So, I'm not a big fan of watching women's sports. It just seems that--for the most part--there isn't enough power behind the sport.
Well, this afternoon my mom had to go to a luncheon and took me with her. We received courtside seats for the women's basketball game. I wasn't expecting too much out of it, but I was pleasantly surprised when I started enjoying the game. It was a bit different being down that close. I've been down on the court before when I was taking pictures of a high school game and I tend not to like it. I can't see what is going on over the whole court, so it was about the same watching from the second row courtside at the women's game.
The ladies played really well. I think the sad thing was to see just how little people showed up for the game. I think it would be hard to see how many show up for the men's basketball game and then have to play your game with such a small crowd.
Anyway, the ladies played UNLV and UNLV was out to a strong start. They scored 6 points within the first few minutes but then it seemed that BYU finally kicked into gear and the ladies really started making points. The first half closed with the BYU ladies leading by 10 or 12 points. The second half wasn't too much to start out with but UNLV really played hard and started to come back and give our ladies a run. BYU lead until 11 seconds left in the game when UNLV scored a 3 and that put them up by 1 point. BYU then got the ball, and raced down the court and tried 3 times to shoot before a basket finally went in . . . with 1.7 seconds left on the clock; so our ladies were up by 1 point. The UNLV ladies put the ball in the court and almost made a shot from half court, but missed, so BYU won by 1 point. The ending was kind of exciting.
Anyway, it was fun to sit courtside, although I reconfirmed my view that cheerleaders need a new uniform . . . perhaps leggings so I don't have to see them pick out their bummies everytime they do a move or see their stretchmarked or splotchy legs. At least try and get a tan. If dancers can do what they need to do in pants and leggings, then cheerleaders can too.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
I looked out my window
So I've been having a bit of a lazy morning until I go to a lunch function with my mom for the Varsity Club. Anyway, as I was playing a game, I started to hear this little "whooshing" noise that sounded rather familiar. I started thinking, nah, it can't be but the sound continued. I looked out my window and voila!
A hot air balloon! YAY!
A hot air balloon! YAY!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I have been challenged
So a friend wrote me an e-mail asking him to join in on the "Read 50 books this year" challenge. I have no idea where he got this idea, but I like it! I love to read and lucky for me, I am allowed to count anything I have read since the beginning of the year, meaning Jan 1st and I've already finished 4 books (yes, I know, only in a few weeks? Read on to find out why). I don't know if this is going to be much of a challenge for me, but I can't speak too soon, I never know what the future tends to hold. Some days at work there isn’t anything to do for stretches of time and I can get through a shorter novel quickly or a longer novel in a couple of days. It can sometimes be nice, but other times I really don’t know what to do with myself. I try to be productive with my time by reading or working on costume sketches, but you never know.
After talking to my friend, he said that he's trying to make this challenge work with all of his friends. I think, for some, 50 is too high of a goal, but "reach high and you'll eventually get there" seems to be his motto. And no, picture books don't count, technical manuals (because sometimes they seem like books) don't count; which stinks for me.
I've never been one to write review of books, but since that is part of the challenge, then I'll give it a try. I also end up giving more information than is needed; I'm a spoiler. The times that I've had to write reviews of books, I take you through the entire book and how I felt about certain parts and I guess people really don't like it when you do that, so this may get interesting.
Book 1: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Basic premise is that a man, Mo, can read characters out of books, especially if he says it with enough passion and pronunciation. Mo has a daughter Meggie and one night this guy shows up at their house. Turns out this guy, Dustfinger, has been read out of a book and wants to go back but is actually working for another character that has been read out of the same book. The evil guy ends up abducting Mo and trying to get him to read him other things out of his book and others. Meggie goes after him along with her aunt.
It is kind of predictable, but it keeps things moving along rather smoothly. The only problem is that it has been translated and some of the translation doesn’t work or doesn’t translate smoothly. There are times that you think one person is talking and then it says someone else is talking. It also switches he and she multiple times.
Some of the characters get old really fast. The aunt is one that you are “I’m done” with by the first two times you hear her. She doesn’t play that big a part in the story, but you can see why she is in the story later on. Dustfinger’s whining gets old quickly. There is a bit of a twist pertaining to a couple of characters at the end, but not a big character arch for any of the characters.
The story has a solid ending, but also leaves it open for the rest of the trilogy.
Book 2: The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer
When a friend recommended this novel to me I was a bit skeptical. Another Stephenie Meyer book? Not too exciting, but I decided to read it so she would stop bugging me about it. Turns out the story is quite . . . interesting.
