Star Wars Awesomeness (May the 4th Be With You)

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone! To celebrate, I've collected my favorite Star Wars videos for you to enjoy. May the Force be with you!

Star Wars (John Williams is the Man)

a song about Star Wars set to a medley of John Williams songs

Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel

The Piano Guys battle it out while playing a medley of Star Wars songs

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars Story Ever Told

A humorous summary of the Star Wars original trilogy

Grocery Store Wars

A parody of Star Wars about organic vs processed food

Fandom Love (Happy Valentine's Day)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I'd like to start off by saying that I love all of you (platonically, of course- except for my boyfriend, who I love non-platonically). I know that some of you are in relationships and some of you are single, so I tried to make a post that will celebrate the day while not making anyone feel left out.

Let's talk about love. And because this is a fandom blog, let's use examples from fandoms.

There are several different types of love. I decided to use this website to decide how to categorize the different types. So, without further ado, here is the list.

Agape - selfless love. Agape is unconditional love that makes you donate to charity, be friendly with people you don't know, and do anything to help someone or make them happy.
Example: Merlin and Arthur in Merlin (more Merlin than Arthur), Harry in Harry Potter

Storge - family love. This is the love siblings have for each other (you may not like each other, but you do love each other), the love between a parent and child. It can also be a strong friendship.
Example: Elsa and Anna in Frozen, Sam and Dean in Supernatural (I think? I haven't seen much of that show)

Pragma - enduring love. This is the love between an old married couple, still faithful after decades of commitment. This is the love between old friends. This is the love that endures all odds.
Example: Amy and Rory in Doctor Who, Carl and Ellie in Up

Philautia - self-love. This isn't narcissism, but rather self-respect. This is accepting yourself just as you are. This is the belief in yourself that leads you to do great things.
Example: Peggy Carter from Captain America and Agent Carter, Martha from Doctor Who

Philia - shared experience. This is the love you have for your co-workers, the people in your sports team (or marching band), the people in your class.
Example: Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Harry Potter; the fellowship (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and Boromir) in The Lord of the Rings

Ludus - flirtatious love. This is the feeling you get when you first fall in love with someone or when you notice a hot girl/guy. It's the kind of love that's all about having fun. It lasts for a short time until ending or developing into another type of love.
Example: Hazel and Augustus in The Fault In Our Stars, Eleven and River in Doctor Who (actually, their relationship is wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and falls into several of these categories)

Eros - romantic and sexual love. This is the love in which you are really attracted to someone. Like Ludus, it only lasts so long; after a while it either dies out or develops into another type of love, such as pragma.
Example: Romeo and Juliet (I really hate that story, by the way), Jack and Rose in Titanic

So regardless of whether if there is a "special someone" in your life, remember to love the people around you. In fact, love everyone. Even those who don't deserve it - especially because those are the people who need it the most. Spread the love, everyone!

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! One of the traditions for the new year is making resolutions. Most people don't keep those resolutions, but at least they try. With that in mind, here are my New Year's Resolutions.

• Spend less time on tumblr and more time on this blog. Specifically, I want to spend twice as much time on my blog as I do on tumblr. I found a google chrome extension that tracks how much time I spend on websites (leaving a tab open while you're on another website doesn't count), so I can hold myself accountable.
• When I am on tumblr, spend less time liking/reblogging and more time creating original content.
• Spend 30 minutes each day writing my story. Yes, I recently started writing an original story (i.e., not fanfiction). I'm not giving details right now because 1) I don't want my idea to get stolen and 2) I'm not very far in, so details may change significantly. (If you really want details, you can message me in a private post on Google+.)
• Practice my French Horn more. In each practice session, I'll spend 10 minutes on scales, 30 minutes on concert music, 5 minutes on sight reading, 5 minutes on technical stuff, and 10 minutes on music for fun. (I'll also spend time on SmartMusic, if I have any to do, which will vary depending on the difficulty of the music.) I will have at least 3 practice sessions a week.
• Do what I can to decrease prejudice (racism, sexism, etc.) in myself and others. This may include keeping up to date with news about social issues, writing about social issues (on tumblr, twitter, etc.), engaging in discussions with others, and donating time or money to organizations that will decrease prejudice.
• Be more cheerful. This one is going to be really hard, but I'll try.
• Save up money to go see Les Misérables live (this may take more than a year). I'll need to save up a lot because tickets are expensive and it will also cost money to get to a place that shows Les Misérables.
• In order to achieve the previous goal, I resolve to get a job (my first job. How exciting!).
• Walk 2 miles a day. My sister resolved to walk 4 miles a day, so I just have to walk with her half the way.
• Write more letters. Yes, letters. On pencil and paper. They're much more personal and also more exciting for the person receiving them.
• Write more poetry. Especially for other people.
• Compliment people more.

