtful. Eomer is neglected. (As I am a proud member of Team Eomer - Since When Did Jacob or Edward Ever Bring Down An Oliphaunt Single-Handedly?, this really rankles with me.) Etc., etc.

TH:AUJ didn't do that. In fact, since pretty much only Gandalf, Thorin, and Bilbo had personalities in the book, there was little they could do wrong. It was, as (I think) John Callen, who plays Oin, said: "We could look at it in either of two ways: 'Egads, we've got nothing to work with!' or 'Egads, we've got carte blanche!'"  And so they created 13 Dwarves that we have all fallen in love with and actually care about.

Who cares about whether or not Azog should be alive or whether Radagast should have a bunny sled or not when Elrond is nice and Gandalf is perfect and Bilbo is amazing and Thorin... and gah, with Thorin stealing the show?!

So, as a conclusion, I'd like to share this thing I found on Deviantart by ~yourparodies:

 

Okay, it's too tiny to read. So click on it instead, and it will lead you to the person's Deviantart page. Once you're there, click on the picture again and it will expand big enough for you to read. Enjoy!

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

Because It Needs To Be Posted Again

A day may come when I stop generally goofing off on the Internet and practice my speech for tomorrow...

But it is not this day!

Just kidding. I've already practiced it twice and I should run through it again (it's so hard for me to practice with a webcam; there's a very strong temptation to just start laughing hysterically). I should make notecards. However, I have a crippling fear of (1) not being able to read my own writing due to its tiny size, light pencilling, and general sloppiness- this is a legitimate fear (2) mixing up my notecards- also a legitmate fear and (3) the fact that this would keep me looking down at my hands instead of out at the audience. It doesn't help that that room doesn't even have a podium I could line up my cards on.

At the very least, I could hide behind the podium. When you're short, you can do things like that.

No such luck, however.

Other legitmate fears are that I will become nervous and start talking more quickly, thus preventing anyone from understanding what I'm saying and causing me to run under the time limit (again) or that I will forget what I was supposed to be saying and instead just start rambling on meaningless things, causing me to run over the time limit (again). Goodness. It's a good thing I've already taken speech or I would be majorly freaking out at this point. It is also good that we are not to use any PowerPoints because all the overachievers in class would have nice, pretty, well-organized PowerPoints and I would be the only one (again) to not have a PowerPoint and who also couldn't even remember to bring a poster about my topic.

Story of my life. I fail when it comes to technology. Ah, well, let's just hope that I can make someone laugh or at least smile tomorrow. I am a firm believer in the power of humor. I always try to be funny during my speeches, because I think that an amused audience relaxes the speaker and also puts the audience in a more kindly disposition towards the speaker- and a happy audience is potentially a more attentive audience.

And, why, yes, I am attempting to exorcise my fears by blogging about them. It helps sometimes, y'know? I put a lot of myself into my writings. I put some of my traits into my characters occasionally- even my negative traits. Actually, I think recognizing my own negative traits and dealing with them by describing them in another helps me to identify my own behavior in that regard and avoid it in the future. See? My writing is therapeutic.

I have also looked up the requirements for a chemical engineering degree at other colleges. I am now suitably intimidated and want to go hide under a couch somewhere. I am really afraid that I will change my major and then not like chemistry and math, as irrational as that fear may be. We can't all be mad scientists.

I just think this gif is funny. I'm not actually like that. In fact, I spend time on a regular basis trying to convince my little brother that chemistry is not all about boiling strangely-colored liquids, evaporating solutions into tubes, and bringing dead bodies back to life with lightning. (Because, of course, Lightning Can Do Anything!)

In Pace Christi,

Elyse

Stuff I Do In My Spare Time

...For instance, I make memes.

I have learned that (duh) I can do the simplest of edits on Paint (although I loathe that program) to some of my Middle-earth pictures, and thus create memes! Here is what I have come up with all by myself (sort of) today. And they are not all Middle-earth.

 

 

 

So, yeah, congratulations to me for figuring out how to capture an image, load it on Paint, and add text. I'm so accomplished. I can even embroider cushions.

 

(Sorry, watched the newest Pride and Prejudice last night. The embroidered cushions bit and what defines an accomplished lady never fails to amuse me. Mr. Bingley is so adorkable in that scene. In fact, he is adorkable in EVERY scene he is in.)

 

I'm not going to say that no one can use these memes I made because (1) I recognize that they are on the Internet and someone will do it regardless and (2) I don't own the images to begin with. I just scribbled on them. If you want to take advantage of my terrible editing skills I say (1) sure, go right ahead and (2) I feel sorry for you.

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

More From Cardinal Batman

As you regular readers of my blog (haha) may know, I am an ardent fan of Catholic Memes and one of my favorites of their offerings is this meme of Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York:

 

Appparently, he keeps a blog of sorts, and he was quoted in it by Our Sunday Visitor as saying, concerning the papal elections: "Please God, I'll be home by Palm Sunday. ...If I'm in Rome longer, please send peanut butter. You can't get it there."

