The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug... A Movie Review

 

Hello once again my lovelies! Today I'm going to talk about the 2nd Hobbit movie since my mother, sister, and I just went to see it recently. So... here we go!

 

Overall I liked the movie. It dragged some for a while, and the amount of flitting from one scene to anther, and then back again was a tad excessive. However I must say the scenes with Smaug more than made up for these shortcomings. For anyone who likes dragons this is a movie you should watch, Smaug is just that awesome.

 

Fun fact also with this scene. In order to create all the gold coins and such they ended up using all of the gold paint that was in the country at the time (I think it was New Zealand?) and had to import more in order to finish it.

 

Anyway, let's talk about something other than Smaug the Magnificent for a moment. We shall talk about Tauriel, the she-elf portrayed in this movie. Now don't get me wrong, she's fun and spunky, but I hated what they did with her character. What did they do you ask? They put her in a love triangle between Legolas and Kili. Thing is Kili is a Dwarf, and Elves and Dwarves never really got along, and especially never thought of one another in a romantic light. So the love triangle didn't make sense. Not only that, it didn't actually add any substance to the plot. Thankfully it didn't take too much away either, but what's the point of putting something in a movie just so it's... there. I don't get it.

 

One thing I did find totally wicked though was the scene where Gandalf goes to meet the Necromancer knowing full well it's a trap. The neat thing about this scene is we get to see the eye of Sauron be born, and let me tell you it is so cool. I loved it. This scene wasn't in the original book, but felt as if it belonged if not in that book then in that world of books surely. Only downside is Gandalf is once again a prisoner. Poor guy.

 

If you pay attention you'll start to see a change in both Bilbo and Thorin. These aren't necessarily all for the better either. On the plus side we see Bilbo growing more confident in his abilities. He tries to defend the others when he can, and help them out of the binds they get themselves into. However, he also starts not being as truthful as he once was, and you can see the pull of the ring grow stronger. Thorin's change isn't good at all, which should give you an idea of what's to come. He pushes forward toward his goal, almost blindly so and without regard to the others in his party. He is willing to leave them behind, and even considers sacrificing Bilbo so long as he gets the Arkenstone. Mind you he doesn't in the end, but it doesn't look good for our little King going towards the 3rd movie.

 

All in all I think this movie was a good one. I personally liked the first one better, but this one did have more "wow factor". I plan on adding this one to our collection of DVDs, and would recommend it to any of you who are into fantasy or like the original Lord of the Rings movies. Be warned though, this movie is almost 3 hours long so if you aren't a person who can sit still that long then perhaps this one's not for you.

Current Music Obsessions

 

So today I've decided to let you all in on what music I've had stuck in my head lately. I'll post not only songs, but new artists/albums I've found. And here we go!

 

First off is the album The Unforgiving by Within Temptation. Now I've been a lover of Within Temptation for a while, but haven't kept up with all of the new music releases over the years. Not too long ago I stumbled across "In the Middle of the Night" off of the album and decided to take a look at the rest of the album. I found that I really liked the majority of the music on the album. My favorites are "Shot in the Dark", "Iron", and "Sinead". For those of you who don't know Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic rock/metal band. So if your interested go check them out.

 

Next up is a band called Amaranthe. They are a fusion of power metal, pop metal, and death metal. That last one really surprised me, as I have said in the past that I didn't like death metal and probably never would, and yet I stumbled across this band and couldn't not like them. I found them while surfing the side bar on Youtube. Every now and again I'll do so after first going to a song I know and then choosing the ones in the side bar that I don't know and taking a listen. I came across their song "Hunger" and found it annoying that I couldn't get it out of my head. So I decided it would be best to look the band up and listen to their albums. I like a good portion of their first album, but I love all of the songs on their second one. My favorite songs from this band are "Leave Everything Behind", and "The Nexus".

 

Next up are a few foreign songs. Now I'm not 100% on where they're from as they have characters in them that I can't place, but the names are in English so I can still tell you about them. I found these (again) in the side bar. I don't know how, but I keep coming across those little dancing videos of anime character models, and as a result several of them have gotten stuck in my head. However, they aren't dancing to the original songs, but vocoloid or synthesized versions of said songs. The songs that are currently stuck in my head are "Hybrid", "Cyber Thunder Cider", and "Under the Darkness".

