As a child, I watched all the classics: 101 Dalmatians, Pocahontas, Lion King (I & II), Cinderella, and so on. Some of them were made before I was born… a year or two, but still, I grew up with them, they were the base of my imagination, the solid foundation on which I built the rest of my life. Well, maybe not quite, but still, they were quite an influence on me in my early years. Nowadays, however, what are the kids growing up with? Finding Nemo? Good movie, but it’s got nothing on the Lion King. Cars, Shrek, all these kids movies are funny, and totally acceptable for a child to fall in love with, and yet… they are soul-less. None of the recent children’s movies have the magic of Disney, or even the heart of them. They don’t possess the same air, the same reason behind them… they used to be charming and intriguing, and now they have been stripped down to the core humour, destroying any messages engraved in the deepest levels of the movie. When is the last time you saw a real ‘Pocahontas’? Think about it. Pocahontas wasn’t a funny movie, I mean, it had its moments, but the movie was not based on the humour. You never see that now. But we will have to wait to discover what this development truly means… I would have assumed that growing up with Disney would be preferable compared to growing up with something like Pixar, that it would have a better effect on you in the course of your life, but think about it. I grew up with Disney, but the majority of my generation is a mindless mass of ‘LOL’-ers. While I’m sure that it would not be traced back to the movies you watch as a child, you still have to wonder whether it will have any effect on the next generation… we shall see. I guess the moral of this story is that I wish we could bring back the masterpieces, and maybe cut down on the other stuff.
Just something to think about the next time you see an ad for a new animated film for children.
Teagan

I forgot one of the most important books on my book list...
Alice In Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carrol)
It seems like it would be a childish novel, but I literally spent the entire grade eight year of Accelerated Reader time reading it, and it truly is a great book. It's not particularly well-written, the plot tend to be difficult to follow and the events are less than spectacular as it is clear from the very beginning the whole thing is a dream, but nonetheless, it is one of my favourite books. The main thing it taught me was that you should say what you mean and mean what you say... which I constantly quote, much to the dismay of many of my classmates. However, I find that quote wonderful, and ever so useful... feel free to use it. And read the book, it takes about an hour and is totally worth it.

Puzzles... a pleasant pastime, in my eyes, beneficial to your intelligence and all around just a great thing to do. But what about when the puzzle companies try to screw you over? What then?!
I recently was doing a puzzle. I saw the box and it was a big lion face, which I thought would be a fun challenge because all the colours were similar, yet you could follow the way the hair in the mane went and such to still get it done. However, after completing the puzzle outline and trying to make out where the top and bottom of it was, I found myself puzzled (no pun intended... okay maybe just a tad). The puzzle really didn't match up with the picture on the box at all. So I continued to work on it, until I finally concluded that there was no way on earth the puzzle was the same picture as on the box. When I finished, it was clear that the box was a filthy liar... while they were both photos of lions, they were completely different photos. And, while examining closer (as only I would do), I found that they aren't even the same lion! That, my friends, is what we in the puzzle hobby call a huge scam. Kidding. But still, so silly.
Hope your puzzling'z better than mine,
Teagan

are you ready for a rant? good, it's not like you have a choice.
The Space Association.
which one? who cares. they're all working for the same thing. "hey everybody, we're going to go to _________ and find out some stupid little thing about it!" watching the news yesterday, i heard news of plans to send some sort of device, whether spaceship full of humans or other, to a planet, possibly mars (hey, give me a break, it's not like i watch the news attentively) and discover if there was liquid water there. "we've already found ice, we want to see if liquid water exists there". you know where we need water? MANY IMPOVERISH COUNTRIES WORLD WIDE. now i respect the dreams of every young aspiring astronaut who believes that yes, it is essential that we know exactly what is on every other planet at this moment immediately. but maybe they should be making these predictions and experiments on their own time, in their own news feed, and most importantly, on their own dime. right now, there are hundred of thousands of people dying because they don't have the money to buy themselves food, water, shelter, clothing, or essential medical attention. you watch commercials asking for donations, or even just sending out a message about genocide, starvation, etcetera, and think to yourself, "but what can i do?". well if you knew how much money these space associations receive to carry out their ridiculous experiments to discover what? a fact that will change one paragraph on one page of one hardly used, dusty textbook in some kid's back pack that he will skim over once before discarding. this enrages me. i say we solve our world's problems first, then we discover and tend to the problems of the stuff happening light years away. it's understandable to have difficulty prioritizing say, your family life and your academic life. but in your own world vs. in a completely different planet? if you have to even think about that, then you're one of them, and you can just go squander your own money on building some failed machine, thanks.
teagan

