Friday, October 28, 2011

St. Jude: Happy feast day!


Happy Feast Day to our Heavenly Older Brother, St. Jude Thaddeus!

Thank  you, St. Jude, for answering every request I've made to you, most importantly and most recently, my prayer request for my co-worker to find a new home after she and her roommate were evicted. She was able to find a place to rent comfortably within her salary. 

If you ever feel you are in a desperate, almost despaired-of situation, consider this powerful novena to the tireless intercessor, St. Jude


St. Jude, pray for us!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Restless


An anticipated surprise.

There's an oxymoron.

If you anticipate a surprise, it isn't a surprise anymore.

It's like expecting the unexpected.


Not literally possible.

So...why am I waiting for a surprise?

I hear a noise behind me, and my petty, gift-loving self perks up its ears and says, "Is that somebody about to surprise me!?"

I think that must be a sign of progressing insanity.

Why on earth do I keep thinking someone, or something, is going to surprise me?

Why am I  waiting for something special?

Do I really deserve something out of the ordinary...something surprising?


Is it wrong to long for surprise?

Should I go looking for my own kind of surprise...or make my own?


Am I unhappy with the ordinary? Am I bored? Or do I need to climb up onto my desk and look at everything from a different perspective?

So many questions...and what is it I'm waiting for?

When you're young, there is so much to anticipate, that sometimes it negates what has happened, and more importantly, what is happening. I think maybe that's what's happening now.

Maybe my expectations have swallowed up my existence.

"Our hearts are restless until they rest in You, oh Lord."
--St. Augustine



Dear God, please help me to let go of this need for something besides You. This restlessness, this need to be jolted awake, this desire for surprise, I believe You have placed it within me. Help me to turn the entirety of this desire to You, in Whom alone my heart can find rest. Let every restless heart find peace in You, oh Lord. Let us anticipate Your love and Your call above all else. Amen.

"There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ."
--Pope Benedict XVI

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

NaNoWriMo: On Omitted Tales

I love my mother.

She used one of her much-coveted credits on Paperback Swap to get me The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, Volume II by Jack Zipes.

Best book ever.

Within this legendary volume of magical mischief, Jack Zipes included something I had never heard of before:

OMITTED TALES.

So. What is an 'omitted tale'?

According to Jack Zipes, it is a tale that was removed from the original collection of Grimm Fairy tales due to similarities to other tales, similarities to tales by other people (like Hans Christian Anderson), because it was too gory, or because it was incomplete. 

For NaNoWriMo this year, I am re-writing a story called The Lion and the Frog, a tale that was omitted due to similarities to other tales. But this one is seriously fantastic. It involves faithful familial love between a brother and a sister, talking animals, magical secret gardens, and a world of sick, marvelous fan-fiction possibilities!! 

*pause for maniacal laughter*

I know WHY this tale was omitted...but I don't UNDERSTAND it. Its awesome. Its better than a lot of the ones it's 'similar' too.

But who am I to judge an age-old decision to axe a story?

All I can say is I am extremely grateful Jack Zipes found and included this story in his edition. 

ONLY 6 DAYS LEFT....

Monday, October 24, 2011

Reasons for Rejoicing

Why rejoice?

Why bother?

Life is full of awful things; rape, theft, murder, betrayal, denial, greed, selfishness, accidents, disasters, suffering, misery, despair, and ultimately: death.

So, why rejoice?

As Christians, we are practically ORDERED to rejoice:


"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I sayRejoice." Philippians 4:4


But obviously we can't rejoice without a reason. 


So the question is:


IS there a reason to rejoice.


Yes. Yes, there is.


My reason for rejoicing is that I have been given hope. I have hope that God's love never fails, and will never abandon me or forsake me, no matter what I do. No matter how hopeless I seem or how alone I may feel, I have hope that by God's grace, I will make it to Heaven where I will never be afraid again.


This is the reason for my hope. And I rejoice.

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." - 1 Peter 3:15


God bless NET team #7 and the DYC staff who put on an amazing retreat for my diocese yesterday. Thank you for your love and example; thank you for reminding us to rejoice.

Ah-HA!

Tangled.