 

Last one I'm stuck on is a Disney song. It's from The Lion King 2 and is titled "We are One". This song... it keeps following me and dragging me back into its spell. I don't exactly know why. But I recently found a BBC Sherlock video containing this song, and decided that enough was enough and put it on a playlist. Now I listen to it at least 3 times a day.

 

So that's it for my current music obsessions. Now go look these bands/albums/songs up and expand your horizons!

Book List and Review of 2013

 

Books!

 

That's right. Today I'm going to talk about what I've read this year. Mind you this list is not complete due to the fact that I can't remember everything I've read. Next year I'll keep a proper tab. Anyway, the list (not in order):

 

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Fire by Kristin Cashore

LOTR: Twin Towers by JR Tolkien

LOTR: Return of the King by JR Tolkien

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre

Spellbound by Blake Charlton

Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy

Thunderbird Falls by C.E. Murphy

Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy

also...

Somewhere in between 100-200 different manga series, meaning the actual amount of manga books is way higher and somewhere around 1000

and...

at least 100 free original works/fanfiction of good quality.

 

So that's my list. The titled books are the ones we bought whereas the rest was found online. There might be another 5 books to add to the first part of my list, but since I'm not 100% on that I'll just leave them off.

 

So! Now that you have my list, what's next? Well I figure I can tell you what I thought of them! In order:

 

Sunshine... I did not like this one. I got it because the premise looked interesting and it was considered by many to be the best work by Robin McKinley. I was worried as I found her way of writing to be kind of boring in the past, but I figured I'd give it a shot. It didn't go well. It was slow and dragged on for a long time, only getting anywhere in the final third of the book. Mostly it was character introspection... and whining. I will say that it's a good character analysis book, but that was the only real positive I could pull from it. The main character was wishy-washy, going from borderline disgust of another character to vulgar lust, which came on so suddenly I got whiplash. I would not recommend this book.

 

Graceling and Fire I will do together since I feel the same way about both of these. They're fun. The pacing is great, and there wasn't a moment when I wasn't engaged. A fun, new take on having gifts in a more medieval setting. Gracling was the lighter of the two I feel, but both are fantastic. I have another part of the series, Bitterblue, to read and am looking forward to it.

 

LOTR: Twin Towers and Return of the King... hmm... I liked them. I found it laggy in some parts, and there were areas of unnecessary information, but altogether a wonderful fantasy.

 

The Stepsisters Scheme is another I liked, but it made me frustrated. The main character was one that I was constantly shouting at in my head to not do that! because she was too gosh darn nice. I liked the princesses saving the prince though. Role reversal has always been a fun subject for me to read. I'm currently reading the second book of this series, The Mermaid's Madness.

 

Beauty and the Werewolf is a part of a series where Lackey takes fairytales and spins them into something new. This book combined Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. It was a little slower than the other parts of this series, but a wonderful addition to it none the less. I recommend it and the rest of the series to anyone who enjoys fairytales and fantasy.

 

Ah... Bronze Gods... this one was neat. It was written by a husband and wife duo, and is a mystery. It was fun to be engulfed in a world so different from what I'm used to reading in fantasy. It had fantasy elements, certainly, but it was grittier than you usually see, which I enjoyed. The way the two main characters interact was great, and it ends in a way you don't expect (you'd think since it's mystery that'd be a given, but trust me it isn't). People who read fantasy or mystery are sure to get a kick out of this one.

 

Spellbound by Blake Charlton is the second book in a series. I was pleasantly surprised by this one as it surpassed book 1, a feat most books in the middle of a shorter series cannot accomplish. There are two narrators, and it reads a bit like a mystery novel even though it is definitely fantasy. The use of language in it is wonderful, and I'm not just talking about the way it was written either. Many people in this world are spell castors, and the main male character is dyslexic, which is so freaking interesting you have no idea! Also... there's a dragon in it. So read it.

 

I'll tackle the last three together since they're in the same series. First off, I love this series so far. So much so that the rest of it is on my Christmas list because I want the rest now! Anyway, this series deals with a Miss Walker who is a mechanic/cop that has to come to terms with the fact that she's a shaman. Urban Shaman introduces us to this concept, along with having the god of the hunt trying to break free into the "real" world. Miss Walker has to try and solve murders, deal with the supernatural, her powers, her boss, and somewhere in between get some sleep. Thankfully she has a nosy taxi driver, a cross-dressing cop friend, and wise-cracking coyote spirit guide to help her.