i know everyone thinks to themselves, "wow, teagan is just a genius in every way, i sure wish i knew the reading material that influences her opinions, vocabulary, and general style". yes, don't try to hide it, i am positive this thought travels through everyone's minds once in a blue moon. so, to help solve your pondering, i am pleased to present you with
TEAGAN'S LIST OF THINGS TO READ THAT RULE
now, i'd like to say that all of these books are amazing pieces of literature or spiritually uplifting. and in a perfect world, they would be. but i can openly admit that i am not perfect, and i do read the occasional piece of garbage which may be referenced. or a book that's way over your head. either way, if it's worthy of this list, let's hope it's not reputation-damaging for me. for my sake. here we go:

1. Harry Potter (1 through 7)- every single one of this magic-packed books is shockingly fabulous, worthy of reading 2, 3, 5, 10 times over. which i have, so i can tell you that through experience. and here's a test for you; if you can't tell me the exact colour of harry potter's dress robes, you have not read the books enough. if you couldn't even tell me what book you would find that info in, i'd recommend you move into a library until you can. so yeah, we're talking fantastic books here. {JK Rowling}

2. Uglies, Pretties, Specials [Extras]- it's a trilogy, (plus Extras) and a great one at that. it's about people way into the future, but it's actually believable, like they get surgery done so they can look any way they want to, which is what the world is quickly becoming. so it really gives you a perspective on what things may turn out like. i'm a fan. {Scott Westerfield}

3. TIME Magazine- if you're like me, you'll most enjoy the essay page at the very back. it's always worth reading. but the rest of the magazine isn't to be discarded as complete trash either, it's chock full of politics, statistics, and enough knowledge to impress your way into better friendships. kidding, don't use it to be a poser. but it is informative and definitely awesome. {Large amount of contributors}

4. Freakenomics- a book about economics, but they're like, crazy, and it's cool. non-fiction and a fun read to find out some interesting things about what's going on around you. {i don't recall the author... oop.}

5. Predictably Irrational- everyone snickered at me as i brought a thick hardcover book that looked lame as eff into english class for a few days, but i now know why their minds work in the ridiculous way they do, so i can say it was totally worth it and more. just explains what influences our decisions. pretty neat stuff. {dan ariely}

6. My Blog- TJK (=total just kidding), but yeah, i'm not on my A game for reading material right now, so maybe i'll consider making some more sweet recommendations for all you people who are unable to amazing choose books for themselves. just for some on the side reading, i'll include a little list here of books that are also super good but i do not have long explanations prepared for them:
Bringing Down the House: 21 by Ben Mezrich (the book for the movie 21)
The End of Harry Potter? (read after the completion of the sixth book)
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter (read after the series, or in the middle, whenever.)
any other book about harry potter you may come across
I Am America (And So Can You!) -Stephen Colbert (hilarious and awesome to the max)

good luck in the reading world. perhaps in the future i shall spend some time coming up with a song list. maybe. we'll see.
teagan

My mom is thee most ridiculous person ever.
She loves Guitar Hero. 1, 2, 3, or Rock the 80's, she plays it, 24/7. she plays on expert, and she is good. so, of course, she was ecstatic when the idea of Rock Band was brought to her ears. after a long wait, it was finally released, and she could not have been happier. however, the time was never quite right to purchase it. mother's day came, she got excited. but her dear children, who meant well, failed her, and brought her only a pedicure ("you didn't really get me this, did you?") and disappointment. a little under a week later, the opportunity for her to buy it presented itself. she asked her boss's wife to purchase the game for her on her way back to the town through a city. so she did. my mom got guitar hero on thursday. she hid the many pieces in various places around the house: the drums in the closet, the guitar under her bed, the microphone and actual disk in a clothes drawer. then, in the middle of the night, she would bring it out and play it, praying she wouldn't wake anyone up. why? because she was worried her son would play it too much and neglect the tasks he needed to complete those days. on saturday, she said goodbye to the son as he left on a two week trip. then she brought out Rock Band. and played it almost all day.
What a woman she is. that is straight up ridiculous if you ask me.
teagan

by the way, the game was discovered by her son the day before he left, but he didn't say anything. it's still crazy.