There are these “parasites” that roam the galaxies and try to restore order by taking over the inhabitants of the world they land on. When they come to Earth, they find out that humans won’t go so easily. The story follows one of these parasites and how a rebel bunch of humans teach the parasite humanity.
It is sci-fi and reeks of the BYU English Department, but the story is actually pretty good. At times it is interesting to follow because you’ve got both the parasite and the actual human talking and sharing their experiences. The connections between the characters is great and it takes some twist and turns with the characters and their emotions.
The ending is interesting and something that you don’t expect and do expect at the same time.
Book 3: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare
A teen novel that was recommended to me by a Border’s Bookstore sales associate, it isn’t the best of books, but I can see why the teens like it. It has action, adventure, and a world that only exists in imagination.
There are a few different types of beings that live among humans and most humans don’t notice them, but the main character does. She ends up seeing a “murder” of sorts while at a teen club and gets pulled into a new world; a world that her mother was trying to keep her out of. The main “love interest” gets annoying quickly.
I can’t say too much because the story does take a few turns, but it’s definitely set for multiple books.
Book 4: Night World No. 1 by L.J. Smith
It has three stories that all work within the same world and has a few of the same characters to tie them together but basically has different main characters, each dealing with the ‘Night World”. The Night World is a place that vampires, werewolfs, witches, and the likes are all part of their own world. They live and work among the humans, they normally don’t like it, but the humans aren’t supposed to know about their world. It also deals a lot with the idea of a “soulmate”, a person who you can’t live without once you’ve met him/her. That tends to have problems because normally those in the Night World aren’t supposed to have relationships with humans and visa versa.
Very teenish novel, but the stories actually can be entertaining. They are a quick read and having three stories in one book is nice; instead of buying three separate books.
So I've got 4 down, 46 more to go. Oh boy.
After talking to my friend, he said that he's trying to make this challenge work with all of his friends. I think, for some, 50 is too high of a goal, but "reach high and you'll eventually get there" seems to be his motto. And no, picture books don't count, technical manuals (because sometimes they seem like books) don't count; which stinks for me.
I've never been one to write review of books, but since that is part of the challenge, then I'll give it a try. I also end up giving more information than is needed; I'm a spoiler. The times that I've had to write reviews of books, I take you through the entire book and how I felt about certain parts and I guess people really don't like it when you do that, so this may get interesting.
Book 1: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Basic premise is that a man, Mo, can read characters out of books, especially if he says it with enough passion and pronunciation. Mo has a daughter Meggie and one night this guy shows up at their house. Turns out this guy, Dustfinger, has been read out of a book and wants to go back but is actually working for another character that has been read out of the same book. The evil guy ends up abducting Mo and trying to get him to read him other things out of his book and others. Meggie goes after him along with her aunt.
It is kind of predictable, but it keeps things moving along rather smoothly. The only problem is that it has been translated and some of the translation doesn’t work or doesn’t translate smoothly. There are times that you think one person is talking and then it says someone else is talking. It also switches he and she multiple times.
Some of the characters get old really fast. The aunt is one that you are “I’m done” with by the first two times you hear her. She doesn’t play that big a part in the story, but you can see why she is in the story later on. Dustfinger’s whining gets old quickly. There is a bit of a twist pertaining to a couple of characters at the end, but not a big character arch for any of the characters.
The story has a solid ending, but also leaves it open for the rest of the trilogy.
Book 2: The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer
When a friend recommended this novel to me I was a bit skeptical. Another Stephenie Meyer book? Not too exciting, but I decided to read it so she would stop bugging me about it. Turns out the story is quite . . . interesting.
There are these “parasites” that roam the galaxies and try to restore order by taking over the inhabitants of the world they land on. When they come to Earth, they find out that humans won’t go so easily. The story follows one of these parasites and how a rebel bunch of humans teach the parasite humanity.
It is sci-fi and reeks of the BYU English Department, but the story is actually pretty good. At times it is interesting to follow because you’ve got both the parasite and the actual human talking and sharing their experiences. The connections between the characters is great and it takes some twist and turns with the characters and their emotions.
The ending is interesting and something that you don’t expect and do expect at the same time.
Book 3: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare
A teen novel that was recommended to me by a Border’s Bookstore sales associate, it isn’t the best of books, but I can see why the teens like it. It has action, adventure, and a world that only exists in imagination.
There are a few different types of beings that live among humans and most humans don’t notice them, but the main character does. She ends up seeing a “murder” of sorts while at a teen club and gets pulled into a new world; a world that her mother was trying to keep her out of. The main “love interest” gets annoying quickly.
