Very Similary Song Melodies... hmm...

does anyone else notice a considerable similarity between these two songs?

From Pirates of the Caribbean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMsdON76Z_Y&feature=related

and

From The Last of the Mohicans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiXY7X_bcfo

In the air there's a feeling...

Christmas Eve. Already? Awesome!

For some reason this year I feel towards Christmas similar to how I did as a kid. Why? I dunno. Because I want to maybe? Nothing outrageously special is happening this year, but I've had more time to get psyched for the holidays this year because I haven't had to focus on traveling and such. Which means I've been able to help decorate and plan and play lots and lots and lots of Christmas music.

The one flaw in my extra-time to get ready scheme, is the one thing I forgot. Christmas presents! Yeah, I know. Kinda the elephant in the room, but still, I have been blissfully oblivious to the clock running low on my shopping. In my family, because we have such a big family--especially since siblings-in-law and the brand new third generation have been added--we've begun a tradition of drawing names so that no one person feels responsible to supply presents for the whole posse. It works. Kinda... I always feel the need to get something, even something small, for everybody who is going to be coming to the house for Christmas. I want to give them something. More for me than them I guess. So, while I have sent off presents to my drawn name--my sister in Kentucky--a few days ago I realized that I didn't have presents for ANYONE else, with one four days to shop. So far I've managed to scramble something together for everyone except my dad. He is impossible to shop for. The clock is still ticking on that one.

In the mean time I'm getting pumped about everything else I going on. In a few hours my oldest sister and younger brother will be arriving from KC (Sam flew in from Provo on Monday and he's been staying with Jo all week). I've been making sure everything that can be decorated is (until the deco runs out. we don't have a lot). I've been vacuuming and helping my mom straighten up all the spare rooms. I've been wrapping presents (not any easy tasks because most of my presents are insanely weird shaped). I've been prepping dishes and plans for food. And I've been running around with my camera, capturing everything. Especially the snow we got today! I woke up this morning to find the whole world turned into a marshmallow winter wonderland! YIPPEE! It's still snowing softly too! And I just spent the last 45 min. downstairs stoking the wood-burning stove. Oddly enough, while it can be a pain (it didn't want to light today), and often feels more like a chore than anything else, today it was kinda fun. A crackling wood fire in contrast to the fluffy, freezing world outside, combined with the fact that tomorrow is Christmas... yeah. Good stuff.

So now I'm just waiting for my siblings to arrive. In the meantime I probably should eat something... my stomach just reminded me that I forgot about breakfast entirely. And then I need to take a long, hot shower. And then get dressed in real clothes because I'm currently still in PJ's.

Ha ha ha... my dog is on the rug near my feet snoring and it's just kinda like the cherry on top.

The family Grocery Store closes early today, so everyone will be home tonight. (Everyone meaning my mom, dad, and me). And then tomorrow my brother and sister-in-law and nephew will be coming up a little before lunch. (They want to make homemade pizza for lunch. :D ). And then in the evening another of my sisters and her husband will be up for dinner. We'll miss Caleb and Gina (with child), and Char and Aaron, but at least we got to see them at Thanksgiving.

Sigh.

I think, whatever I decide to have for lunch, it will include a cup of hot chocolate.

And so everything seems to be going splendidly. I am determined to be jolly! And good reason too, because Christmas isn't any ordinary holiday. Always remember the "Reason for the Season." We're celebrating the birth of our Saviour and that's a good reason to be happy and sing songs! The angels even sang for joy!

So, to one, and to all, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Every one! :D Make it a good one!

p.s. pictures coming soon!

Playing with scissors: Fail.

So...

The plan had been, to grow my hair out long again. It hasn't been long in a couple of years. I like short hair on me, but I miss being able to pull it back or anything else with it.

As usual, my plan went horribly haywire. This time... I tried to trim my bangs. :O

I know, I know, I know. It was dumb. Tell me about it. I'm the one who has to live with it. Basically this is my explanation of my actions: when I last had my hair cut she trimmed a section of the hair close to my face shorter to add a little accent and "bangs" if you will. Well, as my hair has grown out, that chunk of hair continued to be shorter than everything else, but became long enough to not have any lift so it didn't really act like bangs anymore. It was annoying because when I'd do anything with my hair I'd have to pin that piece back separately to keep it from getting in the way. And it was just annoying. So I though, maybe I'll just trim off an inch or two so it will act like bangs again. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I'd been there as my hair was cut, so I tried to emulate what she had done. I forgot two major things. 1) to cut hair straight so that you get all the layers even, you should wet down the hair to make it stay in place. and 2) when you shorten hair, you release weight and your hair bounces up. Sooooooooo... when I meant to only cut off a few inches... it looks like I lightly butchered my bangs. So far I've continued to pin it back, in the hopes that it will grow and not look so bad. So far not enough time has passed to test this theory. But I'm still skeptical that it will work because of how uneven the cut is. And I refuse to try and trim it more because I'm pretty sure it will only get worse.

