Chevron.2

License’d

2007-08-07T14:22:00.000-04:00

Today I passed my driving test (it ‘twas the first try). So, now I have my junior license. I was pretty nervous for the test, and the instructor wouldn’t let me parallel park like I had practiced, so I ended up lightly hitting the curb and I had to back up several times to get it right (and he didn’t even check my distance from the curb...which I practiced hard to get close...) but I don’t care, ‘cause I passed! Yay!

Oh, and this is my 100th post. So...yay, again.

July Update

2007-07-19T15:31:00.000-04:00

Last week, as you probably already heard from my mom’s blog, both the Tok'ra and I were at a band camp. I really liked that camp: it was small, but you got a lot of personal advice as a musician, and the last time I was at a band camp, Penn State...well...the trombonist instructor there was super mean, so having a nice one instead was a great change :D. Though, they kept us up really late the night before our final concert, so I don’t think we did as well as we could have...which makes me really mad, but oh, well.

Tomorrow’s meh birthday...yay...but it’s kinda scary too. I mean...another year older and stuff...

And then the next day my sister, my dad, and I will head down to Baltimore for Otakon, which is a huge anime convention, the only one like it on the eastern coast. Here’s a picture of the costume I’ll be wearing (‘cause when you go to one of these...you should always dress up ;D). My mom made this awesome costume out of clothing we found at the Salvation Army. Thanks, mom!:

The character I’m dressing up as is named Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. He’s actually about my height and always gets teased for being short...so that’s why I picked him :P. Though, he has blonde hair, and I lack a wig...but next year I’ll be sure to have the wig :).

Edit: Also, although it doesn’t look as nice squished up small, I made myself a new image-thingy that I think came out pretty well, being all done in Macromedia Flash MX...though, only in the full version. The symbol on the hat's supposed to resemble what the first prime Jaffa has on his forehead, and I used the astrological sign of Leo 'cause I'm a lion (despite myself being Cancer...how unfortunate, eh?)

R.I.P., Dear Chatham

2007-06-22T17:35:00.000-04:00

I thought today, the day of the last episode of SG-1 could not get any worse. My family’s dear 20-year-old Siamese cat Chatham has been put to sleep today. I was hoping to experience my first moments of life without him at college, with the hopes of being able to visit him again. However, now I can only be at peace knowing that he is no longer suffering from the many pains he had in his old age. At least he got to spend some of his last happy hours basking in the sun, which he loved so much.

Please, rest in peace, Chatham. You are much loved.

Drum Major...-ing

2007-05-31T20:43:00.000-04:00

For the past few weeks I have been going through drum major training [along with meh sister]. We’ve had three sessions of lessons, and tonight was our auditions [although meh sister didn’t try out; she just wanted to learn the skills]. I actually thought I did pretty well, though I got flustered during the interview [right after I told them I got flustered easily...lol].

Anyway, the audition consisted of conducting to the tape of Battle Hymn [which is the song the band played in the memorial day parade], then we had to draw strips of papers and choose how we were to conduct a scale [mine was the easiest: a whole rest then a cue to start playing on one; I really wanted the cue on three...for some reason]. The rest of the drum majors played their instruments while the others conducted [it ‘twas interesting...two flutes, a trombone, a trumpet, and bells...]. Afterwards we went out and each of us had come prepared with a block which we instructed the others to do, and we would be judged on our marching was well. MAN, I wasn’t that good because it’s been a while since I did most of that stuff...but then we were instructed to command a new block on the stop, which I did okay on...I slightly messed up, but I recovered...and THEN was the interview, which I thought went well besides me being flustered.

Everyone I’ve talked to said it was between me and the trumpet player for drum major...so maybe I’ll get it...maybe I won’t. [One of the flutes was last year’s senior drum major and was there to give the staff her opinion, and the other flutist was last year’s junior drum major, so she’s guaranteed a spot.]

If not drum major, I really want to be the trombone section leader :D.

New Season of Stargate

2007-04-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

WOW, Stargate!! Yeah, I’m pretty cool with the latest episodes, especially since Lucius Loving said “OW!”. He’s a real jerk and probably my least favorite person...ever. But...I’m mostly looking towards next Friday’s episodes, with Daniel becoming a Prier/Prior (sp?) and McKay getting a super ego. That’ll be super fun...:P.

...And then there was a lack of light!

2007-03-11T10:19:00.000-04:00

“After Act I, what happens next?”

Well, no one quite expected the spectacular, but obviously not purposeful, light show that followed. Every light flashed on and off randomly, until it all rested in darkness until emergency lights came on temporarily. The Cat and the Hat who had posed the question shrugged, while the audience and orchestral pit got a rather large chuckle out of the matter. However, it became rather distressing to both the pit and the cast when we attempted to continue and the lights again “stole the spotlight” of Seussical the Musical, and then the school was notified that there was a transformer fire that was causing power failure throughout our town. The fire department was to bring light to help us continue, but they deemed it too dangerous to continue so they evacuated the audience, pit, and cast from the building. It was then we had an opportunity to see outside, which we saw it was raining quite hard...

But this reminded us all of last year, when the sound board was busted, and the audience had to wait an hour for the show to start. At least we could finish it...but this year, with an audience even larger, we couldn’t...so the musical will have another showing today...

OH, but besides the musical, I can now do “doubles” on DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). It is when you use two dance pads for one person, and let me tell you it is hard...

Oh, what a morning!

2007-02-07T17:19:00.000-05:00

[Well, here’s a post before both Halloween and St. Patrick’s day, for those who requested one ;) ]

Today at school I had to go in early because a club I am in meets Wednesday mornings. I enter the building, and no one is there, not even the secretaries at their desks, but this is normal; at my school, bandies are usually the only punctual people, and everyone else tends to be what I like to call L-A-T-E (and yes, the previous statement was an slight exaggeration). It was at that time two or so minutes before the usual meeting time and the teacher in charge just arrived and I am still the only member present (again, this is quite normal). He chuckled and said, “Well, you’re going to be waiting for a while...” and I replied “yeah...” with a half-chuckle, knowing that the other members usually didn’t arrive for a while after the meeting was suppose to start. Then, he offered to open the door of the classroom so I could sit in it, and I replied, “No, I’ll be fine.” I actually enjoyed sitting in the hallway tucked behind the end of a row of lockers, because it was a lot less awkward than sitting in an empty classroom. However, still this was a strange question for him to ask! The others usually did not take that long to arrive, and he should start preparing for the meeting at that moment anyway! Still, he walked away and I went back to studying for the math test I had later in the day. After he turned the corner I suppose he met up with a few other teachers, for they began a rather loud conversation (not intentionally loud, however). I was trying to ignore them and study...well...that is until I heard three little words: “one hour delay”.

I froze; “...ONE HOUR DELAY?!?!” my head screamed; I quickly stood up and rushed to the high school office in hope of being able to call home, but no one was there...I quickly rushed to the middle school office, but alas! No one was there either! With the sense of defeat in my heart, I went to the auditorium lobby (where students are suppose to wait before school) and gave up. LOL, don’t pity me, I think it is hilarious! Plus I was able to catch up on reading a novel that I have to finish for tomorrow’s English class.

...Heh

2007-01-31T16:34:00.000-05:00

...Um...I guess I should change from the Christmas banner...

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

[Don't forget to turn off the sound at the top! Click on the tag to start!]

Happy Holidays, bloggers! I had a pretty neat animation planned, but even though I’ve so far worked about five hours with it, I’m getting frustrated with it, and I know I will not be able to finish it for Christmas, so you can at least see what I have up to the point Samantha Carter [Natalie Cole] is suppose to start singing...well, I did do a bit more than that, but I’d rather show the rest when I’m finished [if ever...probably not until after Christmas, but I don’t know...I’m pretty frustrated with it. Oh, and in the animation, Nat King Cole was going to be Jack O’Neil singing]. Also, it is still a bit dysfunctional, so you might have to lower the quality by right clicking on it.

But oh, well, at least I did something, eh? Anyway, have a Merry Christmas, a spectacular Saturnalia (well...belated), and a great New Year.

P.S. I’m getting my wisdom teeth out on Wednesday...wish me luck...

District Band

2006-12-03T11:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the day of district band. I woke up at about 5:00 in the morning, practiced a little bit, and then left for school to depart at 6:30.

I have been preparing for this day since last June...it’s kind of intimidating to work for so long for one moment...but I had been playing Concerto for Trombone by Rimsky-Korsakov and 15 major scales and the chromatic scale for a long time, so I felt prepared.

This audition was the first time I wasn’t completely nervous! It was pretty amazing...I didn’t even tear up (I usually come close or do cry)! Plus, afterwards I was really pleased with how I did, which I thought went pretty well after having to wait two hours to even begin to audition.

However, I was upset that my score was 53.15...I mean, it went up about 13 points from last year, but I really liked my solo this year. The music was excellent for the trombone...but it turns out a lot of people got low scores this year.

This year they combined “upper” and “lower” trombones (“upper” & “lower” refers to the school...though, I don’t know what exactly it means because my school is in the lower part of my state, but we’re an “upper” band), so the judges had to sit and listen to approximately 70 trombones, and my director says judges usually don't do so well mentally after having to listen to the same thing that many times. I went towards the lower half of the trombones, but I tried to go earlier.

Although I didn’t make district band, I did place 14th out of all the trombones...and guess what? The took the top eleven...

...so I’ll have to wait until next year, and make sure I’m one of the first fifteen to go...because I’m sure all the ones who made it were some of the first to go...

But, anyway, out of the eight from Camp Hill that auditioned, three made it, and one made it to District Orchestra, which only the top four or so of each instrument get to do, so she was really happy. Three more people were signed up to audition, but they didn't come, including the one person who made it into districts last year...strange, huh?

November Post

2006-11-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

Um...

...did you have a good Turkey Day?

Oh, and I guess this blog has now existed for two years...so...yeah. Fun times...

Just posting...

2006-10-31T06:31:00.000-05:00

...so I have an October post....ish...

Happy Halloween!

Reminder:

2006-09-30T15:26:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder that I cannot save Stargate SG-1 alone, so send in your ideas for the 215 Reasons Project, and don't forget to audition for Revenge of the Geek or I cannot start working on it!

215 Reasons Website

2006-08-25T14:53:00.000-04:00

Yay! The website that for the 215 reasons for Stargate is up!

Click here to go to it!

It’s pretty simple (except for the banner I made for it), and it may get more spiffy has time goes on...

Tak Goa’uld Pez’s 215 Reasons Project

2006-08-23T22:16:00.001-04:00

Okay, if there is one thing that’s never going to happen without a fight, it’s this: the end of Stargate SG-1. Who cares about Atlantis? Stargate SG-1’s plot with the Ori is ten times better than Atlantis’s plot with the Wraith...well, it’s more like I really hate the Wraith, and only semi-hate the Ori. Okay, yeah, the villain is suppose to be hated, but Atlantis seems to just be going around in circles...anyway, that’s beside the point.

Stargate SG-1 is the greatest TV series, ever. I know, it’s just my personal opinion, but it really is sad for me...one of the things I’ve always wanted to do was have a walk-on role, but I’m not even old enough to enter (have to be 18), and it won’t be there when I have a chance to enter. Plus, there are so many things that aren’t finished...so, what we have to do is stop SciFi from canceling SG-1!

So, I devised the “Tak Goa’uld Pez’s 215 Reasons Project”. We, those who won’t let the catastrophe happen, shall come up with 215 or more reasons why Stargate SG-1 shall not be cancelled. Some reasons can be funny, but all 215 will be true and dear to our hearts.

You can either post a comment of one, or e-mail me at goauld_productions@yahoo.com. Also, to advertise, please post this graphic on your blog, and link it back to this post:

I’m going to try to see if a different person can come up with each reason...so if you have multiple reasons, perhaps submit them to a friend ;-).

Anyway, I’ll do the first one:

1) Because Lt. Col. Mitchell has not died yet, and all official members of SG-1 have to die and be revived (Vala is already qualified, as you should know...:-P). -Tak Goa'uld

2. Because some girl in Pennsylvania needs to do walk on in a couple years. -Doug

3. Because Ori are even more vicious in reruns. –Doug (up for adoption)

4. "Did I remember to lock the Stargate before coming to bed?" –Doug (up for adoption)

5. If not for Stargate, Goa'uld would have posted even less. –Doug (up for adoption)

6. Someone has to do real science in this country. –G (adopted from Doug)

7. If Stargate goes off the air, what will stop MacGyver from coming back? –Minka (adopted from Doug)

8. Leave it on the air until I get it. –Doug (up for adoption)

9. If you can build a set prop that opens into another planet, by crickey, you can make a 25th season. –Doug (up for adoption)

10. Goa'ulds aren't vegetarian and don't like pasture. –Doug (up for adoption)

11. Because if SG is cancelled, 2 million SG fans will boycott your network--and they really mean it. - actonbell

12. Because there's something so magical about getting lost in a great show. - Sar

13. Because like Star Trek, Stargate SG-1 should air for decades to make an indelible impression in SciFi television history. - Sar

14. Because my pal 3D's daughter is Stargate SG-1's number one fan and she deserves the happiness she'd attain by seeing the show continue not to mention getting a walk on role. –Sar

15. Because some of us have still not forgiven SciFi for cancelling FarScape. - O Ceallaigh

16. Shows like this help to encourage imagination which is in short supply on most shows. Keep it on air for the future of our country I say! – G

17. I have never seen a single espisode, and if you quit now...well I won't be tempted cause the final link is missing;) - Minka

18. Because they haven't explored all the story possibilities yet. – dddragon

19. ...because there are so many planets they have to revisit, that it would be a cruel joke if they didn’t. – Tak Goa'uld (up for adoption)

20. Because it's not finished. You can't quit in the middle of a series. – Tan Lucy Pez

21. Because I've only seen it a couple of times and liked it but have to wait til I'm about 50 to have time to watch it anymore so you have to keep it going....please. - Kyahgirl

22. Because it is the only show on your network I still watch. – Quilldancer

(As of August 25, 1:24 PM EST)

I will probably make a separate web page for the list...but at the moment, I am too lazy :-P...I'm not sure how I'm going to prove that 215 different people made up each reason, but I'll find a way...

Oh, and "215" is how many episodes there are "going" to be if we don't stop this.

Edit: Well, I did have the ‘one per person’ up when I originally posted, but perhaps we can shoot for over 215, however have 215 different people at least come up with...them...hm...that’s a lot of people...but it’s worth it for Stargate!! I’ll try to do the updates for this post every night. The website will come...soon. Thank you so much for your support!

(...and not all of the reasons have to be focused on me, but I am very flattered :P. The more variety, the more chance we have!)

Double Edit: Okay, until now, I forgot the code that would allow me to share the coding for the image, but I now remember it :D. Copy and paste this coding somewhere on your blog to support Stargate SG-1!

For there never was a tale of more woe...

2006-08-23T10:34:00.000-04:00

Click here to read the article on Comcast.

"Stargate" Shown the Door

Jack O'Neill's galactic team outlasted Mulder, Scully, Picard and Sisko. But it won't fight on forever. At least not on Sci Fi Channel.

The cable network announced Monday it was decommissioning Stargate SG-1 after the conclusion of its 10th season sometime next year.

