Some movie quotes

Arsenic and Old Lace
Mortimer Brewster: Insanity runs in my family . . . it practically gallops!
Holy Mackerel!

Casablanca
Renault: Oh, there’s no hurry.  Tonight he will be at Rick’s.  Everybody comes to Rick’s.
Renault: I’ve often speculated on why you don’t return to America.  Did you abscond with the church funds?  Did you run off with a senator’s wife?  I like to think that you killed a man – it’s the romantic in me.
Rick: It’s a combination of all three.
And what in heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca.
My health.  I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Waters?  What waters?  We’re in the desert.
I was misinformed.
Strasser: What is your nationality?
Rick: I’m a drunkard.
Louis: That makes Richard a citizen of the world.
Rick: There are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn’t advise you to try to invade.
Mr. Leuchtag: Liebchen – ah, sweetness heart, what watch?
Mrs. Leuchtag: Ten watch.
Mr. Leuchtag: Such watch?
Rick: I remember every detail.  The Germans wore gray.  You wore blue.
Sam:  Boss, ain’t you goin’ to bed?
Rick: Not right now.
Ain’t you plannin’ on goin’ to bed in the near future?
No.
You ever goin’ to bed?
No.
Well, I ain’t sleepy either.
Rick: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walks into mine.
If you’re not with him, you’ll regret it – maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life. … The problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
Major Strasser has been shot.  Round up the usual suspects.

White Christmas
Phil Davis: When what’s left of you gets around to what’s left to be gotten, what’s left to be gotten won’t be worth getting, whatever it is you’ve got left.
Doris: Well how do you like that? Not so much as a “kiss my foot” or “have an apple”.
Bob Wallace: How do you do?
Doris: Mutual, I’m sure.
Bob: Oh, Phil, when are you going to learn that girls like that are a dime a dozen?
Phil: Please, don’t quote me the price when I haven’t got the time.
Phil: In some ways, you’re far superior to my cocker spaniel.
Bob: Miss Haynes, if you’re ever under a falling building and someone offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don’t think, don’t pause, don’t hesitate for a moment, just spit in his eye.
Betty Haynes: What did that mean?
Bob: It means we’re going to Vermont.
Phil: How much is “wow”?
Bob: It’s right in between, uh, “ouch” and “boing”.
Phil: Wow!
Bob: When I figure out what that means I’ll come up with a crushing reply.
General’s Party Guest: How do you do?
Doris: Mutual, I’m sure.




Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Ruffled Scarves for sell!

Hey everyone! I'm making and selling ruffled scarves. I am selling these scarves for $10. Other people who sell these scarves are charging $18 a scarf, but I want to keep the scarves affordable for anyone who wants to use them as Christmas presents or for themselves.

These scarves are great with all kinds of outfits.

The scarves can be long, medium, or short. I recommend medium. 

Also, the proceeds from the scarves will go toward my education, since I'm a poor college student.

Email me your order, which includes length and color, at rmweatherford1s@gmail.com, leave it here, or find me on Facebook.

An example of the scarf. These can be tailored to many different colors.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

I love Revolution - there's some depth to it!

So, my roommate and I are just hanging out and I start to look up people involved in the American Revolution. There are a lot of similar names to "Revolution." Samuel Miles (Miles Matheson), President Monroe (Sebastian Monroe) War of 1812, Benjamin Franklin (Ben Matheson), Aaron Burr, Aaron Ogden (Aaron Pittman), Rachel Revere (Rachel Matheson), Grace and Rachel Martin (Grace Beaumont and Rachel Matheson), William Beaumont War of 1812 (Grace Beaumont), The Battle of Charlotte, Charles Lee (Charlie Matheson), Daniel Morgan, Daniel Shays, Daniel F. Bakeman (Danny), Joshua Clayton (Nora Clayton), Margaret Corbin (Maggie is a variation of Margaret), John Neville (Tom Neville Family), Stephen R. Bradley (Bradley Jaffe), Jacob Randall (distant connection to Randall), Jason Russell House (Jason Neville), as for Nathan, Jason's fake name, there a lot of men whose names were Nathan or Nathaniel involved in the Revolutionary War. In fact, every name has something to do with someone who was involved in either the American Revolution (the first war for independence) or the War of 1812 (the second war for independence).  Just because the name is used doesn't mean the person is really like that, though. Their name is just used. I think it's more than coincidence. What do you all think? I'm learning so much about the people involved in those times while I did this. I don't even know where the idea came from. Just happened on looking all this up.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

'The Crucible' performed at Southeast last week

“The Crucible” was quite engaging. The black walls of the Wendy Kurka Rust Flexible theater made the scenes even more intense. With creepy music playing in the beginning, I knew this was no light-hearted Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale.