 

I know it sounds a little cliché, and believe me it is at times, but it's one of those series where there's so much fun in it that you don't really mind the clichés. For one thing the police work is more like how you'd see it on TV, but if you think about it if it was like real life then you'd be reading a lot about protocol, paperwork, and whatnot, and honestly where's the fun in that? Thunderbird Falls continues on with the whole "supernatural trying to take over" thing, but this time there's witches involved. While not as exciting as the first book in the series it still does perfectly fine on its own.

 

The third book takes a different turn, dealing with people getting stuck in their sleep with no way out. It was an interesting change of pace, and I really enjoyed it. This book did give me lots of feels, however, and made me want to read the next one the second I was finished with it. I love this series. It's witty, sarcastic, and just oodles and oodles of fun. At least it is for me. Hopefully it would be for you too.

 

So that's all the reviewing for today. I'm sure I could review some of my favorite manga I've read over the past year, but another time perhaps. I'll just let you mull over this bunch first.

 

Ta!

 

 

So It's The Holiday Season...

 

Now's the time of year most consider the holiday season. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Yule just to name a few. I personally celebrate both Christmas and Yule. Regardless of what you celebrate, or if you celebrate at all, I hope this time of year is happy for all of you.

 

I still have a little bit of shopping left to do, but not much. The rest of my family though, they've still got a lot more. I went a little overboard this year as I have more money this time around. I don't mind though. I like getting them things. My sister and I also plan on going to see the Hobbit part 2 in theatres, which will be awesome!

 

Other than that we have one Christmas party on the books. We'll be celebrating with my brother-in-law's family. It's sure to be interesting this year as my father and his wife are coming in from New York to visit. His take on the world is a lot different than theirs so it's sure to be fun watching.

 

I am a little nervous though. One of the family member's has taken an interest in seeing my art. I have to take pictures of it all and show it to him. I hope he likes them. I also hope that one day I will be more confident in my own abilities as a creative type.

 

I'm hoping we get snow soon. Not the kind that lingers just a bit, and then disappears entirely, but real snow. The kind that sticks and lasts long into the month. I don't like balmy winters. If I wanted those I'd head south.

 

Anyway, that's all for now. Until next week!

 

^-^

 

 

Time for Tea

 

Today I finished my goal of drinking tea everyday for six weeks straight so I decided to celebrate it with doing a blog post about tea. So here we go!

 

There are six different varieties of tea, however only four are known widespread. These four are white, green, oolong, and black. I've personally had three of these four, the exception being oolong. Of the remaining I'd say that green tea is by far my favorite followed a ways away by black, and then even farther by white.

 

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, the first being water. You can drink it hot, cold, plain, with milk, with sugar, with honey, with lemon, and so on. How it is prepared changes depending on where you are. I personally like it hot, and without adding anything more to it.

 

There are several ways to prepare tea, but the most common are to have the tea leaves loose, in an infuser, or (the least liked option) in a tea bag. Then you pour boiled water over the leaves and let them steep. Afterwards the tea leaves are usually removed, however this isn't always the case.

 

China is the world leader of tea production with nearly one-third of tea being produced there. India comes in second with about one-fourth. These two are the only double digit producers of tea as the next biggest producer is at 9.5 percent. So chances are if you're an avid tea drinker you've had tea leaves from one or both of the big tea countries.

 

So that's a little information about tea. Which kind is your favorite?

My Day Today

 

Well... today has been an interesting day. It started off with our cat deciding to be as loud and obnoxious as he possibly could. According to my mom he was causing mischief, which is why she kept putting him in my room. However, he didn't want to be there, and as a result whined like no tomorrow. The first time it happened he woke me up out of a dead sleep. The second time I was in that twilight stage. Unfortunately for me it seemed I was only going to have a few hours of sleep today so needless to say I was grumpy.

 

From there I spent some time with my mom, convinced her to call my sister, and see if she still wanted to do something today. She didn't, but that didn't stop us from going and doing things. First we got food. I had a club sandwich and French fries. It was delicious.

 

Next we went to the hair salon. All three of us got our hair and eyebrows done, however I had an interesting reaction I've never had before. When the woman was doing my eyebrows my adrenaline started pumping to the point that I was shaking. I had to forcibly relax myself for several minutes in order to get it to stop. Thankfully it didn't affect my haircut.

 

Once we were finished (my sister donated her hair!) we then went to the antique store. This place had tons of stuff, from furniture to old tools, even an antique gas mask! There were some really interesting things there, but it got a little weird for me when I heard someone call my name. It sounded like my little sister when she was trying to be obnoxious only there was more of a hiss to it. Then a few minutes later I heard the same voice again, but this time it said Jesus almost like a swear. So... yeah... that was pretty creepy.

