What-What?! Week of March 12th

I forgot it's Daylight Savings, that archaic event that we, for some reason, still enact each spring.

Masochism, I suspect.

Anyway.

The Lego Batman Movie

Yesterday, we took the family to go see Lego Batman.

The children generally liked it -- the two boys especially.  Saffron thought that it wasn't as good as the original Lego Movie, but overall was still pretty good.

The husband and I enjoyed probably the first two-thirds of the film of the best.  I thought a lot of the lead-up and explanation were hilarious -- there were tons of great scenes with nods to other Batman films and comics.  The ending of the film was a let down -- in my opinion, some of it is exactly like watching the Lego Movie again.  There's also a plot hole, which I will not reveal.  But it's there, and it's highlighted by the ending, too.  That in particular is disappointing -- I've watched enough Lego-related made for TV films and TV shows that I know they can be excellent at continuity... they just forgot that when they made this film. xP

By far, though, the most irritating thing to me about the entire film was not the plot hole, not the Lego Movie ending, it was everyone's smartphones -- they are all very largely branded with the Apple logo.  I don't have an example of this, since none of the promo images I can find show it, but it is so obvious.  It honestly makes me think a lot less of Lego.  My kids don't need to see that branding, I don't need to see that branding -- it's obvious what those items are even without branding.  I know Lego has been making tons of money recently.  How much did Apple pay them?  Do they really need the money from Apple?

Overall, not a bad movie.  I did enjoy the most of it, and the children liked it.  Not sure this will be one that we buy, though.

What-What?! Week of October 12th

This week seemed to go by about as fast as molasses.  Not good, not bad, just interminable.

I got confirmation that I will be starting my new job on Monday, so that's exciting!  It will be good to work again, both in terms of money and maintaining my sanity.

Started working on Saffron's dress earlier this week.  I spent about 20 minutes cleaning my sewing machine after I pulled it out; the move and sitting around made it get pretty dusty.  I'm at the point now where I have to iron things.  I don't like ironing, so I'm procrastinating a bit there.

We went to the Lowe's Build and Grow clinic for October.  The big kids had a good time making their own haunted houses.  We brought them home and they played with super heroes and their spooky houses.

Review:  Digimon Tamers

Earlier this week, the kids and I finished watching the third season of Digimon.  The first two seasons were pretty classic kid show stuff -- lots of humor and creepy-cute monsters fighting bad guys.  The third season, though, Tamers, is made of different stuff.  It's darker and more serious than the earlier seasons, and spends more time looking at the nature of Digimon as monsters.  The show is more complex, though it does suffer from a slow start, it gets better as it goes along.  The fact that the season is 50 episodes hurts it quite a bit -- it could pretty easily be edited down by a third, maybe even a half.  Even still, my kids, especially Saffron, fell in love with it.  Saffron is currently obsessed with Renamon and Rika, who are the strong female leads in the series.


Lopmon and Terriermon.

She also likes Terriermon and Lopmon, but that's because they are glorified rabbit Digimon.

(Images via  digimon.wikia.com, deviantart.com: angel-in-disguise234)

4 Funniest Non-Show-Accurate Toys Ever

It seems like every time I turn around, I'm finding more ridiculous movie and TV show toys and collectibles.  I've collected my favorite finds here.

Best-Lock Stargate "Lego" Toys

Photo via 8of5multiverse.blogspot.com.

First up, these terrible Lego knockoffs that I featured on my blog a few months ago.  At first blush, they look good; the vehicles, DHD, and stargate are accurate enough.  However, when you start looking at the figures, something horrifying appears:

For whatever reason, the artist decided to use old man faces for all the characters.  Did the artist ever look at pictures of the characters, or the actors?  Did they just guess?  I do appreciate that Daniel's expression is a bit incredulous, as it seems most appropriate in this instance.

Hasbro Muscle-Bound Star Wars Figures

Muscle man Luke versus original issue Luke.  Photo via Razyor of nightfallunlimited.com.

These are undoubtedly a classic.  Released in 1995, these action figures came out when I was a kid, and I was admittedly pretty excited about them.  Compared to the films, and even the original figures, these "heroic" sculpts are just ridiculous.  Why does Luke Skywalker have muscles on his muscles?  The "force" is really just steroids?  ...Yeah, didn't think so.

AHI Parachuting Spock

Spock... with a parachute!  Photo via plaidstallions.com.

I've included this mostly because I think the very idea is funny.  Just think of all the ways that the Star Trek crew could use this to their advantage: Need to escape from ravaging monsters in a hurry?  Use your parachute, Spock!  Have to escape from the Genesis effect (The Wrath of Khan)?  Use your parachute, Spock!  Infiltrating behind enemies' lines?  Use your parachute, Spock!

Limited Edition Harry Potter Dolls

Undead Harry versus Alive Harry.  Photos via ebay.com, listal.com.



Last, but not least, undead Harry Potter and drunk Ron Weasley.  Seriously, Harry's lips are blue.  The above picture isn't the best, but you can still see that the skin tone is also off, making him look kind of pasty, while his glasses have been enlarged by an errant spell.

Drunk Weasley versus Wistful Weasley. Photos via entertainmentearth.com, harrypotter.wikia.com.

Undead Harry Potter is then followed by the drunken Weasley.  I do appreciate that the doll maker at least attempted to get his hairstyle right (much more so than Harry, above), but the expression on his face just makes him look drunk.  What was the artist going for?  Ambivalence?  Embarrassment?  Apprehension?  Of course, if I went to a party in that getup, I'd probably have a few drinks beforehand in order to start ahead of the game, so to speak.

What-What?! Week of February 16th

This week, I don't know what happened.  Mostly, I think the household was in survival mode.  We received a box of packing peanuts and toilet paper.  It also had ork miniatures, so you know, there's that, too.  I posted a new article about children's board games, because we've accrued a collection of them.

