Patricide and The Lion King....

A friend's older brother was recently telling me about something he had read on a website and how he agreed with it. The thing he saw:

"When Simba sang, "I just can't wait to be king", didn't Disney executives realize they were condoning patricide?"

My friend's brother went on to tell me why he agreed with that statement, why he found it disturbing some of the hidden messages Disney had in it's films and then asked if I had an opinion on patricide/Lion King issue. Well, that's like asking if an astronaut has a desire to study space. Duh, I always have an opinion. Anyway. My response and the rest of the conversation went like this:

Patricide is the act of killing one's father. When Simba was singing that song, it was in reference to when Mufasa stepped down and Simba became the rightful King of Pride Rock. He wasn't planning on killing his father to get there, he was merely singing about what would happen one day in the far off future and expressing his general excitement over that. Who wouldn't be excited about that when you're that young and don't realize how hard being a ruling King will be?


The argument was then made that even if Simba hadn't planned it or meant for his father to die, Mufasa had still been murdered and that Simba could still be put at fault for that.


False. Simba was not to blame and I'm really unsure why I associate with someone who could think that adorable little lion cub could be held accountable for the death of his father. Though he is my friend's brother and I typically just put up with his nonsense. I digress.

Simba is not at fault. Scar, Mufasa's jealous younger bother and Simba's uncle, is the one responsible for the death of Mufasa. Scar planned and orchestrated for the stampede of wildebeest to take out Mufasa. Along with the help from the trio of hyenas that were Scar's accomplices. And lets not forget, he also intended for the stampede to kill not only Mufasa but Simba as well so there would be no one left but himself to take over as King of Pride Rock. He was jealous and evil and wanted the power of being King and could only get that by both of them being dead. Also, Mufasa would have lived had Scar not thrown him over the ledge into the stampede after Mufasa had managed to escape. Given that, it would be more along the lines of fratricide instead of patricide if you want to label it so specifically. 

So no, I definitely don't see any point on saying Disney was condoning patricide in the Lion King because Simba wasn't the one responsible for Mufasa's untimely death.


Also, on a more serious note, people read way too fucking much into things and need to stop. It's a Disney movie and there doesn't always need to be a deeper, darker meaning to things. If you're looking for it, you're likely going to find it just because you want it to be there.


Though, it did give me the idea to write this ridiculous post which was rather fun to do. If anyone thinks I was being particularly serious writing this, please exit my blog now and don't come back here. ;)


And no, I didn't have to Google any of the information on the movie. That's all memory right there. I also watched the Lion King about a month ago, just because I can. I love a handful of Disney movies (though typically not ones centered around a princess oddly enough) and animated films (PIXAR, BITCHES!) the way most girls dig those awful romantic comedies. 

Hakuna Matata!

Six years ago today: the anniversary post...

Six years ago today, my boyfriend and I finally got together. We had known each other for thirteen months prior but when we first met, it wasn't a dating type thing. We found out we had a ridiculous amount of things in common and he found my weird sense of humor great because he's a little odd, too. Then a month or so after I first met him, I ended up moving to California. We kept in contact hoping to remain friends. We'd talk once in a while to see how the other was doing. Eventually, we were talking every day and sending each other gifts for birthdays, Christmas and even Valentine's Day. Then, I wanted to move back home to Texas because I wasn't happy living out on the West Coast and missed my home state. Plus there were other circumstances at play and I couldn't wait to leave the town I was in and never look back. After about a year in California, I did. I spent my first night back with Shane and we've been together ever since then.

We've had some really rough times. One of my closest friends committed suicide and that was hard to get through. He stuck with me while I battled through substance abuse issues. I was an absolute wreck after being targeted in an armed robbery, which some of you will recall if you've known me long enough. We've both gone through several jobs and a couple periods of unemployment. We've both dealt with deaths of people we cared for. My health issues are a constant annoyance. His health issues which have been scary as fuck at times. I've been with him for two of the strokes he's had and that's definitely something I hope I won't have to see happen again not to mention the cancer he's working on ridding himself of currently.


We've gone through a lot together over the last six years and that's only a little of it. The bad stuff we've gone through and helped each other get through has only made us both stronger, as individuals and as a couple.


