The Princess and the Frog

I was skeptical about Disney's latest attempt to recreate an animated classic. Not just because they usually fail to quite capture the original attraction of the earlier animated features when they attempt to recreate them, but for one because The Princess and the Frog takes place in a somewhat alternate-universe, fairly sugar-coated version of historical New Orleans. I'll also admit to some skepticism because of the politically correct nature of having the requisite black Disney Princess. They've covered Native American, Asian, and Middle Eastern, as well as a redhead, a brunette, a blonde and Snow White (who is not brunette because her hair is black). Darnit, missed a nationality, gonna have to do a movie now!

However, it was fairly true to the traditions of Disney Princess movies, which I appreciated, and the songs were well-done and catchy. At one point I thought they were going to go for a Shrek ending, which would have surprised me, but they played it pretty safe. They had one of the good characters die, which did surprise me. I couldn't think of another Princess movie in which someone dies partway through. Am I just missing something? Anyway, there's a reason The Princess and the Frog is a critic's darling, it just took the Disney Princess formula (prince + girl + adapted classic fairy tale and etc) and repeated it.

I was not a fan of the villain. This may be historically accurate as far as New Orleans goes, but he was a guy practicing voodoo with 'friends on the other side' and that was iffy, for young children especially. There were voodoo dolls dancing during some of his songs, and some fairly scary-looking talking masks. I would have been slightly more comfortable with it if the voodoo had been portrayed as entirely bad, but there's another character who seems to be a voodoo woman and is portrayed as being kind, if a little eccentric. If I'd had my two- or three- or four-year-old there, I would have been covering their eyes.

Morals-wise, I think the prevailing messages were well-chosen, that what you want is different from what you need, and that money can't buy everything. Tiana (the main character) works very hard, but misses out on some fun things and almost misses out on love. We focus so much on money, especially in first-world countries, that it needs to be said.

I'd probably be bored if I sat through it again, but The Princess and the Frog is a decent addition to the Disney Princess franchise. They could have done a lot worse.

Global warming plz and thnx?

Extreme wind chills this weekend. This is a warning that extreme wind chill conditions are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions. Listen for updated statements.
Bitterly cold Arctic air has settled over Northern Alberta. Cold temperatures combined with brisk northwest winds will produce wind chill values as cold as minus 50. Conditions will gradually improve Saturday morning in the Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Peace River regions as winds diminish under a cold Arctic ridge. Eastern Alberta may see wind chill values below minus 40 throughout the weekend. Temperatures will remain well below normal this weekend across Northern Alberta. At these extreme wind chill values frostbite on exposed skin may occur in less than 5 minutes.

Brisk. That's what we call it here. 'Brisk northwest winds.' Oh, and also, see how it says conditions will improve this morning as the 'brisk winds' diminish under a 'cold Arctic ridge'? Does 'brisk' > 'cold'?

It's the kind of weather you wait for so that you can wear your scarf and hat and mittens that all match. Or maybe I'm the only one who does that.

No using Google!

Christmas Quiz

1. CHRISTMAS MUSIC: Name a Christmas carol whose tune is attributed to George Frideric Handel.


2. CHRISTMAS SPORTS: What NHL teams are playing on December 25, 2009?


3. CHRISTMAS LITERATURE: Circle the name Charles Dickens did NOT consider for the character Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol: Little Larry, Wee Will, Puny Pete, Small Sam.


4. CHRISTMAS FOOD: What is the most common candy decoration seen on a gingerbread man? (Hint: think Shrek.)


5. CHRISTMAS HISTORY: Explain why December 26 is called Boxing Day.


6. CHRISTMAS MOVIES: In Miracle on 34th Street, an old man claiming to be Santa Claus goes by what name? (Hint: Both first and last name begin with the letter K.)


7. CHRISTMAS SCRIPTURE: Fill in the blanks: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ________, which means, "___ ___ ___.”


8. CHRISTMAS MYTHOLOGY: Give as many alternate names for Santa Claus as possible.


9. CHRISTMAS FLORA: Poinsettias are poisonous – circle TRUE or FALSE.


10. CHRISTMAS FAUNA: Name all nine of Santa’s reindeer. (Bonus point if you can list them in the same order as in T’was the Night Before Christmas.)


