Late Night Musings

So, right now I am sitting in my room with my two dogs, Sugar and Shadow. After an unsettling evening where I was forced to chase my dog Shadow around just to get her outside, I am trying to reconcile why she behaves the way she does.

Shadow came from an abused home before we rescued her, so a lot of the time she behaves irrationally. Although she has improved leaps and bounds since we got her, she still hides from almost everyone when she first meets them and is very skiddish. When we first got Shadow I tried really hard to get her to like me, but shortly after this I went to college, which made it difficult bond with her.

So, when she latched onto me after I moved back home, I was surprised. She started sleeping out in the pool house with me and letting me alone pet her. Of course, lately she's been Daddy's Little Girl, but I digress.

Often times, I sit outside at night, trying to go to sleep, and my brain starts wandering into Weird Land. Many times I have wondered what it would be like if dogs could talk. I look at my dogs and the attitudes on their faces and imagine what they would say in response to what I say to them. For instance, when I say to Shadow in my most sugary-coated voice, "Who's my favorite little baby dog?" I sometimes imagine her saying to me "Shut the hell up. I'm not a f***ing baby, you jerk," or something like that.

I know this is pretty silly, but I think a lot about how cool it would be if dogs could talk. Some people I've talked with have no desire because they imagine the conversation would be boring, but I figure dogs have a lot of insight that we don't. Just think, you don't see the world from 2 feet up. You don't bathe by licking yourself. You don't eat your own poo. They might have some things to say about the way we act.

I know, it's late and I'm being really silly. Just thought I would get some of this off my chest.

"The DaVinci Code"

Yes, it's time for the fabulous return of....

MOVIE REVIEWS! (Cherry Theme Music Plays)

To start off the summer blockbusters season, Ron Howard's "The DaVinci Code," based off the Dan Brown book of the same name, seemed like a great way to put things in full drive. For those of you who live under a rock and haven't heard about the controversial nature of the film (and book, for that matter), there have been some religious groups upset by the content of the story, namely a few details here and there that could shatter the Catholic Church and Christianity as we know it.

But I digress.

What is the story about? I found myself watching it as a quest for the Holy Grail. The film starts out with the murder of Louvre cureator Jacques Sauniere, and Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a symbologist from Harvard, is brought in to help decipher some unusual elements of the murder scene. What he doesn't know is he's the prime suspect for the murder. Enter the beautiful, intelligent agent Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), whose crafty skills allow her to inform Langdon of the mark placed on him by the lead investigator, Bezu Fache (Jean Reno). Together, newly matched Neveu and Langdon uncover clues that throw them into the middle of a grail quest, while narrowly escaping the clutches of the French authorities and an albino monk named Silas (Paul Bettany).

Although this film was greeted at Cannes with laughter, this film was one of the most anticipated releases of the summer. Its high energy and action-filled sequences entertain the audience from beginning to end. I always find it is difficult to keep someone engaged when exposition is needed; however, in the multiple scenes necessary to explain the complex historical aspects of the story I was never bored. In fact, these scenes filled mostly with dialogue were executed very well, using a combination of special effects and actors' talents to take the audience into the setting of whatever historical event discussed.

When watching epic adventurers, I find that the action and story are usually more compelling to watch unfold than the performances given by the cast. However, it is always truly enjoyable to view a film where every performer is on top of their game. Hanks is someone I have grown up watching. From his early comedies to his award-winning dramas, Hanks brings a freshness to every role without losing the familiarity he is loved for; although I knew I was seeing Tom Hanks, Robert Langdon was brought to life and I felt as if I'd known him forever.

This film has a phenomenal cast: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellan, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany and Alfred Molina give outstanding performances. I particularly love Ian McKellan (see "X-Men III" review for more) as he gives an amazing performance in everything he does. But the story behind the film is what really gives it the substance and strength necessary to make it worth seeing. I urge everyone I know to put aside any worries they may have about the controversial nature of the film and go see it for the pure entertainment value it delivers.

Computers in a Modern Society

That's just it. Computers in a Modern Society. That is the class I am taking during intersession. I have to sit through three more weeks of "this is a mouse" and "here is the start menu" so that I can work on the paper this summer. Oh what I do for Dana! (Just kidding...for the most part.)

I make it sound like the class is going to be so easy that I could sleep through it and still pass, but I'm actually not so sure. Yes, the class covers basics of how to use computers. But Tuesday, I learned something I did not know. I learned that the only actual function a computer can do is add. Running programs, storing information - all the rest of that stuff - is actually controlled by the simple (or not so simple, depending how you look at it) addition of binary code.

Ahh, binary code: another thing I learned in class Tuesday. Binary code is all 0s and 1s and I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell you anything about it except that those two numbers are the only ones the computer uses to add things. So you'll have 001110101001101 plus 10010110011101 to make the start menu pop up or something like that. It's ridiculously math-oriented and I don't care to understand it. (Notice I said don't care - I'm sure I have the intellect to understand it if I so desired. This is a distinction I feel more and more necessary to make. Just because I'm not interested in something doesn't mean that I can't learn it.)

Anyway, hopefully the class won't kill me. After the class ends, I'll have a better understanding of how to use Power Point, which will be good since everyone makes presentations in college. I'll let you all know what happens, but right now I have to watch "My Name is Earl" and prepare to watch the season finale of "Smallville." Ooo, Tom Welling. :-)

Ooo Love!

Guess who's back? Back again? Sarah's back. Tell a friend.

Hah! It's been so long since I've posted on here I thought I should remind everyone that I still have a blog and that I still write and stuff.

Well, I've made it through another semester of school. Yay! Thank goodness, too, because I was getting pretty tired of being in class. It will be nice to have a little break, even though I am taking intersession and summer classes. I know people think I'm crazy for doing it, but I have to if I want to work on the paper (you have to carry 6 summer hours).

Anyway, I'm going to go now. I'm starving and Mom and I are waiting on Dad to get home from work so we can go eat. Mmm...food.