However, last night I was playing around, trying to find out what I could do with it, when I flipped my part over and had the bangs going all the way across my brow. The layers evened out and it didn't look bad. Still wildly uneven, but still, it made me think. I might need to get my hair cut professionally at this rate anyhow. I'm already half way there, so what if I were to follow through and get full fledged bangs? In the mirror it didn't look bad. In fact, I think I like it! I wouldn't want heavy bangs, just like, wispy ones, like Elinor in the new "Sense and Sensibility". But with two longer strands on either side to frame my face. Notice I stay strands.










Yeah. So if I'm going to have to cut my hair, and if I'm going to try and make use of this idiotic catastrophe of mine, I mine as well try something new and have fun with it. Now I just need to figure out the rest of my hair and get it done. My hairs to my shoulders now, so I might be able to have a few more options with the choice of cuts. We'll have to see.

These are a few pictures of cuts I kinda like so far. Any thoughts?

p.s. It's Dec. 24 and I've had time to think some more-
This is more what I want. This is so cool!

A song: On Behalf of Heroes

On Behalf of Heroes

Small towns each have their heroes,
Just like cities, in their way,
And though he was no superman
Will was there to save the day!

Every afternoon of summer,
In his tree fort by the brook
He'd map out his heroic deeds
In his secret hero's book.

At one o'clock he'd face a dragon.
At two he'd win a war.
At three he'd stop a run-away-train,
And he'd save the "high seas" 'til four.

And between each wild adventure,
Of blocking bad guys high and low,
Will would climb back to his tree fort
And survey the world below.

As he watched the people 'round him,
All engrossed in hectic lives,
Will would ask, "Where've all the heroes gone?
Did none of them survive?"

-- Chorus--
Where have all the heroes gone?
Are they sleeping?
Are they dead?
Where are the knights in armor
From the books so often read?
What happened to the stories?
What happened to the dreams?
Are there really so few dreamers as it seems?
--

He was standing at the crosswalk,
His backpack weighed like lead,
And though the years had changed him
Will still dreamt inside his head.

For as every day he walked to school,
Passing people, sad and stressed,
Will dreamt the world a happy place,
With warmth and peace and rest.

So as he walked into the school,
And was swept up in the crowd.
He turned and found a stranger's face,
And said, "Good morning!", right out loud.

Will went about his classes,
Filling up and words and facts,
But as he watched the teens around him,
And he watched their selfish acts,

Will couldn't help but wonder
What had happened to his friends.
Had they lost all sense of honor?
And were heroes at an end?

-- Chorus--
Where have all the heroes gone?
Are they sleeping?
Are they dead?
Where are the knights in armor
From the books so often read?
What happened to the stories?
What happened to the dreams?
Are there really so few dreamers as it seems?
--

It was Christmas time, and crowded,
The people jostling in line.
And as he stood and waited
Will didn't see the cardboard sign.

"Hey dad?" a small voice whispered.
"Do you see that man right there?
He doesn't even have a coat!
And it's really could out here!'

Do you think think I can have a dollar?
To put into his bowl?"
Will looked down at his anxious son,
With his small heart warm and full.

And as he watched the little form,
With the bills clutched in his fist,
Will knew he saw a hero
That he could add on to his list.

"Did you see dad? That was awesome!"
Will's son had reached his side.
"Just like playing knights with you again!"
And the small boy swelled with pride.

-- Ending Chorus--
Are you asking, "Where've the heroes gone?"
Are you watching?
Are you sure?
Have you looked inside to find one?
Are you keeping your heart pure?
So, what about your stories?
And what about your dreams?
Dreaming's not so hard as it may seem!
--

--

Thoughts on "Negative Capablity"

In regards to Keats "Negative Capability", someone proposed that he is speaking of humility. I respond:

The great thing about humility is that is it, positively, counter productive. Humility is the acceptance and patience for reality. But when one is humble, reality changes. When we decide to be happy, we begin to find reasons to be happy. When we don't have an answer, and we accept that and move on, answers begin to pop out of the wood work. it's not a magical solution, because in it's very definition it must be sincere. One cannot say "I am now humble, now I deserve the bounty of humility." But rather it is in many ways unconscious and subtle. It is a perfect law of honesty. It is the language of God. Truth cleaves to truth, and light to light. I suppose, karma.

It does make sense that in order to be close to beauty, you must be content with what is before you. To be discontent means you are not satisfied with the beauty you see. Those who delve into the beauty about them are capable of examining and plunging in to feel excellently the essence of the beauty. Unfortunately, Keats seems to imply that to strive for greater reason and greater meaning means that one is discontent. They are "irritable reaching after fact and reason". I agree that it is genius to find happiness in an imperfect world and amongst "uncertainties, mysteries, doubts", but the idea is contradictory in that the mere endeavor to have capability amongst the negative, means that one is digging up the positive and exposing and discovering a better way of being. They are not just "capable" anymore. They are "champion".

