Fan Theories of Late

I can't seem to stop listening to the Ever After soundtrack. Tiana and I might just watch the movie again this Saturday. It's just so amazing. I wish there was another movie to go with it, like a sequel. But at the same time I don't, because we all know most every sequel has been a flop. Except in a few rare cases...

Tonight Tiana and I are going to watch The Phantom of the Opera, 25th Anniversary Performance. It's on Netflix. I have seen it once before, but that was a while ago and I forgot most of it. We're going to see it preformed live in a few months, which is really exciting. While I'm not nearly as into Phantom as Tiana is, it's still pretty cool. The concept in intriguing, and gets my mind thinking. Also, just going to a Broadway show is an exciting experience! I can't wait to get a playbill! They look really cool.

As I've mentioned quite a few times these past posts, I've been working on Rohca Island. I've been figuring more about the main character. For one thing, I've decided that she likes to garden! It's kind of minor, but maybe it'll become important. Oh! I also thought of a fun beginning to Heart of Fire. Unfortunately I already wrote a beginning, and will not let myself re-write anything huge (that is, more than a small paragraph). So I'll have to wait until the revisions to write it. Though I think it's a good beginning, to help describe the characters predicament without going through the typical, she was an orphan from birth, left on the doorstep on the orphanage with no note of who her parents were. Life was tough, she was poor, etc. That gets old fast.

Oh, another exciting thing is my dad has a lot of buyers for the capitol lending we're doing, so next month we might get 10 deals done. That's huge, so I'm really hoping that it works out. I still haven't gotten payed yet, but that's fine because I'm not expecting to be until the end of this week. Then I can buy the time turner I found on Etsy! I can't wait to buy it, then finally get it.

I finished Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief. It was really good, and I'm excited to read the next book. It's funny. I tried to get my brother to listen to it, but he wasn't interested. Until he was reading the description of the book while I listened. He was like, "hey, this sound interesting! Why didn't you read me this synopsis?" I just started blankly at him. I had read him that very synopsis. So now he really wants to read Percy Jackson. Mwahaha!

Just today as well I finished reading Catherine, the Great Journey. Next I'll probably read Eleanor of Aquitaine, since it's around that time period that Heart of Fire is set. It may be historical fantasy, but I still want to include a lot of historical elements. So it's probably going to be a little more historical than fantasy, though I wont know for certain until I'm finished writing. I've got a long ways before that happens.

This week was an odd week, so I haven't done any school. Meaning I haven't practiced Gaelic or French at all! Actually to be honest, French has been going really slowly. It makes school take really long, but I'm so torn because I still want to keep learning it! So I suppose I'll have to decide if I really want to take all the extra time. My priority is Gaelic, but oh how I want to learn French! I'll have to figure out how I can learn both... maybe if I use Duolingo for French more, instead of mostly Mango Languages. That way I don't have to spend so much time writing stuff down. That might just work...

Due to Sereina's schedule, we almost never get to watch The Flash the night it's on. We finally got to watching it last night. It was... whoa. There for a while, after *spoiler* Dr. Wells used super speed, Daniel and I were wondering if he was Impulse, who in the comics was Barry Allen's son. But then they revealed that Wells has been pulling speed to use from the Speed Force, so that debunked that theory, and explains some things. All I know is, next season is apparently going to be drenched in time travel. It makes sense though. Reverse Flash's comic character has an extremely scrambled timeline. Actually, Daniel and I think Eddie may be Reverse Flash. His name closely resembles the name of the Reverse Flash from the comics, though Wells has the suit, and evidence would seem to point more to him... except that the Reverse Flash beat Wells up. Realistically(-ish) that would have created a paradox. Touching yourself. Or so I think. And Eddie was untouched by Reverse Flash, so... ugh. It's impossible to tell. They released pictures of a soon to be fight scene between Flash and Reverse Flash, and I tried looking at the guys face... he didn't look likes Wells or Eddie. So eight a mask like that really does work, or it's somebody new.

