N - Numfar

This post is a part of the A to Z Challenge. This year I have decided to go themeless. Each day I will post about whatever topic pops into my head. The result of this spontaneity is anyone's guess. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Numfar, do the dance of Joy!

And so did Numfar become a legend. His dancing skills would astound millions, even more than his orange hair and green skin. Despite only being in one episode, his presence was (and is) remembered as a high point in an otherwise up and down season of Angel. Ordinarily, such a bit part in a strange episode would go unnoticed or be easily forgotten. So what made Numfar so memorable? Was it his dancing? His obvious joy at the departure of his brother? His ability to so convincingly portray a generic member of the crowd, casually watching the approach of the disgraced brother and a stranger? (Anyone sense some sarcasm in that last sentence? It felt sarcastic as I typed it.) Probably none of the above. Nope. He's memorable for one simple reason. He was played by none other than Joss Whedon. Yep, that Joss Whedon. Dancing. Orange hair. Green skin. Classic.

N - Next Movie

Welcome to day fourteen of the A to Z Challenge. If you're here for the first time or if you've forgotten already, this year's theme is movies! I am posting a quote, a character or two, and a brief synopsis of a movie for each letter. You then get to guess the movie in the comments. Answers will be revealed in the following day's post.

Answer to M: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Now we move on to the letter N. This is another classic from the 80s. Today we're moving to fantasy. Here are the clues.

Synopsis
Based on a book of the same name, this movie spawned two sequels. I still find that ironic considering the title. There was also an animated series and a short HBO series. Reality and fantasy intermix in this imaginative tale. While the special effects look very dated, the story still holds up very well.

Character
Falkor - Falkor is a luckdragon, one of six mentioned, and the only one ever shown in the movie. While not very powerful, he has incredible luck in everything he does, hence the name. He manages to save one of the protagonists more than once.

Quote
"Confronted by their true selves, most men run away, screaming!" - Truer words have seldom been spoken.

Good luck with this one. I think I'll go and watch it.

N - Porcupines on Fire

We're beginning the second half of the A to Z Challenge. That's right, 13 letters down, 13 to go. Today we are on the 14th letter, N. So let's get this thing coasting down the backside of this hill.

Love
Newsboys - They've been around a long time and are basically Christian music royalty at this point. Signing former DC Talk member Michael Tait as their new lead singer a couple of years ago only added to their status. I got to see them live last month at Winter Jam. They put on a great show. You can see them performing in concert in the movie God's Not Dead. Can't wait to see that one.

Nightwish - Today's post gets another bonus band. Nightwish is one of my go-to bands when I'm writing. I got introduced to them by fellow writer Rebekah Loper (check out her blog here). She recommended them my first year participating in NaNoWriMo. They've been a large part of my writing playlist ever since.

Hate
New York, New York (Frank Sinatra) - Old Blue Eyes can sing. No doubt about it. He deserves to be considered one of the all-time greats. But I would cover my ears with a burning porcupine to avoid hearing this song. Having to play it when I was in the basketball Spirit Band at OSU didn't make it any more tolerable. Where were the porcupines then?

Love to Hate
Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley) - The Rick-roll song itself. I have to admit that I liked this song when it first came out in the 80s. It wasn't terrible then. Now? Yeah, it's bad. It's been played to death, turned into a joke on the Internet, and basically destroyed any credibility that Rick Astley may have ever had. So now I hate it. But since it's an internet meme, I kinda like hating it.

Who have you seen in concert recently? Writers, who do you listen to when writing? Ever been rick-rolled? Let me know in the comments. And if you see any porcupines on fire, it's just me avoiding Frank again.

N - Northumbria

Northumbria?! Huh? Why in the world would anyone use up valuable(?) blog space writing about a medieval  kingdom that has little to no relevance to anyone living or working in my lovely locale of rural Oklahoma? Easy. I started typing this while watching Vikings on History Channel.

The titular vikings are systematically invading Northumbria in Northern England and Southern Scotland. I'll admit that prior to watching this show, if someone asked me the location of Northumbria, I would have guessed Middle-earth or Narnia. Just kidding, I knew it was in England somewhere. But it sounds like something from Tolkien or C.S. Lewis doesn't it?

Narnia! Why didn't I use that for N? That should have been my topic. I like Narnia much better than Northumbria. No offense to any Northumbrians who may happen to read this blog. (Somehow I doubt there will be many of them.) If I had chosen Narnia, I could mention the whole Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. Or the series of movies. I could talk about metaphors and the not quite but almost allegorical nature of the stories and their relation to the Bible. I could go on for pages about Aslan the Lion. In my opinion, one of the greatest characters in all of literature.

Thats it! N is for Narnia. Northumbria, you're out!