I just had a thought... one of many, but this one, i think, deserves to be online-published.
Imagine you are married. you got married at age... 21, to a nice man, business guy, had some nice kids, everything is just lovely lovely. suddenly you are 44, and two months after your 23rd wedding anniversary, you catch your not-so-lovely husband cheating on you with his co-worker... the jerk. but not important. what's important is the 23 years of your life spent married to a man, and then the other 2-3 years you dated him beforehand. fast forward a little. it's your 50th birthday, and your kids, who all have nice, reasonable careers and started families of their own decide to put together a humourous slideshow presentation to show at your gathering, liven things up, get some laughs. but 23 years of your life in photos were taken with a man who has hurt you deeply. they dig and dig through photos to find the ones that don't include the cheating [swearword], and they've done the best they can, but one where you look particularly astonishing includes mr. ex. everyone looks around, trying not to look at the happy 50-year old, reading her reaction, and an uncomfortable silence falls over the crowd.
i just think that would be so awkward. if i'm getting divorced, i hope it's before the better part of my life (in pictures) is gone.
teagan

I'm not even going to bother wasting another massive amount of writing space and time talking about how much of a deadbeat i am because i never write regularly as i promise, because everyone already knows that. so. moving on.
i was just thinking about my favourite quote. note to others: if you check my facebook 'favourite quotes' section, you will not find this quote there. what will you find there instead? a bunch of randomly humorous things friends have said in the past. and a few funny things that were said on television. what's not included is anything meaningful or inspirational. why is this? i'll tell you why. it's because i don't have emotions. i don't get lifted up by powerful words, i don't get inspired by some sentences some famous person said to be deep and meaningful. so, i will share with you [logan] this quote that i actually love, for apparently my own reasons which i will afterwards try to decipher and analyze for your benefit. it is something like this, i don't remember the exact words:
"There's no such thing as unconditional love. All love is conditional, you just can't imagine the conditions."
Oddly enough, i simply love that quote. it was said by Dr. House on the television show 'House'. i think he was talking about something that had to do with a burning house and a dad loving his son. i think the kid accidentally started the fire and the dad's wife died in the fire and he blamed the kid for her dying so he didn't talk to him, then the dad was dying and he secretly wanted to talk to his kid before he died, but wouldn't admit it so wilson thought maybe that was why he was doing something or other and then house said that. anyway, i just love that quote. but it shall remain a secret that only you [logan] knows, until i decide to put it in my facebook favourite quotes. it's just not me to like that quote haha. enjoy that information. but sadly, i have nothing else to say at the moment, so i will end this here, and hopefully not be a total deadbeat and not write again for another billion days, but no promises.
take care, america. (cough canada)
teagan

so, it's a leap year this year. one extra day. in february. so then there will be what, like 29 days? there are usually 28, do yeah, 29. that's just weird. why on earth do we have a month with only 28 (usually) days? couldn't we just hack off the one day at the end of some of the months that have 31 days? that would work so much better, instead of having some freak month. hmph. but leap years are necessary, so that's cool. is there ever some sort of celebration on february twenty ninth? seems like the kind of thing to party about. maybe if it's on a friday, saturday or sunday haha. otherwise, i guess it's just a day like any other. wow, logan, you were really close to being born at like the very end of february. were we born on a leap year? let's see... no, we were not. lucky you. that would suck being born on a leap year on the twenty ninth. you would only have a real birthday every four years. i mean, i'm sure you would celebrate it just on the twenty eighth or something, but it would be as real. although, every four years when you would get a real birthday would be awesome special. might even be worth it. maybe.
well, since i titled this so it's all about february, i may as well add in something about valentine's day. which i think is sort of a waste of time holiday. especially giving out valentines. like, in grade school, when you give them out to the whole class, even though you don't even care about any of them. and now, once you are older, what does it mean? it means giving out baby valentines to all your friends as a joke, and buying a gift for you significant other and i guess, spending a romantic day with them or whatever. still dumb, i think. but whatever haha. just my thoughts.
oh! i made a cool discovery. in the movie 'dead poets society', the main guy is in fact dr. wilson off of House. and i made that connection! i am actually pretty proud of myself for doing that. even though it's not like he looks very different, he looks pretty much exactly the same as he was in the movie on the tv show. but i'm still allowed to be proud. so there. ha.
anyway, i have better things to do.. haha just kidding. but i'll cut this off here anyway, that's enough pondering for today.
think hard
teagan