I haven't felt much like writing lately.  I don't get a lot of time to cook, either.  When I do cook, it's mostly just quick and easy stuff, and because it's the end of the week, the cupboards are a little bare.  Yesterday, I made a quiche using leftover pork, frozen vegetables, onion, cheese, and Worchester sauce.  Basically, dinner from the freezer, without being a frozen dinner (ha!).

Food Review:  Ecopia Farms Salad Kit -- Farmhouse Citrus Salad

My husband came home with this for our dinner yesterday.  The photograph above really does not do this salad justice; it's not just a salad, but an experience.  The kit comes with the salad greens, fresh herb mix, glass canisters of quinoa, blood oranges, and feta cheese, cotton baggies of toasted sunflower seeds and sea salt, as well as a small glass bottle of dressing.  You open the bag and start pulling more and more ingredients out, each beautifully packaged.  Assembling the salad is easy, and because you are the one mixing it up, you can choose how much of each ingredient to include.

This salad truly made the meal.  The blood oranges had a great citrus flavor, and dark, deep red color.  The dressing was suitably light, and combined well with the other ingredients.  I enjoyed it greatly.  Once the salad is gone, you are also left with these nifty glass containers, which are perfectly reusable.  I see homemade spice mixes in my future, or perhaps I'll use one to hold miniature bits.

The kits are on the expensive side, but for a special occasion or as a treat, I can totally see buying one again.  Ecopia sells at the Los Gatos and the Saratoga farmers markets, and delivers throughout the Bay Area.  If it's near you, I highly recommend you try it.

Movie Review:  Disney Cars Movie

A few weeks ago, I got a special offer from Disney Movie Rewards, to get this film for the cost of shipping.  My kids love the Mater's Tall Tales shorts that are on Netflix, so I decided that it'd definitely be something to pick up.  We'd never seen the original film or any of the sequels, but I know that it'd largely received good reviews.

My kids loved it.  I, however, was sadly disappointed.  The story was predictable and pretty unimaginative, which I can forgive to a certain extent; Monsters, Inc. and Ice Age are basically the same story, as well as Rango and Flushed Away, and so on.  The worst problem in this film was that the main character, Lightening McQueen, was just too unlikable.  In some of the behind the scenes features on the first Toy Story film, Sheriff Woody was originally a very unlikable character, which was changed, because no one was going to root for someone that despicable.  I suspect that this same thing happened with Lightening, but the creators didn't go far enough in making him likable.  Even after he's been reformed, I still had a lot of trouble liking him.  Alternatively, the problem might be that Mater is too funny, and it's just too much for the rest of the cast to absorb.  Either way, I can't get past Lightening being a jerk.  I'll keep watching Mater's Tall Tales, but not so much Cars.

(images via Ecopia and Pixar.wikia.com)

What-What?! Week of February 2nd

Unfortunately, I'm not able to write a lot for this week, because I'm stuck using one hand.  After falling off my skateboard and hurting my arm, I've spent most of the week with it in a sling.  While I'd like to say that this is more problematical at work, it isn't; being home with a toddler who wants to be held and cuddled is much harder to handle without hurting myself more.

Also, everyone who knows me is now like "a skateboard?!?".  Yes, I decided to learn how to skateboard.  I was doing pretty well, too, until I decided I needed to start practicing different ways to stop, which is when I fell.  Apparently starting and going on a skateboard is much easier than stopping on a skateboard.  Luckily, my boss had a sling in her car, which is what I've been wearing.  So that's nice.

Learning How to Skateboard:  The Nerdy Way

Maybe I should have titled this the "I have no friends" way. :P  After much digging around, I've spent a few hours both reading skateboarding guides, as well as watching many YouTube videos.  There're a couple of different guides that I found that were useful, but the most useful one was at this UK site, Board-Crazy.  As for videos, this set over at YouTube is one of the best, as well.

...Just in case anyone else is interested. ;D

Film:  The Lego Movie via WSJ.com

This is an interesting article about the upcoming Lego movie, titled The Lego Movie.  When I first read about this film, I was somewhat confused; why is this the Lego movie?  What about The Adventures of Clutch Powers?  Granted, this film is debuting in theaters, rather than home video like all of Lego's other films, but even Lego's home video pieces have been pretty high quality.  I do like that this Lego movie spans all of Lego's sets, mixing any and every theme available.  While this isn't something I think I'd go to the theater for, I will almost definitely be picking it up on DVD.

Oh!  Don't forget to check out my husband's blog, The Wizard's Rambles.  He's posted twice since last week, once discussing miniatures, and once about his classes, which started this week.

What-What?! Week of December 1st

It's already December!  When on Earth did that happen?  I had this past week off from work (school's out on holiday), which was quite a nice break.

If you haven't noticed, I am now posting on Thursdays with one piece of my daughter's artwork.  I thought this would be great to both preserve memories and to encourage Saffron's creativity.

Food:  German Spaetzle via AllRecipes.com

On Monday, the husband and I made a German dinner, with schnitzel and spaetzle.  Spaetzle is a German noodle/dumpling hybrid, made out of a simple egg dough.  The spaetzle I made was "vom brett", which translates roughly as "off the board"; made without a spaetzle maker, just a wooden cutting board and a knife.  Here's a great (and impressive) video showing the technique for spaetzle vom brett, and while I didn't do nearly as well as that lady, it still came out well enough:

Rather than making plain spaetzle, I actually made kassespaetzle, which is a bit like the German version of macaroni and cheese; I layered my spaetzle with butter and shredded cheese, which melted and became absolutely delicious.  The spaetzle itself has a rustic, egg-y taste, and a soft, slightly-doughy texture.  If you haven't had it yet, then you need to try it; my children loved it, and it was a quick and easy side to make, taking no longer than regular noodles.

