Things...

I apologize for my silence! I've had the ''ickies''. 

So, normally, today I would be writing "A Little Scribble", but I kind of ran out of ideas. Comment with lots of names, scenarios, era's in history, places, and even lines that I should use in my new story. I'll try to make it short enough to finish in two posts so that I stay interested and keep it interesting to you!

Also, tomorrow a movie review. I'll be reviewing one of the Mansfield Parks. After I've re-watched them all I'll do a character comparison. But that may not be for some time yet.

Anyway, I hope you are all in good health! 

A Book Review: The Measure of a Heart

Plot:

It was very good. It developed at a steady pace, and it's development was thorough. It is an ''everyday'' plot, very believable.   

Characters: 

Again, very believable. There isn't really this big climactic mistake, there are lots of little things that happen that they learn from. 

Flow:

Pretty good. Somewhat choppy at times, but never hard to follow. 

The ''lesson'' in this book was valuing yourself as God does. I was very afraid this was going to be big on self esteem, which I don't think is a good thing. Because think about it, self esteem is about esteeming yourself, usually above others. But Janette Oke did a very good job emphasizing the fact that thinking so little of yourself can cross a line from humility to self-centered-ness if you aren't careful! From the beginning Anna, the heroine, is established as a Godly young woman, but she is deceived by the Enemy into thinking she is keeping God from doing things in peoples life because she isn't good at this or that. By the end, she realizes that God is bigger, and He is in control. She realizes that while God can use her to do good and to be a witness to others for Him, that nothing relies on her. 

Postponed ~ A Little Scribble #3

 Until next Wednesday, I am extremely tired and must go to sleep. Tomorrow I'll review a book! So please come back!

Veggietales Answers!

Miss Laurie of Old Fashioned Charm was the only player in my little game. For those of you who didn't get a chance or simply didn't wish to play, I hope you enjoy looking through the answers and seeing what you would have guessed correctly!

Silly Songs! 

1)

Gated Community from Sherlock Holmes and the Golden Ruler

2)

The Pirates who Don't Do Anything from Very Silly Songs!

3)

His Cheeseburger from Madame Bluberry

4)

The Yodeling Veterinarian  of the Alps from The End of Silliness?

5)

Monkey from The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's

Who Am I?

1) Dr. Jiggle - Jimmy Gourd, in A Snoodle's Tale, a lesson in Self-Worth

2) The Italian Scallion - Larry the Cucumber, in The Sumo of the Opera, a lesson in Perseverance 

3) Toto Baggypants - Junior Asparagas, in The Lord of the Beans, a lesson in Using Your Gifts

4) Nebby K. Nezzer - Mr. Nezzer, in Rack, Shack, and Benny, a lesson in Handling Peer Pressure

5) Sweetpea - Petunia Rhubarb, in Sweetpea Beauty, a lesson on True Beauty

Inspired By...

Which Bible stories are these episodes based on?

(50 points)

1) Duke and the Great Pie War - Ruth and Boaz

2) Moe and the Big Exit -Moses and God's deliverance of His people from Eygypt

(For an extra 5 points, what is the other 'western' that this is a continuation of?)
The Ballad of Little Joe

3) King George an the Ducky - David and Bathsheba

4) Josh and the Big Wall - Joshua and the wall of Jericho

5) Dave and the Giant Pickle - David and Goliath 

Who's Line is it Anyhow?

1) ''Can't you just play your harp and I'll throw things at you?'' King Saul, played by Archibald in Dave and the Giant Pickle

2) '' Larry, you've got an oven mitt on your head.'' Bob the Tomato in Rack, Shack, and Benny, the counter top scene

3) ''I'm a talking weed, you're a talking carrot. Your point was?'' The rumor weed from Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed

4) ''Why is there a piano on my cake?'' King Xerxes, played by Mr Nezzer in Ruth 

5) ''Look, I need a favor from you Julia, first, a chocolate Malta.'' Minnesota Cuke, played by Larry in  Minnesota Cuke and the search for Sampson's Umbrella

What's my name?

Can you name the character described here?

(50 points)

1) I have a red bow-tie (bow-ties are cool), I'm a foreign veggie. - Archibald Asparagus

2) I have very expressive eyebrows, I'm from New Jersey, I hang around with a deep voiced pickle. - Mr. Lunt

3) I am great at math, I used to be very sour, I have freckles. - Rosie Grape

4)  I have no speaking lines but I play a very important role in every episode, I'm not a veggie. - Qwerty

5) I had a tree house once, I have learned the value of a thankful heart. Madame Bluberry

Thanks!!