Dalton Riddle, who played John Proctor, was brilliant as the angry, guilt-stricken adulterer determined to save his wife. He shone forth as the best. We find out quickly that Abigail Williams, played by Sami Gross, is in love with John Proctor, and for some reason, in her twisted rationale, she believes if she gets the other girls to help her accuse Elizabeth Proctor, portrayed by Hannah Lundy, of being a witch and has her hanged, John will marry her. I knew that was absolutely ridiculous, especially once we find out that Abigail is lying about seeing others with the Devil.

She even admits her scheme several times when she declares her love for John. Abigail becomes not only an adulteress, but she’s also a scheming murderer when John rejects her to remain with his wife. This play’s tagline should be: A Woman Scorned.

The play was absolutely gorgeous, and truthfully the acting, especially the actors who played Elizabeth, John, and Abigail, was heart-wrenching. The only part I found unrealistic was that the actress who played Tituba, who is from Barbados, was Asian. I would never have imagined Tituba, a slave, being Asian. The deputy governor was also African-American. These are not historically accurate because, unfortunately, only white men were in charge of the government in the 1600s. Slaves in North America that era were of African descent.  

Reverend Parris was an overbearing, crabby, greedy man who was never satisfied in life. His daughter was Betty, who was ill in the beginning before she began to accuse people with her cousin Abigail Williams. His part as the accusing, hypocritical reverend was portrayed well.

Danforth had a moment where he couldn’t rise from his seat because his coat was caught in the chair. The coats were long and black - easy to see how they’d be annoying. The costumes, understandably, were all very clean. I was distracted by wondering if they’d really be that clean if they had been around in 1692.

There were two exceptionally well-performed scenes. The midnight scene between John Proctor and his former mistress, Abigail Williams, in which she reveals all her reasons for the accusations, and John tells her to give it up, that they will never be together. He also tells her he will reveal their affair, ruining both of their names, if she does not stop accusing Elizabeth. I could literally feel Abigail’s insane passion and John’s forceful and angry determination to save his wife, especially when he threw Abigail on the ground to make his point.

The scene near the end between John Proctor and his wife made me want to cry, it was so emotional. Elizabeth Proctor struggles to forgive her husband throughout the play for his adultery. The children who accuse her and John of witchcraft want her to get John to confess. When they stare into each other’s eyes I wanted to cry. Love seemed to pour off of them. She tells him to do what he wants, standing there with a straight back as he at first confesses it, then denies it, then is hanged. At the end, Elizabeth, who is saved from being hanged because she is pregnant, says, “He has his goodness. How can I take that away from him?” She stands there straight as a board, sounding as if she’s decided to forgive John. Such the heroine Elizabeth is, and John the tragic hero!  

There were also red lights between each of the scenes. I may be reading into it, but they are probably symbols from the Red Scare of the 1950s, in which many people were accused of being communists by Joseph McCarthy. In fact, when the girls were calling out the names of the accused, Arthur Miller’s name was mentioned as well, a tribute to the play’s author Arthur Miller, who himself was accused.

Misplaced love, a manipulative teenager, an affair, murder, hanging, accusations, betrayal and religious hypocrites against the backdrop of the historical Salem Witch Trials made for a play like something from a Lifetime movie, only better.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Revolution Update

OK, so I feel I haven't really posted about Revolution in my excitement over Once Upon A Time, which is just so twisted even I don't know quite how I feel about it sometimes.

I adore Revolution. My roommate and I watch it together - or we have been watching it together, other than the past couple of weeks, when I've been watching it in Grauel Building at my school, unfortunately. Watching that show in a room of computers is much different than watching it with my roommate in our room.

Revolution is pretty clear cut, with hints about the blackout and getting the power back on, and spending half the season on them trying to get Danny back, which is the actually the only motivation of four people.