There has been plenty of awesome stuff, too. I'm happy I have someone who loves hockey as much as I do because he doesn't mind when I want to spend a lot of my free time and extra cash going to hockey games during the Winter and Spring. He doesn't whine when I want to go see a loud metal show because usually he likes the band, too. He also doesn't mind if I want to go play racquetball ball or golf with a friend and leave him at home. We can do plenty of stuff together but still do things without the other which is awesome because I like my space, lol. 



He still brings me home little gifts randomly which always makes me smile. Who doesn't love a small gift for no reason? Sometimes it's just some Reese's peanut butter cups, a cute little stuffed animal, a rubber duck (because I collect them, ok,) something from Bath & Body Works or some weird little random thing that he saw and thought would brighten my day. It's great to know he still thinks of things like that and pays attention to the little things. Like spending an afternoon at the marina because I want to feed the ducks and hang out at the lake. Or spending hours walking around behind me at an art museum and letting me tell him about the artists I love.

Shane's one of the kindest, most caring, genuinely nice, sweet guys I've ever known. At times I think he's too nice but I guess as long as no one's taking advantage of him, it's really not a bad thing.  He's incredibly encouraging and supportive of any and everything I want to do, as long as it's not something too dangerous anyway. Then he's less supportive and more trying to drag my feet back down to the ground before I impulsively do something silly. He makes me laugh more than anyone else I know and he gets me in a way most people don't. For all of that and more, I'm happy I have the big guy in my life. I really can't even believe we've been together for six years now. It doesn't seem like it has been that long at all.


He works today so we won't be doing much in terms of celebrating. Just going to dinner once he's off work and not much else. He gets up at four AM for work so it kills being able to do much on work nights because he goes works late and then has to go to bed so early. But he's taking me to a Renaissance festival on Sunday and then two weeks later, we'll be going out of town to have some fun away from Dallas for a couple days. We would do that next weekend but pesky doctors appointments for him delay that. Which is fine, ya know, since good health and working on kicking cancer's ass trumps going out of town for a fun couple of days.

Happy Anniversary, Shane! ♥ ♥ ♥

Why things have been so quiet lately...

I haven't blogged in almost three weeks. My last post was twenty days ago. It's not that I've lost interest in blogging and not that I don't have time to do it. I still like blogging and I actually do have enough free time to blog. It's not that I don't have anything to write about because I do. I always have things on my mind, opinions on things going on and stuff I'd like to write about in general. I just don't have the motivation to write lately, at all. 

It's not just blogging. I keep a physical journal as well. I love writing and given the fact that I don't open up to people much, I tend to write a lot. Just thoughts, feelings, things bothering me, things I want to improve on and pretty much anything I feel like getting out of my system ends up on a piece of paper courtesy of one of the thirty-something pens I own. My last entry in my physical journal was forty-six days ago. 

I know anyone reading this is probably thinking I'm having a case of good old-fashioned writer's block. That's really not it either. I have the words. When I can make myself sit down and do so, the words I want come freely and easily. It's just my motivation to put those words down anywhere is sorely lacking. It puzzles me a bit because it would be easier if it was just a case of, "I know what I want to say but I just can't put it into words." I'm just not in the mood to do any writing, or typing, at all lately. Which annoys me because  I can't figure out why I can't be bothered to do something I don't see as a chore. I'm not disinterested in writing. I'm enjoying this right now even though I'm making myself sit here and type out a post about why I haven't been writing or blogging lately. 


I think the cause of my issue is stress, possibly. I've got an enormous amount of stress going on right now and that's not something I usually have a lot of to deal with.  I'm rather laid back and don't let much get to me as a general rule. It takes a lot to get me down and a lot to make me feel stressed. I have several big things in my life just going wrong right now and finding solutions to them is proving to be rather difficult. So I spend down time trying not to think and trying to relax. Which kind of fucks with my ability to write because I kind of need to think about things and not zone out into a happy little zen place where everything that runs through my mind is just a fuzzy, soft blur of nothing. I don't even know if that makes any sense to anyone else but it makes sense to me, so there's that. 


