Limitless Ramblings

I'm having a problem blogging... this is so much harder than I thought it would be. I have no idea what to blog about...

I wish I had a video camera... I would love to make a bunch of random little videos... lol.

I've been writing a bunch of random story... finished my first really good fanfic. Well, in my opinion it was good... better than a lot of crap I've churned out before.

I've found that I'm fairly fond of Anberlin... and 30 Seconds To Mars.

I'm also extremely.... EXTREMELY.... into How I Met Your Mother. Today's episode was fantastic. It gave me another story idea. :) But I'm fairly certain that Awsful and Awfsome are going to be new words... lol. Neil Patrick Harris was fantastic on SNL, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard...

OOOO I know what I'll do.

I've been wanting to watch Office Space for a long time! That movie is hilarious. A lot of people tell me that I can make them laugh - which makes me happy - but a lot of the type of humor that I have is merely a mutation of me mimicking lines from that movie. And the cast is absolutely hilarious! Ron Livingston does a fantastic job - he's hilarious, and gives Peter Gibbons this absolutely Awfsome character... anyway, I was thinking of what my favorite scene of the movie was, and I figured it out. I don't know if this is my FAVORITE scene, but it's one of them... this is the "Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangsta" scene, when Peter starts to "take care" of all the little problems that have been bothering him... it's amazing, and hilarious... however, the language is a little... oh who am I kidding... EXTREMELY harsh, so don't watch if you're easily offended.



Sorry about the lameness of this post... XD





Some more great scenes. :)

Anyway, I gotta get to bed... work tomorrow! Getting the ball rolling again! :)

LET'S GET THIS!

~Lauren

13When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" John 2:13-16

We went over these versus today in Sunday School, and it kind of got me thinking. I'd heard this verse before, but for the first time, I saw that it said that he MADE the whip... Meredith and I had both thought he had merely found a whip.

John 2:15 is a verse that is abused a lot - so many people turn to it to point out that God could not have been perfect, because he acted on his anger and threw a temper tantrum in the temple. We discussed how Anger itself was not a sin (I honestly think the only emotion that is a sin without action is Lust, but I could be wrong about that), and how Jesus was acting in "righteous anger."

But for whatever reason, neither of us could let go of the fact that Jesus had taken the time to make a whip... and this is why.

I had always seen this verse as kind of like, Jesus got mad and it was okay cuz he was Jesus. I realize how blasphemous that sounds, but I don't mean it that way... I guess what I'm saying is, I never understood why it was okay for Jesus to get angry and act the way he did, I just knew it was okay for him to do it and not for us to do it. Even the whole righteous anger thing didn't make sense to me... but that whip thing did.

The reason it was okay for Jesus to act like that was because his anger didn't drive him. He was "righteously angry," and handled the situation how he saw fit. It was a sin because he wasn't devoured by that anger... know how I know?? Because he made a whip. I mean, think this through with me - have you ever been angry?? I mean, so angry that you would over turn tables, and yell at people, and fight small kittens, just because? So consumed with anger that you just wanted to scream?? That's when anger becomes a sin - when you let it take hold of you and act through your anger... when you start letting your anger drive scenarios instead of your heart.

How many people, when they get to that point, could think ahead, figure out what they needed, collect the necessary supplies, and MAKE that which they felt they needed?? I know I couldn't. I'd only see red, I wouldn't be able to focus on making anything.

Jesus was able to think clearly enough to make what he needed.... *shrugs* This probably doesn't mean a lot to any one else, but it kind of smacked me in the face today, and I know it kind of shocked Mere, too, so... well, if anyone is having problems with that verse, I hope this helps. It helped me... but then again, my brain is weird. :D

Also... blogging is hard! I mean, I suppose I could make it easy and just throw some lame surveys up here, which I've totally done before... but actually blogging - twisting your brain and organizing thoughts into a real, readable post is difficult... I'm kind of thankful for that story that I started, gives me something to put here. :)

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"What do you mean it didn't smile back?" Jordan asked. Cali shook her head.