So, that's what I've got for now. What are your resolutions?

UPDATE: It is now June. Let's see how I've done.

• Haha no. I still spend too much time on tumblr.
• Yeah also no.
• No, but I have made progress on my story. I write as inspiration strikes.
• Haha that definitely didn't happen.
• I do that every day.
• Maybe a little, but probably no.
• GOAL ACHIEVED! I have more than enough money.
• GOAL ACHIEVED! I work at a pizza place.
• Yeah no I'm still a couch potato.
• Eh not really.
• Didn't happen.
• Also didn't happen.

Conclusion: I'm pretty bad at fulfilling New Year's resolutions.

Thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of the holiday, I'm making a post about all the people and things I have to thank for this blog.

Family - thanks to my family who started me on this and has continued to support me. After I'd written several fanfics, my mom suggested that I start this blog. My sister came up with the name for the blog. My dad is the one who gets the internet set up, without which I would be unable to write my blog. And as for my brother, he hasn't really helped. Sorry. 

Real-life friends - thanks to my friends who discuss my fandoms with me and support me. 

Internet friends and blog readers - thanks to all of you who read my blog, liking, sharing, and commenting my posts. Some of you have even inspired blog posts! 

The Star Cult - thanks to the awesome Doctor Who community that has led to brilliant discussions, given me great internet friends, and provided ideas for fanfics by hosting fanfiction challenges. 

Pond's Philosophy Guild - thanks to this community that has taught me to think deeply and sparked some blog post ideas. 

Authors/screenwriters/etc. - thanks to the creative minds behind my favorite books, movies, and TV shows. Without them, I would have nothing to get excited about. 

Actors and actresses - thanks to the amazing people who act out the wonderful TV shows and movies that I discuss here. Often, it is the actor's (or actress's) performance that really makes a show great. 

Directors/producers/editors/etc. - thanks to the people who bring something from a simple idea to a finished work. 

My English teachers - thanks to the people who have helped me to improve my writing skills. 

Books - thanks to the reading materials that increased my literacy and imagination and brought me into the magical world of fandoms. 

Computers/TV/the internet - thanks to the devices that let me watch my favorite shows/movies and discuss them with others in the fandom. 

Google - thanks to the company that created Google+, where I started getting really into fandoms, and Google Blogs, which is how I created this blog. 

That's about all I can think of in terms of thanks. Thank you all again, and have a great Thanksgiving!

How To Scare A Fangirl

Happy Halloween! In the spirit of the holiday, I have written a guide to scaring a fangirl.

How to scare a Whovian

• Give them a statue (especially of an angel) and/or say, "Don't blink". 
• Stare at something and look scared, then when they ask what's wrong, say, "Dorry, what?" or "I forgot". Bonus points if you also draw tally marks on your arms. 
• Yell "EXTERMINATE" in an angry, machine-like voice. 
• Tell them they have two shadows. 
• Look them in the eye and say, "Your song is ending". 

How to scare a Sherlockian

• Tell them "I owe you."
• Shout "vatican cameos". 
• Say something about Moriarty. 
• In your most evil voice, ask "Did you miss me?"

