George Bush Was Smarter than You

I came across this article on reddit's /r/conservative.  It's well worth reading.

No, Not Dead, Just Haven't Had Anything New To Say.

I haven't written or posted anything in the last few months because I haven't wanted to sound depressed.  I'm  not happy with large amounts of my life, and I'm not sure how to change them.  I left Grand Rapids a few years back, not because I wanted to, but because circumstances demanded it.  I'm hopefully headed back there within the next month or two.

It will be nice to see old friends again, and to get back into swing dancing, which I've sorely missed.  It's funny, when I lived in Michigan, I couldn't wait to leave.  I hated it in that state, but then I found Grand Rapids, and the city sort of sneaks up on you, and you find yourself loving the city.

My soul will always be down South, but a part of me has adopted Grand Rapids as my home town.

Paperman - Full Animated Short Film

This is a short film created by the Disney Animation team, and they made it using both illustration and computer animation.  I think Disney did a good job with it.

My Christmas Eve Movie List

So every Christmas Eve, I try to watch at least three of these movies, if not all of them.  Usually, it goes into Christmas day, and then I sleep in Christmas Day, and it's wonderful.

1. Die Hard and Die harder
     What more could you want from a Christmas movie?  It's got action, suspense, drama, and comedy.  It's got Bruce Willis kicking ass, and he takes down the bad guy at the end.

2. It's a Wonderful Life
     I actually hated this movie when I was younger.  I ended up getting dragged to see it my first year in college, and I loved it.  I think it was seeing his genuine joy towards the end of the film, when he realized just how bad things could have turned out.

3. The Santa Clause trilogy
     I think I like this series, not only because I like Tim Allen, but also because this a movie specifically about Santa himself, rather than someone else's interaction with him.

4.  Ernest Saves Christmas
     I've loved Ernest since I was a kid, and the nostalgia just never wore off.  I love the style of comedy they use throughout the film, and it's just got a fun message to go with it.

5. Elf
   I normally don't like Will Ferrel movies, with only a few exceptions.  I think this one is my favorite of his, as it plays to his comedic strengths.

Of these, I always make certain to watch the first Die Hard, It's a Wonderful Life, and either the First Santa Clause Movie or Elf, if I can't fit in all of them.

Disney buys Star Wars

So, if you've been living under a rock recently, then you weren't aware that Disney bought the rights to Star Wars.  And frankly, if the first you're finding out about this is via my blog, then I'll be really surprised.

Now, personally,  I enjoyed the first three movies that came out, and I'm of the opinion that the second three are utter pieces of crap, so I can't imagine Disney doing much worse of a job than Lucas has been doing lately.  I do think it's sort of odd that Leia is now a Disney princess, but she's a much better addition than some of the other additions.

The other big piece of news is that they've also announced 7-9, so it'll be interesting to see where they go with that, and whether or not they recast the roles, or try to bring back the old cast.

A Fun Website

While browsing reddit this morning, someone linked to an interesting website called Globe Genie.  What it does is use Google Map's Street View feature.  However, instead of you picking, it randomly teleports you around the world.  Some of the views are amazing.

On Marriage

Oy.  I'm finally settled in enough that I can get around to posting again.  Sorry for the intermission, it's been a bit crazy.

I've been hearing a lot about the sanctity of marriage lately.  My mom is separating from her husband.  I think at some future time I'll finally get around to posting why I refer to him as such, even though he adopted me when I was eleven or twelve.  A few years ago, my uncle and his wife were divorced after she disappeared to Indiana.  He (my uncle) takes a more conservative christian view on the issue; It's fine that my parents are separating  as long as they're both open to reconciliation.  So there's that.

But what I want to write about in today's post is on the issue of who can get married.  There's been a big fuss made between sides, with one side in favor of the government allowing gay people to marry, and the other side of the coin being to make an amendment so that only a man and a woman can get married.  However, both sides are looking at this issue the wrong way.

The issue shouldn't be whether the government should or shouldn't allow certain people to marry each other.  The issue is this:  Why is the United States Government involved in marriage in the first place?  It isn't anyone's business who does or does not get married, except for the people who are getting married.  Outside of that, no government has any right to decide what happens between two or more consenting adults provided that their actions don't harm anyone else.  Harming someone's sensibilities doesn't count.

Amusing Tabletop Role-Playing Game Stories

I'm still in the middle of packing, but I thought I would share some stories I've come across in reading about various role playing games.


Old Man Henderson

The Tale of Eric and the Dread Gazebo

The Head of Vecna

Og the Destroyer

Apologies

I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but my life's been kind of packed lately.  My mom and dad are getting a divorce, and I'm in the middle of moving out of my current residence with no idea where I'm going.

Hugs.

I came across this site randomly as I was searching elsewhere on the internet.  It gave me warm fuzzies.