The Theatre and I

My history with the stage is... complicated.

I used to go with my family all the time to Story Book Theatre's musical productions as the Carco Theatre. I remember enjoying those shows immensely, and I've occasionally gone there with my family in recent years. The theatre there is a bit silly to me now, but I still have good memories of it.

When I was in elementary school, I was part of my church's children's choir, KWAM (Kids With A Mission). We put on small musical productions for our church. I sang in the choir, played a few parts, and said a few lines. I have a lot of good memories from there. I even got KWAM Kid of the Year in my final year there. I can't say that I learned much about the finer points of acting and singing, or the finer points of anything theatre related, but I still had a fairly good time.

My next experience with the theatre was my Musical Theatre class in Junior High. There I began acting and singing in earnest, if not particularly well. It was a pretty fun class, and I made some good friends there. I wound up playing the Wolf in Into the Woods, Jr. I pretty much made a complete fool of myself both on and off the stage, for in those days of youthful folly, I saw fit to play the buffoon. As I was stuck in my uncomfortable Wolf costume backstage most of the time and could not get a hold of a video recording of the play, I have no idea whether the play itself was good or bad. But I do know that we players put a lot of effort into the production and that our teacher was just as enthusiastic and dedicated as we were. In sum, I consider that class to have been a positive experience overall.

Since then, I have not participated in any theatrical production whatsoever. However, there is no end to the amount of such productions that I have attended, none of which were particularly good.

Aside from the Story Book Theatre productions that I have occasionally gone to, I have seen several of my youngest sister's church musicals (now called Agape Kid's Choir as opposed to KWAM). I hate to speak ill of anything done with a good heart and a sincere spirit, especially from my own church, but these children's church musicals aren't exactly high class entertainment. In case it helps, however, I have been to plenty of non-church theatrical productions which can be described the same way. There were a couple of school musicals involving friends of my aforementioned youngest sister, such as Honk! Jr. and Narnia: The Musical. (The latter is a sad case of a great idea stunted by a poor script.)

The only "professional" theatre productions I've attended, other than Story Book Theatre, of course, are a few productions put on by the Renton Civic Theatre. I once went to a 70's musical version of Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen from Verona. Seriously. My dad and I scored some tickets and thought it might be fun. It actually quite stupid, silly, and dull, not being so ridiculous as to qualify as charmingly goofy, but going completely over the top. Needless to say, my dad and I left during the intermission, after which we went to the only late-night movie I've ever been to, The Last Airbender, which was arguably equally awful, if not more so. But that's another post.

Just two Sundays ago, my dad and I went to see another production from the Renton Civic Theatre. To be specific, it was their Summer Teen Musical, starring High School and college age actors from around the area. I was very excited to go to this play, as I believed that it would be a fun experience. What was it called? The Wedding Singer, that's what. If I had done my research, I would known that The Wedding Singer is the name of a 1998 Adam Sandler movie, on which the play was plainly based. This alone should have been enough to deter me, as Adam Sandler is the only actor whom I genuinely loathe. At least, he is now. I now thank the most high God that I failed to persuade the rest of my family to attend the play with my father and me.

Suffice it to say, the play was vulgar and base, substituting profanity for wit and sexual innuendo for punchlines. If what I witnessed was capable of staining the suit I wore, it would never have come out. As it is, the horrid stain upon my memory remains. I'm sure it doesn't help that the movie the play was adapted from wasn't exactly the best source material, but surely whoever was responsible for that monstrosity of a play was intelligent enough to understand that it was complete pigswill. What kind of person who works with High School students honestly wants them to parade in front of their parents, friends, and relatives belting out song lyrics which are awash in obscenities? I honestly don't know, though if the enthusiastic applause of my fellow audience members was anything to go by, I was evidently the only one who cared about this rather disconcerting implication. (As a side note, I must say that as appalled as I was by the crass jokes that gushed forth from the actors' mouths, I was even more shocked at the laughter that was coming from mine.) I do not mean to disparage the acting and singing talent of the cast, but the play's libretto was fantastically foul.

I am now at a crossroads regarding theatre. All of my experience with theatre has been substandard at best and outrageously tasteless at worst. Should I seek out better examples of theatre and the stage, or should I give it all up and stick with movies and books? Are my experiences a survey of the whole of modern theatre, or is it only an unfortunate dip into a muddy portion of the pond? Am I a theatre person? Is theatre for me?