In ~~less distressing~~ more distressing news for the Stargate faithful, Sci Fi said it was renewing Stargate Atlantis, the SG-1 spinoff, for a fourth season.

SG-1, long headed by Richard Dean Anderson as the Earth-protecting Major General Jack O'Neill (and the series-defending executive producer), aired its 200th episode last Friday. Some 2.5 million viewers observed the occasion, per Nielsen Media Research, making it the second-most-watched Sci Fi show of the week after the E.T.-free Extreme Championship Wrestling (2.6 million).

Unless another network steps in to salvage SG-1, the series will end its 10-year run with 215 episodes, more than The X-Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine--or any U.S.-produced sci-fi show. Ever.

In a statement long on plaudits (i.e., "worldwide phenomenon") and short on specifics, Sci Fi said it was canceling SG-1 because, well, it just was.

"Having achieved so much over the course of the past 10 years, Sci Fi believes that the time is right to make this season [its] last on the channel," the network said.

A call seeking comment from MGM, the studio behind SG-1, was not immediately returned Tuesday. In the Hollywood Reporter, an MGM rep said the company was "vigorously working to continue the franchise."

The Sci Fi pink slip came on the same day MGM closed a long-awaited iTunes deal that makes episodes from the current seasons of SG-1 and Atlantis available for download purchase.

SG-1 is nothing if not well-traveled. The franchise was launched in 1994 as the theatrical movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. In 1997, the TV version debuted on Showtime with Anderson and Michael Shanks filling the Russell and Spader roles as soldier and scientist, respectively. Sci Fi picked up the series in 2002.

As with most long-running shows, not all cast members lasted the marathon. Anderson, the former MacGyver innovator, first cut back on his hours, then left the series for good last year. (He still returns, however, for occasional appearances--as evidenced by the 200th episode). Farscape alum Ben Browder took the com as Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell as of season nine.

SG-1 is scheduled to conclude the first half of its 10th season in September, before returning to finish off its slate in 2007.

The Ori, meanwhile, were said to biding their evil time.

Note: I will not be able to start working on Revenge of the Geek until I have a Jack & Daniel!

Viewers Choice Poll (SG-1)

2006-08-19T10:24:00.000-04:00

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite episode of Stargate SG-1 here! These are the episodes I voted for, just in case you don’t watch Stargate SG-1 but would like to vote:

Window of Opportunity

Lifeboat

Space Race

It’s Good to be King

Prometheus Unbound

Ex Deus Machina

Reckoning Part 2

Moebius Part 2

Tin Man

Upgrades

Other Suggestions:

The Other Guys

Avenger 2.0

Wormhole X-Treme

Heroes (Part 1 or 2)

Citizen Joe

Avalon (Part 1 or 2)

Reckoning Part 1

Moebius Part 1

...etc.

200 Episodes!

2006-08-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

OMGEE! 200th episode of Stargate SG-1! *sigh* I want to meet the real Furlings so badly...not a bunch of poser-Ewok-Furlings...but it was still funny. I really liked the Farscape reference, invisible Jack, zombie, and wedding...hehe, I think every wedding should play the Stargate theme song ^_^!!

Anyway, I may post a longer post later...but that’s it for tonight. I’m too tired...

Oh, and by the way...this will hurt...

MWAHAHAHA!

Almost on the road...

2006-07-21T18:10:00.000-04:00

Yes! I passed the test to get my learner’s permit! Of course, I haven’t really driven on any real roads, but I have gotten a chance to practice in a large parking lot. It’s kind of scary...but I can’t wait to learn more.

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for my entire life...ever since I remember, I’ve always wanted to drive...although, my inspiration was racing video games and go karts...but still, I’ve always wanted to drive, and now I finally have!

I hope to be able to drive to band practice on Monday, but I’ll have to practice some more before I’m ready...

I didn’t post yesterday, but I did take the test yesterday and failed...I didn’t even get to see the last four questions...but the questions I got yesterday were worded so strangely...today, I only missed one and skipped one (which they didn’t have me answer at the end of the test). It was so easy today compared to yesterday...I just wish I got the test I got today yesterday...

Birthday

2006-07-20T19:00:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's my birthday today. Thank you for everyone who said "Happy Birthday", and especially those who got me something (not that I'm playing favorites or anything...) ;-).

Because of Mexico (which I will write up a post for later), we didn't have much time to plan for our birthday, so we just went to the Sports Emporeum with the Nox and Jaffa. It was a lot of fun ^_^! Though...I feel kind of guilty for wiping out dad during go karts...heh...

NYC & Mexico

2006-06-28T21:10:00.000-04:00

On the afternoon of Friday, my family left to go to NYC. You can hear more about it from my mom’s post about it. I don’t really feel the need to say more than I really, really, really loved the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. It was amazing! I could probably see it again and again...though, I do really want to see Spamalot a lot, too...(lol).

Anyway, for the first two weeks of July I will be away in Mexico, but continue to audition for Revenge of the Geek!

Geek and District Band

2006-06-17T21:26:00.000-04:00

I know...I think I promised to post more during the summer, but I have not so far...I was hoping to have Revenge of the Geek be the first post, but I’m putting a lot more work into it, so I might be working on it the entire summer...I dunno...so far I’ve been just doing some simple test animations and the character bases, but I realized I really can’t start the actual animation until I have the voices for it, so I can get the timing right. But since the majority of the characters are male, I can’t really do the voices...so, I think I’m going to hold auditions for the voices! Here are all the characters that speak:

Obi Wan Kenobi

Jack O'Neill

Sith Lord

~~Darth Vader~~

Daniel Jackson

~~Cop (male or female)~~

General Hammond

Samantha Carter

To audition, please e-mail me at goauld_productions@yahoo.com and I will send you a few lines that you shall record yourself saying and e-mail the sound file back to me. I think there is a “Sound Recorder” on all computers under “Accessories” on the “Start” menu, but if you don’t have a recording program or a microphone...I’m afraid I can’t help you there...if other people have suggestions about this dilemma, feel free to e-mail me or comment.

Auditions will probably be held for the rest of July, but please submit them as soon as possible! As soon as I find a good voice, I’ll close the auditions for that character! Feel free to audition for multiple characters. E-mail me if you have any questions!

P.S. If you don't know anything about these characters, I suggest you watch Stargate SG-1 on the SciFi channel (on Mondays starting at 6:00 EST or Fridays starting at 8:00 EST), and rent the third Star Wars movie.

------------------------------------------------------------
Although I haven’t received the music yet, I have listened to part of the music that I must play in order to audition for District Band, and even though it sounds like it’ll be hard, it does sound very beautiful. The piece is entitled Concerto by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), and you can listen to parts of it at this site (I believe the part I have to play is in the second movement). I’m actually quite excited to start working on it, and I hope I play it well for the District Band auditions.

Revenge of the Two-Headed Turtle

2006-05-31T17:08:00.000-04:00

Heh, one month passes so quickly! How I hope the summer doesn’t go as fast...

On Monday, which all of you know was Memorial Day, was jam packed for me. I got up around 6:00 to prepare for the parade. At around 8:15 we then left to go get our uniforms, then hurried to the spot where we were going to warm-up before the parade. There were five other trombones beside me...three in eighth grade and two in seventh...though out of the eighth graders I think one is quitting, one doesn’t seem enthusiastic about band (or really anything...no offense to that one person) and one is switching to French horn for concert band! I practically know nothing of the seventh graders, but all the trombonists don’t seem to hold their instruments up high enough...so they’ll be whipped into shape during band camp in August ;). Anyway, it seemed like no time had passed before we were lining up to go march down Market Street...and just like the Disney parade, I didn’t feel well prepared (marching-wise) and out of shape (since I didn’t have gym at all the second half of the year and instead everyday the beginning of the year...). I didn’t do as well as I should have during the parade, but I think I played well during the Memorial Day service afterward. During which we were supposed to play America the Beautiful, but the announcer just started singing without us! It was actually quite funny...but moving on, after the service, we hurried back to the school, got changed into Hawaiian shirts, ate pizza, then scrambled on over to Willow Park where we were to perform in the jazz band, which I believe I also did well in. And finally at 2:30 in the afternoon, we could return home and I spent the rest of my day off finishing my art final.

And now, all I have to stress over is ~~midterms~~ finals! ~~UGH~~ Yay!

(Very Important) Things I Intend to do over the Summer:

Go to Mexico

Band Camp

Learn to Drive

Work on Revenge of the Geek

Band Trip

2006-04-30T19:44:00.000-04:00

Okay, okay! I know...I haven’t posted in over a month. I have been really busy some of the time...however other times, I haven’t been busy at all. What can I say? I’m a two-headed turtle (which probably most of you know as a procrastinator). Anyway, hopefully this post will make up for the long hiatus from the blog world.

Hey, guess where I was last Saturday to Tuesday?

And for those who guessed correctly, you get the satisfaction of...well...correctly guessing! If the image hasn’t come up yet and you’re dying to know it, I laugh in your face. Ha. Anyway, I guess I should start from the beginning.

||Saturday April 22, 2006||

At approximately 3:00 A.M., both I and the Tok’ra get up from bed (I with 6 hours of sleep; more then most of my peers) and we make the final preparations for the trip. In the rain, we are driven over to our school at around 4:30 A.M. where we bring in our luggage and wait in the auditorium for the rest of the band to arrive. I guess I should let you know that this trip was for the Senior High Marching Band to perform at the Magic Kingdom...but since I already said “band”, I guess you assumed that. Moving along...we get on the buses and drive for two hours down to Baltimore where we prepare to take the two-hour flight down to Orlando, Florida. My band director, along with one other student, has to be taken aside to be checked while going through security.

As you can see, I brought my Death Star Pez long with me. I was planning to take all these pictures of it everywhere so I could post it on this blog. However, my friends started to get extremely annoyed everytime they saw me take it out since they knew I’d be taking another picture and it wouldn’t be a quick one...so...there are only really a few pictures with the Pez dispenser in it. And plus, that isn’t our plane in the background, lol, eh?

This is a picture of the wing of our plane while in flight. Of course, as I expected, I totally panicked on the takeoff. Our band director thought I was so panicky that he asked if it was my first flight (which of course, it wasn’t - it was my second time). But the landing was okay, and was never really bothered by that, even six years ago. I read the Perseus myth for Latin class on the way up and then played Mario Kart DS on my Nintendo DS. Nothing much happened except tons of waiting until we reached Epcot, our first destination.

Here is a picture of part of the ‘golf ball’ of Epcot. The first day wasn’t the most thrilling, to tell you the truth. A friend of mine and I went to Italy to eat lunch were we got some good pizza and really good bread. I mean, the bread was awesome. After that, we met up with our other friends and when on the “Ellen Degeneres Ride” (in reality, it's called “Ellen's Energy Adventure”), and that’s where I saw the “keep your appendages in the car” sign. I said, “Hey, look! They’re having a party!” and that was our private joke the entire time while at Disney, since that same sign was everywhere.

The picture below was actually taken at the Jungle Tours ride. There we were entertained by a very funny employee (“Here are Inspiration Falls...now everybody say ‘oooh’...now everybody say ‘ahhh’...now doesn’t everyone feel inspired?” It was quite a funny experience...) but this was at the Magic Kingdom, where we went the next day. Back to Epcot...we then went on the ride that was inside the giant golf ball, went to Canada where I got a Roots T-shirt, and by then we had to go back to the hotel.

Afterwards, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner, where we ended up going to McDonalds, and my food wasn’t cooked well, so I don’t think I’ll go to a McDonalds again...and that’s about it for that day.

||Sunday April 23, 2006||

Ah, the day of the parade. Of course, I’m the first to awaken in my room of three other upper classmen, which is an advantage for me since I don’t have to fight over the shower. When everyone is awakened and prepared to leave the hotel (Factoid: the chaperones take the keys to the hotel during the day so we can't return to the rooms by ourselves until a certain time), we go to the Fantasia Gardens for breakfast. There they give us a decent meal and a pep talk, which did make me excited for the parade. There was time to kill until we marched at the Magic Kingdom, so my friends and I went on Jungle Tours and Pirates of the Caribbean. Two of my other friends went on Splash Mountain (even though it turns out you weren’t suppose to go on water rides until after the parade; our director was annoyed at them when they told him, not realizing that they weren’t allowed to ride the ride). After that we ate a very small lunch at Peco Bill’s and we all met outside the restaurant to go to backstage Disney, where we weren’t allowed to use cameras or cell phones. We practiced the song, put on our uniforms, and after an hour or so we were ready to march on. Although I can’t say I didn’t have ‘fun’, I was just so hot I didn’t notice it...! I seriously felt like I was in an oven...and I was complaining about it so much afterwards I’m surprised my band director didn’t decapitate me! I feel bad about complaining about it now, but I’m just hoping my director forgot about it or didn’t hear me. I must have sounded very ungrateful, which I’m not.

Anyway, afterwards we went on the Haunted Mansion. This was one of the rides that the Nox suggested for me to go on but I didn't when we first went to Disney years ago, and when I went on it now, wasn’t scary at all. After that our group split up for a bit, and a friend and I went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which was a lot of fun, while everyone else went on Space Mountain. We met up after that and headed back to the hotel since it was time to do so. After eating dinner at the hotel, we then headed to Epcot to watch IllumiNations, which was a show of fireworks and the different nations lighting up. It was a neat show, but I think I would have liked to do something else instead, maybe, like see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. However, we were able to go on Test Track because we went to Epcot, which was a lot of fun.

||Monday April 24, 2006||

Alas, this was our full free day. Again I’m the first to awaken and I’m the only one truly awake when the chaperones come around and wake everyone up. We have already planned to go to Animal Kingdom and Disney Quest, but even at the bus stop, we’re still debating which to do first. One of our friends convinces us to do Disney Quest first, since they say it gets busier later in the day. It’s about 9:30 when we arrive at Downtown Disney (since it’s located there) and the bus driver tells us that Disney Quest doesn’t open until 10:30! We’re all quite mad at the one friend that convinced us, but he said we could go shopping during this time, so we all agree, even though both the Tok’ra and I don’t really like the idea since we left most of our money at the hotel. We do buy some things, and then we head to Disney Quest at around 10:20, and the security guard there says the gift shop opens at 10:30, but Disney Quest doesn’t open until 11:30! At this point, we’re ready to decapitate our ‘dear’ friend who suggested going here first, but he convinces us to wait, and we do, despite my urges to zap him three times with a zat'ni'katel. During this time, he and I have a duel with large pixie sticks in the gift shops because we’re bored, and I end up disarming him and I pick up his pixie stick and attack him until he runs to the Pirates of the Caribbean stand and draws a plastic sword. It’s a lot funnier to see then hear, folks, believe me. I’m surprised that we weren’t kicked out of the gift shop! After waiting an hour, we finally are able to get in, and let me tell you: it was heaven! SO many video games...I drool at the very thought! We all had a lot of fun, especially playing the interactive games like the Pirates of the Caribbean game where you were in a room that had a ‘moving’ ship, where one person steered the boat and the other people pulled the strings to launch the cannons. Our friend, the one that convinced us to go there, had decided to met up with other friends at this water park, Typhoon Lagoon (don’t worry, he did tell us that he was planning to do so), however he didn’t tell us the precise moment he left, and he was by himself, which we weren’t allowed to do; we had to be with at least one other person...but we met up with him at the bus station, where he took a different bus than we did.