I can’t say too much because the story does take a few turns, but it’s definitely set for multiple books.
Book 4: Night World No. 1 by L.J. Smith
It has three stories that all work within the same world and has a few of the same characters to tie them together but basically has different main characters, each dealing with the ‘Night World”. The Night World is a place that vampires, werewolfs, witches, and the likes are all part of their own world. They live and work among the humans, they normally don’t like it, but the humans aren’t supposed to know about their world. It also deals a lot with the idea of a “soulmate”, a person who you can’t live without once you’ve met him/her. That tends to have problems because normally those in the Night World aren’t supposed to have relationships with humans and visa versa.
Very teenish novel, but the stories actually can be entertaining. They are a quick read and having three stories in one book is nice; instead of buying three separate books.
So I've got 4 down, 46 more to go. Oh boy.
Awe, people care!
Yep, I am officially one year older. How scary is that? Eh, it happened a few days ago, no biggie. Thanks everyone who wished me a happy birthday or sent me a birthday card. Yay! People remembered.
It was a good day, except that I had to go to work. Work for the past few weeks has been a bit stressful. Most people wouldn't believe me if they looked at my schedule, but it has been stressful. We're still trying to recover from the latest thefts (yep, there was another one. luckily it was only one computer and we just recovered that computer), but we're still missing a few bags/totes for some of our hardware. Some of the computers don't seem to want to cooperate with me anymore. One student really trashed a hard drive on a brand new computer and that computer has been sitting for a week trying to get reimaged except it won't take our new image. Grrr. Teachers keep doing things wrong over and over and over; many times it is the same thing over and over that I need to keep telling them how to do it correctly, but I don't think they listen. Sigh. Oh well. At least I have a job that isn't too demanding (on some days). On fridays, my day is horrible! Those carts don't stop moving until about noon, then they are on the move again at 1. And of course, all the teachers want the cart at the same time and when I tell them that they can't have it at that time, they get huffy with me and say that I am being uncooperative. Eh, I've started to try and let those things just slide off my back. I've been stressed out for too long and I think it is time to stop.
Anyway, getting back to my birthday. We had a little celebration with some friends Saturday night. Just food, games, and laughter. It was great to see them again. I have this thing for villan stuff, like disney villans, but especially for Maleficent. Court found this fun little pen/notpad holder and got it for me!
I was so excited! And to top it off there is an entire line of Disney Villans desk set; like a stapler, tape dispenser. Fun stuff. I also got gift cards to Best Buy and Barnes and Noble, and a fun large tile that has the saying "Live, Laugh, Love" inscribed on it. Thanks everyone!
Then on my birthday Jakob took me out for dinner at Gloria's Little Italy on center street. I was a little skeptical about it; I get nervous eating at new resturants because of my allergies but we went and tried it out. Little Italy used to be in a small little corner on 300 south and I had been there before for their deserts but never stopped to eat. Jakob ordered gnoccis and I had a simple pasta and veggies. Our waitress was a pain though! There were not a lot of people in the resturant when we walked in but it took her close to 10 minutes to realize that we were there. When she did stop by she said "Hi you guys" which is a big no-no in my book. First, I am not a guy. Second, you are a waitress not a car hop, not someone I know, so "hi" isn't something you should start out with. When we ordered our drinks it took another 10 minutes for her to get the drinks to us! We were right behind the soda dispenser too! Plus, I had asked for water without ice and I get half a glass of ice with a little bit of water. No ice means NO ICE! We get a salad with our food, but out comes this puny little thing that I would probably give to a rabbit. Plus, their balsamic vinegrette was horrible! It wasn't aged properly so it still had a really bitter taste. Balsamic is supposed to have a tang, but be bitter. Then out came our food. Jakob's looked good. I got to try a bit; the sauce was great! I had heard that the lady makes her sauces from scratch and from tasting that one, I believe it (knowing what my mom's taste like, I'm pretty sure the resturant's sauce wasn't out of a can). My pasta and veggies was good, but there was too much veggies for the small amound of pasta they gave. I personally like more of a balance. There was a harpest and she was good, it gave the place a different atmosphere, but there was a bit of a problem with the music they were pipping in . . . it wasn't italian. The singers were singing in spanish. It is a cute little resturant, and the desserts look great. We didn't have any of those (this time) but I think I may give this place another chance and try a dessert or two.
The weather at least cooperated on my birthday, the days before and after had snow. I just had rain. I liked that. The gunk in the air was cleared away a bit, but it seems that I still have something bugging my lungs because I can not seem to shake this cough. I thought I had it under control for a week or so, but now it is back and I can't get rid of it. It bugs. I think I have downed more orange juice than I care to admit and I'm not a big fan of orange juice. I don't think I will be able to look at it the same way again.