(A word from the wise on cleaning up after making spaetzle:  Whatever touches the dough needs to get rinsed off immediately.  I didn't do this, and had to spend a while scrubbing the bowl, board, knife, pot, and so on.)

Film:  Disney's Frozen Review and a Discussion of the PG Rating via Forbes

I read one article about Frozen before we went to see the movie, and while it didn't discuss the content of the film specifically, it did discuss the PG rating it had received... along with nearly every other children's movie in recent history.  In the films I grew up watching, characters were thrown off buildings, trampled to death, and so on.  These films were rating G.  Recent films have been rated PG for mild action and peril, which would obviously be in a movie, because what else is going to happen?  Beyond the ridiculousness of this, it makes it difficult for parents to decide which films to allow children to watch.  Some PG films are perfectly okay for my children, but many are not appropriate for young children at all.  At that point, why bother having ratings?

***MILD SPOILERS***

 

 

My daughter really enjoyed Frozen, which I guess is what counts in the end.  However, I have to admit to liking things as a child that, now as an adult, I can see are just terrible.  This wasn't terrible, but it had the potential to be a lot better than it was.  I went to this movie hoping for something similar to Sleeping Beauty, or Beauty and the Beast.  Instead, Frozen was more like Tangled, where the original story has been somewhat bungled in the effort to make it funny ("entertaining"?).  The comic relief character in this film, the snowman, did have some jokes that were genuinely clever, but it still didn't save him from being annoying.  Even my daughter didn't really care for him much (!!!).  There were two mild villains in the film, which confused the storyline a bit, and really they were all secondary to the main plot, the sisters' relationship struggles and the fallout from that.  While Hans was needed to move the story, the Duke of Weselton was completely superfluous; I think he was there only because someone became attached to the gags that could be played at his expense.  If they had removed those bits, then there could have been more time spent filling out the real villain -- maybe even make him actually frightening.

The other thing that bothered me about this film, is that when Elsa becomes the snow queen, she magically gains a slit on her skirt, high heels, and a hip-swaying gait.  While watching the film, I was honestly surprised.  Why does this character gaining her freedom have to be translated into looking sexy?  The point would still have been well made without those elements.  I think the best single indicator of the change was in her hair style.  Just that would have been fine.

Beyond that, I did very much like the scene in the lodge, because it was an actual dose of Scandinavian cultures -- a lutefisk joke(Norway), and the sauna (Finland).  But overall, I was disappointed.

What-What?! Week of November 10th

Finally this week, the children and I are getting better.  After getting over Fifth Disease, the kids managed to catch a cold, and now they’re still coughing from that.

Edited to add:  I did do some writing this week!  See the above tab, "Farm Books for Children", which has a collection of my favorite children's books involving farms and farm animals.

Behavioral economics moved somewhat away from experiments, and on to the discussion of examining how people make intuitive decisions.  The professors actually discussed one thing that I’d discovered on my own—that people, when given the vocabulary to describe something, will take the time to examine more closely their own likes and dislikes.  When my sister took art classes, the class would look at a piece of art, and each student had to explain why they liked or disliked it; they were not allowed to say “just because”.  They learned the vocabulary to describe art (compositions, techniques, color theories), then applied that to the pieces they viewed.  A few years ago, I became much more interested in food, tasting food, and trying new things.  I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why I like or dislike a food, and through this, I’ve learned new words, and I’ve learned a lot about myself.  I’ve gotten a lot of practice asking myself why, and examining the answers.  I think this has helped me understand other people, too, because now I can ask more detailed questions when I want to know, “how do you like this dish?”

Creamy Ham and Rice Bake

Want something creamy, a little salty, and a little cheesy?  Then this is the casserole for you!  I liked how the veggies in this complemented the rich sauce very nicely, helping the dish from becoming too rich.  This is based on the Veggie, Ham & Cheese Rice Bake from Tasty Kitchen, I simplified the recipe and subbed out the cream of chicken soup for a simple white sauce.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons Butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 Onion, diced
• 1-1/2 cups Ham Steak, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Flour
• 2 cups Milk
• 1 cup Fresh or Frozen Broccoli
• 1 cup Fresh or Frozen Cauliflower
• 1 cup White Rice (long or short grain)
• 1 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.

Saute onion and ham in butter on medium heat, until onions are translucent and ham is browned.  Add flour and let cook 1-2 minutes, then stir in milk.  Bring mixture up to a simmer to thicken, stirring as needed.  Add broccoli and cauliflower, then simmer another 2-3 minutes, or as long as needed to heat them all the way through.  Add rice, water and cheese, mixing thoroughly.  Add salt and pepper as needed.  Pour into prepared baking dish, and bake for 40 minutes, until rice is cooked.  Enjoy!

Film:  My Little Pony:  Equestria Girls via Netflix

Netflix just added this to the video library, and because my kids are pony fanatics, we had to watch it.  Consequently, we have watched it every day since.  I was pretty pleased with it, though make no mistake:  I would not watch this if I didn’t have children.  The story was good, though the ending is weak, and the romance feels like it was inserted in order to pander to the desired demographic of tweens (or tweens’ younger siblings?).  At first, I actually thought that the love interest was Twilight’s brother, and my mistake didn’t actually become clear for quite a while (storytelling oops!).  I enjoyed that the alternate world that Twilight Sparkle steps into is nothing like home, except in every single detail.  I worry that the dependence of the story on technological elements will mean that it will become dated quickly; one of the things that I enjoy about the old My Little Pony show is that it really isn’t that dated, other than the clothes that the children are wearing, and a few other things like that.  The next season of the regular My Little Pony show is due out on November 23rd, so be prepared for more pony talk in a few weeks. ;D

(img via mlp.wikia.com)

What-What?! Week of October 6th

After much talking and thinking, the husband and I have decided that we will be relocating to Washington state, specifically the Seattle area, sometime in the next year.  Because I continue to be unable to find fulltime work, we think it would be prudent to move on to greener pastures, as it were.  There are actually many reasons to choose that area, enough that I actually wrote an article discussing them.  Funnily enough, since writing the article, I keep stumbling into more and more information that goads us towards the Seattle area.

