I've been dreaming and scheming about building a raised bed to plant a garden in for at least six years now. One thing or another always seemed to derail my plans. Well, this past weekend, I took a break from playing Farmville, and I planted a real garden.
I think it was when my seven-year-old daughter asked me if we could plant the flowers outside that provided the final catalyst to finally launch this project properly. The flowers that she was referring to are the flowers that she brought home from school for me for Mother's Day. Her brother brought some home, too, and she brought some home from her Girl Scout meeting earlier last week, too. So I had three neat little pots of geraniums on the kitchen counter.
And, so on Friday (05/07/2010) after I picked up my children from their day care provider, I dropped them off at the house with their Dad, and I went to my local discount department store to see if they had what I wanted in their garden department. I had drawn up a plan already, so I knew I needed twelve "cinder" blocks and 7 cubic feet of potting soil. The ground around my house is about 95% clay, nothing grows in it. The grass just sort of grows on top of it until it is totally soaked with rain, and then it drowns and moss moves in.
I had a little trouble hauling everything to the checkout stand and loading it in my truck, but I got it done. I was super extra careful to lift with my legs because I have hurt my back so many times. When I got everything home, I was too tired to unload it so I just left it in the truck.
The next day (05/08/2010), my husband caught sight of my supplies in the back of the truck, and he became very grumpy. He hates it when I start projects like this. He was just sure that it was going to look hideous. He really just wanted me to pull the weeds in the front yard, but there is a space in the front yard which is always just weeds, and I wanted to put something there, and this is what I decided to put there. He made me promise to take it out if he didn't like it. As if...
It was very important to me to get this box level because my last project, the sand box, is not level, and I can tell that it is not level, and it grates like nails on a chalk board every time I look at it. The ground slopes just a bit where I decided to plant this box, so there was little digging involved, but really just a little, just enough to disturb a little mole that made a very brief, squeaky appearance. I was really pleasantly surprised with how nicely the blocks went in - one right after another, level, level, level.
The children were supposed to be pulling weeds in the area adjacent to where I was working, but without a dedicated overseer, they slipped away to more interesting activities (running through the sprinkler). My husband was busying himself with the truck, fixing some thing or another. He took a break to check on my progress. He was very grumpy. "This side is further away," he complained. I had no idea what he meant by that. I was too tired. I explained that it wasn't finished and that it was going to have a back. "Nevermind, it's none of my business," he said, and he returned to his project.
I finished laying the blocks and back filled them a bit. I used a rake to smooth out the bark chips all around the box. Adding the bark chips that the box had displaced to the area in front of the box really evened out the slope quite nicely I thought.
I dug out the center a bit more, and started filling the wheelbarrow with the clay I had removed from the site. In all, it only filled the wheelbarrow once, but I think it was too heavy to have tried to move it all in one trip because when I tried to move the wheelbarrow, I twisted the tire right off its rim. It wasn't damaged exactly, but it was flat, so I emptied the wheelbarrow and took it back to the garage.
We have an air compressor for inflating tires, but this tire was tricky because it had no tube inside the tire. Why tires are designed this way? The tire had to make contact with every point all around the rim in order to create a seal that would hold the air. It required several attempts, but I was finally able to create a seal all the way around by wrapping a bungee cord around the circumference of the tire.
I moved the clay in three trips and dumped in the back yard where we have a bit of a low spot left over from my first attempt to build a sandbox. (There were two attempts at that sand box.) Then I filled the garden box with potting soil. I stepped back to admire my work, and I couldn't believe it. IT WAS CROOKED! I had been so careful to make sure the box was level, but I totally forgot to make sure that it was SQUARE! When my husband complained that one side was farther away, he meant that the right side of the box was farther away from the fence than the left side of the box. I was SO ANGRY! I stormed into the house, slammed the door as hard as I could, and kicked him in the shin.
Not really. I didn't really kick him. I did slam the door really hard, and I really wanted to kick him. It didn't matter that it wasn't his fault. I become irrational when I'm angry. He was still really very grumpy. We had started with three five-gallon buckets that we were going to fill with weeds that we pulled from the flower beds, if we combined our efforts, we probably only filled one bucket. He really wanted those weeds pulled for some reason. I don't really get it. The weeds are just little vine-y things with flowers on them that crawl around under the bushes. Who cares?
That night (05/08/2010), I slept uneasily, worrying all night about the prospect of taking that box apart and rebuilding it, so that I could make it square. I knew that I was too tired to attempt such a thing, but I also knew that if I didn't, then I would hate that box every time I looked at it - just like the sandbox.
The next morning (05/09/2010) was Mother's Day. My husband shooed our children out of our bedroom, so that I could sleep late which was awfully nice of him. When I got up, the children proudly showed me that they had cleaned their rooms. They had done a good job, too. I felt much better. A good night's sleep does wonders for one's outlook. I decided that I would not take the box apart. I decided that I would fill it with flowers, and it would be so beautiful that no one would notice that it was crooked.
I built some dividers for the box from some scrap wood that we had handy, and I took my seven-year-old daughter with me to the store to buy some flower and some herbs. We decided that we needed 24 flowers and ten herbs. We had great fun picking them out. My daughter's favorite was a pink daisy. I talked her into a dahlia even though it didn't look like anything because I think it might be beautiful when it grows up. She picked out a few pansies in different colors and some begonias and a strawberry. I picked out some hens and chicks because my mother used to plant those. For the herb garden we got peppermint, basil, chives, rosemary, purple sage, and some other stuff.
We got home, and we arranged them and planted them. This was by far the most fun - digging in the dirt with my little girl. I told my daughter stories about gardening with my mother. My mother's garden was larger than my whole front yard! It was a vegetable garden, but I remember my mother pouring over seed catalogues and ordering saplings and planting a little orchard when I was young, too.