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

One of my favorite faery tales has always been, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." It's so very unique and fascinating. And there are little details that follow along with the story that must always be there; that make it authentic. I wonder why those details were added and when? How far back were they decided, and what is their significance? Like the forest of magic trees. Usually they're gold and silver, but some people fudge it and make them crystal. And then there's the dark lake that the girls must sail across. And best of all, there's the cloak of invisibility. The magical cloak is the way that the person in the story is able to follow the princesses and find out where they go at night to dance their shoes to tatters.

Anyway, I love this tale. And recently I've been thinking about it. Collecting details and pieces of things that bring the story to life. So I thought I'd just share bits of my bizarre collection.

Shoes:

Songs that fit:
Hayley Westenra, "Dark Waltz"

Paolo Nutini, "New Shoes"

Josh Groban, "So She Dances"

Scissor Sisters, "Don't feel like Dancing"

Book Variations (for some reason they always give these books corny titles, but they're actually pretty good reading):

Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier

"Wildwood Dancing is set in early 1500s Transylvania, and tells the story of five young sisters from the ages of five to seventeen, in the first person from the point of view of Jenica (called 'Jena'), the second sister. This time period would precede the writing of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and therefore Marillier's Night People would not be referred to as vampires." - Wikipedia


Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George

"Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls." -book's description



Illustrations of the Story (click to enlarge):

by: Himmapaan

by: K. Y. Craft (she actually illustrated a whole books for this story)

both by: Kay Nielsen
















by: Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini












by: ?

Characters, characters...

So I can't help it. I've been rereading the "Queen's Thief" series by Megan Whalen Turner (my all time favorite fiction books. in case you haven't picked up on that yet.) I've been rereading the books I own, my own personal library, and these just had to be read eventually. I try to limit my constant reading of them because I always get mildly obsessed each time I enter their pages. Is is wholey unhealthy to day dream about meeting your favorite characters? I mean, honestly. They could be real people, they're so well written. Could I love them into existence? Do you think that would work? Well, since that hasn't happened yet I've instead gone and searched through the IMDB database for actors and actresses that I think might just play the roles well if it is ever made into a film. And as much as the idea thrills me, I hate it too, because they'd have to do if perfectly or it wouldn't work. At all. Zero. Zip. Na-da. The end.

Ok. so here it goes.

Eugenides:




Skandar Keynes (p.s. I love the name Skandar btw. I think I might name one of my sons Skandar). So this actor is only 19 right now, but give him a year or two and he'll be perfect. He has that even-younger-than-he-is look, which is ideal for Eugenides. He's got the dark hair, the sharply intelligent eyes that speak everything, the wiry build, the intense looks... yes. I think he just might do. actor info and images

Sophos:

Max Thieriot. He has a very young look about him but he's actually one older than most of the other actors/actresses I've listed on this post. This gives him both the ability to have a seemingly childish first impression, and a believably mature second impression. Ideal for an actor of Sophos' character. I think he's just become my new, favorite actor for the part. As i said, ideal. actor info and images

or



Max Pirkis. You probably know him as the little one armed shipman on Master and Commander. Well, he isn't so young anymore either. Blonde hair, innocent face, kind eyes. Yeah. He'll work too.
actor info and images



or

Alexander Ludwig. I like this guy because he has both the kind/innocentness as well as the "scholar/poet" softness to his face. I think he has an perfect Sophos demeanor and he's fairly young like these other actors/actresses.
actor info and images


Costis:



Josh Hutcherson. He looks more military brawn and strongly built. Yet he has an open and honest face. And he's also young, so he'll fit right in. You know him from The Bridge to Tarabithia. Grown up a bit, hasn't he.
actor info and images



Irene (Attolia):

Spencer Locke. I admit, I have not seen this actress act, that I know of, so this is isn't a really strong suggestion. But she does look a bit like how I see Irene looking. Of course this suggestion refers to her appearance when she's a brunette, as I'm pretty positive she naturally is. She is stunning, with piercing eyes, delicate features, but a firm set jaw and sharp mouth. She's about the same age as the other actors here, so, again, in a couple years she'd be perfect.
actress info and images


Hel(Eddis):

Bonnie Wright. I've had difficulty coming up with an actress for this part. Honestly, I'm not really sure who could do it. I think that Bonnie's personality would be perfect for the part (witty, strong, commanding), and she has a good face for it too. But Eddis is suppose to have short, brunette hair, and curls. But that, honestly, could be dealt with. You might think Bonnie looks young (she is in this pic. she's older now), but she's the same age as most of these other actors I've listed. I think her youthful appearance is actually a good effect, because it would give more credit to the way the people in Sounis and Attolia look at Eddis and get upset because they don't know how someone less unaggressive than themselves, and so "young" could rule so well. actress info and images

Sounis (Sophos' uncle):



Russell Crowe. Middle aged. Heavy built. Military type. Powerful presence. I think he'd work well. actor info and images





The Magus:



Jeremy Irons. Lovely melodic voice, quick witted, wonderful actor, can sound knowledgeable, old enough to be "older" but not "old". I think he'd make a marvelous Magus. Maybe grow his beard out a bit. actor info and images