We then headed to the Animal Kingdom, where we first rode Dinosaur, which was my personal favorite ride. In the gift shop, I seriously scared my friend who rode with the Tok’ra and I with a dinosaur toy five times within a minute! It was so funny! After that, the Tok’ra and my friend went on Expedition Everest while I waited in the gift shop, and then we all saw “It’s Tough to be a Bug”. After that, we had to hurry to the hotel since we were pushing the deadline to be at the hotel. After dinner at the Rainforest Café (the whole band ate there, and it was a good meal even though we didn’t have a choice in what we ate) and then headed over to MGM Studios for the Fantasmic show, but since there was only standing room left at the show, we decided against it and decided to ride rides. We first all went on the Tower of Terror, including me. I hated it...even though I didn’t scream, I hated the feeling of going up and down, and not being able to tell which was which...and despite being strapped in, I pressed my feet against the floor the entire time so hard that my feet ached afterwards. Afterwards we went to the Rock n’ Roller Coaster and I waited in the gift shop for them. We then headed back to the hotel because curfew time was approaching, but we made in back with plenty of time to spare.

||Tuesday April 25, 2006||

As usual, I was the first one awake, and the whole band emptied their rooms and went to MGM Studios for our last day. As everyone promised me the previous night for having such an awful time at MGM Studios, we went on the Great Movie Ride first, since I remembered really liking it, but it wasn’t as interesting as I remembered, but still fun. When the ‘guide’ asked which movie we were in at one point, my one friend screamed, “Mary Poppins!” at the top of her lungs, and well all got a kick out of that.

After that everyone else went on Tower of Terror and Rock n’ Roller Coaster while I waited in the gift shop for both of those. After that we went on Star Tours, which wasn’t scary at all, unlike what I thought went I first rode it when I first went to Disney. We ate lunch then, and the Tok’ra and I had an argument with another one of our friends how she was always controlling what we did, and this was her fifth or so time to Disney, and only our second, and another friend’s first time. We split up after that and we went to see “Sounds Dangerous”, which was fun. We totally didn’t except to be sprayed with water. Our friends were unable to ride the ride they wanted to ride, which actually did secretly make me feel better, and we apologized when we all met up to leave Disney. Nothing eventful happened after that, except I didn’t freak at all at take off on the plane! Take off was tame after the Tower of Terror! I'm so proud of myself...lol.

Well...that’s about it. I’ve been so busy catching up work that I wasn’t able to finish it until now. Hey, at least I got one post in before May ;)

Top O' The Morning to Ya!

2006-03-17T21:32:00.000-05:00

uh...I mean...tomorrow morning?

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

I know it’s been over a month since my last blog entry...

I’ve been both busy and lazy. The Pajama Game, our school’s musical, occurred last weekend. Since both the Tok’ra and I were in the musical’s orchestra pit, we were so busy with practice...

Also, we both have been busy with our high school’s jazz band. Our first “gig” was this Wednesday at a retirement home during school.

In addition, our school has an animation workshop after school on Mondays and Wednesdays that I joined. For the first workshop an animator came and talked to us about animation and since then we’ve separated into groups and each group (only one high school group; the rest middle school groups) are working on a short animation (30 pictures per second...ouch!).

Alas! I think that about covers it for the last month or so. We had today off and I had a chance to finish the PS2 game Neopets: The Darkest Faerie...an interesting review that I’ll post later this weekend. Oh! And also today I was racing three other people on the WiFi connection (on Mario Kart DS) and the power went out! Of course, the WiFi relied on the power, so I was disconnected. I was worried that it would count this as three losses for my record, but guess what? It removed three from my loss score, making my current score 21 wins, 8 losses! It was pretty sweet...

Kingdom Hearts 2...comes out March 29! Hooray!

...however no additional word on the Stargate SG-1 game...:(

Extraterrestrials, Hitchhikers, and Stargates!

2006-02-05T16:06:00.000-05:00

I know, I know...I haven’t posted for a very long time. My life is way too busy...

Anyway, I was spending some of my free time today viewing “The Fan” on Comcast, which those of you how have Comcast should know has a bunch of little or long videos about various things. Well, I was looking at a few about the Roswell incident and aliens, one from ABC News and the other video from National Geographic. Although I already knew it, when we look up into the night sky, we are truly seeing the galaxy in its infancy. It just made me shiver, being reminded of it. I mean, we have no idea how the galaxy...the rest of the universe is at this current moment by looking up into the sky. Like the video clip said, it would be stupid to think that we are the only planet with life in a universe so vastly big that we can hardly even comprehend how large it is. I hope we find these answers in my lifetime...

Continuing on the matter, although I haven’t read all the books of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (though all I have read is great), it did have an interesting thing, where there was this device that showed you compared to the rest of the universe. And because it was so mind-boggling, it would torture you and kill you. And to be honest, I think it would drive a person crazy to learn how tiny and insignificant you are compared to the whole universe.

And on Saturday, I saw the movie The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was okay...the beginning I believe was quite accurate, but however once it hit a certain point, it was like “whoa! Totally different story!”--Okay, so it wasn’t quite like that, for it did have some little bits here and there that were accurate, but the ending and the plot about halfway through were very different.

The new Stargate SG-1 episodes the last two Fridays were quite good. I’m looking forward to next Friday’s because I’ve known about it since the beginning of season nine. I didn’t expect last Friday’s to be good, but it was, despite the sad losses in it and the lost of the Prometheus.

Game Review: Final Impression: Tales of Symphonia

2006-01-02T22:12:00.000-05:00

ACK! I’m such a procrastinator! I was supposed to do this for you during break...but the Nintendo DS and PS2 consumed my attention. So, you can expect good reviews from them, at least...

And Happy New Year, everyone!

Okay, now on to the review of Tales of Symphonia, which “Symphonia”, by the way, is the Latin word for “(musical) band”...if I’m recalling correctly. If not, it’s very close. And no, I have no clue how it’s related. In fact, I don’t think the word “band” was even used during the game. Oh, well.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. Loved it. I recommend anyone who likes RPG’s to play the game. The plot was as interesting as any good book’s, in my opinion, which made it so addicting. I also enjoyed the fact that its plot could be altered by your relationship with the other characters. My personal favorite was Kratos, mostly because he was a pretty good “button-mashing” character (though, it wasn’t technically in his personality), and I thought his whole background and history was interesting and he fitted into the plot very well, not to mention had some very corny and funny sayings he’d articulate at the end of a battle if he were last to strike (yes, whoever was last to strike in a battle would usually say something, either stupid, corny, or funny. I just thought his were particularly corny/funny, except he couldn’t bet Zelos’s phrases. He definitely had the funniest...). I think I might have enjoyed playing as Lloyd, only because he was the best button-masher in the game, but the Tok’ra refused to let me play as him. You can see her post (when she posts it) about the other characters to get a better idea of their personalities. I’ll try to give more of a review from the gamer’s point of view...though the plot and characters are an important part of this too. I won’t go into the plot just in case you want to play the game ;-). Though, I will say that Kratos was “unavailable” to play as most of the game, which annoyed me, since the only character like him was Zelos, who is a faster character, but weaker...:-/.

Though, to be honest, I didn’t have a good point of view of the game from a “gamer” point of view. Why? Well, the game, in my opinion, is obviously designed for one player, but is possible for multiple players, and since I was “player 2”, the Tok’ra did most of the action since she was “player 1” (warning, the screen only focuses on player 1, so I’d suggest keeping the players to 1 or 2, and have the second player become very good at being able to fight when they can’t see themselves or the enemy, like I had to do). Or they could become the healer/magic caster and just hope the enemy will leave them alone.

[Now, for those who just happen to have the game, but don’t know how to allow multiple people to fight, I’ll explain, since it’s very/hardly explained in the instruction manual. Anyway, you plug in the additional controller(s) and then make sure the character you want to be is in the same position in the list (so if you wanted to be Kratos and he was the 3rd person in the list, you either plug your controller into the 3rd slot, or put yours in the second and move him to the 2nd slot), and then you go to the “Tech” in the menu and switch the status from “auto” to “manual”.]

Even though the Tok’ra did most of the “world-walking” (when your traveling the world, not the map), walking around got annoying because of the strange black creatures (random enemies) that you might accidentally run into and having to find these posts in each area in order to get “long-range mode”, so you can travel faster on the back of Noshe (a huge, green and white dog...who doesn’t look like a dog...). It only becomes less painful when you get the rheairds (these gliders you ride on that allow you to fly). The worst part however is traveling by boat; hard, in my opinion...

The graphics were good in my opinion. I strangely don’t have too high a standard for them, but when it went into “movie mode”, it was definitely very cool. The sounds were fun too, except for the Desians’ (bad guys/half-elves) human ranches, which started to annoy the heck out of me, since it was the same for each ranch.

And although some of the puzzles required us to look online, none were drive-you-bonkers hard. And besides the camera/view problem, battling was awesome. It’s “real-time”, meaning that you don’t have to wait for your turn to fight and all of the action is occurring now...and the computer players are actually helpful!

So...I’d definitely recommend it. It’ll keep you occupied...it’s two discs, after all...

(P.S. unrelated to Tales of Symphonia, if you have Mario Kart DS, I have absolutely no one on my friend list. So if you do have it, tell me, since I don’t know anyone who has it...and for those that have no clue what I’m talking about, I’ll explain it in the upcoming review.)

A Happy Christmas

2005-12-27T11:10:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I didn’t post on Christmas, like I said...or the day after...but oh, well. At least I’m posting now, eh?

Anyway, I had a very pleasant Christmas. I got exactly what I wanted (an Electric Blue Nintendo DS; Thanks, Granny Nox)! Also, I got a program called Animation Master, which I had really wanted a Christmas or so ago, and had since given up on. Though, now I’m happy again to have gotten it. I’ve downloaded it to my computer, and I’ll probably go through the tutorials today.

Game Reviews to look forward to:

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Mario Kart DS

Kirby: Canvas Curse DS

Neopets: The Darkest Faerie

Overall review of the DS

And I’ll be posting soon the review of Tales of Symphonia later today.

OH! And I got this book of Funky Winkerbean comics that are exclusively about Harry Dinkle, the band director! Maybe I’ll post one weekly...like the Tok’ra posts quotes weekly...ew, but that would be too “twinish”.

(And thanks for that CD, Ori! "Always look on the bright side of life...*whistles*)

P.S. I think that Christmas banner is going to be up until New Years day ;-) .

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-24T10:42:00.000-05:00

Christmas Elf Name

My Christmas Elf Name is

Get your Christmas Elf Name at JokesUnlimited.com

Well...tomorrow is Christmas. Of course, I'm excited! I'll probably post more tomorrow, but I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays (Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Exultant Kwanzaa, etc.)!

Season's Greetings

2005-12-13T18:40:00.000-05:00

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my other post that my artwork has recently been chosen to be my school's greeting card. The contest was for anyone taking a high school art class. I think mine mostly one because it wasn't pertaining to any certain holiday or politically offending...because I did see a really neat card with a lion (our school mascot) with a bag of toys wearing a Santa hat...but it wasn't chosen because it was specifically referring to Christmas...

Musical Weekend

2005-12-12T19:43:00.000-05:00

I know I haven’t posted in a while...

Partially I’ve been too busy...and partially I just haven’t felt like it...

Anyway, I had a pretty big music weekend. On Saturday, I had band practice 4:30 – 5:30, after which the Tok’ra, Nox, and I went to McDonalds to grab a bite to eat before the concert at our church. It was a bit annoying, because we had to sit through the whole thing only to play two songs...but I didn’t really mind that night.

On Sunday at 2:00 was the MS/HS holiday band concert. The Tok’ra and I had to go there early for Holiday Cheer, which played holiday music before the concert. The only other time we actually performed was the sixth of December for our town’s tree lighting, and there were two songs we totally messed up on, but the crowd didn’t seem to notice...or rather care...but that time we performed the holiday music well. After the sixth grade band and 7/8 grade band, it was time for the Senior High band to perform, and I must say, I have no regrets about the concert. I think I played very well...and did very well during my two solos during Pachelbel’s Cannon and Sedona (the solo during Sedona was the “more important” one of the two).

Afterwards, we went to a band party at a fellow band member’s house, and then went to perform at the church again. I wish we only had it once (though, I mostly wish that I could have stayed at the party longer)...it seemed so pointless to sit through it again...I wanted to leave early, but I would feel so awkward doing so...

Oh, and on the 8th, I had a good audition for the Senior High Jazz Band, and I will be rotating the 1st and 2nd parts with a sophomore. I got a total of 18 points for my audition (out of 20 points), so I’m happy with how I did. The sophomore got a 16, but since her main instrument is a tuba, I think she did well. At least, better then the freshman whose main instrument is a baritone and tried out for jazz band on a trumpet...though, he also tried out on his baritone, and he received 3rd trombone, and will be playing the valve trombone for jazz band. I don’t think I’ve actually seen one in real life, but it apparently has the same fingerings as baritone, yet the sound of a trombone (yeah, I know...“duh!”).

I don’t know, but I think a valve trombone is almost useless...I mean, you can’t move the slide...and that’s the special thing about the trombone! Humph!

Felicem Diem Natalem, Granny Nox!

2005-11-29T21:09:00.000-05:00

First off, I would like to say I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! It’s definitely not my favorite holidays, except for the break from school and the pumpkin pie, but it’s okay. If it was a desert-only holiday (like Halloween), then I’d definitely like it better.

Anyway, moving on...we had a break from school Wednesday-Monday, which was very nice. I totally slacked off...but that’s because I finished most of my homework at the beginning of the break. Of course I did all of my homework, but I spent most of my time practicing my trombone (I’m trying for District Band on Saturday. There is no way I’m going to make it, so don’t even try posting “oh, I’m sure you’ll make it!” because no, I won’t. I’ll probably explain everything to y’all after I do miserably at tryouts on Sunday) or playing Tales of Symphonia. Actually, I have played better fighting games, I’ll be that honest with you, but I do really like it all the same. Plus, the plot is as good as one in a book, in my opinion. I’m sure I’d like it more if the Tok’ra would let me be Player-1, since that’s what the screen is focused on. Oh, the one major flaw in multiplayer playing is that the “camera” or view only centers on Player-1. So, usually, I’ll be fighting a monster off screen, or I’ll think I’m fighting a monster off screen, when really I’m slicing air while the monster is slicing my back, and I’ll say “Tok’ra! Go over to that other monster! I think I’m dying!” But besides that, I can’t complain, much. Yes, I’m obsessed with continuing it, but it’s like reading a great book. You can’t just stop in the middle of it! Plus, we have to get to the part where my favorite character rejoins the group (a great button-mashing character...but Lloyd, the main character seems like the best button-masher...oh, and if you haven’t noticed, we like button-mashing characters. As in characters that mostly you have to run up to a monster and just press “A” as fast as you can! Fun, fun...very fun.) named Kratos. Yeah, he’s the betrayer, if you’ve read the Tok’ra’s post about the game. To me, he’s like Professor Snape (you have read the six Harry Potter book...right?). He did something really evil, but he’s still got some good in him! Well...at least that’s the way I see it...I actually don’t know if Professor Snape is still good, but I’ll just have to wait until the seventh book (the Tok’ra points out that a better analogy would be Darth Vader, especially since he’s Lloyd’s fa-*cough!* *gasp!* *wheeze!* Sorry! That was the sound of my train of thought running off the tracks, just like in the bizarre movie Polar Express. Not recommended from my point of view, unless you just want to see the computer animation. It’s quite realistic (mostly).