For some reason, being around Charlie and trying to find Danny is making Miles and Nora better people. I guess because it's more than just personal survival, it's about helping someone else now. I've noticed in the opening credits they say they've been waiting for someone to light the way? I'm thinking Charlie is that light. The people who've been hanging around Charlie seem much more charitable and giving.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Religious aspects of Once Upon A Time

Okay, I'm not saying the show is touting any religious meaning, but I can't ignore the obvious: Prince Charming.

His name is David, he's the son of a shepherd, he became a king when a man lost his son, who was David's brother, and he's heroic. But he had a tragic flaw: he had a moment when he was married and "cheated" on his wife in this world with Snow, even though she was really his wife in Fairy Tale land. David in the Bible cheated with Bethsheba. They both ended up with the woman they really wanted, I suppose.

Um, does anyone see parallels with David in the Bible? Katherine could be Michal, the daughter of a king, and Michal was the daughter of King Saul in the Bible. Michal and Katherine were both whiny and high maintenance, and eventually left their husbands (Katherine sort of left David). King George wants to destroy David's reputation in the eyes of the people in their kingdom, just like King Saul was jealous of how the people of Israel viewed David.

Emma, David's daughter, is meant to save the fairy tale characters from their curse, inflicted on the world by a clever snake (Rumple) who used a woman (Regina) to do it.

David's descendant, Jesus, was meant to save humanity from their curse, inflicted on the world by a clever snake (Satan) who used a woman (Eve) and a man (Adam) to do it.

Fairy tales were always meant to be like morality tales. I guess you just can't take the symbolic meaning out of fairy tales!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Stand Up Stand Up

Yes, we have running water, electricity, and food. But think about it. People don't just give us those things. We work hard, sometimes really hard, and earn money and buy them. We have to wake up everyday, get ready, go to work, show up on time, do what we're supposed to do, and not complain. We have to be friendly and helpful and supportive, but confident and determined. We have to work as a team. People who do that get a job and earn money and provide for themselves and their families.

Yes, we should help each other as human beings and brothers and sisters, but it's not just luck that we have running water, electricity, and food. Sometimes it is; some people are born into a family where someone's worked hard or done something to earn enough money to last forever, or what seems like forever. But most of us work hard, be faithful, do our duty, and go home to a warm (or cold, depending on the time of year) house and family. We need to stop glamorizing luck and realizing it's partial luck, mostly hard work.

Same thing as a country. People in America have had to work hard to be successful, it doesn't just come to us, it is putting our needs and desires into action - and on hold sometimes - and craving out something beautiful and powerful. We sacrifice, we get involved, we stand up. Our leaders care somewhat about the people they're serving, and that's why we are where we are. Pick people who will care about the masses. Success will arrive then. Be willing to stand up for what's right, no matter what - even if you're standing alone.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Tony LaRussa

So I got to meet good old Tony LaRussa, the former manager for the St. Louis Cardinals, at a press conference, the very first official press conference I ever got to attend. Hands-on, I finally know how to cover a  press conference! Haha. Joanna Shaver, who coordinates all the speakers, brought him out of the back room. I wish I could have gotten a picture with him! I have one of Michael J. Fox but not him. I know he talked about his pet rescue operation and gave an awesome quote on leadership skills and developing them, which I'll update this post with the exact quotes. He seemed very nervous and freaked out by the press conference, but at least he showed up, unlike Mr. Bill Nye the Science Guy. I wasn't at that one, though, but no way would I miss this one. He was like super late but we supposedly got all 15 minutes with him, even though I'm suspicious as to whether we really did or not. He had beautiful rings, three of them. They were so shiny and sparkly.

Of course, Dobbins had a beautiful speech welcoming La Russa to the stage and how glad Southeast was La Russa was here, and how 100 percent of the profits of the selling of tickets go to the endowed scholarship foundation to fund students' scholarship. La Russa even called the president by his first name, Ken, and called him out, asking him where to send people with questions. Dobbins looked flabbergasted, but recovered quickly

I also attended his actual event, with his speech. The man is super long-winded with his stories! Nonetheless, I was interested. He has to be my favorite speaker. For being old, he is a rather goodlooking man. I bet he was a lady killer in his glory years. 