To answer my own questions, I don't know. I'd have to go see more plays, do better preliminary research, and spend more money. Until then, I earnestly reach out to you, gentle reader, for a bit of help. Are there any books on theatre you could recommend? Have any of you experience with professional theatre? Is all theatre as bowdlerized as disco Shakespeare was, or as profane and bawdy as The Wedding Singer was? I certainly hope not. Until then, "So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends.”(Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream.)

Fun fact: Into the Woods is set to be made into a movie by Disney, to be released this December. Considering what the full, unabridged play actually was like, I'd be cautious. It's not exactly Into the Woods Jr.

Image courtesy of theguardian.com

End of Christmas Break 2013-2014

Yesterday was the end of this quarter's Christmas break. I returned to my co-op and resumed classes. But earlier, on Monday, I began my class for this quarter at Bellevue College. It is a completely online course, English 201. It it, we will be studying the research paper. So far we've had to do a lot of reading, and I have a feeling it's going to be a bit tougher than my previous college experience has led me to believe.

I'm also glad to be back to work at my taekwondo school. The new mats were put in over Christmas break, and I daresay it looks like a million bucks. It's all so nice and clean, and despite some difficulties with lining up on them at first, we have managed to adapt.

In these early days of the new year, things are pretty good so far. I'm caught up with my school work (not that I was ever behind), I have a cushy job at the shop with the possibility of a sort of promotion, and my physical fitness is improving by the day. Here's to 2014.

Driver's Ed

Today was the first day of Driver's Education, commonly known as Driver's Ed. This momentous occasion in my life had me and my sister being ferried with a friend a few blocks away to the local driving school. There, we had to fill out a form and complete a written test after reading some literature. Then we were lectured by the instructor on how licensing worked, and how to get our learners permit.

Driver's Ed, I think, is a wholly new experience for me. We were placed in a poorly supplied classroom with a handful of kids who we didn't know, being taught by a man with a foreign accent. This was not at all my idea of Driver's Ed, but I suppose I have to go through with it sooner or later. With luck, I will pass with flying colors, and when I finally acquire my license, I shall be able to go wherever I choose... with permission from mum and dad, of course.

Due to still having quiz verses to memorize, I decided to not go to taekwondo tonight, opting to stay home and memorize verses. Here's hoping I'll be able to quote now.

An Explanation

A reenactment of my workday yesterday. Not a pretty sight, huh?

I haven't posted anything on this blog since my big birthday post on Sunday. For the entire week I have gone dark on my readers. I will now amend this. Why have I not been posting anything? To put it simply, I was really, really busy and really, really tired.

As you all know, I am currently attending college at Bellevue College as well as regular High School at my co-op. I have five classes at the co-op, one class at BC, plus, I'm on the Bible Quiz Team. This all makes for a very, very crowded schedule on my part. Can you believe it? Seven subjects! I just about wore myself out yesterday, trying to get everything done, not to mention sucking it all up and going to Master's Club at my Taekwondo school. We're learning Kenjutsu this month. In short, I'm one tired guy. I had an essay to write, questions to answer, chapters to read, tests to do, verses to memorize, vocabulary to study, brainstorming to do, and this blog to write a post for! Gaaaaahhh!

And now... I've got some time to myself. In addition to writing reviews and general updates about my everyday life, I am now contemplating writing on news. On what type of news, you ask? All kinds. International news, comic book news, movie news, local news, science news, the whole shebang. Of course, that is but a mere possibility at the moment. As soon as the current pole has expired, I will put one up asking whether or not I should cover news. Speaking of the pole, I haven't really said much on my blog's new look. In addition to the pole (and seriously guys, please answer it, I'm begging you!), we now have a list of my favorite links, a news feed, a section on popular articles, a device that allows you to follow this blog by email, an archive bar, and a blog post archive. The color scheme is also different, and the background is changed. It is, quite plainly, completely different.

I was going to write a review for Batman: The Black Mirror this week, which I started reading in April and finished a month or so ago. But I just haven't been able to get to it, what with the review backlog and schedule slips and all. I usually try to write a minimum of three posts per week, but with my current schedule, that goal has been all but impossible to meet. I've been stretching myself too thin, like too little butter over too big of a piece of toast. I was thus unable to meet my minimum goal of three posts per week, and have resorted to writing bookends of the week, like I am now. Therefore, from now on, when I am unable to write a minimum of three posts a week, I will writes two posts a week- one on Sunday and one on Saturday. I will also no longer be listing large swaths of specific upcoming reviews or topics, unless it is through a pole. I find that such publicly stated goals are more of a hindrance than a help to me.

