Ten Favorite Screen Characters Tag

Saturday, June 27, 2015

I was tagged on this by Hamlette and you should have seen me frantically going back through her blog to find the instructions again! I couldn't even remember what day she tagged me. I am so bad!

Anyhooooooowwww, I found it, I'm doing it . . . YAY!!


1) Luke Skywalker (as played by Mark Hamill in please-tell-me-you-know-what). I can't even begin to describe the emotions that Luke invokes. He was my absolute top hero when I was 9-years-old, one of my first crushes, and I will always hold a little warmth in my heart for him. Mark Hamill is Luke Skywalker to me. Mostly because he's never really played anyone else in live action films. I even own the Star Wars radio dramas and Mark voiced Luke for A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. I love him, yesterday, today, and forever.


2) Macgyver (as played by Richard Dean Anderson). If Luke Skywalker was my first love, then Macgyver was my second. I was probably eleven-years-old or so when I first watched Macgyver and I've loved it ever since, loved him ever since. Don't you just love how Mac can take a piece of string, some chewing gum, and a candy bar and save the world? He's the first environmentalist I ever encountered in my entertainment world and he's probably part of the reason why I'm very environment conscious. Plus, look at that face. RDA was nothing if not gorgeous!


3) Sherlock Holmes (as played by Jeremy Brett). I love this man so much. Both the character and the actor. It's not that I don't mind other versions, but it just feels like Jeremy Brett really captures the heart of the character. He was ill starting in the 2nd season and, to my understanding, through the rest of his life which does reflect in the series, but I never really mind it. He just brings Holmes to such vivid life. I adore him!


4) Captain America a.k.a Steve Rogers (as played by Chris Evans). I've heard rumors that other men have played Cap, but I don't care. Chris Evans is and forever will be Captain America to me. He embodies everything that is good and noble and hopeful in this world. He is selfless and righteous and he always puts the world ahead of his own needs. Even becoming Captain America was done so he could serve, not because of anything he could get out of it. Love him!


5) Gandalf (as played by Ian McKellan for The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003). Does this really need any explanation? I like wizards in general, but Gandalf was so special to me. I went with my dad the day after Christmas to see The Fellowship of the Ring, loved it, loved Gandalf especially, and that love has stuck with me ever since. There's something timeless about him that speaks to my heart and makes me wish I know a man like him.


6) Jesse Katsopolis (as played by John Stamos in Full House). Uncle Jesse is actually a new favorite. I was house-sitting a little over a year ago and Full House was the only thing on. I'd never seen it, but the moment Jesse walked on the set, I was hands down in love. Yes, I can be that petty! He's pretty, he's tough, but he's also got a sensitive core where his family is concerned. His emotional progression throughout the series kept me watching it. Without John Stamos, I really doubt the show would have made it past the first season. 


7) Hercule Poirot (as played forever and always by David Suchet). I've been watching episodes of Poirot for longer than I've been a fan of Sherlock Holmes. We watched them as a family when we lived in Oregon, at least 16 years ago, so that's saying a lot. I love his little quirks, his little grey cells, his tidiness, and his ability to reason everything out in his brain and be right 96% of the time. He's amazing and David Suchet has made the character eternal!


8) Stiles (as played by Dylan O'Brien in Teen Wolf). I like snarky characters. This photo may not show it, but Stiles is literally the King of Snark. He's the main reason why I watch, and love, Teen Wolf. If not for the brilliance that is Dylan O'Brien, Stiles would likely be a lifeless or worse, annoying, character. But thanks to Dylan, he is lively and fun and still keeps me returning to this show despite its downfalls. Stiles is ma main man!!!


9) Peter (as in the Saint, played by Adam Levy in A.D. the Bible Continues) If you thought that Uncle Jesse was a new love, Peter is even newer. How do you describe connecting so deeply with a character that you feel like you know them? I know Peter. Now when I think of this man stepping out of that boat in faith and walking on the water towards Jesus, it's this Peter that I see. This actor, the writers, whatever the reason . . . Peter is now alive to me, as he never was before. I see him, I empathize with him, and I love him. I read The Bible now, and I know him, really know him. It's the most incredible feeling.


10) Jack McCoy (as played by Sam Waterston in Law and Order). It was hard choosing my last favorite. And looking back through the list, I'm not surprised to see they're all men. But I picked Jack for a reason. He stands for truth by working in the DA's office. I don't like lawyers. I really don't, especially criminal defense lawyers. So when my bff introduced by me to Law and Order at least ten years ago, I fell instantly in love with Jack McCoy. Not for his looks or any physical reason, but for his reason, logic, and intellect, and his dedication to the law. Sam Waterston was brilliant in this role, and when I think of Law and Order, he's the first face that I see.