I think I finally found someone who said what I was trying to express about my feelings for this movie.

http://popsophia.blogspot.com/2011/09/heavens-light-supernatural-in-disneys_19.html

This is beautiful, and sums up all the feelings that bubble up inside me every time I watch it.

**this makes me happy**

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Composition Qtr 1 Week 7, Movie Critic

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Vs. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
            The two films The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief are from the same year (2010), the same genre (fantasy), the same film studio (Disney), and have many fundamental similarities. However, they have many more technical differences that put them leagues apart in quality.
            Both movies merge action and fantasy and appealed to a broad spectrum of ages and interests. They both used the tried and true ‘misfit becomes hero’ formula; both the heroes of the movies, Percy Jackson and Dave Stutler, were always different from the people around them and many times questioned their own sanity because of unexplainable circumstances their unique gifts led to. Interestingly, both characters were from New York City, too.
            The Lightning Thief, based on Rick Riordan’s New York Times bestseller series*, came out in February 2010. Starring in it were Logan Lerman and Pierce Brosnan. The movie got a lot of hype because of the large fan base the book series has. Taken completely aside from the fact that it deviated from the book, the movie was overall very disappointing, especially when compared to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The special effects were rather poor, especially scenes that could have been so much more visually stunning. The plot wasn’t well conveyed and often relied on random humor to keep you interested. A pet peeve of mine is when you can obviously tell people are ‘acting’. There were a lot of scenes where the actors didn’t express enough emotion to convince you of the story. The intensity and action were inconsistent throughout, and the romance between Percy Jackson (Lerman) and Annabeth Chase (Alexandra Daddario) was unconvincing. The ending was semi-satisfying, but left you wanting a sequel just to more strongly conclude it.
            The Sorcerer’s Apprentice came out three months later in July. Starring in it were Nicholas Cage and Jay Baruchel. It was based off of a clip from a Disney Fantasia video. The special effects were incredible and very well-done, especially considering how many parts with animals they had in it, along with a very realistic dragon. The story was conveyed well and very smoothly. The actors reacted realistically to events and kept everything both believable and enjoyable. The action was consistent, and the humor was witty and well distributed throughout the movie. Dave Stutler’s (Baruchel) relationship with Becky Barnes (Teresa Palmer) developed believably and both of them were a little bit awkward, which was a fun relief from the stereo-typical movie couple. The ending was gratifying, but also left hints that might someday lead to a sequel of some sort.
            Every movie needs good plot, good characters, good action, and, yes, good romance. Overall, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice much more satisfyingly delivered on every level than The Lightning Thief. Certain scenes in The Lightning Thief were truly fantastic, particularly the scene in the Lotus Casino, and certain elements of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice were disappointing, and the plot could have been more thoroughly developed. Taken as a whole, while I enjoyed both movies, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was much more enchanting and thrilling, and it’s one that I could easily watch again and again.


*Note: I made every effort to honestly assess the movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which was overall disappointing, but this review was not written to the effect that the movie didn’t do the books justice, but expresses my actual feelings about the movie on its own. I would just like to say, however, now that the essay is done, that the book series by Rick Riordan is amazing beyond all reason, and no, the movie did NOT do it justice.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Looking forward to: NaNoWriMo 2011!



Never heard of NaNoWriMo? Check it out!

I am getting VERY excited for November! Like, screaming, checking the website, dancing around, trying to find a friend to do it with who won't totally BAIL on me excited (Meg, Kat, Mary Kat, Anna, Ames...I'M LOOKING AT YOU!!).

Right now I'm perusing the NaNo world, getting maniacal pleasure out of my solidarity with other writing fanatics. Is that so wrong?

I've got my plot chosen and I'm raring to go. All I DON'T have at this point is a title for the book. The working title is The Lion and the Frog, but I also like the title Eden. I'll figure it out.

I know that after I won last year, many people (hi, Mom...) might not understand why I want to do it again so badly. Well....it was fun! It was amazingly cool to see how many other people love to write, and I really enjoyed seeing a book (a lousy book, but still a book!) come forth from a month of effort.

Can't wait for November....

Sunday, October 2, 2011

One Thing Remains


You should have heard 1,000+ people singing this song.

Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me...