How to scare a Potterhead

• Say "Voldemort". 
• Casually mention making seven horcruxes. 
• Point a wand (or something that looks like a wand) at them and shout one of the unforgivable curses.
• Tell them they could be killed, or worse, expelled. 

How to scare a Trekkie

• Always wear a red shirt (or force them to always wear red shirts). 
• Speak only in Klingon. 

How to scare a Merlinian

• Say that you saw Morgana heading this way. 
• Claim that you are Emrys, and you are furious with them. 
• Start chanting in the dragon language. 
• Start reciting a harmful spell you've learned from watching Merlin. 
• State that they have been found to be a sorcerer and will be burned at the stake. 

I know that's only a few fandoms, but they're the only ones I could think of. Feel free to add more in the comments. 

4th Of July

Happy 4th of July! I realize that recently I've been pretty bad about posting regularly, so sorry about that. Just be aware that this blog still continues, and I'll try to get to some sort of schedule soon. Anyway... As I said, today is the 4th of July (the day the USA declared independence from the UK), so that's what I'm posting about.

Stephen Colbert

Captain America

So, what else is awesome about America? Well, we've made a lot of awesome inventions:

1776- Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair 

1784- Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals

1796- Amelia Simms invented the cupcake

1801- Frederick Graff Sr. invented the fire hydrant

1831- Joseph Henry invented the doorbell

1853- George Crum invented potato chips

1919- Charles Strite invented the toaster

1945- Percy Spencer invented the microwave

1946- Ralph Benjamin invented the computer mouse

Obviously, that's not all, but that's really all I have room for. Have a great 4th of July, everyone!

70th Anniversary Of D-Day

Hello, dear readers. Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day. For those of you who didn't pay attention in history class, it's the day the Allied powers stormed the beaches of Normandy. It marked a turning point in World War II. So, to remember D-Day and WWII, I have compiled a list of my favorite WWII movies/TV episodes.

1.  The Great Escape (1963)
This is probably my favorite WWII movie. In this one, the Germans think it would be a good idea to put all the prisoners who like to escape into one prison. Of course, that's a pretty stupid idea, as they soon plan a mass escape. Fun fact- this movie is actually based on a true story.

2.  WarGames
This comes in a close second. In this movie, a simulation machine is made to play out a global war situation, to help the US come up with a good strategy. A kid who is an expert computer hacker breaks into it. He doesn't know what it really is, so when the computer asks if he'd like to play a game, he says yes. The US and the Soviets see the display of this war and think it is real. Chaos ensues. Fun fact- 5 months and 4 days later, the program Able Archer was launched. Coincidence? I think not.

3.  The Book Thief
This is another great movie. A girl who is the daughter of Communists gets adopted by a German family so that she will be safer. Throughout the movie, the theme of books comes up. She is an avid reader and always needs new reading material. At the same time, she has to deal with all the struggles of living through WWII. Fun fact- this is based on a book. I really need to read the book.

4.  Let’s Kill Hitler
Just the title makes this episode of Doctor Who amazing. It comes from a line by Mels: "You've got a TARDIS, I've got a gun. What the hell, let's kill Hitler." While it's more about the Doctor and spoilers (sorry, you'll just have to watch it. I will reveal no more.) than Hitler, it is set in WWII. That's how we get this brilliant line.

Moffat must have had a lot of fun writing this line.

Also, check out this spoof video of Hitler's reaction to the episode.

5. Victory of the Daleks
Yup, another Doctor Who episode. This time, we visit the Allies. Churchill has got some new machines to help him in the war. He calls them ironsides, but the moment the Doctor sees them, he knows what they really are: Daleks. So then the Doctor, helped by Amy, has the rest of the episode to try and defeat the Daleks. Fun fact- Mark Gatiss (cowriter of the episode and cowriter of Sherlock) makes a cameo appearance as the spitfire pilot.

Yup, this one's got good quotes, too.