On another note, I am now registered for the BehavioralEconomics class at EdX; it’s being offered by the University of Toronto Extension, and will start in just over a week.

Film:  Mean Girls via Amazon.com

This week, I watched Mean Girls.  Yeah, it stars Lindsay Lohan.  No, I’m not a Lohan fan.  However, the film is entertaining, and well written.  Rachel McAdams is delightfully evil, and I appreciate the awkwardness that Lohan brings to the role of a homeschooled student thrust into conventional high school.

Books:  Super Hero Philosophy via Amazon.com

This is a pretty cool book that I’ve been reading; it’s a collection of essays that look at philosophical elements that exist in super hero media.  The first essay, which discusses the concepts of justice and mercy in the Thor comics, was a particularly interesting read, considering that I am now responsible for a class of 19 children, and I frequently find myself having to decide how much mercy to give a rule-breaker.  I tend to be on the lawful side when it comes to alignment, which in my experience tends to favor the justice side of the justice/mercy balance.  Some essays are definitely more interesting than others, both because of writing style, and because some of these topics are ones I’ve considered before.  Overall, I think it is a worthwhile read, especially since the book is currently free.  If you don't currently have a Kindle or other reader, I suggest downloading the PC or smartphone (Android?) app from Amazon, which is also free (yay for free things!)

Food:  Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole via The Pioneer Woman
Now that’s getting colder here, I’m looking forward to eating comfort foods, hot dishes, soups and stews. Thursday, my husband made a really great sausage, potato and broccoli chowder; it would have been good anyway, but what really kicked it up a notch was some Worchester sauce. It added just the right amount of umami.

Friday, we took the family to Costco for our monthly shopping trip there, and bought a rotisserie chicken for an easy dinner that night.  We had enough leftover chicken that I made this delicious tetrazzini casserole yesterday, and we’ll be eating the leftovers for dinner tonight (if you’re not cooking for a crowd, I suggest halving the recipe).  This is good, basic, comfort food.  Yum!

I’m also looking forward to more baking, as well.  I bought a 4-pound sack of chocolate chips while we were at Costco, and I’m looking forward to making chocolate chip cookies and muffins with them.

What-What?! Week of September 29th

This week was pretty ho-hum.  The husband is now done with his mid-week market, which is a fantastic relief, both in terms of work schedules, and just the stress of having to run both morning and evening markets.  My job is pretty well the same; what was frustrating about this past week is that the afterschool leaders were never given materials to do 3 of the 5 craft projects, and so there were several days that we had to make up our own projects.  Talking with my site coordinator, it seems there used to be a person whose job was to develop the curriculum and ensure that school sites had the appropriate materials.  The position doesn’t exist anymore, so it’s now up to leaders and site coordinators to figure it out for themselves.  It’s okay when it works, but frequently it doesn’t, because the process at the school site isn’t formal enough, or we don’t get the curriculum in advance.

I’m currently considering taking some classes from EdX, a nonprofit created by Harvard and MIT that offers MOOCs on a variety of subjects.  There’s a class about behavioral economics that I’d be interested in taking, as well as one on the science of cooking.  Really, neither one of those things is particularly useful, but the classes are free and I like to learn.

Crafts:  Dinosaurs

This week, I did do a few dinosaur crafts with my kids.  I did this one at work as well, and it is one that I made up in about ten minutes, just looking at the supplies we had around.  We used small envelopes to create dinosaur heads, complete with teeth, tails and so on, and then the kids decided if their dinosaur was an herbivore or a carnivore.

After that, we made appropriate foods for the dino, then “fed” them.  This was a pretty good hit, and all the kids (from my 3.5 year old son to my fourth graders at work) enjoyed making the foods and feeding their dinosaur.  (I know, my daughter doesn't look very happy above, but she was upset that I interrupted her dino's feeding time).

Mine, at top, somehow, wound up looking like Toothless from How to Tame Your Dragon.  It's the eyes.

Film:  Ripper Street via Netflix

After watching the 2005 Bleak House series (based on a Dickens novel), which was recommended to me by my sister, I looked around for other period series that were well rated.  One of Netflix’s first recommendations was this, Ripper Street, a sort of late Victorian CSI.  Set in the Whitechapel area of London in 1889, the series begins six months after the Jack the Ripper murders, and follows Inspector Reid through a series of misadventures and mysteries.  The settings and wardrobe of the series is very good, though I have to admit that I spent the first two episodes simply staring at the American’s coat and hat any time he was on screen; where everyone else is dressed in dreary blacks, grays and navies, topped with a top hat or bowler, the lone American wears a deep green coat with a copper colored lining, and a beat up fedora.  Later in the series, the other characters wear more colored clothing, but those first two episodes, and especially the first, make for a particularly jarring contrast.  The Guardian (watch out – SPOILERS) also published a great read on the historical accuracy of the events in the show; I was pleased to see that the show was reasonably accurate.