But now, I finally have some time to work on stuff for the blog. Good stuff is coming, I'll say that much. And when it does come, I sincerely hope that you all will love it. Please pray for me, that I won't succumb to exhaustion and overwork. Most of all, I hope and pray that I may impact lives through my writing, both academic and creative, and reach as many people as possible, both reached and unreached, of every nation. Amen.

"A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory."
 -Proverbs 24:5-6, English Standard Version, from biblegateway.com

First Day of College

Today was my first day attending a class at Bellevue College. I had to get up very early in the morning in order to commute to that illustrious institution. Kudos to my dear old dad for driving me up there. I arrived about with a little under half-an-hour to spare. My first and only class this year, English 101, was all about orientation. I'm sure the next class will have a bigger assignment for me. I sat in the front row in a class filled with about 25 other people, mostly young men and women with one (comparatively) older gentlemen. The teacher guided us through the syllabus and explained how the online portion of the class would work. She seems pretty solid so far. I hope to get to know some of my classmates, but I am also looking forward to meeting up with some people I already know (you know who you are). Several of my friends go to BC, and I heartily request that we meet up sometime on campus, if possible, even if it's only to chat for a few minutes or so. In the meantime, despite my initial nervousness, I am psyched to continue my introductory collegiate experience at this marvelous place.

Bible Verse Sunday #42, Autumnal Equinox 2013, and New Primary Ignition Review

Today's verse is Jeremiah 17:9:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

The ESV Study Bible has this to say on the verse:

"heart. A metaphor for the human will and emotions (cf. vv.5-7). deceitful. Tortuous, uneven, and crooked like a bad road. desperately sick. Medically incurable (15:18; 30:12, 15; Job 34:6; Isa. 17:11; Mic. 1:9). who can understand it? A rhetorical questions expecting a negative answer. However, this strongly negative assessment of the human heart is not intended as a description of the heart of a a believer under the new covenant, where God promises to write his law on people's hearts (Jer. 3133; 32:40; cf. Ezek. 35:26; Rom. 5:5; 6:17; Heb. 10:22; 1 John 3:21)."

In church today, the pastor in the main service spoke about the difference between godly wisdom and earthly wisdom, and how to experience spiritual growth through Christ alone. We continued in our study in Colosians. In the High School service, the youth pastor taught from 1 Samuel, telling of the fall of the house of Eli, and how we should not make the mistake of the Israelites, who treated the Ark of the Covenant in a superstitious manner. 

Today was also the Autumnal Equinox. As of 1:45 P.M. or so, Summer is officially over, and we are now in the season of Autumn, more commonly known as Fall. In sync with this last day of summer, the first day of classes at Bellevue College is tomorrow, and I eagerly await my coming class. Many of my friends will be attending classes at the college (you know who you are), and I hope to see some of them tomorrow.

The final bit of news I have for today is a new review I recently published over at Primary Ignition. This time, I've reviewed Aquaman, Volume 2: The Others, and let me tell you, it was pretty sweet. It's the best thing I've yet to see come out of the New 52.

Image courtesy of crystalinks.com

Review: Star Wars: Knight Errant

One thousand years before Luke Skywalker, and a generation before Darth Bane, Star Wars: Knight Errant, written by John Jackson Miller, takes place in the turbulent years of the Old Republic. Jedi Knight Kerra Holt is trapped in Sith controlled space, having just helped several thousand oppressed people escape to the Republic. Now stuck on the capital planet of the Lord Daiman’s empire, Kerra plots and schemes to take down the tyrant and his evil brother, Lord Odion. But other Sith Lords come into play, along with a mercenary crew headed by Brigadier Jarrow Rusher at first working for Daiman, but enlisted by Kerra to save a group of students caught in the crossfire. Kerra will need all of her wits and all of her power to save every life she can and win the day.