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Granny Nox! In my mind, you seemed to have never aged a year!

Atlantic Coast Championships

2005-11-14T19:45:00.000-05:00

Well, the marching band season is over. It’s so strange...in my mind, I still have practice tomorrow after school...or else it’s not a Tuesday. And, my mind still thinks I have a TOB on Saturday...but I don’t. It’s so strange...

Anyway, I had fun on Saturday. We surprisingly did better during practice earlier that day, but I suppose since we did a run-through in chunks before doing the whole thing helped...plus I was so nervous after I saw the size of the stadium...but I still had fun. I hung out with part of the low brass most of the three or so hours we waited for the awards, and that was fun, too. As stated on the Nox’s blog, we were in 20th out of 26th, entering the competition at 21st, so we bumped up a spot. I was so tired on Sunday, getting home at 3:00 in the morning...I really wish we did better, but it’s over now...very sad...we had a great low brass section, too...

Oh, well. Now off to join pit orchestra, Holiday Cheer, and jazz band!

Election Day

2005-11-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

Today, before practice, our band director talked to us about Xanga sites.

Xanga n., a Web site that provides users with weblogs or "blogs". It is operated by Xanga.com, Inc., and is based in New York City. Users of Xanga are referred to as "Xangans".

He went into a pretty long talk about how he didn’t care if they insulted him on their Xanga site...although it did hurt him...he said it hurt him even more to see band members insult the program and each other. A program...marching band...that has taken a long time to earn respect of people unfamiliar with the program...and it hurt him to see it didn’t have the respect of some of the people in the program, and how they didn’t respect each other.

And, I must say...I totally agree with him. It hurts me, too, that I have to associate myself as a band member with other band members who are so disrespectful...and it’s mostly freshmen, I think, who are the cause of his talk, which makes me even more ashamed of my peers...but I just have to remember that not all of my peers are that way. In fact, I have a friend who as an Xanga that, from what I’ve seen, only has posted that she has a great time during TOBs, etc.

So...there is hope...

Oh, and I updated the layout! If I get more time, you may see other updates to the layout, but I think this is it for now...Laeta Election Day!

Chapter Championships

2005-11-07T17:06:00.000-05:00

Wow...it’s been about a complete year since I got my blog...hm...since tomorrow is election day, and we have off because our school is used for voting (to keep us kids away from the scary voters), I might update the look of my blog...maybe...

Anyway, we had our chapter championships on Saturday. Although we got 5/5 at that competition, we’ll still be in ACC’s. The real one...not the “invitational” ACC...but the regular one, meaning we’ll be performing for a large audience. I’m so excited! We get those cool Coach buses and I’ll be a two-hour trip, meaning we’ll stop at a mall for dinner! I’ll try to remember to wear something with pockets this time...the last time we were two hours away from the TOB and stopped at a mall, I wore sweatpants w/o pockets, so I had to stick the money in my shoe...it was quite funny...I’ll probably wear jeans this time...ACK! Off topic, sort of...anyway, back to Saturday...I had fun, then. We got to see other bands perform, hung out with other people (which I don’t do usually since I’m so busy with band and school...), and ATE FOOD! It wasn’t the best, but after a performance, anything’s good! I need to find my section leader...she promised me a WHOLE BAG OF SMARTIES if we make it to real ACC’s...yum! I’m getting hyper just thinking about it!

Oh, and lately I’ve been reading (omgoss! I’ve been reading! The Tok’ra’s been posting more then I have lately, and I’ve been reading more then she has lately...but it’s science fiction, so don’t worry...it’s not totally abnormal...) the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. I finished the first book and I’m pretty far into the second one, and I’ll tell you now, I really like them! There are little things that are what I’d call inappropriate for children like me, but I just ignore it. In fact, I think I’ll go read more of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe right now...

The First of the Month!

2005-11-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

I don't remember if anyone else found it or talked about it...but there is a pez font...

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T19:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! I know I haven't posted for a while...and I'm sorry 'bout that...but I've been so busy lately...oh, but today I wore my Stargate SG-1 jacket to school. Other people liked it, and I don't even think they knew about Stargate...but hopefully I have influenced them to watch it...

And Happy Belated Birthday, Aunt Aral!

Rained Out

2005-10-23T20:23:00.000-04:00

Hm...something about this comic is so familiar...

Oh, yeah! This happened to our band! Yesterday, we practiced indoors in the morning, had a few hours of break, then came to the school...practiced for a few hours...then, what? The TOB was cancelled in medias res? We gave up our Saturday for nothing? Well, not totally. In my bus, which contained the drum major, we started singing our show! It was quite funny...and afterwards I got to hang with other band members and watched a large portion of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (the person who was driving me home had to leave so she could get home before 11:00). I’m hoping that’s the last time I watch that movie, but who knows? They’ll probably make me finish watching it...at least I had fun hanging with them...

By the way, I forgot to tell you of another pain I gained during marching band practice, last Wednesday. I was rushing back to a set we were practicing...when...BAM! One of our French horn players ran right into me, practically knocking me to the ground! It actually didn’t hurt too much, but I just starting crying...sort of because of the pain...but mostly because of the shock. They had to lead me to the sidelines because I didn’t want to sit out. After I showed them that I could breath calmly, they let me back out onto the field, just in time to learn a new visual. While I was on the sidelines, our drum major said to me “Don’t worry, you’ll make it, trooper. And if need be, you can always whack him with your slide...” or something like that. But I can guarantee you he said “trooper”.

Affliction in the Gluteus Maximus

2005-10-12T21:25:00.000-04:00

Okay, you all know the violent natures of most Goa’ulds? Well, this Goa’uld, unfortunately, is not excluded from this characteristic. If you attack me vocally or physically (poking, prodding, and hugging fall into this category if the action is extremely annoying to me), I will attack back.

So, during band practice, the Tok’ra earned the right for me to give her a “gentle” kick in the leg (I mean it to be gentle, but strangely I always get a larger “OW!” then intended). For what reason, I can’t remember. It was obviously so horrible, my mind naturally represses it from my memory...anyway, my leg flies in the Tok’ra’s direction, when suddenly her arms shoot down and grasp my ankle. See where this is going? Although probably not intentionally, she in some way pulls my leg towards herself, thus causing me to loose my balance and fall to the ground, butt first. Okay, now, where did I tell you we were? Band practice...right? What’s at band practice? People, instruments, drill books, cases...with nice edges...in fact, I know exactly who’s case I fell on. Of course, I shall not disclose her name in this blog, but I’ll tell ‘ya, she was a saxophonist, with a nice rectangular case. Let me tell ‘ya, that hurt! And even now, after practice, it still hurts! Currently, I’m going through a lot of pain, sitting and typing this blog for you! I think it’s bruised or something...but the Tok’ra is typing up the Western Cultures notes for me in order to make up for the great pain she caused me...(I took the PSAT today and missed the first four periods of school; math = easy; English = ...I’ll try to read the dictionary by the next time I take that test...).

Oh, but wait! There’s more pain! After practiced as we had just started to head home, I remembered I forgot to tell the people who put the long ranger away (Freshmen duties; the Tok’ra and I set it up, and two other people put it away) to put the towel that had been used to keep it dry on the rafters. So, I accordingly jump over the rope, and enter the band shed, and hang up the towel for them. All this moving has irritated the bruise I gained at the beginning of practice, so I hold it in pain as I head back to my mom’s van, and go to jump over the rope...only problem is, I don’t jump high enough. Can’t you picture it? Just like a cartoon...or something from American’s Funniest Videos...the person goes to jump over a rope, their feet hook on to the rope as they move forward, and...BOOM! Face into the damp grass (light rain during the entire practice)! No, it didn’t hurt at all...I just couldn’t stop laughing...it was so funny...the Tok’ra and the Nox didn’t really appreciate the humor of it...but oh, well. They didn’t comprehend the comedy of the bruised butt, either. Oh, well. I guess you had to have been there...

By the way, we won our Homecoming game 7 to 6 (Note: the opposing team is apparently really bad, but you know what? So are we...)! It was suppose to be on Saturday, but due to rain, it was changed to Monday.

Happy 20th Anniversary, Nox and Jaffa!

Game Review: Final Impression: Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves

2005-10-03T21:50:00.000-04:00

Well, this Saturday was band, band, and band. We had a two hour practice in the morning, less then an hour break for lunch, then went to the away football game. Our school lost horribly at its away game (in which some band members had fun swapping instruments...due to our boredom since we had to rest our chops for the TOB; I think we lost 28 to 0...something like that). After that, they gave us bag lunches (or rather “bag dinners”) and we practiced our visuals until the TOB. We came third out of third again, but our score improved. Also note this is the first season our band has been a category 3 band in 17 or so years (or something like that). If we were in category 2, we’d be easily winning these TOBs. Anyway, I hope we make it to ACCs (Atlantic Coat Championships)...my section leader promised me a bag of Smarties (total of 60 in a bag!!) if we do.

Oh, and I finished Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves sometime during September...anyway, it’s a great game! It’s much improved from the first game, and the plot is very absorbing. I highly recommend it. However, I do recommend you play the series...it gives more meaning to the next one...saur_kid’s review should give you an idea of how great it is...(thanks Aunt Ori for getting it for me!). It’s kind of late and I don’t feel like elaborating more on it, so just play it. It’s a WONDERFUL game.

And in fact, I’ve started on the Sly Cooper 3: Honor Among Thieves game! So far it’s very interesting...I really enjoy the fact that they have connections to the other games...which is why I recommend playing all three in order. I obviously have the first two games if anyone has a Playstation 2 and wants to borrow them ;). Also, another neat feature is that there are more characters you get to play as, and more things to do rather then just jumping roof top to roof top, such as flying an airplane in Holland and speeding through the waters of Venice in a boat. Not to mention it has the most awesome thing in the world in the game: a grappling hook equipped camera. It is SO cool! It's one of the power-ups you can purchase for Bentley (one of the three main characters; the "brains" of the group). It can self-destruct, distract guards, and grappling hook! The cool thing is that you can go around the area, and use the grappling hook to get around and to take out guards! It is just SO cool...I wish I had one...

First TOB (Tournament of Bands)

2005-09-25T21:51:00.000-04:00

Ugh...our band got third place out of three bands in our category...it was so depressing...

On a happier note, I was the first one to check off all of the songs in tier 2! It was quite neat...or did I tell y’all that already (hehe, y’all! Oh, I slay myself...)?

Anyway, back to the TOB...I’m so upset with my performance...my section leader said they would give me Smarties on Monday if I did well (oh, how I love Smarties...more then my mom by now, most likely)...and if we got third place when there were only three bands in our category, I obviously did something wrong...

Oh, well! I’ll just have to put ten times more effort in the upcoming practices, football game performance, and TOB!

Hunting Wabbits

2005-09-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

Today we received some set changes. I mean, they're changing our performance and giving us the changes the week of our TOB (on the 24th)?! Oh, well...nothing else of interest to say...well, except that I'll be doing tier 2 for Hunting Wabbits tomorrow; my final tier...and for the first time, I hope I am the first to finish all the tiers. Strange, huh? And, it seems like for every practice since we finished learning all the sets I've been looking forward to band practice. Stranger, huh?

Oh! And the Tok'ra did the entire show today (not without mistakes, of course)! Aren't 'cha happy for her?

Hooray! Band!

2005-09-13T22:06:00.000-04:00

Guess what? Today, I woke up, and suddenly, I thought the strangest thing. I mean, VERY strange. Yep, it has to do with band. Y’all know how it’s ruling my life...don’t ‘cha? Anyway, instead of thinking “oh...I have band practice today”, I thought “I can’t wait ‘til band practice”!!! I mean, wow! I have no idea why! It’s just so strange...!

Our drum major actually told the other low brass members that today's practice was the first practice he really didn’t want to be at because he had so much stuff to do. After I told them I had been looking forward to band since the morning, another member of the low brass asked me, “Do you have a life?”

Of course, my answer was “no” :-P. Anyway, before skull, I had a short sectional with the low brass section. At Saturday’s mini-band camp, I played by myself before the others because the Euphonium who had the same part I had was having trouble with it and needed to hear it. Today, before I played the same part as an example for the Euphonium again, the drum major (he’s low brass, just in case I didn’t tell y’all already. Hehe! “Y’all”...) suddenly moved to my side, as if he were blocking me from someone. Of course, I ask why. Apparently, he had gotten in trouble for making me play on Saturday by myself (although, he didn't force me to do it). It's the whole “freshman” thing, how we’ll get embarrassed because we won’t play it right, even though I did...but I thought it was funny, anyway. And after that, we practiced Hunting Wabbits (our last song for the performance), during which I learned I was the only one who “officially” memorized it out of the group. Or at least some of the upperclassmen said they didn’t have it totally memorized. It sounded like they did to me...but that’s just me.

...and nothing else interesting happened the rest of practice. I do hope that other people have done tier 2 for Joy...and maybe someone else for Morning’s First Light...I’m doing tier 2 for Morning’s First Light tomorrow, and I just hope that I’m not the first to do it...

Oh! And I found out what Granny Nox did! It’s quite funny...you’ll all laugh your Tau’ri butts off.

Update 9/14/05: Thanks, Doug the Una! I am honored to be your special guest! Great new picture, by the way...:-P!

Oh, and you can now have that coffee break you've been wanting...

Too Much Homework...

2005-09-11T17:35:00.000-04:00

Friday was our first home game. We won 41 to 14! Or something like that...the other team didn’t score ‘til the last half of the game...it was pretty sad...but since it was a home game, it was a pre-game performance with the band. Oh, it was so much better than the half-time performance during the first football game! My brain doesn’t function under the bright lights, since during practice we only have lights at the back sideline, and since the pre-game is before it gets really dark, I don’t have to worry about it.

Also, earlier today, the Tok’ra and I preformed with the orchestra at my mom’s church. The choir sang while we played “Welcome, Welcome”, and we played “From Many Voices” without voices. I think we did well. The music, in my point of view, was much easier then the marching band music, but it was still fun to perform. I do wish we didn’t have to do it twice because it took away from homework time and I’ve got TONS of it this weekend. Also, yesterday we spend the morning taking band photos and most of the afternoon having a mini band camp. And today, with the orchestra performance and the long two-hour Girl Scout meeting (which takes an hour to drive to) I don’t have much time for homework, either…

Which reminds me...I’ll have to get back to that...

First Football Game with the Band

2005-09-03T00:34:00.000-04:00

Today was my first football game with the band. It actually wasn’t too bad. Well, it was quite hot out, and the uniforms made it worse in that perspective, but I guess it could have been worse. In the stands, I had fun playing the music and such. However, I got so nervous during half time performance. My legs were shaking...and I know it wasn’t my best performance...or at least I don’t think it was...it went so fast...but I do know that it was just so bright and hard to see the hash marks...but afterwards it went back to being fun. I’m too tired to post anything else, so I might post more later, or the Nox might post some pictures, unfortunately.

Oh, yeah! And my school won 28 to 27. They were tied most of the time, until near the end. Anyway, I should go to sleep now...