 

Cardinal Timmy, ladies and gentlemen. Do you need any other reasons why I was rooting for him for the papacy?

 

Also, while I was looking up information on Pope Francis and pictures of him, I stumbled across this amusing article on CatholicVote.org. I don't know much about baseball; what I do know is what I have managed to remember from my sister talking about the Atlanta Braves. However, I did know that the Astros are having a bad season, to put it mildly, and so the picture of the article and its caption amused me greatly.

 

Here. I'll share it for you, along with the entertaining caption, if Google (which I routinely wish to kill) will let me:

 

+Dolan, organizing the Vatican City Cardinals baseball team? They could probably beat the Astros.

 

Catholics just have a better sense of humor. XD

 

In Pace Christi,

 

Elyse

Pi Day!

Today is Pi Day!

Pi, as in, you know, 3.1415926 or something like that. An irrational number, its digits receding indefinitely into the distance. Today is March (3) the 14th, so Happy Pi Day! XD It's a typically nerdy thing to celebrate.

To celebrate Pi Day, my brother is making a pie. An apple pie. I helped peel the apples, which is kind of funny since we are both bad with peeling fruits and vegetables. I have had a very hard time learning to not peel with the knife facing away from my thumb, but I have progressed.

My sister is still faster than me. Of course, she spends the most time of any of us kids actually cooking. I tend to do the cleaning up. Which is fine by me, because I understand cleaning up. That is not to say that I do not understand cooking. I can follow recipies quite well. And I am pretty good at making brownies and cookies and stuff like that. The good stuff, in other words.

No, we're not putting 3.14 on the pie. As far as I know. But it will taste good. Very good. He has made it before and so needless to say we did not need much of an excuse to beg for an encore...

What would make it even better would be if it were an (un)expected party!

Bofur, that is not where the turkey belongs...

I saw on TheOneRing.net a thread about who would you invite to your expected party, if you could only invite nine people from Middle-earth?

Well, here's my list.

Fili and Kili. This should be obvious. I'm sure they would be lots of fun. Also, it would ensure ninja dwarves would help me do the dishes.

I would not invite Thorin. He's a party-pooper. Granted, he is majestic and regal and all that, but he is a majestic, regal party-pooper. He just has to knock on the door to send the happiest crowd into silence. So, no, not inviting him, even if he would help keep his troublesome nephews in line.

Balin. He's basically Dwarf Santa Claus. Everyone wants him as an extra grandfather. Plus, I'm sure he has baby pictures of Fili and Kili (and possibly Thorin) he could be persuaded to show. This would be vastly amusing.

Dwalin. He plays the viol/fiddle/whatever it was, and although he, to quote James Nesbitt, "goes completely mad when he parties," he'd probably be a lot of fun as well. Plus, he could help keep Fili and Kili off the tables in the absence of Thorin. After all, he babysat them; he can keep them in line.

Yes, someone asked Graham McTavish on Twitter if he had babysat Fili and Kili when they were small. His response: "Sometimes I feel like I still am!" He's great about answering fan questions. Someone also asked him what Thorin whispered to him when they arrived in Rivendell. He said: " 'We use the toilet and then we leave.'" So, naturally, this was the result...

Well, that makes four. Who else?

Bofur. Perhaps I could steal his hat, just for a moment or two so I could try it on. He could bring his whistle and there would be a re-enatment of "Blunt the Knives".

Bifur. Because the so-called 'axe Dwarf' is really sweet and does the dishes for you! I wouldn't understand a word he said since it would be all in Khuzdul, but I'd make sure there were plenty of vegetables and fruits for him, since he's vegetarian. We'd provide a beer mug so he could fill it with lettuce.

Or, if he wanted to roast his silverbeet (a legitimate New Zealand vegetable) over a campfire to get that smoky taste, I'm sure we could arrange something, as well.

So that makes six. Who else?

Well, I think Gandalf would also be a good guest. My house would not be too small for him, thus causing him to bump his head on chandeliers and door frames, and red wine could be requested. Maybe he could even be persuaded to play magic tricks with smoke rings and let off a few of his 'whizzpoppers', as Bilbo called them.

Seven! We need two more.

Ori! We shouldn't leave the adorkable baby geek dwarf out of this. Perhaps he could be persuaded to show us his sketchbook. Certainly he'd have a bit more fun without Dori constantly looking over his shoulder, insisting that he eat more greens. Nope, no Dori for me! And no Nori, because although I think he would an entertaining guest he would probably still all the silverware and sausages.

Hmm. One more. Who else?

Let's just go with Bombur. It'd be rude to invite his brother and his cousin and not him, and he could also help me cook. Of course, he'd eat most of the food himself, but since I've already listed eight dwarves... in for a penny, in for a pound, or however the saying goes. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry about eating the leftovers for a week afterward!

So that is who would come to my expected party!

*sigh* If only it were real...

I'll be waiting...

In Pace Christi,

Elyse