This is quite possibly the best Star Wars novel I’ve ever read. What makes it work is that it’s got a very strong cast of characters. Every character is well rounded and individualized, from Kerra Holt herself to the Bothan spy Narsk to bumbling mercenary recruit Beadle Lubboon. The most interesting character in the novel is undoubtedly Rusher, a military history buff and experienced commander. Rusher is a classic anti-hero in the same vein as Han Solo. What differentiates him from Solo, however, is his dedication to his men and his admirable sense of duty, though he doesn’t mind the money. Naturally, he and Kerra don’t get along well at first, but it’s a testament to Miller’s handling of the character development that they’re fire forged friends by the end of the book. They’re both selfless in their own way, with Rusher being the pragmatist and Kerra being the idealist, thus being perfect foils to each other.

The book also has a lot of interesting settings, ranging from the dark police state of Darkknell, which is Lord Daiman’s capital, to the icy Syned, Arkadia’s headquarters. They’re all finely described, the author expertly transporting the reader’s mind to these imaginary places. In addition, the action is well plotted out, keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time through. We have everything from speeder bike chases to pitched battles to the classic lightsaber duel. Then there’s the tone. This book can be serious when it needs to, but is overall a rather enjoyable and lighthearted read, a nice departure from more grim and serious Star Wars books like the Thrawn trilogy or even the barely readable Fate of the Jedi. In addition, I also liked how the writer focused on details in the lore, such as why the heroes can’t simply escape back to the Republic, or the difficulties of a bunch of different alien species living crammed together in Rusher’s ship, Diligence.

One downside to the book is that there are a lot of villains to keep track of. You’ve got seven named Sith Lords with varying roles, plus a bunch of backstory connecting them all. The sole chink in this book’s armor is that it doesn’t focus on one particular villain for the entire story. In the first half or so of the book, Daiman and Odion are the villains, and then it switches briefly to Calician, Quillian, and Dromika, before Arkadia takes center stage for the last third or so of the book, and in the background is someone manipulating everyone’s puppet strings. All of the Sith Lords seem to have their own unique philosophy when it comes to being a Sith Lord. Daiman imagines himself to be the creator of the universe, while Odion intends to destroy it. Arkadia relies on chaos to produce a semblance of order. But this approach, while unqiue, gets a bit tired after seeing it happen five or six times. Still, all of the Sith Lords are great villains, especially Arkadia, who is more of an anti-villain than anything.

On the whole, this book is worth reading, and is in fact superior to the comics on which it is based (the book serves as  an interquel between the story arcs “Aflame” and “Deluge” in the Star Wars: Knight Errant comic book). The plot and the cast are both excellently written, with superb action and an engaging writing style. It’s a fun, adventurous read which should be on the reading list of any Star Wars fan, or any fantasy or science fiction enthusiast for that matter. Mind you, it’s by no means a perfect book, but I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if it doesn’t come pretty close.

RATING: 8.5/10

Note: I originally wrote this review as an assignment for my Creative Writing for Publication class. For those who care, I got 95% on it.

Image courtesy starwars.wikia.com

(Belated) First Day of School 2013

Yesterday marked our return to school for this year, being the first day of the new school year. It was on a cloudy, rainy day that we returned to the Legacy Homeschool Center, where I went to my classes. Most of them were mainly orientation and introduction.

First up was High School Chemistry, where we cut and pasted some syllabus sheets into our research notebooks, learned the importance of keeping properly marked up notes, watched a video on lab safety, and conducted an experiment involving a yardstick, tape, string, and two balloons. Our curriculum is Dr. Jay L. Wile's Exploring Creation with Chemistry, 2nd Edition. I have a feeling that we, or I, may have done the experiment incorrectly, as when I went back and read the experiment directions in the textbook, I saw that it was very different from what we did in class. I got a different result than from everybody else to, but the teacher said that it was okay if I wrote that down.

The second class was Creative Writing for Publication. This, I believe, is the most fun class I've had in a while. We'll be doing one of my favorite activities for homework- writing! We'll also be doing reading, and developing analytical skills. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. In that class today, we discussed movies or books we had read over the summer as a pre-school year assignment. I used review notes from this very blog for the assignment, reading from my notes on The Old Man and the Sea film adaptation from the fifties. I also brought my notes on The Third Man and Sherlock Holmes. It was pretty fun, and I have high hopes for this class.

My third class was High School Spanish. I knew the teacher from a previous Spanish class I had taken, but my hold on the language was rusty, to say the least. Fortunately, what with improved study habits and all, I feel prepared to take another crack at this subject. I hope to become a skilled conversationalist in this language.