First Week of School

2005-09-01T20:56:00.000-04:00

Yep, today was the last day of the first week of school. We have tomorrow off (and Monday, too...but I guess you already figured that), and the football game is tomorrow, but that’s a whole different topic. I’ll post about it tomorrow. I’m quite nervous for it...okay, I’m very nervous.

--Anyway, back on topic. The first week was okay...however, I did not like today. It seemed like a lot of things went wrong. First off, I realized I didn’t have my biology textbook at home. Thus, I assumed it was in my locker...but it wasn’t. Also, the essay I wrote for Western Cultures...I really don’t think I did well on it, and I still think so. That class I still have mixed feelings for. I best just aim for a 95% and end up getting a 90%...oh, well...maybe I’ll do better on the tests…the whole morning I had trouble not thinking about anything else besides my missing textbook and the essay...but it turns out I left the textbook in the biology classroom, and it was sitting on the counter by the door, so I just picked it up as I walked in. Things seemed to get better...until the pep rally. When I picked my trombone off the shelf, I discovered two of the outer clasps were open. Strange...very strange...I thought I remembered closing them...I take my trombone out into the band room and open it...open the compartment for the mouth piece...and...what?! My mouthpiece isn’t there! I tell this to my band director, who seems to get annoyed, and tells me to ask if I could borrow one from the baritones. Luckily I was able to borrow one...then I found out we needed our lyres. Great. I forgot that at home. So, I learned how to hold the music and play on my own...and I was greatly relieved when school was over. Now, I thought, I can go home and find out where I left my mouthpiece. Problem: I can’t find it. Now, I had suspicions that someone might have stolen it sense I found the two clasps undone. Currently, I still think I did something with it and just can’t remember what, but I am starting to think it might have been stolen...but I’m not so sure...the trombonists I know in 8th grade seem trustworthy, and I’d assume that most of the trombonists should be trustworthy, or else I’d have thought they quit band a while ago. I’ll just have to keep looking...

Also, in the late afternoon, I met with my section leader to make up the drill I missed yesterday. Actually, that went well. Though, she made me yell at her. The low brass section thinks I’m too quiet...especially my section leader and the drum major (although both are woodwinds, they’re considered low brass)...which is true. So, my homework from her is to run amok. Hm.

Oh, and the picture above is one of two drawings I’ve done for art homework. We’re supposed to draw a corner of a room, self-portrait (just head), and a hand. All I have to do is a corner of a room...I’m just deciding which one I want to do. I’ve got quite a bit of homework in other subjects, but not an overwhelming amount, luckily.

First Day of School

2005-08-29T19:54:00.000-04:00

Ah, yes. School. A time of stress and learning. Well, the high school had a short assembly by grade level in the morning during homeroom. They ended up running a bit late, so the already shortened morning was shortened even more. I forgot my locker shelve today, so I’ll have to bring it in tomorrow. Oh, and my schedule...now that’s an interesting topic. Western Cultures (ancient history is it’s original name) for me was moved to third period. I would have had a study hall today...however tomorrow and Thursday, I had an Art Lab. Ugh. Oh, and I didn’t have an 8th period scheduled today or a 4th period scheduled on Thursday. Well, I went on to 1st period without a fixed schedule. Oh, well. At least I don’t have to worry until 8th period today, because they’ll get a new schedule to me before then! Right? I mean, of course...they have the whole day!

1st period for me is algebra 3 honors. I have this class with sophomores (I’m a grade ahead in math, just in case you don’t know) and five or so other freshmen. It was okay. We started working right away...it seems like it’s always that way with math...but nothing too hard. Just review. We also got a packet that isn’t due until two weeks, and we only have to do one section and a half. Next was physical education. It was too short to do anything, so they just gave us our squad order and talked. Apparently we won’t be doing anything tomorrow either (we have phys. ed. every day for the first semester, then will not have it for the rest of the year)...hm. 3rd period was Western Cultures. I have mixed feelings about this class...the teacher assured us no pop quizzes, which is good...and the current sophomores claim it was their favorite class...however, there’s just something about the teacher that makes me nervous about that class...well, I’ll just have to wait and see how he turns out. Anyway, 4th period was my second period of math (I have math six period a week). It was fine, too. Although, we got a homework assignment. “Page eleven numbers eleven through forty odd”. Oh, well. 5th period was biology honors. The teacher actually seemed nice and enthusiastic. She said she was going to try to make this class interesting, and if we didn’t understand something, it was her fault for not teaching it well. So, I think biology honors is going to be just dandy...now, after 5th period was lunch. I actually was kind of hungry during 4th period...because after that is when middle school eats, and I guess my stomach wanted to follow that schedule...but I survived until after 5th. Anyway, 6th was Latin 2...I had to “fight” over a Latin name because last year someone else had the same name as me, but had Latin 1 a different period then me. But the other person decided on a different name, and I got to keep the name Caia. 7th period was English honors, and new English teacher was a substitute teacher, but is quite happy that she now has a permanent job. She’s quite nice, and I think I’ll have a good time in that class. Now, you’d think I’d get a schedule that at least would tell me what I have 8th period...but no. I went to the guidance office to talk to them about it, and I found out that I wasn’t the only one! In fact, the program used to create the schedules had some sort of glitch, so that it wouldn’t let them edit 8th period Monday and 4th period Thursday for 9th graders. Weird, huh? I think it was just a Tok’ra conspiracy...but that’s just what I think.

I also had trombone lessons after school. My trombone teacher (who is also my school band director) was tickled at the thought that I didn’t have anything scheduled for 8th period...

Well, I haven’t had art class or band yet...although, band won’t be anything new until later when we get our concert music. Oh! But there were two funny things that happened today. One was that during biology, the teacher was telling us about materials we would need. “Oh, you don’t need a big nerdy notebook...” the teacher says. The person across the table and I started cracking up. After all, I had a huge five subject notebook in front of me...the second thing was a friend of mine, one of the freshmen in algebra 3 honors, has Western Cultures during 4th period, which is during the extra math period on Monday (she’s actually only going to have five periods of math and make up the work for that one the whole year; luckily she’s very responsible. She’s also a year ahead in science...very smart, she is). So, she asked me if I’d go up with her to the math room to get the missed work. So, nothing unusual...we’re just talking quietly...and so at the top of the stairs, I catch a glimpse of the earth science class (8th graders; I had this class last year). I realize some of the 8th graders are staring at us...must be bored, or something...but we just keep on walking. When we were a little bit further up the hall, the science teacher says loudly to the class, “I don’t like it when my students are staring out into the hallway at other students,” and shuts the door. He was obviously also making sure we heard, as if it was our faults. But my friend and I just cracked up. Hm...I think you’d have to be there to truly appreciate it...

Boy, the first day really wore me out! I don't feel like re-reading my post...sorry if there's some nonsense in there...Oh, and Happy Birthday, Nox!

The Brothers Grimm

2005-08-28T09:21:00.000-04:00

I actually saw this movie yesterday with Granny Nox and the Tok'ra, but I didn't feel like posting about it until today. Overall, I liked this movie. It’s not near as cool as Stargate (well...that’s not actually saying much...since Stargate is the best thing), but I enjoyed watching it. I have a low threshold for scary movies, so of course, this movie did spook me out in some parts...but there were funny parts. The one part I absolutely hated and found totally unnecessary was when a kitten was kicked and killed. It was such a cute kitten...but I will try not to hold it against the movie. In my opinion, I liked the end of the movie better then the beginning, so if you watch it, do not let the beginning let you down (but, of course, you may really like the beginning; I mean, I liked it except for the kitten part, but I just really thought it was better near the end)! Anyway, I think it's a movie worth seeing and I would recommend it to other people. I got out of it without being scared to death, unlike after seeing the Ring, which means probably you guys won't be scared of it at all.

Today is my last day of freedom...I should make the best of it...

School Approaching

2005-08-26T21:06:00.000-04:00

Yes! I have finally finished both the Iliad and the Odyssey! I know I probably should have finished it earlier in the summer, but at least it’s fresh in my mind for school. I didn’t really like those books...the Iliad gave too much information (i.e., I didn’t need to know every single group in the army, and who killed who, and how they died, etc...not that I was grossed by it, but I just thought it was pointless) and in the Odyssey, people talked too much. Anyway, I don’t recommend anyone to read them unless forced to.

Alas, school starts on August 29. The summer has gone so fast...oh, well. I spent most of today finishing the Odyssey (I read about 100 pages a day since Wednesday, when I finished the Iliad).

Oh! And now for my report on Stargate! (It’s on at 6:00 EST every weekday on the SciFi channel and new Stargate SG-1 is at 8:00 EST on Fridays on SciFi). Tonight’s Stargate SG-1 was awesome! Baal was in it, of course. I won’t say much about it, except that he made clones of himself. Is that giving too much away? Ha, anyway...I think it’s my favorite so far! Next week is the Viewer’s Choice thingy, so I can’t wait ‘til that! New Stargate SG-1 in two weeks, though.

Water? What Water?

2005-08-23T21:30:00.000-04:00

Now, you’ve heard me complain about only having one water break during marching band practice. Well...today, the person who usually brought the water...didn’t bring the water. We had absolutely no water breaks. Strangely, however, I wasn’t as thirsty as some of the times when I did have one water break...I guess they didn’t work us as hard today...but come on! No water breaks? Thank goodness it was a bit cooler today then usual, or probably we’d have quite a few people pass out...

Uniform fitting tomorrow (though other upperclassmen had it today)! As freshmen, we’re the last to be fitted. Oh, well...oh, but the uniforms this year are really cool! It consists of black pants, a blue/silver/black top (might have brass-colored buttons...can’t remember, though), a blue and silver sequin sash, and a black hat with a silver and black plume (oh, and gloves...can’t remember what color they are...probably white...).

Pez

2005-08-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

I was cleaning up my room yesterday, and I stumbled upon my pez collection! Anyway, just felt like sharing the picture...(I know it’s not necessarily a great picture, but you get the idea...Hey, you can see the pillow, the checker one, that I made in Home Ec! Neat, huh?). I think this is all I have...but who knows? I could have more lurking about the abyss of my room.

My personal favorite that I have is the Tigger one, and I think the Garfield in the nightcap is a better-suited pez for Haras than Pikachu ;)

Stargate Poll

2005-08-21T10:51:00.000-04:00

"Cast your votes now for your ten favorite episodes of Stargate SG-1. The six episodes that receive the most votes from our users will be aired in our Stargate SG-1 Viewer's Choice Marathon, Friday, Sept. 2, starting at 8/7C!

Select your top ten (or fewer) episodes from the list below by checking the box next to the title. To read a synopsis of an episode, click its title. When you've selected your episodes, click the submit button at the bottom of the page.

The poll opens Wednesday, Aug. 10, and runs through Thursday, Aug. 25 at midnight. Vote now, and tune in Sept. 2 at 8/7C to see if any of your favorites made the top six!"

(Click here to cast your votes!)

If you curious what I picked, here's the list in order of season:

TIN MAN

UPGRADES

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

Now, I know not all of you are into Stargate...so feel free (or almost obligated) to use my choices...

However, those who know about Stargate, you're still welcome to use the choices I picked. Though, I'm certain you already have a set of favorites. But if you don't...

Other episodes I suggest that are good are ENEMY MINE (the Unas are in this one, Doug), THE OTHER GUYS, AVENGER 2.0, and THREADS. There are tons of other great episodes, but those are the ones I remember being good.

Baal is Back!

2005-08-19T22:20:00.000-04:00

...well, okay...next week he is...but he’s back! It showed so in the previews for next week’s episode. I knew he’d be back, but not so soon...but it is so cool! Oh, I am SO happy...

Anyway, I should talk about this week’s episode. I won’t give anything away, but I’ll say that the Goa’uld in this week’s episode is a shol’va! I mean, it was a minor Goa’uld who joined up with the Ori! It’s a good thing that the Tau’ri are punishing him by locking him up and not killing him (which would allow him to ascend). Luckily they’ll probably be also starving him, which will get him to see their ways since he’s such a pig. In this week, despite the damage the Goa’uld did, SG-1 did stop the Ori from building a super big Stargate. I just can’t wait for next week’s episode! Unfortunately, it’ll be very close to school time by then...I better stop talking about that...it’s making me feel all sad...

On a side note, the ground hog that lives under our shed today fooled Nod the Jaffa. He practically suggested that I blog it, so I decided too (even though I said I probably wasn’t, lol). Anyway, I was looking outside earlier today and I just happened to spot that the ground hog was out in our yard. Nod got quite excited, so he went outside, however he noticed that it wasn’t moving, even as he approached it. He actually got quite close to it and it didn't move. Puzzled by this, Nod decided not to get TOO close to it. I was outside briefly watching it, but it didn't really do anything. Literally. Nod moved the trap in front of it, then tired his best at sealing the front entrance under the shed. I went back inside...and Nod just moved aside, waiting for it to do something. Because this ground hog was smaller, it was able to squeeze into the back way under our shed. Even though Nod was defeated this time by the ground hog, it doesn't look like the ground hog can make it out the front way, so he stuck the trap right in front of the back entrance. Hopefully it'll work, but ya never know...it tricked Nod once, it might do it again ;)

Water...I Need...More Water...

2005-08-17T23:05:00.000-04:00

Tonight was another tiring marching band practice. During skull session (practicing music standing in place, mark timing, and moving feet at set changes), someone actually fainted, apparently due to hydration. And we didn’t even start marching yet! I’ll admit, it was kind of lame, but after tonight’s practice, I’m surprised no one else passed out. After skull was our first and only water break...then we headed out into the field for warm-ups/block. Nothing interesting happened during warm-ups/block except the drum major almost ran into me when he was rushing back to his spot (he stands in front and conducts warm-ups, but marches with us during block). The rehearsal of the second part of the show went pretty smoothly...except that a drummer almost backed up into me, so I had to move my slide down in order to avoid him...oh, then we started the end of the first part of our performance (the Tok’ra had to stand out for this), which was okay except I almost got run over by a tuba player...Anyway, we practiced the entire performance (or rather what we learned so far; still haven’t gotten the third part yet) without playing (just counting, etc.). One of the drummers accidentally bumped into the bass clarinet (the other instrument that is alone, but I don’t think it’s as noticeably alone as the trombone) and I almost got run over by a drummer nearby at the same time. Though, besides that, it was okay. I got really tired by the end, though. Then, we practiced marching onto the field, warming-up, tuning, and then getting set. This time we played it...I was so thirsty and out of air that I didn’t play some of the notes during the first part...but since the second part is slower, I was able to recoup a bit...although I was very tired by the end of all of it.

When we arrived home, the Tok’ra played DDR Max 2...I mean, I would have died playing that! However, I must remember that I marched 42 additional sets (she didn’t do the first part...was at camp and all during that...). Though, I’m still surprised that she wasn’t too tired to do it...she even broke some records! Totally insane...I actually do like DDR Max 2, but I am too tired to play it tonight...

The Ori

2005-08-13T16:08:00.000-04:00

The Ori are PURE evil. I mean, PURE EVIL!! At least the Goa'uld are very cool, and evil...but the Ori...they're nothing BUT evil, as proved by last night's episode. They're forcing people to believe in them by making them sick, even killing them, then reviving them (or at least they did to a certain group of people)! The Goa'uld wouldn't-erm...can't...um...they're much better looking (except for a few, including the "he/she", Nirrti)! When a person becomes a prior, they get all ugly (okay, slightly cool looking, but basically ugly). And even I am afraid of these Ori! Or I would be if they were real. The Goa'uld...now they are better. They're liked...or at least they seem 10,000,000x more likeable then the Ori.

