Shine On - Blogs

It's so hard to get back into the groove after  reading week! Classes this week have been a bit of a drag. But I've got a German project and a midterm, and three papers coming up in the next 4-6 weeks, so I've GOT to focus. I think chocolate is going to be a necessity...

My friend Shelli nominated me for a Shine On award, for having an enjoyable blog. Thank, Shelli! :) Shelli blogs about all kinds of things, but her influence is largely adjusting to living in Canada after being an American for her whole life. I love her style!

I like rules, so I did a bit of Googling to make sure I was following them properly. It seems like a pretty fluid award - kind of like a chain email, which I find amusing!

The rules:
1. Show appreciation of the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
2. Add the award logo to your blog.
3. Share 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 or so bloggers you admire.
5. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know.

Seven Things:
1. I'm a maple syrup snob. We used to make our own when I was a kid, and I won't touch that maple-flavoured syrup. Blech!
2. I'm an Anglophile at heart. If I ever got a chance to go to England, I might not come back. :)
3. My current tv watching goal is to watch all the seasons of Monty Python's Flying Circus
4. For Lent this year I'm trying to go to church every Wednesday night as well as Sunday, and to read my Bible more. I've missed one Wednesday, because I went to the Philharmonic. And the Bible reading? Well, I'm trying!
5. In my head, I'm a fabulous gardener and food canner. Maybe one day I will be in real life...if we ever move to BC!
6. I'm working on a steampunk outfit for comic expo. I've been working on it for a long time. This WILL be the year I finish it! :P
7. My favourite thing about the Oscars is looking at all of the dresses in the magazines the week after. Otherwise the only time I've ever watched it was the year Colin Firth was up for best actor for The King's Speech.


Fifteen Blogs:
1. My friend Kristin, the AmeriCandian Gal, also a new Canadian, blogs mostly about the differences between the two countries. I learn things about Canada from her! :)

2. Deborah Niemann has a farm called Antiquity Oaks and I have a bit of farm envy! I'm too squeamish to raise animals, I think, but I really enjoy her blog. Plus, she has LOTS of cute baby goats. She's also the author of a couple of great books - look them up!

3. Club Jade is my source for all things Star Wars. No rumour-mongering there!

4. Drawing Saudade is Saudade's attempt to draw every day for a year. She's pretty great - she posts every night, and I always look forward to seeing what she comes up with. I won one of her pieces in a contest - a cute little baby seal. I'm a big fan!

5. If I had to choose just one blog to read for the rest of forever, it would probably be EPBOT. Jen Yates blogs about Disney, steampunk, books, home decorating, crafting, general geekyness, cats, marriage, cons...I, along with about a million other fangirls, would love to be her real life friend! :)

6. Jen's other blog is Cake Wrecks. If you like snark, have a slightly inappropriate sense of humour, and enjoy life's absurdities, you'll get a giggle out of Cake Wrecks. Warning: do not attempt to eat (some cakes can be quite nausea inducing) or drink (danger of spitting all over your computer) while reading Cake Wrecks.

7. I met Erin at Dog Under My Desk online through our mutual love of Sanctuary, which, alas, has been cancelled, but we've found other things to talk about! I don't sew, but I love her designs. She blogs about sewing and fangirling, and if you are into sewing, she has great purse patterns. I'd call her a Handbag Engineer, because the amount of structural work she puts into them blows my mind.

8. Do you have a friend coming for dinner? Someone who can't eat gluten or dairy? Wondering what on earth to feed them? My friend Heather and her partner Josh between the two of them cover both of those 'special needs'. :) They have a food blog called Going Against the Grain, with great food and great photos. Try the Nanaimo Bars...

9. Continuing with the food theme, I love the Outlander Kitchen. Theresa lives on one of the Gulf Islands off the BC coast, and writes recipes based on Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books. I haven't tried many of them, but her posts are fun to read, and if you're a fan of Diana Gabaldon, this is a rather essential aspect of the fandom. :)

10. My friend Teresa has a freelance photography business, and she does beautiful work. She also lived in New Zealand for a while and has some amazing scenery photographs. Her most recent post is about her nephew, who also happens to be my newest godson. :)

11. Sarah Sundin writes wonderful WWII historical fiction, and everyday she posts a little snippet of what happened on that day during the war. She also posts book reviews and longer essays about life during the war. She appeals to both the English major and the history minor in me!

