Reverence for the Fallen

The fallen soldier waking up
Eyes met a foreign land
The world around him gleamed like snow
Though he still felt the grit of sand.

He sat up cautiously and found
His weapon now displaced
His turn to fight that lonely war
The blood of others marked his face

Fighting hard to stand erect,
The soldier surely knew
The land he's in is not the land he left
The free land's left his view.

He thought of friends, the ones he loved
And ideals worth fighting for
These thoughts, the ones that kept him strong
Throughout the endless war

Than in the distance, the soldier spied
A man he thought he knew
Friend or foe, he was not sure
But to his cause he would be true.

The soldier rose to meet the man,
Although he was unarmed.
He knew his fight, his one last stand
Could keep his loves from harm.

"You there," he said, raising his fists
"You with fire in your face.
I'm here to stand, defend my cause,
Protect my home, my sacred place."

"For years I've fought this hardy war
To help what I hold dear.
Them I'll defend until the end.
My mission has been clear."

The stranger came, stepped closer still,
'til the man could recognize
He knew that face, the scar filled hands,
The kind and loving eyes.

"My child," He said. "You've fought so long.
A weary time you've known.
Your deed is done. Your task complete.
It's time for coming home."

So hand in hand the Savior walked
The soldier off the field
For him, the fight went on no more
Twas time for him to yield.

Lord, bless the soldiers fighting on
The strong who fight for me.
Bless the ones who make it home.
From their horrors, set them free.

Above all, Lord, bless the ones
You take home far above.
Give them our thanks, our prayers, our praise
Theirs is the duty of true love.

The world amazes me with its awesomeness...

I bet you didn't know there was a Lord of the Rings musical. I bet you also didn't know it was awesome. They sing in Elvish. Technically, they sing in Quenya, which isn't historically accurate to the elves of the Third Age, but still. Elvish.

(Watch me! I'm pretty awesome)

The future doesn't lie in my hands, but...

If you haven't seen the Avengers movie yet, I suggest you seriously consider becoming a kamikaze warrior. The writing was spot on, the music brilliant, the characterization amazing, the acting spectacular, the special effects superb, and OH MY HEAVENS JUST GO AND WATCH IT ALREADY.

As a comic reader and a gigonormous Joss Whedon fan, I have a few things I would like to see come up in future Avengers movies, either in group movies or the character's solo films. 

#1 (and probably the most important one): MORE FEMALE CHARACTERS

I'm not saying any of the female characters in Avengers were bad, because they were freaking awesome. I just want to continue seeing more of this awesomeness. Joss Whedon is a master at creating strong female characters (Buffy Summers, River Tam, or Echo anyone?), and I want to see even more of that from him. Of course, Joss is limited by copyright (Fox owns both the X-men and the FF rights, while Columbia owns Spiderman), but there are still many female characters available to him, my personal favorites including Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Elektra, Valkyrie, and Sharon Carter.

#2:  Tony Strak's alcoholism

Tony Stark's battle with alcoholism is one of my favorite stories in the Marvel universe. Suddenly, the witty "billionaire genius playboy philanthropist" who we all know and love finds himself crippled by this disease, as it slowly begins to destroy his life. I won't give too much away, but as his life shatters, Tony is forced to admit that he made a mistake. Tony really grows up through this, becoming less of a comic book character and more of a real person. I think that the movies have set up the right environment for this message to be presented, and would be an interesting twist, watching Tony Stark battle alcoholism while battling bad guys.

#3: SKRULL INVASION!!

Those of you who haven't read the comic books will have no idea what I am talking about, and that's okay. Because it's still awesome. Skrulls are shape-shifting aliens that have strong desires to take over the Earth, because everyone wants to do that. Realizing that the Avengers pose a major problem to their plans, the Skrulls infiltrate the Avengers. Posing as various members of the Avengers, many Skrulls remained undiscovered for quite some time. I believe that Skrulls are a very typical Joss Whedon plot twist. You are just happily enjoying your movie, watching the heroes defeat the bad guys, and all of the sudden at the last minute, it is revealed that certain key character has actually been a Skrull! Leaving you bewildered and confused until the next movie. Knowing Joss, whoever the Skrull was impersonating is probably dead. Just because you liked them.  