Pure Perfection

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. For starters, a few days ago I was getting ready for a shower when I noticed a large bubble of paint. It was about the size of my fist, and looked to be filled with water. Turns out it was. That was bad news (you know, bad news is become way too common in this house). It took time, but we finally traced down the leak to our fridge, and luckily it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it might be. I got to pop the water bubbles, then peal a bunch of paint away, as well as draw on the wall. That was kind of fun, though I'm still waiting for the day I can break a wall apart with a hammer...

Then the other day one of my two book packages arrived. Great, right? Well, the first book arrived all find and dandy, but they mixed up the labels, and instead of a second Royal Diary book, I got a compilation of three stories from a Readers Digest. So now I'm going to have to go through the hassle of returning that. But good news is, my next package is out for delivery as of today, so I'll be getting my other two books in the next few hours! Yay! Let's hope this company doesn't mix up their labels.

Since my grandpa is moving, we're having to go through his stuff since he wont have nearly as much room as in his duplex. I've gotten some of his things, like an antique looking world globe, some awesome bottles (I collect bottles), as well as his RC Baja Bug. Yesterday I got a mini lamp from him, that I can use under my bunk bed. I've been wanting a lamp like that for years. I also got a nice desk lamp too.

The other day Tiana and I watched Ever After, one of my absolute favorite movies. To me the movie is flawless. Pure perfection. It's a Cinderella story, and it's so well told and put together. Just the right amount of romance and humor. Great characters. A totally hate-able step mother and obnoxiously funny stepsister. It's amazing! One of the best parts is, the prince didn't have short hair. That's one of my biggest historical movie pet peeves. The guys hair is always way to short. Overall I say again, the movie is perfection. There is one swear word though, which is the S word. But I'm not even mad about it. You know why? Back in the 16th century (when the movie is set) it wasn't a swear word at all. It was used in everyday conversations. So I ain't even mad.

My last history post, about Peter Carl Fabergé, was really fun to write. I don't know when, but I'll probably make more posts to show off all the different Fabergé eggs. They're all so pretty!

I've been re-reading Catherine: The Great Journey, since I now own it. Even though it doesn't have the wonderful smell the library version had, it's still wonderful. It's like revisiting an old friend. Every time I read one of the Royal Diaries I get in this mood. When talking to myself I'll talk more medieval-ish, and I can't help but wish I could time travel. I also tend to think and act a little more like the person in the book. When I read about Elizabeth I, I tend to feel more proud about my schoolwork and education, when I read Anastasia it makes me want to feel important, and less like a little kid. Less like a shvibzik, and yet more like a shvibzik. For Marie Antoinette, it makes me want to enjoy the simple things in life more. Each one just gives me this feeling, and I really love it.

Looks like I wont be waiting for hours. My package is here! Squee! My bookshelf looks so pretty with my newest editions, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Mary Queen of Scots. My shelves are also getting full. I barely fit them on. That may sound amazing, but I have to share a shelf with my brother, and I also have to use it as a storage place. So one shelf is dedicated purely to books, another is one half binders and the other half books, and the last one has decorations, my bottles and other things, as well as library books stacked as high as I can get them.

These past days I've been obsessed with my story, Rohca Island. Who'd have thought the sad little story I wrote November 2013 would turn out to be so... intense. I never thought it'd turn out this great. Sure, things have changed a bit, but deep down it's still the same novel. I've been working on characters. Naming them has been really fun. I have a character visual for all of them, except one. He's a very particular character, and I just haven't found someone who has the right look in his eye... But overall it's been a blast writing out all my ideas and things. Daniel helped me advance the plot. Overall I don't have a particular objective, which I need to find, but it's a million times better than the original, so so far I'm happy. Maybe soon I'll start writing it. Come to think of it, I haven't been doing any actual writing lately... Or editing of Believe...

I just found the coolest thing on Etsy! So, I decided to browse Etsy, cause I never do and they seem to have cool stuff. It was the best/worst idea ever. Now I wanna buy everything! But something multiple people were selling, and something I will buy when I receive my next paycheck, is a hand made time turner! They look amazing, and they even spin! I was so awe struck when I first saw one, that I decided on the spot I would buy one when I had the money. I can't wait.

