Bethjoy.com

I’ve been working on a story which I’ve worked on before. I originally wrote down the story idea on August 2, 2004 so the story is almost a year old. I started working on it again in October and then again in January and now it is May and I’m working on it again. The rough draft is currently about fifteen pages long, six of those pages I worte today! I’ve been thinking about this story a lot recently and I would say it has a fairly good chance of being completed. It probably won’t exceed thirty pages in length but it might… However, I probably won’t be posting it on Bethjoy.com in case of getting an opportunity to publish it. I’m hoping to publish “Elaine’s Pearls” as well. I haven’t thought of a title name for this story yet. I may do that after I write the book. “Princess Noranda” might work for the main story but Princess Noranda is definitely not the main character of the story.

So far this month I’ve had 448 unique visitors, which is twelve less than last month. I’ve had more visits to my site this month than any other month this year, 722 total. It’s rather fun looking at my statistics page, especially the searches which have lead to my website being clicked on. I don’t think the person searching for “poisoness dog food” found what they were looking for on my website, or the person who searched for “dishes made for the titanic”. I had two searches for “princess leia hairstyle” but so far the most popular search which has caused someone to come to my website has been “roller coster” with eight searches.

I started out the morning with waking up without being called. Though that wasn’t the first time that had happened it was still sufficiently unusual to be mentioned. After breakfast I shot a rifle(I think it was) for the first time. I perforated a leaf as well as bulls-eying a water bottle. Later I got to shoot a pistol, and I only missed the target once! I hit one shot in the X ring(the center ring of the target) and did fairly well otherwise.

Then it was time for lunch, which was delicious. After lunch I was going with John and Erin to see Star Wars Ep III at a movie theater. I had never been to an actual movie theater before. Now, being that I am me I dressed up for the occasion in the Jedi Robe I made last night. I got into the car, with John driving, and he proceeded to turn it on and back up.

Now at one point in John’s life he owned a lovely black porsche which had the amazing capabilities of being very hard to see when it was dark. This porsche now belongs to Daniel. As we were backing up there was suddenly the sound of a crunch. Fortunately just the side door was dented on the porsche but John was rather upset about denting his old car with his new car, and then it began to rain…

With all of these very cheerful potential forebodings of things to come we continued on. And then… The Movie Theater! I think the generality of persons there could guess which movie I was going to see. John bought the tickets and we walked into the concession/lobby area. From there we went down a hall and turned left and entered the room where we were going to watch the movie… There was a hall of sorts in there that we went down for rising up to the left was the “stadium seating”. We took seats in the very back of the movie theater.

I wouldn’t recommend going to a movie theater due to the previews before the movie. They were rather inapproate for Christian viewing. I practiced shutting my eyes and putting my fingers into my ears. Then, finally, after the movie trailer for Chronicals of Narnia that I wanted to see did not show, I heard the music I knew so well, the movie had started!!!

For the next two and a half hours(approximately) my attention wandered from what was happening on the screen in front of me for about three minutes, maybe. I was very pleased to see that Jar Jar Binks did not die. I actually do like Jar Jar Binks a bit you see. Seeing Chewbaca again was nice. But… Well… I didn’t enjoy seeing the Jedi getting killed and Aniken Skywalker turned to the dark side. I already knew it would happen though, before seeing the movie. It really was interesting knowing that certain characters, like Yoda and the Emperor, would still be alive during the trilogy. At times it didn’t seem possible…

So, now I’ve seen all six Star Wars movies and I’ve been to a movie theater and perforated a leaf by shooting it. And now? Well, I think that during the next week or so I’ll probably rewatch the original Star Wars trilogy. And also, I think I’d like to learn how to shoot a bit more… That way you really won’t want to enter my room uninvited:) Though really, I think I’d prefer to learn how to use my swords but knowing the use of both would be really nice.

And, if it is not wise to upset a Wookie it is doubly unwise to upset an R2 unit:)

I’m preparing for the family reunion cruise which is next month by working on my editing/specialeffects skills. This movie is a test I made for a cousin of mine to watch. We are planning on doing a Star Wars sort of movie and I wanted to show her what I could do special effects wise. Also, I wanted to see if I could indeed do them:) I liberally used Star Wars music for the soundtrack of the movie. Watch Movie

In fact, right now I really don’t have much to post about as I haven’t really thought on the subject. However…

Cruise preparations are well underway. I’ll probably be filming a few short movies on the cruise staring my cousins. Currently I’m emailing ideas and getting suggestions. I think I only have two dresses and a cape left to sew, my own dress and Carolyn’s dress. I finished Rebecca’s dress yesterday. So work is being accomplished:)

I’ll probably have more to post later. Right now I”m not in a writing mood.

