Martian Child? Seriously?

So Mike and I rented a movie last week called "Martian Child" with John Cusack, Joan Cusack, and Amanda Pete. I remember when it came out, and although I love John and Joan Cusack, and Amanda Pete's not bad, I was kind of like, "Martian Child? Are you kidding me?" But a friend of mine (studying sociology, go figure) assured me it was very good and that she would recommend it to everyone. I said I was sure she was right, but I never did actually go out and watch it.

Last weekend, too tired to plan anything with friends, Mike and I hit up the video store. I saw it and told him what Aileen (the friend) said about it. He was like, "Seriously?" I said I'd only watch it if he was interested, and that I could honestly take it or leave it, but I had heard it was really good. After another couple of minutes, we finally concluded there was nothing else really worth renting anyway, so we got it.

She was so right. It is so good! The whole time it has you thinking that the story could really go two ways, right up until the end, and when it decides it's just like, "Ooooh! I see! I like that!" I really liked it, the whole way through. It's been out for a while, so I know some of you have probably seen it, but it didn't have a huge opening - it was only in theaters here for a week or so. So yeah, I just figured I'd suggest it to you all in case you haven't seen it.

It's rated PG for "thematic elements and mild language." (No language sticks out to me specifically, unless you count "stupid." They do say "stupid" a couple of times. Other than that, I really can't think of anything.)

The computer's working! Yay!

OKay, so I got my computer back a few days ago, and now I have time to actually tell everyone... not that it's a crucial piece of knowledge, but hey, we all scrounge around for something half-way interesting to blog about from time to time.

Luckily we have most of our wedding pictures on backup and Mum is going to see if she has any from the Maine reception saved on her computer. I also have all my important essays, short stories, and poems I've kept and re-written since high school on my jumpdrive or in hard copy, so we've got those. However, all my recipes - gone. All the pictures of old friends, roommates, parties, and Mike and me dating - gone. Every system converter I've downloaded so I can read .docx files, etc, - gone. The list of Latin words in their different declensions I'm supposed to have been keeping throughout the semester - gone. All the music I've been given by Mike, Jym, Josh, Angela, Celeste, and Levi, along with all the music I have purchased myself - gone. Worst of all, the video Alexa put together for our wedding - GONE!

Anyway, you get the picture.

Slowly, partly-surely, I will rebuild what I've lost. If anyone has the wedding video - AHEM, ALEXA! - I'd sure like to have a copy. Frankly I feel a little entitled to it, considering it's is my wedding video.

Winter has arrived

Winter is finally here! Our weather has been holding off for so long, these past two weeks we have been enjoying 65 degree days with cold nights and lots of sun. It has been raining lately, and last night...the rain turned to snow. It was beautiful.

The Latest and Greatest

Here are some of the latest pictures. Since my computer broke last summer, and Mal's just broke on Sunday, we have been having a lot of issues getting assignments and blogging done. Anyways, here we go.

On Saturday we went to Jackson Hole. It was really fun. We didn't really plan it out, otherwise we probably would have seen more. We just kind of woke up and decided to go. Jackson is famous for the wood-plank sidewalks and overly expensive shops.

Here is Teton Pass, 8,441 ft. above sea level.

We decided to get out at the pass to walk around. It had just rained, and there was a little bit of snow around. It smelt so good.

Here is a quilt Mal made for one of her projects for her Robert Frost class. Each square has an element from a Robert Frost poem, which includes quotes, pictures, symbolism, etc.

A few days before Halloween, we went to the Haunted Mill. It was really fun! All of the "monsters" in there really just targeted the women. I won't lie though, I even jumped a few times. We invited a lot more people, but we had so many couples turned us down because the wife had some traumatic experience last time she went (wet her pants, ran back to the car crying...I couldnt' believe it!!).

Obama and the Partial-Birth Abortion

Okay, so I took the advice of one of Calandria's readers and researched Obama's vote on the Partial-Birth Abortion issue.