A Reminder

Hello all! Don't forget to enter the VeggieTales trivia game!

What's Up?

 What I'm reading: 

The Measure of a Heart by Janette Oke

What I'm listening to:

Phillip Phillips. I love how I can't decide whether he's Folk/Country, Rock, Pop, &tc. There are also Jazzy elements to a few of his songs. Some of the lyrics are, eh...just eh. They aren't outright inappropriate, but test the limits. There's no foul language however, and no drug or alcohol references. (That I've caught...)

What I most recently watched: 

Valentines Day

Not necessarily a movie I recommend to anyone. This is one of those films (in case you've never heard of it) where there are about ten different stories going on at the same time, and most of them are somehow connected. And a few of the stories are bad. But I think if you had a Clear-play DVD player it would be a fun movie to see. I personally just skip or ignore or go make popcorn when a questionable scene comes on.

What I'm anticipating:

A relaxing weekend

What made me laugh:

A child's description f Tim Burton's Frankenweenie.

''It's the story about a dog that dies. And his owner wants to make him alive again. That's why it's called Frankenweenie. It;s like Ben Franklin only the name is different.''

A Film Review: Sense & Sensibility (2008)

You may have noticed the blog button to my right....top right. Miss Laurie of  Old-Fashioned Charm is hosting a Period Drama Challenge. Go check it out for the rules. This is my first post for the challenge. I aim to be a period film fanatic (12-15 films + reviews). But I may fall short.

Sense & Sensibility

For those of you who don't like to read lengthy posts detailing the pros and cons of a film, I'll simply say this: I recommend this film. It was superbly written, acted, and filmed. I give it four and a half stars (out of five) as a period film.

Disclaimer: I shall try as hard as I can not to compare this film with Emma Thompson's interpretation, only comparing it to Jane Austen's. Though I am sure some comparisons shall make there way into this post, despite my best efforts. So if you'll bear with me, I shall start right in.

The dialogue, while certainly not being copied directly from the book (something I had actually expected, as it had been the case with Andrew Davies' Pride & Prejudice), was good. You may be asking yourself.

''What makes it good when it's not entirely accurate?''

Well I'm glad you asked...

It boils down to this. Not a single line was out of character for anyone. Nor was it out of place for the plot. Besides, there was a bit of dialogue that wasn't included in the book. Dialogue that I was disappointed not to be able to read. Andrew Davies took the time to know the characters and it shows in his writing.

As I said, the characters were very accurate. I absolutely loved that Davies focused on Brandon and Marianne's friendship. He seems to want to emphasize the same things I like to think about. That Marianne could have, and would have loved him sooner, had it not been for ''Mr. W''. 

I am very glad he emphasized Marianne's respect for his opinion, and his true appreciation for her music.

The plot was spot on, and there was only the opening scene that was unnecessary. Nothing major was left out or forgotten, and no great liberty was taken with the story. 

*Again, there was one scene in the beginning that needed to be skipped. While Austen always handled her more, sensational affairs, with delicacy, Davies does not. He likes to be sensational.*

Now, as to the film-making aspects. The music was beautiful, the filmography stunning, the scenery breathtaking. Costumes were accurate (I fell in love with Elinor's entire wardrobe, not to mention her hair!!). 

Hope that helps!! 

A Little Scribble #2

    Stacy pushed the desk drawer closed and heaved a great sigh of relief. In the three years she had worked as Jack Keller's receptionist, she'd never had a more stressful day. She was sure of it.

   She had a lot of work ahead of her tomorrow, just to catch up on what she should have done today. She would have loved to stay late and just get it finished but she knew that Mr. Keller would not approve and that even if he would, she still needed to run a few errands tonight before going home. 

   Stacy sat back down and thought over the days happenings. She didn't suppose the day would have ended up being so horrible if only she hadn't been late picking up the usual coffee order this morning. She couldn't justify to herself the frustration she had otherwise. She was normally a very easy-going young woman. But her alarm clock had decided to give up the ghost that morning and she had woken up an half an hour late. Therefore, she had been late to pick up the coffee order and had had to wait ten minutes for two new cups. 

  And if you weren't so stubborn she rolled her eyes and had kept your own coffee, maybe you'd have made it the whole day through without the headache. Things had gone down hill from there. Her boss was never in a good mood after his brother's visits, but today it had seemed worse then normal. Jack seemed anxious, not just annoyed. 

