Odds 'n' Ends

Going on Strike

Normally, I would entertain you with a great post about something interesting. I’m not doing that tonight.

Instead, I want you to check out the links I’m providing about SOPA and the strikes taking place all over the web tomorrow. As I don’t have a self-hosted blog, I’m not doing all the fancy-schmancy blackout stuff others are. But I’m still protesting in my own way. Please read about it, get informed, and stage a protest!

Protests against SOPA go viral

Web Goes on Strike!

How SOPA would affect you

Although most sites will be back up and running at 8pm tomorrow, I won’t have a new blog post then because mine are usually scheduled for 9pm EST. So I’ll see you all on the other side on Thursday. Happy protesting!

Falling in Love with a Muppet

Movies, Odds 'n' Ends

As 2011 winds down, and with it my vacation, I’m just relaxing and enjoying being with my family. We had a fantastic time away, and now we’re settling back in at home.

This week, we traveled to see family. We took the kids places, visited with friends, and went to the movies. While it may not sound like a big deal, it is for us. Going to see a film first-run is low on our list of priorities, so we don’t do it often. This time, we went with my in-laws to see The Muppets.

One thing you should know about me is that as a child, I had a massive, consuming crush on Kermit the Frog. I’m sure I didn’t see it exactly that way (I wasn’t plotting to run away so I could marry him), but that’s what it amounts to. I used to watch Sesame Street just for Kermit’s segments. I cried when the original Muppet Show ended and demanded to know what sort of horrible people would take it off the air. I think I watched The Muppet Movie almost enough times to recite the dialogue in its entirety.

By the time Jim Henson died, I had figured out that Kermit wasn’t real. But Henson himself was very real, and I remember feeling for the first time that the world had lost someone important—that nothing would ever be the same again. I remember being utterly, completely crushed.

Over the years, there have been some pretty good movies featuring Muppets. Muppet Christmas Carol is on my yearly must-watch list, of course. And the other movies haven’t been too bad. Not fabulous, but not bad. Going to see The Muppets this time around, I didn’t hold out much hope that it would be different. I figured it would be another cute outing with our loveable pals, and that the kids would have a good time.

I was wrong.

Nope, not for the reason you might be thinking.

As I sat there watching, I remembered everything I had ever loved about the Muppets. Funny, witty, just a touch of pique. Somehow, even with most of the original Muppet performers absent, they nailed it. My sister had said that she lost it when they sang “Rainbow Connection,” and after sitting through it myself, I understood why. It’s not that it was a sappy or sentimental movie or even moment. It’s not just because the song itself makes me teary. It’s because the movie was a celebration of all things Muppet. It honored all the things we grew up loving, somehow without being cheesy or coming off like a bad Academy Awards look-back. And there was just enough silly fun to keep our kids entertained so that we adults could relive our childhoods.

Kudos to Jason Segel (who is, ironically, too young to have appreciate the original Muppets first-run) for a top-notch script and for bringing back our favorite friends. If you haven’t yet seen this gem of a movie, be sure to go; it’s worth every penny. Oh, and bring some tissues with you. As for me, my husband may have some frog-shaped competition. (Just kidding, dear!)

Confession Time

Odds 'n' Ends, Writing

It’s Monday Confession Time, so here it is: I am a fan fiction junkie. I know, I know, you don’t have to say it. But here’s the thing. I like the original works, but fanfic is fun because it takes you places the author never did. Minor characters get their own storylines, or you can re-write canon (original work) history. Now, I don’t write it myself, mind you. I just like to read what pops into the heads of other writers.

While there’s good stuff to be found in all sorts of fandom, I have a strong preference for Harry Potter fanfic. I particularly like ones with the tag EWE (Epilogue? What epilogue?). Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for fairy tale endings. And I recognize that after seven books of fighting evil, the characters all deserve some happiness. But I believe that epilogue is one of the cheesiest bits of writing I’ve ever read. I mean, poor Harry—by the end of the series, he’s seen every single adult who ever cared about him, save Ron’s parents, die a rather horrible death. Wouldn’t that mess a guy up quite a bit? He just seems too…I don’t know, well-adjusted. Of course, that hidden angst might be why his wife lets him name all their kids. Shouldn’t she have been allowed to name at least ONE of them? I’m imagining the convo going something like this:

After baby #1

Healer: Congratulations! It’s a boy!
Harry: I want to name him after my dead father and dead godfather.
Ginny: That’s beautiful. Sure.

After Baby #2

Healer: Congratulations! It’s another boy!
Harry: I want to name this one after two dead Hogwarts headmasters.
Ginny (warily): Which two?
Harry: Let’s call him Albus Severus.
Ginny: Albus I get, but do you really want to name him after Snape? We hated him!
Harry: He was really brave.
Ginny: But…seriously…Snape??
Harry: Angst, remember?
Ginny (grumbling): Fine.

After baby #3

Healer: Congratulations! It’s a girl this time!
Harry: I want to name her after my dead mother and…
Ginny: No freakin’ way. I get to name this one.
Harry: Fine. You pick the middle name.
Ginny: No! I want to name her after my dear friend Luna.
Harry: Why?
Ginny (muttering): It’s better than Albus Severus.
Harry: What’s that, dear?
Ginny: Nothing. Never mind. So can we call her Luna?
Harry: Angst!
Ginny: Fine. We’ll name her after your stupid dead mother.
Harry: We can keep Luna as her middle name. It has a nice ring to it. Kind of like her namesake.
Ginny: Wow, that’s so generous of you.

