If you’ve followed the events of the past few days, it might seem like Americans have been turned into nothing more than the way to run capitalism. Rather than science-based data, the push to get back to work is coming from on high because of the fear that the economy grinding to a halt will destroy the stock market. Several people have floated the idea that if some old people have to die to keep capitalism running for the young, then so be it. They would be happy to.
Continue readingStay the F— Home: Activity #3 Video Games
Video games are a great time killer, and they improve hand-eye coordination. You’ll feel like your accomplishing something, be part of a story that is greater than you, and be able to score points. Even if all you do is point and click your way to a better-looking farm or across a raging battlefield, you’ll get to do it with no guilt, excuses, or rationalization. If you go retro, you can even visit Disneyland with the NES game! Stick to old school video games and see if you can get a perfect score on Pac-Man or challenge your friends to an online game of high scores.
Continue readingWhich Lord of the Rings Actor is the Most Underrated and Greatest Actor of Our Generation?
(Editor’s Note: This article exploring topic of which is the most underrated and greatest Lord of the Rings actor contains affiliate links. Ordering items from affiliate links doesn’t add anything to the price you pay, and the fees we receive support our artistic and writing endeavors.)
John Rhys-Davies
With 269 acting credits (according to IMDb), Gimli the Dwarf is played by a star who has also been in the Indiana Jones series and on Television’s “Sliders” and in the animated series “Gargoyles.” His other credits include the voice of the Brine King in “Aquaman,” He has arguably been seen more than any other star as he reprises his role as Sallah in Disneyland’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye safety video. Rhys-Davies also voiced Treebeard in “The Two Towers.”
Hugo Weaving
With 96 acting credits, the actor who brought to life Elrond in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit also played multiple versions of Agent Smith in the Matrix series and was in “Captain America: The First Avenger.” He voiced Megatron in three Transformers films and Rex in the two Babe the Pig movies. He played Tick/Mitzi in the cult classic “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”
Orlando Bloom
While the Legolas actor in both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movies gets his due as heartthrob, his acting prowess may have gone unnoticed. Starring in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Bloom certainly has his box office chops, even if most people credit Johnny Depp for the movie’s success. Bloom has 42 acting credits to his IMDb profile.
Andy Serkis
The Gollum actor for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit movies played in the new Planet of the Apes films, the new Star Wars films, Black Panther and Avengers: Age of Ultron. He has 103 credits to his name and has done remarkable work in motion capture situations.
Which Lord of the Rings actor do you think deserves more props than he or she gets for his or her acting career? Leave your favorite, most underrated actor in the comments below.
Read about our trip to Hobbiton in New Zealand. Check out photos from Hobbiton. Read about my favorite Lord of the Rings character.
Two Times Friends Saved My Life
When I finally made the minimum weight to be able to give blood. I signed up. When the day came, I went down, gave blood, and went back to my college dorm. I was dead tired. The blood donation took almost everything out of me.
Continue readingThe America I Love Doesn’t Discard You Because You Aren’t Economically Viable
So, he said my grandma (over 90) and my mom (a grandmother and retiring at the age of 67 in June) would be willing to sacrifice themselves, so that we, their children, grandchildren (and great grandchildren), can have the America that all America loves. My grandma and mother didn’t work all their lives so they could be thrown out by the politicians. They worked hard with an expectation that they would be able to retire and enjoy their golden years.
Continue readingStay the F—K at Home (Go the F—k to Sleep parody)
The malls are closed; the stores are shuttered.
There’s no place for you to roam.
Disneyland is empty and quiet.
Please stay the fuck at home.
The movie theaters are dark.
Movie companies aren’t releasing any more.
You can watch all the movies on the Internet,
and stay the fuck indoors.
You need to get some sunlight, and the backyard’s just too small?
You can go on a little trip. Let me be your guide:
Around your fence and down the middle
Or stay the fuck inside.
You need to get some groceries?
Get it through your thick dome,
You’ve got enough food and toilet paper. Stop lying.
Don’t go outside; stay the fuck at home.
You need to get some exercise?
You never cared before.
Put on a yoga video,
And stay the fuck indoors.
You’re not scared of a virus?
There’s no need to run and hide?