"Just what I said! It didn't smile back! She smiled, and her reflection didn't smile back!"

"That's so weird," Suzan said.

"We need to do something!" Lewis said, stamping his foot onto the ground. "Could you imagine a world where reflections didn't return smiles?"

"Would you be able to make sense in this world?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes.

"So her reflection didn't smile back," Suzan started. "Big deal!"

"It is a big deal," Jordan said. "She could have a portal to another dimension in that mirror... what if her reflection killed all of our reflections?? I've seen Mirrors, it doesn't end well for us."

"Mirrors... Keifer Sutherland is in that! Yep!" Lily smiled and took a swig from her water bottle.

"Even if it did mean something bad, which it DOESN'T, what are WE going to do about it?" Suzan asked, looking around at everyone. "We don't have powers worth using, remember?"

"Shh, here she comes!" Cali said, and everyone fell silent.

"I'm going for a walk," Taylor said. "Maybe you all can learn to respect me better when I get back."

"Not likely." Lewis smiled at her. Taylor left in a huff, and Jordan punched Lewis in the arm. "OW! What? I'm sposed to make her want to rip her brain out, remember?"


James held onto his journal as tightly as he could, but the thug was bigger and stronger, and he was losing the battle fast.

"Please, I don't want anyone to get hurt!" Taylor stopped as she passed in front of the alley, listening to the commotion.

"Seriously, kid, just give me the stupid journal!" Just then, James lost his grip on the journal and the thug flew back. "HA! Now, let's see what's in here..." He opened the journal, flipping through the pages, and looked at James strangely. "What the heck, dude, it's just some weird words."

"They're sleeping... close it now, while you still can!"

"What?" Just then, the journal started shaking. The thug threw it on the ground, and the words began to climb out and attack everyone, including Taylor and James...


"OMG HELP ME! PLEASE!" Richard ran up to the four friends, tears sticking to his face. He had run all the way from the school, looking for anyone who could help him.

"What seems to be the problem, kid?" Jordan asked as Richard tried to catch his breath.

"A voice... there's" a voice in my head "A voice in my head! It says everything I want to say right before I say it!" Suzan hung her head, and Lewis started laughing.

"Look, kid, what's your name?"

"Richard..."

"Richard... ok Richard, now tell me, what does this voice sound like..."

Me.... it sounds like "Me, it sounds like me!" Richard buried his head in his hands. "It won't leave me alone!"

"Sounds to me like you can read your mind!" Lewis said. "Looks like you've got yourself a super power!"

"That's not a super power, Lewis!"

"A super power?" Richard said, his eyes lighting up. Lewis shot Suzan a dirty look, then smiled at Richard.

"Yeah! You can read your mind... not a lot of people can do that." Jordan laughed and nodded.

"It's true! Few people can read your mind!" Just then, they heard Taylor's screams.

"What was that?" Lily asked.

"Sounded like a scream," Suzan said.

"No kidding," Jordan said, rolling her eyes. "If we ever decide to fight crime, I'm calling you Captain Obvious."

"Let's go see!" Lewis took off out the door.

"LEWIS!" Suzan yelled. They all took off after Lewis, who was heading toward the source of the screams. "WHAT ARE THOSE?"

"Captchas!" James cried as he tried to fend off four of them. "Be careful!" Lewis ran up to James, kicking the vicious captchas away from him and pulling him out of the worst of it. They all took shelter behind a dumpster.

"What... the heck... are CAPTCHAS?" Jordan asked, being sure to keep her voice low.

"They're... they're angry things... you see... I have this ability... every time someone enters a word verification online, I immediately get the word. I then write them down in my journal and keep them locked up. They're angry because they aren't real words... they're just... Captchas."

"How do we stop them?" Jordan asked.

"Paper should work," Lily said.

"And how do you know that?" Lewis asked her.

"Dunno... isn't it my ability?? If we can get them onto paper and back into James' journal, we should be okay."

"Alright, then!" Lewis said, standing up. "Let's go CAPTCHA them!"
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Lauren threw down the script in disgust and looked at Kitty.

