Thousand Foot Krutch

Thousand Foot Krutch
I love this band. I listen to them daily. Even though we are looking at another camera, we all look like we're alert for it being a fan signing and it's 11:30 p.m. on a Friday.

28 October 2012

Once Upon A Time: More from tonight's episode


So far it seems like the ones associated with the Dark One do not have their memories erased in our world, with Dr. Whale being the exception. Jefferson did stuff with the Dark One, and his memory wasn't erased. It also seems like Jefferson might be a compass, a guide between worlds, because he jumped with Dr. Whale when Dr. Whale was going back to his world, and later from the notorious Captain Hook we figured out people can't navigate their way around portals without a compass. And now we know Regina may have figured out the association with Dr. Whale and how he tricked her so he could steal one of her hearts, explaining why she brought him to our world with the curse. Jefferson was also involved, and he remembered, and endured the pain of having his daughter away from him for 28 years. Sound familiar? Yup. Jefferson kind of did that to her, too, in regards to Daniel. Why didn't Dr. Whale realize that Regina probably would have given him two hearts - one for Daniel and one for his brother? Surely there were two strong hearts full of magic. Cora had a bad habit of stealing hearts, after all.

It's all about the family ties in this show, huh?

Dr. Whale tricked Regina in Fairy Tale land, but he tried to give her Daniel in this one. Remember, he said the experiment was science, not magic. Science exists in our world, so he could find it in our world. Where was his world at? It looked like a dead, cold, grey world. I wouldn't want to live in his world. Again, how does the curse work? It took Dr. Whale from his world, it took Jefferson from Wonderland, it took Captain Hook's men but not Captain Hook. Regina said she took the people she wanted to take, which apparently included Rumple, who gave her the curse to fulfill his purpose of finding his son, Snow, Charming, the dwarves, the fairies (probably more thanks to Rumple), Captain Hook's men but not Captain Hook, Hansel and Gretel, Geppatto, the Huntsman, her father's dead body, Daniel, Jiminy Cricket, Cinderella, King George, etc. But not Lancelot, her mother,  Captain Hook, the giant, Mulan, Prince Philip, Aurora, and the others left behind. Perhaps because Cora was in that land, and apparently escaped the mirror somehow, she stopped the curse from taking those in her realm.

She took Daniel's dead body. And it was revived.

When Daniel was going crazy, Regina stopped him with true love.

Regina said, "I love you." Who knew she was capable of actual love? Henry certainly didn't, I don't think, and he wasn't even present for her declaration.

And the heart began to beat, and it caused him pain. He told her to end it, and she wouldn't, but then she did. Regina finally let him die. She finally accepted that no matter how long she preserved him, he was still going to be dead, or in severe, unending pain in our world.

Now we know what changed Regina into the true Evil Queen - she was searching for a heart strong enough to revive Daniel. She wanted the power to resurrect Daniel, which no one could actually do. Dr. Whale had limited to no success with his schemes, as we saw.

It's interesting that Jiminy Cricket is now her counselor. Very interesting indeed.

There is a really good chance that Mr. Mysterious from the first episode is Bae. Only Emma, Pinocchio, who was already revealed as August W. Booth, and Henry can apparently cross from Storybrooke to the rest of the world. Anyone who was brought from Fairy Tale Land via the curse, or the surrounding worlds seen in the Mad Hatter episode, was fair game to losing their memories of Fairy Tale land forever if they crossed the border, even Rumple. Mr. Mysterious recognized the curse - he knew what the word Broken meant, and the clocktower, and Storybrooke. He wasn't happy about it, either. He remembered Fairy Tale Land, or knew about the curse. That meant he didn't come to our world WITH the curse. He was outside the curse, which means he has a good chance he's Bae.

Guess what I'm sensing Emma's favor for Rumple is going to be? Yup. Finding Bae in our world. She and Henry and Pinocchio are the only ones who can leave Storybrooke and remember Fairy Tale land. And if it isn't that, I'll be sorely upset.

And the plot thickens.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

24 October 2012

No more Facebook and Twitter

So giving up Facebook and Twitter is proving nearly impossible. My phone is connected to both Facebook messages and Twitter updates, so I know when someone sends me a message. I had no idea how much Facebook is used to reach mass amounts of people. Like, I think I knew, but I really didn't know until I tried not to get on it. It was supposed to be for 24 hours. Do you know what can happen in 24 hours? Twenty-four hours is turning in 48 hours. I've never done this before with so much challenge, but as I was praying on Sunday and tweeting updates about the debates and the game, I just realized that I spent three hours doing nothing but watching TV and staring at Twitter and Facebook. It scared me, because the next day I had a test at 8 a.m. (which by the way I felt very comfortable about) and a lot of assignments due, including a presentation, in my night class, and I had just spent three hours on Twitter and Facebook, maybe more. If I had a smartphone, I don't think I'd ever get off it.

Well, I wanted to prove to myself I didn't need it, I didn't have to get on it.

Yeah right.

Honestly, I was afraid some people might have thought I died since I wasn't on it! And geez, they aren't proving me wrong! JK.

But I'm still determined to go a whole day without it. And I mean, trying to do it means I'm spending less time on it, anyway. I got so much done by logging out of Twitter and Facebook - I didn't even consent to email or blogging, text message or calling, I still did those - and I'm surprised. I didn't think I was on it so much, but I really was.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

23 October 2012

Debates and the Cardinals' Game

Yesterday two exciting things happened: The third of the presidential debates and Game Seven for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals lost 9-0 in favor of the Giants in San Francisco. It started pouring in the bottom of the ninth, but alas, the game was not shortened due to a rain delay. I doubt it would done anything but drag out the Cardinals' pain. The Giants got six runs in the first hour. That said it all. See my tweets about the game @rmweatherford1s

I have not yet got to watch the debates or read the transcript of the debates. I am a Cardinals' fan and was rooting for the Cardinals. (They were not impressive, just like the Redhawks at our homecoming game.)  Someone did some pre-gaming, and it was not the audience, for both of those games.

