Monday, February 18, 2013

A List of Favoritism in Cats

  1. Katie
  2. Percy
  3. Fred
  4. Crookshanks
  5. Peeves
  6. George
  7. Hermione
  8. Harry 
(For a post on the cats I own, please click here.)

Saturday, February 16, 2013

My Favorite TV Shows (When I was Little)

When I was little I watched tv shows constantly. I would say that I watched it more than I didn't (with breaks for sleeping). This went until I was about six, and then I started kindergarten, and I started learning important stuff like reading and writing and math. Like any little kid, I had these particular shows that I watched.

Because I homeschool, and also because I have to babysit Trelawney--my littlest sister--sometimes, I watch these shows again. Most of them I remember, and I'm not afraid to tell you that I like watching them. It's a weird sort of nostalgia. 


The first show that I watched was Little Bear. Recently I learned that Suzanne Collins (author of the Hunger Games) actually produced/wrote this show. I was very interested to learn that Suzanne has entertained me my whole life.

Anyway, Little Bear is about this bear who lives in the woods and plays with his friends: Duck, Chicken, Cat, Owl, and seasonally a human named Emily, and a monkey named Mimzy. It's very old-fashioned and pioneer-y, and so though there is electricity, Little Bear and his family carry around oil lamps, pump water, and garden by hand. 

I think I liked this show because it was always different, and also, I could just watch it, instead of being expected to interact with it like other shows, like Dora.


I also frequently watched Oswald. Oswald is about this octopus and his dog, and they go around being polite to everybody. I remember there was this one episode where Oswald grows a banana tree in his house, and overnight it grows the biggest banana in the history of bananas, so he goes around town giving away all of his banana because he can't eat it all. At the end of the day, Oswald doesn't have a single bit of his fruit left, and as he's dejectedly walking across the park with his dog all the people he gave to that day have all set up booths, giving Oswald all of the stuff they made out of his banana. 


Little Bill comes next. I can't really say what Little Bill is about, except for the fact that he's in kindergarten, has a bunch of friends, owns a pet hamster named Elephant, and is a total fanboy when it comes to this superhero named Captain Brainstorm. I guess it is about the adventures a little kid can have, while obeying his parents and staying safe, following traffic rules, learning how to read, etc.

There are a lot of underlying themes in this show (as with any little kid series) about being a good child. In fact, I can't remember any times in all the episodes I watched where Little Bill told a lie, or did anything that would provoke getting punished. He got quite a bit overexcited at times, and got scolded, but most of the time the show goes smooth sailing. 


Next comes Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. MatB is about this little girl who has two friends: a beast, respectively named Beast, and a pig named Hamilton, who lives in a cardboard box. The box he lives in was always a wonder to me as a child; it's a lot like Marry Poppins's bag, because you never know what inside it, and it holds more things than its shape lets on. 

Anyway, they live in Nowhere Land, and everyday Maggie comes over and they go on an adventure. The adventure varies from each episode-- Nowhere land has a lot of mass, and so there is a beach, and also a pumpkin patch, and a place for lost toys, and there is even a place where a big giant lives. 

Now that I'm older I heavily suspect that the whole show takes place in Maggie's imagination. I think this is because she always comes over when it's daylight out, the place has no end and has no other humans in it, both Hamilton and The Beast look up to her as a role model and are complete oafs without her, and one time she even brought her triplet cousins over (who coincidentally wandered into the giant's land and ate some of his strawberries).

That said, I still really liked this show, and I will probably watch another episode of it sometime soon--don't judge.


Finally--though I could go on forever--I end with Blue's Clues. Blues Clues is about this teenager named Steve who owns a blue, animated dog named Blue. Blue and Steve live in a hideously furnished home filled with objects that aren't inanimate. Because Blue can't speak to Steve, she has devised a way to tell him exactly what she's trying to say, by putting "paw prints" on three items that she thinks will most likely lead to one specific idea. 

I know I watched this show more often than I should have, because my older sister Hope went completely bonkers about it. When I was four days old (really) I went trick-or-treating as Blue, my sister as Blue's best friend and neighbor, Magenta. Unfortunately, that night it rained and so I went home with my mom basically as soon as things got started, and Hope wore my costume when hers got wet and magically transformed into Blue.

The aforementioned animate objects sometimes played a big role in the show. Most important of which were Mr. Mailbox, who delivered mail, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, who had two children later on who weren't salt/pepper mixes but completely different spices, and a clock named Clock (original). 

Later on Steve goes to "college", and his brother Joe takes over the ropes. Joe likes squares, and has a big stuffed duck named Morris. By the time Joe stepped in I was really dead-set on liking Steve, and decided not to trust Joe. Plus, around that time I was six or seven, and thought that those types of shows were for babies. 

Now I really wish I could go back to when I was littler. It was simpler back then.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

The Time I Spent All Day Drawing Valentines.

Well, it's Valentine's Day again, and once more nothing has happened. I'm still as single as ever before... but don't think that throws me. Silly attempts to make me feel bad about my singularity don't work on me.

Today is just another day, except this day happens to garner a lot of hype with tv commercials and sections of stores decorated all frilly pink and lace and busting to the brim with chocolate.

