Kingdom of Heaven

Captain's Log, Supplemental

I just saw Kingdom of Heaven (2005). I TiVo’d it because ... well, it has Orlando in it. ’Nuff said. :)

It also has other favorite actors of mine—Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis (I just adore him in the Harry Potter movies), and Edward Norton as King Baldwin (LOVED him in this role. I was mesmerized).

Christianity is mostly portrayed as hypocritical (no surprise there, when is it ever portrayed as the good guys? I mean, I know Christians aren’t perfect and there are lots of times Christians or those who call themselves Christians act hypocritically, but why can’t Hollywood ever show someone as both a strong Christian and a good guy? Both good and bad Muslims are represented on the silver screen—why not a good Christian for a change? Sorry, rant is over).

I had a hard time keeping people straight sometimes—maybe it was the chain mail and helmets on everyone??? And I didn’t like the adultery part. And Captain Caffeine would have loudly protested that some parts were downright cheesy while other parts were gorier than a horror flick.

But the movie left me with that Aaahh feeling at the end of it, so that’s good enough for me. I liked seeing a historic event I’ve only read about in history books.

I also got a great quote from the movie that I added to my Favorite Quotes list.

Comments

Just Nancy said…

Haven't seen this one, and I'm not completely sure I've heard much about it, but I do agree with your "rant" about Christianity. I remember hearing Michael Medved say once that it used to be that if you had a priest in a movie, it was Bing Crosby or some other well-loved and warm, cozy man. Now they cast guys who look like serial killers or crazies. Christians are the only minority these days who can be "demonized" and no one complains. It makes me insane!

www.nancysbrandt.com

Mon Dec 03, 07:11:00 AM 2007

Kaye Dacus said…

I went to see this one with a girlfriend when it came out in the theater . . . and I haven't felt the need to watch it again since. She was writing a story set during the crusades, so was able to see where they'd diverged from historical accuracy--but not so much that it bothered either of us.

What did give us an "ewwww!" moment was the thought that we might be subjected to seeing Legolas nekkid in a s*x scene. Fortunately we were spared that visual. Unfortunately, they did have the affair, which bothered me, too.

I also found myself losing track of who was who, especially in the final battle scene. But I blame that on the filmmaker, because if you look at other movies with mass battle scenes, such as Return of the King or Gladiator, you never lose track of where/who the good guys are. But, it did give a really good feel of just how chaotic those kinds of battles could be and how easy it would be to mistake an ally for an enemy.

Mon Dec 03, 10:21:00 AM 2007

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

What Is a Brutus Cut? A Regency Hair Trend Inspired by Ancient Rome

Regency Haircuts and Disguises in Lady Wynwood’s Spies In this excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor , Phoebe prepares for a dangerous mission—one that requires her to disguise herself as a young man. The hairstyle she receives, called a Brutus cut, was actually quite fashionable during the Regency. Read on to find out more about this curious trend and why it suited her new identity so well. Excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor : By far, the absolute worst part of Uncle Sol’s plan was that Phoebe had to cut her hair. Of the four agents, Phoebe and Mr. Coulton-Jones would be the least likely to be recognized when they entered the Ramparts building—Mr. Coulton-Jones, because of his skill in altering his facial features and his posture, and Phoebe, because she could play a convincing young man, which no one would expect. A disreputable hat would hide her long hair to an extent, but it would not fool anyone who looked closely. Also, because she would lo...

Free Christian Romantic Suspense Novels by Camy Tang / Camille Elliot

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

Search This Blog