If not for you, then for your family;
Stay the fuck inside.
You’re bored and lonely and tired?
Just follow the instructions of this poem.
Read books, use Facetime, take a nap,
But for real: stay the fuck at home.
You’ve been cooped up for 24 hours,
And you just can’t take it anymore?
You’ve played video games for three days straight
Jesus Christ, what the fuck? Stay indoors.
You decided to go out and hang with friends
So what if old people will have died?
Make the right choice for your grandparents now,
And stay the fuck inside.
There’s nothing new out there.
Everything’s shut from St. Petersburg to Nome.
Some wonderful places to drive to,
You know where you can fucking go? No, stay home.
This room is all you can remember.
You’ve never been out you swore.
That’s okay. You’ve got this.
Don’t give up and stay the fuck indoors.
The nation is counting on you.
In fact, this is worldwide.
Screw your courage to the sticking post,
And stay the fuck inside.
There’s no reason to leave the house.
In the future you can say with pride
Others went out to meet friends
But I stayed the fuck inside.
If you need more things to do while you’re at home, read, aerobicize, and movies.
Now, I just need to figure out how to get Samuel L. Jackson or Jennifer Garner to read this.
Thanks to Adam Mansbach, who wrote “Go the F—k to Sleep” (affiliate links). Hopefully, he’s coming up with a better version of this.
New Zealand: Waitomo Caves Where the Stars Are Glowworms
In the Waitomo Caves, there is no photography permitted, which makes the experience all the more sacred. New Zealand’s Waitomo Caves are home to thousands of glowworms that light up the ceiling.
How Glowworms Eat
While much of the tour is conducted in low light, there is a truly magnificent and terrifying view of what glowworms do to eat. The glowworm is the larva stage of an insect that lives only long enough to mate. It attaches itself to the ceiling of these caves where insects fly following the current of the air and river. If the insect flies too close to the ceiling of the cave. It gets caught and eaten by the glowworm. Many adults end up feeding the larva after they have mated.
The tour guides explain this and then turn on the lights to see what the glowworms look like. The bright flash blinds you for a second. When your eyes adjust, you see thousands of strands of saliva hanging a foot or more from the ceiling. These strands are excreted by the glowworms and used to trap their food. The lights go off, and you’re left with your thoughts, which may or may not include the ending of the original fly and what if you were that guy in this cave.
A Quiet Boat Ride
As you descend to the boats, the guides ask you to remain silent to allow everyone to enjoy the cave and its atmosphere. The lights above seem to waver in lines. They look like a 3D matte painting. It’s unreal, beautiful, and quiet. As an addition to our Hobbiton tour, Waitomo Cave was a perfect contrast to the manmade set. The entire experience highlighted New Zealand’s ingenuity, beauty, and natural wonders. If you can’t make it to New Zealand, You can listen to Johnny Mercer’s Glow Worm (affiliate link) tune!
Being Human: Identity, Compassion, Creativity and Problem Solving, and Storytelling
Many people mistakenly believe that what makes us human is an opposable thumb. While that may be part of what separates us from the animals, it doesn’t actually make us human. Cut off a person’s thumb and he or she is still a person. So, what is it that makes us human? It’s a set of qualities that brings out our humanity. These qualities include our sense of identity, our compassion for one another, our ability to solve problems and our ability to learn from history and stories.
Continue readingStay the F— Home: Activity #4 Read
If you’re like me, you have a stack of books you haven’t read yet. Congratulations! You now have time enough at last (Thanks, Rod Serling! affiliate link) to tackle all of those reads that have been waiting for you for all these years! If you don’t have a stack of books, that’s okay. You can go to Kindle Unlimited (affiliate link) and discover so many new books for free! It’s like having a digital library. (I don’t even think you need a kindle device, just the kindle reader downloaded to your device!)
Continue readingSpeakers’ Club Online Mar. 21, 2020
I know that some of you are more worried about other things, but the coronavirus is a real thing. Since the government has shutdown schools at every age level, it’s better for us to meet virtually. If I have done everything correctly, the link below should take you to a meeting room where we can talk. (Just remember that everything you say or do on the Internet stays there forever.)
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Penguinate! Positive Creativity 