Lantern Festival

There is a yearly Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They take these paper lanterns and light them up, then let them float in the sky. It's majestic and would be the most beautiful thing to experience. It's definitely on my top list of to-dos before I have children. I don't see how it's not a more popular thing, but whatever.

And, the festival reminds me of something....

Come on, the lights from Tangled have to be based off the Lantern Festival. It's just too uncanny. 

Homemade Valentine's Day

Recipe # 3

Edible Valentine's Buttons

You will need:
Square Pretzels
Hershey Kisses - white chocolate looks best
M&Ms - the valentine colored ones look best

Step 1: 
Simply pop the pretzels in the oven with kisses on top of them for about 3-5 minutes, at 275 degrees. After the chocolate has melted onto the pretzel into a kind of circle, take them out.

Step 2:
Now place the M&Ms on top of the circle of melted chocolate. 

Indiana Jones: A Legend

Indiana Jones. Everybody's seen the three original movies, plus the new 2008 one. But did you realize how big of an influence Indy has been on the television/film world? I did not, until I was reading about it.

Apparently, Indiana Jones was the inspiration for many beloved movies and television shows. Though sometimes barely noticably, and sometimes quite obvious, it's very interesting to see how the iconic tilogy shaped the movie world.

What do all of these people have in common?

Left: Robert Langdon (The Da Vinci Code movies), Rick O'Connell (The Mummy trilogy), Sydney Fox (Relic Hunter series); Right: Dastan (Prince of Persia Games & The Sands of Time), Lara Croft (Lara Croft Games & Movies), Ben Franklin Gates (National Treasure Movies).

The answer: Indiana Jones. 

Indy was an influence on all of these great characters. I can really see it in Rick O'Connell, and a bit in Sydney Fox and Lara Croft, but the rest are very subtle influences. And I think that's really awesome, when you think about it. The influences that make new characters for decades afterwards. 

Sequels Suck...

Why do you have to mess up a perfectly good movie experience with a crappy sequel that will ruin a franchise and make me think oh, I liked that character...until she/he did that stupid thing in the second movie... Seriously, leave really good movies alone, or make a good sequel. Why is that so hard?

So here's my list of sequels that should never have been made.

1. Pocahontas II
2. Grease 2
3. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
4. The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea
5. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, & Blonde
6. The Return of Jafar
7. Mulan II
8. Spider Man 2
9. X-Men 2
10. Jaws: the Revenge

There are many, many more, but this is all for now!

Rick vs. Malcolm

I was looking at Nathan Fillion's past roles and I came across his role as Malcolm in Firefly. I immediately thought he looked like Rick O'Connell from The Mummy.  It is definitely an uncanny resemblance. The dress, the hair, the attitude/posture. They are like complete twinkles. 

Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly and Rick O'Connell from The Mummy. 

Uncanny, right? Similarities, they make me smile and take another look at these guys. 

Sherlock Holmes (2009) Review

Sherlock Holmes came out back in 2009, and I waited until the following November to buy it. I had wanted to see it, but I didn't, forgot about it, saw it at the Black Friday sale, bought it, got it on Christmas, watched it during the break, and loved it. I have always loved mysteries, and so logically, I love Sherlock Holmes. The stories are brilliant, they have action and intense plots. Plus, Watson and Holmes have the best relationship ever. It's hilarious to read about them together. 

But back to the movie. The movie was fantastic. Holmes was new and reinvented, someone I had never really thought of him before, but very fitting after you think about it. Downey's portrayal of Holmes is to the T.  Watson adds wit and humor to the movie. The movie wouldn't be great without the duo's bromance and the perfect unity in their working together. It takes both of them to solve the case, not just Holmes. I also really enjoyed when the camera would slow down and Holmes would show his thinking process, it was very interesting and added to the movie's coolness. 

Robert Downey, Jr. plays Sherlock Holmes, Jude Law plays Watson, and Rachel McAdams plays Irene Adler. You wouldn't think these actors would make a very good Sherlock Holmes movie, but they really mesh and it goes over well on the screen. 

I enjoyed this movie and thought it was very well portrayed. My opinion of Sherlock Holmes was changed for the better. 

National Parks

National Parks are precious to America's history and to our society as it grows, to remember that nature was here first and we should honor it. More and more, people forget about nature and want to spend their vacations at Disney World, or Water parks, places that are fun, but just can't live up to a national park's beauty. I see the world changing, and I don't like it.

Everyone knows about Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks, but maybe you haven't heard of my favorite national parks.

Lake Clark, Alaska.
It is only accessible by aircraft and is the least visited national park in America. It's complete wilderness with three mountain ranges coming together, the lake, a rainforest two active volcanoes, and a plateau. There are hundreds of beautiful running waterfalls.

Isle Royale, Michigan.
It is an island in the middle of Lake Superior. It has lighthouses, trails, moose and wolves, and tons of sunken ships. It has it's own Submerged Resources Center. It just sounds like a unique place to visit.

Theodore Roosevelt, North Dakota.
It is found in the western badlands of North Dakota. You can camp. Enough said.

Haleakala, Hawaii.
The attraction of this national park is the dormant volcano, Haleakala, and the coastal Kipahulu area. Haleakala hasn't erupted since near 1490.  There is even an observatory.

Quote of the Day

Emma Watson is a hero of mine. I love her as Hermione in Harry Potter and I love her as herself. She is very down to earth and just a good girl. This quote by her is the coolest thing ever. I absolutely love it and agree with her 100%!

Penguins!

Penguins are my favorite animals. They're so cute, they wear tuxedoes and waddle, that's just plain adorable. One day, I want to research in Antarctica and see a clan of penguins. That's my dream. Hopefully it comes true, but who knows!

Penguins are flightless, aquatic birds that live in the Southern hemisphere: Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa. They are very social birds and like to interact with humans. They use gestures and squawking sounds to communicate, like to tell where their nesting territory will be. It's believed they use the sun to navigate from land and sea. They usually live for 15 to 20 years. Penguins can be harmed badly by oil spills. When oil gets on their feathers, they become susceptible to hypothermia. And if they ingest some of the oil while preening, their internal organs get messed up. Mostly, penguins need to be left alone. They aren't used to human civilization, unless they're in a zoo or something, and they get scared by loud noises.