okay, so we have this mustard in our fridge. well, first, i don't like mustard anyway, so it really doesn't change anything for me. but on the back of it, it says that it contains no calories. is that even really possible? i know water has no calories, but, well, it's water. but can mustard, a food, really have no calories at all? that's ridiculous! well, i thought it was, anyway. maybe i'll google it... or not. i have better things to do. like write this.
we are getting a new refrigerator and stove. which rules, because the ones we have right now are like, twenty million years old. and i just don't like twenty million year old kitchen appliances. wait, does a fridge and stove count as an appliance? i know stuff like blenders and toasters do, but fridges and stoves are so large... but they also plug in a do things, just the same. well, let's just say they are kitchen appliances, and anyone who doesn't agree can just suck it. so i am super excited for the new stuff to come in, because right now our fridge is so gross. and it's going to have a freezer on the bottom! how cool is that? actually, it may be kind of annoying, but my mother says "well, i am tall, and i don't like bending over for the stuff in the bottom of the fridge part". which makes sense, except that i am short and it works perfectly for me haha. but meh, i'll get used to it. the stove, my mother keeps saying something about a 'secret burner', and i really have no idea what that means. i'll just wait until we get it and she shows me, i guess. but it will be so awesome to have a new stove, because the one we have right now only has two working burners, and one of them is too tiny to use really. so if i need to make two things, i have to wait and turn and 20 minutes supper preparation into a 40 minute one. sucky.
hmm, not going to lie, all this stove talk and fridge talk is making me really hungry... or maybe it's just the fact that i haven't eaten yet since i got up. which is not so bad, considering i only really got up about a half hour ago. you know, i haven't had a grilled cheese sandwich in the longest time. and i used to eat them like, 24/7. maybe i'll have one of those. but there's so much to do when you make those... like buttering the bread, then cooking it... and yeah, that's about it haha. but the buttering is such a waste of time. and while you cook it, you really can't do anything else but wait there standing by it, waiting and waiting for it to cook so you can flip it. otherwise, i always forget about it and it burns. and burnt grilled cheese sandwiches are just terrible. especially when you've been really excited for it, like i am getting right now. well, i think i'll go make that now. or soon anyway. soon enough to stop writing this now haha. not sure when you'll hear from me next, but i will try to write more often!
keep snazzy
teagan

