Miller Park Stadium.
Here is a photo that my uncle took when him and my aunt traveled around the United States. I love how the lights shine in the photo… dreamy. Like usual, you can click on the photo to see it full-size.
Ciao, Shavonne.
On August 30th, 2011, The Daily Post question is: If you could be part of any fictional universe, what would it be? Why?
I used to dream of being in the Myst Series universe when I was young and first played the game in 2001. Myst Uru is set in an universe where you can travel to any world imaginable, by using special books called “linking books”. The possibilities of where you could go, what you could see and do, are endless.
On August 31st, the Daily Post challenge was to pick a word you don’t know, and use it in a story. Find a word you like, and use it in a short, paragraph length, story, or a clever sentence.
Hustling to reach the end of the road, I felt panic widen my eyes. I felt the hollow ache behind them as tears run down my face. The sun had not yet broken the horizon, so whether I was too late or not, it was impossible to tell. The thought of waiting alone in the darkness, next to the groves of frozen willow that creaked indefinitely, drove me to an almost maddening state of terror. I abruptly turned to look behind me, seeing nothing in the complete dark. Feeling satisfied, I turned back, but not before seeing the faint adumbration of a figure coming at me swiftly…
The word I chose is adumbration, which means “a sketchy or imperfect or faint representation.”
Here’s a photo of a species of white peacock my uncle took in America. Really beautiful bird. You can click the image to see it full-size.
Also, recently I got Rosetta Stone! Gonna to learn how French really well. It would be neat to speak/write in another language fluently. Plus, if I ever go to Europe, I’d fit right in. I think I’m going to start writing in French for now on, just for kicks.
Ciao, Shavonne
On August 29th, 2011, the Daily Post challenge was to write a movie review.
Here in North America, the highest grossing movie in history is Avatar. In Japan, it’s a more unique movie, Spirited Away.
Few people can say they’ve never heard of Spirited Away. When it was first released in 2001, it received huge praise from critics worldwide. According to Wikipedia,
“Rotten Tomatoes reports that 97% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 155 reviews, certifying it “Fresh”, with an average rating of 8.5/10, and ranks as the thirteenth-best animated film on the site. In 2005, Spirited away was ranked the twelfth-best animated film of all time by IGN. The film is also ranked #9 of the highest-rated movies of all time on Metacritic; being the highest rated traditionally animated film on the site. The film ranked #10 in Empire magazine‘s “The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema” in 2010.“
All this praise is not empty. With 100% certainty, I can say Spirited Away is one of the best animated films of all time, along with Princess Mononoke. The renowned Hayao Miyazaki directed both films.
Spirited Away (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Spirited Away starts off with a girl named Chihiro, and her family, who are moving to the suburbs of a small town. Chihiro’s father winds up lost while attempting to take a shortcut to their new home, and they come to an abrupt stop in front of a long tunnel. Deciding to explore the area, Chihiro’s parents (whilst dragging along a sulky Chihiro), somehow end up crossing over to the spirit world, an alternate dimension. Soon their own greed turns them both into pigs, and suddenly Chihiro is left to to weave the dangers of the spirit world, turn her parents back, and find her way home. Pretty daunting task for an ten-year-old, but she soon manages to land a job at a bathhouse for spirits to avoid being eaten by them.
One thing I love about this movie is how carefully Chihiro matures throughout it. At the beginning, we find a sulky, whiny little girl with no sense of adventure or independence. As time progresses and she matures, we watch her become someone independent and selfless.
Another thing is the soundtrack. Varied and beautiful to the extreme, especially the piano scores. The hours and dedication put into each piece shows.
Most of the scenes were hand-drawn, which is an amazing feat when you think about how long the movie is. The animation is smooth, colorful, flawless, and really is one of the things that makes this movie stand out from the rest.
The story line itself is enough to place this at the top. Deep and satisfying, this story definitely isn’t disappointing. The attention put into making the best story possible shines here. Hayao Miyazaki’s movies never feature the simple ”good” vs. “evil” plots we often see, but explore the concept of an antagonist with many sides. We find in this movie that no person is simply “evil”, people simply have different motivations and beliefs. The result is that every character is well-rounded and complex. I wish all movies were like this.
Overall, Spirited Away is a brilliant movie, one that anyone will love. Even if you don’t usually watch animated movies, you’ll find it difficult not to appreciate this one.
On August 27th, The Daily Post question is: Do you believe in UFO’s? If yes, why do you think others do not? If no, why do you think others do?
I can answer this question with an honest, “I don’t know.” There isn’t enough credible evidence of them being spotted in Earth’s skies for me to say that I think they do, or don’t. Since there is a possibly that there may have been UFO’s that have visited Earth, I can’t honestly disbelieve them. But, I am still skeptical. I suppose that as science discovers more and more, evidence may crop up. Until then, I am agnostic about their existence. Some people believe in UFO’s, some don’t. It all depends on how skeptical they are, or how willing they are to accept the few bits of evidence and stories.
On August 28th, The Daily Post challenge is to: Describe the perfect Sunday. What is the best Sunday you’ve ever had? What is the best possible second half of a weekend you can ever imagine having? Who would you spend time with? Where would you be? What would you do?