"That isn't real... that wasn't a real pilot." Kitty laughed.

"Yes it was."

"Unbelievable!" Lauren said, shuddering. "That's the worst thing I've ever read... what... what was Taylor's power?"

"You find out later that Taylor's special ability... is having a reflection that can't smile."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"And... it was either this... or Lost?" Kitty nodded. "I take it back, then... Lost is NOT the worst show ever written... THIS is."

"Told you," Kitty said, laughing. "Told you."

I hope I get this post in in time!

I finally watched it! I finally watched it! Music Within is the most AWESOME movie!!! Ron Livingston did a fantastic job... it was a touching movie, and was very well done! I encourage everyone to watch it!

I'm currently watching Saturday Night Live - Neil Patrick Harris is hosting, with Taylor Swift musical guest! Watching it makes me REALLY wish my dream about hosting SNL wasn't a dream... XD

Okay, so, I don't have a lot to blog about, because I have EVERYTHING to blog about.

((Wow, NPH is hilarious. :D))

OMG... I can't stop laughing... they brought back the Samberg as Wahlberg character tonight!!! :D "Say hello to the cast of How I Met Your Mother for me."

I do need to apologize for my depressing story in yesterday's post, so I decided I would try to write a more, undepressing short story. I can't promise it won't suck. XD

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"Okay, so, raise your hand if you've ever met someone that makes you want to rip your brain out." Taylor's friends stared at her outstretched hand as she sat in the booth. "Come on, get em up there... I know you've all met somebody like that, come on, come on." Slowly, her friends raised their hands. "Why are you raising your hand, Suzan?"

"Be... because, I've met someone that made me want to rip my brain out," Suzan said.

"Oh? Get outta town! Me too!!" Everyone exchanged quizzical glances. "Who does it to you?"

"Well it--"

"Awesome... sucks when that happens, huh? See, for me, it's that jerk from last week." Taylor flagged down a waitress and smiled at her as she ordered a cherry coke.

"Wait," her friend Lily said. "The one you thought was cute? What was his name? Um... Larry... Laurence..."

"Lewis," Taylor said. "And he's a jerk... I've seriously never cursed somebody's name so much."

"Are you serious?" Jordan asked. "The other day you were saying how awesome he was, and now... you hate him?"

"Yep, he's a... you know what?? Can we cut?" Everyone on set sighed, and Taylor stood up. "This is horrible. I hate this writing! What, did you guys just decide to give your jobs to children? SHEESH."

"Raise your hands if you've ever met anyone who made you want to rip your brain out!" Jordan muttered, and everyone's hands went up. Taylor looked around, crossed her arms, and let out a "hmph!"

"You know, I don't need this job! I don't need ANY OF YOU!" She stormed off the set and to her dressing room, slamming the door and staring at her reflection in the mirror. "I don't need them! I'm special! I'm VERY special!" Taylor smiled at her reflection... but her reflection didn't smile back...


"OOOO SINGSTR!" James exclaimed, scribbling the name down in his journal and closing the book tightly. "Don't stare at me!" He yelled at the other riders on the subway. He held his journal tightly, keeping it closed. As the subway stopped, he stood up and got off, heading toward the stairs that led to the surface.

"Hey!" Someone said behind him. He clutched his journal closer and picked up the pace. "HEY!" They said again. James didn't want a confrontation, so he started to jog. He could hear the people behind him start jogging as well. As he got to the top of the stairs, he felt someone grab him and push him into an alley. "I was talking to you! What was that thing you said on the bus?"

"Just a word," he said. "I think of them, and write them down." Someone else shoved him back, and he almost dropped his journal. "HEY! Be careful!"

"Why?? Afraid that if your journal gets dirty, you'll have to clean it?" Everyone laughed at the weird joke - everyone but James.

"You don't want my journal to open... you don't know who you're dealing with." The thugs echanged glances and laughed again, before the leader grabbed part of the journal. James and him were thrust into a vicious battle of tug-o-war. James clung to the journal, terrified of what would happen if what was inside was ever released...