 

I ended up buying a VHS of The Lion King since our old one mysteriously vanished. My sister bought a cast iron skillet and vintage jewelry for her to remake into new pieces. My mom bought several neat trinkets, some of which I cannot reveal as they are presents, and some lamps for our tables.

 

By that time we decided it was best to go home, and a good thing too because I wasn't firing on all cylinders. More like 2 of 5. I'm still there, though it keeps trying to deplete more. So I decided to make a blog post before my battery dies out.

 

So this was my day. Just figured I'd tell you. I'm going to go eat my ramen now and then go to bed.

 

Peace.

Painting Trees

I have just finished another painting. 

Ta da! Isn't it lovely? Sorry about the picture quality. My light is the absolute worst. It has a yellow-green hue which drastically yellows anything I take a picture of, and adds just a tint of green to make things look a little sickly. It's annoying, but I can't go in search of better light at this hour as everyone is sleeping, which I should be doing too, but... I'm not. I'm posting this. Because I can.

It's title is Dalmatian Trees because as I worked I noticed that the trees reminded me of that dog breed. I tried seeing if other names would fit once I was done, but nothing that came to mind felt right. So... Dalmatian Trees. 

I used the biggest of my home-stretched canvases, and was worried since it was a bigger canvas (14 x 20) that I would have a difficult time completing this project. Thankfully, I worried for nothing, and am happy with the way it turned out.

Though hopefully someday in the future I can obtain a camera that takes better pictures. I have a very nice camera, but unfortunately its shake function is very sensitive and I don't have stable enough hands for it. I have to take several pictures if I want a semi decent one. *sigh* Anyway, now I can read some more! I wasn't allowed to finish the book I'm reading until I painted (self imposed restriction), but now I am done and I can read it! w00t! I can also eat something as I am very hungry. So I'll go do that now. t00dles!

Seven Deadly Sins: SLOTH

Sloth is apathy that results in neglect of the physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual needs of a person. It is often thought of as laziness, as the person is in someway failing to do what they need to, but can also be thought of as dejection, or a loss of interest in life. This sin was originally two separate sins, with Acadia representing the apathetic listlessness. However, the two were joined since they shared commonalities.

I find Sloth to be a very dangerous sin. As with the other sins it too can bring someone to the point of death, however it does not operate in the same way the others do to bring about death. All of the other sins deal with action of some sort, whereas Sloth deals with inaction. That inaction is a slippery slope. It can seem comforting at first, but overtime it can become confining, and then defining. You get stuck in the pattern, and it is a very difficult cycle to break.

Diligence is the heavenly virtue that breaks that cycle. It is persistence, fortitude, not giving up, and holding true to your own ethics. It is putting effort into things, into life, and doing the work that is needed to be done.

This is my number one sin. I have at some time or another had it in all four aspects of life mentioned above. It's been a big issue, especially since this sin plays into my personality type. I am a type nine in the Enneagram. Nines like peace and are generally laid back, but as a consequence can easily become neglectful of themselves and instead focus on everyone else. I do this... a lot. In the past my main motivation in life was doing for others. I was very apathetic towards myself, and not very interested in developing myself at all. I am doing better in this, but still fall into the pit of old habits. I hope that with time and effort I can eventually beat it. The key is to keep trying, and to never ever give up.

So that's it for the Seven Deadly Sins. What did you think about Sloth? Is it one of your problem sins, or are you pretty good about it? Also, as a whole what are your feelings on the sins? On the entire segment? Where does each sin rank for you? I'd like to know so please leave your thoughts in the comments.

^-^

Seven Deadly Sins: WRATH

Every person gets angry at some point in their lives. However, not everyone experiences Wrath. Wrath is considered to be feelings of hatred or anger to the point where they can no longer be controlled. It can lead to impatience, violence, and eventually self-destruction as Wrath can linger long after an incident happens. It is the only sin that isn't always associated with self-interest or selfishness, though it can certainly be both those things.

Wrath is a sin that can be expressed both externally towards others and internally towards the self. So while it is obvious when someone is wrathful outwardly, it is a lot harder to figure out when someone is inwardly. The ultimate end to Wrath is death, whether through homicide or suicide as these are literally the final expressions of hatred a person can commit.