Gotta love Matt Smith.

So, that's the end of my list. I hope you liked it. Happy D-Day!

Bad Wolf

That's right, today is Bad Wolf Day. Now, I could just write "bad wolf" over and over again, but that wouldn't be any fun. Just in case you were wondering, here is the Bad Wolf speech:

I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me. I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words... I scatter them, in time and space. A message, to lead myself here. I want you safe, my Doctor. Protected from the false God. You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence, and I divide them. Everything must come to dust. All things, everything dies.

So, I don't have anything profound to share for Bad Wolf Day, so instead, I've collected my favorite Bad Wolf fan art for you to enjoy. (Note that none of these pictures are my own.)

Geek Pride Day

Today is Geek Pride Day. No, I didn't know such a thing existed either. I only know this because I randomly happened to find out.

If you're wondering why May 25 is the day that was chosen, it's because it coincides with a few other holidays:

• Towel Day, the day two weeks after Douglas Adams passed in 2001, when hoopy froods keep their towel handy
• The anniversary of the first Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope, released on May 25, 1977
• Glorious 25 May, the day in Terry Pratchett's Discworld when wearing lilac and hard-boiled eggs (and raising awareness around Alzheimer's research) is appropriate

So, today is a day for all things geeky. With that, here's a list of geeky things I like, just for fun.

1. The geek code - apparently such a thing exists. Each letter tells something about your geekiness. For those interested, here is my geek code:

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GCS/MU d- s-: a--- C++>$ U? P L E? W++>$ !N o? K- w O? M+>++$ V? PS++ PE-- Y- PGP- t++ 5? X? R tv+ b+>+++ DI+ D? G e- h! r++ x- 
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
[translation: Geek of computer science/music, I'm usually in jeans and a t-shirt, I look up to most people (I'm short) but I'm average weight, I'm age 15-19, Computers are a large part of my existence, and I'd like to make money at a computer related job someday, I don't know much about Unix, I know Perl exists but that's all, I know what Linux is but that's about all, I don't know what Emacs is, I'm pretty good at the world wide web and I'd like to make money at it someday, I don't like USENET News, I don't know what USENET oracle is, I don't know who Kibo is, I use MS Windows but I don't have to like it, I don't know what OS/2 is, a Mac has its uses and I use it quite often but I'd like to get better and make money at it, I don't know what VMS is, my political views are fairly liberal, capitalism is evil and government should provide the services we need and nobody should be rich, the government must be able to protect itself from criminals and the populace from indecent speech, I don't have anything to hide, Star Trek is great, I don't know what Babylon 5 is, I don't know what the X files is, roleplaying is something to do to kill a Saturday afternoon, I watch some TV every day, I enjoy reading but don't get the time very often and I'd like to read a few books a week, I read Dilbert daily and often understand it, I don't know what the game DOOM! is, I know what the geek code is and even did up this code, haven't finished high school, I am stuck living with my parents, I've dated my current significant other for a long time, female and not having sex by choice]

If you'd like to find out what your geek code is, go to http://www.geekcode.com/geek.html

2. Geeky jokes - there are way to many of these to count. This is my favorite one:
Heisenberg gets pulled over for speeding. The officer asks, "Do you know how fast you were going?"
"No, but I can tell you exactly where I am."
Confused, the officer replies, "You were going 80 miles per hour."
"Great! Now I'm lost!" he shouts. Then Shrodinger gets out of the car, too. This is enough to make the officer suspicious, so he inspects the the car.
"Did you know you have a dead cat in your trunk?"
"Well I do NOW!" Shrodinger replies.
(To see more geeky jokes, go here and here.)