And their going to see Star Wars Ep 3 tonight is significant since it will be the first movie of their married life. Yes, John is now married to Erin. I was not a bridesmaid and at the moment I’m inclined to do the very childish and immature thing of not documenting their matrimony properly. However, it is documented but Andrew and Daniel had better be forewarned… And yes, I should never write posts when feeling depressed. You see I was just at Walmart and they didn’t have ANYTHING on sale that I wanted. So… Many happy returns of the day.

Just imagine this as a movie with impressive scenery, music, and acting and so forth. It will probably be more impressive than if I filmed it with my current resources. I tried to put in a few surprises… And have you noticed how in Star Wars just about every single main character says “I have a bad feeling about this” at one time or other?

Elizabeth Von Fange Presents
A Script Entitled

I Have a Bad Feeling About This

Cast of Characters

HERO
HEROINE
PRINCESS
VILLAIN
MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
IMPORTANT PERSONAGE IN HIS OWN OPINON will be referred to as IPIHOP
ROBOT SIDE KICK
SOLDIER
MAGNET OF DOOM
TEXT

Begin Here this script does

Act One: Scene One
Int. Day. Large and majestic throne room. On throne sits PRINCESS. Near stands IPIHOP.

IPIHOP
Your highness,I have just learned that a Great Danger lurks over our peaceful land. There is a Villain who is building a robot army which will be powerful enough to take over the world!

PRINCESS
I have a bad feeling about this… Is the army completed yet?

IPIHOP
It is almost completed. However, only the Villain can activate it and he has not yet done so.

PRINCESS
We must prevent his doing so at all costs. Assemble our army at once!

IPIHOP
At once, your highness!

Act One: Scene Two
Ext. Day. Balcony over looking courtyard where the army is. Princess enters balcony. IPIHOP walks beside her.

PRINCESS
Brave and faithful soldiers. I send you now on a task which will require all of your skills. There is a Villain who must be stopped from activating his mechanical army. If you will you accept this mission of capturing the Villain take two steps forward.

Entire army, with exception of HERO and HEROINE take two steps backwards. HERO TAKES two steps forward, HEROINE looks undecided then does the same.

PRINCESS
I thank those that have volunteered. Go now, and be swift. As to those who shall remain behind, I thank you for volunteering in advance to help with the spring cleaning of the capitol.

SOLDIER
I have a bad feeling about this

Exit. HERO and HEROINE, groans from the rest of the army.

Act One: Sort of Scene Three
Int. Day. Space ship hanger. HERO and HEROINE get into a small two-seater spaceship and fly off into the sunset.

Act TWO! Scene One(or Scene Four)
Int. Night. Command center with lots of computers. Many robots punching buttons. VILLAIN paces back and forth. ROBOT SIDE KICK sits at an official looking desk with many computer monitors facing him.

VILLAIN
Aren’t they done yet?

ROBOT SIDE KICK
No sir. It will be another hour before the robots are ready for activation.

ROBOT SIDE KICK notices something on one of the screens

ROBOT SIDE KICK
Sir, There is a strange ship approaching our planet.

VILLAIN
I have a bad feeling about this.

Act Two: Scene Two(or Scene Five)
Ext. Night. On top of what seems to be a large factory building. Space ship lands. HERO and HEROINE climb out.

HEROINE
I have a bad feeling about this.

HERO
Look, there’s a secret entrance in the shadows to the left!

HERO and HEROINE enter the secret entrance in the shadows to the left.

Act Two: Scene Three(or Scene Six)
Int. Night. Hallway leading to Command Center. HERO and HEROINE walk down hallway.

HERO
The command center should be this way.

Command Center Door opens, VILLAIN steps out.

VILLAIN
You should not be meddling with my business. Leave and do not bother me or else!

HEROINE
Or else what?

HERO
(interrupting her)We shall not leave until we have finished our business. Your evil plot to take over our land is known and we shall defeat it!

HEROINE
(louder)Or else what?

VILLAIN
You shall find out now!

HERO
I have a bad feeling about this.