  At that moment Stacy glanced toward Mr. Keller's office. The janitor was emptying a coffee cup into the sink. It appeared nearly full and for a moment Stacy felt smug. Serves him right, not excepting my cup. 

  Shocked at her alarmingly spiteful thoughts, Stacy tried to shake off the feeling and wrap up the last tasks of her day.

Jack sat at his desk, his eyes on something beyond his open door, his focus on something much farther away. He was vaguely aware of the janitor walking around the room. A sudden noise caught his attention. When he looked, he realized the grey haired man had snorted.

   ''It's no wonder you didn't drink this!'' He said, indicating the cold coffee in his right hand. He'd pulled it from the garbage can and opened the lid. Jack realized he must have looked puzzled, for the man explained with a chuckle.

  ''Have to dump it out so the pesky creatures like ants 'n rats don't show up!'' The man chuckled to himself as if he'd told the funniest joke, and moved toward the sink in the kitchenette. Movement in the corner of his eye caused Jack to turn and look out of his door again. He saw his receptionist watching the janitor spill the contents of the cup into the sink. Something flashed across her face, an expression of contempt, if he didn't know better. But it was gone in a flash and in its place was one of shock. And maybe a little shame. 

   She hadn't realized he was still here, so he took the moment to look more closely at the woman who'd worked for him for so long. She wasn't very tall, but she had the appearance of height because of very good posture. She moved to quickly to be called graceful, but there was some grace to her movements or she would have been called abrupt and clumsy. Her hair was light brown, and fell in thick, natural waves down her back. Her mouth was wide and set in a sarcastic smile that would have been called scornful on many other women, but the humor of her eyes softened her expression. It took Jack a few second to realize the humor in her eyes was directed at him. He'd been caught ogling... 

  

Veggietales Game!

There are five sections to this quiz, and five questions for each section. Different amounts of points will be given for each type of question, but they are listed before each section (Did that make sense?). 

The total you can earn is 300 points!

Silly Songs! 

Which episodes of Veggietales do these silly songs belong to? And what are the titles?

(100 points for this section)

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

Who Am I?

Who plays these people in these ''mini-sodes''? What movie? And what was the lesson/theme of the episode?

(150 possible points for this section)

1) Dr. Jiggle

2) The Italian Scallion

3) Toto Baggypants

4) Nebby K. Nezzer

5) Sweetpea

Inspired By...

Which Bible stories are these episodes based on?

(50 points)

1) Duke and the Great Pie War

2) Moe and the Big Exit 

(For an extra 5 points, what is the other 'western' that this is a continuation of?)

3) King George an the Ducky

4) Josh and the Big Wall

5) Dave and the Giant Pickle

Who's Line is it Anyhow?

Can you name the characters who says this...

(50 points)

1) ''Can't you just play your harp and I'll throw things at you?''

2) '' Larry, you've got an oven mitt on your head.''

3) ''I'm a talking weed, you're a talking carrot. Your point was?''

4) ''Why is there a piano on my cake?''

5) ''Look, I need a favor from you Julia, first, a chocolate Malta.''

What's my name?

Can you name the character described here?

(50 points)

1) I have a red bow-tie (bow-ties are cool), I'm a foreign veggie.

2) I have very expressive eyebrows, I'm from New Jersey, I hang around with a deep voiced pickle.

3) I am great at math, I used to be very sour, I have freckles.

4)  I have no speaking lines but I play a very important role in every episode, I'm not a veggie.

5) I had a tree house once, I have learned the value of a thankful heart.

I'll review comments, and comment on the post with scores as long as you are answering. I'll post the answers and final scores next Tuesday. Happy Guessing!

P.S. I mixed it up, ''Little Scribble #2'' is tomorrow and the movie review is Thursday. Sorry!!

Coming This Week

Wednesday: A movie review. Sense & Sensibility (2008)  It's next on my Netflix queue!

Thursday: A Little Scribble #2

And fill in posts the rest of the week :)

How has your weekend been? What did you do? How has God blessed you or used you to bless others this week?

What's Up?

What I'm reading:

 North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell

(I should be reading something new so I can review it)

What I'm listening to: 

The Civil Wars (No, it's not a documentary) 

What I most recently watched:

(All of them. Currently I've watched four out of six.)

What I'm working on:

Setting myself up for success as far as my resolutions go.

What I'm anticipating:

Slipping into an easy, if still busy, schedule at work and at home.