Now I'm sure that he always says this, but he swore that the Cardinals were his favorites to manage. He also confirmed he and Chris Carpenter were close, and truthfully, I'd say they were probably the closest. I'm sure it's a friendship and a father-son relationship, as Carpenter is 37 and LaRussa is 68. When he first started to talk about Chris and how close they were, his eyes sort of shot to the right like he was sorry he'd just admitted it. Why would he be sorry, though? Oh well. He, for a moment, had a thoughtful expression on his face. Some people would try to make it seem creepy, but it really isn't. Everyone sort of finds someone to mentor or be mentored from. Best friends can be years apart. It's not the years that matter, it's how much time you spend together and what you both get from the relationship.

I'll update this later. He didn't say much, but what he said was powerful. Trust, respect and character were the core of his speech, and expounding on managing a team. I think the man had some insecurities. Everyone does, even the most put together people. He was pretty cocky and arrogant, as if he knew he was the coolest kid on the block (he really is). Really, the man shouldn't be so nervous. He's a very wonderful speaker, actually. I'll post a picture of him, too - when I get it updated. He was so inspirational. Here's one of them, talking about dealing with pressure, which he really emphasized in his speech. I took lots of notes.

"I looked at each player as if he were the pressure, go-to guy in any situation."

I really wish I had been on La Russa's team. I really do.

"Make pressure your friend," La Russa said. 

Pressure is a tough subject to tackle. Some people are calm and cool under pressure, some people get excited and make mistakes, he pointed out. Personally, I want to be in the latter category.

"We made pressure our friend on my teams. We prepared for situations over and over, which reduces the pressure the players perform under. I also taught players to think of the process, not the result. When David Freese went to the plate in Game 6, I can tell you he was only looking to have a good at-bat, not hitting a home run. He was able to totally tune out the pressure."

He said that everyone could be the top of their field, if they had respect, character, and trust. What will I remember from La Russa's speech? Prepare ahead of time. Keep practicing, eventually you'll get it right. Make pressure your friend. Just like from Ryan Blair the most life changing truth for me: Don't let anyone steal your milk.

He had a very long Question and Answer forum. What did he tell everyone about asking questions? 

"No guts, no glory."

I love that man.

People asked strange questions and almost everyone prefaced it with, "I love you, the Cardinals, or I'm from St. Louis." Of course you're from St. Louis - you're at Southeast and attending an event with Tony LaRussa, who insisted we call him Tony, and 40 percent of the students are St. Louis transplants.

I got guts and glory. I love it. I love his voice too. It's a perfect voice, sharp and focused, gravelly and cool. When he talked, you knew he wasn't talking out of his butt. He had something to say. He was serious. He wasn't blowing out hot air to make himself look better. He looked good already. He was good. And he was a person to look up to, to admire. He made jokes, some rather funny ones, considering he said he didn't think he was a very funny guy. OK, he shouldn't become a standup comedian by any means, but he wasn't too bad. He kept it humorous yet serious. I could tell he was used to managing rowdy guys and inspiring people. "Every year I get older and the players get younger." It was a joke I heard from my American Literature professor before he retired. He made it work, though, and I laughed. It's really funny.

He really cared about students, too, and tried to encourage us with his words, telling us he hoped we'd get something out of it to carry with us. At least he knew his audience, considering our student fees brought him here. They always have to talk about being leaders at the Speakers' Series thing. I think I agree with my uncle when he says a lot of successful people feel inadequate on college campuses and around college-educated people because they haven't gone to the university. It's hard to believe, but with my degrees, I'll technically be more educated than people three times my age. They have way more experience than me, though, but they are older and have been around a lot longer than me. La Russa is 46 years older than me. I can't believe it!

I wanted to ask him, after his I'm-old comment, how old he thought I was - I love asking people that question because everyone thinks I'm like 16. He probably would have said the same thing. I also should have asked if baseball is rigged. Shoot. I just know it is. He dodged questions he didn't want to answer, though, and he'd have dodged that one no doubt.

The great question: If I'm a blogger, does that count as being a journalist? Some people think it does, others don't. What do you think? Does blogging count?

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Emma kinda had true love...until August interrupted it!

Attention, please.

Henry is most likely half-human, half-fairy tale creature.

We can now assume that Mysterious Man, aka Neil Cassidy, will show up in Storybrooke someday for Emma. How delicious! I can see that scene playing out in my head already, can't wait to see what the writers come up with! Someone actually sent him a postcard letting him know that the curse was broken. Drama, please!