Peter Carl Fabergé

One thing I've seen speckled throughout the history of the Romanovs are the famous 'Imperial' Fabergé Eggs. The tradition first started with Tsar Aledander III, and continued to Nicholas II.

Each Easter Nicholas would order two eggs, each equally special and beautiful. One he would send to his mother, Maria Feodorovna, and the other he would present to his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna. Each egg would have a hidden button, and when pressed the egg would then open to reveal a secret compartment with a surprise inside.

The House of Fabergé made roughly 50 eggs total, though only 43 of them survived. There were two more planned for the Easter of 1918, but due to the Russian Revolution, were never made nor delivered.

First let's talk about the Mosaic Egg, one of my personal favorites. Under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé, Albert Holmström built the Mosaic Egg, which Tsar Nicholas II presented to his wife the Easter of 1914. The floral tapestry pattern was designed by Alma Theresia Pihl, who I read was inspired by needlework fire screens found in aristocratic sitting rooms of the time. The egg, pictured above, is 9 cm tall and was created using a variation of gold, platinum, diamonds, rose-cut diamonds, ruby, emerald, topaz, sapphire, garnet, half-pearls, moonstone, white enamel, and opaque enamel.

The surprise inside is a removable miniature frame with profiles of the Tsar's children (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei) in a cameo brooch style. The back of the frame is enameled with a sepia basket of flowers; the basket is bordered with the year 1914 and the names of each of the Romanov children. The current owner of the Mosaic Egg is Elizabeth II.


In Easter, 1915, Nicholas presented the Imperial Red Cross Egg to his mother Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna. Also under the supervision of Peter Carl, Henrik Wigström created this egg. It's made of silver, with the shell covered by bands, edged in gold. Each band has a different guilloche pattern, a decorative engraving technique, and is covered in white enamel. The two red crosses are made of enamel and are on either side of the egg. One includes the date "1914" as can be seen in the picture on the right, and the other "1915." Inscribed on the outside of the egg are the words, "Greater Love hath no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends." The monogram of the Dowager Empress is displayed on the top of the shell.


This egg's surprise is a folding screen of five miniature portraits, all women from the House of Romanov. Each is wearing their Red Cross nurse uniform, as possibly painted by Vasily Ivanovich Zuiev (active with Fabergé from 1903-1918). The portraits are of the Grand Duchess Olga Aledandrovna of Russia, Nicholas II's sister, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, his eldest daughter, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, the Tsar's second daughter, and the Granch Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the Tsar's first cousin.

Each portrait is painted on ivory, and is situated in a mother-of-pearl and gold screen that folds to fit inside the egg, which is lined in velvet to protect and secure the folded frame. On the back of each portrait is a golden monogram of the sitter.

Lastly for today we have the Constellation Egg, which is one of two designed under the supervision of Peter Carl in 1917 for the last Tsar of Russia. It was the last Fabergé egg designed. It remains unfinished.

The egg was ordered for Alexandra Feodorovna, but of course never got the change to be presented to her. As known from a 1917 document, the Constellation Egg was made of blue glass with a crystal base, and the Leo sign of the zodiac is engraved on the glass (Alexei Nikolaevich was a Leo). There are stars that are marked by diamonds; inside is a clock mechanism.

Apparently in 2001, a similar item was discovered in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow, and experts believe it to be an unfinished egg made by Fabergé. It's an unfinished item, without diamonds. The inspiration for the egg, a clock by Augustin Pajou, the Parisian Neoclassical sculptor, has been identified by Kieran McCarthy of Wartski, London.

Meanwhile Russian millionaire Alexander Ivanoc claims that he owns the original (and finished) egg. In 2003-2004 he said that he acquired this egg in the late 1990's and affirms that "the Fersman Museum erroneously continues to claim that it has the original egg. Experts and their research clearly supports the Alexander Ivanov's egg as genuine." Russian museum authorities considered this as nonsense and fake. His egg is now in the Faberge Museum in Baden-Baden, which houses part of his Fabergé collection.

Fwib-Fwabby

Opening Tommy's disk drive is an art that is not to be taken lightly. One must properly place their finger in the exact position, and apply enough pressure to the button that is almost invisible. Only then will it open so you may place a disk, or remove a disk, from the drive. It's a complicated process that even I have yet to master. In other words, Tommy's disk drive is really hard to open.