I think, since I miss writing and blogging, I'm just going to make myself sit and write about something a couple times a week. It gives me something to work on and helps me focus on something that isn't stressing me out. Also, writing makes me feel good and you can never do enough good things for yourself, right? Right. ;)

Happy Tuesday!

Pictures, pictures & more pictures...

Wordless Wednesday......
(Image heavy. Not my own photos. Not totally wordless. ;D)

Happy Wednesday!

Recipe: Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

I'm definitely making these the next chance I get so someone invite me to something that requires me to bring food. Or I suppose I could just make them for the hell of it and hand them off to friends and/or relatives so that those who live me don't have to be in charge of eating all of them. ;)

Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 1 (10.5) oz bag mini marshmallows (note: if you have an extra bag, you can add an additional cup of marshmallows, if desired. I recommend it.)
• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 10 oreos, chopped into bits (about the size of pebbles, there will be powder too), about 1 cup
• 1 1/3 cups white chocolate chips
• 6 oreos, chopped into bits (about the size of pebbles), about 1/2 cup

Butter or spray a 13 x 9 pan, set aside. Melt butter in a large non-stick saucepan over medium low heat, swirling butter up along edges of the pan (this helps the marshmallows stick much less). Stir in marshmallows and stir constantly until melted. Remove from heat and gently stir in Rice Krispies cereal, stir until evenly coated. Fold in 10 chopped Oreos. Pour mixture into buttered dish. Using a buttered spatula or greased hands gently press mixture evenly into dish, set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Spread melted chocolate evenly over Rice Krispie treats and immediately (before chocolate hardens) sprinkle with 6 chopped Oreos. Gently press the Oreo pieces down with your hands. Cover and refrigerate about 10 minutes, or alternately let rest on counter until chocolate hardens.

Yield: 18 servings | Recipe from Cooking Classy

Happy Wednesday!

TMI Tuesday: Illicit Skills...

This week’s TMI Tuesday questions come from Virtual Sin.

Illicit Skills

If you are hesitant about confessing crimes…lie…be creative.

1. Do you know how to pick a lock? Have you ever used this skill to gain unauthorized access?
Yes. And not really unauthorized access. I've used it to get into things I lost keys to and needed to get in.

2. Do you know how to open a safe with a rotary combination lock? Have you ever used this skill to gain unauthorized access? What did you find?
What am I, a safe cracker? I think not.

3. Have you ever made a copy of a key you were not supposed to have? Did you use it to gain unauthorized access? What were you looking for? Did you find it?
I remember doing this once. It wasn't for me to use, though but I did benefit from it. It was so the girl I was fooling around with (Hi Samantha!) could get in and out of her mom's house easily without being locked out because her mom didn't allow her a door key to prevent her from leaving after mom had gone to bed. Samantha was too afraid to make her own door key so she stole the door key from her mom's key ring while her mom was in one of her midday vodka-antidepressant induced naps. I had a copy made, got the key put back and didn't get caught.

4. Have you ever stolen or guessed a password? Did you use it to gain unauthorized access? What did you do?
I've guessed passwords before. Only on bets, though. Making money off guessing my friends esy passwords is way more fun than snooping.

5. Do you know how to get data from a computer that requires a password you don’t know?
Not a clue and I wouldn't likely admit it if I did, so :p

6. Do you know how to record a telephone call? Have you ever done so secretly? Did you hear anything interesting? What?
Of course I do. I've watched enough espionage movies to know how to place a wire tap, sheesh.

7. Have you ever used a webcam or nanny cam to photograph someone secretly?
No, that's a little bit creepy unless you were actually using it to spy on a babysitter or caregiver to see how they're treating your loved ones while they're in charge. Or if you live with multiple roommates and you're trying to figure out who's drinking from the milk carton and who's really leaving their dirty dishes laying around. Also using one to see if there's any spooky supernatural activity going on while you're asleep or not home is acceptable as well. Otherwise though? Weird-ish.

8. Have you ever used an infrared camera to photograph someone secretly in the dark?
Well now that's about 100X creepier than the question for #7 was. Crikey.

9. Have you ever learned anything important by deliberate eavesdropping?
I'll be honest and say yes although I don't eavesdrop very often and that mostly happened when I was a kid and around family. I hate the idea of invading other people's privacy.