To put an end to Wrath we have the heavenly virtue, Patience. To resolve issues and conflicts peacefully, without the use of violence, to forgive others and ourselves, to show mercy, and to create harmony within your community is what the essence of Patience is.

This sin is ranked second in my list as I have severely struggled with it in the past, and still do, though thankfully less so. As a kid I hated myself, and thought I was doomed to Hell. I had a plethora of reasons for believing this, the most idiotic simply being because I was left handed. Most people who knew me didn't know about my intense feelings towards myself, and for a long time I continued on silently until one day I just couldn't take it anymore. I was ten years old.

Thankfully, I had my family to help me realize that what I thought was wrong, I certainly wasn't going to Hell, and that my self-hatred was unwarranted. Since then I have learned to have more Patience with myself, to give myself a break and not be so hard on myself. I am still a work in progress, but I am progressing. I have less of an issue with the external expression of Wrath since I generally am a patient person. However, I have a personality type where admitting anger regarding the ones I care about is difficult so I need to be careful not to let small injustices stack up into pent up resentments.

The key with this sin is that Wrath is when anger gets out of control. It is okay to get upset, to get angry. There just needs to be an adequate reason for the anger, and proper handling of said anger. Good communication is one of the ways that can help that cause.

So how does Wrath rate with you? Do you express it inwardly? Outwardly? Both ways? Is it difficult for you not to get too steamed up, or are you cool as a cucumber? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

^-^

Happy Halloween and Samhain!

Hello everyone! Happy Halloween and Samhain! Hope everyone had a good time and didn't gorge themselves too badly on candy. I'm taking a break from the Seven Deadly Sins posts to tell you of my holiday fun this year. So... it first started with pumpkin carving.

My mother and sister picked out the pumpkins this year, only they were a tad different from the usual. These babies were white pumpkins, which I thought was really cool. So we all sat down and prepared to do brain surgery. Unfortunately for my mom, her pumpkin had started to mold on the inside so we couldn't harvest her seeds. Regardless, she dove into her job and made a lovely scraggly-toothed pumpkin. Think classic pumpkin face and you'll know what I mean.

My younger sister decided to make a pentagram, which she used my knife for a good portion of it. It came out really well and lit up awesomely. My pumpkin is... special. I decided to do a simple cyclops one. It is... very me. I don't have a picture of it, but I did do a fantastic MS paint rendition of it.

See? Isn't it lovely? Isn't it glorious!? Anyway, I bet you're wondering why I didn't draw a stem. Well... that's because while trying to get the top out I accidentally snapped it off. My sister did the same thing. So we turned the tops and set them that way so we could get in and light the candles. They looked really cool. However, in the morning when we left to go to my sister's appointment we found that someone had stolen my pumpkin's top. It didn't sink in, it didn't roll off, it was just simply gone. There was also dirt on my pumpkin from a nearby pot of dirt. We believe a critter came by and thought it would make a good meal.

The pumpkin seeds from two of our pumpkins were baked, and along with those we had malted apple cider. It was absolutely delicious! We also watched the episode "Blink" from Doctor Who, which is the first episode that features the Weeping Angels. My sister and I also did some protection/banishing magic. All in all I think it was a pretty successful holiday. How was yours?

Seven Deadly Sins: GLUTTONY

Gluttony is considered the over-indulgence or over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. So while the images of people gorging themselves on food and drink most often come to mind, such people are not the only perpetrators of this vice. People who become obsessive about something can get into trouble with this as well. Gluttony can also be interpreted as selfishness because you are placing your own self-interests over the well-being and self-interests of others.

It used to be considered that if you eat before appointed meal times, eat too expensive/luxurious food, eat too delicate/elaborate food, or enjoy the process of eating too much then you were also committing the sin of Gluttony, not just when you overate. This meant that snacks were a no-no, spices and condiments were looked down upon, and caviar from France was out of the question. However, as time has passed these other paths to Gluttony have been discarded by most.

Gluttony is blocked by the heavenly virtue, Temperance. It is restraint, moderation of one's actions, thoughts, and feelings. To be mindful of others and their needs, and to have self control when it comes to your own wants and desires.

This sin is number three on my list. It would be number one if the older versions of this sin were still widely in use, though I'm quite grateful that that's not the case. If it was then I would never be allowed to have my sister's cooking, and only my own instead. I do over-consume food sometimes. It is something I'm trying to work on. However, food is not my only problem. Unfortunately, I also have an issue with obsession, as in it's quite easy for me to develop a hobby and then use up all of my time pursuing said hobby. It's a trap I have fallen into many times, and some days it's hard getting out of. 