I have yet to watch all the episodes yet, but so far I’ve enjoyed it.  The mysteries and character development have been well balanced, the characters suitably likeable, and the situations realistic (and sometimes too realistic – I do not recommend eating while watching).  The only thing that has bugged me is the relationship between Reid and his wife; while I understand that events have made their marriage unhappy, there have been scenes that should have had genuine warmth, and yet they fell short.  I don’t know if the actors just do not have good chemistry, or perhaps it has a greater purpose in the larger story, but watching those moments of not-quite-mustered warmth was uncomfortable.
(img via bbcamerica.com)

What-What?! The Week of September 1st

I had to get a tuberculosis (TB) skin test this week – for my new job with the local YMCA.  Oddly, I’ve gotten them before, and I don’t remember them hurting as much as this one did.  It was also on my left arm (my dominant one) and very annoying.  I had a terrible time finding a place that could do the test, because apparently there’s been a shortage that was just alleviated in May, and medical facilities are still catching up to get stock of the TB testing fluid.

The other exciting thing that happened is that my daughter (almost 6) has started reading a lot more; yesterday when we went to the grocery store, she was reading me streetsigns and my grocery list.  The husband and I have started homeschooling her as well, which has been quite fun.

Cooking: Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Scones

I woke up the other day with these scones in my head, and just had to make them.  These are mildly sweet, and just perfect toasted, with a pat of butter.

• 3 cups Flour
• 3/4 cup Brown sugar (up to 1 cup if you like yours a bit sweeter)
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon Baking powder
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup Milk

Set oven to 400 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry cutter, two butter knives, or your fingers.  Stir in milk until a dough forms, then roll onto ungreased cookie sheet, and cut into desired shapes (I do triangles or squares for simplicity).  Bake for 30 minutes, until lightly browned.  Enjoy!

News:  Bosses Say “Pick Up the Phone” via the Wall Street Journal

This is one of those interesting things about my generation, which I have actually had personal problems with.  Millenials use phones aplenty – but not for talking on.  They will e-mail, text, or otherwise send a message before physically calling someone and talking with them on the phone.  One interview I had specifically brought up in talking on the phone as a requirement.  My interviewer (the owner of the company) said that he needed someone who was willing and able to talk on the phone; no texting or e-mail.  There have been times that I’ve needed to set up an appointment for an interview, and the company opts to do this through e-mail.  Like the article discusses, this takes three times as long because it’s much more difficult to have that conversation in little bits (“Can you do this date?  What about that time?”), rather than all at once over the phone.  The other problem I’ve had with people my age is when they send several texts when an e-mail or a phone call would be more efficient.  If it hits the third text just asking a question, then a call or e-mail would be better.  When that’s happened, I’ve called or e-mailed my reply – because it was a complicated question with a complicated answer.

Movie Review: The Gamers: Hands of Fate via watchthegamers.com

*POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS*

After four tries, I was finally able to download my copy of Hands of Fate!  The husband and I watched half of it the other day, and so far, it was brilliant.  Cass makes for an excellent protagonist, and honestly after his jerkish actions in the other film, it was kind of nice to watch him take some of it.  The actress who plays the love interest was entertaining, if a bit bothersome; I get that she was suppose to be somewhat abrupt and hostile at first, but sometimes it felt like she was overacting.  The other thing that bothered me is quite insignificant – the makeup was sometimes poorly blended down actors’ necks, which looks funny.  Mind you, this is also a problem I’ve seen in big Hollywood films as well, though not quite to the same extent.  The scenes that occur in Countermay (the fantasy universe) were well done and sometimes quite surreal, what with the being an illustration on a card.  I totally identified with the characters' plight of having real life get in the way of gaming.  Especially in the past few years, that has basically been my life.  Overall, a heartily recommend it, though I would suggest watching the other film for a bit of background first.

Oh!  You can actually see my husband and me in the credits under Kickstarter contributers; we're in there as Thorn Blackhammer and Kanoth the Mighty and Illustrious -- Because if we're going to do something geeky, we're going to go all the way! :D

'Til next week!

What-What?! Week of August 25th

This week has been kind of a rollercoaster – been quite busy, indeed.  We visited my parent’s place and played some Battletech, and my ‘mech was exploded a lot.  My sister took my eldest to the Ringling Brothers Circus in San Jose, which she thoroughly enjoyed; her favorite part was the tigers.  I’m happy that my sister got to take her; I have many fond memories of doing activities with my aunt growing up, and it would really please me if my kids have close relationships to their aunts and uncles.

I was planning on reviewing the new Gamers movie that I talked about last week, but unfortunately my internet is frequently subpar.  The husband and I watched the first ten minutes before the internet died, and that was that.  The downloadable version is available now for contributors (us), and I’ll be downloading that today or this evening.  Next week, look for a full review!

Literature:  Jake and the Neverland… Fanfic?

While looking up source images for my Jake and the Neverland Pirates illustrations last week, I found Jake and the Neverland fanfic.  What is fanfic?  It’s short for fan fiction, where fans write fictional pieces based on characters and settings that they are fans of.  Sometimes, this goes big; for example, 50 Shades of Grey started out life as Twilight fan fiction.  The vast majority of fanfic is, in my opinion, not well written, with a tendency towards fan service and other such ridiculousness.  50 Shades, despite being a best seller and all, is no better than the lot; from the excerpts I’ve read, the language is unnecessarily ambiguous and repetitive.  Some of the relationships are concerning.  In any case, I was momentarily horrified and surprised when I found the above image and accompanying story of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Movie Review:  Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers (available on Netflix)

My kids love Lego, and when they saw this recommended on Netflix, they begged and pleaded.  Having had seen many awful children’s shows and films, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  It has a bit of everything in it, especially if you grew up in the 80s or early 90s: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, James Bond, some Lord of the Rings-fantasy, and one scene that’s straight out of DuckTales the Movie: Tale of the Lost Lamp.  This film is very cliché, but at the same time, it’s still entertaining.  Clutch Powers is a nice break from saccharine sweet princesses and talking animals, but I can’t say that I’d watch it if I didn’t have kids.