12. Worldview Everlasting, created by Pastor Jonathan Fisk, is a collaborative blog that answers questions about Christianity in general and about Lutheranism in particular. He also does a weekly vlog, which is usually a treasure trove of geeky references.


Alright, that's not 15, but this is all I've got! Hopefully you can find a new gem to add to your reading list!

Star Wars Identities

It's Reading Week! I celebrated by spending the weekend in Edmonton, where we went to Star Wars Identities at the Edmonton science center. I wasn't really sure what to expect - I just saw Star Wars and signed up. :) It was advertised as having 200 original props, costumes, art work, and models, so I was really excited to see the exhibit.



Threepio and Artoo

 

Young Anakin Skywalker in his podracer

 

Jabba's Palace prop and costume

 

Ship models

 

Me and a sassy x-wing pilot

 

This was in another section of the science center. Chis Hadfield is a Canadian who is currently commanding the International Space Station. He Tweets from space. Check out this wonderfully geeky Twitter exchange between a real live space commander and some Star Trek actors.

 

The highlight of the exhibit was an interactive 'build your own Star Wars character' adventure. Upon arriving, each person is given an electronic bracelet, which tracks certain selections you make at the interactive stations throughout the exhibit. You can choose the character's name, race, personality, family history, who they look up to, and so on. At the end, you can choose the light side or the dark side. Then it generates your character and emails it to you. SO COOL!



My character is a Togrutan (like Ahsoka Tano from the Clone Wars cartoon series!). Her hero is Princess Leia, and while she is very Force-sensitive, she chose to be an x-wing pilot over being a Jedi.

 

It was entirely too much fun. :) If you like Star Wars at all, even just a little bit, I highly recommend the exhibit. I did learn a few things I didn't know, and even on the Saturday of a long weekend it wasn't too crowded, because they stagger the entry times. It was definitely worth the price of admission!

 



Midterms!

It's midterm week. Just had my German one on the dative case.
Dativ gefallet mir nicht.

Friday I have history and English. Then I'm going out of town.
#busy #studentlife

Falling Skies

Over Christmas break, my tv thing was Downton Abbey, which I am still thoroughly enjoying, but since I'm watching it now as-it-happens, my next show to watch on DVD was Falling Skies. We'd actually watched a couple of episodes before Christmas, and then I had to return the DVD to the library. I was sticking with it more out of loyalty to RyRo then anything else, but then the last half of the first season really kicked into gear and grabbed me, and now I'm SO impatient for season 2 to come out on DVD so I can get all caught up before season 3 airs in the summer.

Ryan Robbins and Noah Wyle

Who is RyRo, you might ask? He is otherwise known as Ryan Robbins, or Henry Foss from Sanctuary (which still remains my favourite show ever). He doesn't show up until season 2, but I had to watch season 1, of course. Falling Skies is set in Boston, about six months after earth is invaded by aliens, which sounds a bit cliche, but the characters are good, the atmosphere is great, and there are some plot twists that I really like. Noah Wyle plays Tom Mason, who before the invasion was a history teacher, and who is now the second in command of the 2nd Massachusetts, a group of military and civilians working together to try to not just survive, but fight back.

Noah Wyle and Moon Bloodgood

Mood Bloodgood plays the pediatrician thrust into the role of chief medical officer, and I *totally* ship her character, Anne, and Tom. They have great chemistry, they're both lonely, and she'd be a great step-mom to Tom's kids. When you're trying to survive an alien invasion, and you have three sons who are always getting into trouble, having the doctor on your team is a really good idea!

I know I'd watch it why Ryan tweeted that he was in it, but what really got me started on actually watching it was my friend's husband working on the costumes for season 3. Good thing too, because then I found out that my favourite actor ever, Christopher Heyerdahl, is going to be in season 3. Not only that, Jonathan Frakes directed an episode, and I *may* have gotten his autograph in my Christmas card from my friend....

I do quite recommend Falling Skies, if you like sci-fi!