I've been listening to the Wicked musical music nonstop since yesterday. It's so amazing! I seriously need to watch Wicked again. Though all the music is amazing, I'd have to say that No Good Deed is probably my favorite song. But What is This Feeling is a really good song as well. It's pretty fun to sing, though Defying Gravity and Popular are equally fun. Ah, all the music is just amazing. I never really thought there'd come a day that I'd love any musical as much I love Wicked.

My job has been getting a little more interesting as of late. We've got four new property deals, so I'm gonna get a big paycheck soon. Good thing too, I've got a bit of debt to pay off, and then of course it's always nice to buy a little something for myself from time to time as well. Maybe I'll buy more books! Ah, but I'd best not spend my money before I even get it. Anyways; before I'd write out emails and send them to my dad (my boss) for him to send, now I'm the one sending them. It's really not that bad. I'm just glad I don't have to make phone calls. Phones make me nervous, because I can never tell what people are saying. I'll just catch every three words or so, and I'll be nervous with my heart racing the whole time.

Last night we got to watch The Flash, and Arrow. First off, The Flash is doing great, nothing overly fangirl worthy thus far. As for Arrow, well. Thing are getting serious and their end of season plot is starting right now. Arsenal/Roy Harper is seriously getting better and better with each episode. He's been one of my absolute favorite characters since he was first introduced. That is, when he stole Thea's purse. As for Laurel, well. I'm not sure what to think. She's my least favorite character, and so far I don't really want her to become Black Canary. Her character is a little too fwib-fwabby for my taste. But maybe they'll make her better. After all, they've done a wonderful job with Thea and Roy. So I suppose there is hope. Oh, and I read the next episode synopsis. So things are probably going to turn out kind of great with Laurel. In my opinion at least.

Tiana was just looking through her video file on the link station (all my life we've made home videos and movies and things). She just showed me some "behind the scenes" of our George and Martha Washington remake. It's a weird home movie we never finished, and the original was just filmed with a webcam. I was... oh boy. Not very bright. I knew literally nothing of history, and I got all confused about when George Washington was president (though to be honest, I still know very little of American history). I also was taking insanely fast. Do I actually talk that fast? Incidentally I do, cause I'm often told to slow down when I start talking. But yeah, that was... whoo, a blast from the past. Back when my hair was almost straight, before I started getting seriously into history, writing, etc. Though back then I read the same amount as I do now. I've always been a bookworm.

Gosh, it's really hot in my room right now. Like, really hot. I should go check the heater and turn it down.

Twice

I'm going to start off by saying, soon I'm hoping to get up another history post. Probably about the Romanov's in some way, but no promises. I've been working on a few, but things have been busy for me the last few days so I barely have time to do anything.

These last few days my mind has been on the verge of exploding what with all the ideas I keep coming up with for Rohca Island. First I made it and my post apocalyptic novel into one book, then I realized how all my main characters are not going to be normal humans, and now I've perfectly though up another character or two who will be introduced into the novel about half way through. Gah, things are crazy! I'll bet none of that made any sense to you what so ever.

That's it. I'm convinced someone is going to die on Arrow soon. They haven't even quite returned from hiatus but I'm so positive. Twice on the Facebook page they mentioned death. The first time they hinted the death to be... well.. Ray's... Oh but they'd better not.

Yesterday and today I did a little drawing. I haven't drawn in a while, and while it's a nice hobby it's not something I've ever gotten very good at. The drawings turned out nicely though. It was a nice change from just coloring. That's how I started drawing. I couldn't find any good coloring sheets, so I decided to draw a Celtic wolf design thingy. They're tough, but fun to do. Maybe sometime I'll have to post my drawings.

I've really been wanting to re-watch the Harry Potter movies lately, so I ordered the first one from the library today. Listening to the soundtrack makes me extremely happy. There's the quality to it, like none other. Sure, I really love a lot of soundtracks and all, but this one gives me chills. It has an eerily fun quality, and the overall story is just amazing. I am a love of both the movies and books. After all, they did amazingly in the movies, considering they had to fit each entire book into a two and a half hour movie. When you think about it, it's quite impressive. Sometime I'll have to re-read the books as well. They're so good!