maybe i'll go for a bit longer, on the other hand.
mmm, my kraft dinner story. so, we had kraft dinner for supper, and cold, leftover kraft dinner is just as good as hot fresh stuff. so there was a bowl of it sitting there, waiting for me, because i wouldn't let my mom feed it to the dog, because i wanted it. anyway, i was drying dishes for my mother, and i went to pull out a glass from a shelf and put it on the shelf above it, but the glass caught another glass and pushed it off the shelf. the glass sort of bounced off me, hit the counter, rolled at the bowl and knocked it face down on the floor, ruining all the kraft dinner inside of it. the glass didn't even break, somehow, and i was so mad. surprisingly, or maybe not, i was mainly just mad at my dog, who i called a 'stupid witch dog'. i'm positive it was her influence that made that happen.
another computering thing that takes up my time is minesweeper. currently, i am very happy with my scores, which are as follows:
beginner: 5
intermediate: 28
expert: 85 [seconds]
those are pretty good. it's been a while since i've beaten my expert score, which is really all i care about, so i think i'm due for a new record soon. keep your fingers crossed anyway. after i set that one i almost broke my keyboard i was so enthusiastic saving my name as the high score. i was super scared my mom/dad (who were in the room) would yell at me because i literally just SLAMMED my hand down on it, but i kept apologizing and they were surprisingly cool about it. i was on JK Rowling [author of HP (Harry Potter) books] 's official fan site, and she had written on the site that when she was writing the books, and needed a break, she used to smoke. but then she gave up smoking and needed something else to do. so, she turned to... minesweeper. which is cool, because i totally do the same thing. sometimes, i need to take a break from facebook. i'm probably the only person ever who gets stressed from going on facebook. just, people messaging me and i have to write such lengthy replies... anyway, that's not the point haha. so, JKR was saying how her best time was like, 98 [on expert] and she said that was 'really good' and i was just laughing, like, i'm better than her! i was proud of myself. i love minesweeper so much. i actually quit playing it for a while there, but then i started talking to joel hart, bless him, who got me back on it. and now i just play and play.
hmm, exams are coming up and i'm almost starting to get worried. i can't see how i'll do bad on either of them (math and english). but still... it's just sort of scary i guess. being in high school just makes me think of junior high and how teachers insisted that high school teacher WOULD NOT ever even think of trying to help us pass or caring about our grades. which could not be less true. there are so many tutoring programs, studying help, extra everything, it's insane. i want to go back to the junior high at the end of the year and tell all the kids how stupid the teachers there are being. we all knew that anyway, except for a few dumb kids going "oh snap, looks like i better smarten up then" and there's the teacher thinking he's such a genius. that makes me mad. although i do agree it is certainly different from junior high, it's nothing for the stupid teachers to stress about and freak out all the kids over. stupid people.
well, if this gets much longer it will turn into a novel, so i guess i'll cut it here. i'll see how much i feel like writing in the future, i wonder if logan even checks these anymore? probably just gave up on me, i would have. if not, i'm glad i guess haha. post some other time then, and rant about something new.
teagan

yes, i did not, in fact, publish anything in the entire month of december. i really just don't understand how people can find the time to write one of these every single day! i always forget, and even if i remember it's like, wow, i have nothing to say. so, today, tonight haha, i will try to make a nice long one with lots to read and lots to ponder over.
so. the main thing that takes up my computering time right now is facebook. i am currently really into this 'hot or not' application. it's odd how something where you just sit there and rate people's photos from 1-10, depending on how 'hot' they are. really, it's pretty much just the pretty girls being told they are pretty, the girls who thought they were pretty but according to the rest of the facebook community, are not, get a nice big slap in the face [that's what happened to me!], and the ugly girls are just reminded of their crappy genes and wish even harder for that reconstructive face surgery their parents promised them for their sixteenth birthday. and the guys that i get to rate? hardly any of them are above a five in my books. maybe that's because i judge on what their personality looks like it might be. for instance: a guy lifting up his shirt at a mirror and holding the camera up, which means that he did in fact take the photo of himself to show off his 'hot body', would really only get maybe a three from me, because he looks like... well, like a cocky bastard. and who likes a cocky bastard? a few stupid twelve year old girls and nobody. that's who. so i put this photo of myself on there, and i am in a cute hoodie on the swings, smiling like i always do. when i checked my ratings, i had a five point something. i was pretty much crushed. so then i went and found a different picture, one of my and holly, because i thought that maybe some people would rate holly instead of me by accident and i'd get higher. cheap trick, i know, but i was desperate for a compliment, particularly after the self-esteem draining evening i had yesterday. so now my score is a 7.4, last i checked. which is really not that bad. but [my friend] jessica's is a 9 point something, and i don't think i am any worse looking than her. but hers is black and white, and she's not smiling, she's making a sexy face. and all this goes to show just what people on facebook (mainly creepers, loser, and the odd normie) are basing their ratings on. the faces you make and how much it reminds you of porn.
i guess i really just had a lot to say on that subject. not that you probably had anything better to do with your time than read my thoughts on a facebook application. today, i was very excited to find my nintendo DS charger, which i have actually been searching for for quite some time now. and the worst part is that it was where it's always been kept. that just makes me annoyed. but at least now i can play it. which reminds me. i was playing my mario game, and i spent like 10 minutes getting this star, then i got it out of the air, missed the ground by like, nothing, and died. i literally sat there for a while before acting. i was so mad.
well, my brother is now home, and i don't want him to be all, "what is this" about my blog, so i'll cut it off here. i was going to make it longer, but life happens, sorry. oh, i was going to tell me cup-falling kraft dinner story! maybe another day, perhaps.
teagan