Rest In Peace, Robin Williams

Originally, I was not planning on writing a tribute to Mr. Williams. I tend to view death in a different light than most people so I generally choose to stay quiet when beloved members of society pass from this world. However, there were words banging around in my head that begged to come out. And so they shall.

Like most people in my generation, I feel like I grew up with Mr. Williams. He was Popeye (even though it was a terrible movie), he was Mork, he was comedy.

While most people knew him from his movies or television appearances, I knew him from his stand-up. I watched "An Evening At The Met" when I was way too young to be watching such performances. (I was 10 or something.) But I loved it. When I was older, I searched out his other performances. "Off The Wall" is brilliant, despite being obviously driven by a cocaine addiction. He, along with other comedic geniuses like Steve Martin, Howie Mandel, and George Carlin, shaped my childhood. They got me through the tough parts.

It is unfortunate that the funniest people suffer from such tragedies. Depression, addiction, mental illness. These are things that aren't always noticeable on the outside. And people aren't always comfortable talking about it. But we, as a society, must. Please, if you suffer from depression (no, not just "I'm sad" - actual depression), seek help. People will help if you speak up. All you have to do is say the word.

So, thank you, Mr. Williams. Thank you for giving us the gift of laughter. Thank you for being a brilliant actor. Thank you for existing. May your next life bring you peace.

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

My family went to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire on Sunday. We have been going to the Faire for the past couple of years but I don't think we usually go in August. I believe most of our visits are in September and October. However, change is afoot at Mount Hope and not all of it is good.

The main reason we went to the Faire this particular weekend is that it was Time Travelers weekend. That is when all of the fun Doctor Who and steampunk costumes come out in full force. This year there was a full-sized TARDIS at the Shire. (My husband took a picture.) It is definitely one of the more interesting weekends to people-watch.

Actually, this is one of the changes this year. Generally, Time Travelers weekend is later in the season. Usually the weekend or two after Children's Weekend, which has traditionally fallen on Labor Day weekend. This year Labor Day weekend is held for Heroes of the Realm, where they honor active military, police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and veterans. Children's Weekend will be the weekend after Labor Day. It isn't a huge change but it did put us in the Shire a bit earlier this year. Luckily, the heat didn't kill us.

On the disappointing side of things, the schedule (or Writ, as they call it) was a little disappointing. Our favorite Faire act, Fool Hearty, was there and they were awesome, as always. However, a couple of the other acts we enjoy aren't on the performance list for this season. We know that the entertainers change every year so we are OK with that. But then a couple of the other shows we like to watch were inconveniently timed against the Fool Hearty shows. (For example, the Who's Jest show that my daughter enjoys was running at the exact same time as Fool Hearty's Untrained Dog Show.) We will be back at the Faire later in the season so, hopefully, we'll be able to catch some of the other shows...even if it means having to miss our absolute favorites.

Another big change at the Faire is the royalty. For the past 33 years, the Faire centered around Queen Elizabeth I. This year the focus is on King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon. We don't usually go to many of the storyline shows, mostly because they are packed with people, but we definitely saw Henry walking around much more often than Elizabeth did. I can't say that the change had a large impact on our enjoyment of the Faire but I do have to say that it was nice to mix it up a bit.

I am very much looking forward to the rest of the season. It is quite likely that we won't return until the Halloween weekends, which are our favorite, but we will definitely be back.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal began streaming on July 5, 2014. It airs (with English subtitles) every other Saturday on Hulu Plus, Crunchyroll, and Neon Alley. Since we already had the subscription, I have been watching it on Hulu.

For those that don't know, I am a pretty big fan of Sailor Moon. The original series aired here in the United States when I was in high school. I watched every episode voraciously. I loved that the girls were the main characters with the powers to destroy the bad guys, who were also led by a female. Even though it has been 20 years since Sailor Moon first aired, there still aren't that many "Girl Power" shows where females lead the way. I think the closest we come is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and, while that is a very awesome show, it doesn't quite fall under the same category as magical girls or female superheroes. More Wonder Woman, less Avengers.

