A few Pics from E3 2015

Tomorrowland - Review [Spoilers]

A few weekends ago I went to see Tomorrowland.  Despite only mediocre ratings from the general public and movie review websites, I really liked the movie.

When first asked if I liked the movie the day after seeing, I said that I liked it because of the message the most.  When asking a friend at work I was told that it was alright but way too "preachy."  When looking at movie reviews online I see comments such as: "Unfortunately, their recollection is riddled with not-so-subtle messages about protecting the environment and treating others with kindness." - Brandon Davis  Perhaps if the message were more subtle people would have liked it more?  However, I'm not sure why a message of protecting the environment and treating other kindly is a bad thing... But, I don't think that was the main message in the movie anyway.  I found the actual message to be very inspiring and uplifting, not "preachy" or in my face.  If any of you have seen the movie Happy Feet that movie is one that was far to "preachy" for me.  Tomorrowland was not.   

The Good

Tomorroland got some tears out of me at the end which tells me right away that I really liked it because I always cry at movies I really enjoy.

My favorite thing about the movie was the message.  There were several messages in this movie, never give up, protect the environment, don't talk to strangers... lol  But the main message for me was a Biblical one.  [1 Corinthians 12 among others] This chapter talks about how each person has different gifts, and abilities, and yet we are all members of one Body of Christ.  Every single person has value and something they can bring to the table and it's when we use the gifts, talents, abilities, we have been given that we can change the world.  This was the central message of Tomorrowland.  Athena mentions several times that Casey is special. She is special because she has not given up.  She was doing her small part to try to make things better in the area that was important to her in her small corner of the world.  At the end of the movie we see a group being sent out to go find other people like Casey.  People that are using whatever gifts they have no matter how seemingly small or insignificant they may appear.  The people chosen came from all over the world and were doing all kinds of different things, but really they were all doing the same thing, which was refusing to be apathetic and trying their best to give back and make the world a little brighter.  The idea was not to preach and say these people are better than you or me, it was to inspire.  If they can do it, I can do it, you can do it!  We can all use whatever we have, great or small to make the world a better place! 

Other than that beautiful message, I really enjoyed all of the action scenes and the mystery behind who Athena was and what Tomorrowland was about in general.  My favorite action scene was the fight in the comic book shop.  As a nerd, that was a great location for a fight and it was so cool to see a little girl kicking butt. 

I also loved all of the parts when Frank was a little boy especially the jet packing part and the Tomorrowland city was amazingly well done visually.  I also loved the way Frank and Casey managed to get to Tomorrowland because I'm a huge fan of any kind of secret doors, passages, contraptions etc. and they did a fantastic job with that. 

The Bad

There wasn't too much bad for me.  The only slightly bad things was that some parts of the movie seemed too similar to other movies I've seen before, but I don't think I can really blame Tomorrowland for that, that's just my fault for watching too many movies! LOL

Other than that, as a Catholic, I tend anticipate or wait anxiously for the end of the world because I am excited to see Jesus' return.  I don't know if that will happen in my lifetime obviously, but Tomorrowland seemed to say we can avoid the end of the world altogether if we all work together.  I do not believe this is true.  While I do believe it's a good thing to try our best to make the world the best place we can, I do not think we can prevent the world from ending entirely because the Earth has an expiration date so to speak.  However, the positive message was strong enough that this little defect did not bother me too much. 

Overall

I say this is a good movie to support.  Not recommended for small children due to the action which was rather violent, but everyone else should feel free to check it out.

Adventure Quest #1 - Back Bay View Park

In an effort to see more of California I've decided to start going on some Adventure Quests.  I may share some of these adventures with you lovely folks. 

Adventure Quest #1

Back Bay View Park - Newport Beach CA - 2 Stars

Today I visited Back Bay View Park.  I was intrigued by this park because of it's close proximity to the water and thought it would have some good views.  To my disappointment this park is incredibly small and doesn't even have it's own parking lot.  I parked in the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort parking lot which is free for 30 minutes, but then goes up to $8 for the first hour then up from there depending on how long you stay.