The good thing is that when it comes to Gluttony and other people I don't have nearly as hard of a time. As I've said before I like sharing. This includes my time. So when I have others around me I am less likely to fall victim to Gluttony.

Now that you know a little more about the sin, Gluttony, what are your thoughts? Do you have a difficult time with over-indulgence? Or are you adept at restraining yourself? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

^-^

Seven Deadly Sins: PRIDE

Pride is considered the big daddy of all sins, and the source of all others. Pride used to be broken off into three separate parts including Hubris and Vainglory (now more commonly known as Vanity), but were combined since they all boiled down to the same issue. Pride occurs when a person believes they are better than others, disregard accomplishments made by others, and excessively admire their own selves.

Pride can also mean a feeling of honor and respect for yourself, others, accomplishments, choices, and actions. This type of Pride is thought to be good, and requires a sense of self in order to be present. Regardless, there is some debate on whether any type of Pride is good or bad.

The virtue associated with stopping Pride is Humility. Humility is giving credit where credit is do, modest behavior, respect, bravery, and selflessness. It is thinking of yourself less without thinking less of yourself. It is having the will to do the icky, non-glamorous jobs, to be charitable towards those you don't necessarily agree with, and to keep your word.

This sin is right smack dab in the middle for me. It is more of an issue with me than the previous ones because sometimes I slip into the mode of thinking that I am right about something, and that everyone else is silly for thinking otherwise. I don't necessarily mean to come off as belittling, but it happens. The good news is that when I see myself being prideful in a bad way I am usually quick to correct myself, or to apologize for behaving in such a rude manner. Also, while I do get tangled up in Pride from time to time, I believe I still tend towards the humble side more often then not. I hope that's the case at least.

So how do you fair when it comes to Pride? Does it sometimes catch you by surprise as it does me? Do you have a hard time with it, or are you actually pretty okay when it comes to this one? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

^-^

Seven Deadly Sins: LUST

Lust is considered an overwhelming desire in the body brought on by an emotion or feeling. While most notorious in the form of sexual desire, Lust can take on other forms, like a Lust for power or food. The key to this sin is that the feeling drives one to excess, but on how much is too much is up for debate.

The range on what is considered excessive and therefore lustful is pretty wide. On one side of the spectrum we have the desire to have sex at all, or even second glances at a person of the opposite sex as being considered lustful. On the opposite side we have Lust as being considered not a vice at all. So as you can see there's a lot of room for interpretation on this one.

As with all the other sins that deal in excess, this sin can lead to a great deal of trouble. However, the virtue of Chastity can help with that problem. Chastity is simply abstaining from certain behaviors that are considered amoral in by your religion's or society's standards. Again, what that is depends on where you're from and what you practice. For sexual desire this is considered in most cultures as abstaining from sexual practices until marriage, practicing courtly love, and romantic friendship. For the other Lust types it is simply the use of moderation.

This sin is third least on my totem pole of sins mostly because I'm still unsure of what constitutes as Lust in my eyes. My upbringing has been one that I've been exposed to an array of differences on what has been constituted as lustful. By one extreme's standards I am certainly considered lustful, but by the other extreme I'd be considered overly modest. I also do not consider myself too prone to excess when it comes to want of power, food, and other things. So with Lust being foggier than the other four ahead of it, it is listed at number five on my list of deadlies.

Hopefully you all have your own idea of what Lust equates to. If you do, what do you consider to be lustful? Do you feel that this sin is one that you fall prey to? Or are you doing fine regarding this particular sin? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

^-^

Seven Deadly Sins: GREED

Greed is a fairly straightforward sin. It is the desire to possess wealth, goods, or objects of abstract value for yourself to an excessive degree, far beyond what you actually need. It is considered a sin that when indulged there is no satisfying it, leaving you frustrated and never truly happy with what you have. This is true both of those who seek the material, and those who try to be excessively moral, social, or better than others.

Greed, though found throughout society, is generally looked down upon, and has great consequences. People who have a great deal of Greed often find themselves without true friendship, and feel isolated from the rest of the world. Eventually these people can no longer sustain the sheer volume of items they possess, or deal with their impulses, and fall into ruin.

Greed is the sin that is combated by Charity. This is not the modern day charity as it includes generosity, self-sacrifice, and unlimited love. It is doing for others without expectation.