Essay: The Lost City of Z via the New Yorker

Speaking of Indiana Jones... I accidently stumbled on this through an e-mail that Amazon had sent with a selection of adventuring and exploring books – this led me to a book by the same author, published as an expanded, and by some accounts, bloated version of this essay.  The essay itself covers Percy Fawcett’s obsession with a city that he simply called “Z” – evidence of a lost civilization deep in the Amazon basin.  Fawcett was last seen in 1925, when he left on an expedition to find the city with his son and a friend.   The author follows Fawcett’s steps through the rainforest, talking with native people, locals, and an archeologist along the way.  It’s 21 pages, so kind of a long read, but I highly recommend it.  There is also a film in the works, which is slated to star Brad Pitt; let's hope it comes out a bit better than World War Z, hm?

‘til next week!

(images via fanpop.com, videostore-cdn.eu.playstation.com, flickr.com)

What-What?! Week of June 9th

This week was pretty uneventful, though my littlest is almost saying “dada” to refer to the husband.  I went ahead and reworked my feedback on World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria into an article for Squidoo.  I’m thinking I may go back through my blog and start doing this with other posts as well; that way, my writing will become more searchable through Google.

I did get a call from one company that I’d applied to.  Applying there turned out to be a horrible mistake.  Normally, before applying, I Google the company to see what comes up.  This time, I had obviously neglected this.  So when I looked up the company to get a quick background before calling them back, I was surprised by the multitude of poor reviews left by employees.  The pay is commission-based, the hours are long, and you’re expected to sell to your family and friends; in other words, exactly what I don’t want to do.  This experience reminds me how crucial Googling is before investing any time into applying for a position.

Cooking:  Crispy Cheese Crackers via Heavenly Homemakers

About a year and a half ago, I made the choice to cut soybean oil out of my household’s diet.  This has been an on-going process, but one of the first foods to go was boxed crackers, as nearly all varieties of commercially made crackers have soybean oil in them.  I’ve found that some varieties of Pepperidge Farms’ graham cracker goldfish are made without it, as well as some of Annie’s cheddar bunnies; these are quite expensive, though, and my kids don’t particularly care for Annie’s brand crackers.

I have had the worst craving for Cheeze-Its, so I made these.  With just 6 ingredients, these crackers go together very quickly, though the hard part is rolling the dough out thin enough.  I only had mozzarella cheese, so I subbed that in, along with about a tablespoon of basil to make some Italian-style cheese crackers.  The kids and I thought these were delicious; next time I plan on making a double batch!

Movie Review:  Rango

My mom checked this out of the library, thought it was very funny, and was excited for my kids to watch it.  In retrospect, I was quite happy that I was able to sit down and watch it with them, rather than letting them watch it with just my parents.  This film is a western, about a lizard that goes on an existential journey, ultimately becoming the hero he so wishes to be.

The Story

I really did not like this film; I feel that, though it was marketed towards kids, isn’t really suitable for them.  The characters are colorful and lively, but the story was weak and not accessible to children.

The PG Rating

This film is rated PG, and one of the things that always surprises me is how some PG rated films are perfectly okay for young children, while some are utterly not appropriate.  Unfortunately, Rango tends towards the inappropriate; I knew it had been rated PG due to language, but it’s not until you get 2/3rds of the way through the film that it crops up, and it was really surprising, given how earlier in the movie, offensive terms are carefully avoided.  Overall, there was a lot of graphic violence; while I am okay with a certain amount of violence, this was too much.  My husband agreed with this.

It’s Been Done Better

The opening scene of this film begins with Rango pretending to be an actor, using inanimate objects as other actors in his play.  It was very similar to the beginning of the film Flushed Away.  Overall, the basic premise of the film (man finding himself, fish out of water, strong heroine working to help her family) is exactly like Flushed Away, just replace lizards with mice.  With the other issues present in the film, this lack of originality becomes unforgivable.

Overall, I give it two out of five stars; if you ever feel like picking up this movie, just go watch Flushed Away instead.  You’ll be better off.

‘Til next week!

(imgs via heavenlyhomemakers.com, teaser-trailer.com)

What-What?! Week of June 2nd

Whee!  I have survived my birthday.  This week has been pretty busy, but I still managed to get over $130 in items listed on eBay, and have already had $42 worth of items sell.  I’m pretty excited to be eBaying again; last year, over the course of two months, I made about $500 selling outgrown baby clothes and hard to find My Little Pony toys.

Saturday, the apartment managers here decided to have a community yard sale, which they promise in the lease to do twice a year.  However, this would be the first time in the three and a half years that we’ve lived here that a yard sale has actually happened; even then, it seems like it was a spur of the moment thing, as residents were given less than two days notice.  And they put on no signs.  And didn't even post on Craigstlist.  But enough complaining, because...

Cooking: Cupcakes in an Ice Cream Cone via Steph's Bite by Bite

I can complain about these, too.  I believe I first saw this technique on Pinterest, and tracked it down to this blog (link above).  Rather than using the more conventional method of filling the cones with batter and baking that way, you instead fill a muffin pan, and place the cups on top.  This was much easier and less fiddly than filling the cups.  The downside is that the bottoms of the cones are empty, which makes them top-heavy.  To transport them, I put aluminum foil over the top of a 9 x 13 pan and cut holes for each cone to go in.  This part worked pretty well.  Unfortunately, while the cupcakes were cooling overnight, the cones softened and slumped; the bottoms were still in flat, but the tops were all tilted.  I would up having to ice them as they were served, and the softened cones were chewy and unappatizing.  I plan on trying these again, but I'm thinking I'll either have to bake and serve them the same day, which limits topping options (frosting has to go on cool cakes), or develop some other method.  I saw a post somewhere about baking the cupcakes separately, then cutting them up and putting the pieces into cones.


