This post is Full of Random. Consider yourself warned. XD

Lightning storm last night? AWESOME. Loved it! Tried to get photos like I did once in San Diego, but this time the sky was just whited-out every time. :( But I love falling asleep to thunderstorms! I miss the good ol' Orlando storms...

I got more Yan Yan today at the grocery store, and holy crap, this time the sticks have random animal facts and JapaneseCartoon!animals on them. :P Here's a few of them... there were a couple more, but I ate them before I thought to take a picture. :P



I think my favorite is the squid. But what's with the lucky brown beetle? WTF?! Can anyone enlighten me?! (ETA: Dude, I totally had a revelation... is its lucky color brown because it eats crap? If so, that just made it ten times as funny...)

Got a copy of a couple of Zoo Tycoon 2 expansion packs today at bookstore!work. I shall now be absent from the internet while I beat those. :P

Stumbled across this Stitch vid on YouTube last night, and it totally cracked me up! It was only shown on the Disney Channel in Japan, apparently. The best part? THEY DO THE ACTUAL DANCE. Seriously. Step-for-step. And if you watch Stitch at 2:04, he even does the same funky leg/knee wiggle thing that Zac does. (compare it to this clip at around 3:12! XD) LOVE.

And I gotta pimp this here: everyone go and pre-order Tokyo Disneyland's 2007 Halloween album!!! The show stop music for the parade was composed by Rick McKee, who's been a long-time member of the Disney music online fan community. He's one of those people I admire for working so hard to reach their goals. A few years ago, when he joined the boards, I remember him saying how much he loved the park music and one day dreamed of writing music for Disney. And now, after LOTS of hard work and perseverance, he's finally made it - at Tokyo Disneyland, no less! So Disney geeks, get over there and pre-order your copy (it comes out Oct 1) and show your support! :D I did! :D And it's TDL, so you can't go wrong. ;)

I've done this one a few times before, but it's always fun to do again as my favorites change! Tagged by iakineka:

List seven songs you are into right now, no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

1. Misia - Sea of Dreams
Simply beautiful song. I can't say enough good things about it. Whether or not you understand the Japanese, it's breathtaking.

2. HSM 2 - All For One
Yup. Still in my head! It's such a fun, catchy number that just makes you wanna dance.

3. HSM 2 - Everyday
A very pretty song! I'm not sure why this one really stands out to me. I think I just love the melody.

4. Hairspray - Without Love
Either the movie version or the original stage version, I don't care - they're both neat! Fun harmonies, a pretty (if corny ;)) love song with great lyrics. :D

5. Tokyo Disneyland - Viva Magic
Okay, so it's a whole show and not a song, but the numbers are all so catchy! I'm particularly in love with the penultimate number... not sure of the actual name, but I'll call it "Mickey's Magic Land." Upbeat, and so perfect for the Disney stage! :D (Seriously, WTF? I fall in love with every Tokyo Disneyland show I listen to or see on YouTube!)

6. Hairspray (Movie) - We've Come So Far
I know. More Hairspray. :P (I think this marks the fourth time that a song with Zac Efron in it song has appeared in this list. :O) But it's just so catchy! Upbeat, great song to bop along to in the car.

7. Tokyo Disneyland - Disney's Dreams on Parade
Sweet, catchy, and fun, like any parade music should be!

If anyone wants copies of any of these songs, lemme know and I'll spread the music love!

August 2007 books! As always, my current reading list and all-time faves are here.

An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore
I'm still not really sure what to make of this one. Let me preface this by saying I am a Democrat, and fully believe that we need to be acting in the best interests of our environmental future. However, I think we need to be completely honest with the facts, as good science is. On one hand, he raises some good points about how much things have changed in the last few decades, and what global climate change is doing to the world. However, any good scientist worth their salt (and yes, I realize Al Gore is not a scientist) will address the facts that do not support their position, and I think that's where this book fails. It feels like he's really pick-and-choosing his arguments to maximize the shock value, rather than addressing opposing viewpoints. Just a quick example, he uses photos of mountains "then-and-now" to illustrate the receding glaciers... but never notes on the photos what time of year they were taken! For all we know, the "then" photos could have been taken in winter, and the "now" photos could have been taken in the summer. That's not to say there hasn't been a lot of glacier loss (and I'm sure there has been, judging by reports that are coming out these days) but it just illustrates how he could easily manipulate things to look worse than they are. That being said, I think the most important part of the book was at the very end, where he lists out lots of specific things that anyone can do to help ease pollution and environmental damage during this time of change. Very practical things, like energy use at home sorts-of-things. Bottom line, the book is out for the shock value rather than the science, but I don't think it negates the point he's trying to make. This one is easy for anyone to read and understand, heavy on the photos, with lots of explanations in layman's terms. I'd definitely recommend it, despite my reservations.

Born Free - Joy Adamson
A quick and easy read, and really fascinating! This classic tells the story of how the author raised a lion cub in her home, then brought her back out to the wild and released her. Very heartwarming, and a nice feel-good story.

8/18/07
The Dinosaur Heresies - Robert Bakker
Although over 20 years out-of-date, this book is a fascinating read! The author (one of the most popular names in dinosaur paleontology) does a great job of explaining his theories in layman's terms. Everything from warm-bloodedness of dinosaurs to theories of their extinction to their connection with modern-day birds, Bakker discusses his "heretical" theories on dinosaurs. While it's obviously written in a scientific manner, it is easily understood if you have any background in biology, and not dry like a scientific report. While many of his theories have undoubtedly changed since then, it's a fascinating look at dinosaurs!