It was a good day, except that I had to go to work. Work for the past few weeks has been a bit stressful. Most people wouldn't believe me if they looked at my schedule, but it has been stressful. We're still trying to recover from the latest thefts (yep, there was another one. luckily it was only one computer and we just recovered that computer), but we're still missing a few bags/totes for some of our hardware. Some of the computers don't seem to want to cooperate with me anymore. One student really trashed a hard drive on a brand new computer and that computer has been sitting for a week trying to get reimaged except it won't take our new image. Grrr. Teachers keep doing things wrong over and over and over; many times it is the same thing over and over that I need to keep telling them how to do it correctly, but I don't think they listen. Sigh. Oh well. At least I have a job that isn't too demanding (on some days). On fridays, my day is horrible! Those carts don't stop moving until about noon, then they are on the move again at 1. And of course, all the teachers want the cart at the same time and when I tell them that they can't have it at that time, they get huffy with me and say that I am being uncooperative. Eh, I've started to try and let those things just slide off my back. I've been stressed out for too long and I think it is time to stop.
Anyway, getting back to my birthday. We had a little celebration with some friends Saturday night. Just food, games, and laughter. It was great to see them again. I have this thing for villan stuff, like disney villans, but especially for Maleficent. Court found this fun little pen/notpad holder and got it for me!
I was so excited! And to top it off there is an entire line of Disney Villans desk set; like a stapler, tape dispenser. Fun stuff. I also got gift cards to Best Buy and Barnes and Noble, and a fun large tile that has the saying "Live, Laugh, Love" inscribed on it. Thanks everyone!
Then on my birthday Jakob took me out for dinner at Gloria's Little Italy on center street. I was a little skeptical about it; I get nervous eating at new resturants because of my allergies but we went and tried it out. Little Italy used to be in a small little corner on 300 south and I had been there before for their deserts but never stopped to eat. Jakob ordered gnoccis and I had a simple pasta and veggies. Our waitress was a pain though! There were not a lot of people in the resturant when we walked in but it took her close to 10 minutes to realize that we were there. When she did stop by she said "Hi you guys" which is a big no-no in my book. First, I am not a guy. Second, you are a waitress not a car hop, not someone I know, so "hi" isn't something you should start out with. When we ordered our drinks it took another 10 minutes for her to get the drinks to us! We were right behind the soda dispenser too! Plus, I had asked for water without ice and I get half a glass of ice with a little bit of water. No ice means NO ICE! We get a salad with our food, but out comes this puny little thing that I would probably give to a rabbit. Plus, their balsamic vinegrette was horrible! It wasn't aged properly so it still had a really bitter taste. Balsamic is supposed to have a tang, but be bitter. Then out came our food. Jakob's looked good. I got to try a bit; the sauce was great! I had heard that the lady makes her sauces from scratch and from tasting that one, I believe it (knowing what my mom's taste like, I'm pretty sure the resturant's sauce wasn't out of a can). My pasta and veggies was good, but there was too much veggies for the small amound of pasta they gave. I personally like more of a balance. There was a harpest and she was good, it gave the place a different atmosphere, but there was a bit of a problem with the music they were pipping in . . . it wasn't italian. The singers were singing in spanish. It is a cute little resturant, and the desserts look great. We didn't have any of those (this time) but I think I may give this place another chance and try a dessert or two.
The weather at least cooperated on my birthday, the days before and after had snow. I just had rain. I liked that. The gunk in the air was cleared away a bit, but it seems that I still have something bugging my lungs because I can not seem to shake this cough. I thought I had it under control for a week or so, but now it is back and I can't get rid of it. It bugs. I think I have downed more orange juice than I care to admit and I'm not a big fan of orange juice. I don't think I will be able to look at it the same way again.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
New Commercial
I need to pull the pictures that I took of the boys while they were filming this commercial because they looked really good close up. But here is a new commercial that Jakob, Adam, and Matt did last October up at the Castle Theatre. It turned out really well. Oh, I'll also have to post the clip I have of the explosion that went kind of wrong.
The clip is in normal quality and it runs a bit smoother, but if you want to watch it in higher quality, click on the little triangle in the corner of the clip and click the HQ button. It gets a bit jumpy, but it looks a lot better.
Enjoy!
The clip is in normal quality and it runs a bit smoother, but if you want to watch it in higher quality, click on the little triangle in the corner of the clip and click the HQ button. It gets a bit jumpy, but it looks a lot better.
Enjoy!
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