Somewhere's a Celt

Oh gosh, the last two days have been crazy. Well, crazy for me that is. Nothing much happens on a week to week basis, so when I have two full days it feels like a week passes in forty eight hours. Anyways, yesterday was all chill through the morning, but in the afternoon we had to move a bunch of stuff out in the garage. Since our Grandpa is moving he doesn't have a garage anymore, and we get his gun safe. Of course the garage needed a bit of rearranging and cleaning before it'd fit. It actually turned out to be funner than I thought it would. At one point we were all tossing around our extra supplies and things, to move them from the floor into the shelves. Yesterday we also officially contacted our neighbor, who knows a guy trying to get rid of a little kitten. So if it's still available, and if we can return the kitten if Koko hates him, then we might get a new kitten! All during the cleaning of the garage we kept trying to think of names (the kitten is mostly grey, with some white and a little black. I think it might be a Tabby, but I really don't know). Most everyone liked the ideas of Caesar and Gus, a few liked Oliver, and everyone but Sereina liked Fiyero. Any suggestions would be great, cause if we do end up getting the kitten he's gonna need a name.

Then today we finally moved the safe, with the help of some friends. They came over at ten thirty, and just left a little while ago. So they've been here almost all day. But as I said, they helped move the safe, and then stayed to watch the game. We hung out, listening to music while drawing/coloring and eventually played our made up modified capture the flag game, Commandos. Oh, and after the Hawks won, we got out some silly string that we've had for years, and went crazy. Overall it was a great day! Though I'm really tired. It's about that time of day, where I get really tired until I perk up late at night.

Once again I have found more music on Freegal. They have a whole bunch of Gaelic Storm's music. There's only a few specific songs of theirs that I know, since in the past I listening to their music on Pandora and didn't pay attention to the names. My favorites are Scalliwag and Kiss Me I'm Irish. Both songs area fun and up beat. Actually, while listening to Kiss Me I'm Irish last night, I though how perfect it would be if one of the characters in my book, Rohca, was of Irish origin. So now he is. Something about that just fit perfectly. Today I also had another idea, that also fits perfectly. Gosh, all my ideas for Rohca lately have fit perfectly. It's a wonderful feeling.

Overall it's been a crazy weekend, and I'll be glad to get back to a normal week. Tomorrow I get back to my school, which will feel good. Oh, and I've been working on a composition. It's the farthest I've ever gotten. I think (hope!) that I've finally found my groove in the composing department, and I'm really, really hoping to actually release a song soon! Even if it's really short, though my rule is that each song must be a minimum of one minute, but preferably I'd like to keep them around three minutes.

Deep in my blood I must be a Celt or something. Whenever I listening to Irish/Scottish music I feel so alive. I'm in love with the beat of the songs, and it just makes me want to start dancing a jig of sorts. Only problem is, I dunno how to dance other than crazy freestyle that is not really dancing at all. Well, I suppose I can waltz, and a few other dances that require a large group. But that's not what we're talking about.

So far I'm obsessed with Percy Jackson. I'm only at the part where Percy accepts his quest (shortly after he discovers that is father was Poseidon. How did I not see that until the river during capture the flag?). I can see why my friend is interested in Greek Mythology. The book is bringing it to life, and it only makes me curious about Greek Mythology. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be making a post on the Greek gods or something.

Guys, The Flash and Arrow are only 2/3 days from returning from hiatus! Time to freak out guys, these are the days we've been waiting for since the very second the last episodes ended. Am I freaking out? Naw... only completely hyperventilating because my favorite television shows are coming back from hiatus! 'Course that only brings us closer to the season finales... eh, lets not think such dark thoughts. But good news is that both Arrow and Flash are confirmed for another season, so we don't have to worry from that side of things. I wasn't really worried though, after all they're both really popular shows. As they should be too.

I was just looking through the list of songs in the Arrow season one soundtrack and I saw the song, Shado Sees an Emerging Hero. Oh, my heart! No, of course I didn't need it.