Anyway, I did start watching the new series as soon as it premiered. There have been three episodes so far and I am very happy with the way it has turned out. Some people have issues with a few things and I would like to address them:

1. I don't like the artwork.

Those fans that are only familiar with the original Sailor Moon anime may find the new artwork unappealing. However, the new series is more closely based off the manga. While the new visuals may look a little odd to most people, they are definitely closer to the original visuals in the manga. Personally, I like the new looks a bit better but I have always been partial to the artbooks over the anime series.

2. I liked the old filler episodes.

Since the new series is following the manga storyling, a lot of the filler episodes have been removed. For example - In the original series, Luna discovers Sailor Moon in the first episode but doesn't discover the second scout, Sailor Mercury, until episode 5 in the English dub. (It is episode 8 in the original Japanese series.) In Crystal, Sailor Mercury is discovered in the second episode. This follows the exact timeline of the manga. While some of the old filler episodes will be missed (goodbye Alan and Ann!), the story does not suffer from removing them. I think the story will be better and stronger since we can focus more on the girls and less on the misogynistic episodes like "Slim City," where Usagi thinks she is too fat and starts heading toward an eating disorder.

Thankfully, these two issues are the only major complaints I have seen about the new show. Everyone seems to agree that, overall, it is pretty awesome. I am excited to see where the series is going to go. Supposedly, it is set up for a 26-episode arc. If they follow the manga the way they have so far, this will take them through to the end of the Black Moon storyline. I really hope that we will be able to take the story all the way through Stars as well.

Long live Sailor Moon!

Ah, Summer

August has begun. This is when I start to get into the "Summer Funk." All I want to do is lay on a beach in the warm sun, enjoying the warm awesomeness of the summer. Instead, I am stuck in a dreary office with no windows. It is probably the worst possible way to spend the summer. Being an adult sucks.

However, I am taking a vacation this year! I don't usually take a week-long vacation because my family rarely goes anywhere. (Not by choice, mind you.) We aren't going away this year but we are doing a bunch of things in the area that we have been wanting to hit.

1. Camelbeach

Camelbeach is a pretty awesome waterpark that we try to go to every year. My daughter, who isn't big on amusement parks, loves this place. The best part is that they have specials on 4-packs of tickets. Since there are only three of us in the family, my daughter gets to bring one of her friends. After all, hanging out with your parents is laaaame.

2. Da Vinci Science Center

The Da Vinci Science Center is a sort-of hands-on museum type thing. It is aimed at getting kids interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) programs. While my daughter isn't a huge science nut, she is involved in her school's branch of the Technology Student Association so things like this help her both in the classroom and in clubs. And it's fun!

3. Lehigh Valley Zoo

Since we live in the Philadelphia area, we have been to the Philadelphia Zoo many times. However, we have never been to the Lehigh Valley Zoo, which isn't particularly far from our house. Everyone in my family loves animals (heck, my sister is getting married at a local zoo in September!) so it should be a great trip.

These are the main pieces of our vacation. (No, I'm not going to say "staycation." That is a terrible word.) We will probably find a couple of other places to visit and maybe we'll even spend a day relaxing by the pool. I really do love summer. Now if only I could get rid of the desk job....

So many updates!

I'm sorry that I haven't had the time to write up a real post. I do have some videos that I haven't posted here though. Bulu Box

Graze Box

Loot Crate vs Nerd Block

I hope that I will have some more stuff for you soon. Until then, enjoy the videos!

SodaStream Tips

I absolutely love my SodaStream. However, following the directions may be a mistake. Here are a few tips on how to make your SodaStream experience better.

Summer is almost here

I know the official first day of summer isn't until June 21. However, for me, summer begins once school is out and all of the extra-curriculars have ended. During the school year, my daughter is in chorus, band, jazz band, and the Technology Student Association. At the same time, she takes ballet and tap outside of school and she bowls on the weekends. Needless to say, it takes up a lot of time. The dance recital was this past weekend, thereby ending all of the school-year activities. Next Wednesday is the last day of school, which means Thursday is the first day of summer.

