The Tookish Tag | I Steal A Tag And Fangirl

Mae g’ovannen, mellon nîn! For those of you who don’t speak Elvish – well met, my friend! Recently I realized I should post more on this blog, and that I should catch up on some tags as well. So what better way to start off with The Tookish Tag! As far as I could find, no one’s actually tagged me for this… so I’m unofficially stealing it from Deborah and Sarah, both of whom said I should do it, so I guess it’s not exactly stealing. 😉 So let’s get started!

Rules

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you
• Answer questions
• Tag some of your own fellow Tolkienknights!

The Questions

1. How were you first introduced to LotR/TH and was it love at first sight/read?

My dad read them to me when I was little, but to be honest, I didn’t remember very much until I decided to read them on my own last summer. When I was reading the Hobbit, I came across a few spots that I remembered (the scene in the tunnels with Gollum, Mirkwood, and when Bilbo first went into the mountain and saw Smaug), but the Lord of the Rings was mostly new to me. And oh yes, it was love at first sight. 😉

2. If you could meet the actors who portray the characters in the movies, would you?

Oh yes, of course!!!

3. What is your favorite credit song from LotR/TH?

I’m going to sort-of cheat here and say that my favoritest Lord of the Rings song is Peter Hollens’ a cappella version of In Dreams. It’s soooo awesome (not to mention how cool the video is).

4. The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit – which is your favorite?  *evil laugh*  (And no, you don’t actually have to decide.  I’m merciful like that. *magnanimous smile*)

Mmm, that’s actually easy. The Lord of the Rings. Just because there’s more of it, and while I love The Hobbit, it’s hard to beat Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Sam…

5. Who is your favorite all-around character?

The toughest question of them all? Yes, yes it is. I love so many characters – Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas… But I have to go with the unusual choice, and the one I didn’t think would be one of my favorites – Gimli.

First of all, note that I’m speaking of the Gimli of the books, since I’m still not sure of my thoughts on Gimli of the movies. 😉 Gimli’s just awesome. He’s stubborn, but he has a big heart and compassion for The Hobbits. Let’s be honest, the whole thing with him and Galadriel? Hilarious! He goes from absolutely distrusting her to making her the standard of highest beauty. That stimulates another awesome moment in his whole conflict with Eomer. He’s also so in love with caves and mountains, and his friendship with Legolas is awesome. And after the battle of Helm’s Deep, he’s injured, and yet he still goes straight to Legolas to find out who won their little contest. XD Those are just a few of the reasons that I really like Gimli.

6. What is your opinion on Boromir?

In my first time reading the books, I really didn’t like him at all, although his ending was a little redeeming. But the movies made him much more heroic, and so… he’s okay. Not as awesome as Faramir, but okay. 😉

7. How many times have you watched the movies/read the books?

I’ve watched through the movies (extended editions) once, and I’ve read both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings once, but I’m currently rereading LotR.

8. What book is your favorite?

Mmm… I think I’d have to say Two Towers, because of the Ents, and Merry and Pippin’s awesomeness, and also Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli’s awesomeness.

9. Who is your favorite female character (other than your answer to question #5)?

Arwen, I believe – but in the books. In the movies, probably Galadriel. Before reading the appendices, I would have said Galadriel for sure, but then I realized all that Arwen gave up to stay with Aragorn, and… *sniff*

10. Who is your favorite male character (other than your answer to question #5)?

Argh, this question!!!! I feel like Legolas is my second favorite – because he’s hilarious. And an elf. XD The scene at Caradhras? His challenge to Eomer when he threatens Gimli? Challenging Gimli’s kill count at Helm’s Deep? His attraction to the creepy trees after that battle? His friendship with Gimli in general? And… well, that’s as far as I’ve gotten in my reread. But that’s just the book! I have to say, that Legolas and the Oliphaunt scene in Return of the King was really, really cool. 😉 So I guess I’d have to say Legolas, although Gandalf and Aragorn are close behind.

