Sam and the Stump

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Today is FACT Friday but to get the day started I first want to tell you a little story from my morning.

My Sam is an 18 pound Pug and French Bulldog mix. His eyes are slightly cock-eyed and he wags his tail with a simple glance in his direction. He looks and talks like a hyena.

Sam is not the smartest. My other dog, Haley, understands full sentences and Sam barely understands “come.” In fact, when you talk to Haley it is easy to sense she’s really listening and actually understanding some of what you are saying. When you talk to Sam he gladly watches you talk to whole time with an uncomprehending grin pasted to his face and his tail wagging.

For a brief time we trusted Sam to go outside off a leash to do his business. But after a near-death experience we decided he could not be trusted so we hooked him back up to his harness. The amount of leash he has gives him just enough room to wind around a stump in the yard… perhaps you can guess what he does frequently.

This morning was no exception. Haley came it obediently as usual and Sam barked his predicament at me from out in the fresh piles of snow. I went for my boots but then I decided I might see if pulling on the line wouldn’t reveal the way back around the stump. I creeped outside just far enough to reach the line and before I did Sam danced around the stump, like he’s known what to do all along, and barreled towards me with a goofy grin pasted to his face and tongue lolling.

Joke is on me.

P.S. If you haven’t already, check out y 100th Blog Post Giveaway. There are still a few days left to enter in the drawing for a free session 🙂

A Big Stroke of Pride and a Little Touch of Grace

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Tonight Josh and I decided to try out the Midweek service at Willow Creek Community Church. We were tardy so worship had already started.

Today I hadn’t managed to take a picture yet so I brought my camera and resolved to get that out of the way before we even sat down. I paused at the back of the sanctuary, so as not to disrupt or distract anyone, and before I could even remove my lens cap I was reprimanded. I think the woman came over to ask me a question but as soon as she saw my camera all she had to say was something like, “no pictures.” Then she walked away. Three things crossed my mind all at once:

“In today’s age? I bet you someone is taking a picture with their iPhone right now.”
“Ouch.”
“I think I might just leave now.”

I was flabbergasted at her audacity to ask me not to take a pictures. I honestly didn’t think cameras were forbidden anywhere but a few select places anymore, and I didn’t think Willow Creek (the land of escalators, a vast assortment of stage lights, electric guitars, and videographers) would be one of them. It is the age of the smart phone.

Her words struck a big, “do not touch” Kaia button. I don’t handle reprimanding very well. I take it personally.

I was utterly crushed. Now, you might be thinking, come on Kaia, grow some thick skin. Well, I didn’t run out of the room crying and remain sobbing in the bathroom for hours and that is big for me. Because, when I was a kid, if I EVER got reprimanded it was the end of the world. I would stow myself away in my room, broken to bits, for hours. Even when my parents repeatedly tried to coax me out of my crushing self-loathing I remained. Am I sensitive? I guess you could say that.

Now-a-days, I grit my teeth and let the parade of negative thoughts scream in my brain while remaining utterly silent on the exterior.

The rest of the service was tainted. I tried to sing along with the worship songs but I couldn’t even open my mouth. I tried to pray but I couldn’t focus. I tried to listen to the message and, at best, I retained scraps.

I thought about leaving. I had a somewhat sick, mild satisfaction when we did, indeed, exit the doors we had come through before “no pictures.” An evil part of me was thinking, “good, I hope you think you deterred me from church.” But, in fact, we just went upstairs to sit in the balcony because there was noticeably more space.

I literally spent THE REST of the service mulling over the whole situation. I went through all sorts of waves of emotions ranging from self-degradation, self-loathing, bitterness, anger, alienation, and nothing. I rehearsed several different versions of conversing with her over in my head, ranging from confrontation to blessing. In the end, I just let it go.

This whole experience shed a lot of light into a lot of dark places in my heart though. I was disgusted to find that, even though I grew up in the church and follow Christ faithfully, I was so quick to judge that woman and dismiss the church service. And because of that I suddenly stepped into the shoes of a unbeliever stepping into the church for the first time. I was horrified to think of that woman approaching a unbeliever that way. She was the only person that uttered a word to me the whole hour and a half I was there and the best she had was “no pictures.” Of course I know the church has problems and we are only people, but I know so many unbelievers who don’t know that and expect perfection of Christians. They, most likely, would not be forgiving or be willing to try a second time. And I wouldn’t blame them.

As my range of thoughts and feelings rampaged around there were a few clear and good ones.

I contemplated what I might have done differently if I were that woman, knowing what I know now. I would have either not bothered with the camera, I mean really, or I would have gone ahead and informed 24-year-old me, but I wouldn’t have kept my words so patronizing and curt; I would have explained why “no pictures” briefly and asked if I could help find some seating for the young couple. My raging defenses would have been tamed if she’d shown a little love within the interaction.

I also contemplated myself and how irrationally my head was spinning. It took some convincing and a little prodding from the Holy Spirit but I slowly realized that she was probably just trying to serve, to do her job, and if I were going to do mine and show the grace God so frequently gives me… well I would have to let the matter go, forgive and forget, and see if I can’t withstand crumbling underneath criticism so rapidly and thoroughly next time. I became painfully aware of my own fault and I think its name is pride.

So, here’s to moving forward 🙂

Until next time,

Kaia Calhoun

P.S. And now I have to go take a picture 😉 And… if you haven’t already, check out my 100th blog post HERE! There’s a little surprise waiting for you there (eh hem… a giveaway drawing).

Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

I finally got to watch Wreck-It Ralph! I have been so excited to see this movie and was not disappointed.

Disney animated films are my favorite films in the world. So much so I frequently cuddle up with my dogs and the likes of Tangled (my #1 obsession), Brave, Mulan, and Tarzan. I happen to still own multitudes of Disney movies on VHS because I stubbornly insist that they are simply not the same on DVD. In my defense, if you put in Lion King on VHS then put in the enhanced DVD you too will see a difference – what I love about classic Disney movies is that they were hand drawn, but that raw quality is lost when they are converted to enhanced DVDs.

Wreck-It Ralph, like its predecessors, was full of cute banter, lovable characters, on-the-edge-of-your-seat-action, and tear-jerker moments. It amazes me how the statements “everything has been done” and “every story has been told” always seem to melt away when I watch movies like Wreck-It Ralph. This story had not been done before.

SUMMARY

Wreck-It Ralph is about Wreck-It Ralph. This story is a sort-of coming of age, action film about heroes and friendship with a sprinkle of romance – you know, just to keep it interesting.

Ralph is the villain in a retro arcade game called Fix-It Felix Jr. The game is simple, Ralph wrecks the building and the gamer manipulates Felix to fix it. But Ralph grows weary of acting as the villain and embarks on an adventure filled with unlikely friends, candy, and cy-bugs to prove he’s a good guy.

REVIEW

Wreck-It Ralph is a film full of colorful settings and characters backed up by an original and heart-wrenching tale. All the best things.

As a 24-year-old woman with a child-like spirit and an abounding love of color I was totally enraptured by the land of Sugar rush and the playful spirit it embodied. At several points I was wishing the game Sugar Rush were a real game so I could play it (hint, hint Disney). The other main settings of Hero’s Duty and Fix-It Felix Jr were also brilliant and enticing but both paled in comparison to Sugar Rush.

We are brought into the story through Fix-It Felix Jr with a monologue from Ralph. The game setting embodies the early arcade games with the pixellated structure and the more subdued and simple color palette.

Hero’s Duty was tailored around the dark and dangerous mission of the game, to destroy all the cy-bugs. In this case, the setting is mainly painted in black and neon green with high-definition and dramatic illustration.

Our main character, Ralph is a lovable, though hot-tempered, underdog villain who longs for friends and a cozy home. The writers quickly entice the viewer to sympathizing with Ralph but only to an end. Though Ralph lives in the dumps and has no friends he also proves to be mildly deserving when he unleashes his wrath among his game-mates and stomps off in resolve. This simple moment defines Ralph’s true character as a selfish and overgrown hot head. Then the viewer gets to watch him transform into a real hero.

Our secondary, and also flawed, character is Venellope. She is a vibrant, yet irritating small girl. The viewer also gets to watch her transform and grow-up but I won’t reveal how that goes.

And finally, we have Felix and Sergeant Calhoun. These characters get thrown together as they hunt for Ralph in order to save the game Fix-It Felix Jr. from the fate of being unplugged and the unsuspecting land of Sugar Rush from a dangerous cy-bug invasion. Sergeant Calhoun is an abrasive and intense character with a tragic back story and Felix is an optimistic, super-friendly little man.

And finally, the story is inherently original and heart-wrenching due to the unique tale of arcade game characters getting involved with each other by jumping games and the way the writer’s so intentionally make the viewer fall in love with the characters. But that’s all I will divulge about that because otherwise I’ll give away all the good stuff!

My only qualm with the movie isn’t even a qualm because I see why it was necessary; I didn’t like that Ralph was a tragic character who I sympathized with then grew quick distaste for because of his rage and selfishness. But, I suppose, this story wouldn’t be nearly as gripping if it was based around a troubled character who was inherently lovable With a preface like that there would have been little room for Ralph to have a character curve.

CONCLUSION

Clearly I loved the story. More than that, I loved that I was pleasantly reminded to avoid selfishness and of the real value of friendship.

Image borrowed from: http://www.primagames.com/

P.S. Check out my 100th Blog Post HERE! Psst… I’m having a giveaway drawing over there

It’s My Mom’s Birthday!

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

Today is my Mom’s Birthday! And in honor of her I am going to tell you a favorite memory with her.

There are a few memories that stand out above them all… my mom tends to be HILARIOUS when under the influence of her sleeping medication, she is a riot while playing any game (especially our game of UNO while we were in Lochness, Scotland) and she is the perfect road trip buddy when faced with unknown territory and no navigation. One such road trip occurrence happened on our epic California trip in the summer of 2010. This trip took us from San Francisco to Napa Valley and all the way down to Los Angeles. We delighted in wine country, mother-daughter time, and Hollywood in good company.

On our last day near San Francisco I resolved to make it into the heart of city before we left for Los Angeles. My mom committed to making it happen. So after a morning spent by the pool watching my second cousin in her swim competition we grabbed our rental car and hit the pavement.

When we reached the city limits, just off the bridge, our Garmin died. For the next 40 minutes we putted along on Embarcadero Drive. Why do I remember that street name you ask? Because we were on a 1.5 mile road for 40 MINUTES. I also must mention that we were on a time crunch. With an hour budgeted to hang in the city before we had to be off to get me to a photo shoot our time was cut to 15 minutes by the time we parked which meant walked up a wharf, stared at the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz off far, far away, then walked back up the wharf and drove the 50 minutes back to Orinda.

With my mom though, I loved this adventure. We mostly spent that 40 minutes of stuck in-between people and more people on that dreadful road laughing about it and dreaming up our blog-worthy story 🙂

I wrote a blog post about this experience a while back and, if you’re interested, you may CLICK HERE to read the original story and see all the pictures from that day 🙂

Also, if you haven’t already… check out my 100th Blog Post HERE! Psst… I’m having a giveaway drawing over there

BOOK REVIEW | Publish and Prosper: Blogging for your Business

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Kaia Calhoun

I read Publish and Prosper: Blogging for your Business over the weekend and have already jumped on practicing their recommendations and tips.

When I committed to keeping a blog as a means of sharing all of my passions in one place. So, the first step I always do is jumping in head first. Although it can be a risky method to start something by sticking your neck out first rather than researching before hand, I find that I learn best by starting then implementing new tools as I go. Last week I was feeling up for learning some new tricks so I hit up the library and grabbed Publish and Prosper: Blogging for your Business and How to Start a Home-Based Blogging Business. This review is about Publish and Prosper, I’m sure the other book with appear as a review soon.

NOTEWORTHY AUTHORS

Publish and Prosper: Blogging for your Business

By: DL Byron & Steve Broback

DL Byron works on Boeing’s blogs and works on the Blog Business Summit by rolling out a network of sponsored blogs.

Steve Broback is the co-founder of the Blog Business Summit and the i3forum conferences. He manages the editorial blogs for Avondale’s marketing strategy: rawformat.com and pixelupdate.com.

SUMMARY

According to Publish and Prosper, blogs have a “naturally ‘Google-friendly’ architecture.” They state that the major benefits to blogging for your business are that you seriously increase your visibility and traffic at a minimal cost. They state four key points on how blogs can help companies further themselves; through a blog they can research new products, sell their wares, extend their brands, and engage with customers. With that in mind the authors then address how to go about optimizing your blogging efforts.

REVIEW

First off, I was pleased to have found all the information I was looking for in Publish and Prosper: Blogging for your Business. I was also impressed with the amount of content and tips they had available.

I was rather unimpressed by the structure. I found the chapter layout to be confusing; they constantly referenced pointed the reader to other points in the book rather than finishing an idea when they first planted it. They also tended to repeat the exact same point/s in different chapters of the book, only under a different title or main header. And, even though I found a little bit of everything I needed, I found the section on blogging for profit fairly empty of any real substance. This was the biggest let down for me because that was one of my primary goals in researching blogging. But, in the end, this book was geared more towards businesses that use blogs to further their business not small business owners looking to earn a little extra cash from a favored hobby.

CONCLUSION

If you want to learn how to appeal your blog to Google and other search engines and/or utilize yet another free way of marketing your business this book is a great way to go.

And, if you keep a blog, regardless of whether you are seeking to pull in some income from it or seeking to expand your business marketing or simply blog out of personal pleasure, I HIGHLY recommend Publish and Prosper. If you are keeping a blog I have to assume you want people to read it… well, you WILL get a higher draw by following their recommendations. Still not convinced? Yesterday I implemented a handful of new ideas I gleaned from the book and my views tripled, I got 4 new subscribers, and a few new followers on twitter. It is worth it!

5 helpful key points within my application:

1. Successful blogs build on communication by…