3. Geeks who change the world - this world would be a very sad, boring, place if it weren't for the geeks and nerds who come up with brilliant ideas. Without them, we would probably still be living in caves, ignorant and lacking innovation. Now, for some examples... my stats tell me that 48% of you use Windows, so you should thank the geek Bill Gates. For the 41% of you using Apple products, you should thank Steve Jobs, another awesome geek. Larry Page is the geek the 10% of you who use Android have to thank, but since this is a Google Blog, none of you would be reading this if it weren't for that genius. And just to make sure I include everyone, there's also Dennis Ritche, creator of Unix (which 1% of you are using), and Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux (which another 1% of you are using). Now, this isn't to say that computer geeks are the only kind of geeks that exist, but they are the best example I could think of here.

4. This. Without geeks and nerds, we wouldn't have this awesome video.

Just for fun, I watched this video again and kept a tally of the number of times one of the things the geek or nerd said applied to me (this included accomplishments and insults). The score? 11 points for geek, and 8 points for nerd. It was actually closer than I thought it would be.

5. The obsession to understand the difference between nerds and geeks. There is so much on this discussion/debate. Just out of curiosity, I googled "what makes a geek". I got 129,000,000 results. That's a lot! (In case you were wondering, "what makes a nerd" has only 51,800,000 results, but that's still a lot.) There are also a good number of results for "geek vs nerd": 5,220,000. Interestingly enough, though that last search query is popular, "nerd vs geek" is about twice as popular, with 10,200,000 results. I could point you too some websites/web pages about the issue, but there are so many that I don't know where to start.

So those are a few of my favorite geeky things. Happy Geek Pride Day!

May the 4th Be With You!

Hello, Star Wars fans, and May the 4th be with you! For those of you who don't know, today is Star Wars Day. So, it's time for another Star Wars post!

So, I sat at my computer for a few minutes facing writer's block until I came up with the idea for what to write on this post. I'm going to talk about the Force. It is May the 4th, after all.

What is the Force?
Not know what the Force is, do you? Read carefully and understand, you must. Do or do not. There is no try.
The Force is a mysterious power that moves all things, unifies all things, defines all things, does all things. It's "an energy field created by all living things". Some people believe it is sentient, classifying it as a god. You can do all sorts of useful things with the Force.

What can you do with the Force?
1. Enhance natural, physical, and mental abilities - e.g., doing a "Force jump" to slow what would otherwise be a dangerous fall. This also includes enhanced speed and reflexes.
2. Increase accuracy - How did Luke blow up the Death Star? Yes, he used torpedos, but that's not the answer I'm looking for. How did he get them into such a small space? I mean, that'd have to be a really lucky shot. "Use the Force, Luke." And there's your answer.
3. Telekinesis/levitation - I play French Horn, and I can't even count the number of times I've joked with my friends that I wished I could use the Force to carry my instrument. I'd say telekinesis is the coolest thing you can do with the Force.
4. Telepathy - Okay, actually telepathy might be cooler. Communicating with your mind is just awesome! Too bad it doesn't exist in real life.
5. Hypnosis - "These are not the droids you are looking for."

Yeah, I know, two photos in one post is a lot, but I couldn't resist.

6. Enhance empathy
7. See the future
8. Become a Force Ghost (also called a Force Spirit) - Both Yoda and Obi-wan Kenobi learned this difficult skill to become a ghost through the power of the Force and thus live forever, so they could keep teaching their pupils.
9. Do better in a lightsaber combat
10. Force choke/Force lighting (dark side only) - These are both ways of killing people and thus are limited to the dark side of the Force.

The light side vs the dark side
The light side = good, and the dark side = bad. We all know that. But let's be a little more specific.

The light side
Used by jedis, this is the good side of the Force. It is for peaceful purposes only. The light side of the force is typically associated with kindness, compassion, selflessness, and other good qualities.

The dark side
This is the side used by siths, who are typically just jedis gone bad. This is the evil side of the Force. As might be expected, it is the exact opposite of the light side. It is often associated with anger, fear, lust, jealousy, and hate. You must beware of crossing over to the dark side, as it will corrupt you completely. There are many ways/reasons to go to the dark side. Yoda says that "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side." People who use it claim that the dark side is stronger, insisting that the light side is far too weak and thus they must join the dark side.