I was dead tired at the end of the weekend. It didn't seem fair that I had to go to work the next day (05/10/2010). That night the flowers got a little rain, and I took a picture in the morning - hopefully the first of many.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Farmville Tips: Week Two
This week (05/10/10) I continue to focus on the layout of my farm, and I think I've settled on a basic design. I've also been very interested in expanding my farm. I've been using the ribbons to guide some of my goal setting, and I've been using the crop mastery feature to guide my choices on which crops to plant.
Layout:
As mentioned before, the starting grid is 50 squares by 50 squares. This is enough space to plow 144 plots (12x12) and still have a remainder of 100 squares. If you place all of your plots side by side starting in the southern most corner of the map, then the 100 remaining squares will form a narrow strip along the northeast and northwest edges of your farm. This is the perfect place to plant trees.
Crops:
I finally decided to organize my crops in areas measuring four plots by four plots. I decided this because the plots measure four squares by four squares and that kind of symmetry appeals to me. It turns out that the beginning farm will accommodate exactly nine of these areas. I planted nine different crops, and I was very pleased with the quilted effect this achieved.
Trees:
Trees work best along the northeast and northwest edge of the farm because they are tall, and they will block your view of plots that you might plow behind them. Some Farmville farmers do without trees or they only use them as decoration. It is very true that most trees earn fewer coin per day per square than most crops, but I really like trees in the real world, and I want to earn all my ribbons, and I've got this narrow strip of land, so I decided to fill it with trees. I set a goal for myself to plant sixteen trees of each variety. This was pretty easy to do with the market trees, but most trees are only available as gifts, so those trees are more difficult to collect.
Expansion:
It didn't take long before I started feeling crowded. After I bought all trees available in the market, I found that I was ending my day of play with money in my bank, so what could I spend it on next. My neighbors all had buildings, and I wanted to earn the architect ribbon, but my farm was so small, so I finally noticed that spot in the market with expansions.
Expansions are available for FarmBucks or FarmCoins + neighbors. The first expansion requires 8 neighbors. I had that, so all I needed were the coins. I had that too, so I purchased the expansion. It added and area 8 squares by 58 squares to the south east edge and the south west edge of the farm, so I now had space for 196 plots (14x14). I planted them in such as way as to complement the existing quilted pattern.
Fences:
After harvesting the crops in the center corner of the farm, I deleted the fallow land instead of plowing it. This turned it back into grass. Then, I fenced it in and filled it with the various animals I had collected, and I bought a chicken coop. I placed the chicken coop in the easternmost corner of this new fenced area so as not block my view of the crops around it. (This may or may not turn out to be the best place for this building.)
Fences measure 1 square by 5 squares, but they can be made to overlap one another in which case they will occupy 1 square by 4 squares. To fence in an area previous occupied by 16 plots I needed exactly 12 fences (3x4). I had to be careful that they did not overlap.
I chose to fence in the centermost area of my farm in order to prevent my avatar (the animated version of me) from walking all around the farm every time I planted or plowed something. I noticed other Farmville players achieved a similar result using bales of hay, but I was planning to fence in my animals anyway, so this seemed more efficient. The effect is identical; you can plow and plant a lot faster if you are not waiting for the little farmer to walk to each area.
Final Layout:
This leaves me enough space to plant 11 different kinds of crops in 180 plots as compared to 9 different kinds of crops in 144 plots. I now have space for 228 trees as compared to 196. The future looks bright.
Next Expansion:
I will not be ready for my next expansion until I have 10 neighbors or 20 FarmBucks. At some point I think I will have to buy an expansion. The final expansion requires 30 neighbors. But, FarmBucks are hard to come by. You only earn 1 FarmBuck each time you level up, so I'm going to keep trying to expand with neighbors until I'm just sure that I can't.
The next time I expand, I'm planning to turn over another area to fences, animals and buildings. It will probably be the northernmost corner of the farm and I will probably buy a dairy barn. I plan to do this again each time I expand. I'm planning to buy a horse stable after my third expansion. Those are harder to build because you need a lot of help from your friends.
Reference Table
Layout:
As mentioned before, the starting grid is 50 squares by 50 squares. This is enough space to plow 144 plots (12x12) and still have a remainder of 100 squares. If you place all of your plots side by side starting in the southern most corner of the map, then the 100 remaining squares will form a narrow strip along the northeast and northwest edges of your farm. This is the perfect place to plant trees.
Crops:
I finally decided to organize my crops in areas measuring four plots by four plots. I decided this because the plots measure four squares by four squares and that kind of symmetry appeals to me. It turns out that the beginning farm will accommodate exactly nine of these areas. I planted nine different crops, and I was very pleased with the quilted effect this achieved.
Trees:
Trees work best along the northeast and northwest edge of the farm because they are tall, and they will block your view of plots that you might plow behind them. Some Farmville farmers do without trees or they only use them as decoration. It is very true that most trees earn fewer coin per day per square than most crops, but I really like trees in the real world, and I want to earn all my ribbons, and I've got this narrow strip of land, so I decided to fill it with trees. I set a goal for myself to plant sixteen trees of each variety. This was pretty easy to do with the market trees, but most trees are only available as gifts, so those trees are more difficult to collect.
Expansion:
It didn't take long before I started feeling crowded. After I bought all trees available in the market, I found that I was ending my day of play with money in my bank, so what could I spend it on next. My neighbors all had buildings, and I wanted to earn the architect ribbon, but my farm was so small, so I finally noticed that spot in the market with expansions.