VILLAIN draws blaster and starts shooting. HERO and HEROINE ignite blast protection sheilds and deflect his shots. HERO reaches for his blaster.

VILLAIN
(yelling back into command center) Aren’t they done yet!

ROBOT SIDE KICK
No sir, we just ran out of coolant and it will be some time before more can be gotten from maintenance.

ROBOT SIDE KICK suddenly notices the battle occurring in the hall. ROBOT SIDE KICK presses a button on the control panel and suddenly MAGNET OF DOOM appears through the ceiling above where the fight is occurring and causes all the blasters to rise and stick on the magnet. ROBOT SIDE KICK is about to sit back and relax when suddenly he finds that he can’t.

ROBOT SIDE KICK
I have a bad feeling about this.

ROBOT SIDE KICK is pulled by the magnet and goes to join the collection of metal objects stuck onto MAGNET OF DOOM. VILLAIN decides to run for it. HERO and HEROINE pursue.

Act Two: Scene Four(or Scene Seven)
Int. Night. Large room that is obviously the perfect place for a climatic battle. Lots of spare miscellaneous parts all about, as well as almost completed robots. Lighting flickers with power surges. VILLAIN reaches down and picks up a piece of pipe. HERO does the same.

VILLAIN
You shall soon know why you should not be tangling with me!

VILLAIN rushes forward. HERO is ready to stand his ground. The pipes clash. Climatic music swells. HEROINE looks worried. Suddenly VILLAIN falls over, stunned by a blaster shot. HERO and HEROINE turn to see MYSTERIOUS STRANGER walking out from the shadows and lowering a blaster. Obviously he shot the shot,

HEROINE
Oh, I knew you’d come!!!

HEROINE rushes forward to MYSTERIOUS STRANGER and throws her arms around him while he does the same. They kiss.

MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
You didn’t think I’d let my fiancee go through countless dangers without having something to say about it?

HEROINE agrees by repeating previous action. HERO looks uncomfortable for a moment then grabs VILLAIN and leaves HEROINE behind in good hands.

Act Three: Scene One(or Scene Eight)
Ext. Night. On top of the building. HERO goes to his ship dragging VILLAIN who, if he were conscious, would probably be saying that he had a bad feeling about this. HERO climbs into ship and takes off after depositing VILLAIN in the back seat.

Act Three: Scene Two(or Scene Nine)
Int. Day. Majestic Royal Throne Room again. PRINCESS sits on throne. HERO enters dragging VILLAIN.

HERO
I have succeeded in my mission. Here is the Villain!

PRINCESS looks at VILLAIN then looks at HERO. Suddenly she gets up and runs towards him arms extended.

PRINCESS
Oh, my hero!

HERO and PRINCESS kiss.

Act Three: Scene Three(or Scene Ten)
Blackness. Text suddenly appears.

TEXT
So they were married and and everybody lived happily ever after to the end of their days!

THE END
Credits

Well, on Tuesday I decided I wanted my school finished by Saturday. That Tuesday I finished the last third of Unit five and did the first lesson of Unit Six. Wednesday I completed Unit six and Unit seven. Today I started on unit eight… And ended up finishing Unit nine and ten as well. So that means that LANGUAGE IS DONE!!! And it also means that when I really set my mind to something, I am actually capable of doing it. Also, timers are very nice. So now… The Reward.

She thought that since the cruise is coming up and since we will probably be eating desserts on the cruise ship that it would be a good idea to go into deserts gradually… So we just got sugar-free ice cream sandwiches tonight:) They were DELICIOUS!!!

I’ve finally discovered an excellent method to get me to get my school done. Yesterday I bought a computer program I wanted to use and I put a note on it which says something to the effect of, “Do not use until Language is Finished”. Yesterday I finished the last segment of a unit of language(I didn’t get back until late evening). Today I finished TWO!!! Units of Language. Now although I can’t exactly tell you everything I was supposed to have learned from that I did get a B on one of the test of the unit and an A on the other test. So I at least figured out what they wanted the answers to be on the test:) I have three units left until Language is finished and I’m going to try to tackle them before the week is over. I want to use the computer program I bought:)

MORAL: When no one else will bribe you, you just have to bribe yourself.(Maybe that’s not a good moral. I ought to be doing school so that I will Learn things and have great knowledge but quite frankly… I don’t think I’ll be quite frank.)