My idea of a perfect Sunday is one spent doing something fun with my relatives, or friends. Either that, or a day spent at the gym, going for a hike around the mountain, and a jog. I could see myself doing a lot of writing as well.
The best Sunday I’ve had… I can’t think of a specific experience, but it was probably one spent with relatives or friends. I’ve spent most of my Sundays in church until this year, so there was never many opportunities to have an enjoyable time on that day.
Best possible second half of my week would be to have little to no homework from my high-school. Normally, I always make an effort to spend as much time as possible with the people who I don’t normally get to see, like my friends from other schools or my boyfriend. Long jogs and visits to the gym are the perfect way to end the day. I’d like to go with people more often.
Ciao, Shavonne
On August 26th, 2011, The Daily Post Photo Challenge theme is: Up.
Click on any of the images to see them full size.
To the top of the stairs.
Looking up the stairs to where my cat is resting.
Caught by the strand of web.
Swirling in the air around me, hundreds of plant seeds continued their delicate late-summer journey up, up, up into the cloudless sky. This one remained, unable to go, caught by a thin strand of cobweb.
Summer, never leave.
25 °C/77 °F, outside today. Not a cloud in the sky. I laid down on the front lawn, grass below making the perfect cushion, looking up at our only tree.
School has started up again, and I’ve finally found time to write a blog post. My plan was to write a post a day, but realistically, that’s been next to impossible. Over the summer I’ve been on vacation, and unable to use a computer. I attempted to write a post on my iPod at some point, but scrapped that idea after I had some trouble getting WordPress to even work. So, for now, I’ll be catching up on The Daily Post challenges that I’ve missed.
On August 25th, 2011, The Daily Post challenge is to make up a word, and its definition.
The word I came up with was Schröcat, which means, “a cat that appears dead, but is alive.”.
The first part of the word, “Schrö”, comes from the paradox known as Schrödinger’s cat, which describes a scenario where a cat is either alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event. And the last part of the word, “cat“, is pretty self-explanatory.
So there you have it. What do you think?
On August 26th, 2011, The Daily Post question is… When is it ok to lie? To strangers? To friends? To family? To yourself?
This question is a hard one to answer. It’s very open-ended, and general. Depending on the situation, I think it may be okay to lie. Or maybe not. For strangers, a lot of people, including me, tend to “bend the truth” more often than we care to realize. For me, it’s mostly when I want to make what I’m saying more unique, so I “change reality”. I tend to not do this if there’s a chance I may get to know them better, avoiding any of those awkward ‘um-you-didn’t-really-do-that-did-you?’ situations. For the most part, I think they’re harmless, and entertaining. No harm in stirring up a little interest, right?
I find it a bit harder to lie to friends. They know me, and any lie told is risking losing their trust, or making you look like an idiot. The only time I really lie is to embellish some details from time to time, or omitting something that they don’t need to know. To me, secrets are important. I never feel the need to share something with someone “just because”, I find that often you’ll regret it later. I’m not the type to lie to spare a friend’s feelings, but I won’t tell you what I really think freely. So yes, if I dislike the color of the shirt you just bought, but you have to ask me what I think for me to say so.
My immediate family, if you could call them that, are the one’s I find it difficult to tell the truth to. Growing up, saying what was on my mind, or how I really felt about something almost always went wrong. I’d end up upsetting them, or getting into shit over something unimportant. I guess now I find it difficult to communicate honestly with my family because of that, and have lost almost all respect for them. Their inability to talk things out in a mature way, and stay reasonable about some subjects did not help either. I do lie to them quite often, and don’t intend to change that, seeing as the truth rarely benefits me. It’s sad, but they have lost the right to my honesty.
I’ll catch up on more challenges and questions in future posts!
Ciao, Shavonne
Today’s The Daily Post question: Have you been to where your parents were born? What was it like?
My father was born on a large, successful farm outside of Edmonton. His entire family eventually left it, to pursue a luxurious life in Edmonton, but kept the land. Over the years, some of the land grew wild, becoming a dense mess of trees, shrubs, and prairie grass. The family sold or rented out other squares of land.
In a bout of nostalgia, my dad and his brothers got together to go visit their old home, myself included. We trekked blindly through the bush, hoping to find a recognizable landmark. We found none. Yet, we all found it was entertaining enough to just wander the land.
The most comical moment was when one of my uncles brushed past a willow, knocking a large, grey object out of it. In confusion, we all stood still for a moment and studied it, trying to figure out what it was. That’s when the bees began to pour out in torrents. We didn’t stand around after that much.
My mother was born in a city outside of Vancouver. Growing up, she took us down there often. I love Vancouver, it’s a beautiful city right along the ocean, full of exciting things to do and see. Growing up, I was lucky to have gotten the opportunity to experience everything the city has to offer. My love of the ocean first began from my visits to Vancouver.
Currently, I am in Seattle getting ready to board a plane at 11:23 pm to Chicago. Very excited to finally be on my way to Cedar Point! Today was an eventful day in itself, I got to hold a few scorpions, tarantulas, and many exotic species of lizards at an animal refuge. I also got to meet the gecko and tree frogs that star in the TELUS commercials!
Ciao, Shavonne
