The Leviathan Trilogy: Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath

In Scott Westerfeld's best work, the Leviathan Trilogy featuring Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath,we meet some great characters and go on an exciting adventure through alterna-history's WWI with both an Allied and an Axis perspective. The trilogy has elements of both steampunk and fantasy as well as threading in truths and actual people from history (Westerfeld includes an afterward correcting some of his alterna-history).  It was a lively exciting read that I highly recommend to any reader. I give it five stars. Westerfeld, you hit your mark with these works. Read on, my friends.

Family Fun: The Stones

We spent the first few days of our vacation with my parents and siblings. On the day after Christmas, those of us who were around went to see Rise of the Guardians at the discount theater. It was a pretty cute movie and everyone liked it. Turns out Hugh Jackman's in it too! I'm not sure if he used his regular accent or if he exaggerated it, but he was very Australian. I didn't even know it was him til it was over! After the movie, we we went to Two Jack's Pizza for delicious BBQ pizza and cheese sticks. Yummmmmm. . . is it too soon to go back? 

The 27th is Ammon's birthday, and Michael had the day off of work, so Mom got us these passes for a bunch of activities up in Salt Lake. First we went to the Clark Planetarium. They had some cool things to see and then we watched a silly little Christmas movie. 

Ammon, Jordyn, and Michael trying to steal the electricity from each other.
Michael kept winning!

Ammon and Mom watching

The passes included a free lunch at the Lion House. The rolls were really good, especially with the honey butter! After lunch we headed to the Leonardo Museum. It was really neat!

Adam the engineer loves tinkering with wires!
Jenn was less than pleased that I took her photo, though

Dad also found a fun toy to play with.
With which to play. haha

Cassidy likes building things!

It's a rocket!

Matthew joining in on the fun!

Green Screen!

Where'd they go? 

at one with the mountain

Jordyn making a stop-motion film with 3D objects

Cass and I made a stop-motion film too! 

Cassidy doing it Gangnam Style

You stand in front of the computer and it copies your movements!

When Hagrid teaches "Care of Magical Creatures" . . . 

I just thought this looked neat!

After seeing all the exhibits at The Leonardo, we headed back to the Planetarium to see if there were any other neat movies to see. Well, we picked one, but it was kind of boring. Jordyn thought it was amazing; pretty sure the rest of us fell asleep! Then we went to the moon and Mars! It was a super fun day!

Philosophy

Part of the requirement for my degree was to take two upper division philosophy classes. So I, of course, picked one from a professor I have taken before (with a similar topic, too!) and one that was at a convenient time. Unfortunately for me, this class was on Aristotle's Metaphysics. I was clearly the most unprepared for this class. All of the graduating seniors have been accepted into at least one grad school, some on scholarship.  One of these students will ask questions I can't even understand, let alone follow the answers the professor gives.  

Now, personally, I find philosophy to be completely bunk. It's absolutely brilliant people talking about things  and ideas, but not about action  or change.  Nothing is actually provable, tangible, or real. They just talk about it, like they're superior to everyone else. I mean, it's the study of knowledge.  Okay.  And Aristotle says the best knowledge is the knowledge obtained for knowledge's sake, not for any useful actual purpose. I just feel like all these answers could be answered by religion or science. 

Now everyone great once in a while in class, I will ask a question or make a comment that my professor finds absolutely brilliant.  I often find them over simplistic. I just feel like everyone is over thinking everything, and it's really not that confusing. Now, either my professor thinks I'm a complete idiot and is completely surprised that I understand, or he thinks I'm a complete genius by being able to answer the questions or address the problems of soon to be grad students. But I have to be completely honest.  I am really good at regurgitating information.  If my professor has said something to be 'the truth,' I will remember it. And then regurgitate it in class. I don't understand why it's true, or what it means.  I just know that it's the truth because my professor has said so. That, or I simplify it down much further than my classmates.  

And that, my friends, is how Philosophy works.