Expansions are available for FarmBucks or FarmCoins + neighbors. The first expansion requires 8 neighbors. I had that, so all I needed were the coins. I had that too, so I purchased the expansion. It added and area 8 squares by 58 squares to the south east edge and the south west edge of the farm, so I now had space for 196 plots (14x14). I planted them in such as way as to complement the existing quilted pattern.
Fences:
After harvesting the crops in the center corner of the farm, I deleted the fallow land instead of plowing it. This turned it back into grass. Then, I fenced it in and filled it with the various animals I had collected, and I bought a chicken coop. I placed the chicken coop in the easternmost corner of this new fenced area so as not block my view of the crops around it. (This may or may not turn out to be the best place for this building.)
Fences measure 1 square by 5 squares, but they can be made to overlap one another in which case they will occupy 1 square by 4 squares. To fence in an area previous occupied by 16 plots I needed exactly 12 fences (3x4). I had to be careful that they did not overlap.
I chose to fence in the centermost area of my farm in order to prevent my avatar (the animated version of me) from walking all around the farm every time I planted or plowed something. I noticed other Farmville players achieved a similar result using bales of hay, but I was planning to fence in my animals anyway, so this seemed more efficient. The effect is identical; you can plow and plant a lot faster if you are not waiting for the little farmer to walk to each area.
Final Layout:
This leaves me enough space to plant 11 different kinds of crops in 180 plots as compared to 9 different kinds of crops in 144 plots. I now have space for 228 trees as compared to 196. The future looks bright.
Next Expansion:
I will not be ready for my next expansion until I have 10 neighbors or 20 FarmBucks. At some point I think I will have to buy an expansion. The final expansion requires 30 neighbors. But, FarmBucks are hard to come by. You only earn 1 FarmBuck each time you level up, so I'm going to keep trying to expand with neighbors until I'm just sure that I can't.
The next time I expand, I'm planning to turn over another area to fences, animals and buildings. It will probably be the northernmost corner of the farm and I will probably buy a dairy barn. I plan to do this again each time I expand. I'm planning to buy a horse stable after my third expansion. Those are harder to build because you need a lot of help from your friends.
Reference Table
| Name | Size | Cost |
| Starter Farm | 12x12 | |
| Homestead | 14x14 | 10,000 FarmCoins and 8 neighbors |
| Family Farm | 16x16 | 25,000 FarmCoins and 10 neighbors |
| Big Family Farm | 18x18 | 50,000 FarmCoins and 13 neighbors or 20 FarmBucks |
| Plantation | 20x20 | 75,000 FarmCoins and 16 neighbors or 20 FarmBucks |
| Big Ole Plantation | 22x22 | |
| Mighty Plantation | 24x24 | 500,00 FarmCoins and 30 neighbors or 20 FarmBucks |
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Farmville Tips: Week One
I'm not sure what inspired me to finally give Farmville a try this week (05/04/10), but I did, and I love it, but my first few days were pretty frustrating. The game doesn't come with much instruction. It guides you through the planting and harvesting of a few crops, visiting a few neighbors and asks you to come back tomorrow for the harvest. I learned a few things this week I wish I had known last week, so I'm offering them up to my fellow farmers.
Layout:
I love grids and graphs and charts, so the first thing I wanted was some guidance on how to lay out my little plow squares and crops. I couldn't find any help anywhere, but with a little trial and error, I decided that the best way that I could have started was to have just gone totally solid from the starting point. This would have made it possible to eventually plant 144 different crops and still have enough space along the top and the right side for gifted trees and animals.
The Grid:
To be more specific, the starting grid is 50 squares by 50 squares. A crop occupies a space 4 squres by 4 squares. 50 divided by 4 is 12 with a remainder of two, so you can get 12 crops across and 12 crops down with a narrow stip of two squares along the back and right edges of your farm if you just keep building out from the starting point. A tree, a chicken, a goat, etc is one square. A horse and a cow are 2 squares by 2 squares.
Trees:
I did read a tips somewhere (I forget where) that it is best to put your trees along the back and right side of your farm, so that they don't block your view of your crops. Fortunately, you can move them around if you don't like where they are.
Whither:
I was totally bummed the first time I came back to my farm and found my crops withered away. I had to snoop around online a little, but I discovered that if it takes your stawberries four hours to ripen, then it also takes them four hours to wither. If you will not be able to check on your farm in the next 8 hours, don't plant strawberries.
Profit margin:
Since I'm just starting out, I'm all about making a lot of money, so that I can plant more crops and plant more trees. I'm less interesteded in earning experience points. I understand that my goals will change soon enough. Anyway, I was harvesting raspberries every two hours all day on Sunday, and it occured to me that it cost money every time I plowed the field after harvest, so I wondered if I was really making as much money as I could be. I set up a little spreadsheet table to divide the cost of the seed by the yield of the crop and I discovered that tomatillos were the most profitable crop I could be planting right now. Tomatillos are a limited time crop to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but they have profit margin of 600% and they ripen in 10 hours, so I can plant them twice a day - once in the morning before I go to work, and once in the evening before I go to bed. They are really a perfect crop for me right now.
Farm bucks v. farm coins:
This was a frustrating thing to realize. When I started, I had a few farm bucks, and I was earning farm coins like crazay, but all the cool stuff in the market place could only be purchased with farm bucks, so how could I earn some farm bucks? The bad news is that there are only two ways to earn farm bucks: (1) you earn one farm buck each time you level up and (2) you can buy them with real money. The good news is that all that cool stuff which appears to only be available for purchase with farm bucks will soon be available for purchase with farm coins as soon as you level up, so you don't really need to purchase farm bucks unless you're in a big hurry to advance through the game.