I took the trail up to the top of the hill overlooking the bay.

As you can see there is a decent RV camping lot and some kind of cool looking water obstacle course plus the resort with a pool.  On the west side of the bay, not visible in this picture, there was tent camping on the beach as well.

I only spent an hour at this park, but it probably could have been walked in less than 30 minutes.  Here is a view of the park:

Most of the path is paved which is nice for biking or walking, but it's really too small of park for much.  There were two picnic tables and a few benches, but no shade.  So visit on a cool day if plan on picnicking here.

All of the plants looked like natural California scrub brush type plants, as I like to call them, and some cactus.

There were few flowers, some beetles, lizards, bees, and mourning doves.

If you visit this area you may want to skip this park and plan on spending some time along the bay itself at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.  They had a playground right on the beach, with a roped off swimming area.  No lifeguard though, but the water was super calm anyway.  I also spotted some food trucks near the northern end of the parking lot.

I give this adventure 2 stars out of 5.

How to Become More Beautiful

What is Beauty?

Beauty, is one of the most desirable and sought after qualities in our society today.  Every store, even grocery stores and dollar stores, have a "beauty" aisle.  Filled with pinks and reds, and pictures of happy and perfectly flawless women  The "beauty" aisle says, "Come and become happy, become desirable, and become beautiful."

*not my photo

Nearly every shopping center has a business offing waxing, dying, nail coloring, or some other beautifying service, and even most of the popular websites have a beauty section.

 

There is nothing wrong with beauty, in fact beauty comes from God and can help point us to Him.  But, what kind of beauty are we placing emphasis on?  Amazon says, "Discover beautiful things..." Yahoo had a tiny lipstick icon next to the Beauty link and Twitter's link says, "Beauty and cosmetic brands."  All three sites associate beauty with physical things or appearance.  

There are so many kinds of beauty, the beauty of a song, of nature, of a kind word.  Why is it we are so focused on physical beauty, especially that of a woman?  I think it is because we instinctively know that woman are the most beautiful of all of God's creations.  In the Bible we have the creation stories and it is the woman who is created last, after all the stars, the plants, the animals, after everything Eve is created from Adam's rib.  This symbolizes that the woman is the height of God's creation, the crown.  But, Eve did not need to get a makeover first, she was created beautiful.  Not only was she created beautiful, but all woman are created beautiful.  Beauty is natural to a woman, she does not need to do anything to become beautiful because she is born that way! 

So the question is, why all fuss?  Why the beauty salons?  Why the makeup aisles, why the all the worry about which outfit to wear or concern over a hair out of place?  I believe the world and the devil have many woman tricked into not recognizing their own beauty.  Men usually recognize it, but the woman themselves have some sort of blindness to their own beauty.  Men even write songs about this very thing!  If woman would recognize their own beauty there would be no need for all the makeup, waxing, and tanning and the rest of it.

How do we fix it?

The Bible gives us some help.  Matthew 23:25-26 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean."  Jesus goes on to give another example describing the Pharisees as whitewashed tombs, nice and clean outside, but full of dead man's bones inside.  This whole chapter is about doing things to look good to others on the outside, but doing this for the wrong reason, to win other's praise.  Today many women put a lot of time and effort into making their outside look beautiful to win praise or affection from others, but they do not put effort into making their insides beautiful.  This over emphasis on the outside corrupts the inside making us unhappy, irritable, and even depressed simply because we are so focused on our own outward appearance.   A question to ask yourself is, why?  Why am I putting on this makup?  Why am I spending so much time exercising?  If the answer is to gain something from others, or to hide from yourself because you do not like who you are as a person, then the inside of your cup needs to be cleaned.  On the other hand if your answer to these questions is; because you want to stay healthy and look your best because you recognize your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, then encourage and pray for the woman around you that they may come to see themselves the way God sees them too. 