Coming in the number four position, right after lunch, was U.S. History. Unfortunately, the class was cancelled as the teacher had a funeral to attend. An unexpected free hour, and I didn't even have a book to read. I was able to get some reading done in my science though. I have high hopes for this class as well, as my 20th Century History class from about three years ago was taught by none other than Kirby Wilbur, and he was slated to be the teacher of this class. Unfortunately, he was unable to teach it due to getting a new job over in Washington, D.C. So somebody else is going to teach it, though I hesitate to divulge that person's identity. At any rate, I'm sure that this class will be enjoyable.

My final class was Personal Finance. For that class, we watched part of a video series that was part of the curriculum written by this financial expert guy. We also had an object lesson involving candy, which represented where you were in the American financial demographic. I got the Pay Day candy bar, which represented the well established, financially well off millionaires and billionaires. Lucky me, huh?

All in all, I feel like this will be a very good school year, just as 2013 has been a very good year so far. I have good classes, I have a good grip on all of them so far, and I actually enjoy most of them. My teachers are also all great. I believe that I will one day look back and say, in the immortal words of Frank Sinatra, "It was a very good year."

Labor Day 2013

Today is Labor Day, which you may very well know is the U.S. Department of Labor's favorite holiday. Also, never wear white after this holiday. Bad jokes aside, Labor Day is a federal holiday which commemorates workers, and variations of it are celebrated by some 80 countries around the world, often coinciding with May Day. In the United States of America, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September, and marks the symbolic end of summer (the actual last day of summer is in fact September 22nd). It also marks the beginning of the college football and National Football League season.

Labor Day dates back to the year 1887, in which Oregon made it a state holiday. Thirty states adopted Labor Day as a holiday before it was made a federal holiday in 1894. It was made a federal holiday following civil unrest involving labor disputes on May 1st, called the Pullman Strike. President Grove Cleveland wanted to have a holiday dedicated to workers, but did not want it to be associated with communist or anarchist groups who also commemorated May 1st. Thus, the Central Labor Union of New York was allowed to choose the present date for Labor Day.

I have always found it ironic that Labor Day is often celebrated by people not laboring. Of course, this is not exclusive, as there were plenty of retail workers working when we went to the store to buy school supplies today. I believe other people celebrate the holiday by having a barbeque or some other sort of get-together. If there were more pomp surrounding this holiday, I think I would be more enthusiastic for it. On the other hand, the people over in New York unfurled the world's largest American flag for the occasion, suspending it over the George Washington Bridge. But back in the day, there used to be huge parades commemorating the occasion, probably having decreased due to falling union membership over the last thirty or so years. But still, it would be interesting to see a modern Labor Day parade. Who would be in it? Probably union officials and politicians, but maybe a legion of desk jockeys and factory workers as well. That would be a sight to see.

I didn't do much celebrating for Labor Day, spending most of it working. I helped my dad put up some cabinets at the shop today, and shopped for school supplies with him and my sister. Yes, school is returning soon, and I am actually looking forward to my classes this year. I will be taking five classes at the co-op and one class at Bellevue College, plus Bible Quiz Team. I will go into those classes in detail at a later date. My mom attended a potluck at our local swim club for Labor Day, which I came to in time to get some bean dip and barbeque chips; all the other food was mournfully gone. There was also no taekwondo class tonight, no doubt for the purpose of celebrating the holiday. I also didn't memorize any quiz verses for the holiday.

Review: The Invisible Heart

Admit it. At one time or another, you've had to argue with someone about politics or economics. It doesn't matter whether it's often or not, it's just something that happens. I've fallen down the pitfall of arguing with a few of my relatives about various political or economic ideas (I won't name any names), but I believe that I've finally found a book which can help you argue about economic ideas. This book, written by one Russell Roberts back in 2002, stars a young Washington, D.C. economics professor named Sam Gordon as he argues various economic issues with English teacher Laura Silver. Meanwhile, a story written in the present tense is taking place across town where Erica Baldwin, the crusading head of a government watchdog agency as she try to bring down positively ruthless CEO Charles Krauss.

This book is subtitled An Economic Romance. And yes, we get to see the absolutely implausible romance between Sam and Laura unfold. I'd say that they're star crossed lovers, except that they are neither star crossed nor lovers. But what am I saying? This book isn't meant to showcase complex character development and motivations, nor is it meant to tell a touching romantic story. It's supposed to teach you about economic issues in a compelling way, which is why I was reading the thing in the first place, in my Economics class.