Layout:
I love grids and graphs and charts, so the first thing I wanted was some guidance on how to lay out my little plow squares and crops. I couldn't find any help anywhere, but with a little trial and error, I decided that the best way that I could have started was to have just gone totally solid from the starting point. This would have made it possible to eventually plant 144 different crops and still have enough space along the top and the right side for gifted trees and animals.
The Grid:
To be more specific, the starting grid is 50 squares by 50 squares. A crop occupies a space 4 squres by 4 squares. 50 divided by 4 is 12 with a remainder of two, so you can get 12 crops across and 12 crops down with a narrow stip of two squares along the back and right edges of your farm if you just keep building out from the starting point. A tree, a chicken, a goat, etc is one square. A horse and a cow are 2 squares by 2 squares.
Trees:
I did read a tips somewhere (I forget where) that it is best to put your trees along the back and right side of your farm, so that they don't block your view of your crops. Fortunately, you can move them around if you don't like where they are.
Whither:
I was totally bummed the first time I came back to my farm and found my crops withered away. I had to snoop around online a little, but I discovered that if it takes your stawberries four hours to ripen, then it also takes them four hours to wither. If you will not be able to check on your farm in the next 8 hours, don't plant strawberries.
Profit margin:
Since I'm just starting out, I'm all about making a lot of money, so that I can plant more crops and plant more trees. I'm less interesteded in earning experience points. I understand that my goals will change soon enough. Anyway, I was harvesting raspberries every two hours all day on Sunday, and it occured to me that it cost money every time I plowed the field after harvest, so I wondered if I was really making as much money as I could be. I set up a little spreadsheet table to divide the cost of the seed by the yield of the crop and I discovered that tomatillos were the most profitable crop I could be planting right now. Tomatillos are a limited time crop to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but they have profit margin of 600% and they ripen in 10 hours, so I can plant them twice a day - once in the morning before I go to work, and once in the evening before I go to bed. They are really a perfect crop for me right now.
Farm bucks v. farm coins:
This was a frustrating thing to realize. When I started, I had a few farm bucks, and I was earning farm coins like crazay, but all the cool stuff in the market place could only be purchased with farm bucks, so how could I earn some farm bucks? The bad news is that there are only two ways to earn farm bucks: (1) you earn one farm buck each time you level up and (2) you can buy them with real money. The good news is that all that cool stuff which appears to only be available for purchase with farm bucks will soon be available for purchase with farm coins as soon as you level up, so you don't really need to purchase farm bucks unless you're in a big hurry to advance through the game.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
I did two hundred squats
Today I completed the 200 squat challenge created by Steve Speirs. It was supposed to be a six week program. I started in January, so I figure that it took me about 12 weeks to complete the program, but I don't care. I'm glad to have completed the program. I'm working on the 200 situp challenge and the 100 pushup challenge. I became interested in these challenges because of my taekwondo class. I was one of the first students to join this new school, but I was almost always the last person to finish every drill like running and pushups, so I decided to do something extra in an attempt to keep up with the younger students in class. It's only working a little bit. I'm keeping up better with the 30-somethings, but I'm not keeping up with this teenagers, but that's okay.
Monday, March 15, 2010
My fourth belt test
It's been almost a year since I joined World Champion Taekwondo in Scappoose, Oregon. Friday night (03/12/2010), my seven-year-old daughter and I had our fourth belt test. We leveled up from yellow belts with orange stripes to orange belts. We have eight more belt tests before we get to black belt.
I was really nervous for this test. I don't know why, maybe because I invited people. My friend Terra came to run my video recorder which was very nice of her. My daughter invited her first-grade teacher, but she wasn't able to make it.
Our test was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night. The white belts tested at 4:30 and the yellow stripes and yellow belts tested at 5:30, so we were the evening finale. While the masters readied themselves, our instructor told us to practice our forms, self-defense and one-step sparring one more time. Then we warmed up with some leg lifts and some push-ups. I couldn’t keep up with all the push-ups (again). I've been trying and trying to build up my upper body strength, but I've still got a long way to go.
We started with blocks and punches. Our instructor called out a lot of interesting combinations this time. Dominic, a fifteen-year-old black belt candidate, assisted the instructor by demonstrating the combinations. I did fine with the blocks and punches, but then we demonstrated our kicking techniques. I did okay with the roundhouse kicks, but I thought that my back kick was totally weak. The back kick was our new kick for this test.
When it was time to do forms, self-defense and one-step sparring, our instructor began with the higher belts. Jared was testing for his brown stripe and Elsie was testing for her blue belt. Their forms, self-defense and one-step sparring techniques always look so cool. Jared's form had a hop in it.
The name of our form was tae guk il jung. It's the first form in the tae guk series. It was a little more complicated than our basic forms. It included unusual combinations new turns (slides) and multiple stances. All the orange stripes did our form perfect the first time.
Our self defense move started with a choke hold. We put our hand on the attackers face and pushed them back over our shin until they fell on their back. I think maybe our instructor was tired of letting students throw him to floor. He would have been thrown to the floor SEVERAL times during the earlier belt tests. A couple of the new orange stripes from the earlier class stayed behind to watch our test. He asked them to pair up with us to demonstrate our self defense techniques. They were really good sports.
Our one-step sparring was pretty simple: when our attacker punched at us, we slid back, performed circle kick to the fist and then a hook kick to the ear. The circle kick was pretty easy, but the hook kick was a little tricky to learn.
Just before we demonstrated our breaking technique, we read off a bad habit that we wanted to break. My daughter admitted that she yells at me. She got a lot of attention for that. When another student promised to be nicer to his little brother, and his little brother made a sarcastic remark, our instructor put them both in push-up position. Eventually, he had all the kids in push-up position. He had them do three push-ups before he let them all stand up and we started breaking our boards.
