"Choose again."

Valentine's Day gave me a great opportunity to complete two more recipes: sugar cookies with red-colored sugar on top and this spicy chicken and rice dish. The dinner was fantastic! It called for three boneless skinless chicken breasts on top of a combination of brown rice, black beans, onions, green pepper, corn, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, red pepper, chili powder, and paprika. All of those vegetables and spices made the dish so flavorful; Matthew and I were so happy with how the dinner turned out! The cookies were good as well, but I might have stirred the dough a little too much because they were a little more dry and crunchy than I would have preferred. Still, the sugar cookies tasted great and Matthew liked the red sprinkled on top. Yay for having two new recipes under my belt!

Cooking: 14/75 completed

Matthew and I also watched Inception during our Valentine's dinner. Being a fan of science fiction, I really enjoyed the movie. Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page were particularly impressive with their performances, though there wasn't anyone that I would call out as having done a poor job either. The film was largely action-filled, but the scenes with DiCaprio and his character's haunting wife provided balance. While some may complain that the plot was too detailed and easily confusing, I found that as long as one pays close attention, the movie is never lacking in clarity and is very exciting. It reminds me of the original Matrix movie without any messiah-oriented undertones. I'm glad that Inception has been nominated for eight Oscars and I'm hoping that it wins a few.
Rating: 5/5

Movies: 7/100 viewed

Now, time to move on to the most important topic of discussion -  the discussion of The Rise of Endymion.
Warning: Spoilers below!

This novel has, without a doubt, one of the most powerful and emotional endings of anything that I've ever read, and I've read quite a lot. While I did have a slight prediction of how the story would end, that inkling did not detract from the novel's conclusion. Although incredibly sad, The Rise of Endymion still managed to have as happy and hopeful of an ending as possible, filled with characters that I've become so fond of: the Consul's ship, Kassad, Rachel, Theo, Father de Soya, Martin Silenus (and as vulgar and hilarious as ever), Bettik, Raul, and Aenea. Simmon's depiction of Aenea as a messiah was done quite tastefully; she was brave, intelligent, and beautiful, but also emotional and vulnerable to the cruelties of man. Her communion, while very similar to the communion the Jesus Christ shared with his followers, differed greatly because those who drank of Aenea's blood received the same gifts that she possessed, thus making them closer to equals than the Apostles were to Christ. Speaking of Christianity, Aenea's demise was horrible to read, but after finding out that her torture and death was a crippling blow to the Church, I was happy that Aenea was able to destroy the corrupt relationship between humanity, the Church, and the Core. Although the scenes of her teaching to the crowds was a bit repetitive and by-the-book, Raul's eventual comprehension of the Void Which Binds made Aenea's teachings much more dynamic. Some people have critiqued the novel in their online reviews for wandering away from the technical aspects of science fiction, and while the novel was mostly focused on human nature, philosophy, and relationships, it still had plenty of moments of "science," such as their entire time within the Biosphere. By focusing more on the characters, The Rise of Endymion grew into a magnetic and unforgettable novel, and is a great conclusion to the Hyperion Cantos. I'm sad that the series is over, but am very glad that I chose these novels as my first for this year. My only worry now is that the other novels that I read will be slightly shadowed by this fantastic series!

Rating for The Rise of Endymion: 9.5/10

Books Read: 4/75