Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Rankin/Bass Plotholes


I watched P. Cottontail tonight. It is one of the Rankin/Bass holiday specials (like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). While it is cute, there is definitely a huge plot hole in the show (despite all the other odd things that aren't explained – which really don't matter).

Anyway, the Colonel who is the Chief Easter Bunny is going to be retiring and he picks Peter Cottontail to be the next Chief Easter Bunny. A rabbit named Irontail (because a kid once ran over his tail and now he wears a fake tail that is made of iron [one of the many odd things that don't really matter for the show]) brings the April Valley (it's where the rabbits live) constitution where it says that the next Chief Easter Bunny is the one that delivers the most eggs.

Since Peter Cottontail isn't responsible, he holds a party and he doesn't go to bed on time. He had set his alarm clock, but Ironside sabotages it (there's a chicken on it and he gives the chicken magic corn flavored bubble gum that keeps it from making any noise).

Peter sleeps all day. Irontail is only able to give away one egg as almost nobody wanted an egg from him. However, Irontail wins because Peter didn't deliver any eggs due to sleeping all day.

So, Peter finds Sassafrass (who I guess plants all of April Valley) and he has this vehicle that is basically a time machine and it goes to the different holidays. Peter travels with a caterpillar named Antoine. Somehow Irontail sabotaged the time machine.

It skips over Easter and it first lands on Mother's Day. Nobody wants eggs on Mother's Day.

It then goes to the Fourth of July. Peter repaints the eggs. He lies to two boys and tells them that they are egg shaped grenades. The boys take the entire basket. They bring the basket back complaining that the eggs aren't grenades. However, they couldn't have known this without throwing one down on the hard ground. Thus, Peter had to give away one egg. This would make Peter and Irontail tied.

The next holiday is Halloween. Irontail tries to send a witch to scare Peter, but he isn't scared. Instead, he gives her an egg. That means that Peter has no successfully given away two eggs. He should win. However, the special keeps going. It goes through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick's Day.

Of course, there was a way Peter gave away the eggs. It goes back to Easter. Still, there was no reasons that he had to give away the entire basket of eggs. The show easily could've ended after Halloween because Peter should've won by then.


Monday, March 18, 2013

Bad Dreams, Bad Thoughts, and Good Reminders


Last night, I had this dream that my mom was standing behind me as I slept in bed.  She was insisting that she was still "here."  I was praying that I wouldn't have more dreams like that, but that's another one of them.

I miss my real Mama.  It's sad because Nancy (the pastor's wife from St. Michael's) knew her when we first started coming to St. Michael's.  She was nothing like what she was in the few months before she passed.  What Nancy didn't know is that she still wasn't healthy then.  She hadn't started aspirating her food and water when we first started coming.  I don't know when that started.  However, she was doing it lots because she would be in the car and I'd tell her that it's not normal to have water drip from your nose after drinking water.  However, my Mama wouldn't go do the doctor for that.

Al-Anon helps me to remember that I did not have any control over my Mama or over the doctors.  The doctors should've listened to me, but they didn't.  I couldn't control that.  I definitely couldn't control what my Mama chose to do, even though much of it was not good for her.

For some reason, while sitting in the Sowela library while waiting for a fiction reading (and being Briana's extra credit - yes, seriously, I was her extra credit for her "bringing" me), I suddenly had the feeling of how strange it is to come home and not have my Mama in the house, even though I've come through the house doors many times since she has passed.

We got some frozen yogurt from Sweet Frog today because they have a special that if you wear green (yesterday, today, tomorrow), you can fill up a 12oz cup with as much as you'd like and only pay $4 for it.  While I was eating my frozen yogurt with all kinds of chocolate candy and magic shell on it (I didn't need it, but it was fun to do), I happened to look over at the register when some people were buying their yogurt.  It was some numbers that have seemed quite significant in my life lately.  I know that God and Jesus are there when these things happen. It's not just a coincidence like some people say.

I had to write myself some reminders tonight.  Even though I know these things, I often have to remind myself of them and writing them helps.

The first things I wrote:
I continuously pray for my back to get better, too. I believe God still works in healings and miracles. However, I don't doubt Him if my back is not healed. After all, God says that there are strengths in weaknesses. God's plans is bigger than what I'd like . . . and I don't know God's plan. It could coincide with what I'd like, too.

The second thing I wrote:
Sometimes I feel really bad that I don't feel called to go on mission trips to other countries. However, God reminds me that if everybody were called to do such a thing that those things would never get done because nobody would be back home organizing the trips and helping get things done. I've always loved behind the scenes in theater, so it is certainly something that I love for helping others get to go on mission trips. I have to remind myself that God values every single person and a behind-the-scenes person is just as important as those out front. Just like a theater production would never get produced without set builder, stage managers, assistants, and directors, God needs those people for His missions, too.