Here's a pretty good section from the Wikipedia about the Ori:

“They can be simply described as evil version of modern ascended Ancients. The Ancients (known to the Ori as "the Others") are well known for their fierce belief in free will. As such, they do not interfere on lower planes of existence at all. Contrarily, the Ori believe that not sharing the secrets of the universe to those on the lower planes of existence is an evil act and those who practice it must be eliminated.

The Ancients who came to our galaxy considered this to be a terrible abuse of power. Therefore, they decided to hide knowledge of the second evolution of humans in the Milky Way Galaxy from the Ori. It is their policy that humans may find enlightenment through their own means, in the spirit of free will.

There is evidence to suggest that the Ori and the Ancients are on the same level of evolutionary existence, and that they exist with the same powers. As such, both are relatively contained to their own Galaxies. Whilst the Ancients manifest themselves as glowing ribbons of pure light, the Ori manifest as ribbons of burning fire, searing the air as they move. Also the Ori have no compunctions against taking direct control of living beings, or completely changing them to behave as they desire...”

Classical Music

2005-08-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

Today, Granny (Tan Lucy Pez; I guess she’s a Nox since her daughter is) bought me some classical music CDs that I asked for because I was inspired to get some after the Penn State band camp (Thanks again, Granny Nox! Hey! That sounds kind of cool...). I haven’t listened to all of them, but what I have listened to so far (bits and pieces), I like a lot! I got four of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies: No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6. I have currently listened to the whole first, and I really like it! Though, I don’t like the parts were there is singing as much, but it’s okay. It would be nice if I could understand it, but it’s in German...

I guess you guys deserve to know a little more about Gustav Mahler!

(From the Wikipedia)

"Mahler was born into a Jewish family in Kalischt, Bohemia. His parents moved to Jihlava, Moravia, where Mahler spent his childhood, in the first year of his life. Having noticed the boy's talent at an early age, his parents arranged piano lessons for him when he was six years old. In 1875, Mahler, then fifteen, was admitted to the Vienna Conservatoire where he studied piano under Julius Epstein. Three years later, Mahler attended Vienna University, where Anton Bruckner was lecturing. While at the university, he worked as a music teacher and made his first major attempt at composition with Das klagende Lied; the opera, which he later turned into a cantata, was entered in a competition, in which he was ultimately unsuccessful..."

You can read on if you like, but basically it talks about how he wrote more symphonies, and how he had to convert from Judaism to Roman Catholic because of his fears of anti-semistism. Despite the fact that he converted, he had to "resign from the Opera, in part forced by a largely anti-semitic press". The teacher who taught Orchestral Listening at Penn State band camp said he died thinking his music was a failure. Quite sad, eh?

Ow! I think I got a bug bite on my eyebrow during marching practice...or at least there is some weird bump that hurts there...we had a tough day today...learned the entire second part of the drill. Then we did the entire show! I am so tired from it...poor Tok’ra, though. It was technically her first day marching with the whole band, but the staff showed her no slack whatsoever. Oh! And our band director only gave us one water break! I hope he gives us more next practice...

Back from the Beach

2005-08-08T17:25:00.000-04:00

From Sunday to today, Nod the Jaffa, Haras the Tok’ra, and I went to the beach for fun. Although a lot of the time was driving, I still had a great time (is too tired to sound enthusiastic). We stayed at a “Bed and Breakfast” (more like a Bed and Continental Breakfast) called Bryn Mawr, and despite of the cost of the room, it was tiny, and Nod found a cockroach. Oh, well. We had a lot of fun down at the beach, and I had a great time saying, “See Haras float. Float, Haras, float! Float, float, float...” although, I paid the price for it with a mouth full of salt water and being attacked by the Tok’ra, but I still thought it was worth it. For dinner, we went to a place called the “Chatterbox”. The food was okay, but I got something off the kid menu (12 and under) and now I’m the “12-year-old” to Nod. Afterwards, we spent time down on the boardwalk were we bought some stuff and played in one of the arcades. The next day, after a somewhat good breakfast (though, Nod and Haras didn’t like it; I liked the waffles and cereal...) we went on the boardwalk again and played in another arcade. On the way home, we got to go to the Cheesecake Factory, which was a great treat...since we got cheesecake...and now we’re home. I’m really tried right now, but believe me, I had a great time.

Yes! Band camp was over last Friday! However, I still have a lot of band practices coming up...oh well...

Marching Band

2005-08-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of band camp (or in other words, marching band practice). Boy...I don’t think I’d been in it if it wasn’t a requirement to be in concert band (unless you’re in guard, or have some complication against it).

Okay, so today I had to wake up at 6:30, because a person like me is obsessed about being on time (Alled the Nox can tell you all about it...), so I can take a shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for practice at 8:30. Oh, but my band director believes being early is being on time, so I arrived there at about 8:15, or something. First, we did our warm-ups, stretches, and “hindu”, etc. and did our block drill. I don’t really like the block drill, and still mess up at it, but I’m getting better. Next, we begin learning the actual performance. We kept on doing movements from one point to another point, then reverse (backwards; I suppose we’ll know the whole show front and back, seriously...well, okay, not seriously, because we only do backwards in clusters...), then forward, etc. However we did get to practice up unto a certain point from the beginning. We have a break, and then back to learning the performance. Finally, at 11:40, we get to go home and have lunch. I think my sun block gave out half-way in the AM practice, because my face was red, even after I had rested for a bit. Anyway, the PM practice started at 5:30, and we did some practicing of the music without marching, and then we had a block drill. It was different then the regular one, but I liked it a bit better. After that, we went back to learning the performance, then at 8:40, we finished! Oh, one cool thing is that in set #12, I’m next to the Tok’ra! However, since that Tok’ra is at camp, she’ll have to make up all what we learn in practice. LOL!

Kayaking

2005-07-30T21:03:00.000-04:00

Today I kayaked five or six miles down the Susquehanna River with Nod the Jaffa (dad). It was a lot of fun. Although the rapids weren’t real thrilling, except for one. Though, at EVERY rapid, the jaffa got stuck on a rock. Quite funny, it was. And at the second one, he got stuck twice! I swear, the rocks loved dad. If I bumped one or got caught, they’d let me go. But dad...they had his name on them. I didn’t really have any great rock problems until the end where it got really shallow and I got a bit careless. It was great to go kayaking, since I only did what seemed like ten minutes on the last day of Girl Scout camp. Though, the jaffa forgot to take the water bottles out of the freezer an hour or so before we went, so for most of the time, our water was ice.

By the way, I’m SO glad that yesterday’s Stargate episode didn’t end in a “to be continued”! Though, I’m not sure if I like SG-1’s new big enemy...after all, they are replacing the Goa’uld, so they’re already getting on my bad side...

Game Review: Final Impression: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

2005-07-29T16:46:00.000-04:00

Even though almost halfway through, I lost the data of this game and had to start over, I finally finished it today. I must say, I did like this game! It does challenge you, but not so much that you get frustrated. Though, it could have been harder. I do look forward to playing the second game-coughideaforauntaralcough! Hm...and the doctor said that the cough should be gone by now...anyway, according to saur_kid’s post about Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves, it sounds like it’ll be better than the first. The earning of skills aspect of the game was interesting, and followed the plot well, but got annoying because if you missed one of the clues to open the vault that contained a page with a new skill or something on it at the beginning, I would have to trek up back to the beginning and get it, or if it wasn’t possible, I would have to start the level over again. Also, I believe it would have been cooler if there was more then one spot where you could have been Bently. Oh! Okay, so here’s the plot:

Okay, so when It’s Sly Cooper’s time to inherit the Thievius Raccoonus, a book that contains the Cooper family’s thieving secrets (he comes from a long line of thieves that steal from other thieves, thus calling themselves “Master Thieves”), the Fiendish Five steal the book, each taking a section of the book for themselves. So, Sly goes around to their hideouts, defeats them, and takes back the pages of the book. The leader, Clockwerk, apparently has been trying to disgrace the Cooper line for a long time (he’s hundreds of years old), and this time he stole it in order to prove that the Coopers are nothing without the book, but in the end he’s defeated (though at the end of the credits, it’s not definite, and if you read saur_kid’s post about Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves, well...you’ll see.

Game Review: Final Impression: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

2005-07-25T22:16:00.000-04:00

I must say, despite how easy it is, I do love this game. I usually always love multiplayer games. It’s just seems so different having someone that is alive fighting side-by-side with you (or against you) rather then the stupid computer player. For the first 6 levels of this game, I played it with the Tok’ra. The reason it took SO long to finish it was because that “ok” rat wouldn’t play it with me! So, for the last chapters I played it on my own and finished it today. Boy, the bosses are SO easy (including Gannon; I didn’t even know what I was suppose to do at first, but I easily defeated him!). What were hard were the dungeons themselves. Several times, the Tok’ra and I would wonder aimlessly around until I went on the Internet and found out what we were suppose to do. Surprisingly, even though the Tok’ra almost never wanted to play, she was BETTER then me point-wise! Oh, I forgot to tell you! In each area/dungeon, you try to get the most points. You earn points for having the most Force Gems (which, when collected enough, gave all players’ swords the power to “conquer evil”, or something like that), most enemies defeated, and most hearts (energy/stamina/HP) left. You lost points for dying (duh :P). However, this “point contest” only occurred if there were two players or more players.

Oh, another thing I have to explain to you...the plot...I may be a bit wrong on the beginning parts since it was a while ago since I started it...but anyway, there has been unusually bad weather in Hyrule and the surrounding area, so Zelda, the six maidens (they are part of protecting the seal on the Four Sword), and Link go to check on the seal of the Four Sword, that was used to seal away Vaati (evil; can control winds). Well, Zelda and the six maidens are captured by this “Shadow Link” (created by this Dark Mirror, you find out later in the game), and you have to break the seal in order to get the Four Sword, and you become four Links: green (original), red, blue, and purple. Now, you have to save all the maidens, Zelda, defeat Vaati only to find out that Gannon was behind all of this (you actually can assume this much earlier then when Zelda does...or at least I did when the little evil shrubs were praising him in the forest), etc. When I did play with the Tok’ra, she was green and blue, and I was red and purple. Anyway, I recommend this game to only those who can find someone to play it with them and will 100% commit to it. It’s much more fun with multiple players, in my opinion. And another thing you must know is that you have to have Game Boy Advances or SP’s and the cables to hook it up if you want to play multiplayer.

The one time I really enjoyed this multiplayer game was during one of the mini-games, where the goal was to catch the most chickens and toss them into the bin. The Tok’ra and I were very close, but the Tok’ra was ahead near the end of the game. So, both the Tok’ra and I chased this last chicken into a cave and kept on slashing each other, trying to get it (if you slash someone while they’re holding the chicken, they’ll drop the chicken). Accidentally, I press the “B” button (sword) while holding the chicken and facing the Tok’ra's Link, and I swung the chicken down on her, stunning her Link! I was able to separate myself enough from her to put the chicken in the bin. She got SO mad at me, even though she WON, calling me a cheater, but now I think she’ll agree it ‘twas very funny.

On a side note, Tan Lucy Pez got me pastels today as a birthday present (thanks, again)! I got hooked on ‘em while at Girl Scout camp (I think I mentioned this...). Anyway, since the scanner wouldn’t scan it properly, here’s photo of the picture I drew with the pastels that was inspired by the game (picture is of original Link and Gannon):

Band Camp: Version Penn State

2005-07-23T22:34:00.000-04:00

As I said in my last post, I was away at band camp from July17 through today. I believe I learned a lot at this camp. At some times, I had fun, and at others, it could become boring, but I think the overall experience was very enriching and I’d love to do it again next year.

Anyway, on Sunday, we arrive at Penn State, and I have finished the sixth Harry Potter book (since I was reading it almost all of Saturday; I think it’s the best book yet :D). And for band camp, you have to audition to know what part you’re going to get...and to try out for orchestra if you want to (since they only allow three Trombones in it). Well, being the little perfectionist that I am sometimes, I became really nervous and...well...coughcriedcough. Anyway, I didn’t make it into orchestra, but I guess considering that I don’t think my audition went well, I was lucky to get the 2nd trombone part (out of 3) in concert band, plus I was one of the youngest people at the camp, so I’m guessing a lot of the people there have played trombone longer then me.

The next day, was a little hectic, learning where everything was and I had some schedule changes, but here is what my final schedule was:

Period 1: Music Theory
Period 2: Orchestral Listening
Period 3: Concert Band
-LUNCH-
Period 4: Brass Choir
Period 5: Conducting
Period 6: Trombone Sectionals
Period 7: Concert Band
-DINNER-
Period 8: Wind Listening
-CONCERT-
(Yep, we had a concert EVERY night. They were cool at first, but then they got longer and longer...and they cut into the little, if any free time we had)

I learned a lot in music theory (well...more of a refresher/reminder since I haven’t had music theory in a while), conducting, brass choir, and trombone sectionals. Brass Choir, although listed as a chamber group, was actually just a group of brass players who talked and learned about a variety of things, such as the Circle of Fifths, review of scales, musical periods, etc. The trombone teacher for concert band was very good, and I learned a lot from him. Wind listening and orchestra listening didn’t really teach me much, besides give me ideas of orchestral and wind CD’s I would like. In concert band, I did like the pieces that were selected, and they did challenge me, and I believe they resulted in a good concert on Saturday.

On our birthday, luckily, was our “free day”. We only had three periods in the morning, group photo, and then we were allowed to go anywhere on campus and some places downtown. Although it obviously not the best of birthdays, I had fun looking around in the shops, and I was able to buy a bucket hat (since my last favorite bucket hat was lost/stolen).

Anyway, I’m a bit too tired to say anymore, so I might edit/add more things to this post later...but I think that’s it...oh, but I did see the Stargate episodes from yesterday today. I really liked the Stargate SG-1 episode! Though, yet again, I’m a little mad that it’s a “To Be Continued” again. Though, looking that the “on next week’s episode”, I’m guessing we’re going to see the replacement of the Goa’uld :(. The Atlantis one was okay...but I still think it’s no match for SG-1.

Geek Back from the Great Outdoors

2005-07-16T00:17:00.000-04:00

Girl Scout camp had taught me three important lessons: never regret the smell of your own bathroom, the state of showers at home, and (most) food at home. While at camp, I spent my time in tents (called Island Downstream). It was very hot most of the time, which made the experience miserable at times...however, I did have a lot of fun. I guess I should give you the basic run down of what happened...

Sunday:

We arrived. I was expecting to be the youngest in the group, but ended up being the oldest. Luckily, one other person was in the same grade as I. Anyway, we played some “get to know you” games, and it seemed like an okay group at the moment. Our group was the smallest, and there were only six girls (the seventh decided not to come). I had the worst meal in my life that evening. (Note: at Girl Scout camp, you have to have what is called a “brownie bite”. Meaning you have to take at least something of everything and eat something of it. All of my brownie bites were really, REALLY small pieces). I hate ham, so I had a brownie bite. I hate green beans, so I had a brownie bite. I had applesauce, so I had a brownie bite. I usually like corn bread, so I ate three of them. Or, at least what I could eat...the bottoms were heavily burnt, and they tasted pretty bad. Dessert was pudding so I was able to eat that. Oh, such a lovely start to the week.