I'll admit, this book has a compelling story. Didactic, but compelling. It has some genuinely good economic info from a decisively conservative viewpoint, which I find to be a good thing. My favorite part was the chapter where Sam is playing a game with this students where they have to make up a perfect law. We actually had this as a review question in my Economics class; what would be your perfect law? I said that all elected officials would have term limits. Feel free to poke holes in that in the comments section, hint hint.

Of course, this book's secondary plot drive, the romance, is completely ridiculous. I don't believe for a minute that these two people could fall in love somehow, no matter how contrived the situation was. To be fair though, Sam shares my opinion, and they still haven't gotten together by the end of the book, which brings me to my next point; what the heck happens next? We're kind of left hanging, in a manner slightly reminiscent of the ending of the ghastly Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy. The heroes have come through their trials, and they're walking off into the sunset- but what about Sam? What happens to him? Will he get into a real relationship with Laura (We're not supposed to ask about the Erica vs. Krauss thing, as illustrated by a admittedly clever plot twist in that area)? And most of all, what was the point of this story if almost nothing changed in the characters? To put it simply, the ending raises more questions than it answers, and that annoys me to no end. 

In the end, I must concede that in a book not totally devoted to presenting a good plot, in what is essentially a textbook with a fictitious flavor, not to mention a plot twist which raises the question of why the Erica vs. Krauss story was there in the first place, is good at what it tries to do. That would be to teach about economics from a conservative point of view. It got lots of rave reviews from some prominent conservatives, including Amity Schlaes, some of whose books are on my list. Thusly, I will rate the book a little higher than usual for a substandard plot with a needless B-plot meant only to overly illustrate a small point, not to mention the less than believable romance. A good book on economics, but not on much else.

RATING: 8.5/10

Image courtesy of amazon.com

(Belated) Last Day of School 2013 and Completion of Dictionary Goal

Yesterday was the last day of school for the 2012-2013 school year. I am glad to say that I made it through all my classes with flying colors, as far as I can tell. On the last day of class, we mostly did nothing, and I didn't have history class at all (the last day of that class was last Thursday).

I would also like to happily announce that today I finished my downsized goal of reading the A-section of Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Perhaps I'll read the B-section next year. I picked up several new words, including apparitor, adamantine, atticism, aver, and a few others. I love finding new words and using them, though I have to be careful not to use too obscure words in my writing, lest I confuse my readers.

Anyhow, I worked all day today, and intend to go to Master's Club at my taekwondo school tonight. We're learning a new bo-staff poomse in that class this month. It's pretty cool. Also, tomorrow is my orientation meeting at Bellevue College! I believe I'll be assigned a class or something for next school year! I eagerly look forward to it.

Also, I still need questions for the new Ask Levi! feature! If I don't get any questions, I'll have to stop it before it even starts! Send in your questions!

Levi Sweeney's Day Off

Today was the first day of the year in which I did not have any schoolwork to do, apart from my Bible Quiz Team stuff. I got up around eight o'clock A.M., where, after showering, I compiled the following list of goals for the day:

1.) Read today's One Year Bible entry.
2.) Read a page of the dictionary.
3.) Type at least 500 words on book.
4.) Type at least 3 pages for graphic novel.
5.) Edit review on Captain America: The First Avenger.
6.) Read minimum of 3 sections of Batman: Night of the Owls
7.) Brainstorm for The Misadventures of Nobody (and X-Ray) and Hero-Guys
8.) Review Quiz material; Ephesians 5 & 1st Thessalonians 5. Quote Ephesians 3 and answer 13 quiz questions.

