What a Crazy Random Happenstance

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha… Ah-ha-ha-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhh… So that’s, you know, coming along. I'm working with a vocal coach. Strengthening the... AH! A lot of guys ignore the laugh and that's about standards."

So, Dr. Horrible was on the CW tuesday night....first time I've seen it on TV, though I've stalked it many a time on Youtube.com.  Seriously, this is a ridiculously fabulous creation by, none other than Joss Whedon.  You know, the creator of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly.  Not to mention, Dollhouse and Serenity. And let's not forget a little film he wrote and directed called, The Avengers.  Little known fact: Joss Whedon also co-wrote Toy Story.  (thank you, Wikipedia,  for this nugget, which I then source checked to IMDB.)

If you're asking what the heck is Dr. Horrible....we may no longer be able to be friends....but, since I'm in a good mood, I'm going to look on the bright side and note that you are expanding your horizons.  So, read on.

Dr. Horrible, also known as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, is a musical tragicomedy that was released as a web series in three parts.  It was written and produced during the writer's strike in 2008.  The web series was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, his brothers Zack Whedon (a television writer) and Jed Whedon (a composer), and writer/actress Maurissa Tancharoen.  The idea behind this project was to create a small and inexpensive, though professionally done, series that could circumvent the issues being protested during the writer's strike.  The series stars NPH, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion.  

The web series tells the story of Dr. Horrible (NHP) and his nemesis Captain Hammer (Fillion) and their shared loved interest, Penny (Day).  There are some twists and turns, enter Bad Horse, the Thoroughbred of Sin and the leader of the Evil League of Evil.  Personally, I didn't think I'd like the story cause I originally thought it was ridiculous and stupid.  But it really wasn't, it just wasn't what I was used to watching on TV.  So, I gave it a shot.  If you can get the typical TV stereotypes out of your mind, then you should be able to enjoy it.  

Dr. Horrible, well he's not so horrible.  He's kinda this socially inept guy who can't talk to his lady love, Penny, even while doing laundry.  Captain Hammer is a bit pompous.  Really though, he is kinda lovable. He's even got this fabulous fan club.  All in all, the story has value: there is always a price to pay for the thing you want the most.    There are also some great take away phrases: "the status is not quo" and "what a crazy random happenstance" being just two of them.

Oh and did I mention there was music involved?! Seriously, the music makes the series.  I've put my favorite videos/music below for your listening pleasure.

Enter Bad Horse:

So they say:

I Cannot Believe My Eyes:

Slipping:

The Coffee Dilemma

I quit drinking coffee around February of this year.  I stopped drinking coffee mainly because I was trying to save the money I spent on it every day.  I also hated the jittery feelings I got if I didn't eat enough when I drank it.  Add jittery to anxious and stressed and you don't have a pleasant Rita.

A lot of people thought I was nuts to do this smack in the middle of busy season and even my boss had to nerve to say "You aren't pregnant are you?" Umm no, I wasn't pregnant, I just wanted to do something good for my body.  I can tell you, I felt like a different person after I stopped drinking coffee.

I was able to get out a bed faster and get started on work with a clear head earlier in the day.  I wasn't grouchy, didn't get withdrawal headaches, or have the jitters.  I even started running during the week again.  It was the boost my body needed.

 All in all, it worked out really well.  That is, until the rainy weather started to hang over MA in late September and early October.  I started to drag.  I missed the sun.  I started having a hard time getting out of bed again.  I was dragging in the pre-dawn and when the sun wasn't shining.  I couldn't get started at work.  It was then that I realized I am really affected by sunlight and I use coffee to compensate for the natural boost I'm missing.  

So what to do.....

Well, thankfully the National Sleep Foundation partnered with Phillips and created the Wake-Up Light.

Starting half an hour before your set wake up time, the Wake-up Light gradually fills your room with bright light like a rising sun emitting natural light. The light gently prepares your body for waking up while you are still asleep. So, if the wake up time is set at 7 am, the light will gradually get stronger starting at 6:30. At 7 am the light will have reached its highest level, which you can then adjust to your personal preference.

I'm getting one.....I think it might help... ALOT.  I'm sure I'll be drinking coffee from now until February,  but at least I can get out of bed without being a zombie.....Then I can go and kick the coffee habit again!

Magic.

As most of you saw on my FB wall, Paul talked me into playing Magic.  Now, most times I don't give in to certain things Paul says I'll like.  I don't play Warhammer or D&D, though in concept, I think I will like them.  I don't play these games as, usually, I have a short attention span.  I can only focus on things I find fun, but don't have too much invested in, for about an hour...two at the max.  So these games are just a bit too much for me.  I'll play Arkham Horror and I've even given World of Warcraft a try.  These, I can handle.   The main reason I decided to try to play Magic is not only because Paul likes the game, but because my niece and nephew do too.  If I can spend time with them, I'm all for it.  So, I gave it a shot.