(Shown: Small disaster.  This was easily fixed, unlike the slumping.)

Either way, my kids were still over the moon for these – especially after I added the sprinkles!  I expect that I'll have at least one child asking for more for their birthday, so I better figure these out.

News:  Disney’s Upcoming Film, Frozen via Yahoo! News

According to a press release from Disney, they have mapped out dates for films for the next two years.  I’m interested in a film due out in November, titled Frozen.  This film will be set in the arctic north, with a surprisingly Rapunzel-like heroine, who goes on an adventure to find her sister and stop the everlasting winter.  The concept art for this is positively beautiful.  Some of the art that I’ve seen, like that above, is nothing like what will appear in the film, but is beautiful to look at nonetheless.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Review Continued

After playing for another week, I had the opportunity to look a bit more at the new high-level quests, as well as the starting quests and area for the panda people.  As far as high-level quests, what Blizzard has done with this expansion is move away from the main quest lines; where Cataclysm and Wrath of the Lich King were almost entirely focused on moving the main storyline along, Mists of Pandaria touches on the main storyline, but stills gives you plenty to do that is much smaller in nature.  In many ways, it makes the game more manageable, because you’re not going to have some huge twist or boss fight every time you get on.  For a casual player like myself, this change really works for the kind of time and effort I’m interested in putting into the game.

This past week, the husband and I also started new panda characters, and leveled them up through 11th level.  That was a pretty fun experience; much easier and straight-forward than the starting area for the goblins and worgen (the two new races from Cataclysm).  Where it falls flat, though, is that at level 10, you are dumped into Stormwind, and have to figure out where you should place yourself; Pete and I went on to Westfall, because most of the quests there in Elwynn forest were too low a level.  There was very little done to transition characters out of Pandaria and into the mainland, which is really disappointing, and is probably quite confusing for those new to the game.
 

News:  JC Penney's Hitler Tea Kettle via Yahoo! News

This is hilarious.  Not only did JC Penney accidently make a tea kettle that looks like Hitler, the internet bought them all.  Check out the link for the photo and more information.

That's it for this week. :D

(images via stephsbitebybite.com, disneyfandom.net, wowwiki.com)

What-What?! Week of April 21st

This week has been long, as I’ve been busy with school, and have come down sick to boot.  My littlest, at just about 12 months, is really walking now!  He’s starting to get pretty quick, too. :D

Local Living:  The San Jose Fantasy Faire

Last Sunday, we went to the San Jose Fantasy Faire with the kids and my sister; we had a really good time, though it is definitely a kid’s event.  There were a bunch of princesses, including Rapunzel and her tower, as well as a “princess pavilion”, where princesses rested in between activities; my daughter would have rather we just left her there to live with the princesses.  At one point, my daughter and sister sat down to a princess story time, and when Belle finished reading, she asked if anyone wanted to hear another story; all the other kids got up and left, but not my daughter!  It makes me happy that my kids love reading. :D

We also saw Captain Jack Sparerib’s show, which was entertaining, though my sister (rightly) remarked that it was similar to the act that Broon does at the regular renaissance faires.  Still, the kids were entertained and happy to see him, and were especially happy about the treasure map that we got them.

Cooking:  Dried Blueberry and Yogurt Scones

This recipe came about because we wound up with a big container of expiring plain yogurt, and nothing to do with it.  I had picked up some dried blueberries from Costco ($7-8 for a giant sack), and it just seemed like a good idea.  I wasn’t able to find a recipe that I was happy with, so I took bits and pieces of other recipes.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup dried blueberries
• 1-1/4 cup yogurt (can probably be substituted with 1 cup of milk; I have not tried this)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix flour, baking powder and sugar together in bowl; cut the butter into this mixture using a pastry cutter, two butter knives, a fork, or a stand mixer.  Mix in the blueberries, then stir yogurt until incorporated.  Knead a few times, then you can either roll out to a 1-1/2 inch thick circle and cut into wedges, or cut into circles with a biscuit cutter, or you could eat the dough raw, if you really want.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until golden brown.  Enjoy! :D

Films:  Upcoming Thor: The Dark World Movie Poster

So, the new poster for the upcoming Thor film was released, and it’s utterly useless.  It shows Thor with his hammer.  Big whoop!  I am a bit disappointed, though, that this one isn’t being directed by Kenneth Branagh; maybe it will be a bit less hilarious in the romance department, which was at about my five-year-old's level in the first film.  The director for The Dark World is Alan Taylor, who has only directed three feature-length films prior to this one, though has directed a great variety of television episodes, including The Sopranos, Deadwood, Mad Men, and Game of Thrones.  This film sounds like it's going to be more complex overall, with more character development and stuff.  If you go looking on the interwebz, be careful of spoilers.

Until next week! :D

What-What?! Week of April 7th

Not too much going on this week; still working on the internal analysis of my capstone project, which has been going quite well.  A few days ago, we took the kids back to Chuck E. Cheeses, and they had a lot of fun.  It’s a pretty cheap trip, since we haven’t been buying any of the [awful] food.  Today, my baby is 11 months old, and is now walking short distances.  It is horrible. D:

Target: Pregnant Women are Huge via everywheres

So, this made it all the way to the front of Yahoo!  Target, on this maternity dress shown above, described the color as “manatee grey”.  For the plus-size only, no less!  I wonder if this was purposeful, or if some idiot somewhere thought that pregnant women like natural things, and the natural color of a manatee is grey, therefore a perfect color descriptor.  Next, there will be colors like “blue whale”, I’m sure. :P

Shopping:  Tulle’s Spring Collection

This past week, I got an e-mail from Tulle, a couture clothing company.  I love the vintage style they have, and would totally buy their dresses if not for one thing: the hem length is too short!  I just cannot wear dresses that are not at least knee length, it makes me uncomfortable.  Also, the things that I’ve bought from Tulle tend to fit a bit oddly anyway, and you have to pay shipping to return things.  So, while I love to window shop there, I don’t generally buy anything.  But oh how I want that scallop dress.  WANT.