As of this writing, I have accomplished every one of these objectives fully or partially, and then some. The only two that are not completely done are objectives 6 and 7. Throughout the day, I interspaced these objectives with activities such as watching Halo walkthrough videos (Halo will be the subject of a future post), reading an online resource on gangs, reading the now defunct blog Diary of a Police Officer, listening to the How to Succeed in Evil podcast (a satirical work starring an "Evil Efficiency Consultant", which I will review), weightlifting with a 15 pound weight, and going to the pool and swimming. I swam twenty lengths of the pool in 10 to 15 minutes. I'm glad to have gotten some exercise. I'm also glad to have made further progress on both my book and my graphic novel. On my book, I am happy to report that I am only a couple of chapters away from completion, plus an epilogue or two. As for the graphic novel, I think that I'm about halfway through. I also intend to brainstorm and write down ideas for a new fan-fiction I plan on writing, The Misadventures of Nobody (and X-Ray). It will involve Nobody, an anthropomorphic running joke from my other fan-fictions, my internet persona, X-Ray, general Bionicle stuff, namely Ahkmou, and the Russian Mafiya. In short, it's gonna be pretty awesome. I also began writing down ideas for The Ultras, another graphic novel series I have in mind to create, which will be in the same universe as Hero-Guys (the title of a graphic novel for The Ultras would be Hero-Guys: The Ultras: Superhuman, to give an example). I intend to use the "Seven Basic Plots" as a basis for telling their stories, just as I'm using "the Hero's Journey" as a basis for yet another graphic novel that I'm planning, Heroic.

Anyway, after all of that, I ate dinner and then went to Master's Club at my taekwondo school. Then I came home and wrote this blog post before getting to work on objectives 6 and 7, after which I might watch The Third Man...

Also, it's a bit late, but I wrote and posted a Batman fan-fiction in BZPower.com's Off Topic Culture section, Whatever Happened to the Agent of the Bat? I'd saddened to say that no one has reviewed it so far. So, read it and, if you're a BZPower.com member, review it! I'd love some feedback.

Bellevue College COMPASS Test

Today, I went up to Bellevue College with my mom and took the COMPASS Test. I tested on English and Math, and made English 101. With luck, I'll be taking a class there next school year. Of course, I'll be super busy with five big honking classes at my High School, and with this class, I may not be able to do a sixth year of Bible Quiz Team. However, I am okay with that, and I am willing to make touch decisions in the furtherance of my education.

In other news, I discussed the ethics of vigilantism and what the Bible says about justice with my friend and teacher, Michael (I hesitate to give his last name, though I usually address him as "Mr.  [His last name]", or, in passing jocularity, "General"). This discussion was partly as research for my graphic novel, but also meant to satisfy my own curiosity.

Was the test hard? Kind of, yes, but I got through it. I've been daydreaming a lot lately, so that may have affected my time a little, but fortunately... ah, but why should I spoil the surprise for those of you who have yet to take it?

Image courtesy of walkoninbellwa.com

Review: The Help & The Spring Formal

In the Mississippi town of Jackson, in the 1960s, Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a middle aged black maid who spends her days working in the house of a white housewife, taking care of the housewife's child. She's good at her job, also serving as the film's narrator, having taken care of many babies in her lifetime, since 1924 in fact. With several of her fellow black maids, including the outspoken Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer), she works hard. Of course, it's not always easy being a black maid in a decidedly... I want to say bigoted, town like Jackson.

Enter Ole Miss graduate and journalism student Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone, who also played Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man). After seeing first hand how white housewives such as the unsavory Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) speak disdainfully of "the help," she seeks out Aibileen to ask her first for advice on how to write a cleaning advice column, and then about her experiences as a black maid. Eventually, Minny agrees to chime in too. Of course, Skeeter's authorial ambitions aren't exactly taken kindly to by the residents of Jackson. Her editor, however, loves the idea. Thus, the book within the movie is born.

Not having read the book, I'm not entirely sure how close the movie is to it. Regardless of that, however, this is still a very great film. It's large cast is made up of a crack team of phenomenal actors, who, with their talent, add greatly to the film's relatable characters. This delightful little story clearly presents them, laying out all of their emotions and motivations bare. The film's heroine, the feisty Skeeter is easy to like, reminding me of the main character from my own book. There's also a gripping dynamic between all of the characters, with most of the character interacting with one another in some manner or another. Of special attention, however, is the dynamic between Skeeter and Aibileen. Starting out as mere acquaintances, their relationship turns into a beautiful friendship, as they work together to expose the injustices of the lives of black maids.

My favorite character by far is Minny. She has that combination of audacity and spunk that make her shine, but she also has a heart of gold. She's a symbol of gumption, always doing the right thing, and speaking her mind. It's no wonder that Octavia Spencer won an Oscar, the film's only Oscar, though one of the four for which it was nominated, for her portrayal of the character.

In addition, this film also earns points for not only being a gripping, even inspiring drama, but also having smashing humor. That's not to say that it's a full fledged comedy, far from it, but it can still be pretty darn funny. I especially like the scene where Minny serves Hilly some "chocolate pie." It's a little disgusting, but it still has much humor value.