Richard ran through the halls as quickly as he could, the footsteps of the bullies getting closer. He threw his body against a door and pushed it open, diving into the room and freezing. There was no way out. He dove underneath a table and pulled the chairs in front of him, hoping that the bullies wouldn't see him. They burst into the room shortly after him, and he held his breath, hoping they would just move on. The bullies approached the table he hid under and looked around. He felt like he was going to pop, his lungs crying out for air. After a while, the bullies left the room, and he crawled out from under the table and peered into the empty room.

Phew I think it's safe...

"Phew, I think it's safe," He said, then froze.

What was that?

"What was that?" He aksed, and clamped a hand over his mouth. Oh no, something's wrong with me "Oh no, something's wrong with me!" Richard looked around the room, terrified, and wondered if he was really alone...


"Who does she think she is??" Jordan asked, crossing her arms. Lewis, Lily, and Suzan all sighed.

"It's not worth getting worked up over," Lewis said. "She thinks she's the best thing this side of the... hey what's the nearest body of water?"

"Tachapee Lake," Lily said, smiling. "Yep, Tachapee Lake."

"She thinks she's the best thing this side of Tachapee Lake," Lewis said. "She's not going to change."

"Well, that doesn't mean I need to take her crap! You, know, I could teach her a lesson! If I really wanted to, I could---"

"You could WHAT?" Suzan said, cutting her off. "Turn her purple? Red? Make her clash with her shoes? Face it, Jordan... we can all act tought because we're "special," but to be honest, we're just losers."

"Hey," Lily said, sticking her lower lip out. "That's not nice."

"I'm not a loser," Lewis said. "I'm so cool, I'm measured in Kelvin."

"Thank you for proving how much of a loser you are, Lewis." Suzan said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not a loser... and you know she'd go balistic if I turned her... like... green."

"Jordan, you can change the color of anything you touch. Lily, you know useless facts - which would be cool if we lived in a game show. And Lewis... Lewis I don't even think you have a power, you just don't make sense." Suzan shook her head. "And I... I state the obvious. These aren't powers, you guys... we're lame."

"I could turn her grey. Who wants to be grey? Not me..."

"I give up," Suzan said, turning to leave.

"WAIT!" Cali ran up to the four and waved her hands wildly. "I... I was just... trying to talk to Ms. Taylor... and... and she was talking to the mirror and... and... you'll never guess what I saw!"

To Be Continued!!!!

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Sorry, I had a lot of fun with that story idea... looks like it's going to become a longer thing... but it's gonna be fun, I promise! I hope you enjoyed that one... I may make it one of my interactive fics, and put people I know in them... Jordan's already a character... well, I took her name. I'm starting to have fun with this short story thing... haha... but I'm thinking this one won't be as short as the others. :)

Again, check out Music Within... it's a GREAT movie! :)

Let's Get This!

~Lauren

I was thinking the other day that it's been a while since you guys got a good rant from me! Now, don't worry, this one won't be too long, I just wanted to point something out that's been bothering me.

If you're a blogger, chances are you know what a Captcha is... if you don't know what a Captcha is, don't worry about it, it's not going to be on the SATs or anything. Captcha is simply something that's used to make sure you're actually a person, and not a spam bot. It requires something called a "word verification."

Here's where the rant starts.

If something is called a "word verification," you'd think that a word would be required in order to verify you. Here is an example of some Captcha Word Verifications:

• Deafedly
• Disse
• Nulasace
• Reari
• Scoup
• Shvfenio
• Singes

Now, I could be wrong, but those aren't words! How can you have a word verification with things that aren't words? There are plenty of words in the english language - real ones - why not just use THOSE for word verification?? Why MAKE UP words?? And who is making up the words? Is it a machine? A SPAM BOT, maybe?? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

*shakes head* It just seems so pointles... don't call it word verification if it's not a WORD.