One runners-up that deserves a mention is Colombo, played by Peter Falk. I love that man!

Okay, so we're done with my happy little list of dudes. If you want to participate, consider yourself tagged, but no pressure. Thanks, Hamlette, for tagging me. Sorry it took me so long to respond, but it was a ton of fun! Loved it!
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SFJ vs NTP: A Brief Look at Richard Castle and Kevin Ryan

Monday, June 15, 2015


There are quite a few differences between SFJs and NTPs, but I'm actually going to focus on a similarity for this very brief post. And the only reason I'm doing this is because someone popped the query into my search engine this week.

A great television example of the two types is Richard Castle (ENTP) and Kevin Ryan (ISFJ) from Castle.

Look at Castle. He's all about possibilities and wild scenarios and a million possible answers to the cases he solves with Beckett. You can ask him, at any given moment, to come up with a theory and he will give you the most insane, impossible, implausible theory of all time . . . and then give you a second, even more insane theory that happens to be right only five minutes later. He's amazing that way. NTPs in general are amazing that way. It's how Ne and Ti work together as the top two functions.

Then you have Ryan, a guy I absolutely love. His top two functions are Si and Fe. Everything about Ryan screams order and tradition and a love of the past. He follows tradition in marrying the woman he loves, having children, worrying about how to pay for college for his kids, etc. He is loyal to his friends, but almost more loyal to the law he upholds which is why he kinda betrayed them once, or at least, he did in their eyes. As a stickler for the law and for a certain way of doing things, you'd think he'd be unbendable . . . but he's not.

Castle and Ryan are also a fabulous example of how the two types work together. Let's be honest. SFJs don't always like living the same, content little lives that they live. They use Ti and Ne too, albeit a lot lower down in the food chain. SFJs love the idea of possibilities. Of answers that almost don't make sense. Of this idea and that idea being plucked out of thin air and not minding following that rabbit trail wherever it might lead. Castle is the man with the ideas and Ryan is the guy intrigued by those seemingly whacko ideas. Ryan wants to see where they might lead . . . if they're correct. So he will and has sided with Castle because he loves hoping that maybe, just maybe, those ideas might be true.

Don't get me wrong. The two types are totally different. NTPs can be a little cluttered in their daily lives, and SFJs usually can't stand clutter. But if we're talking about the world of ideas, an NTP can usually get an SFJ to go along for the ride.
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Movie Review: Jurassic World (2015)

Sunday, June 14, 2015


Friends make everything better! Today my sister, my best friend, and I all met for a showing of Jurassic World, one of the long-awaited movies of the year for me. Roughly a year ago, my bff showed me Jurassic Park for the first time. Unlike many millennials, I wasn't actually raised on the franchise. However, that totally didn't matter because these are some of the coolest movies I've ever seen, partially because of the theme and partially because of Jeff Goldblum in black.

But before I say anything else, for the record, no, Jeff Goldblum is NOT in Jurassic World, not even a cameo appearance, unless you count the back of a book cover twice. So, now that Goldlbum is out of the way, moving on to the actual story.

Did anyone else have their doubts about Chris Pratt successfully integrating into the franchise? I admit that I did. It's not that I don't like the man, but my only other Pratt experience is Guardians of the Galaxy which I'm still not entirely sure I like or not. And he's major comedy dude in that movie, so I just didn't know what to think of him joining Jurassic World. Well, any doubts you might have had about him should definitely be laid to rest, just like mine were. Chris Pratt is AMAZING as Owen Grady! It never occurred to me that he could play a serious role. As my sister put it, he is now filling a void for the masculine adventurer left by Harrison Ford when he started aging. And in my mind, that is quite a compliment.

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Tea in the Garden: A Collection

Saturday, June 13, 2015


A fun time spent setting up tea in the Garden for Bernideen's Tea Time Blog. Life has been just a little bit hectic this last month, taking up time, and yes, causing immense amounts of stress. So this moment, a single moment taken in a single day, really shows that life goes on, and that God is still not only faithful, but also good. Time spent outside does such a world of good.


One of my favorite flowers is the Iris. You know, people think they come in just a few colors, mainly shades of purple and possibly yellow, but there are so many different possibilities. For the purpose of this photo shoot, of course, I placed the tea table where we have purple irises, but I may do one with the others in a week or so.



Did you know that chive plants actually blossom? And they don't smell like chives! Those are the lovely little purple blooms you see on the left.


Such a beautiful chive blossom.


Caitlin made this lovely little wreath out of some of our dried flowers last year. It held up really well, and and I love that long shot down to the end of the yard. Don't you just love the green from all the rain?



One of my favorite teacups. I didn't always love purple flowers, but I really do now.


And blessings to all of you during this beautiful June!
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