Monday:

Hm...I can’t really remember this day well...oh, yes! We took our swim tests today. It was really easy, and I was able to pass it to the point of swimming in the deepest part. (Note: candy at Girl Scout camp is not allowed). On this day, two of the girls in the other tent (3 per tent) thought the third girl had candy, so asked her for some. The third girl did have candy, so she gave them some. After eating the candy, the two other girls tattled on the third! Apparently, the third girl had gotten away with it for six years! She told the counselor that she needs candy before she goes to sleep because it helps her sleep, so the counselor gave her one per night. Oh, and this night we prepare for our rafting trip tomorrow.

Tuesday:

Despite what you may think, the group I was with was wonderful. For the rest of the week, we got along and became really good friends, I think. We noticed the larger grounds had a lot of arguing. Anyway, we get up earlier and take a two-hour drive to a place called White Water Challengers. We had a blast! Rafting was one of my favorite parts of camp. On the way back to camp, we had Dairy Queen (I had chicken fingers, fries, and a vanilla ice cream; after camp food, that was pure heaven...). I believe it was this night that we discovered the joy of cards. We played Bull (also known as B.S.). It was because it was thunder storming, so we all gathered (including the counselor) into one of the tents, played cards, and chatted.

Wednesday:

Our counselor ditched us! Of course, not on purpose. Another group needed another counselor to go with them canoeing. She tired to get permission for us to go, but their weren’t enough vans. Plus, it turns out that it was 90 degrees where they went, and they practically melted in the metal ovens also known as canoes.

Anyway, our group was first with this really cool counselor. She told us that she had a great time with us, because we were much calmer and better to be with then her group. Unfortunately, we had to go with another group, but before we did, we snuck around, avoiding them. We almost succeeded, if the other counselor didn’t spot the counselor we were with. It was so funny, though! At this time, we did low ropes with the other group (we did the porthole, and the spider web, if you’ve heard of them...). I swear, this one counselor’s group couldn’t have completed anything if it weren’t for us! They spent a lot of time arguing...but then after we had to stop doing the low ropes courses, we were dumped on another counselor, yet again...then finally we ended up with the cool counselor again. We made foam picture frames, and then she let us go back and play cards for a while. It was a lot of fun. And, I believe it was this day I learned a card game called “Four Corners” and “ERS” (I have no idea what it stands for).

Thursday:

We did quite a bit of card games this day (by now everyone knows how to play Four Corners and we’d play it any opportunity we got). Today was our first day besides the swim test to go swimming. I mean come on! The title of our group was “Wild About Rivers”! Oh, well...the creek really stank, anyway. We also took a hike today, and the other girls were a bit freaked because we kept on finding bear tracks. Alas, we saw no bear. But it was creepy, because when we got back, the girls around the “singing tree” just happened to be singing a song about a bear...

This night was the “final campfire”. Even though everyone in my group couldn’t wait to get home, we did shed a few tears. We had a great time because we had such good company. I believe this group was the greatest I’ve ever had, including our counselor. Other people at the campfire, were bawling, making me even more sad. However, one of the girls was able to brighten our spirits by saying, “Boy, those other girls must be beaten or something at home, because I know I don’t want to stay one more second here at camp.” I know it sounds rude, but it made me laugh and feel better. And, of course, the girl didn’t really mean to be rude.

Friday:

We had packed the night before, and prepared to leave today. Also, today was the only day we went kayaking! I had waited for Girl Scout camp only to go kayaking for what seemed like less then 10 min?! Oh, well...I’ve learned my lesson: never rely on Girl Scout camp for kayaking. Anyway, I was the first to leave. When they found out I was leaving, we were playing KEMPS (a card game that requires teams, etc.), and they at first were more concerned about getting another person to play rather then me leaving :P. But of course, they said good-bye, and I miss them all and I hope they somewhat miss me...but now, we’re all in our nice houses (though, mine is without AC).

Tonight, I saw the beginning of Stargate SG-1 season nine (and Stargate Atlantis season two). Boy, the beginning of Stargate SG-1 was depressing, finding out that all the members of SG-1 were gone. But three of ‘em will definitely be back, I think. I really liked the first episode, except for the “To Be Continued” part. Whoever decided that that should be put into slavery under the Goa’uld. After all, the Goa’uld will need the slave labor because of the newly forming Jaffa nation. Now, I’m just waiting for my sister to come home so I can begin the sixth Harry Potter book.

The National Air and Space Museum and Washington D.C.

2005-07-10T09:25:00.000-04:00

From July 8th to July 9th, we were in the Washington D.C. area. On Friday, we went to the new National Air and Space Museum. It was really fascinating! I loved how the planes were arranged throughout the huge main room, and I took lots of pictures of them. My favorite plane would have to be the Flying Wing. The first shuttle (the Enterprise) was also on display. Honestly, I can’t remember how big I thought the shuttles were, but from my perspective, it was huge. Although, I didn’t read many of the info panels there. It seemed to have more information on the individual objects and planes there, rather then scientific facts and such, like the other Air and Space Museum. Either way, I had a great time.

And, on Friday night, we saw the Fantastic 4! I thought it was a great movie :). To me, it did seem short, but apparently it was around two hours or something. Anyway, I do recommend other people to see it.

On Saturday, we went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was quite sad, reading about all the sadness and pain the Nazis caused, however I already knew much about it from school. During the main exhibit, we were given a passport thing, in which we were given information about a specific person during the Holocaust. My person was gassed upon arrival at a concentration camp at the age of 76. I didn’t take any pictures, though, because you weren't allowed to.

Oh, and I’m going away to Girl Scout camp until July 15 (Friday).

Game Review: Final Impression: Kirby and The Amazing Mirror

2005-07-05T23:23:00.000-04:00

See Beginning Impression for plot info.

Yesterday, I finally finished this game (after not playing it for months and months...). It was overall great! It’s much different from most games I’ve played. Instead of levels, they are areas, which are groupings of different “rooms”, and each area (total of 9) has a boss, where you earn a shard of the mirror. You don’t even have to do the areas in order! And, a lot of the rooms lead to different areas, too. Each room was short, but once you went out of one room, you went into another. Plus, there were frequently more then two doors in a room, meaning there were many paths one could take. A lot of the rooms required logic in order to get to the door you needed to get to (such as getting the proper ability to cut something or pound something). I admit, I did go online for some help, but I usually only needed to know one thing, then did the rest of the task on my own. Oh! What I really liked about this game was that you could earn colors to paint Kirby! VERY cool, people. VERY cool. I mean, come on! Why have a pink Kirby when you can have a black one with orange feet?! Also, the game tells you what percentage you have left of the game, telling you if you missed something (since you don’t need all the items to finish the game). But after I finished it, I went out and found the treasure chests I need, so my game’s 100% complete :D.

My favorite Kirby Ability :)

Happy Independence Day

2005-07-03T22:13:00.000-04:00

I made this picture out of various things I found through Google (though, I did the text and blended the pictures). The moon doesn’t exactly make me think of Independence Day...but at least it gives me a somewhat good reason to throw a Stargate into the picture. Anyway, happy Independence Day!

License Plates

2005-06-29T21:01:00.000-04:00

I “created” a couple of license plates with the link I got off of the Knox’s blog.

SGC stands for Stargate Command, located in Colorado.

And, for the Nox ;)

Reference

2005-06-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

I admit, sometimes I guess I can get confusing when I refer to certain people as a Tok’ra or a Nox, so for you Tau’ri (humans from earth), I have composted a list that you may use as a reference:

Goa’uld: Although there are many, I usually refer to myself as Goa’uld, though my proper name is Tak Simba Pez. Goa’ulds are gods.
Tok’ra: The true translation I suppose would be “the resistance”, but they’re really ex-Goa’ulds that apparently do not think the galaxy should be ruled by Goa’ulds. Haras Pikachu Pez is a Tok’ra, and I often refer to her as the Tok’ra.
Nox: “A small, peaceful, fairy-like people who occupy the planet previously thought to be uninhabited.” That’s what the people of Stargate Command define them as...but they’re some kind of weird race that can bring people back from the dead and make things invisible. They’re rather self-centered and conceded if you ask me...think they’re above everyone or something...anyway, Alled Mickey Mouse Pez is a Nox.
Jaffa: “Humanoid species with marsupial-like pouches, genetically engineered from humans. Their pouches serve to incubate a Goa'uld larva. The symbiote gives strong healing capabilities and strength to the Jaffa. The Jaffa constitutes the majority of the military strength of the Goa’uld.” I found that definition on the web, and it sounded a bit right...Nod (I’m not sure if he’s associated with a certain Pez yet) is a Jaffa. That silly Tok’ra keeps on calling him Shol'va (traitor), though...

Acting Camp

2005-06-27T14:36:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned last week, I was gone from June 19th to June 24th at an acting camp. It was a lot of fun :D! I met some great people, and some great actors! The funny thing was that there was only one guy at the camp! Though, he enjoyed the attention (though, he did complain a bit about the makeover some of the girls gave him)...:P. We did a lot of acting games, and such, and saw the musical Once on this Island. It was really wonderful :)! Also, we performed on Friday Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Boy, was it hard to memorize our lines in under five days! The parts were given randomly and I was the narrator (and part of the gum machine; we barely had any props, so people had to be machines! It was quite funny...and we didn’t have costumes, either, so we all wore the camp t-shirt and some hat or something to distinguish the different characters). I didn’t have many lines, but my lines were long.

It was a great experience, and I’d love to do the High School version next year, if the Tok’ra allows me...

(Here’s a picture of the sky when we had a campfire on the first night; I’d show you more...but I don’t feel like it :P)

Star Wars/Stargate Desktop Backgrounds

2005-06-18T14:08:00.000-04:00

Since I am going away for about a week, starting tomorrow, and I am not finished with the fourth episode, I have designed two desktop backgrounds for you to use if you’d like to until the forth episode is finished and posted on this blog. Enjoy...

(Note: the background of this desktop background was not done by me)
1024 by 768 800 by 600

1024 by 768 800 by 600

Game Review: Final Impression: Super Smash Brothers Melee

2005-06-15T22:18:00.000-04:00

“Final Impression” by no means mean I won’t play it anymore. Games like this one you can play forever...:D! But anyway, I thought I might as well call it that since I completed all the events and earned all the characters (except for Toad, but I’m not totally sure if it’s the truth that you can earn him...)

Events are challenges in one player mode that you can complete. Beating all of the events will earn you the stage (somewhere to battle in multiplayer mode) “Final Destination”, where you battle the “Master Hand”, the final boss in Classic Mode (another one player mode thing...). Events can consist of a variety of things, but mostly your goal is to defeat certain challengers. The last two were the hardest. Event #50 was where you had to battle the Master Hand and it’s crazy lefty, Crazy Hand. On the Internet, it suggested using a character called Falco Lombardi. I did use him in order to beat it, but not after a long time of failing. #51 was also VERY hard. You had to beat Giga Bowser (evil, larger version of Bowser, in my opinion), Mewtwo, and Gandondorf. Mewtwo and Gandondorf are in my opinion the strongest, most difficult characters to beat (if not human controlled). However, I was able to finally defeat them with the suggested character, Jugglypuff! I thought it was so funny that they’d suggest that pokémon...but it worked! Boy, it took so long to beat the last to events, I’m probably going to take a break from that game...maybe...

Episode III: Jedi Training

2005-06-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

And here’s the third episode! This is the one that contains one of the Tok’ra’s favorite scenes...I think you’ll know which one it is, but she can tell you which one if she feels like it. A bit more action in this one (I’ll touch up the light saber parts a bit more in the last episode), but still there is quite a bit of dialogue. I tried to make it slower with the dialogue, but don’t forget about the pause button if you need it. I have the quality set to medium, but if you think it’ll still run fine on high quality, it’s your decision to change it. No sound, again, but still, I’d pause the sound.

Happy 18th!

2005-06-13T20:33:00.000-04:00

Just would like to post on my blog (though you may have already seen a post about it on my mom's blog) that it’s one of my cat’s birthday’s today! Today, he’s eighteen! Happy birthday, Chatham!

Quotes

2005-06-12T21:58:00.000-04:00

I was searching around for quotes...because it's cool...and I came up with quite a few good/funny ones:

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. (Albert Einstein)

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals. (Winston Churchill)

If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat. (Mark Twain)

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. (Albert Schweitzer)

Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy. (Joseph Campbell; don't ask why, but this quote makes me think of fire...BURN!! HA HA!!)

Asking if computers can think is like asking if submarines can swim. (unknown)

Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings. (Helen Keller)

I found all of this quotes at WisdomQuotes.com

Episode II: Misdialed

2005-06-11T21:48:00.000-04:00

Wow, this episode took a lot less time to make then the last one (maybe it's because I didn't have school or homework to worry about...hm...)! Originally, the last episode was going to be the only one, but over time, I came up with other parts to it. Hopefully, you’ll like this one, too...it’s a lot of dialogue and less action, I think...but the Tok’ra seemed to like it. Oh, and you may want to pause the sound (even though there isn’t sound in this episode) and set the quality to medium (right click...etc.). Just an idea...also, don’t forget to use the pause if needed, cause it can go a bit quickly with the dialogue (sometimes, but not always). But only if you think it needs too...

Episode I of IV

2005-06-10T17:02:00.000-04:00

This is part one of a four part episode/series thingy. Although, this is the only one completed, the plot and lines for the rest are finished. You may or may not see the next part soon...depends on how much I work on the next one. I know the plot of this “episode” may be confusing...(same with the other episodes)...but oh, well. The Tok’ra said that there is a really funny part in the next one, though (well, I think in the third part, actually). Hopefully she won’t ruin it for you...oh, and I was too lazy to put in sound or fix it up. Enjoy...

Warning: You may want to stop the sound and decrease the quality of this (by right clicking) because it runs a bit slow because of the amount of Flash things on this blog.

Boston Trip

2005-06-08T20:24:00.000-04:00

From the 26 to the 29 of May was our Unitarian Universalist’s coming of age trip to Boston! It was a lot of fun, but I will not lie to you; there were some (as in VERY few) parts that were so boring I almost fell asleep, though. Our visit to Walden Pond and the duck boat tour probably were the most fun while we were there (besides the card games...! Got to love ‘em...). However, the trip was too much comprised of history, I did notice. I do enjoy some history...though (but they didn't let us go to the science museum there! We begged...but they said no...:( )...oh, and the funny thing was that on the trip when we were asked answers, the girls answered the most questions! And there were only two of us (not that it’s totally surprising because we were girls...but because of our small number)! Also, despite that the car ride was about eight hours long, it was probably the most fun too...especiall the mulitplayer Mario game and this roleplaying game we did...it kept us laughing most of the way back! Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip (all but one from the duck tour):

School’s out forever! Erm...for the summer...