#4: Hawkeye's Story

I'm not going to lie to you right now; I am totally biased when it comes to Hawkeye. He is absolutely one of my very favorite heroes. Having him introduced in Thor was amazing. I almost died. Although Hawkeye was Awesome with a capital A in the Avengers movie, he didn't get much story time.  (Spoiler: He spends the first half of the movie being possessed by a bad guy, the second half being angry and shooting stuff.) He doesn't need to have his own movie, but I would love it if we could learn about his brother and Trickshot and Trick Shot and Baron Zemo. And his blindness. And also Crossfire, can't forget him. And also Mockingjay. Okay, maybe he needs his own movies. A WHOLE SERIES OF THEM!!!

And finally...

#5: NO ZOMBIE STORYLINES!!!!!!

NONONONONONONONO

AND

#6: MORE JOSS WHEDON!!!!!!!

This man, this genius who gave us both the writing and direction for the first movie, has not yet been confirmed for the Avengers sequel. Marvel is fairly notorious for firing their directors (neither of the directors from Thor or Captain America: The First Avenger will be return, despite the success of their films), but we can hope they will have the sense to keep Mr.Whedon. 

The real question is, will Mr. Whedon keep them? Joss has expressed his dislike of writing characters that are not his own, and has also spoken of being interested in making another television series. (But really Joss, we all know that Fox is going to cancel your series, no matter how good it is.)

What would you like to see in future Avengers movies? You don't have to have read the comic books; I jsut want to hear what other people thought of the movies, and where the series should go.

Allons-y!

COMING SOON: A look at my dream casting for future Marvel Characters. 

TT#4: This is the Christ

I know that Christ is my Savior. I know He cares for my every need. He feels all my pain and He will always be there to comfort me. I know that when I need Him, He will never forsake me. He would have died for me and only me.

He is my Redeemer and my King.

Allons-y!

TT #3: Will you meet me halfway?

Wow. I'm kind of disappointed that I already missed one day. I thought this was going to be such a good idea, but then I failed. Oh well! I shall try again!

The Lord will bless you for doing your best. If you try your hardest, He will know it. You may no get exactly what you want, but your efforts will not go unrecognized or unrewarded. He cares about you, and He knows your struggles. Consequently, He knows my successes. He knows what it took me to get there, and how much it means to me. And for that, I am so grateful.

Allons-y!

TT #2: looking forward with faith

I know that if I ask Him, the Lord will guide my life. I signed up for housing today at byu, and although I am terrified that I will soon be entering that stage of my life, I know that it is what I am supposed to be doing.

The Lord has a plan for me, and for everyone. Our job is to find it out so we can follow it.

Allons-y!

TT #1: The days of our lives

Today's post (and subsequent others to follow after it) results from a challenge I have made to myself. I'm horrible at posting regularly, because I often think that I can only post if I have something funny of clever to say. Because of this, I don't actually say many meaningful things on this blog.

The result: Testimony Today (aka TT). For the month of April, I promise to post something everyday, and bear my testimony about something different. I hope the Spirit will be present in my writing and that you can understand just how much of a difference the gospel makes in my life.

Third term just ended, and the Lord has truly proved to me that if I keep his commandments, He will bless me.

I have a 4.0 cumulative GPA. I'm promise I'm not trying to brag, because the fact that I have a 4.0 isn't the most amazing thing. A 4.0 is good but not as good as keeping the Lord's commandments.

I have never completed a single homework assignment on Sunday. I have never studied for a test. Since I was little, my mum taught me that Sunday was a day for the Lord, therefore, we put the schoolwork away.

I honestly know no other reason for the fact that I have a 4.0 than that the Lord has blessed me immensely. (It certainly wasn't because of my hard work. Or lack thereof.)The Church is true. The Lord will bless those who keep His commandments beyond their ability to comprehend.

P.S. General Conference is AWESOME!!!!! Spiritual overload for two days? I think yes.

Allons-y!