Paul got me the Avacyn Restored deck, which is pictured below.  It's a green and white deck and has some pretty awesome angels in it.  

Now, not knowing what the heck was going on, I sorted and read through the deck.  Symbols and words and all these +1s did NOT make any sense to me.  I started to have this feeling that I wouldn't like the game cause I couldn't understand it.  Boy, was I wrong!  

Paul sat down with my last night and we played an open hand game.  I wasn't used to resetting characters each hand so in my head I kept trying to total up the damage done and then tried to convince Paul I had beaten three of his creatures.  Thankfully, he's patient with me and explained again and again that I had to do it in one shot, not over a few different hands.  I also kept forgetting the whole summoning sickness thing and obviously I didn't have haste (see i'm learning the lingo), so I kept attacking with a creature that just entered the battlefield and then have to pull them back and deal with being embarrassed that I couldn't remember the rules. 

I didn't believe Paul before, but there is definitely some strategy involved.  In the end, I think I caught on rather quickly as I beat Paul. Yeay for Rita! It's something I'd play again as I actually enjoyed myself.  

WWJBD...What Would Jed Bartlet Do

I must admit that I did not watch the debate last week.  Instead, I read about it all across both my Facebook and Twitter feed.  I also might have read a little something on CNN.com.  It appears that Mitt Romney walked all over President Obama.  

As many of you might know, I'm not really into politics.  The only time I engage in any sort of political debate/talk is when my Dad goads me into defending President Obama.  I find that when I do start to read about politics, I have this overwhelming hope or wish that Jed Bartlet was President.  Clearly, I know the West Wing was a television show and that our own government does NOT run that smoothly or funnily.  Regardless, however, I think we can all learn a bit from our friend Jed Bartlett and his Wondercrat staff.

Let's start with this: with regard to all untruthiness being thrown about, Mrs. Landingham would demand President Obama give her the numbers, the same as she demanded of President Bartlett in "Two Cathedrals."  

Let's get down to the bottom of the unemployment rate, job creation graph, and how much a "tax cut" is going to cost the average working person.  Let's talk about it in real numbers.  Let's talk about it in a simpler way: am I going to be able to afford my rent and groceries?  If my husband gets laid off, do I have to get another job just to cover our health care costs?

On education:
Regardless of whether you are a Democrat or Republican, we should be able to agree that our children need good, quality education.  The only way our country succeeds is if we have an educated electorate.  Thomas Jefferson was of the idea that  "whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."  Sam Seaborn realized the need for stellar education a long time ago:

 Sam Seaborn: Mallory, education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little                 changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. That's my position. I just haven't figured out how to do it yet. 

Well, folks, our public education system is pretty terrible and families are having a harder and harder time affording private higher education which outdoes public education almost everywhere. Kids can't borrow the funds from their parents anymore.  Those funds were eaten up in the market crash, or used to keep a family afloat when a parent lost a job.  The government should be making it a bit easier to go to college as without a college degree you can't do much in our county. Do you agree?

And what about the spirit of bipartisanship? 
I see political parties being a check on one another, just as there is a check on each branch of government.  Political parties were NOT intended obstruct nearly every bill or act the other party bring to the table.  It seems to me that what is happening today with our current election is damn close to what happened when the Speaker of the House, Jeff Haffley, went up against President Bartlet.  Haffley drew a line in the sand that ended in the near-total shut down of the government.  President Bartlett didn't back down and he got the government back on track.  

It's also damn close to what happened when Glen Allen Walken, became acting President during Zoe's kidnapping.  Walken attempted to undo most of what President Bartlett had done during his term.  Is this really good for the country?  Didn't seem that way in the TV show, doesn't seem that way in real life. 

My thinking is this: be a check on the opposite party, but DO NOT put the cost of your actions on the American people.  Don't make life harder for us just because a bill, a bill that could do some actual good, was sponsored/written by the other side.  Let's not play chicken with the livelihood of the American people.

I'll end this piece with a quote from the Avengers:

Steve Rogers: The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little...old fashioned?
Agent Phil Coulson: Everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned.

Let's remember that our country was founded on the idea that all men are created equal and that no one should be subject to a tyrannical government.  It should be a government by the people and for the people, not those who have the deepest pockets.  Maybe each and every one of us should reread the document that assured our development as a free country and remember what the stars and stripes mean to us.

Declaration of Independence