So in the Bible Jesus says, "to cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean."  The first step to cleansing your insides is repentance.  One must first recognize and admit there is a problem before any healing can begin.  If you ignore a mess in your house it doesn't go away by itself, it must be tackled head on.  Repentance and (the Sacrament of Confession for Catholics) acknowledging ones sins and failings before God is how to start getting rid of all the dirt on our soul.  Like any bad mess that has been left untended for far too long, this will take time and effort, and a lot of patience with yourself.  I have found, at times in my life, that it is not possible for me to stop a sinful habit that has been ongoing for far a long.  The only way to rid oneself of such a habit it so admit to yourself and to God that you can not overcome this sin.  Then allow God to overcome it for you.  This is very difficult to do, especially in our society that practically demands that everyone be self sufficient and to avoid asking anyone for a favor at all costs.  Asking God for help does require humility, but it is not like asking a neighbor or relative for help, because we can not inconvenience God and He delights in helping us.  He creates everything for us, all that we are and all that we have is from Him so to ask Him for His assistance is natural and normal and should be done often in even the smallest of situations or circumstances. 

Once all of the major messes (sins) have been dealt with (don't worry if this takes hours or years just keep at it) it is time to start striving for virtue.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says "A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions."  Basically the idea is to replace the old sinful habits with new virtuous habits. The CCC has really good descriptions of what all of the vitures are and how to practice them.  Here is a list of what they are for reference but I recommend looking them up in the Catechism:

Prudence

Justice

Fortitude 

Temperance

Faith 

Hope

Charity 

Place your focus on striving for these virtues and growing in holiness.  A seminarian at my Church described holiness is as, "...not about how good you are or how moral you are, it is about how much you allow Jesus to love you."  Holiness and goodness do not come from us, they come from God we just have to make room in our souls and allow Him to fill us with it.  

A good start is making a choice to spend some time just sitting with God every day.  Some people like to have their morning coffee,with Jesus, other prefer to sit with Him while driving to work, or taking a walk.  Find what works for you then allow Him to start leading you closer to Him.  

The virtues can seem very abstract so it's helpful to think of practical ways to exercise them.  To practice fortitude think of a daily annoyance, perhaps traffic, or an irritating person you encounter daily, make a decision to remain positive and cheerful the next time you encounter this situation.  Or for temperance only use one sugar in your morning coffee instead of two, or only watch one episode of your favorite show instead of five.  There are countless little ways to begin practicing virtue.  When these small ways become easy for you try something harder.  This is how you stretch you spiritual muscles.  But, be careful to make growing closer the Lord your first priority, because giving up little joys does us no good if we are not offering these things to the Lord.  If we do them for ourselves and our own pride they can be more harmful than helpful in our spiritual journey.  So always allow the Lord to lead you in these matters.     

True Beauty

When you put more focus on keeping your inside clean, your outside will become clean too.  This shows up in the form of joy.  Have you ever meet someone that just radiates joy and you can't help but feel happier around them?  This is the joy of the Lord and it spills out of our soul and shows up in our eyes and faces.  It's a beauty that can not be contained. 

It is very freeing to be happy with who you are on the inside.  When you allow God to clean you up you will feel lighter, and any shame from your past deeds will disappear.  You will no longer need to hide who you are with spray on tans, or manicures.  If you do these things it should be done in such a way that shows respect and love for your body that is created by God and to give Him glory.  It is good to take care of your body on the inside and out, its just that when your insides are clean you don't have to overcompensate on the outside to try and hide the inside.  The inside beauty can shine forth and so can the outside.

While I intellectually know this to be the truth, I find it very difficult to actually live out.  So please do not be discouraged if you do not feel an overwhelming sense of joy and God's love upon you all the time.  The truth is that God loves you perfectly and infinitely.  He also loves you personally and uniquely so that each person has a different sort of relationship with Him.  You must allow Him to reveal to you the personal relationship He has in mind for the two of you.  Only then can you truly become the beautiful person God created you to be.