/rant

Now that I look at it... all those "words" sound like they'd make GREAT pokemon names... hey, Jordan, wanna draw some new Pokemanz? :P

To put this note on a more happy note, I've decided to throw in a quick short story. I've had a lot of creativity bouncing around in the ole noggin lately, mostly because my novel project hit a stand still. I've been churning out story idea after story idea, one shots and what not... and I've still got a fair amount of crazy ideas jingling around in the old noggin... a lot of times I'll just say something random, and this whole crazy story will form in my head. This is one I've had since I wrote THIS post, and I've finally got the energy and creativity to form it into a story... plus, Jordan mentioned her friend had posted a short story, and she inturn posted one herself, so I figured I'd follow suit. Who knows? Maybe I'll do this more often, and a bunch of us bloggers can get together and publish a book! haha!

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Pain... I didn't know much outside of the excruciating pain tearing through my entire body. My eyes darted around the room, trying to comprehend what had happened... where I was... how I had gotten here. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain and remember where I was...

"Oh no!" I heard a female voice cry. I didn't open my eyes - I knew her exclamation was in reaction to the site of my crumpled, broken body, lying on the floor. Her worried remarks only drove home the fact that I was dying, and as that realization hit me, my life flashed before my eyes...

For as long as I can remember I was alone. I lived on the streets, getting food and shelter where I could. I had found a few nice homes but was never able to stay very long. Anyone who saw me was absolutely disgusted by my appearance, and chased me away before they even got to know me. Still, I remained optimistic. As the rainy seasons drew closer, I began to look for a shelter, some place to stay to get out of the rain. It wasn't hard to find a place - by the rainy seasons, most places had become abandoned, but I was growing older. The older I got, the colder it got, and I decided that this time, I wanted a place with heat. I had been searching for a while, on the verge of giving up, when I heard voices.

"We can get in through here... she'll never suspect a thing!"

"Are you sure? She won't see us coming?"

I snuck up slowly, hiding behind a bush and listening closer.

"Not at all... and we can get in while she's sleeping. Once we find what we're looking for, there's nothing she can do!"

Thieves! I thought. I peered cautiously out from behind my hiding spot and saw them... there were three of them, crouched beneath a window. I assumed that they were planning on crawling in through the window and taking what they wanted. I had never liked thieves, especially ones that came in the cover of night.

"We need to sneak in before hand, case the place." I watched as they all agreed, and started for the window. My eyes darted around... surely there had to be someone that could stop them! But alas, no one. I took a deep breath - it was going to have to be me. I didn't want to; I still needed to find a place to stay, but I couldn't just turn my back on this situation. I took off as fast as I could, scurrying silently across the ground and after the intruders. I ran pass the back two and went straight for the leader, leaping onto his back and biting into his neck. I dug in, grabbing on deep and keeping his body pinned to the ground until he stopped moving.

"We've been compromised!" I heard one of the remaining two say, and they both left, abandoning their leader. It didn't matter, he was dead. I wiped my mouth with the back of my arm and peered into the window.

The room looked welcoming - dimly lit, well furnished, and warm. I decided I deserved a warm place to stay for the night, since I had just foiled the theives plans, and crawled in through the window. I heard distant voices, and decided to take a look around. Lots of posters covered the walls, stuffed animals overran one corner, and books were everywhere. I spotted a comfortable looking corner and crawled up the wall and across the ceiling to inspect it.

"I don't know why they haven't come into my room yet," I heard a female voice say, and I froze. I watched as a young woman walked into the room, and I fastened a piece of silk to the ceiling and dropped down to get a better view. She spotted me almost instantly, and I grip the string with my back two legs and hoist my body up in a defensive gesture, outstretching my remaining six limbs in what I can only hope is a scary pose.

"Cool," she mutters in a low voice, leaning a little closer. My initial reaction was to jump on her face and bite her so I could get away, but I had this strange feeling that she wasn't going to hurt me. "What are you doing here?" I shrug, not having an answer, and scurry back up the silk to the ceiling, and continue to my corner. She watches me, smiling, and then leaves.

How strange, I think to myself as I settle down in my corner. But, at least I have someplace warm and dry to stay.