11. Which of the movies, in your opinion, has the best ending?

Ah… interesting question. It’s very hard to say, but… well, no, it’s not. My favorite ending is definitely the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. That’s because I like beginnings more than endings. The end of FotR is sad, but it’s also a motivation for our characters, and we get the feeling that they’re embarking on an even greater adventure!

12. (I’m adding this question, because I couldn’t help it!) Which hobbit is your favorite?

It’s so hard to choose between the five main hobbits: Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. They’re all so wonderful in their own ways… But I think I would have to say Pippin. As Gandalf calls him, this “tom-fool of a Took” is both hilarious and awesome. And he’s somehow weaseled his way into my favorite characters. 😉

So, there you have it, my friends! The Tookish Tag! As for who to tag… well, anyone who wants to do it that hasn’t done it! 😉 But, since I do want to tag some people, I’ll tag Gabrielle (I know you like LotR, and you haven’t done it), Rivka Ray and Sierra @ 26countlesspossibilities (I know Rivka has LotR experience, but I didn’t see if Sierra does… but you’re both tagged! 🙂 ), and anyone else! 🙂

Do you have a tag you want me to do, or that you’ve tagged me for already? Post it down in the comments, so I’ll remember!

The Old Man And His Grandson by the Brothers Grimm

I’ve been reading the original Grimms’ fairytales, and boy, am I enjoying them. But then I came across this little one… and although it’s so short, it was also so sad and… brilliant. I loved it so much that I thought I would share it.

The Old Man And His Grandson

By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son’s wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they brought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.

They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. ’What are you doing there?’ asked the father. ’I am making a little trough,’ answered the child, ’for father and mother to eat out of when I am big.’

The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and henceforth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.

The Amazing You Tag – Answering My Own Tag Questions

Hullo, everyone! You might remember that I started a tag for my two year blogiversary! I was tagged by both the wonderful writinganyone and the amazing erinkenobi2893. Thanks so much, you two!

The Rules

• This tag has ten questions, which you never have to change.
• Thank the person who tagged you
• Include the picture in your post and tag it with “amazingyou”
• Answer the questions
• Tag as many people as you want

The Questions

1. You’re on a deserted island, and you find a cave. What would you expect to find in it?

It depends on how insane I am at the moment. If I am perfect sane, probably animals or natives (possibly cannibals) and I probably wouldn’t try to find out. If I’m starting to go a little crazy (from being stuck on a deserted island alone), I’d probably expect terrorists wanting me to build a missile (heehee!) or a secret government lab or a portal to Narnia/Middle Earth/Asgard…

2. If you could have one superpower, which would you pick?

SO MANY. I mean, I’m writing a whole book about superheroes! I love the idea of teleportation. That would be super helpful for getting places. But then again, super speed would be really awesome, too. Imagine being able to type super fast… I’d probably go with super speed.

3. What one song would you choose for the theme music for a movie about your life?

Probably one of Bach’s inventions played really slow on the piano, because Bach is awesome and he’s my favorite composer to play. Or one of tobyMac’s songs, like my absolute favorite, Till The Day I Die.

4. You can only wear one color for the rest of your life. What color would you pick?

Black, definitely. Any other color would get really annoying after a while. Plus, if I wear black, people might think I’m creepy and leave me alone. And it’ll make me look like a spy… so many pros, so few cons. 😉

5. What’s one thing you want to do that’s wild, crazy, or unusual?

Build a time travel machine? Create my own JARVIS? Go to Russia? Again, SO MANY THINGS! Probably make JARVIS and then make him into The Vision.

6. If you had to give a speech to the whole world for five minutes, what topic would it be about?

It would be about how much God loves everyone, and what he did for us. And basically, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. And abortion is murder. And a lot of other things. Hush, I could definitely fit everything into five minutes…

7. You get to have lunch with any three famous people, present or past! Who would you pick?

Definitely J.R.R. Tolkien, because LotR and writing and awesomeness, and probably C.S. Lewis, too, for the same reasons (with Narnia instead of LotR, though).  And… Joss Whedon? Because after the crazy stressfulness of Avengers: Age of Ultron he decided HE’S NOT GOING TO DIRECT INFINITY WAR NOOOOO!!!! So I would definitely offer to help him with that – he can do whatever he wants and I’ll do the rest…

8. What is your favorite smell, and why?

I love cinnamon, but I also really, really like the smell of cold. Real, outdoors, winter-is-coming cold. Mmmm, happiness.