We used the roundhouse kick to break the board which is a little tricky because we practice the roundhouse kick in class with the top of our foot, but when we break we need to use the ball of our foot. Everyone was able to break their board in one try except for one young boy. He must have kicked that board a dozen times before it finally broke. I'm sure it was because he was using the top of his foot, and kicking softly so as not to hurt himself because as soon as he actually kicked it hard enough to break it, he hopped up and down like he had hurt his foot, poor kid.
The next day we celebrated our new belts with a bar-b-que.
I was really nervous for this test. I don't know why, maybe because I invited people. My friend Terra came to run my video recorder which was very nice of her. My daughter invited her first-grade teacher, but she wasn't able to make it.
Our test was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night. The white belts tested at 4:30 and the yellow stripes and yellow belts tested at 5:30, so we were the evening finale. While the masters readied themselves, our instructor told us to practice our forms, self-defense and one-step sparring one more time. Then we warmed up with some leg lifts and some push-ups. I couldn’t keep up with all the push-ups (again). I've been trying and trying to build up my upper body strength, but I've still got a long way to go.
We started with blocks and punches. Our instructor called out a lot of interesting combinations this time. Dominic, a fifteen-year-old black belt candidate, assisted the instructor by demonstrating the combinations. I did fine with the blocks and punches, but then we demonstrated our kicking techniques. I did okay with the roundhouse kicks, but I thought that my back kick was totally weak. The back kick was our new kick for this test.
When it was time to do forms, self-defense and one-step sparring, our instructor began with the higher belts. Jared was testing for his brown stripe and Elsie was testing for her blue belt. Their forms, self-defense and one-step sparring techniques always look so cool. Jared's form had a hop in it.
The name of our form was tae guk il jung. It's the first form in the tae guk series. It was a little more complicated than our basic forms. It included unusual combinations new turns (slides) and multiple stances. All the orange stripes did our form perfect the first time.
Our self defense move started with a choke hold. We put our hand on the attackers face and pushed them back over our shin until they fell on their back. I think maybe our instructor was tired of letting students throw him to floor. He would have been thrown to the floor SEVERAL times during the earlier belt tests. A couple of the new orange stripes from the earlier class stayed behind to watch our test. He asked them to pair up with us to demonstrate our self defense techniques. They were really good sports.
Our one-step sparring was pretty simple: when our attacker punched at us, we slid back, performed circle kick to the fist and then a hook kick to the ear. The circle kick was pretty easy, but the hook kick was a little tricky to learn.
Just before we demonstrated our breaking technique, we read off a bad habit that we wanted to break. My daughter admitted that she yells at me. She got a lot of attention for that. When another student promised to be nicer to his little brother, and his little brother made a sarcastic remark, our instructor put them both in push-up position. Eventually, he had all the kids in push-up position. He had them do three push-ups before he let them all stand up and we started breaking our boards.
We used the roundhouse kick to break the board which is a little tricky because we practice the roundhouse kick in class with the top of our foot, but when we break we need to use the ball of our foot. Everyone was able to break their board in one try except for one young boy. He must have kicked that board a dozen times before it finally broke. I'm sure it was because he was using the top of his foot, and kicking softly so as not to hurt himself because as soon as he actually kicked it hard enough to break it, he hopped up and down like he had hurt his foot, poor kid.
The next day we celebrated our new belts with a bar-b-que.
Monday, March 8, 2010
My Oscar Picks
I posted my picks the night before the Oscar show (03/07/2010). Now, I've updated them since the Oscar show with who actually won and a few comments regarding the content and quality of the show itself. I said that I would consider twelve out of 24 to be a good score. I only guessed ten correctly. My favorite moment was when Sandra Bullock won Best Actress. My picks are in boldface, actual winners are underlined.
The red carpet: (5:00 pm - 5:30 pm) Sandra Bullock looked really great, very different from her usual look, very glamorous, old-school Hollywood. Jennifer Lopes also looked really wonderful. Meryl Strep has been nominated 16 times. She is so graceful and gracious.
Opening: 5:30 - 5:45
The ten nominees for best actor and best actress all took the stage together to be introduced to the audience. Then they were escorted to the seats.
Neil Patrick Harris came out and sang a Broadway style number to introduce the hosts. It was well-staged, but Harris isn't enough of a singer for such a stage.
When Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin took the stage, they went around the room making jokes about the various nominees. It wasn’t a terrible idea, and some of the jokes were funny, but every time they picked someone out of the crowd, everyone clapped. It really broke up the rhythm of the comedy. Favorite joke:
Steve Martin: "There's that Damn Helen Mirren."
Alec Baldwin: "Steve, that's Dame Helen Mirren."
The red carpet: (5:00 pm - 5:30 pm) Sandra Bullock looked really great, very different from her usual look, very glamorous, old-school Hollywood. Jennifer Lopes also looked really wonderful. Meryl Strep has been nominated 16 times. She is so graceful and gracious.
Opening: 5:30 - 5:45
The ten nominees for best actor and best actress all took the stage together to be introduced to the audience. Then they were escorted to the seats.
Neil Patrick Harris came out and sang a Broadway style number to introduce the hosts. It was well-staged, but Harris isn't enough of a singer for such a stage.
When Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin took the stage, they went around the room making jokes about the various nominees. It wasn’t a terrible idea, and some of the jokes were funny, but every time they picked someone out of the crowd, everyone clapped. It really broke up the rhythm of the comedy. Favorite joke:
Steve Martin: "There's that Damn Helen Mirren."
Alec Baldwin: "Steve, that's Dame Helen Mirren."