Days went by, and I got along well with the young woman. She let me stay in her room, undisturbed, and I killed any creatures that tried to come into her room. She began to call me her little centurion. I liked the nick name... and the fact that for once, someone wasn't disgusted by me.

As we ventured deeper into the rainy seasons, I decided to venture deeper into the room. I crawled down the wall and scurried across the wide floor, taking in everything, and heading for the stuffed animal collection in the opposite corner. However, before long I grew tired, and went to turn back... that was when I found out how lost I was. I had no idea where I was. I crawled toward a shirt on the ground and tried to find my way top side, to get a better view of where I was. Before I knew it, a great earthquake moved the shirt, and I felt myself lifted into the air with the article of clothing. I saw light and hurried to it, poking my head out and realizing I was in the arms of the young woman. I ran out from under the shirt and onto her arm, waving my arms at her, overjoyed that someone found me.

"EW!" She screamed, and I realized in horror that she didn't recognize me. I tried to get away, but she flicked me off of her arm, driving me into the floor hard. I got to my feet, dazed, right before a crushing wait came down on me once... twice... three times... "What was THAT?" I heard her say, and then the pain set in. I knew something was wrong.

Pain... My eyes darted around the room, trying to comprehend what had happened... where I was... how I had gotten here. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain and remember where I was...

"Oh no!" I heard a female voice cry. I didn't open my eyes - I knew her exclamation was in reaction to the site of my crumpled, broken body, lying on the floor. Her worried remarks only drove home the fact that I was dying... my fault, I suppose. As the pain began to receed, so did my consciousness... but I smiled. At least I got to die in a warm place... with a smile on my face.

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Yay for short stories!!!

Let's get this!

~Lauren

Anyone ever been to photofunia.com? It's a blast! It's mildly addicting, but so much fun, and the results are actually pretty cool! :D

BUT - that's not why we're here today. I've been looking for a new movie to watch... I kind of wanted Ron Livingston to be in it, because I'm kind of on a Ron Livingston kick, but I also wanted to watch a movie that I didn't think anyone had seen, or even heard of, before.



I found it. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm working on getting a hold of it and watching it... basically, I was reading an article/interview about Mr. Livingston in his roles in Office Space and Band of Brothers, and they talked about him in another war role, as Richard Pimental in "Music Within." (Came out in 2007) I decided to check it out - it looks like it went straight to DVD but I could be wrong about that. 00:32 seconds into the trailer, I was hooked, and as the trailer progressed, I was pulled more into the movie. I really wanna see it now.

Here's a quick synopsis of the movie:

Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston) begins his life as a fighter, and his life's work becomes a process of fighting for the rights of others.
Rising up from a childhood in a dysfunctional family, armed with a talent for public speaking and a winning personality, the young man makes his way to a Northwestern college, confident that he will ace his try-out for his idol Dr. Ben Padrow (Hector Elizondo), the coach of the winningest team in the history of the College Bowl.
But Dr. Padrow shatters his dream when he rejects him. Richard's immediate reaction is to enlist in the army for a tour of duty in Vietnam. During combat, the young recruit loses his hearing to a bomb blast, and has to deal with this newfound disability on his return to civilian life in Oregon.
Richard discovers that his disability and the struggle to transcend it is a defining moment in his fight for what he believes in. When he tries to help his friends, vets like himself and others with disabilities, to get work in an environment that treats them with pity at best and disdain as a matter of course, he realizes that he can make a difference. The friends who make up his close-knit clique are: Art Honneyman (Michael Sheen), a student wheel chair user with cerebral palsy who uses his rapier wit to deflect the prejudice that greets his disturbing appearance; Mike Stoltz (Yul Vázquez), a fellow veteran with a lot of rage and nowhere to put it; and then there is Christine (Melissa George), the passionate libertine who strokes Richard's ego and initiates him into the world of free love.
Together, the friends experience the currents of those turbulent times, and the wild, joyful energy of winning through confrontation and humor. Without his hearing Richard is all the more prepared to listen to the message deep within himself, and to carry that message to the thousands of people whose lives are improved by the movement he helps to organize.