I consider Greed to be my second least as far as the seven deadly sins are concerned because from time to time I do find myself a little on the greedy side. This usually happens in the case of small things, thankfully, and generally isn't hard for me to stop the urge. My position as the middle child in my family has helped to foster my mentality as sharing comes quite naturally. I genuinely don't have the desire for excessive amounts of things (well... except maybe books). So as long as I don't become a serious bookworm I should be okay.

How do you interact with Greed? Do you find it a little harder to not hoard things, both physical and abstract? Or is this sin not really your thing? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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Seven Deadly Sins: ENVY

Now most of us have heard the phrase "green with Envy", but what is envy exactly? Envy is a resentment, one that occurs when someone lacks another person's quality, achievement, or possession and wishes that they could have it instead. At least, that's the most traditional way of looking at it. Nowadays in psychology there is thought to be two types of envy: a malicious one and a mild one. 

The malicious version is where you want what the other person has, exactly what they have, and that they will no longer have it. Imagine a kid taking away another child's toy. However, the other version is where you want to have what that person has, but don't wish to take it from that person. That would be like seeing the toy and then going and asking your parents to buy it for you.

Envy is rather rampant in today's society, and is fought off by the virtue of Kindness. The kind of kindness that brings about charity, compassion, empathy, and friendship. So if you usually have a positive outlook on life and are cheerful you are far less likely to fall victim to this sin.

I consider this to be my least of the seven deadly sins because I tend to have the demeanor above. I prefer to share, and enjoy things together rather than to lord over others. The one area where I feel I fall short is achievements due to the fact that they can make me competitive. While competition is not necessarily a bad thing, it can lead you to bad places if you're not careful. Thankfully this doesn't happen that often to me though, so for the most part I can rest easy.

So how do you relate with Envy? Do you struggle with it a bit more than I do? Or is it not a big one for you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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Seven Deadly Sins: An Introduction

Say hello to the Sinful Rainbow! In it is each color that is usually associated with one of the seven deadly sins. We've got red for Wrath, orange for Gluttony, yellow for Greed, green for Envy, light blue for Sloth, blue for Lust, and violet for Pride. So it's almost like a regular rainbow, except you won't find gold at the end of this one. Nope, just what has been considered some of humanities worst traits.

Okay, all silliness aside, the reason I'm bringing up the seven deadly sins is because the next several blog posts will be about them. I will go into detail about what they are, what they mean, and how each one impacts my life personally. However, I'm not going to introduce them based on their assigned color, but by the severity of how they affect me.

Note: I feel that each of these traits touch each of us at varying times, and that none of us are completely without them. As such you won't be automatically damned, but as these aren't actually good qualities to have you should try your best to overcome them.

Now that that disclaimer is out of the way I will show you the list of how I will post them.

Starting with the least...

Envy

Greed

Lust

Pride

Gluttony

Wrath

Sloth

... and ending with the most.

So that's the line up. Through this segment I hope you all will gain a better understanding of what the seven deadly sins are and what they mean to you. Perhaps then you can make your own list (and maybe share it in a comment if you want).

Park Adventures

Today started out with my mom, younger sister, and I going to the doctor's. My sister has stomach problems and needed to go in for a test to see if they could find out what was wrong. After getting the test done we decided that today would be a good day to go to the park. Originally we were going to go to one farther away, one that we've been to before and liked. However, one of the ladies suggested a different one that was much closer that we'd never been to. So we decided to head that way.

After picking up some Subway we made it to the park and stopped near a picnic table. While eating our subs, mine was a turkey one, we observed the lovely trees and the squirrels that inhabited them. There were tons of squirrels out: brown ones, gray ones, and black ones. One in particular was interesting as it tried to drop a nut on my head. Thankfully it missed.

After lunch we took a walk through the wooded area of the park. Not only were the leaves lovely, but a lot of the trees were wonky shaped and neat to look at. The mushrooms too! There were a surprising amount of mushrooms out in several shapes and sizes. It was really cool.

There were also stations throughout the park that you could stop at for exercise. One place that we stopped at was one of the playgrounds, but it had an Eiffel Tower like metal rope structure. My sister and I climbed it, but it was somewhat difficult. The gaps between some of the ropes were so big that you either needed some decent upper body strength or longer legs. Thanks to mine being long I was able to get to the top, but I'm not sure a young kid would've been able to get up there.