What has made me laugh:

And I hope you laughed too!

Anniversary-Resolutions

 It's my blog-o-versary! Two years I've been at this! It seems like so much longer, yet I feel somewhat pathetic when I think this is my 111th post. For two years?! Any way, in honor of such a momentous occasion,  I've written my resolutions for the coming year, re-designed the blog, and created a Facebook page for Eccentricitee. I haven't had the inspiration to come up with something really clever for today, regrettably. Forgive me?

My Resolutions

1. Live healthier. This is more then just a promise to exercise more or eat better. Let me 'splain. 

a) Spiritually. Spend more time with the Physician. He can heal the broken parts that maybe I don't even know are there. Also, spending time everyday in His Word sets the tone for my day, week, month and year. I want it to be a good one, and it can be an excellent year no matter what happens as long as I'm solid in Him!

b) Emotionally. God gives our hearts joy and peace no matter what is going on around us, because things happen beyond our control to take away from our happiness. But there are two sides to that. If things happening around us affect our happiness, maybe we should try to affect the things around us for good.

c) Physically. I'm at the point of my life where it is easy to get into shape. As long as I have the discipline. So I am taking this opportunity to do so. 

(This next one is a little shallow...)

2) Build a good wardrobe. I started this year off by going through my closet and pitching anything I hadn't worn more then once since I bought it  (excluding formal wear &tc...). Now I am going to build it up again. I'll only be buying classic colors and patterns in shapes and cuts that flatter me. I am going to try and avoid trends. I usually don't feel like me in trendy clothing anyway. 

What are some of your resolutions?  

A Little Scribble #1

Author's note: A friend of mine challenged me to write something,

 just for the sake of writing. It is a few days late but here it is.

Please, please, please give me feedback!!

  Stacy Brooks snapped her cell phone shut and slipped it into her purse. Muttering under her breath she plucked a coffee from the drink carrier in her hand and dropped it into the garbage can to her right. In her fit of rage she missed the top off the bin, slamming her wrist and the coffee into the side of it.
 Startled she let go of the cup, letting it fall to her feet and causing the searing liquid to splash up her right leg. With a sigh she bent over and retrieved the garbage and dropped it, very carefully, into the receptacle along with her own coffee, which she suddenly felt no desire to drink.
   She walked the twenty feet left between herself and the office building and slipped through the doors, mumbling about picky bosses who should get there own coffee from now on...


 Jack Keller clenched his fists tightly, trying to reign in his temper. He took a deep breath and looked back up into a pair of striking green eyes identical to his own. His younger brother stood in front of his desk and talked on about some or other scheme he had come up with. He nearly laughed aloud when he heard the word loan and, and something about co-signing, but he swallowed it with a gulp of the tepid coffee his brother had brought with him.  Probably an attempt at bribery. Jack mused, realizing he should have let his receptionist bring his morning cup in as usual.
  Thomas finally looked as if he were going to finish with what he'd come to say and sat down in the leather chair behind him, looking expectantly at his brother. Too late, Jack realized his mistake. He'd let his mind wander off, which was certainly not something he normally did, but was far too easy to do in his brother's presence. He quickly saw that he had been asked a question and fumbled for a response.
   "I don't think that it should be attempted. Not now. Maybe not ever. I mean, come on Thom, how many times have we been through this? I don't have the money to throw away on it. And let's face it, that is exactly what I would be doing. You don't exactly have a track record of responsibility!"
    "I know but-"
    "If you could improve that image a bit, I might consider something like this, but you have to follow through.  I mean, I don't have the time or ability to take over something like this and keep it going if you decide to quit, and I certainly don't have the resources to waste by just letting it go down the drain when you leave." Inwardly Jack winced at the "when'', he could have used "if" to soften the blow. But on second thought, his always sugar coating things is what had gotten them here in the first place.
   Judging by the look on his brother's face, Thom had not missed the slip up.His face had shifted from the easy going smile usually seen into what could almost be described as a vicious frown. But only for a second before being replaced by a devil-may-care grin.
   "Alright big brother, I get it. I best leave you to it then. See you later! No, no, don't trouble yourself.'' He sneered as Jack got up to see him out. "Wouldn't want my irresponsibility to rub off on you if you got too close. I'll show myself to the door, thanks."
   As the door clicked shut behind Thomas, Jack ran a hand through his hair and let out a great sigh. Yep, he'd blown it.


                                               ___________________________________

To be continued.... (If there is any interest in it at all....)