- Best Supporting Actor - presented by Penelope Cruz at 5:45 p.m. Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress last year for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- Matt Damon in Invictus
- Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
- Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
- Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
- Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds is my pick for Best Supporting Actor. He won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award in this category. He is also the pick for the Hollywood exchange. However, if I were a voting member of the Academy, I would vote for Christopher Plummer. It wouldn't be fair since I haven't seen The Messenger yet, but I really enjoyed Plummer's performance. And, Christopher Waltz wins! (1/1)
- Best Animated Feature - presented by Cameron Diaz (Shrek Forever) and Steve Carell (Horton Hears a Who) at 6:00 p.m.
- Coraline
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- The Princess and the Frog
- The Secret of Kells
- Up is my pick for Best Animated Feature; although I really liked Coraline and The Princess and the Frog. I did not love Fantastic Mr. Fox, and I have not yet seen The Secret of Kells, but I think Up is going to win, and I think it deserves it. And, Up wins! (2/2)
- Best Song - presented by Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!) and Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) at 6:05 p.m.
- "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog
- "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog is my pick for best song because I really liked it, but I can see how nice it would be if a movie about music like Crazy Heart or Paris 36 actually won best song. I really liked "Take It All" too, but it's not a nice song, and I would rather vote for a nice song when given the chance. And, Crazy Heart wins! (2/3)
- "Loin de Paname" from Paris 36 Lyric by Frank Thomas
- "Take It All" from Nine
- "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart
- Best Original Screenplay presented by Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man and Tina Fey (Date Night) at 6:15 p.m. These two presenters had the cutest bit of banter about what an actor wants from a writer and what a writer wants from an actor. According to Robert Downey Jr., an actor wants lots of dialogue which he can deliver alone (which he had in Iron Man). According to Tina Fey, writers want actors to memorize the dialogue as written making no changes and no mistakes. I don't know if she ever gets that or not.
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglorious Basterds is my pick for best original screenplay because it is leading in the Hollywood exchange, but if I were a voting member of the academy, I would vote for The Hurt Locker. And the Hurt Locker won! (2/4)
- The Messenger
- A Serious Man
- Up
- Tribute to John Hughes presented by Molly Ringwald (Pretty in Pink) and Mathew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) at 6:20 p.m. The tribute included clips from his films and nice words from: Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone), Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club), Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), Jon Cryer (Pretty in Pink), and Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club). It was really cool to see all those teenagers all grown up.
- Best Animated Short presented by Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Zoe Saldana (Avatar) at 6:30 p.m.
- French Roast is my pick for best animated short because I think its getting more press. And, Logorama wins! (2/5)
- Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
- The Lady and the Reaper
- Logorama
- A Matter of Loaf and Death
- Best Documentary Short presented by Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Zoe Saldana (Avatar) at 6:35 p.m.
- China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province is my pick for best documentary short. I haven't seen any of the films in this category. I just find it amusing to choose the short film with the longest title. And Music by Prudence wins! (2/6)
- The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
- The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
- Music by Prudence
- Rabbit à la Berlin
- Best Live Action Short presented by Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Zoe Saldana (Avatar) at 6:40 p.m. It is a little bit hilarious seeing the actors from Avatar because they aren't blue in real life.
- The Door
- Instead of Abracadabra
- Kavi is my pick for best live action short. I really liked the other films in this category, but I think Kavi had the highest production values. At first I was a little bored with yet another story about how miserable life is in India, but the ending really saved it for me. And The New Tenants wins! (2/7)
- Miracle Fish
- The New Tenants
- Best Makeup presented by Ben Stiller (Zoolander) in blue Avatar makeup, even though Avatar was not nominated for make up because the whole thing was done in the computer.
- Il Divo
- Star Trek is my pick for best makeup because it has aliens, and even though the aliens were just humans with facial tattoos, at least that’s something. And, Star Trek wins! (3/8)
- The Young Victoria
- Best Adapted Screenplay presented by Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Prince of Persia).
- District 9
- An Education
- In the Loop
- Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- Up in the Air is my pick for best adapted screenplay. It is leading in the Hollywood exchange, but I really enjoyed this film. I would vote for this film if I were a member of the Academy. And, Precious wins! (3/9)
- Queen Latifa introduced the highlights from the Governors Awards at 6:55 pm: Gordon Willis (The Godfather), Lauren Bacall (The Mirror Has Two Faces), John Calley (The Remains of the Day), Roger Corman (Death Race).
- Best Supporting Actress presented by Robin Williams. This award is usually presented by last year's winner; however, last year's winner was Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (2008), and he is not available. Robin Willimas won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Goodwill Hunting (1997).
- Penélope Cruz in Nine
- Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
- Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart
- Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
- Mo'Nique in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire is my pick for Best Supporting Actress. She won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award in this category. She is also the pick on the Hollywood exchange. If I were a voting member of the Academy I would probably vote for Vera Farmiga. I enjoyed her performance very much. And, Mo'Nique wins! (4/10) During her acceptance speech she thanked Hattie McDaniel, the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I like historical references. She also thanked her husband for showing her that "sometimes you have to forego doing what's popular in order to do what's right." Apparently referring to the choice to play such a despicable and difficult character.
- Best Art Direction presented by Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas in the Mist) at 7:05 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best art direction. The other four films in this category were all very beautiful, but Avatar was so beautiful that the audience was actually depressed to know that their world would never be so beautiful. An Oscar would be a very nice way to honor that achievement. And, Avatar wins! (5/11)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
- Nine
- Sherlock Holmes
- The Young Victoria
- Best Costume Design presented by Somebody and Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) at 7:10 p.m.