YAY! I think it'll be one of those movies that speaks to you, like Seven Pounds, or Pay It Forward, and I'm totally into it because it's Historical Non-Fiction. I'm really looking forward to seeing it! :)

Here's a snippet of the interview with Ron Livingston that I mentioned earlier, talking about the movie and what not.

In "Music Within," you play Richard Pimentel, who was instrumental in getting the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. What specifically drew you to this story?

For me, it was a story about a guy with a crazy life. Kind of like the one you saw in "Forrest Gump," except that this one really happened.

[In] the very first opening moments of the script, he's sort of abandoned, left in an orphanage by his mentally ill mother who can't remember where he is to tell the rest of the family. They want to know where he is and she doesn't know. She says, "What kid?" [It] just seemed too perfect to be true.

And Richard's got a particularly wicked sense of humor that, to me, opened up just a whole new ground in how you can talk about people with disabilities. We're sort of used to the politically correct—you have to be very solemn, or it gets preachy or it gets very passionately felt. I think Richard feels passionately about it, but his primary medium is he starts with humor.

And he starts by challenging what you think you know and he goes from there.

The banter between your character and the Art Honeyman character was some of the liveliest.

Yeah, it's funny to think of it as being lively banter when you consider that one guy's deaf and the other guy has cerebral palsy and it takes him ten minutes to say anything.

But I felt that they did a great job with both the script and the shooting of the movie, that what seems like it might be painful in the beginning, by the end of it, the audience is used to it. You really feel you go along with it and it does feel like banter.

You met with Richard Pimentel for a few days before filming. What were your preconceptions and misconceptions about portraying him and bringing his story to light?

I just wanted to get a good feel for him. Any time you play a real person it feels, to me anyway, that there's an additional responsibility to represent them honestly. You don't always have to represent them the way they want to be represented (laughs), but you don't want to be making up stuff about them. You want to try and get them on the nose.

Richard was very helpful as far as being very open talking about what made him tick, what his particular kind of issues were, and how he felt about certain moments in his life. It really helped me right away with a little bit of a framework.

And then there's ultimately a lot of parts to the character that you just have to bring from stuff in your life, or you just make it up and hope that the guy won't mind too much or that it won't be too far off.

His character does show his flaws in the movie...

Yeah, who doesn't have flaws? And I think your flaws and your strengths always kind of go hand in hand. They tend to be one and the same

Everyone is asked that question - if you could choose to be struck blind, or struck deaf, which would you choose? And I've always said I'd rather be struck deaf, partly because I'm clumsy as all get out and would fall all over the place if I couldn't see, and partly because I know sign language and have been educated on how deaf people hear differently than us, and how they see the world in a different way, and part of me wants to experience that. I think it'll be fascinating to see how Mr. Pimental's life was changed after he was struck deaf by the bomb blast.

I'm really looking forward to it, and if you get the chance, you should check it out, too. Ron Livingston is a great actor, and I have no doubt he'll do a great job. :)

Let's get this!

~Lauren

"From this day, to the ending of the world, we in it shall be remembered. We lucky few, we band of brothers. For he who today sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."

Finished it... finally. And yet, as I type those words, I realize how much I miss it. During, you just want it to end... the sadness, the destruction, the death, the fear - you just want it to end. But as the last episode rolls around, you realize how much of yourself is now with them - with Easy Company. I know a part of me is lost knowing that I will never get the chance to meet some of these men...

And I'm pushed to realize that I didn't get to meet my Grandfather, which is enough to make you wish you'd never educated yourself about the war. I realize that a lot of them never spoke about the war... they didn't know what to say, I guess. Didn't know how to explain what they had seen or been through - but to have been able to shake his hand would have been enough.

When I watched it the first time, Band of Brothers really tore open a part of me I didn't know existed. A part of me that was simply fascinated with World War II... a part of me that respected anyone who got in those planes on D day.

Band of Brothers spoke to me in a way Saving Private Ryan couldn't... because with Band of Brothers, you couldn't tell yourself it wasn't happening. You couldn't tell yourself everyone may miraculously be alive, that everyone will come out okay, because that just wasn't always the case. With fiction, you can do what you want... but with Truth, you have to tell it how it is... no matter how strange or heart breaking (lucky for me, I latched onto Lipton... phew).