So, you are now about to witness my amazing(debateble) sewing skills in action as I shall walk you, step by step, through the process of making a basic medieval dress. Now this is a tutorial so you ought to be able to make something like what I’m making if you follow along. This is a very very simple to make something. It just has two seams and two hems, though if you want you can make two more hems but it’s not necessary.

Step Number One: The Proper Materials!

1. The material! As I am making this outfit for a young cousin of mine I am only using three yards of fabric. If I were making this outfit for me I would use three and a half. At a later time I’ll go into more detial about fabrics. Basically what you will need is enough fabric to go from your neck to the floor twice with a half a yard added to that for a train.

2. Thread, and preferably a sewing machine or else you’ll be hand stitching for a long time. But hand stitching is doable.

3. A pattern. However, for this outfit you could just use a Tshirt or tank top folded in half so that the sleeves, if there are any, touch. I am using a pattern piece for a blouse instead, only the front half of it though.

4. A place to cut. This is very important as you will need plenty of space. A large table works well. I’m using my bed and putting a cutting board over it, a large piece of cardboard could replace the cutting board. If you are cutting on a surface that is cutable be very careful to cut only your fabric.

5. A yard stick is very useful. However if you don’t have a yard stick anything else that is long and straight will do:)

6. Scissors(I almost forgot these…)

I am now ready to begin cutting(I’m writing this guide while I’m doing this project you see)

Step Two: One of the More Important Steps! Actually cutting out the fabric

1. When you get the fabric it ought to have a fold in the middle, usually with the right side of the fabric(More about right and wrong sides of fabric in a different post.) facing together. If it’s the opposite way, don’t worry. Also, don’t unfold the fold because it won’t be the only fold made in the fabric before cutting. Lay the fabric out like this…

You will measure off a length of from your neck to the floor and the fold that over. There will be some fabric left over at the bottom and that will be the train.

2. There will be a corner where the folds all come together, this is very important that you use the correct corner! Lay out your pattern there, so that the folded edges are in the same place. The picture shows you better than I can describe. I’ll do another tutorial on similar dresses and go into greater depth later, possibly…

3. The time has come for cutting! This is now the time for creativity in the extreme. First, cut the neckline. Don’t make it too big but don’t make it too small. Remember, whatever you cut is going to be only one fourth of the finished neckline. I usually do a nice little quarter of a circle but one can be very creative with the neckline.

4. The Sleeves! Now these sleeves are going to be almost floor length huge sleeves. So let us begin shall we? First, take the yard stick(or equivalent) and place one end of it where the bottom of the arm is on the pattern.

Then move the yard stick so that it is pointing to the edge of the fabric that is not the folded edge, and it should be pointing the point where the train fabric starts. The picture shows this more clearly.

And now! We cut. A straight line from the edge of the fabric all the way up the armhole using the yard stick as a guide. Don’t worry if it’s not too straight of a line. I’ve done several of these dresses and I still haven’t gotten the line straight. You can now see how I cut the sleeves.

5. And now, for the rest of the cutting! Follow along the edge of your pattern down from the armhole until you arrive at the waistline, then you start cutting outward towards about the same point you were aiming for with the sleeves. This will make the skirt line.

6. And now for the train… Continuing on from the end of your train line cut in a wide circular edge and end up at the very end of your fabric on the folded side.

7. Now take away your fabric and you end up with something that looks like this! When held up to you, or whoever your making this for, it should resemble the final dress greatly.

Sewing Time!

Now it is time for stitching. First, completely unfold the fabric and then re fold it so that it looks like this. Make sure that the side of the fabric that you want to see when you wear the dress is on the inside. You will be stitching on the other side.

Next you start stitching. Begin either at the bottom triangle of the sleeve or at the point where the skirt begins and the train leaves off. Start stitching through the two folds of fabric and then end when you come to the end of either the sleeve or skirt depending on where you started from.

Now turn the dress inside out. You are just about done. All you need to do now is to hem along the neckline and along the bottom edge of the skirt and train. Here is what the completed dress I just made looks like.

Hopefully this will inspire somebody. Also, I would recommend using a very inexpensive($1.00 a yard) fabric to make this dress FIRST before using a more expensive fabric. Just to make sure that if you do make a mistake and want to start over you won’t have waisted the expensive fabric. Have Fun!

Hmm… I was not aware that Daniel could post on my website. Interest… At any rate, here is Daniel about the time the previous picture was being taken.

Camera Wars