2005-06-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

Although I stand by my statement that the school year went VERY quickly, it seems like ages since the last summer vacation! I celebrated it by playing hours on the GameCube...since I wasn’t able to do much of it because I had to study for finals. Oh, did I do my review on Super Smash Brothers Melee? If I haven’t, then I’ll do it now...it’s one of the best games ever! I also had Super Smash Brothers for Nintendo 64, but this one is MUCH better. Also, there are a lot more characters and places to battle. I’ve earned all except two (at least I think...) of the possible characters from the came: Mewtwo (who I desperately want to earn) and Mr. Game and Watch (who the Tok’ra wants me to earn; luckily, we need to earn Mewtwo in order to get Mr. Game and Watch...)

Anyway, I usually like battling games, and this one is no exception. What I like about games like this is that you could play it forever! It’s not a game that there is a plot, and it’s over and done eventually and you may or may not play again. Also, I really like multiplayer games, because it’s always more fun to have someone with a brain sitting there, playing with you (or against you). Which reminds me to tell you I do have four controllers...not hinting anything...just telling you...(since the Tok'ra won't always play with me...)

Game Review: Final Impression: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

2005-05-16T17:50:00.000-04:00

I love this game! I have always liked Legend of Zelda games, but on the GameCube, it’s a totally new perspective. Plus, the main character, isn’t technically Link, and you can name him (though the Tok'ra and I named him Link, anyway :P). Dungeons have always been my least favorite part of this kind of them, but because of the new look, I don’t mind them as much (in the Game Boy games, when I got this item called Roc's Cape that would allow you to jump/“fly” for a longer period of time rather then Roc’s Feather that would allow you to jump one space, I use to just go all around the area, just jumping around, avoiding the dungeon since I get spooked out because of them, even if they don’t look remotely realistic.) (Oh, and this game doesn’t have a Roc’s Cape OR Roc’s Feather, so I’m depressed about that. That’s the one major negative). Where was I? Oh, yeah...um, the game has tons of cool elements, such as pirates, and you get your own ship that you use sailing around from one island to another...and I’m just ranting, I guess...

Oh, yeah...and I beat the game and I was playing it again, because second time around you get to keep your original clothing (that the boy was wearing in the beginning, instead of the usual Link garments). It was a lot of fun, and the ending was really sad, but it was appropriate. It was actually probably one of the better endings I’ve seen in games! Oh! I guess I should give this a rating...I’d give it a 10/10, even if though it doesn’t have the cape! If I forgot anything I want to add...I guess I’ll add it later...I'd say more about it, but I really think all of you should play it...it's a lot of fun :D!

Branding and Baltimore

2005-05-11T15:54:00.000-04:00

Our eight-grade trip to Baltimore was quite fun, but VERY disorganized. The bus played Napoleon Dynamite on the way down, but I played Super Mario Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (which I’ll do a game review once when I’m finished with it). I finally reached the last level with the time I had on the bus ride! Anyway, our first stop was at Fort McHenry. They made us do a worksheet, which I really dislike doing on fieldtrips because then I have to find specific information...and plus people keeping asking me for the answers! But it was a beautiful day, and the fort was an interesting place. After that, we went for lunch, which was really nice; I had pizza, water, and ice cream, and the shops there were interesting. Next, the aquarium was pretty and such, and the dolphin show was cool, too...but I had a lot more fun when I went with my family rather then with the whole school.

Because we are learning about cowboys in history class, we got to brand people (picture is of my brand that I did on my hand)! I originally tired bending the wire into a cat’s head, but I didn’t have enough wire, so I stuck with the musical note. I know eighth notes have it filled in and such, but I still think it is cool. I got a total of eight brands (including mine) and had to have my sleeves rolled up for most of science class (the period after). They took SO long to dry! Though, mine was the first to dry, obviously because I branded myself first :P

I'll probably post the game reviews tomorrow so don't have multiple blogging in one day, then none the next.

Six Flags

2005-05-08T16:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our band’s trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. Of course, not the whole band went, and according to a Tok’ra by the name of Haras, the group was smaller then last year’s, and last year’s trip to Dorney Park was a lot better. I still had a lot of fun, of course, besides getting sun burnt. I didn’t go on a variety of rides...but I rode my first ferris wheel (four times), the Musik Express (five times), and the Autobahn (bumper cars; once, unfortunately). Although the bummer cars are usually my favorite, the line was too long. Twice while I went on the Musik Express, I was severely squished, because we had to fit three people in one seat. In the beginning, our group actually got separated from Haras and another friend, and didn’t meet up with them until lunch. I didn’t care, really, though. I got addicted to this one game, though, where you have to roll a bowling ball on these rails, and hope it stays in the dip. I got the “second level” prize (by winning twice), a blue fish I named Elmar. And this viewer you see depicted above is what I bought while I was there. It has a picture of me and another one of my friends. I didn’t bring a camera, but a friend of mine did, so maybe I’ll be able to upload more pictures to show you. Also, expect some game reviews, soon...

Comic

2005-04-19T21:24:00.000-04:00

I know this Funky Winkerbean comic was from a LONG time ago, but I think it's neat...since I play trombone...and I'll admit...we can be deadly...I think...

Smart Ask!

2005-04-17T22:39:00.000-04:00

During computer class, I was introduced to this fun game/quiz! Although, I have only done the category Mad Science, I really like it. I would try Numb and Number, but I'm not that good doing math under such a small time limit. Though, you have to go quickly in order to get a good score, so currently, I hardly read the questions; I just memory key words/phrases/answers, etc. My highest score I have gotten is a 93. The only reason I've gotten such a high score is from a lot practice...plus a lot of the questions repeat.

Oh, no!

2005-03-14T20:49:00.000-05:00

The castle is under a tack!!

lol, hope you all are having a good week...

Science Olympiad

2005-03-06T21:33:00.000-05:00

On March 4th, this Friday, my school’s Science Olympiad team, both high school and middle school, when to L-----n College for the regional Science Olympiad tournament. For those who do not know what it is, it is a competition where schools prepare to compete in events related to science, much like the Olympics (for more info, go to the official website). Each school has a team, sizes usually varying, of students who prepare for whatever event they are competing in before hand. Our school’s middle school team comprised of 12 students, and we each had an estimated average of three events each. About a month before the competition, the team was formed by who showed up at the first meeting, (comprising of eight grade honors students and ninth graders). I had no idea how little time this was until it was too late. Either way, our school did well, surprisingly. We ranked 7th among the middle schools, and a few of us got awards for how we did in certain events. I, myself, received a 3rd place medal for Water Quality (which was basically just a test which we did with partners). Two other events I participated in were Sounds of Music and Science Crime Busters. I have no clue how I did in Science Crime Busters, but in Sounds of Music, when I played my instrument, it was out of tune when I had just tuned it before the impound and I got so nervous and I messed up on the songs...it was horrible! I was so embarrassed...that’s why I’m making a new instrument. Anyway, since my school ranked 7th we now get to go to the state competition. The high school students, however, did not make it that far. I’m actually disappointed...I didn’t want to go to states...lol, the last period of time for events (certain events at certain times/ periods), a few other girls who didn’t have any events and I practically talked the whole time about how much we hated it...:P. Personally, I didn’t like it because I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked to have been. I’ll be sure to be prepared for the state competition.

Anagram

2005-02-16T18:28:00.000-05:00

The following are anagram's from ANAGRAM GENIUS (I found the link on Aral's blog):

My full name: Yuck! A narrative thick.
Yuck! A narrative thick: A chunky trivia racket.
Goa'uld: Dual go
Tok'ra: OK rat (:D)
Tom Marvolo Riddle: Immortal, odd lover.
I am Lord Voldemort: Loved trim malodor.

Stargate Convention

2005-02-10T20:58:00.000-05:00

Boy, the Stargate Convention on Sunday was a BLAST! It was so cool seeing the actors in person! They were all WONDERFUL speakers, especially Gary Jones, who kept me laughing the whole time! I did take a lot of pictures, but I have been too lazy to upload them. It was cool getting there signatures and all. I wish I had asked Michael Shanks a better question though...I'm not good making them up at the spot. I wish the whole SG-1 was there...that would have been awesome...well, I should be happy for who I did meet!

But I have to admit; some of the people there were creepy! I mean...I can't possibly comprehend how the actors feel after listening to and answering such bizarre people...! I feel normal, now...:(

Genie in a Bottle

2005-02-02T20:30:00.000-05:00

I got this little story from a friend of mine...I think it's pretty funny...

A woman was walking along a deserted beach one day when she saw an old bottle. She picked it up and while she was rubbing the sand off, smoke arose from it and a genie appeared. The amazed woman asked if she got three wishes.

The genie said, "Nope, sorry, three-wish genies are a storybook myth. I'm a one-wish genie. So... what'll it be?"

The woman did not hesitate. She said, "I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want these countries to stop fighting with each other and I want all the Arabs to love the Jews and Americans and vice-versa. It will bring about world peace and harmony."

The genie looked at the map and exclaimed, "Lady, be reasonable. These countries have been at war for thousands of years. I'm out of shape after being in a bottle for five hundred years. I'm good but not THAT good! I don't think it can be done. Make another wish and please be reasonable."

The woman thought for a minute and said, "Well, I've never been able to find the right man. You know, one that's considerate and fun, likes to cook and help with the house cleaning, is great in bed, and gets along with my family. Doesn't watch sports all the time, and is faithful. That is what I wish for... a good man."

The genie let out a sigh and said, "Let me see the stupid map.”

Car

2005-01-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

http://home.comcast.net/~cheetah24/carthing.swf
Note: I did not code it; I found the coding on the Internet. But I did draw the car...I'll have to find a way so it will not go out of the window. Also, use arrow keys to steer, control the car, etc.

Stargate meets the light bulb…and Tok’ra holes

2005-01-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

Note: When it says invented by it's refering to the answer.

How many Tok’ras does it take to screw on a light bulb?
None; the light would give away their current position.

[Invented by Goa’uld (Tak)]

How many SG-1 personnel does it take to screw on a light bulb?
All 4; Jack would not understand how, so he would ask Carter. Carter would explain to him the technical aspect of the light bulb, and then Jack would ask Daniel. Daniel would explain the philosophy of the light bulb, and then Jack would ask Teal’c. Teal’c would fire at the light bulb with a staff weapon and say, “Look. Fire creates a better light.”

[Invented by Goa’uld (Tak)]

(I think the history of the light bulb would work better for Daniel, but bookworm suggests I keep it the way it is; also, there are many ways to tell this joke…believe me…I KNOW…)

How many Asgards does it take to screw on a light bulb?
None; they would consider it beneath them.

[Invented by a Jaffa (also known as father)]

How many Nox would it take to screw on a light bulb?
None; The light bulb may be considered a weapon.

[Invented by bookworm]

Oh no! It’s Tok’ra hole!

[Tok’ra hole is totally (c) of Goa’uld (Tak)]

(Yeah, yeah...I know...it's not a light bulb joke. I was just notifying you that I invented Tok'ra hole.)

Game Review: Beginning Impression: Mario Kart Double Dash

2004-12-27T14:17:00.000-05:00

This is so far my favorite racing game of all time! I'm so far really good at it, but of course it can challenge me, which is always good. The steering is much better then Kirby Air Ride (though, Kirby Air Ride does that intentionally...) and I like the idea where two characters per kart (one steers and the other uses items). So far I have about three gold trophies in the 50cc (I don't know what exactly 50cc means, but it refers to the vehicle; 50cc is the easiest, then 100cc, and 150cc is the hardest.) And like Kirby Air Ride, you have to earn vehicles. Only, you begin with much more then in Kirby Air Ride.

Game Review: Beginning Impression: Kirby Air Ride

2004-12-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

Kirby Air Ride is so far really neat! In the game, you start out with just the star as the vehicle you can race with. As you win certain races and do certain things in the races, you earn different vehicles. This racing game is a bit harder for me then most racing games, but I'm still pretty good at it. Turning and such is harder. Also, since it is Kirby, he can swallow enemies and take their powers. What I dislike about it is you can only have the ability for a limited time, unlike in most Kirby games in which you have it until a enemy hits you. Anyway, it's fun and I hope to get farther into it :)

Happy Holidays!

2004-12-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

It's not really a flash animation...it's really just music. That's all. Happy Holidays! (& Io Saturnalia!)

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance

2004-12-16T15:34:00.000-05:00

[+] Website

It looks totally cool! Alled entered into this contest to maybe be in the game, though out of the many who send it, we can just hope...I'd have entered except for the STUPID age limit...I can't wait for the game, which will come out in Fall 2005. Reminder to those that the second half of the 8th season of Stargate starts on Jan. 21st and there will be a 9th season. Hopefully it won't end up like Kingdom Hearts 2...*shivers*

Happy Holidays

2004-12-06T17:30:00.000-05:00

Game Review: Beginning Impression: Kirby and The Amazing Mirror

2004-12-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

Like most Kirby games, the plot is kind of childish, and weird. Do I care? No...I totally expect that from Kirby games! What attracts me to the game, however, is that it's generally safe to say that it'll be fun. I mean, sucking up your enemies and stealing their abilities is really cool, right?

Also, I think this game is turning out to be very fun! I mean, there are four Kirbys. Yeah, I know you're thinking "when you have your gameboy advanced hooked up, but only then...". Wrong...the computer actually controls the three other Kirbys for you! It's really neat, since they can explore on their own, and stuff. The problem is...it doesn't really count for you. I mean, I WISH they'd follow me, to beat up the bad guys for me...while I just sit back and fool around...but because they don't follow you, you all have a cell phone. I'm not sure if that's what the game calls it...but that's what it is. You can call a star to take you back to the beginning, or you can call your friends to come to your aid. Since the cell phone runs on batteries, you can only call the computer-controlled Kirbys three times, or collect the batteries throughout the areas. And also, this isn't your level-to-level kind of game. It's a maze...and there are so many areas and places to explore...and not only are there different areas, each of the areas are separated into different regions.

Oh, yeah...the plot...what I'm suppose to accomplish...I might as well tell you it...okay, so there is this magical mirror (hence the title...) and apparently it's creating chaos in Dreamland, the land where Kirby lives. MetaKnight, a friend of Kirby's, tries to stop it, but ends up turning evil in the process. And now Kirby has to collect shard of the mirror (that shattered) so he can go defeat the evil. So far...I have two. A lousy two...but I'm on the verge of three!

Game Review: Final Impression: Crash: Twinsanity

2004-11-26T13:43:00.000-05:00

I finished the game. I guess I played it too much...I was a little disappointed with the ending, but I was really disappointed with the length of the game. It had some REALLY hard parts, and it had some really easy parts...but now it's letting me roam the game free, which is kinda cool.

Game Review: Beginning Impression: Crash: Twinsanity

2004-11-14T21:54:00.000-05:00

Crash: Twinsanity is a game I recently bought myself...it's really neat! I actually have never played a Crash game before (I think) but I was sucked into buying it because Neopets was advertising it in one of their games and I really liked what I saw in the trailer, but don't worry; I'm glad I bought it. It's really neat...and so far I like the story plot. (and the music is really cool too...though I'm still thinking if it's my favorite video game music...after all Kingdom Heart's music was awesome...)

*-*-*Oh, and here's a link to the game's 'official' website.*-*-*

Blue Band

2004-11-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Even though Penn State lost...we can still be grateful for the wonderful music of the Blue Band.

Anyway, here's some pic's I took of our 'wonderful' football team and the Blue Band:

(Yeah, I know...the game was on Saturday...but I didn't feel like postin' it until today)

Flash Movie SG-1

2004-11-07T15:48:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know...it stinks. In both ways...