But despite all of this, it's safe to say that the truth is also inspiring. I can proudly say I've never respected a group of men more... and it's also opened my eyes and showed me what soldiers go through... it's made me appreciate them all a whole lot more.

However - Easy Company will always be there, leading the charge. They'll always have a special place in my heart, because they were honest to God heroes, each and every one. They answered the call of duty, and they marched onward, despite outstanding odds. They risked our lives and were forever changed so that we could sleep at night.

I was talking to Courtney a while back, and I told her that, if I had the chance to meet one person... if I could just pick one person to meet, I'd pick Maj. Winters. But, as I think about it, I don't know what I'd say. I'm sure I'd want to thank him for everything he's done, but how do you thank a man for being a hero? I'm not even sure I'd be able to shake his hand, simply because I don't think I'd be worthy of it... you know?

You know something - and someone - has really touched you when you can pick them out of a crowd, no problem. When I was watching the interviews with the surviving members of E Company, I was absolutely blown away with how many people I knew the names of - how many of them I just recognized right off the bat... how many of them I knew were still alive as of present, and how many had passed away and when.

It's interesting how something like this can change your life... how a simple comment like, "ooo, that looks good," 8 years ago would help kindle an interest... how an innocent night, waiting for the premiere of HBO's new miniseries could completely change who I was and how I looked at things.... and it's amazing how, after 8 years, and multiple viewings, the only thing that HASN'T changed is the fact that I'll always be touched. ALWAYS... I'll always be touched by these brave men, always respect them, always remember them.

"That night, I thanked God for seeing me through that day of days and prayed I would make it through D plus 1. I also promised that if some way I could get home again, I would find a nice peaceful town, and spend the rest of my life in peace." ~ Maj. Winters

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Since watching this show in 2000, since hearing this quote and being thoroughly and completely affected by this man, and these men, I have said a prayer every Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. I have prayed for Maj. Winters, prayed that he remains on his peaceful spot of land, and is still able to live on in peace. And I will continue to pray that prayer, and I hope you all join me.

On January 21, 2009, Maj. Winters will turn 91. He is still alive, and I can only hope he remains on his farm, able to live in peace until his days are done... and I pray that when that day comes, he will recieve the most calming peace there is, and be able to go home.

I pray that for all the remainding members of Easy, and pray that those that are already gone made the necessary decisions to do the same.

I pray that each and every one of you may find something that will speak to you, and change your life, like this did mine.

"I treasure my remark to my Grandson who asked, 'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' 'No,' I answered, 'but I served in the company of Heroes.'" ~Maj. Winters

~Lauren

THE CELL... I played this game today. I saw my brother playing it yesterday, and decided to check it out myself.

It's nothing great - just a point and click game. The graphics are meh, and the story line is very similar to that of Saw... but I liked it. It definitely got one jump out of me, and it made me think. There are a number of problems that need to be solved - I guess you could call them puzzles, but they aren't very difficult... the most difficult one involves a mouse... lol. If you get stuck, just click the help button in the corner, and it'll give you a hint on what to do next.

I've been pretty into these point and click games for a while... my favorite still being the Exmortis series... most of them are problem solving ones, which is neat. It keeps my brain going. (If you want a REALLY difficult point and click puzzle, check out the COLORED ROOM series. Those are INSANE, and took me HOURS to finally beat)

I like modern video games... they've become more difficult - involving problem solving instead of just jumping on blocks and progressing to the next level. Now a days, you have to be able to remember pin numbers, or switch sequences, or how to sneak around a room without getting heard or spotted... but these point and click games are my favorite. They're short, and most of them get a jump out of you.

If you're interested in these point and click games, check out the ones at Mofunzone.com and Jayisgames.com... and definitely check out Exmortis, The House, and The Cell. :)

Also, check out Crackle to watch the webisode version of The Cell. :D

Let's get this! :)

~Lauren