There were definitely some memorable moments. I was watching the live tweeting and snarky comments on Twitter. USA Today reported 5 million tweets had been sent about the debates. (Why that's important, I have no idea. Someone was bored on the copy desk or an editor was trying too hard to cover the debates.) I wasn't shocked. Every second there was a new update. I retweeted most of them, both for Romney and Obama and against Romney and Obama.

I had a ball laughing at the tweets and the Facebook comments about the game and the debates. And I had some good comments of my own. I'm not stuck on horses and bayonets, though.

So, for everyone who watched the debate, who won?

The first debate was Romney.

The second debate was probably Obama.

The third debate?

I want to hear your thoughts.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

22 October 2012

France and England

Guess what?

I'm going to Paris and London!

I paid the $995 deposit for my trip to France and England for three credit hours. I only have two physical classes next semester (I have an online class). I have to pay $2200 but I don't have to pay for tuition (covered by scholarships and financial aid). The whole cost will be all my savings from working at Panda over the summer. It's hard to part with it. My heart cried a little, but it's happy knowing it will get to go to Europe essentially. I already have my passport. That's why everything - and anything I want, a Kindle, or a new laptop, or a new iPod, anything but fixing my car - has to wait, so I can pay off this trip. Other than Les Miserables and my phone bill and gas and food, I will do my best not to spend money for the next few weeks. Christmas is no worry because I should have more money by that time (although saving to pay tuition in January will make it tough until I get the refund from the university in February). No one said saving is easy.

I think I had a weird thought that I was already starting to save for my wedding or a new car or something. Then France and England came up, and I decided this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. THIS, for now, was what I had been saving for. And I will begin to save again for a house or a car or my wedding or something. Not sure. But something. The only thing worth waiting for is something you have to save for, in my opinion.

Anyway, of course I will have to blog about Paris and London! Ahhh! It may not be real-time blogging, as dragging a computer on a school trip through Europe is not advisable. It will miss me (if computers have feelings). I will faithfully keep a journal just like I did in Cambodia. So excited.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

21 October 2012

Working Press: Networking benefits all


Working Press Article
Networking benefits all
By Rachel Weatherford
The Working Press

Two years into their unique partnership, the honeymoon is still on for radio, broadcast and print journalists that make up two of the country’s major journalism organizations.

The Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio and Television Digital News Association decided to come together for the first time at last year’s Excellence in Journalism 2011 convention in New Orleans.

“It made a lot of sense,” said Mike Cavender, the executive director of RTDNA. “We all practice journalism, just differently.”

RTDNA is composed of broadcasters and electronic journalists, and SPJ is composed mostly of print journalists. Last year, both organizations were happy with the attendance and the quality of the sessions at the convention.

However, organizers recognize each group could benefit from their combined platforms. As for RTDNA, it “wouldn’t be as robust on its own,” Cavender said.

The goal is to provide opportunities for educational training and networking for members. The areas that RTDNA decided to focus on this year included expanding on management sessions and digital journalism sessions for members.

“They like emphasis on real knowledge,” Cavender said.

The combined convention creates the opportunity for members to reinforce their skills and to network with journalists across the media.

“Journalism is our common interest,” said George Bodarky, a member of SPJ and RTDNA. He presented a session called “Unleash Your Inner Broadcaster” Friday.

Bodarky, news director of WFUV-FM and president of Public Radio News Directors, also attended a session called “Great Bosses Bootcamp” on Thursday. He said the session helped him improve management skills and gave him some social media techniques that he can take back to his station.

Laura Beranek, a Western Kentucky University student, attended an ethics seminar and critique sessions on her resume and video. So far, she has learned social media tips, how to interview and how to enrich her writing.

“We’re here networking and mingling,” said Beranek, a student member of RTDNA. “I needed to make connections.”

Beranek said she also liked the session’s flexibility.

“This will really help back at school, too,” she said.



Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

The Mysterious Man in Episode 1: Once Upon A Time


I thought Mr. Mysterious in Manhattan looked like Prince Philip. Then I thought he was Captain Hook. (They'll all dark haired and handsome.) Now I don't know who it could be.
If it's Bae, Bae knew about the curse and lived outside of Storybrooke successfully. How did he find out about the curse? How did he find out about Storybrooke? When he left none of that happened. I doubt he's been roaming around Maine making sure Daddy didn't come looking for him. 
This character knew about the curse, and the curse being broken upset him. Did you see his face at the word "broken"? Plus that was the title of this episode. He had a picture of the clocktower in Storybrooke on his wall in the background. And Charley's Girl, the song, was significant. I looked at the lyrics. All I can think of is: Charley's girl is Emma? And Emma's gonna do something to this guy?
Also, this guy lived in a pretty crappy apartment. Someone came to this world and got away from Storybrooke only to have to struggle to make ends meet. No magic, right? He didn't seem unhappy in the apartment (despite it being pretty crappy and the elevator pretty horrible-looking and dangerous). He seemed more upset about losing that phone than anything. He seemed like it'd been a bad day and losing the phone made it worse. Til he got the postcard. So someone who knew about the curse knew about him and sent him a note. I think I remember Regina in the season finale sent the dove out from her window? 
So I think he's an unnamed FT character. And I think he knew about Emma. And I don't think he was happy about the curse getting broken. 



Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,


Rachel