- Bright Star
- Coco before Chanel is my pick for best costumes. I really loved the costumes in Bright Star and The Young Victoria, but it seems to me that this awards ought to go to the film that is actually about a clothing designer. But, The Young Victoria wins! (5/12)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
- Nine
- The Young Victoria
- Special tribute to horror movies in the form of a series of clips introduced by Kristen Stewart (New Moon) and Taylor Lautnerand (New Moon).
- Best Sound Editing presented by Zac Efron (High School Musical), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) and Morgan Freeman (Invictus) at 7:25 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best sound editing. I don't really know how to pick a film in this category, but I like to go with what's most popular. I sure wouldn't mind if Star Trek won in this category. But, The Hurt Locker wins! (5/13).
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglorious Basterds
- Star Trek
- Up
- Best Sound Mixing presented by Zac Efron (High School Musical), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) and Morgan Freeman (Invictus) at 7:25 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best sound mixing. I don't really know how to pick a film in this category, but I like to go with what's most popular. I sure wouldn't mind if Star Trek won in this category. But, The Hurt Locker wins! (5/14)
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglorious Basterds
- Star Trek
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
- Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) congratulated the 15 winners of the Sci Tech awards (without actually naming them).
- Best Cinematography presented by Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) at 7:35 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best cinematography. It included some very beautiful and spectacular shots, but the other films in this category are also very deserving. And, Avatarwins! (6/15)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglorious Basterds
- The White Ribbon
- Demi Moore (Ghost) introduced the tribute to those who have died during the calendar year. Somebody sang "In my Life I Loved Them All" while sitting on a stool playing a guitar. He sang while clips and images of the departed were displayed on a large screen. Michael Jackson (The Wiz) was included in the list which surprised me since I don't think of him as a movie guy. David Carradine (Kung Fu) was there. Notably absent was Farrah Fawcett (The Burning Bed).
- Best Score presented by Jennifer Lopez (Moster In-Law), Sam Worthington (Avatar) and the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers at 7:45 p.m. The nominees for Best Song are usually performed at the Oscar award ceremony. They are usually performed quite badly; at least they stage the performance quite badly, in my opinion. I'm always hoping that they will please do something more like the Grammy's, but this year they didn't present them at all. Instead they presented the nominees for Best Original Score. While the orchestra played bits of the score, a troupe of dancers performed an interpretation - much the sort of thing that you might see at the Tony's - better I think, grander. If they can't get the songs staged better, they can do this every year. I really liked it.
- Avatar is my pick for best score because it was composed by James Horner and he wins all the time; however, I don't actually recall that any of these films even had music, except for Up which told part of its story over the credits without dialogue. And, Up wins! (6/16)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- The Hurt Locker
- Sherlock Holmes
- Up
- Best Visual Effects presented by Gerard Butler (300) and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) at 7:55 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best visual effects. Avatar was a visual effects spectacular. It seems like a shoe-in although, the other films in this category are also very deserving. And, Avatar wins! (7/17)
- District 9
- Star Trek
- Best Documentary presented by Matt Damon (Invictus) at 8:00 p.m.
- Burma VJ
- The Cove
- Food, Inc. is my pick for best documentary, but it’s a bit of a shot in the dark. I've only seen two films in this category, but I think this one has the potential for improving our world. The Cove and Which Way Home also have this potential, but the food we eat seems more fundamental than cruelty to sea mammals or racist immigration laws. But, The Cove wins! (7/18)
- The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
- Which Way Home
- Best Film Editing presented by Tyler Perry (I Can Do Bad All By Myself) at 8:05 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best film editing. I really don't know how to choose a film in this category, so I'm just going with what seems to be the most popular film, and this has been one of the most popular films of all time. But Precious wins! (7/19)
- District 9
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglorious Basterds
- Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- Best Foreign Film presented at 8:15 p.m.
- Ajami - Israel
- El Secreto de Sus Ojos - Argentina
- The Milk of Sorrow - Peru
- Un Prophète - France
- The White Ribbon - Germany is my pick for best foreign film even though I haven't seen any of the films in this category either. I did hear a report on the radio about this film, so I think its getting more press, and I'm using that as a gauge that its more popular, but I think the other films in this category are very interesting, and I look forward to seeing them all as soon as they are released on DVD. And, El Secreto de Sus Ojos wins! (7/20)
- The nominees for Best Actor were introduced by Michelle Pfeiffer (The Fabulous Baker Boys), who said nice things about Jeff Bridges; Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), who said nice things about George Clooney; Julian Moore (A Single Man), who said nice things about Colin Firth; Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption), who said nice things about Morgan Freeman; and Colin Farrell (S.W.A.T.), who said nice things about Jeremy Renner.
This is something new they added last year, but I missed it because my satellite provider was battling with my local ABC affiliate. Although I liked hearing the nice things that were said about the nominees, I didn't like how the leading actors were singled out for this honor. There is no shortage of honors bestowed upon leading actors. If they want to keep doing this every year, they ought to rotate it around a bit. Next year they could do directors and producers, and maybe someday writers and designers.
The winner was announced by Kate Winslet at 8:30 p.m. Kate Winslet won the Oscar for Best Actress last year for The Reader.- Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart is my pick for Best Actor. He won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award in this category. He is also the pick for the Hollywood exchange. However if I were a voting member of the Academy, I would vote for Morgan Freeman. I really enjoyed his performance. And, Jeff Bridges wins! (8/21)
- George Clooney in Up in the Air
- Colin Firth in A Single Man
- Morgan Freeman in Invictus
- Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker
- The nominees for Best Actress were introduced by Forest Whitaker (Hope Floats), who said nice things about Sandra Bullock; Somebody from The Queen, who said nice things about Helen Mirren; Peter Sarsgaard (An Education), who said nice things about Carey Mulligan; Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple), who said nice things about Gabourey Sidibe; and Stanley Tucci (Julie & Julia), who said nice things about Meryl Strep. The winner was announced by Sean Penn at 8:45 p.m. Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor last year for Milk.
- Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side is my pick for Best Actress. She won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award in this category, and she is the pick on the Hollywood exchange. If I were a voting member of the Academy I would still vote for her even though I really liked Helen Mirren, too. I've been a fan of Sandra Bullock for a long time, and I REALLY liked this movie. I think it's great when a actress like Sandra Bullock who is popular also achieves such a high level of critical and professional acclaim. And, Sandra Bullock wins! (9/22) She received a standing ovation. She gave a very nice speech, very self deprecating and humorous, sending the cameras into the crowd to photograph the woman she portrayed on film. Finally, she thanked the moms who care for children no matter where they come from. Then I think she thanked her own mother - very tearfully. It was a very nice speech.
- Helen Mirren in The Last Station
- Carey Mulligan in An Education
- Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
- Best Director was presented by Barbara Streisand at 8:55 p.m.
- James Cameron in Avatar
- Kathryn Bigelow in The Hurt Locker is my pick for Best Director. James Cameron won the Golden Globe, but Kathryn Bigelow won the Director's Guild Award. She is also the leading in the Hollywood exchange. James Cameron's achievement with Avatar is extraordinary, but as a director most of his work was done in post production. It really deserves the technical awards, but I agree with another reviewer who said that Bigelow's film is the most important of the films in this category. It deals with a real war that we are fighting right now. Also, Bigelow will be the first woman to win in this category, and she used to be married to Cameron, all of which adds to the drama of the moment. And, Kathryn Bigelow won! (10/23) James Cameron seemed genuinely excited for her achievement.
- Quentin Tarantino in Inglorious Basterds
- Lee Daniels in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- Jason Reitman in Up in the Air
- Best Picture presented by Tom Hanks (Cast Away) at 9:00 p.m.
- Avatar is my pick for best picture. Avatar won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, but Inglorious Basterds won the Screen Actors Guild award, and The Hurt Locker is leading the Hollywood exchange. I think Avatar's popularity will pull it to the top, but it's anyone's guess. The voting method is different for this category. Instead of just picking a winner like in every other category, academy members have been asked to rank their choices in this category, so it's possible if half the members put Avatar at 1 and The Hurt Locker at 2 while the other half do the opposite while everyone puts Inglorious Basterds at 3, then Inglorious Basterds could win. But, The Hurt Locker wins! (10/24). The camera cut away very quickly from James Cameron's reaction. I like to imagine that he was very unhappy at not winning this award.
- The Blind Side
- District 9
- An Education
- The Hurt Locker
- Inglorious Basterds
- Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
- A Serious Man
- Up
- Up in the Air
Monday, March 1, 2010
Tae Guek Il Jang
There are many sites on the Internet which offer instruction on performing the forms of taekwondo. They vary widely, partly because instructors refer to the same techniques by different names, but mostly because people just write things differently. I am intrigued at the notion that although we are all doing these forms exactly the same way, we are all talking and writing about them very differently. It's really easier to learn forms in class than it is to learn them from written text, but I think this is helpful. I wrote this out to help me study for my test, and I offer it up to anyone who might find it useful. If you note any errors, please let me know. Thanks.
Tae Guek Il (1st) Jang is represented by the symbol keon, meaning heaven. It should be performed with the greatness of heaven. As heaven symbolizes the beginning of the creation of all things in the universe, so this form represents the beginning of taekwondo training. This form is characterized by the easiest techniques: walking stance, front stance, low block, middle block, high block, middle punch and front kick. At my school it is required for advancement to orange belt. (We actually learn three forms that are even easier!)
From the Joon Be (ready) position
Tae Guek Il (1st) Jang is represented by the symbol keon, meaning heaven. It should be performed with the greatness of heaven. As heaven symbolizes the beginning of the creation of all things in the universe, so this form represents the beginning of taekwondo training. This form is characterized by the easiest techniques: walking stance, front stance, low block, middle block, high block, middle punch and front kick. At my school it is required for advancement to orange belt. (We actually learn three forms that are even easier!)
From the Joon Be (ready) position
- 1. Turn 90* to the left and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- 2. Step forward with the right foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- 3. Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a low block with the right hand.
- 4. Step forward with the left foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- 5. Turn 90* to the left (facing flags) and step with the left foot in front stance and perform a low block with the left hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the right hand.
- 6. Turn 90* to the right and slide the right foot (back foot) into walking stance (right foot forward) and perform an outside-in middle block with the left hand.
- 7. Step forward with the left foot in walking stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- 8. Turn 180* left and step with the left foot in walking stance and perform an outside-in middle block with the right hand.
- 9. Step forward with the right foot in walking stance and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- 10. Turn 90* to the right (facing flags) and step with the left foot in front stance perform and low block with the right hand followed immediately by a middle punch with the left hand.
- 11. Turn 90* to the left and slide the right foot (back foot) up into walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a high block with the left hand.
- 12. Perform a front kick with the right foot (fists on belt) and land in walking stance (right foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the right hand.
- 13. Turn 180* to the right and step with the right foot in walking stance and perform a high block with the right hand.
- 14. Perform a front kick with the left foot and land in walking stance (left foot forward) and perform a middle punch with the left hand.
- 15. Turn 90* to the right (back to flags) and step with the LEFT foot in front stance and perform a low block with the left hand.
- 16. Step forward (back to flags) with the right foot in front stance and perform a middle punch with the right hand. KI HAP! (yell)
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