I am currently making valentines for my family and friends (though none-the-less by the time you read this post I'll be finished), and I thought I would take a break for a bit to write a blog post. I pinned a bunch of ideas for valentines on pinterest this year so that they would all be in a single place, but due to certain circumstances that I'm not allowed to tell you about I am left without a printer for today (and today only--when I actually NEED it).

So I decided that I would have to draw them. Here are a few pictures, taken on a phone, so sorry if you can't read the words.


Here are others that I wanted to draw, but couldn't do them because they are gifs/ no one would understand them besides me.


I hope that everybody's day has been great so far, and that you guys are happy.

Good night!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Bits and Pieces: February

Picture/ Photo Find:



Something I Did:

 I watched a bunch of Hayao Miyazaki films over the past few weeks. Back at a camp  last November, I met someone who was really into Japanese culture/ anime (she'd even spent a month in Japan that past summer). She had this pack of cards that we played with, and they had these anime characters on it from a movie that I sort of recognized but didn't know anything about. 

She explained that the movie was called Spirited Away, and that it was her favorite.

Back when I was six or seven my mom brought home one of Miyazaki's films called My Neighbor Totoro, and I really liked it. So I had a recollection that those movies weren't bad, and I wanted to watch another one.

Anyway, turns out Hope's boyfriend happens to own a lot of Miyazaki films, including Spirited Away. I borrowed the movie from him and watched it the other day. Though it was definitely weird, I really liked it all the same. 

leejayjee.tumblr.com

I went back to Rhett's house the next day and borrowed Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and My Neighbor Totoro.

One thing I really like about every one of his movies is how creative and original the plots are. For example, Howl's Moving Castle is about a girl named Sophie who gets turned into an old lady, becomes a housekeeper for a magician named Howl in a moving castle, and befriends a talking fire, a spy dog, a cursed prince, and the very witch who turned her into an old lady in the first place. Of course, Sophie doesn't stay old, and the way that it's handled is very good.


It's really hard to choose a favorite out of all of them, because there are aspects of every film that I adore. So I guess I'll just leave it at that. 


A Writer Thing:

I took nearly a month long hiatus during January. It wasn't planned or anything, I just didn't really feel like writing--call me lazy. I'm ready to return now, and so this month (though it's half over), I definitely plan to cover some ground on Mermaidens, as well as now-untitled-redraft of The Glass Girl.

I'm not going to make it a goal, or announce anything, because when I do the goal usually doesn't end up getting accomplished and I feel like a failure. So for now it's just word of mouth. 


Horse-ly Horse:

 Nearly a month ago, in January, Peso injured himself.

Before surgery.
We keep our goats in the pen next to his, and we feed them alfalfa so that their milk will taste good. Peso enjoys alfalfa too, and so after I finished milking and left he tried to reach over the fence for it, and ended up kicking the fence down. That would be fine, except that when he tried to go through the fence, he got stuck between the barn wall and the fence, and ended up cutting his side pretty badly. 

 Several vet calls, surgery, some trials involving Peso refusing to eat his pain-killer, and daily hose-downs later, Peso has returned to his normal personality. Of course, it will be a few months yet before he will be completely healed, but we're definitely lucky that it didn't turn out worse than it did.

After surgery


Song I Can't Stop Listening To:



"Lego House", by Ed Sheeran

Monday, February 11, 2013

Cool Things

One perk of spending a lot of time on the internet is that I find a ton of cool stuff that I want to get. I figured it would be a good idea to compile some of these into a nice post.

1. Globe Necklace


2. Snow Globe Ring


3. Skeleton Keys


4. Cat Scarf



5. Cute Measuring Cups


6. Whale Ring


7. Galaxy Shirt


 Of course, if I bought all this stuff, I would be broke--more than broke. It's incredible how much some of these things cost. For example, the galaxy sweater is $64, and the globe necklace is $20. I couldn't find the prices for everything else (also, skeleton keys don't exactly have a price. They just look nice).

What stuff have you found that you would like to buy?

Sunday, February 10, 2013

A Rapunzel Poster

Hello, it's February. Where has 2013 gone so far? It seems like just a few hours ago that I was counting down the time to the new year, and now Valentine's Day is coming up fast. 

My sister Hope and her boyfriend celebrated their one year anniversary today. While they were out on a date in the next town over, I was--as per usual--doing nothing on my bed. I listened to a lot of music, and that's it. It was a very lazy Sunday, and because of this I'm not very excited to wake up early tomorrow and go to school.

I'm a little tired of my usual routine. In the mood of changing this up a little, I completely picked up my room and decorated one of my blank walls (it's still not done, but I'll get it done eventually). I have a few paintings taped up, a little card of a 20s era silent film star, a crucifix, and my sister's birthday card to me. 

One poster that I have had my eyes on for a while is this precious, which crosses two of my favorite things:

  
Tangled is my favorite movie (it's right next to The Avengers). I don't know why I prefer it over other Disney films. Maybe it's because all of the songs are catchy and nice, and it's such a nice remake of my least favorite fairy tale that it's refreshing. 

Anyway, I love it.

I'm also a big fan of Doctor Who, and I can totally imagine Rapunzel as a companion. Her legacy could be strung through time in legends--plus, it would be the escape she really wants from her tower.

Maybe if I have enough money I'll get it.