Question About Writing Here: In My Senior Year Of School My English Teacher Told My Class That The Word ‘get’

“As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see anything that is above you.”

— C. S. Lewis

Trying to explain to people that it’s not a problem with your ears (I’m 24 and I’ve passed every hearing test I’ve ever been given with flying colors) and being told it must be all in your head then.

Auditory Processing Problems

• *someone says something* “what?” *repeats themselves* “sorry?” *repeats themselves again* “pardon?”

•"hey, y'see the red thing at the top of the shelf, will you get it?“ “Sorry, what?” “On the sh-” “oh yeah sure, I’ll get it.”

•*doesn’t hear teacher because someone’s pen is making a scratchy sound at the back of the room*

•*replays video 10 ten times to figure out what they’re saying*

•teachers asking, “why do you always stop writing in the middle of a sentence, just write down whatever I’m saying,” followed by the response, “I’m just processing it,” rebuked by, “we’ll stop processing it and just write.”

•*gets really focused on staring out the window and goes through four songs without hearing a single on*

Can I just speak for a second about how much of an absolute crazy BAMF Stonewall Jackson was?

I mean, this was a guy who was raised in the mountains of Virginia (later West Virginia) who pulled through West Point because of his skills in math and sheer tenaciousness. But he LIKED the army, and even after the Mexican American War he was teaching students what it meant to be a soldier.

When the South seceded from the Union, Jackson followed his State and was recruited into the Confederacy.

“Always mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have strength to follow; for an army routed, if hotly pursued, becomes panic-stricken and can then be destroyed by half their number.” 

He earned his nickname of “Stonewall” in the Battle of First Manassas (First Bull Run as it was known in the North) when he stood in the midst of battle without retreating and thus inspired his men and the surrounding Rebels to stand their ground and chase the Union off. He became one of General Robert E. Lee’s most trusted soldiers and friends, so much so that when Jackson died Lee reportedly said, “He has lost his left arm. I have lost my right.” Jackson and Lee together won so many battles due to their combined tactical genius and tenaciousness that if Jackson hadn’t died then it’s possible that the Confederacy may have won the war.

Aside from his (near) brilliance on the field, Stonewall was well known for being eccentric. A list of habits and beliefs he had baffled contemporaries and still fascinates people today:

1) He believed that one of his arms was longer than the other and so would frequently held up the “longer” one to aide in better circulation.

2) Although debatable today, it was also said that Jackson loved chewing on whole lemons and was rarely seen without one even in the midst of battle.

3) He believed that if he had pepper in his food that it would make his left leg ache.

4) He was known by contemporaries as a “champion sleeper”, able to sleep anywhere-- even falling asleep with food in his mouth.

And that was only a few things.

And of course Jackson was a religious zealot, believing that he belonged to the “army of the Living God.” His religious views made it so that he was unafraid even in battle, believing that the Lord was utterly in control and would call him home only when it was time. He wouldn’t even mail a letter on Saturday in fear that it would be in transit on a Sunday.

But of course his respect of the Sabbath didn’t stop him from participating in battle. 

He was also oddly bloodthirsty. He was known for his need for pursuit of the enemy, and there was even once when asked how the Confederacy could stop the Union from pursuing them, Jackson replied, “Kill them! Kill them all!” 

Jackson has got to be one of the most fascinating figures of the American Civil War. I can’t say that this man was as great a hero as history will sometimes paint him but he was still someone who even today is hotly debated among historians. Some say he was a religious nut. Still others say that he was a hero of the South. 

I think he was just a man, but he was someone who history will never quite figure out. Stonewall Jackson observed the Sabbath but was unafraid to kill the enemy. He was a borderline hypochondriac but he was unafraid of death. He’s simply a contradiction to himself in a lot of ways, and I think that is what makes Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson still such a figurehead of the Civil War and, I daresay, one its most fascinating.

What I love most about Broadchurch, and it’s the thing I miss most with S2, is the element of the sea. The very first shot of the entire first series was of the ocean breaking along the shore and you’re able to hear its low rumbling. I love how that sound is utilized from the very first, because it’s letting us the viewer know exactly what to expect. And then the very last shot of series 1 is of the sea again breaking on the shore, and it’s come full circle in this way.

But the sea, and its sound, is utilized so much more than that. It’s our grounding in a way, a silent watchful presence that is always there. Broadchurch itself, as admitted by the cast and by Chris Chibnall himself, is a character and none more so than the sea it resides by.

The sea plays along the scene when Alec sees Danny’s body for the first time. And of course we know the significance of the ocean (and any body of water, for that fact) for Alec but still the ocean is itself in this scene, not just a foil for a character. The sea has witnessed Joe Miller laying Danny out on its beach. It’s known the Latimers’ loss hours before anyone else did.

Then you see it again as the opening shot in episode 2 of S1, but it’s faster now, and its tone is more of a crash. The setting has changed now, the investigation has begun into Danny’s murder. There are so many instances where the ocean is there, present as its own character and not just a reflection of the people of Broadchurch, and it helps the story along. It’s there, frothing and crashing, when Mark breaks down after Alec tells the Latimers that Joe murdered Danny, and as mentioned before it’s the very last shot of the first series. Still there. Still crashing along its shore. But this time its moaning is calmer now, less of a crash, ending the series on a melancholy, almost peaceful, note.