11. CHRISTMAS SYMBOLS: Give the names of the five Advent Candles. (Bonus point if they’re in order.)


12. BONUS: Name all the gifts given in the carol The 12 Days of Christmas, and add up all the gifts mentioned to give the total.

See how you do. My youth group did decently, and I thought I made it pretty hard.

We're insane.

climategate |ˈklīmitgāt|
noun

An incident in which emails between staff at the Climatic Research Unit at Britain's University of East Anglia were hacked and posted on the internet. Communication contained in these emails seemed to indicate abuse of temperature data to create an artificial semblance of rising global temperatures. Widespread blogger hue and cry ensued, and a suspicious lack of coverage by the mainstream media. Climategate could prove the undoing of these so-called scientists.

Can we plz stop spending government money on fake climate change nao?

The economy has been in a slump for the last year or so, the US government is billions of dollars in debt, and money is being spent on changing a climate that, even if it WERE changing, has never been changed by human intervention before.

This is so ridiculous that I feel it needs to be shared.

Okay. So some background, first.

Today I'm at the downtown library, Stanley A Milner, for a course that supposedly relates to helping me do my job better. *cough*. So far my favorite part has been the website scavenger hunt that the Youth Services Librarian had us do to familiarize ourselves with the Kids section of the site. I pwned. For the rest of it, I've been a little zoned out.

Also what's boiling around in the back of my head right now is the craziness that is today. See, this is what's happening: I got to the bus transit centre at about 8:15 this morning (my dad dropped me off) and took an express bus downtown at 8:27(obsessively poring over a map of the route the whole way so that I'd know what stop to get off at) to be at the library for shortly before 9. Once I got here, I kinda paced the lobby a couple times smacking myself over the head for not remembering that I'm here for NINE o'clock and the library doesn't OPEN until TEN, so now I have to find a way to get to where I need to be. A few staircases and a helpful security lady later, I found the room, and proceeded to wander around looking for the seat that was marked for me, only to realize there wasn't one because you're supposed to make your own place tag.

I'm smart. Really.

Anyway, when I'm done here (which is actually at 4:15 not 5 like they said, so that's another 45 minutes to kill) I'm bussing to the mall where I'm meeting a friend and we're doing dinner/shopping, and then she's driving us to Segue. (Young adult Bible study.) So basically, I left the house at 8:15 am and I won't be home until 10-ish pm. Fun.

So after the name tag thing I got coffee and a muffin and sat down to listen to people talk. (I was also a rebellious teenager and texted a tiny bit while they were talking, and I have a feeling the one lady knew I was.)

Oh oh oh, and tangent. See, I've heard that when you go downtown it's good to dress up, so I was hyperventilating about dressing up and had this whole getup with a skirt (!) planned and then tried it on the night before and decided (with some help) that I looked ten years older than I was and that I was trying too hard.

So I left the house this morning in jeans (dark boot-cut jeans, mind you) and a short-sleeved blazer, and my comfy work shoes. Which are a bit fashionable, they're not runners, but they're not exactly business formal. So I already felt a bit like a rebel.

And now it's lunch, and here's where the ridiculous part comes in.

I have a book signed out. It's been hanging out in my purse. What I didn't know when I signed it out is that there are two ways to sign out a book: either you sign it out so that the sensors at the library exits won't beep when you take it out, or you sign it out so that they do. I'm pretty sure the sensors are going to beep.

So I happily take this book downtown, and because I got in by such a roundabout way coming here, there was never a sensor to go over. But I just about walked outside to go to Second Cup, and then came to the sinking realization that this book in my purse is going to beep, and what do I do?

And the reason it's ridiculous is because I'm too embarassed to go to the desk and say, "Um, I signed this out wrong, can you sign it out right so that I don't beep? K'thnx." And the options I'm currently considering are A) trying to leave the way I came in, sans sensors, or B) leaving the book here, where it'll be returned, and putting a hold on it again so that it'll come to my branch. (I checked the system - 4 copies available, no holds. Should come by, like, tomorrow.)

Oh, and I also thought of going to the self-checkout and checking it out a SECOND time, but the machine will probably get confused and, like, explode.

Normally I really like technology.

EDIT: I went to the desk and kinda stammered out my problem and she gave me a look and signed it out properly and I went on my way. Yay me.