Okay, so I’ve strayed pretty far from my original point, which is that in fanfic, the writer can eliminate the epilogue, or pair off different characters, or end up with Harry and Malfoy as friends (Redeemed!Draco fics are my favorite). Or one can even have crossover from one world to another. I read a very well-done crossover between Harry Potter and Twilight. It was canon-compliant for both universes and fit both timelines. In it, Edward ends up in London (can’t remember how the writer explained it, but it made sense). He runs afoul of Harry and Ginny, who recognize him for what he is and wonder why he isn’t in the vampires-only section. It’s marvelously written and good fun, and the characters remain true to themselves. (Of course, along with that, you have to take the really weird. I saw one fic that had Gay!Harry paired with—wait for it—Jacob Black. Yeah. I didn’t read that one. The plot synopsis alone was squicky enough to make me want to Lysol my eyeballs.)

Anyway, if you like to write, try your hand at fanfic. Trust me, someone will read it. Heck, it will probably be me.

Happy Holidays, from Our Family to Yours

Family, Life, Odds 'n' Ends

We didn’t send out Christmas cards this year. With new responsibilities for many of us, it wasn’t high priority. I suppose that has a lot to do with being able to keep in touch with people all year. It used to be that the only time we heard from some of our friends was at Christmas time, via newsletters and cards. Now, we chat, message each other, and share the events of our lives (and the mundane details, too). It hardly seems necessary to pass on holiday greetings through the mail when we can share it in real time online. While some may lament this as the passing of an era, I celebrate it. How wonderful that we can come together like this!

That said, I’m saving paper this year. I’m offering my holiday greetings in this blog post. I don’t need to share what’s happened in our lives over the last year, most of you have seen it unfold online. You’ve seen my status updates, tweets, and blog posts. Besides, it’s been a relatively uneventful year for us. Small changes, not big ones. We continue to feel the love and blessings of friendship and kinship and we are thankful that you are all part of that.

For all our wonderful family and friends, we wish you the happiest of holidays in your many different traditions. May your new year be full of promise and hope.

Much love,

The Mitchells

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDGf2Hs05R4&w=420&h=315]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv9uRFvvn-Y&w=420&h=315]

Taking It Too Far

Feelings, Odds 'n' Ends, Relationships

Today I got into a fight online with a stranger. The thing is, I have no idea why I took it so personally. Well, come to think of it, maybe I do.

It wasn’t because the other person was mean. She was harsh, yes, but not cruel. It wasn’t because I was right and she was wrong. I’m not sure there was a right or wrong. It wasn’t because she doesn’t like me. I have no idea what her feelings toward me are. And I don’t care if random people like me.

No, what bothered me is that I wasn’t able to come across as my authentic self. I would have needed an entire blog post of my own to explain the feelings and thoughts that the original article evoked. So I resorted to idea nuggets in the comments section. It was a bad idea.

Even worse, I failed to be anything like the Jesus I claim to love. Not because I was rude, nasty, or resorted to childish behavior, but because I didn’t express mercy or grace.

I’m not okay with that. I don’t want to be that sort of person, one who comes off as unconcerned about someone else. When I posted my comments, I wasn’t trying to be unkind. But I somehow wasn’t able to convey my real feelings about the issue being discussed.

So here I sit, reminded that how we interact online is just as important as face to face. Next time, I need to choose my words much more carefully, or say nothing at all.

Cussin’ Cousins

Odds 'n' Ends

Question of the day: Why do so many people seem to believe that profanity makes them sound “adult”?

Honestly, folks, it really doesn’t. In fact, it makes you sound a lot more like an adult trying to relive the teen years.

Now, I am not here to condemn anyone for the use of a crude word here or there. I do understand the need to have some words that reflect an extremity of emotion, and I won’t deny that I have used a few myself. (And it was all I could do not to let loose with a string of obscenities a few years back when I broke my toe.) I’m not even really bothered when I hear occasional swearing in casual conversation. No, two things really get me going: When it becomes excessive, and when I see it in print.

By “in print,” I do not mean in works of fiction or personal memoirs. People in real life use foul language, therefore realistic characters do as well. There is certainly a point where it can become excessive, and it is painfully obvious that the writer has little clue about writing effective dialogue. Swears seem to be a way to meet some kind of imaginary word quota. Aside from that, I don’t see it as a real problem in storytelling. I am also not referring to personal blogs.

Where I get hot under the collar is when I see it in online newspapers. Aren’t the writers supposed to be professionals? Lacing your writing with the f-bomb does not lend an air of credibility to your work. It comes off as sloppy. Not only that, but where are the editors in all of this? Shouldn’t someone have caught it before it went up on the web? And if it was noticed, why wasn’t it promptly excised?

I am also not impressed by people on social sites who constantly infuse their posts with profanity. As in the case of casual conversation or storytelling, I don’t object to the occasional use of colorful language. It’s when it appears in nearly every tweet or status update that I find myself grinding my teeth in frustration. It makes reading the interesting stuff painful, because I have to sort through the expletives to find it. I have had to hide several people from my Facebook news feed because it was constant, and I don’t let my kids see my page, just in case. I really don’t want to have to explain it to them just yet. (For the record, I do in fact believe it is my job as a parent to keep my kids away from things I don’t want them to see.)

The truth is, constant use of foul language does not make anyone sound more mature. There are thousands of words in this world to choose from, and that’s just in the English language. It is entirely possible to make a point, even a strong one, using much cleaner vocabulary. My point is, if you can’t think of a better interjection, then you need to go out and buy a good thesaurus. Or better yet, use one of the hundreds that can be found online. Practice speaking in coherent sentences without the use of slang terms for body parts, elimination, and sex. Trust me, you will feel refreshed with this expansion of your mind.

Going on Strike

Falling in Love with a Muppet

Confession Time

Happy Holidays, from Our Family to Yours

Taking It Too Far

Cussin’ Cousins

Let's Be Friends

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