9. Share one of your favorite quotes.

This is one of my favorites.

“All we must do is decide what to do with the time that is given us.”

-Gandalf, in The Lord of the Rings

Because Gandalf is awesome.

10. Give us two true statements about yourself and one false statement, and see if your followers can guess which one is false.

1. I have one sister.
2. I love economics.
3. I’ve watched five Marvel movies.

Well, I tagged a bunch of people when I started the tag… But since I want my tag to keep going, I’ll go ahead and tag a few people! 😉

Merenwen @ Shattered Fractals | Jaye L. Knight | Cait @ Paper Fury | Izel @ A Bookish Flower | YOU!!!

Have fun with this, guys! 😀

5 Reasons Why Planners Are Awesome

I have to admit that I am terrible at staying organized. Not only my room, but my schedule, schoolwork, writing… But, then again:

I’m trying to do better this year, so I’ve been organizing my daily planner that I got for the new school year. I’ve been having quite a bit of fun with it. And that, my friends, is the reason for this post.

1. It helps you keep track of things. Let’s be honest, no one has a perfect memory. And it’s very easy to forget that you have a dentist appointment on a certain day and to schedule a fun trip with a friend on that day. You don’t want to be the one to cancel at the last minute because you forgot about something important. Besides, if you write it down in your nifty planner, you don’t have to memorize the date.
2. You can keep track of assignments. We’ve already established that we tend to forget things. And if you ignore procrastination, forgetfulness is a big cause of missing assignments, whether for work or school. A planner is great for keeping track of these things.
3. It can help you set goals. I tend to forget, change, and ignore my writing goals when I simply make them in my head. Writing them down in a planner helps me remember I need to try to meet them, and it also makes it seem more permanent. Either way, I feel it helps me hit milestones. And as another plus, the more goals you set (and meet), the more you can reward yourself. But we can talk about bribes rewards another time.
4. It doesn’t distract. This is the big reason for using a physical, paper planner instead of your computer. In the age of Internet and wifi, sometimes we’re too connected. And while it may seem handy to have your planner on your phone, you face the distractions of Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat and Tumblr and Pinterest and Youtube and whatever other social media sites you’re on. Just sayin’.
5. They look cool. There are so many different options for planners out there, it makes it hard to choose! If you find one that you absolutely love, you won’t feel any shame carrying it with you.

And there, my friends, are five reasons why planners are awesome. Do you use a planner? How do you keep your schedule organized? And are you ready for the school year? Comment below!

The Amazing You Tag – Two Year Blogiversary.

Well! I’m going to admit that I was not planning on posting today, but something made me change my mind.

Something quite large and interesting, actually.

You see, on my computer’s calendar, I had an event marked for today. And guess what?

It’s this blog’s second blogiversary!!!

That’s right. I’ve been around in the blogosphere with this blog for two years. So let’s get this party started!!!

It’s not my birthday, but oh well.

Instead of something like the blogiversary post I did over on The World of the Writer, I thought I’d do something that I’ve wanted to do for a while now: start my own tag.

So here, my friends, is the Amazing You Tag.

This tag has ten questions, which stay the same every time you pass it on. The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who tagged you.
2. Include the picture in your post and tag it with “amazingyou”.
3. Answer the questions.
4. Tag as many people as you want.

On to the questions!

1. You’re on a deserted island, and you find a cave. What would you expect to find in it?

2. If you could have one superpower, which would you pick?

3. What one song would you choose for the theme music for a movie about your life?

4. You can only wear one color for the rest of your life. What color would you pick?

5. What’s one thing you want to do that’s wild, crazy, or unusual?

6. If you had to give a speech to the whole world for five minutes, what topic would it be about?

7. You get to have lunch with any three famous people, present or past! Who would you pick?

8. What is your favorite smell, and why?

9. Share one of your favorite quotes.

10. Give us two true statements about yourself and one false statement, and see if your followers can guess which one is false.