Kauai Wildlife

One of my favorite things about traveling is discovering new kinds of plants and animals.  Or just seeing some wildlife I don't see in my normal day to day life.  It never ceases to amaze me all of the beautiful and wonderful creatures God has made.

The following are some wildlife pictures from my recent visit to the island Kauai in Hawaii.  I'm not going to mention the fish or sea turtles, because I wrote all about that in my post about snorkeling so check that out if you're interested in sea life. 

Farm Animals

The most common animals I tend to see are farm animals.  Kauai was no except and had, cow, pigs, goats, sheep, horses, and chickens. 

One of the cool things about the horses was that often times they were tied up to the outside of the fence along the road.  I guess that way they could eat all the tall grass along the road. 

Chickens and roosters were not only kept in pens by the locals, but also roamed the entire island free.  They liked to congregate at the tourist attractions looking for handouts no doubt, but they could even be heard or spotted when back in remote forest trails.  

One thing I learned about roosters is that they crow all throughout the day not just in the morning.

Parking Lot Chickens

Jungle Rooster

Reptiles & Amphibians

The most common reptile I saw in Kauai were lizards.  There were several different varieties.  Some were green and some were brown.

Some did a cool neck thing where their neck expanded which had red on it.

In addition to lizards there were geckos.  I didn't see them as much as the lizards though.  

Lastly in the amphibian department I saw one lovely forest toad.  There we some other toads, but sadly they were smashed on the road.  

Mammals

The most common mammal as far as I could tell was the elusive... feral cat! LOL

But the island also had deer, wild pigs, and wild goats.  I saw three wild pigs, two brown ones and one gray one.  However, I didn't get a picture of them cause they were too fast!  My sister got one though!

Taken by my sister not me.

I also got to see one of the highly endangered Hawaii Monk Seals! 

According to a sign posted they estimate there are only about 1,500 left in the wild. Because of that, its a crime to harm them and they post these warning signs around them when ever one shows up on the beach.

Birds

Apart from the chickens which were by far the most common bird on the island, there were many different kinds of beautiful little song birds.

There were also the Hawaii State bird the Hawaiian Goose or Nene.

The interesting thing about Nene is that they build their nests in holes in the ground under bushes and they guard the entrances.  They sounded like angry cats growling when you got near them!  At first we thought they were just more feral cats, but then realized it was the geese! 

One of the most beautiful birds on the island were these white birds with long tails called koa'e kea.  I didn't get any good pictures of them but here is a mountain side covered with them.

All the the little white specks on the mountain are these birds! They looked very Jurassic to me with their long tails.  They also just seemed to love to fly in very picturesque areas such as a water fall we visited which made them appear even more beautiful!  

One of the funniest bird to watch was this Sandpiper type bird.

This little fella was doing an excellent job of snatching small crabs from the rocks for dinner, but having a hard time keeping out of the waves!  Twice he almost few right at me trying to avoid the waves.  It's kind of hard to see but I caught him in action here.

Insects

So one of the most common insects on the island was the mosquito unfortunately!  At least I assume so because of the bug bites! LOL! However, there were some other cool sighting as well.  Including this interesting looking spider!  We found this guy hanging out in our back yard!

There were also bees.  Regular honey bees and some big black carpenter bees.

I saw this random weird little bug on this lovely flower.  I don't know what it is though.

Lastly my favorite insect were these gigantic snails!  I thought we had big snails in California, but these ones were much larger! 

Top view to show off the whole twisty shell

Snails close up

Crustacean

Lastly I just want to point out that there were some really cool crabs that I really enjoyed watching too.  There were big black ones and tiny sand colored ones.  They were all enjoyable to watch as they tried to eat while waves were crashing down on them every few seconds.  The tiny sand ones made holes in the sand and would pop out all paranoid every few seconds then hide again!

Farewell for now!