S2 didn’t include much of that, and it really disappoints me. We see it a lot when we find Alec contemplating on its beach and we often hear its sound but we rarely SEE the actual ocean shown as its own character again. And maybe with S3 we’ll be able to see a bit more of the ocean utilized again but Chris Chibnall definitely knows the power of water, and its played such a large part of Broadchurch as a whole I’m anxious to see how he’s going to use it when the next series comes along.

My favorite ladies: Fandom edition

1) Mara Jade Skywalker. I will admit it: I LOVE Star Wars, and I’ve loved it since I was four. As an eleven year old I got into the Expanded Universe, and I immediately loved Mara. She’s brave, intelligent, independent, she kicks ass like no other, and she’s more than just a pretty face. Raised as a child by Emperor Palpatine to be one of his Hands (top assassins), she was entirely obedient to him to the point of trying to kill Luke Skywalker when he commanded her to; until, of course, she started to realize that Palpatine was nothing but a manipulative bastard, and then she ended up marrying said Skywalker later on down the road. (Luke and Mara are absolutely amazing together, and they’ve been one of my OTPs for over a decade now.)

2) Martha Jones. Seriously, though, I think the question to ask is what is there not to love about Doctor Martha Jones? She’s treated less-than-stellar by the Tenth Doctor, yes, but she adapts to this crazy life of time-travel so well (too well maybe), not to mention that she helps him out of the fire several times throughout her run. Have people really already forgotten the fact that Martha is the Woman Who Walked the Earth, stayed alive an entire year avoiding the Master’s efforts to capture her, and was the entire reason why the Doctor’s plan to end the Year That Never Was worked? (Also, she’s the only modern-day companion to have voluntarily left the Doctor, which I admire A LOT.)

3) Mary Watson. I seem to have a thing for the lesser-liked ladies in fandoms. Granted, I’m not normally a Johnlock shipper by any means, so I never had to feel like my favorite pairing was being threatened; but Mary was so much more than what she appeared on the surface. She’s multifaceted, she’s secretive, and I wouldn’t even necessarily label her as a Good Person-- but she is Good where it counts, she’s genuinely kind and caring to others, she tries her best to protect John and Rosie, and she and Sherlock have this amazing understanding of each other which I find absolutely brilliant.

4) Peggy Carter. Her name alone conveys how much of a BAMF Peggy is. ‘Nuff said.

(Seriously, though, I’ll have to do a full-depth analysis on Peggy at a later date, because usually all I can do when I think of her is incoherently flail, and I’ll need more than a paragraph to explain why I love her so much.)

5) Ellie Miller. I had a hard time deciding who I was going to put down on this list, Ellie or Beth Latimer. I decided on Ellie because I’ve made it no secret Beth is my absolute favorite character in Broadchurch, and I’ve talked about her a lot on previous posts. So here’s Ellie, the Detective Sergeant of Broadchurch who is the one who helped close three major cases, loves her sons more than chocolate, builds her life back up after it comes to pieces around her, and gives some truly amazing tellings-off when she needs to. And she threatens to piss in a cup and throw it at Hardy when he’s being particularly difficult, and if that isn’t legendary I don’t know what is. She’s all-around brilliant, and honestly one of the main reasons why the tv show works as well as it does.

These are just a few of my favorites, but this list is already a bit long, so part 2 is going to have to come later.

The thing that is so exciting about the Thirteenth Doctor is the fact that she’s starting off with a clean slate. She’s excitable and childish and so much lighter than any of the other Doctors since the start of the 2005 series, and that’s because she can be. Doctors Nine through Eleven had their childish sides, yes, but there was so much darkness there behind their eyes and actions. So much pain. He was the last of the Time Lords. Until halfway through Eleven’s journey he believed that he had committed the most atrocious act of murder. But when Gallifrey was saved there was hope. Hope for the next day. Hope for the time when maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t be so alone anymore. Twelve started out colder and more aloof but by the end he’d thawed considerably and even told the Doctor he would become to ‘Work hard, run fast, and be kind’.

And she does, and she is. She doesn’t hold onto the burdens of the past. She’s not the murderer of her people. She’s not the last of the Time Lords. She’s lost her family, and there’s real sadness there when she talks about them to Yasmin and Ryan and Graham, but she’s learned how to build around the grief and carry them with her. There’s steel there in her when she’s facing evil, but that’s simply the Doctor shining through. 

She’s just brilliant.

If Chibnall ever wants to throw in some major darkness to Thirteen's storyline, there is a loophole to her kind personality.

Nowhere in the English language does it say that kind means nice.

‘A Little Priest’ has got to be the most passive-aggressive song ever written for a musical ever.

Maybe I'm stating what is completely obvious and I'm just somehow missing it, but I don't think Ian has anything to do with Trish's raping. I think he's got a hand in distributing the pornography around for the kids to see, which is why he wanted that laptop so badly.

It’s been almost twenty years, but I still tear up every time I hear the Hobbits’ theme played any time during the LotR and Hobbit soundtracks. 

Absolute. Perfection.