Okay, clearly I should have made a slideshow. Oh, well.

A disturbance in the Force

Sometimes, people (most notably, Obi-wan Kenobi) sense a disturbance in the Force. This occurs when there is widespread suffering or death, or when a jedi or sith is near.

How to use the Force

Okay, that's all great. But how do you use the Force? Well, sadly, you probably can't. Even if you existed in the Star Wars universe, you'd have to be born Force-sensitive to be able to use the Force. But that doesn't mean you can't pretend. In the world of roleplaying and fanfiction, anything is possible.

I'm not promoting Volkswagen, I just like this commercial.

Fake Death vs. Real Resurrection

Hello, dear readers! For all you Christians out there, happy Easter! Today we celebrate Christ's resurrection after being nailed to the cross. I wanted to do a post that was somehow Easter related, so I thought about how Easter is the day Christ came back from the dead. I thought I'd talk about a few fictional faked deaths where the characters "miraculously" came back from the dead. Except unlike Jesus, they never actually died.

*spoiler alert: this post is full of spoilers, so if you aren't up to date on all the shows/movies/books I'm covering, you might want to stop reading now*

Doctor Who

Depending on how you count it, every time the Doctor regenerates, he fakes his death. Although you could argue this, most people (including myself) would say it doesn't count, because we know he'll regenerate. However, there is one time the Doctor actually faked his death. At Lake Silencio, River shot him, then shot him again before he could regenerate. He should have died, but he faked it. He got the tesselector to do him a favor; he was miniaturized and put inside a robot that can withstand almost anything. This apparently includes being shot twice and being drenched in gasoline and set on fire. It was a pretty impressive faked death, and we're all glad the Doctor survived, since that means the show goes on. 

Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes, the world's only consulting detective, was revealed to be a fake by "Richard Brooke" (aka Jim Moriarty). Except we know that this isn't true; we believe in Sherlock Holmes. All the same, Sherlock had to do something. So, he faked his suicide. He jumped off a building. There's a lot of controversy as to how he did it, especially since the writers haven't really cleared it up. But however he did it, the great Sherlock Holmes is off solving mysteries. 

Harry Potter

Now I'm sure some of you reading this will be confused. When did Harry fake his death? I'm not sure it actually shows up in the movies, so those of you who haven't read the books will be very confused. Read on, and I'll remind you of what happened. In book 7, Voldemort tries to kill Harry. (Actually, that happens throughout the series, but this is the only time when Harry fakes his death.) Except that, like all the other times, it doesn't work. It ends up killing the horcrux Voldemort accidentally put in Harry as a baby. Harry pretends to be dead for a short time so he has a better chance to get back at Voldemort. (Yes, I know it's "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named", but he's dead now, so it really doesn't matter.) This isn't a full-fledged fake death, but it's still notable. 

And those are all the faked deaths I can think of. Let me know in the comments if you think of one I forgot. Now let's move on to the death that wasn't faked, and the resurrection that was just as real. 

Jesus Christ

Even if you aren't a Christian, you've probably heard the story of Jesus Christ. Here's the short version. God created us, but we are sinful and we all deserve to go to hell. But God didn't want us to go to hell, so needed someone to take the punishment. So, he sent his son Jesus Christ. He was born on earth, and as he grew up, he began to teach God's word. His life and teachings can be found in the Bible (specifically in the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The government (i.e., the Romans) thought he was a threat and accused him of blasphemy for claiming to be the son of God. They crucified him with two real criminals next to him, one on his right and one on his left. He died and was buried. Then, 3 days later, when his friends came to visit him, the tomb was empty. His friends freaked out and thought someone had stolen the body until they learned the truth: God had raised him from the dead. Jesus stayed a little longer on Earth, then he ascended into heaven. Now I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty amazing story. And unlike the other stories, this one is true. Jesus really did exist. He really did die, and he really was resurrected. I serve a risen savior, and he's awesome!