Mariah's Gift - Book Page Necklace

I have so much to say! It's no good when you don't blog for a whole week, especially when it's the first week of a semester! Now I've got to relate all the interesting things that happened! But really, there's only one that I'm going to post about right now, and that is my present to Mariah!

It's been quite a while since I first posted that I was making it, but I couldn't post what the present was until I had given it to her, in order to not spoil the surprise. And then I had a busy week of school, so I'm just barely getting around to it.

I made a necklace for her, after reading another person's how to. Here's the site so you can make your own! Mandipidy - Book Page Necklace

All you need is a 30-inch long chain, some pages of a book (or printouts), pearl beads, jump rings, and a clasp. Also some Modge Podge for the finish of the paper cutouts, and a lighter if you want to burn the edges like I did. Make sure that when you get the jump rings, they aren't the coiled ones, because those do NOT work (I speak from experience). 

This is a picture of my finished project:

I am so proud of myself for making this. And the reason both I and Mariah love it so much is because I made it special to her. For example, the pages that I chose are things that are a part of her life. There is: German, Italian, Music, The Hobbit, Marvel, the Book of Mormon, and a dictionary definition that pertains to her. It's awesome! So when she wears it, it isn't just a stylish accessory, but it symbolizes pieces of her heart.

If I were to do anything differently, I would put the same picture on both sides of the circle cut outs, so that when it flips around you can't tell. It's a hassle having to make sure they are always flipped the right way.

So if you need a gift idea, this is a great one! You can do a bracelet version too, or maybe even earrings.Just experiment with it and make it special to the giftee.

Best Marvel Heroes and Villains

This post is going to put me in the major nerd category, but I don't care!

So this past half-year, I've been getting more and more interested in Marvel, and any movie or television show based off of their comics. I borrowed a book from a friend, the Marvel Encyclopedia, and read all of it. I know right? Pretty lame. But I was and am very interested! I don't have the time it would take to read all the comics, so this was a great way to learn characters and their stories.

On our way to Utah today, I finished reading it and decided I wanted to figure out who had the most power, because each hero/villain has a little chart in the book that rates their intelligence, strength, speed, durability, energy protection, and fighting skills. The characters are rated in each of these categories from one to seven.

That may have been the best part of the book to me, being able to compare the characters via actual powers, rather than their story or coolness.

After much studying of this Encyclopedia, I can say who the top three heroes are and the top three villains. How I decided to determine this was by first adding up the points from there abilities and whoever had the most was top dog. If there were ties, then I took the one with the strongest powers, usually a seven. Of course, this is only based on one book that doesn't have every single character, but I still consider it semi-valid! And it's not according to awesomeness, just their power and abilities.

Most Powerful Heroes

1. Silver Surfer

3. Iron Man

2. Thor

1. Silver Surfer is a learned hero with warp speed, incalculable strength, unlimited command of all energy, superhuman durability, and average fighting ability
2. Thor is an experienced fighter with incalculable strength, warp speed, superhuman durability, the ability to discharge multiple forms of energy, and normal intelligence
3. Iron Man as a super-genius with superhuman strength (up to 100 tons), superhuman durability, supersonic speed, the ability to discharge multiple forms of energy, and some training in fighting

I'm completely satisfied with this list, because I would consider these three some of the best even before I knew all the technical stuff. Though I had no clue that the Silver Surfer was so high!

One thing I was a little disappointed about was that my favorite people of all Marvel stories are the mutants, but none of them were super powerful. But that doesn't change my level of admiration for them!

Other people worth noting: Hulk was fourth, while Captain America was wayy down as number 14-- after the Thing, Wolverine, and even the She-Hulk. Crazy right? You'd expect him to be cooler, but don't worry, he is still WAY above the superhero average.

 Most Powerful Villains

1. Thanos as a virtual

   

   1. Thanos

   ly indestructible super-genius with incalculable strength, warp speed, ability to discharge multiple energy forms,  and experience in fighting
2. Galactus as a virtually indestructible being who is omniscient with incalculable strength, warp speed, unlimited command of all energy, but poor fighting skills



2. Galactus

3. Doctor Doom is a super-genius with superhuman durability, supersonic speed, the ability to discharge multiple energy forms, superhuman strength (up to 25 tons), and experience in fighting

The thing about villains is that often, they make the hero what he is, and sometimes they may even make the story. (An example would be Batman, a DC superhero, who's villains such as the Joker and Bane may be what makes the Batman stories so cool).

3. Doctor Doom

I noticed that in cases such as Spiderman and the X-men, there were a lot more super-powerful villains, while the heroes themselves were less so. I thought this was pretty interesting since you'd think that would mean the villain would kick the heroes butt. That's not the case though! Our heroes are tough and, most importantly, fighting for what is right.

Another favorite of mine is Magneto, number seven on the list, is obviously the most powerful mutant, and personally I think he is pretty cool, especially in the movies. And the fact that he could take down the X-men easily, but allows them to keep existing gives him a little credence in my mind.

I would be very interested to know who you think the best heroes and villains are! Based on powers or just in general, give me your reasons!