Another one we went to was vaulting. I was the only one who tried it, which I managed successfully. However the chin up station none of us had the strength for. I hung up-side-down from the bar instead. After I was done I realized someone else was using the equipment, a spider. Not your normal, everyday spider either. His body was tiny, but his legs were long! Longer than any daddy long legs spider I've ever seen, and  I've seen tons of those. My sister was trying her luck at that point so I made her aware of our little friend, and she slowly backed away from it.

We took lots of pictures of the neater looking trees, collected a few sticks for our dog, and all in all had a great time. We've vowed to go more often, which I'm looking forward to. And... that's it. Until next time!

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Project Side Table is Officially Over

Finished with the side table! Yay! But what was going to go in my blog post got deleted. Boo. :(

So we'll just show you the lovely end result and skip all that went into making the magic happen. Hope ya'll don't mind. I just don't feel like retyping nine paragraphs of description all over again. So...

BASK IN THE GLORY THAT IS MY SIDE TABLE! DO IT NOW! O.o

Being Productive!

Today I did two major things that I've been holding off on. Yay productivity! The first was repainting a painting that was painted over a piece of art that I bought for my older sister many eons ago. It goes like this, some time ago my older sister said she wanted to paint over 2 of her run of the mill from Walmart pieces of art. They were nice in their prime, but now were chipped, and didn't really click with her style anymore so I understood why she wanted to do this. Me being the painter in the family she asked if I would tote my stuff over to her place, and there she and I would repaint the pieces of art. As payment for my materials she'd let me keep the one I did.

However, I wasn't exactly thrilled with what I'd made in the end. It was cool enough, and people really liked it, but I wasn't happy with it. So about a week later I tried to do something else with it and painted over it. Things... didn't go well. So I re-primed the sucker and left it alone. Until today. Today I decided to work on it. I also decided that I'd make a painting where I didn't have as much control over the end result as I usually do. It was fun and I really like the end result. I did not, however, enjoy having to scrub the excess paint off the cement (as I decided to paint outside).

The second thing I did was finish sanding my end table. Let's step back a few months to explain the end table. A neighbor of ours two doors over was moving out and was getting rid of an end table. They had set it out to the curb a few hours earlier, and when my family and I were walking our dog we saw it. My mom and sister didn't really give it a second glance but I wanted it. So after asking the neighbors about it (just to make sure they were really getting rid of it and not selling it or something) my little sister and I brought it into our garage.

Once I told my big sis about it and said that I wanted to re-stain it she got all excited and helped my obtain the materials I needed to do the job. Well today I finally finished sanding the beast. At least the initial sanding. I'm not sure if more is needed or not. I'm waiting for my sister to get here so I can ask her what my next step is. Regardless I'm happy with the amount of progress I've made.

No pictures of either project yet (getting out my bulky camera is a pain and I'm being lazy right now) so instead I've leave you with this octopus.

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Fails at Life

Okay folks, I have been completing some of the Zelda games, and my sister said it was time for Skyward Sword. I was okay with that and began playing. I'm a bit at a disadvantage as I am a lefty, but even with my awkward flying, my spastic swordsmanship, and absolute craptastic strategic falling it still has been a fun game. Both of my sisters enjoyed playing and never had an issue so it was safe for me to assume that I'd have no problems either. Ha! WRONG! What happened? He did.

I have unfortunately found a glitch in the game. When trying to get the different parts of the Hero's Song I decided to go to the forest first. However, upon seeing it was blocked I assumed there was an order to where I had to go and so headed for the desert. That's where I met him again. His name is Golo, a fine chap unless you talk to him more than once. I did that and as a result the dragon sequences wouldn't start. I only found out about the game killing glitch after I set it off, and I only had one save slot where I had already saved over my progress with the glitched progress. So the end result? I have to start... ALL...OVER...AGAIN. Of course by now there is a patch, but in order to get it you have to have your wii connected to the internet, of which ours is not nor ever will be.

So yeah... all that fighting... all that treasure hunting... almost getting the demon human... gone. All gone! And all because of one, little Goron. I'm going to restart it now. As an upside, I can work the controls better! Downside? Besides having to go through everything again? As a lefty the accidental bombing issue before you get the bomb bag is a LOT worse. Well... wish me luck. :(

A Whole New World... Or Blog

Well folks, it's a whole new world... I mean blog. I had a previous one, but never posted on it very much. For some reason it left me feeling constricted, like I had to talk about specific things or ELSE! It wasn't doing me any good. So I decided to make a new one, and here it is! TA DA! *throws confetti and glitter*