Of course, she does still participate in a lot of things in the summer. She has decided to pick tennis back up, plus a summer ballet class. Our school district also offers a 1-week summer band camp in July. She participates in that every year.

So, yeah, summer is almost here. It won't be a calm, relaxing summer but life would be boring then, wouldn't it?

Favorite Friday - Convos With My 2-year Old

Convos With My 2-year Old is one of my favorite YouTube series. This episode is the beginning of season 3 but I highly recommend that everyone go back to the beginning and watch the entire series. I promise it won't take very long. And you will definitely thank me for it.

Video Cameras!

As you may have noticed, I've started doing video posts. I know they are not super awesome yet but I am working on it. One of the things I'd like to do is get a better video camera. I'm not sure exactly which camera I am using currently. I think it's a really old Canon Powershot or something. Well, OK, I know it's old. (It is at least 5 or 6 years old, probably more.) I'm just not sure if it's a Powershot. So I've been looking at getting a camcorder. The only camcorder I have ever owned is a Flip. I still have my Flip but it takes a lot of time to convert the files to a format that YouTube will accept. I've been looking at the Samsung F90BN. It is well within my price range and it has received some fairly decent reviews. Hopefully, this will make the quality of my videos a bit better.

I'm currently looking at camcorders under $200. Let me know if you have any suggestions or reviews. I'd love to hear some more opinions on what I should buy.

Why I think the new Godzilla movie is BS

Spoilers ahead! It has almost been 2 weeks since the latest American Godzilla was released. A lot of people loved the movie. My husband, who is a huge Godzilla fan, is one of those people. I, on the other hand, thought the movie was total bullshit. Since I seem to be the only person who thinks this, I am going to put my reasons in a nice, easy to digest list. As I have already said, there will be a lot of spoilers ahead. If you don't want to be spoiled, stop reading right now.

OK?

1. Cutting away from the fights

So, this is a Godzilla movie, right? I get that the movie can't be 100% Godzilla. You need some characters that can actually speak. However, except for the final battle, none of the other battles are shown on-screen. Godzilla starts fighting with one of the creatures (stupidly called MUTO) and the director just cuts away to one of the humans.

"Godzilla's gonna fight....Godzilla's gonna fight...." *a door slides shut and we cut to the Olsen sister that isn't a twin*

Annoying.

2. The Brian Cranston connection.

In the trailers, it looked like Brian Cranston, who is currently a hot commodity in Hollywood, would be the human star of the movie. Nope. He dies in the first act, before any of the monsters are actually shown. (Well, I think we might have seen a foot of the MUTO...that doesn't count.)

I get that his name is hot right now. There are people that went to see this movie for him. Won't they be disappointed when he dies a third of the way into the 2-hour film.

3. The "bad" monsters should have real names.

Godzilla gets a name. There's a Mothra cameo. Yet the two big bad monsters of the movie are both called MUTO, which stands for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. What? Give Ken Watanabe a use. Let him give those baddies some names.

4. They made Ken Watanabe useless.

His entire purpose in this movie was to stand around and watch other people do things. He is supposed to be a scientist. What scientist just stands by and lets everyone else do the work? Even the Japanese scientists in the old Godzilla movies were all "Screw this! I'm going to help Godzilla myself!"

5. Kick-Ass specialized in everything.

Brian Cranston's son, Kick-Ass, is an explosives specialist in the Navy. Yet he manages to get himself hitched onto an Army Special Force team, which gets him from Hawaii to California. Then he talks his way onto a Navy squad that is setting up an explosive to kill the MUTO. Then he parachutes into the scene of the Godzilla battle to disarm the explosive the MUTO stole from them.

Something tells me that his ass would still be stuck on Hawaii. The military isn't in the business of giving people, even other military people, rides home.

This movie was bullshit. For serious. I won't say it wasn't any fun. The end of that big battle was awesome. But I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that one awesome scene from one fight scene is going to redeem the entire film. If even half of these issues were fixed, I wouldn't be so hard on the movie. If they made the Godzilla movie about Godzilla instead of about The Other Olsen and Kick-Ass, I might have liked it more. As it stands, it is just plain bullshit.