This blog would not be what it is if I didn’t have all of you awesome followers, so I tag every single one of you! However, I know that it’s best to tag some people specifically, so I shall.

First off, a special tag to erinkenobi2893! Happy blogiversary! 😉

Sarah @ Lights And Shadows, Gabrielle @ Write For The King, Mandie @ Mandie’s World, Freakishly Fangirlish @ Insomniac Fangirl, both Sierra and Rebecca @ 26 Countless Possibilities, writefury, awkwardlyartistic, and everyone else!

Have a wonderful day, everyone! And enjoy! (Don’t feel obligated to do this is you got tagged. It’s just for fun!)

An Unusual Superhero Sunday

Hullo, everyone! Today just happens to be my sister’s birthday, so I thought I’d do a different (and easier) type of Superhero Sunday post to honor her love of music and the only superhero that she likes. Without further ado…

And, a song of awesomeness. Be forewarned that the video itself is just the same picture of Chris August…

(Stand on top of a bullet and ride it around… sounds like Ant Man…)

God is our superhero, guys, and he can make us into his superheroes!

Look Down On You

Let me start this Superhero Sunday post off by stating that all talk of ages is excluding Thor. 🙂 Also, no spoilers for Age of Ultron, just in case you’re wondering. Haven’t watched it, so yeah…

Did you know that Hawkeye and Tony Stark are the same age? Go figure. They’re both 44. Bruce Banner is the oldest Avenger at 45, although technically Steve Rogers beats him, at 96, but “biologically”, he’s 29. And since Natasha Romanoff is 30, that makes Steve, technically, the youngest Avenger. (Also, I must admit the Steve/Natasha shippers out there have the better age difference, compared to Clintasha and… Brucetasha? Speaking of which, I wrote a letter about this…)

Back on track. Steve’s the youngest Avenger. And yet, in The Avengers, he’s the one calling the shots. I was thinking about this, the other day, and it brought to mind this verse:

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

-1 Timothy 4:12

This is quite possibly one of the most useful quotes from the entire movie.

So maybe you’re younger than Captain America. Maybe you’re not a super soldier, with five amazing people at your back, fighting off a group of Chitauri.

But you are you. You don’t have to wait until you’re older to make a difference. You can do that now. You can make a difference at school. You can make a difference at work, or church, or the grocery store. You can make a difference at home. You can make a difference online. You can make a difference anywhere.

And it all starts with you.

Y

O

U

After all, you’re more than just a kid from Brooklyn.

Here Am I

Poems, Headaches, and Mjolnir

This is one of my most favoritest poems ever. If you can’t tell, I prefer poetry that speaks about something solid. Especially funny poetry.

I’ve Got An Incredible Headache

by Jack Prelutsky

I’ve got an incredible headache,
my temples are throbbing with pain,
it feels like a freight train with two locomotives
is chugging about in my brain.
I’m sure I can’t stand it much longer,
my skull’s being squeezed in a vise,
as regiments march to the blaring of trumpets,
and thousands of tap-dancing mice.

My head’s filled with horrible noises,
there’s a man mashing melons inside,
someone keeps drumming on bongos and plumbing,
as porpoises thrash in the tide.
An elephant herd is stampeding,
a volcano is blowing its top,
and if I keep hitting my head with this hammer,
I doubt that my headache will stop.

So often in life we do this. Not literally. But a lot of times we keep doing things to ourselves that just cause us more and more pain. Whether it’s a sin or a bad habit or something else, all of us do things that harm us. I have some. If you think really hard, I’m sure you’ve got at least one, too.

So, for crying out loud, put down Mjolnir and give your poor head a break!

Lost Generation

“We belong to a generation that has lost its way.”

-Walter Lippmann

Walter Lippmann may have said this during the Depression, but it is still true today. Now more than ever.