August promised to do it, but remember he was wooden when the curse was broken, and we never saw him un-wooden.

Plus, it was delivered via a white dove. August doesn't deal with white doves, does he? Wasn't Regina the one who threw the white dove out the window with a message? Correct me if I'm wrong, please.

Okay, my question is, since the show wants to go on that line of thinking, how did Henry get to Storybrooke? Gold can't leave, none of them can leave other than Henry, Emma, and August. Mr. Mysterious doesn't seem to know about Henry, so he's out of the question. Emma didn't drop Henry off. That leaves August. Whoosh! Which quite possibly means that August had to deal with Mr. Gold, aka Rumple, at some point. Yum!

I can't believe Emma abandoned Hook after saving him from the giant. I really can't. I suspect that means Emma's now incurred Hook's wrath, too. Hook may have been her best shot for defending the group against Cora - if he was trustworthy, which he probably isn't.

Seriously! Emma was caught stealing WATCHES! No way. NOT what I was expecting. Sheesh. Watches. Seriously?

Explains Mr. Mysterious' watch collection. It does NOT explain how he had a picture of the clock from Storybrooke in his apartment, though. Yet it relates to the overall theme of the story, time.

Did anyone notice that once those two hoodlums (Emma and Mr. Mysterious) got away from each other, their lives got better? Mr. Mysterious left Canada and moved to New York City, and Emma went to Boston. Mr. Mysterious actually loved Emma, and Emma believes - present tense because she still does - he betrayed her (can we say that the person who called on Emma was August, that snake, and can we also say that money probably didn't get to Emma).

Now who gave her the keys? I'm guessing Mr. Mysterious just couldn't stay away. Emma seemed to understand the symbol behind it. Did you see her face? Of course, Emma just found out she was pregnant and in prison. NOT a great combination. The guard didn't seem overly upset. Am I reading into her comment? "Well, when you get out, you'll have a car. And a baby." Emma got eleven months. Was she implying Emma was going to have the baby in prison, and get out soon after? Maybe Mr. Mysterious isn't really Henry's father - we don't know what kind of hanky-panky Emma was up to between the time she was arrested and the time we found out she was pregnant. Hurt people do all kinds of crazy stuff.

Well, truthfully, while I knew it was a long shot that Mr. Mysterious was actually Bae, I was quite disappointed. I want to re-meet Bae and see how he likes a world without magic (we're assuming it is this world he's in).

Did anyone notice that David seemed to know what Henry's dream was about? Snow seemed to know exactly what Aurora was dreaming about, too, and didn't look like she believed her own words about the nightmares going away.

Yup. Everyone who is given a dream spell all dream the same creepy nightmare - apparently the person staring at them is a person of the opposite sex, though. Aurora saw a man and Henry saw a woman. Ahem! Am I the only one assuming that the nightmare is really another world accessed through being given a sleeping potion? David didn't have the same nightmare because he was in acoma, not sleeping under a sleep potion/poisoning (Henry and Snow=apple, Aurora=spinning wheel, we're assuming). Soooo creepy! Just what kinds of worlds are there?

This episode opened more doors. I hope we will actually get an ending. Then again, the creators sure know how to drag something out. If they'll all dead or sleeping, Ima be pissed.

Did I miss anything from this episode?

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Abortion

So in Western civilizations, if women have abortions because they can't afford it or don't want a baby, it should be legal.

In other countries, if women are having abortions because they want girls, it should be illegal.

It's murder when they do it because they want a boy. It's choice when Americans  do it because they don't want to deal with another child.

Give me a break.

I just saw the most horrible video, where a woman admitted to killing her eight girl children because she wanted a boy. Eight! That's a gender-preference serial killer.

Another couple mentioned that they had their baby, and the doctor took it, and killed it because it was a girl. They were horrified. The doctor killed their own daughter without even asking! That's a murderer masquerading as a healer.

A third woman said she was pressured into having an abortion - and she had twins. She wanted to save her daughters, but how could she?

No matter what people say, it's killing.

Murderers masquerading as healers.

If you get up in arms about people in other countries doing it but you think Americans have the choice whether or not to do it, you need help.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

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

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

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

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

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.

http://workingpress.spjnetwork.org/2012/09/22/networking-benefits-all/

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel