Looking Back: 2013

Well, it's New Year's Eve! I thought I would take some time to reflect on 2013 and look forward to the new year a bit as well. (Keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts of the past year.)

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2013:
Moorcroft Music Festival
Beginning my senior year of high school
One year of blogging
Two years of "Follow the Raven"
The 12th Doctor

BEST MOMENT:
Learning that a brand new Sonic TV series titled "Sonic Boom" is coming out in the fall of 2014. :D

WORST MOMENT:
Saying goodbye to Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor... :'(

BEST VIDEO:
Tails Reacts to "What Does the Fox Say?"
Funniest thing I have seen in my life...go watch it!

FINAL THOUGHTS:
2013 was kind of an emotional roller coaster for me due to personal issues with friends and the church and whatnot, but it also had a lot of awesome stuff for me to nerd out over...like new TMNT 2012 episodes and the upcoming Sonic Boom series to look forward to! :)

Be sure to check back here tomorrow, January 1, 2014, for a special update! Happy New Year!! :D

Introducing...the 12th Doctor! *Slight Spoilers*

So Christmas was awesome...lots of nerdy items for my ever-growing collection of Sonic and TMNT. As we speak I am actually sitting on my bed which now sports my very first set of Sonic the Hedgehog bed sheets...hey, it may seem silly, but to a Mobian these sheets are the BEST! :D

The only thing about this year's Christmas that I was not looking forward to was the 11th Doctor's regeneration. Saying farewell to Matt Smith was terrible. I was crying my eyes out the entire time. I expected his regeneration to be a bit more drawn out than it was (seeing as that's how it has always been before), but while I was pulling tissues out, the moment came, and it came fast! Peter Capaldi's introduction as the 12th Doctor was so abrupt that it shocked me into silence...until the credits started rolling. Then I was crying all over again.

While I will miss Matt Smith like you wouldn't believe, I look forward to what Peter Capaldi offers as the new Doctor. I don't want to wait a freaking six months for a new episode though!

Well, anyway, that's my nerd news for you all today. Also I think this is my first mention of Doctor Who on this blog...so there you go! Goodbye, Matt Smith. We'll miss you! But...

Freedom!

Finally! I've been waiting all month for this...CHRISTMAS BREAK!! I am free of school and homework for two weeks! :D

I've worked really hard and stressed a lot trying to get things done in time, so this is a well deserved vacation. After school today my friends and I hung out all day, and I got some awesome Christmas presents...Simon gave me a Sonic Lost World poster, Devin got me a ceramic dragon statue, and LUKE!! OMG Luke is the BEST EVER!! He made a mini Green Hill Zone out of paper! Complete with item boxes, springs, rings, star posts, and badniks! All sorts of Sonic's from the original games are there for me to play with. It's freaking cool! I think I scared him a little though because I was so excited I death-hugged him three times. XD

I also had a chance to give my friends their presents...I got Keith a miniature Nerf gun, James got his very first TMNT figurine for his turtle collection, Cassie got TMNT 2012 Volume 3 on DVD, and Luke got a magnet that says "I don't suffer from insanity...I enjoy every minute of it!" Haha when I saw that magnet in the store I was like "that TOTALLY fits him...bought!" He laughed hysterically when he got it, so that made my day. Though now that I have my Christmas present from him I feel really...wimpy. Lol his gift is amazing! C:

My voice hurts now, though, because I was laughing so much tonight. My group is hysterical. So many funny things happened tonight while we were playing Story Wars...haha it was awesome. There was one point where we all had to take a brief respite because all of us were laughing so hard we couldn’t get back into the game for a few minutes.

But before all that I about laughed my voice to oblivion because I was attacked...I made the grave mistake of hiding James' iPod, and when I refused to tell him where I had hid it, he and Luke pinned me down and tickle tortured me. Surprisingly I held out for quite a bit, though. Luckily they stopped before I had a chance to wave the white flag.

I am also waiting for the death text, because I just KNOW I’m going to get one. It’s a long story, but Luke is going to kill me. XD

Ah, Christmas Break...what am I going to do? NOTHING! :D

My friends and I might be hanging out on Monday, but nothing is set in stone. I plan to read a lot and write a lot. Since I am out of school I have no required reading, so whatever I read is purely for myself, which I haven't done in a while. Also, I am going to finish up my 25k in December challenge with my very first TMNT fanfiction, titled "Tea With Elaine." (Or something...I'm still thinking about it.) It is kind of a mini story that will take place between TMNT 2012 S02E07 and S02E08. Remember this picture?

Yep. I think the novella title and this picture say it all. It's about what happens after Slash and Destroy. When I'm done I will probably do some editing and make it post-worthy so I can share it online.

I also plan to finally, FINALLY watch my new TMNT 1987 episodes that I got for my birthday. I now own Seasons 2 and 8, but I haven't seen them yet, so I will do that over break. I also need to catch up on my Sonic comics because SHADOW just entered the picture with his first story arc since February of 2009! MUST READ NOW!!

Well, I am tired (thanks to the guys), so I am going to sign off for now...MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :D

Taking a Break? Maybe?

Well, three days after my last post and I actually have nothing to do! I feel really weird not having to do any homework...I did so much of it yesterday...actually, that's all I did yesterday. The moment I walked in the door from school I started on my homework for the evening (consisting of four math assignments, two science assignments, and one Spanish project) and didn't finish until about 10:00 PM. Somehow I managed to get my laundry done during that time, though.

And to reward myself I watched Slash and Destroy again. A well-deserved 22-minute break if I do say so myself.

In other news, my science teacher is letting me keep the TMNT pictures I used in my presentation! Woohoo! Also, my concert on Tuesday went surprisingly well, considering how mass rehearsal went. We had one minor mess-up when the girls' choir didn't know which way to exit after our last song, but other than that everything went well. My friend Rachel had her very first solo. She was so nervous, but she did great, just like I told her she would.

Let's see...what else? Right now I am just taking a huge break from schoolwork. I had nothing but homework yesterday and today I had very little and got it done within half an hour of getting home. So now I have the rest of the night to just chillax! My plans are to watch some TMNT, write 2,000 words for my novella (I didn't write yesterday because of how much homework I had and how tired I was, so I will make up for it today), and then crash.

So yeah...I think that's about all I have for you. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Yes, I know "watching" is spelled wrong in this picture, but just go with it (because I TOTALLY look like this).

Keeping Busy...But There's Always Time for TMNT!

Yeah, I just got done with a ton of homework...who knew missing two days could give you so much to do? I had stuff to do for 5 of my 7 classes, and the other two are choirs! Yikes! I had an essay to write, notes to catch up on in psychology, a presentation due in science, a math assignment, and studying for a Spanish test tomorrow. Finally done...until I wake up at 6:45 tomorrow morning so I can be at school at 7:35 for two mass choir rehearsals. Then I have a concert at 7:00...ugh. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me too...

So I might as well blog now to make myself feel better! Haha :)

First I want to show you the cover slide for my science presentation...since I am doing a report on freshwater turtles...

Cool, right? I don't know if my teacher will let me keep it...but here's hoping! A pre-mutated version of Spike and the original 1987 turtles also have cameos in the presentation. Hopefully they get to stay there...the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the only reason I chose a report on turtles in the first place. Of course. :)

Second, I meant to do this earlier, but I just haven't had the time. Slash and Destroy! Holy flip, what a dark episode! Not in the same way as Parasitica or Invasion of the Squirrelanoids, though. This one was more emotionally dark. Corey Feldman (who played Donatello in the 1990s movies and Sparx in SRMTHFG!) did the voice for the newly mutated Spike (now called Slash). I was not expecting the episode to turn out the way it did at ALL...no spoilers here, but go check it out for yourself and see what I mean! It gives you a chance to learn the story behind this picture:

Isn't that cute?! I loved this scene! In fact, I am now writing a 25,000-word novella based on it (since I epically failed my first NaNoWriMo and the thing going on right now is 25k in December).

Well, I think that's all I have for now...I still have 1,000 words to write today so I can keep up the pace. In the meantime, I shall leave you with Peppermint Winter, the all-choirs mass number we are performing tomorrow night, along with these awesome words of advice:

Follow the Raven: Two Years and Counting

Well, I have come full circle again! Today I am celebrating the two-year anniversary of my current novel in progress, "Follow the Raven." Last year on this day I posted about it and gave you some fun facts and a character spotlight, so I thought I'd do something similar today.

First, for those who don't know, "Follow the Raven" is about a 15-year-old girl named Amber who has always dreamed of being a famous singer. She makes her way to Moonlight Cove, a place where Dreams live, and meets a mysterious and dangerous friend named Cale, who changes her life forever. How? You'll have to read to find out! (Check out an excerpt from the novel, for a limited time only!)

In the past year I have changed some things about this story for it to make more sense and have better continuity and so on. I am still changing some things around while attempting to keep the essence of the original idea there for readers to enjoy. Back in April I had a friend of mine read the terrible first draft, and she loved it and gave me some feedback on it that helped immensely. I am still working out the bits and pieces that could either make or break the story, but I hope to begin a third draft soon.

Last year I did a character spotlight for Marc, a lone wolf who works to protect the Cove from the villain in the novel. You can read about Marc here. This year, however, I think I would like to do a character spotlight for Cale, the songstress of Moonlight Cove.

Cale is a young girl with magical abilities and an astoundingly beautiful singing voice. She appears happy and optimistic at first, but as Amber gets to know her she realizes there is more to her friend than meets the eye. Soon Cale's past catches up with her and puts everyone in danger.

I don't have a real picture of what I imagine Cale to look like (as far as facial features), but this is a basic idea of her hair and style:

And if you would like to hear how I imagine her voice, check this out.

I have been working long and hard on this novel, literally almost tearing my hair out at points simply because it's so frustrating to try and figure out some parts of it. However, with any luck I will get started on the third draft soon. I love this story and the characters within. My dream is to see it published someday.

Anywho, two years and counting! Woot!

It's Friday! Gearing up for Casey Jones!

OK I don't know why I am so into this guy but I am, and I am SO glad it's finally Friday, so I thought I'd combine the two awesome things together.

I just watched the preview for tomorrow's episode and was elated to see Casey Jones returning...in his hockey uniform! Check it out:

Goongala, baby! Casey Jones saves the day...and if you watch the preview, you can hear some of his signature sayings from previous shows and movies! Give it a try; the clip is only 33 seconds long. Casey Saves April

Well, that's about all I have for now...I am going to a friend's house tonight for a Doctor Who marathon / sleepover, all leading up to the 50th anniversary episode tomorrow. Very excited!

Happy Friday, everyone! :D

He's finally here! Casey Jones! :D

All right!! I don't know about you, but I was way beyond excited to finally meet Casey Jones in the latest episode of TMNT 2012! I won't give anything away, but I will tell you this: I just about swooned when he introduced himself to April.

Supposedly this new, teenage version of Casey is 18 years old. I like him so far. He is more like the Casey from the TMNT movies than the 2003 series, but it's still the same character. I look forward to seeing how he makes an impact on the show, because he totally will. The Donnie x April x Casey love triangle is already in motion. I hope to see him fight Raph like he always did in previous shows and movies.

Don't miss out on this awesome new character! Watch his introduction episode here: Mutagen Man Unleashed.

Goongala!! :D

Goongala!! :D

Yes!! Casey Jones is coming to TMNT on November 9...just a few short days!! The preview was awesome and even featured his signature yell: "Goongala!" Heads up, people! CASEY JONES is on the way! :D

Watch Casey Jones here!

All Right! One Year of Blogging!

I just realized...I started blogging on October 30, 2012! Over a year ago! Woot! :D

In celebration, allow me to give you an update!

First, I turned 18 on October 28! Cool, huh? It's crazy how many priveleges come with being 18...I am a legal adult, I can vote, I am legally allowed to get married (though I won't now, haha), etc. It's weird. Usually on birthdays I don't feel older; I just am. This year I actually FEEL older! Maybe it's because of all the things I am allowed to do now that I am an adult...wow, that's a scary thought. Lol :)

Second, school. Going well. I missed four days in a row because of a really bad sickness I got, but I have completely recovered and was all caught up with homework within a week, which really impressed my math teacher. Haha :) Right now I am doing fine. I don't really like science, but then I never have. Math is getting harder, but somehow I am getting A's and B's on most of my assignments. I am totally rocking Spanish. Just yesterday my teacher talked to us for five minutes straight entirely in Spanish and I understood every word! Greatest moment ever!! :D

Third, friends. Things are kind of tense in our group right now...Keith and Cassie are apparently fighting, which is making the rest of us stress out a little bit since they are the glue of our group. Hopefully things will be set right soon, though.

Fourth, nerd news!! I haven't heard much else on Sonic Boom; only that Amy apparently won't be wearing a dress in this series and instead will be sporting a tank top and pants. Different, but cool. I can live with that. As far as TMNT 2012...oh my gosh this series is AWESOME!! A couple of weeks ago S02E02 premiered, titled "Invasion of the Squirrelanoids." Remember my post on Parasitica? It's like that episode, only three times creepier!! It was EPIC!! These guys...

...had to face these guys:

AND IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!! :D

Haha ok I'm calm now :)

Also, CASEY JONES is making his first appearance in Season 2 Episode 4, so don't miss it!

Well, that's about the extent of it...also, today is the first day of National Novel Writing Month, which I am doing for the first time this year. I have no clue what I'm going to write yet...but I will find out tonight when I sit down with a blank page in front of me. Wish me luck!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012

Something Awesome

You may or may not remember a couple of weeks ago when I posed on Google+ that I may have found something awesome. Well, it turns out I DID find something awesome. That awesome something is Ratchet and Clank. Remember this picture?

This is the pic I posted a couple of weeks ago. It is the poster for "Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction" which, by the way, is the story that got me hooked on these characters.

It must have been two years ago or thereabouts when I first found out about these guys, because I was in Walmart one afternoon and "Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One" was the game on display in the electronics section ("All 4 One" was released in 2011). I attempted to play it and thought it was fun, though since I didn't know the story or the mission I just kept running around in circles. When I got home that evening I looked it up and read about it a little but didn't really think of it as anything other than "cool" at the time.

Now, after discovering that a movie is being made, I decided to take a second look. I'm glad I did! I have been making my way through the series by watching the cutscenes from every game. They are so long they could be movies by themselves, which is what I think of them as. "Tools of Destruction" was the first one I watched, and I liked it so much I decided to watch the others. Since then I have watched the original "Ratchet and Clank," "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando," and "Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal." "Up Your Arsenal" is what made me offically decide that I love these characters and their stories.

For those who don't know the story, Ratchet is a Lombax who lived alone on his home planet Veldin until the day he met Clank, a small robot with an important mission. Hoping for adventure, Ratchet agreed to help Clank find Captain Quark, a famous but ridiculous superhero. Together they saved the galaxy from a money-hungry alien, destroyed a race of dangerous "pets," and stopped an evil robot overlord from eliminating all organic life. And that's just the beginning!

So that day I began to wonder if I'd found something awesome? I was right. Ratchet and Clank is right on up there with Sonic and TMNT in my book! All hail the Lombaxes - saviors of the universe! :D

SONIC BOOM!

OK, I was going to wait until the weekend to update, but this is a momentous occasion. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG is returning in a brand-new television series called SONIC BOOM. How awesome is that?! I swear my day just got made! :D

Read all about it here! Sonic Boom

Honestly, I Can't Think of a Good Title...

Why haven't I updated in a while? Man I'm just falling behind in everything recently!

Anyway, so far school is awesome. My worst class, as predicted, is Algebra II, but my grade is a B so I'm not too worried. I have four A+, in Mixed and Treble Choirs, Lit Genres, and Aquatic Bio. Cool, right? Everything else is sitting at an A. I am loving my choir, English, Psych, and Spanish classes. Aquatic Bio is okay; I'm kind of lukewarm about that one. Algebra II is my least favorite, but I'm doing fine.

I think I have officially become Luke's Spanish tutor. He's always asking me for help at lunch now, and if he doesn't get something he complains about it to me. It's actually kind of funny. He says he hates it because it's the only thing that doesn't come naturally to him. XD

Cassie, Keith, and the others are doing fine. We had our first hangout yesterday after school. I met up with them later since I decided to stay for our school's early out this time to catch up on stuff. I was home sick on Wednesday and I've had a cold since Thursday, so this is apparently not the healthiest of my weeks...haha. We hung out at the park for a couple of hours and then went to Keith's house for an hour and then Simon's for another hour. Haha we had a lot of laughs and did a lot of crazy things, but what else is new?

In addition to all that, I am considering auditioning for this year's fall drama: "Twelve Angry Jurors." It's "Twelve Angry Men," but since girls will be cast they changed the name slightly. Nothing is set in stone yet, though. Also, I am preparing for this year's NaNoWriMo, which I plan to take part in for the first time. It will take a lot of work, but I think I can do it. I am a novelist, after all! Haha :)

I think that's all I have for now...hopefully I will update sooner this time! :)

Here's a random picture for you. Reminds me a lot of my group of friends:

The Last First Days

Well, week one of my senior year is officially over!

Mixed Choir is going to be awesome as always. One of our songs this year is from The Music Man. It's the "Wells Fargo Wagon" song. English is going to totally rock. Nothing but reading! Yeah! I haven't read so much in one day before! It's totally cool. Treble Choir is going to be so much fun. We have girls who can actually sing, several who sing beautifully, and more advanced songs to work with. I sing soprano two in that class as well, which is an extra bonus. Psych is going to be interesting and I think I will really benefit from it when it's all said and done.

Lunch is mostly figured out now. I sit on the end (again) next to or across from Luke (depending on the day), Keith and Cassie are near us, and the rest of the gang sits down the table and do...whatever it is they do. Haha

Of course science is science, but I've learned a lot in Aquatic Bio this week! Did you know that if you freeze water into ice cubes and then unfreeze it, it is now pure water because all the stuff that didn't make it through the filter is pushed out during the freezing process? Cool, huh? Algebra II is going to be really hard, but with effort and extra help I think I will survive. Spanish III is totally awesome as well. Loving it! I'm still sad that Senor Montano isn't my teacher, though.

The drama in the group is still rising. Keith and Cassie are currently broken up, which is causing complications all around. Keith talks to me a lot about it and tells me stuff he never tells anyone else...not even Cassie sometimes. I feel honored that he trusts me enough to come to me when he needs advice or just someone to talk to. And then, on top of all of that, I am starting in on my own boy issues with a guy in the group, but that's a story for another time...

All in all, great first week! I am student of the month for September. I had no idea that the last SOTM for the previous year gets to be the first for the new year. That's cool!

Just because, here's a pic of my group. You can only see like two faces, but at least it will give you an idea. From left to right: Keith (Rachel is hiding behind him...you can see her hair, at least...lol), me, Luke; and on the ground: Cassie and her younger sister Helen. That is the core, pretty much. What you see here is at the center of the drama right now. Everyone else I don't have a picture of yet. Haha :)

I am Leonardo! :D

Hey all! I haven't updated in a while, so here I am! I just got back from vacation to the Black Hills on Sunday, and today was my first day of my senior year of high school. Exciting!

In my choir class this morning I had the honor of being Leonardo from TMNT, while a friend of mine was Donatello and another was the evil Shredder. Totally made my morning...I was totally having a nerd moment! :D

This year is going to be WAY easier than last year, with the exception of science and math, I think. I am so pumped about my choir classes, English, Psychology, and Spanish III! I am probably most excited about Spanish, because we do a lot of speaking in that class and really start to learn how to use Spanish and speak it fluently, which is my goal. I still plan on going to Costa Rica, so I have to get with Sr. Montano by the end of the week. I'm sad he's not my teacher this year, but Sra. Good is going to be a great sub.

Besides classes I am glad to be back at school cause now I get to see my friends every day! Keith and Cassie are currently broken up, but only cause her parents made them. I'm sad for them, but hopefully things will turn around soon. I am having boy problems too, but it pales in comparison to Cassie. XD

Anyway, just figured I'd update. I have a serious headache right now. I have new lenses in my glasses and my eyes aren't used to them quite yet, so...yeah. I think I'm going to sign off for now. (Oh, yeah...I wore a TMNT bowtie for the first day of school :D)

TMNT 2012 Season Finale = EPIC!

WHOA!! My bro and I just watched the Season One finale of TMNT 2012 and IT! WAS! EPIC!!!

Brainwashed fathers? Check. Kraang Prime? Check. Splinter vs. Shredder? Check. MIWA IS ALIVE?! DOUBLE CHECK!!

If you haven't seen it already, go do it now! This is officially my favorite TV show! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...TURTLE POWER!! :D

Casey Jones is Coming Soon!

Oh, yeah, turtle fans! Everyone's favorite (or maybe not) hockey mask-wearing vigilante is back...and he's a teenager! Will Casey steal April's heart and give Donnie some competition? Will he fight Raphael? Will he join the turtles? Find out in TMNT 2012 Season 2! September 2013! Here's a preview link: Meet Casey Jones. Excited for Season 2? I know I am! :D

Parasitica *Spoilers*

Well, thanks to the fact that I am now the proud owner of TMNT 2012 Volume 2 and TMNT 1987 Season 3 (an unexpected bonus), I decided I should update my blog. The main event is below, but first I am going to talk about my summer. Haha :)

I knew I would get bored eventually. It was just a matter of time. By the time July 1st rolled around, I was thinking, "Can I go back to school now?" As it is I'm having to wait two more weeks before I can see any of my friends again since some are going on vacation soon. I got to see them all yesterday, but I'm always sad when I leave because of how much fun I have with them. *sigh* Oh, well. August 1st, I'm counting down the days until I see you! Haha :)

In the meantime I have been writing more of my ongoing Sonic fanfiction over on Wattpad, titled "The Albion Prophecy." It's book two of three. At the rate I'm going, the thing will be finished by the time school starts, which is good, because I made my readers wait weeks between updates while I was in school. I'm planning for book three to be released in October, but we'll see how things end up. I've also finally gotten back around to my novel, "Follow the Raven." Hopefully I will have everything figured out soon. Who knows...

I've been making my way through the Sonic X series as well. I have about 17 episodes left. The first two seasons were all right (I didn't remember most of them), but once I got to season three I was like "Whoa!" because they're just so awesome!! I forgot all about episode 59, so when it rolled around I was laughing at almost everything. The Chaotix are so funny sometimes. XD

All right, I've stalled too long already. Now for the main event: PARASITICA! *Spoiler Alert*

TMNT 2012 is getting better with every episode. The summer has been slow as far as new releases, but the last episode that came out (#23), titled "Parasitca" was BOSS. Seriously, one of THE best ones so far. It was original, dark, creepy, and literally had me biting my nails and on the edge of my seat the entire time. I forgot to eat my pizza. It. Was. EPIC.

Plot: When the turtles enter a secret Kraang laboratory, they find quite the surprise waiting for them...a giant, mutated parasitic wasp (creepy!) which is intent on spreading its virus. Unfortunately it succeeds when it stings Leo (imagine a standard bee sting, just ten times bigger. Ouch!). At first it seems that Leo is just acting strangely, but the remaining turtles soon discover there is much more going on than a simple sting. When Raphael goes to destroy the wasp egg that Leo has become overly protective of, this is what he finds:

Seriously? Talk about getting the chills! Leo is always in control, always calm and reasonable. Seeing him like this freaked me out a little! An awesome battle of the bros followed, but when it was over Raphael gained the virus as well. When Donnie and Mikey went to investigate, Donnie was bitten, too. He did his best to create an antidote so that when he had turned Mikey would be able to cure them all, but he was unable to complete the task and passed the infection to the last turtle. All was lost...or was it? You'll have to watch to find out! Seriously, this is an episode you do NOT want to miss! You can watch it here: http://www.animeflavor.com/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2012-episode-23 (I would recommend using vid player #5).

Anyway, now that I've done my job and shared the awesome with you all, I'm off to watch my new episodes! Stay cool! :D

The Most Way-Past-Cool Birthday

It’s Sonic the Hedgehog’s birthday today! Wooooot! :D

Holy flip I don’t even know where to begin! How do I describe the world’s most famous hedgehog in just one blog post? That’s asking a lot! Well, here goes...

Sonic the Hedgehog started out as a video game character in 1991. He began his adventures in the famous Green Hill Zone, racing across crumbling bridges and spin-dashing his way through Dr. Robotnik’s robot minions with superb ease. If he didn’t start moving within five seconds, he would look at the player and tap his foot impatiently. In one game he actually jumps off of the edge after the first three minutes just because he’s so bored!

Sonic’s popularity grew quickly. It wasn’t long before he had his own TV shows, with Jaleel White giving him a voice for the first time. Sonic SatAM, Adventures of Sonic, Sonic Underground...all three shows aired on TV in the 1990s while his games grew in complexity and introduced an ongoing storyline.

At the turn of the century, Sonic met his match, Shadow the Hedgehog (whose spotlight is the post right before this one! Check it out!), in the game Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. The famous Sonic Heroes came along after that, and in 2003 Sonic was the star of another TV show: Sonic X, which introduced Jason Griffith as the replacement for Jaleel White.

While Sonic battled Eggman and the evil Metarex in the show, he rescued princesses, made new friends, and traveled across worlds in the games. Sonic Generations gave the Blue Blur a blast to the past at the same time that Roger Craig Smith introduced himself as the newest voice for our favorite hedgehog. Sonic also made his very first big-screen appearance in the movie “Wreck-It Ralph” in 2012. (I still go all fangirl when he has his cameo. XD)

And let’s not forget the comics! The comics are really the only storyline I follow avidly, since they are much more exciting than the games or the TV shows. What’s happening in the comics right now? Sonic and his friends were still suffering from the effects of the first Genesis Wave (that took place two years ago our time, on his 20^th birthday) when the second one hit in May of this year. This time the Wave reached across two worlds, and Sonic met the Blue Bomber – Mega Man! The crossover event is an epic battle against the evil Drs. Eggman and Wily, as well as a tribute to the fans with the appearance of nearly every popular character from both sides. (For me, it was Shadow...though he spent most of his time as a Roboticized Master...*sigh*) Anyway, with any luck our heroes will come out victorious and set things right! Maybe when the Genesis Wave fades this time, Sally will be normal again...I hope...

So there you have it! The world’s most way-past-cool hedgehog is celebrating 22 years of awesomeness today! How will I celebrate this time? By watching the TV shows and movies, reading the comics, and playing the games, of course!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONIC! :D

The Ultimate Birthday (+ a Sonic Story for the non-Mobians)

That’s right! It’s Shadow the Hedgehog’s birthday today!! Woooot!! :D

For those of you who don’t know, Shadow the Hedgehog is Sonic’s shady look-alike. He was first introduced in the game Sonic Adventure 2 Battle in 2001. His story is as follows:

50 years ago on the Space Colony ARK, Eggman’s grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, worked to create the ultimate creature. The result was Shadow. Shadow and the professor’s daughter, Maria, were very close friends. One day the government learned of Robotnik’s research and sent soldiers to shut down the ARK. In the scuffle that ensued, Shadow attempted to escape with Maria but was separated from her forever when the soldiers that had chased them shot and killed her. Shadow was sent to the planet below and stayed there in suspended animation.

He was reawakened by Eggman 50 years later and sent to steal the seven Chaos Emeralds. The military mistook Shadow for Sonic and thus our favorite blue hedgehog was labeled a criminal. While Eggman intended to use the Emeralds to conquer the planet, Shadow’s mind was filled with nothing but images of Maria and thoughts of revenge. Soon the Emeralds had been collected and the Space Colony ARK was sent on a collision course with the planet. However, before tragedy could strike, Shadow realized that Maria had wanted him to help people and be friends with them. This recollection motivated him to switch sides and join forces with Sonic to rescue the planet from total destruction just in time. He vanished after this, so Sonic and the others believed he was dead.

BUT HE TOTALLY WASN’T!! Shadow lives on today!! Eggman rescued him (unbeknownst to Sonic) and locked him away until he was awakened a second time by Rouge in the game Sonic Heroes. Today he works to ensure that the G.U.N. of today is nothing like the G.U.N. that ruined his life. He and Sonic are friendly rivals.

I LOVE SHADOW!! He is actually 50% of the reason I got hooked on Sonic in the first place (the other 50% is Sonic himself). Shadow has been my favorite character from Day One and he will always stay that way. He’s just so awesome!! His lines are epic!! His voice is amazing!! The list goes on and on and on!! :D

To celebrate this awesome character’s birthday, I have already watched the two-hour Shadow Saga in the Sonic X series. I honestly didn’t remember most of it so it was like watching it for the first time all over again! And it was still amazing! I completely forgot Shadow’s first line, so when it came up I was like “EEEK!!” :D (Sorry. I’m such a fangirl. Hahaha XD) I also teared up a little bit near the end when Shadow was remembering Maria’s last words and such...why does his past have to be so sad?! Haha

I have plans to celebrate the rest of today by playing as Shadow in my collection of Sonic video games and etc., as well as reading his stories in the comics. He is just so epic!!

Well, I’m off to party! Remember: SHADOW IS THE ULTIMATE!! <3

Summer Vacation & The Nerd Diaries

Holy flip I haven't updated this blog for a long time! A whole month, almost.

Well, I did it...I passed my junior year of high school with straight A's! I am so proud of that. I worked so hard to keep my grades where they were. I'm also looking forward to next year (though I totally don't mind summer vacation right now, haha). I have two choir classes as a senior since I made the school's girls choir (Treblemakers), I get to have a class with my favorite English teacher, and I'm the only one in my Spanish II class who advanced to Spanish III. Not because of grades, but because of desire. I know several people who could have advanced. They just didn't want to put in the effort outside of the required two years.

Right now, though, I am enjoying my time off. I got a lot of reading and writing done in my first week, and that made me really happy. I love reading and writing - I just didn't have the time for it at the close of my junior year. I know my readers on Wattpad are happy with me since I've posted two new chapters of my Sonic fanfic in as many weeks. It's growing in popularity, too - right now Book 1 is at nearly 7,000 reads and Book 2 is sitting at just over 1,000. I have almost 100 followers. I am going to be entering an official Gaming Fanfiction contest on Movellas, using Sonic (of course). I think I have the basic idea down, but I'm not certain quite yet. In addition to my fanfiction, I plan on getting back to my novel soon and starting on the third draft. Hopefully everything will turn out well.

This week I'm doing more of that, but I'm also planning on finding a job so that I can save up for Costa Rica next year. Right now the only places I know of that are hiring are K-Mart and the movie theater, but I'm sure there are more places than that available. Maybe. We'll see. :)

Also, as a proud Sonic fan, I have started watching Sonic X again for the first time in nearly three years. Sonic X is the show that got me started on Sonic way back in 2008 after I accidentally discovered him on YouTube. Now that I'm older and know much more about Sonic in general, I understand a lot more about what's going on in the series. I find myself going, "OH! I get it now..." a lot. Haha.

Sonic's birthday is coming up, too! June 23! I plan to celebrate by watching at least one episode from every series and then watching the movie, as well as reading a few Sonic comics and whatnot. <3 Also, Shadow's birthday is on June 19, which means I'll be watching the Shadow Saga in Sonic X at that time. Four episodes focused on the black hedgehog, his past, and his decision to fight for good! YES! :D

I'm such a nerd. C:

That's all I can really think of for now...I'm just so glad it's finally summer vacation. I usually hate not being in school, but after a hard year like that I'll make an exception. I'll be bored by the end of this month. Haha. Stay way-past-cool! :D

Skillet is calling us to "Rise!"

Another new song from Skillet's new album was released recently. It's the title track - "Rise" - and it's a really powerful song! Listen to the lyrics and don't click the X button until you've heard the entire song. It is a very powerful thing! Enjoy - I have posted it below!

Moorcroft: Music Festival 2013

Today I woke up at 4:00 AM along with all of the high school choirs so that we could board a bus at 5:15 and head out to Moorcroft, Wyoming for this year's Music Festival. For the past two years (aka my first two years of high school), our school has hosted the Festival, which means I only missed a few classes instead of a whole day. Missing a day and having twice the homework was SO worth it, though. I had SO much fun at Festival this year. It was an amazing experience.

We arrived in Moorcroft, home of the Wolves, at about 8:00 AM this morning and thus we got to run through all of our songs once before performing for the judges at 8:40. We did well when we gave our official performance; we were also the only choir that didn't have an audience. (The other choirs hadn't arrived yet. Haha.) After we went and put our things away my friends and I sat together to watch the rest of the choirs. The Buffalo Girl's Choir went right after we did, followed by our school's girl's choir (called Treblemakers), the Buffalo Men's Choir (AMAZING!!!), and our Honor Choir. After that we had lunch and got back on the bus to go home.

The bus rides both to and from Moorcroft were actually pretty fun. My friends and I talked and played games to pass the time. Most of the conversation on the way back was concerning my friend Cassie, whom all of the guys at our lunch table like. The problem is, she can't decide who SHE likes. There's a guy from Buffalo, two guys from our school, her ex-boyfriend...yeah. Complicated stuff. I feel bad both for her and for the boy who asked her out for the fourth time yesterday. XD

Anyway, all that being said, I am TIRED. I took a brief nap when I got home today and thankfully didn't have to babysit tonight (my brother kind of took over my spot...I'm sure he's thrilled. Haha). I've spent the quiet time tonight listening to some awesome music and doing my homework and drinking pop to keep me awake. (It hasn't really worked.) I'll probably go to bed early tonight, as much as I would prefer not to. At least tommorow is Friday! WOOT! What happened to this week? I don't remember most of it.

Also, I took my ACT on Tuesday. I think I did pretty well except for the last half of the math section. I'll be finding out my score in 5-8 weeks, so until then I'm on the edge of my seat (not really). After the testing was over and we went to our classes, I was kind of in a bad mood (as were most of my teachers) just because I was so drained and did not want to be there anymore.

So there you have it! My life this week was crazy, but today made all the chaos worth it. Moorcroft has a wolf on display in their cafeteria. HOW COOL IS THAT?! (I love wolves, haha.)

To close out today's post, I think I will share another of Skillet's new songs, "American Noise." LOVING IT! Their album comes out on the day of my last choir concert this year. Cool, huh?)

ACT Prep & My Writing

Being a junior in high school is hard, just like they told me it would be. And here comes the hardest part of the entire year: the dreaded ACT. Teachers have been prepping us like crazy for this (specifically the English teachers, though obviously I'm not worried about the English section...) and now, finally, the entire junior class will be taking it on Tuesday morning.

Usually I do fine on tests like this. Obviously I always ace the English section, so I'm not taking any prep courses for that. I have been and still am, however, taking prep classes for the Math and Science sections. Today my math teacher gave us a practice test, during which I got 33 questions done in 30 minutes. That's not bad, considering the ACT gives you 60 minutes for 60 questions.

Last year I also took the PLAN test, which is like a preview of the ACT. When I received my scores it told me that I would most likely get anywhere between a 20 and a 22 on the real deal, which is awesome. What is even more awesome, however, is that if I get a certain score on the ACT (I think it was a 25) and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher, I have the opportunity to receive a full-ride scholarship to the University of Wyoming (which, I'll admit, has put even more stress on my doing well on this thing). If I don't get the desired results, however, it won't be the end of the world. I plan to go to our local community college for the first two years and then, depending on financial details, I'll transfer to UW or the University in Billings, Montana. I plan to major in English and minor in Spanish and be an author for the rest of my existence.

So, to sum up: am I worried for the ACT? Answer: Not really. I've always done well on these kinds of tests, and if I continue to take the math and science courses offered until Tuesday, I believe I will get a satisfactory score.

On top of all of that studying and prepping and homework and etc., I have also been working really hard on my current novel, "Follow the Raven." It's certainly a work in progress, but I believe I'll have things figured out soon if I keep at it. I had a friend of mine from school read the (terrible) first draft so that she and I can get together on Wednesday after school and talk about it. In the meantime, I've been working specifically with characters and plot, trying to figure out the best way to revise the story (because, sadly, there are many things that need to be fixed).

When I need a break from that project, I turn to my Sonic fanfic, "The Albion Prophecy," which is the sequel to my first book, "Everything." The latter has over 6,000 reads and has gained many votes and comments over the course of nine months. Book Two is coming along slowly because of school and whatnot, but it is still fairly popular. Once I have more time this summer I'll be able to wrap that up and work on "Follow the Raven" more as well. If you are interested in reading "The Albion Prophecy" or catching up with Book One, you can read it here: http://www.wattpad.com/user/ShadowsGirl101. Both books are available on this page. Just click on the one you want to read.

I love being an author.

Anyway, that's my hectic, chaotic, and somewhat stressful life right now. I don't think I've ever been more ready for summer vacation.

"Sick of It"

Yes, folks, it's finally here! Skillet's brand-new song from their new album is available, and it's AWESOME!! I may be home sick today, but I am certainly not sick of this song!! Listen here!!

I can't wait for their album to come out!! :D

Heroes and Villains...Working Together?! *Spoilers*

When I first heard the title of TMNT 2012's newest episode, "Baxter's Gambit," I wondered if it would be anything like "Bishop's Gambit" from the 2003 series. The answer was no, not in the least, but it was still one of the best episodes I've seen in this series. So good, in fact, that it is now competing with "Never Say Xever" for my favorite episode.

I liked a lot of things about this story. The #1 thing I like about it is the connection that Raphael and Xever are forced to realize as they make their way through the maze together.

Actually, I should probably explain the plot first. In "Baxter's Gambit," the techno-geek Baxter Stockman (who works for the Shredder along with Xever and Bradford) creates an optical-illusion maze that he manages to get both the Turtles and his co-workers into. His intention: have both parties destroy each other so that neither group emerges alive. Thus, the enemies are forced to work together in order to get out.

Back to Raph and Xever (I think it's funny that I still call him Xever when everyone else calls him Fishface). While in the maze, the two of them are separated from the rest of the gang and must go in a different direction to find their way through. During this time the two of them end up talking to each other and, after Raph asks about Xever's background, they realize that they aren't so different on the inside. That was really cool to watch, as well as learning about my favorite bad guy's history.

The ending of this episode was pretty thought-provoking as well. Once they've finally made it out the two groups are too tired to fight, so they decide to call it quits for one day and each go their separate ways. Mikey says that Raph and Xever made a pretty good team, though Raph says that they are still enemies and will still try to finish each other off.

Another thing I really liked about "Baxter's Gambit" was watching Splinter and April's relationship grow. April has kind of taken up the role of Splinter's "daughter," since she is so close to the Turtles and is now training under him as well. Throughout the story it kept flashing to scenes of the two of them, in which April was trying to find a weapon for herself and ended up seeing the picture of Splinter's lost family for the first time. Splinter then gave her a Japanese fan that also had a blade on the end, which he had intended to give to his daughter if she had lived.

All in all, this is a great episode. Lots of cool things for TMNT nerds like myself to drool over. Haha. Make sure you keep up with the series! This episode is now available on Animeflavor.com! :D

Skillet's new album is coming soon and I'm "sick" of waiting!

As I've mentioned before, Skillet's new album, "Rise," is coming in May! Recently Skillet released a 40-second teaser that obviously got people excited for the album, but it was nothing more than a prelude with eight words that were whispered over and over. It didn't really give you an idea of what their new album will sound like.

NOW, however, they've released a preview of about the same length that has really been getting people excited. Have a listen here:

Sick of waiting? The wait is almost over! :D

Easter Updates

Happy Easter! I haven't had almost any blog posts this month. I've been really busy, apparently.

Let's see...news...

Well, our church had its annual Easter Egg Extravaganza (E3) again yesterday. From what I understand we had a good turnout. I was so busy focusing on my station that I didn't look out at the park as a whole to see how many people showed up. Haha

Two months until summer vacation here in Wyoming! I have never been more ready for summer vacation, and that's coming from a girl who loves school. I am so done with junior year. I've managed to keep a 4.0 GPA throughout this last quarter, though, so hopefully I can continue to do so. Our ACT is coming up on April 23rd, so I'll be studying like crazy for that. I'm not worried about the English sections, but I am worried about the math and science. Good thing they have an online ACT Prep course you can take at your convenience. I'll definitely be going through that in the weeks before ACT.

Skillet's new album, "Rise," will be coming out in May! Woohoo! I love Skillet. They're my favorite band ever. I'll be first in line to buy their album when it comes out here just like I was when they released "Awake." (I really was first in line for that one, haha.)

Still watching TMNT 2012! The next episode will be showing on Friday, so my bro and I will probably sit down to watch it the following Saturday or Sunday afternoon when they release it online. Since this last week was my spring break, I had the opportunity to watch the last few episodes of TMNT 2003 Season 3 and start in on Season 4. I. LOVE. TMNT 2003. It is seriously the best TMNT series ever...for so many reasons I don't even know where to begin! Great story, great characters (AWESOME Master Splinter), great plot...great everything!

I think that's about it with updates (nerdy or otherwise), so until the next mind-blowing episode of TMNT 2012, I think I'm going to sign off! Happy Easter! Keep an eye out for Bunnymund (Rise of the Guardians) and remember:

JESUS IS RISEN! :D

Raphael's Phobia *Spoilers*

I'm not even going to talk about Michael Bay's "TMNT Reboot." It's not worth it. Let's just say I'm horrified by what I've seen thus far.

Anyway...Raphael has a phobia! He's scared to death of cockroaches! In past TMNT series he's been afraid of bugs in general, but I'd forgotten about that. So yesterday when my bro and I watched "Cockroach Terminator" and Raph started freaking out about the "spy-roach," my memory caught up with me.

Overall it was a good episode. Obviously I liked it because Raphael was the star, but besides that it was pretty good. I found amusing that "big tough Raph is afraid of cockroaches," to quote Michelangelo. It was also neat to see how he felt about his phobia and how he eventually had to face his fear to save Mikey. The brief connection between him and Leo was intriguing as well.

This made the list of great episodes. For those who are interested, my favorite episode thus far is still #8: "Never Say Xever." Also, just because I'm so pumped about it...I am now the proud owner of TMNT 2012 Volume One on DVD! Collects episodes one through six with a selection of bonus features AND a free poster! Walmart exclusive! (I still haven't opened it so I don't know what the poster looks like...but I will in about five minutes when I'm done with this post!)

The life of a nerd is so much fun. The tiniest things can totally make your day.

Happy "show of your obsession with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" day! Be sure to wear your T-shirts that feature the "one lean, mean, GREEN, incredible team!" :D

Roger Craig Smith keeps getting cooler and cooler!

As you may or may not know, Roger Craig Smith is currently the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. His voice is certainly different from Jason Griffith, who was voicing him previously. It took me a bit to get used to it.

So today when my bro and I watched the newest TMNT 2012 episode, they introduced a character called The Pulverizer, whose voice I recognized. It was bugging me all throughout the episode, but when I went onto IMDB to find out who it was they were not yet listed. I decided not to hunt the voice down at that moment, and so I went on my way and soon forgot all about it.

Well, just now, I watched the episode again. As soon as I heard The Pulverizer's voice this time, I paused the episode and racked my brain for characters I may have heard using that same voice pattern before. Then it clicked. I quickly searched Google for the voice actors of TMNT 2012 and there, listed next to The Pulverizer, was Roger Craig Smith. Mystery solved!

This guy just keeps getting cooler in my book. First he's in the Sonic the Hedgehog gaming series (and Wreck-It Ralph). Now he's in TMNT 2012. Can this get any better? Maybe if they finally made Season 5 of SRMTHFG! and he was the new voice of Gibson (since the old voice passed away recently)...YEAH RIGHT! At this point they'll never make Season 5. It's been too long.

Anyway, I know who the voice is now! To be honest, this wasn't one of the better episodes. The Pulverizer is one of those fanboys who was "inspired to be a hero" thanks to the Turtles, and quite honestly, while his intentions are good, he really needs to practice basic hand-to-hand combat if he's going to survive the everyday thugs of NYC, let alone Shredder or the Kraang. Oh, well. Donnie did teach him some of the basics, so maybe if he shows up in later episodes he'll be a better fighter. Who knows. *shrug*

So there you have it! My detective work for today is done. Be sure to keep watching TMNT 2012! Volume 1 is being released on Tuesday, and you can bet I'll be first in line to buy it! :D