**The description is taken from a reliable source, but it is also graphic. If you get queasy easily, you may want to stop reading here.

According to HealthAtoZ.com, the procedure for partial-birth abortion, also called intact dilation and extraction, is as follows:
- The body is given a series of medications to force the cervix to dilate, usually over a matter of days.
- The fetus is rotated to a footling breech position.
- The fetus is drawn out of the body until only the head remains inside the birth canal.
- Using an instrument, the physician punctures the base of the fetus' skull, causing the head to collapse.
- Often, the contents of the fetus' head are suctioned out, causing the head to reduce enough for the dead fetus to be pulled out of the birth canal completely.

The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act was a movement to, as it says, ban this practice. It was passed in Congress in 2003. The law says that "Any physician who, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly performs a partial-birth abortion and thereby kills a human fetus shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both" (Wikipedia.com).

Senator Obama, while still in the Illinois Legistlature voted "Present" on this Act in 1997. In the IL Legislature, a vote of "present" is equivalent to a vote of "no" because there is a required majority of "yes" votes to pass a bill. Congressmen use a vote of "present" usually to avoid a vote of "no" on an unpopular bill. This means he was against banning partial-birth abortion. In my opinion, although it is not worded the same as voting for the practice of partial-birth abortion, he is in every essence seeking the same result.

To read the blog entry and comments that inspired this entry, go here. To read more of the article in HealthAtoZ.com about partial-birth abortions go here. To read the Wikipedia entry on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 go here. To read the Act itself, go here. To read more on Barack Obama's opinions on abortion, go here. To view Senator Obama's voting record in his current office, go here. These links are the exact sources I used in writing this entry.

Although I included my own opinion, it certainly doesn't mean I am not open to the views of others. So, any thoughts?

The Weekend

Our ward's Halloween party was on Friday night. They were having jack-o-lantern, costume, and doughnut-on-a-string contests. (Mike and I both would have gone out for the doughnut contest except that by the time it started we were all sugared out!)

Families with last names starting with A-L brought healthy snacks, while the rest brought sweet treats. I made a family classic: hoot owl cookies. For the recipe, go here.

Mike starting on the jack-o-lantern (above) and the finished product (below). I think he did a great job! The mouth is kind of narrow, so the light doesn't shine through it very well, but that's how the character's mouth is. Any guesses?

This wasn't the winning pumpkin which was very cool. (Only now do I realize I should have taken a shot of it.) But we really liked this one. It's just so funny!

We went as mimes. Hahahaha! It think the lips are just the funniest things! All the little kids that saw us would just stare wide-eyed at us for a bit. They usually didn't even run away, I think they were just too freaked out. We certainly weren't the scariest things there, but we were probably the creepiest.

The next morning the Elder's Quorum put together a service project (that included wives, hence, I was there). Some of us raked up the leaves at a church building in town while the rest headed down the street doing the same for the residents. I don't think there are any trespassing lawsuits pending, but if one arises, I'll let you know.

Right now we're heading up to a stake meeting to see if we stay in our current ward or if our complex is part of the split. It'd be nice to go to a building a little closer to us (we drive across town right now, about 10 minutes away, and it's the farthest Mike has EVER lived from church before!) but we don't want to give up our nice 9 a.m. time. 10 or 10:30 wouldn't be too bad, but church at 11 or later is just no fun.

During the Test

In my Exceptional Students 6-12 class on Tuesday, we were studying ADHD and Learning Disorders. At one point during his PowerPoint, Bro. K. popped this picture up:
After letting the shock of what middle pictures sink in, he asked, "Would you ever want to put your kid through that?" We all asked what the "test" was that the kids were put through. He said they were first-graders on a 20 oz Coke. Some of us were a little surprised, others were shocked. I knew sodas, especially caffeinated ones, weren't good for anyone, especially smaller frames, but I had no idea they would have this drastic of an effect on a child's brain.