Common Humanity

I probably have already mentioned it, but I have four younger brothers and 5 younger sisters. All of them are so different it amazes me and yet we are all very much the same. I find often that I will met someone new, someone I never could possibly have met before and yet it is like I have seen you before, I have met you, there is something familiar about you. It is really bizarre. It has happened a lot this summer. There is something common in human nature that we all share. Something which makes us all the same and yet so uniquely different as well. Although I see this eerie similarity there is always something about the other person which makes him or her separate, not the same as the other they reminded me of. It is totally bizarre and amazing!

The Incredibles

Last night I saw the Incredibles with my BFF. It is hard for me to chose a favorite character.

Mr. Incredible seems to be the main character. He is a retired superhero who's power is his physical strength. He finds his new life at the insurance company boring and pines for the old days. He becomes so caught up in the past that he neglects his family and is fired from his job. In one scene he and one of his old hero friends, Frozone, decide to relive the glory days and rescue some people from a burning building. They up end in trouble with the police.

Mr. Incredible's wife is also an ex-super hero, Elastigirl. She accepts her new life and just wants what is best for their family.

Mr. and Mrs. Incredible have 3 children Dash, Violet and Jack Jack. Dash can run at the speed of lighting. Violet can disappear and Jack Jack well no one knows what his super power is. He seems to just be normal.

Mrs. Incredible is determined to hide from the world their super identities but Mr. Incredible and the kids feel that they can't really be themselves. Bob's(a.k.a Mr. Incredible) reliving of the old days lead to his rediscovery by Syndrome, an old fan turned evil, who's plan is to destroy all superheros. Mr. Incredible is lured to his island on the pretense of a new job in which he will be able to use his super powers again. On his second trip Mr. Incredible is captured by Syndrome. When his wife, Helen(a.k.a Elastigirl), finds out about his double life she must resume her old super identity to save him. Dash and Violet sneak aboard for fun. As they work together to save Mr. Incredible the family discovers the powers that they have laid hidden and strength they have together as a family.

Mr. Incredible realises that what is most important to him is his wife and family. Mrs. Incredible learns not to be afraid or ashamed of their power. Violet gains self esteem, she stops wearing her hair in her face and has the courage to go on a date. Dash learns that his family is awesome and he really loves them as he says at the end. When they are free to be themselves the Incredibles shine. Before they kept trying to hide their true self's and the family was dysfunctional. The kids fought and got in trouble in school, Violet complained about not being a normal girl, Mr. Incredible sighed over police reports and newspaper articles and tried to help other people at work but only made things worse. Each person needed to discover their inner strength and use it. Their power, as Elastigirl sees from the beginning, is in their togetherness as a family.

Elastigirl is an awesome character. She just rolls with the punches. Whatever life throws at her she takes it, stretching and changing shape to fit the situation. That what supermoms have to do. Mr. Incredible is also a great character. He is your typical gentle giant. I've met people like that. They are huge but they wouldn't hurt a fly. They break things and scare people because they don't realize how strong they are. Inside, behind all that strength, they have hearts of butter. Violet and Dash are also well thought out characters. Violet is extremely self aware and uncomfortable with herself. Sometimes she just wants to shrink and disappear like a lot of 13 year olds. Dash is this explosion of energy like my brothers were at that age. All his energy is frustrated though because his mother won't let him play sports and goes into bickering with Violet and pranks(hint, hint this is why kids especially energetic ones need to be involved with sports!). Great characters, very true to life.

Frozone, I think might have been my favorite because the scenes with him were so funny. Frozone: "The greater good is in danger!"

His Wife:"I am your wife. I 'm your greatest good".

I will say I liked UP better but this is a must see for all real superhero fans( in other words I am not a real super hero fan but I am a true fan of PIXAR).

Too Cute!

My brothers and I watched The Return of the Jedi on Saturday. Now my one thought is ....I want an ewok! Can you buy them on EBAY?

A Week on Eagle's Wings

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Where I Have Been

I was gone from the 3rd thru the 11th of this month at an amazing camp/retreat experience. This past week I have just been trying to readjust to "real life" again. It was a totally amazing experience one you can't really put into words or capture with pictures. It was just too amazing,to profound I can even say.
The Community of St. John plunged us into the heart of Christianity, the heart of Christ. They challenged us to radically love as Christ did and to seek the truth. Every day was packed full of classes in Theology and Philosophy, recreational activities and lots of prayers. Every day closed with skits and fun around the campfire.
There was 50 of us and by the end of the week we were like one big family. Even people you never got a chance to talk to much you felt close too. A mutual bond was formed between all of us that was founded in Christ, founded on the truth. You could be yourself. I never felt I had to hide anything about the real me. We loved and accepted one another as Christ does each of us. It was beautiful.
There is so much I could say about Eagle Eye. I could go on for days. One of the things that has really stuck with me now that it is all over is that it isn't so much about what you do it is who you do it with. If you are with people you love u almost always have a fun time. One day for recreation we played soccer and volleyball. I love soccer but stink at volley. I really didn't enjoy one more then the other though. I was just hanging out with amazingly awesome people and enjoying their presence.
Presence. It is such a big part of our faith. Jesus's real Presence in the Eucharist shows us how we are to be always present to Him and our neighbor and how we should seek Him in the presence of others. That was a huge theme of the retreat. Appreciating the otherness of our brothers and sisters. Seeing in them an image of God, a witness to the fact that reality exists outside of my mind because this other person exists outside of me.
Like I said I could go on for ever. If you want to have one of the most incredible experiences of your teen years come to an Eagle Eye Summer Institute with the Community of St. John and you will be soaring like me!

Lip Gloss

My little sister and I made lip gloss today out of petroleum jelly and cherry cool-aid. We melted a tablespoon of jelly in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then we dissolved a whole packet of cherry cool aid in a tablespoon of water. After that we added the cool-aid to the jelly, drop by drop, until we got the color we wanted. We added about five drops. It isn't exactly like the ones in the store but it works well.

Book Review

I finished my 4th book of this summer the other day, The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was quite different from what I had expected. Here is a short review.

The Scarlet Pimpernel was written by Baroness Orczy. Orczy was born in Hungry but moved to England as a child and to Paris, France after her marriage. She contrived her idea for the Scarlet Pimpernel while in England. The story occurs in England during the French Revolution. In the story, The Scarlet Pimpernel, with a band of 20 loyal followers, rescue French Aristocrats from the guillotine. His identity is hidden from all but his 20 followers. The leaders of the revolution are determined to find and capture the Scarlet Pimpernel and so crush the resistance.
The main character is the rich and popular Lady Marguerite Blackney, a french woman who came to England when she married an English Lord. Disappointed in her marriage Lady Blackeny clings to her brother, the only man she believes she still loves. When her brother is targeted by the revolutionaries as an enemy of the French Republic Marguerite is made to chose between saving the life of her brother or that of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Her decision leads her on a reckless adventure across England and France in pursuit of true love.

What surprised me about this book, besides the conclusion, was that it was a romance. I had thought it was an action and adventure novel. Although I don't always like romance I didn't mind the story because it had enough intrigue and excitement to keep it to keep me interested.