News:  The Jobs Report is Actually Quite Depressing via the WSJ

This article discusses that, while the unemployment rate has fallen another 0.1%, it’s mostly because people are leaving the workforce.  As someone who’ll soon be fresh out of college, it’s pretty frightening to think that others, with more experience and education, are leaving the workforce because they cannot find jobs.  How nice.  And, of course, this particular author is blaming welfare programs for part of this, because as soon as you get a low paying job, you lose benefits.  So, people don’t take the low paying jobs, because the after tax income doesn’t make up for the non-taxable benefits you lose.  Neither is what I’d call a sustainable way to live.

Cooking:  Loaded Cauliflower, via Linda's Low Carb Recipes

Recently, I've been experimenting with cauliflower, just for a change of pace.  I don't generally eat it, and never have, to be honest.  Yesterday, I made "loaded" caulifower, and while I had this recipe, I  totally did not follow it.  Instead, I chopped up my cauliflower small, daubed on some ranch dressing, added a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, and popped it into the oven for about 30 minutes.  It came out surprisingly good, and I think the addition of bacon or ham would really perfect it.  The husband and I liked it, while the kids mostly just poked at it.  This one I will make again.

TV:  Mad Men via Netflix

Netflix has just offered the fifth season of Mad Men this past week, so I’m watching it.  I haven’t loved all the plot twists (Don Draper’s backstory makes me roll my eyes), but I do enjoy the interaction between the characters, and looking at the fashion, if nothing else.  My favorite character is probably Harry Crane, the firm’s director of television marketing.  So far this season, we haven’t seen much of him, but I still have another 10 episodes to go, so there’s hope. :)

(images via Yahoo! news, genaw.com, browntweedsociety.wordpress.com)

What-What?! Week of March 17th

This week I’ve survived my husband being out of town, extra classes, turning in a major paper, and my first practice presentation for my capstone class.  But now, it is spring break!  Ooooooh yeah!

News: I’m in the Wall Street Journal! (second letter down)

In my post last week, I discussed an article titled #SequesterThis.  I did some editing and tightened it up, then sent it in as a letter to the editor.  And it was published!  It makes me quite happy.

Homeschooling:  Word Practice Eggs

I got the idea for these from FamilyFun magazine (which I believe is a Disney publication?).  Using plastic Easter eggs, write consonants on one side, and word endings on the other.  On mine, I did “at” words:  On one side it has a c, m, r, and b, and on the other, “at”.  Putting the two sides together makes the words cat, mat, rat and bat.  The example in FamilyFun is good up until you try to figure out additional word endings.  Bring in this website about word families, which has a huge trove of different word possibilities!

The only warning that I have on this project is that, though I used permanent marker, it slowly rubbed off the eggs.  I don’t know what else to use for writing on the eggs, but this was otherwise a huge hit with both my oldest children (ages 5 and 3).

Cooking:  Breakfast Enchiladas via Inspired Taste 

I made these last night, with some changes; I skipped the flour, used milk instead of half-n-half, and added salsa to the eggs as well.  It came out okay.  It wasn’t bad or anything, but it wasn’t very exciting to eat.  I think some sour cream or guacamole on top would have hit the spot.  Or maybe some black beans in the enchiladas?  I’ll have to think about it.

News:  5 Startup Naming Rules via Entreprenuer

 

This is a well-timed article on naming your business.  I particularly think that rule number one is good; you're creating a brand, not naming a business.  If the domain name you want for your business is taken, find a different one with the same name, or choose a different name all together.  Don't wind up adding, deleting or changing letters because of this.  No one will be able to remember it, and your website will just be lost in the vast sea of the interwebz.  I have one example of this that is pretty close to home: The California Farmers' Markets Association has the website cafarmersmkts.com.  I have been to this website numerous times, and still have to Google it every single time, because I just cannot remember it.  Californiafarmersmarkets.com is not taken, and neither is thecfma.com.  I think those would be easier to remember.

Movies:  Wreck-It Ralph Review

Last week, Wreck-It Ralph was released, and being a video game geek, I had to pick it up.  I actually liked this film better than Brave; in Brave, there was all this buildup of characters and story, but then the ending was far from the epic conclusion I was expecting.  Wreck-It Ralph does not have this problem; it remained exciting the entire way through, with subdued humor and a great plot twist.  My only real dig about it is the toilet humor: I know it’s a children’s movie, but really?  Did we have to go there?  The other thing that bothered me was how the villain was dealt with; I’m not sure that my kids really needed to see that.  Of course, after the scene in Tangled, where Mother Gothel turns into dust, I’m getting the idea that Disney isn’t sugarcoating or hiding how villains are killed.  I just remind myself that, in the original Cinderella story, the evil stepmother had red-hot iron shoes put on, dancing to death for Cinderella’s amusement.

Despite these issues, it was redeemed by the nostalgia factor, interesting characters, and creative setting.  Oh, and the music; I thought that the music, especially the theme for the “Sugar Rush” game was brilliant.  It sounds exactly like something you’d hear in an arcade.  I give it 4.5/5 stars.  I expect to watch this film often over the summer.

Wasting Time: More Princess Celestia as the Stig

Yes, more.  See you next week!  :)

(photos via FamilyFun, Inspired Taste, IMDb)