10. Do you know how to hot-wire a car?
I do, actually! A very helpful skill if I'm ever in a "Gone In 60 Seconds" type situation or if I decide to turn to a life of crime stealing cars for various gain.

Happy Tuesday!

10 months ago today, we lost you...

Today makes it 10 months since my grandpa died. He had so many things he battled through and overcame. War. Cancer. Alzheimer's though, he couldn't shake that, sadly. It's horrible to watch someone you love be slowly taken over by such a horrible disease.

When I started thinking about it today, I had the idea to make it a blog post so I'd have somewhere to voice all the thoughts I was having. Now that I'm sitting here typing this, it's difficult to find the words I want to share. The thoughts are still there, it's just sharing them, typing them out? It seems so odd still to write about how I feel now that he's gone. There are things I want to say, things I feel would help me if I could say them out loud but, I can't bring myself to because they seem so personal. Like they're meant to just be my thoughts or memories, not to be shared with anyone, even though I think it would help to voice some of those feelings.

I have a few things of his that are mine now. My grandma wanted us all to have something of his. I have the watch he wore every day. I remember days where I'd sit in his lap in the recliner in his house and I'd randomly ask him what time it was. He'd show me that watch and ask me what time it was. I remember how grown up and special it seemed to me then to wear a watch and was excited when my mom let me get my first watch. She probably doesn't even remember it but I do. It was a cheap little watch, the type with the plastic clasp and rubber band with a cartoon character on it. Now I have that watch I show him wear every time I saw him. The watch I always asked to look at because the face was so big and it seemed so fancy to me at the time because I didn't have anything like it. It mostly stays in it's box now but sometimes I take it out. I've worn it a few times but it doesn't fit well and the face takes up most of my wrist. Sometimes when I really miss him, it helps to wear it. I think because it just brings back happy memories of him for me.

Another thing she gave me where a pair of his cufflinks. He had so many pairs and they're all so pretty. The pair she gave me have a pair of gemstones in them, tiger's eye to be exact. They're very pretty. They also just sit in their box but sometimes I like to look at them. I remember when he used to dress nice for family events. He usually just wore coveralls all the time so when he was dressed in something different, it was always a little surprising to me. I'd always expect him to come over and be in those coveralls but when he was dressed up, he looked like a snazzy business man to me.

We spent so much time there growing up. They visited often. I grew up thinking for a while that every kid saw their grandparents as much as we did. I learned pretty quickly that wasn't the case and that not every kid even liked to have theirs around. Mine, I loved having around and was always happy when they came to visit for the day or came to take my brother and I home for the weekend. Or longer during Spring Break and Summer.

My grandma wasn't strict but she had certain things she didn't like us getting in to. One of the things was a little wooden train that sit in the floor with a couple other things. She used to hate us playing with that little wooden train. It wasn't a toy but myself and all the grand kids like to play with it. I always had a love for locomotives so I especially loved playing with it. We'd drag it out when grandma wasn't around, trying not to get caught with it. Then we usually did. Then she'd tell us that it wasn't a toy and to put it back up. Then always, right on cue, grandpa would interject and tell her to leave me or whomever was playing with it alone. She'd say it's not a toy. He'd say, "it's just a wooden train, let 'em alone with it." And she did.

I know I'll always miss him. Especially since he was such a part of my life and I looked up to and respected him so much. I miss our chats on the front porch. I miss his random comments when no one thought he was paying attention to the conversation. I miss his blunt honesty. I miss hugging him and hearing him call me sugar. He's the only person who could get away with calling me that because from anyone else, I can't stand that pet name. I at least have a lot of happy memories with him and can focus on those when I'm sad and thinking about him. And mostly, I know he's not confused and in pain and suffering anymore. I know he'll never read this but I always hope I did a good enough job of letting him know that I appreciated and loved him very much. I don't torture myself with thinking about things I could have done or times I could have spent because at the end, you'll always find things you should have or could have done differently. All you can do is hopefully be happy with what was done and I really am. So while I'm sad and thinking about him today more than other days where I think about and miss him, I'm also a little happy, too. Emotions really are such a complex thing.