Time to go have a Psyche-athon. I'm really addicted to that show. I guess I just really missed having a nice mystery series. All my life I've loved mysteries, and ever since we finished Monk life hasn't been the same. Luckily Psyche isn't over; they're still going! So that means there's gonna be a lot of episodes to come even after we catch up! We're on season two, but I haven't seen a bunch of them since I come in and out of the episodes at times. So there's so much I've yet to see! Whoo hoo!

What a Busy Day it's Been

Today has been a really busy day around the house. I stared off waking up late (again), then doing a video chat with some friends before starting off my day. Of course I did my school, then I had to clean an old belt full of .22 magnum cartridges (they were covered in corrosion), then I had to polish the cartridges. By then I was feeling a bit tired, took a little break and sat on the couch listening to soundtracks with Sereina. Daddy got home a small while later and we had work to do (we've got four short-term lending deals, so I'm gonna get a big paycheck soon!). That's basically my day in a nutshell. Oh, and I had to clean the kitchen a few times throughout the day as well as do a load of laundry.

So a long time ago some friends made a Robin Hood film. Well, they chose the best music for their trailers and the actual film, and I finally remembered I wanted to look it up. I've basically been listening to Call for Heroes non stop since I found it. It's such an epic song! It always makes me think of their trailers, which makes me think of the story of the film. While the story was good, the quality is a bit rough. I think it would be awesome if they re-did the film now that they have better equipment and more experience. That would be epic, because the overall story is cool. Since the film is about Robin Hood it's set during the reign of King Richard. In their story his brother, Prince John, imprisoned him to take over. I'm trying to think, but in actual history I think Richard the Lion Heart was actually just fighting the Crusade to the Holy Land when his brother took over. And even that I think may have had something to do with his parents feuding... maybe not though. Hmm, I'll have to look into that part of history more. I could rant about history, what I know, what to know, and all that for days.

As you know I've been learning French, as well as Scottish Gaelic. But I have come to the decision that doing French four times a week is just a bit overwhelming. Like, it just takes too much time. I'm able to comprehend it all, but by the time I reach French I just wanna practice piano and be done. So I think I'll cut down my requirements of doing French four times a week to just twice. So that's like half a page a day. Sounds reasonable.

Gosh, I'm so tired. I have sleepless nights every night, waking up every few hours. Then I get up late, tired, and I go to bed tired but don't actually fall asleep until really late. My body is just all outta whack.

More exciting news is that Arrow and Flash are going to return next week. I seriously cannot believe how they left off Arrow. It was worse than the Sherlock series two cliff hanger, with the only exception that we are only on hiatus for about a month, whereas Sherlockians were on hiatus for a few years. Other than that, Arrow's cliff hanger is the worst. The Flash left off at a point where all was "good" but you were just left staring at the TV wanting more. Let's not even mention Agents of Shield, which will not be returning for a few more months. Their cliff hanger was good, but we're being put on hiatus for way to long. It needs to come back now.

I haven't really been writing lately, just since I've been kind of busy. I seriously need to continue editing Believe, so hopefully I'll find some time to do that tomorrow, or Friday. Tomorrow is going to be an... interesting day. It's Tiana's eighteenth birthday, but things are just all outta whack with out Grandpa being in the hospital (though I think he's getting out really soon). Hopefully it'll be a good birthday for her though. She said she's going to buy a lotto ticket. Hopefully she wins something.

Whilst cleaning and polishing the cartridges (yes, I had to polish them) I finally got around to starting Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief on audio. The narrator is alright, and so far I like the story. A friend of mine (who reads this blog. Hi.) is a big fan of the series, so I'm sure it'll be great. If I can find the time I want to continue tomorrow. For those wondering, I'm on chapter... four? All I know is Percy's mom just crashed the car and now she told Percy to run to Camp Half-Blood (I think that's the place anyway. I have slight second-hand fandom disease with Percy Jackson). So yay for audio books! I haven't listened to an audio book in forever, so it's kind of fun. It gives me a chance to read while working on a project or something. Though I'm easily distracted, so I have to pay close attention to the narrator, or else I miss important information.

Oh, gotta go. We're gonna watch Psyche.