The Freedom Song of the Jigsaw Girl

I took a break from studying for the Bar yesterday afternoon, and another this evening, to go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I saw it by myself yesterday and really enjoyed it, so when my heart sister and nephew asked if I wanted to go see it this evening I said yes. It was, in my opinion, well worth the second viewing on a big screen.

So much fun. Reminded me so strongly of how I felt when I first watched A New Hope as a kid (and all the times I rewatched it throughout my life). After the movie we returned to my place for a bit of geeking out before they had to head home (it is a bit of a drive for them). But I'll be seeing them again tomorrow as we're going to have a family game day (fairly certain we're going to play Arkham Horror, which I've heard good things about).

Otherwise my life is largely consumed with studying for the Bar. I am pacing myself better than the first time I went through the process, which makes it less stressful. But I'm unlikely to be posting much for the next few months as studying takes up so many spoons.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful midwinter (or midsummer for my Southern hemisphere friends) holiday. <3

I know I've been missing in action lately. Mostly been just recovering from the last few years and low on words and spoons. Will hopefully start feeling up to posting more frequently again soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share this fun meme that I discovered via the lovely sulien.

There is a quiz that will tell you what your D&D character would be, complete with stats and alignment. I wasn't terribly surprised by the results. Although I did think I would be more neutral good than chaotic good, but then I remembered that my patron god is a trickster god who governs travelers and misfits and my patron goddess is one governing death and transition. So chaos is kind of a large part of my life. I was completely unsurprised by the classes I got. Not only were these two of the classes I always played when I did game, but they also fit my nature. I'm very much a back to earth, practical, environmentalist pagan which is modern day Druid in a nutshell. And with as arcane and incomprehensible as the legal system is, lawyers may as well be wizards. Not to mention that wordsmithing is a magic of its own.

I Am A: Chaotic Good Human Druid/Wizard (3rd/2nd Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-8

Dexterity-10

Constitution-10

Intelligence-14

Wisdom-15

Charisma-13


Alignment:
Chaotic Good A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he's kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society. Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit. However, chaotic good can be a dangerous alignment when it disrupts the order of society and punishes those who do well for themselves.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Primary Class:
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.


Secondary Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

So I've been spending a lot of time listening to the Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix-Tape Vol. 1 soundtrack which is all mix of 1970s pop, rock, and Motown songs. And while some of the songs sound ridiculously cheesy, they do remind me fondly of people in my childhood. Music was always the bright spot of my childhood and one of the very good things that my parents shared with me (along with love of books and reading). I strongly remember dancing around the house singing with my mom, carefully placing the record needle to play the song again, sitting on my dad's lap as he played harmonica, sitting with him as he tried to play the banjo, and sitting with him singing along to the music on the stereo. Neither of my parent's were much into Motown, but my favorite great aunt was.

Basically, both the soundtrack and the movie for Guardians bring back the best memories of my childhood, which can often been overtaken by the worst memories. So it was really nice to have something hit all the happy memory nostalgia buttons for once.

( CW: Non-graphic discussion of grief and grieving )

Good things: ( cut for length as it includes a longish list of all the books that I've bought or pre-ordered in the past few months )

My sister volunteers at the Ashburn Fire Department and they had their open house today. We went down to say hi and see the sights this afternoon, and the Animal Control officer was there with his sweet pit bull type dog, Roosevelt. They do humane animal treatment education together. So I got to love on a sweet doggie, and even got kisses.

Got to meet this handsome fella at the @AshburnFire spring open house. pic.twitter.com/TQKnuTMzcn

— Amanda Lee (@alee_grrl) May 18, 2014

Taken from sperrywink

Everyone should post their ten most CRUCIAL CRUCIAL CRUCIAL-ASS movies, like the movies that explain everything about yourselves in your current incarnations (not necessarily your ten favorite movies but the ten movies that you, as a person existing currently, feel would help people get to know you) (they can change later on obviously).

This is a challenge list, because my instinct is to list my favorite movies or ones that I've watched a million times. But after thinking about it some more I realized that there some movies that I've only seen once but had a huge impact on me or reflect some aspect of my life. Of course that said, most of these are also favorites and movies I've watched numerous times. :)

Anyway Ten Crucial Movies for Understanding the Manda:

Amelie
Sliding Doors
Like Water for Chocolate
Billy Elliot
Labyrinth
The Last Unicorn
The Incredibly True Story of Two Girls in Love
Spirited Away
Bagdad Cafe
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

This week was a long one and I am very low on spoons. Herxes are not so fun, though seem to be a necessary evil (byproduct of killing Lyme spirochetes). Yesterday evening was rough. I didn't realize how much I was hurting til I got home and had a good cry. Sleep helped. I'm doing okay today, though still not very up to writing much. Have been watching videos, reading fanfic, and listening to music.

jelazakazone shared this video conversation with the Sleepy Hollow cast. I highly recommend watching it even if you've never seen the show and have no intention of watching the show. The chemistry between the actors is fabulous and they are all so adorable and funny. Warning: Drinking while watching this video may be dangerous to your health.

Watching the above video led me to this amazing interview with Sirs Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. Seriously, an hour and a half of two adorable old friends discussing their careers, acting as a craft, favorite/easiest/most difficult Shakespearean roles, how they met, charities they support, and more.

I may feel kind of crummy today, but I am thankful for good friends who diligently help me battle my demons of doubt; warm and comfortable friends; soft, purring kitties; and the internets, because it provides good distractions and connects me to my friends.

One of my favorite movies is Sliding Doors, a late 90s romantic comedy that really falls into the speculative fiction realm. It's a movie about what-ifs, about the large impact small choices/events make on our lives. Mere seconds can change so much.

There are a lot of reasons I love this movie. I'm absolutely fascinated by the what-if scenario, which could explain my long love affair with fanfiction as it is the ultimate sandbox for what-ifs. The soundtrack is lovely and suits the movie quite well. John Hannah is absolutely adorable, and his Scottish accent just makes him more adorable. It's hilariously fun to watch Gwynneth Paltrow stop down stairs repeating "Bollocks to him." And the artistry of the movie is gorgeously streamlined. Lots of visual cues indicate to the viewer know which timeline is being shown. There are great moments where visuals are used to great effect to underline the whole question of the movie, but it is subtle enough that you don't always notice it at first.

This was a movie I rented on a whim back in the days of Blockbuster and VHS. It's one that I've re-watched fairly regularly since.

So I came across this today. Apparently Lana Wachowski, one of the directors of The Matrix series, V for Vendetta, and Cloud Atlas, has come out as transgender. On October 20th she was awarded the Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign and gave this amazing, wonderful and inspiring speech. A full transcript of the speech is also available.

An additional note: I totally love her gorgeous pink and purple hair style. Wish I could get away with that in the legal world. :D

I have a fondness for jazz singers, especially female jazz singers. Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Rosemary Clooney--I adore them and have several Pandora stations based on this love. Because of those Pandora stations I discovered a more recent jazz singer, Madeleine Peyroux. Her voice is a rich and sultry alto and I love the jazz and swing rhythms. Her music makes me think of outdoor cafes, Paris, evening outdoor galas accented with fairy lights, wine and good food, and dancing.

( videos under cut )

So Fun. has become my current musical obsession, or at least their Some Nights album.

I enjoyed We Are Young but not so much that I had to go out and find out if the rest of the album was as good. It wasn't until I heard Some Nights and Carry On, and more importantly saw Avengers vids using the songs that I became obsessed.

Awesome Captain America fan vid using Carry On:



Tony Stark - Terrible Privilege (fan vid using Some Nights):