Speaking of that scene, I'll make it clear that this film's record is marred by a liberal amount of swearing, particularly the S-bomb, which is what the aforementioned "chocolate pie" joke revolves around. So, I'll subtract points for that. I'd also like to commend the film for giving a laudable example of Christianity in the form of Pastor Green (masterfully played by David Oyelowo), but I nevertheless subtract points for Hilly being a terrible example of Christianity. Thusly, because of this swearing, I cannot recommend The Help for families. There's also the matter of housewife Celia (Jessica Chastain) and her miscarriages, during which a bit of blood is shown. Thusly, I'm afraid I cannot recommend The Help for families.

However, I can recommend the film as being an intelligent, heartfelt drama for older audiences, and I would even say that this is one of the best films I have ever seen, up there with Hugo and Citizen Kane. In fact, I like it better than the latter, and though it may be better than the former, I liked Hugo better because it was good for the whole family. By the way, did you notice that all of these movies have a character or characters in their titles?

RATING: 9.5/10

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

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Occurring last night was my co-op's Spring Formal. It was held at a fine little party place overlooking a canal in Ballard, and there was good food and entertainment to be found there. We were entertained by the folks from the Taproot Theatre, who performed with their stellar improvised company. I actually went to see them for one of my birthdays, and I noted the similarities between this particular troupe's act and the act of the troupe that I saw. There was steak, mashed potatoes, fruits, something I couldn't tell whether it was fish of chicken, steamed vegetables, rolls with butter, and cake. It was all very good.

April Fools' Day

Today is April Fools' Day, where people and other entities all over the world come together to play jokes on each other. The origins of the holiday are traced back to the time of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392), where the Nun's Priest tells the tale of a cock being tricked by a fox. This is a result of readers mistaking the date 32 days after April to mean March 32nd, or April 1st. Precursors to April Fools' Day include the Roman feast of Hilaria and the medieval Festival of Fools, held on December 28th. There's also the report of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on the date. Another possible origin of the holiday involves the celebration of the New Year on April 1st, those who celebrate the New Year on January 1st mocking those who celebrate it on April 1st as "April Fools." European countries celebrate the holiday by sticking fish on their friends' backs. Oddly enough, a similar joke playing holiday celebrated by Iranians is also held on April 1st and 2nd.

Regardless of the origin of the holiday, my sister Naomi went all out when playing pranks, such as asking me to trying blow up a balloon with a hole in it. I myself didn't play any jokes on anyone, aside from making a joke of my schoolwork. It took me until around 3:10 P.M. to finish my first subject, Geometry, and I was entirely unable to memorize any new Bible Quiz Verses. Fortunately, I was able to quote, as usual, and I'm ahead anyway.

Over on BZPower.com, their April Fools' Day joke was an announcement that the website had bought the LEGO Group. Funny, huh?

My review of The Help should be up soon. I finished watching the movie tonight.

Spring Equinox and Updates

Today is the first day of Spring, also known as the Spring Equinox. It is also the last day of my break from Legacy. It's not Spring Break per se, which is in April, but it's still a break, which I am glad of. I've been taking advantage of the extra time resulting from less math homework to listen to the whole of my Bible Quiz material CD, on which there is a voice recording of my quiz material. There are a few errors on the disk, but it's mostly up to code. For the first day of spring, I did my schoolwork, which includes writing a paragraph of my research paper for Economics class, studying for the Unit Five test  in my World History class, and studying a quoting my Bible Quiz material. I memorized 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-4 today.

Concerning my writing, I am almost done with chapter 13 of my book, and started chapter 6 of my graphic novel on Sunday. Consequently, I am moving right along on both. While quoting 1st Thessalonians 5:27-28 & 2nd Thessalonians 1-5, I had intense difficulty on the last three verses. Not only are they wrong, but the wording is devilishly (no irony/pun intended) complicated. I hope I can get the hang of it.

Recently, I checked out the Cliff Notes guide to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's already proven helpful to me, giving me tips on how to successfully balance multiple story lines, even when it's Four Lines, All Waiting. I also recently added The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald to my reading list on the suggestion of my good friend Nick. It sounds quite good.

Image courtesy of appcard.appstate.edu

Bible Verse Sunday #16

Today's verses are John 1:4-5:

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

The ESV Study Bible has this to say on the verse:

"John 1:4–5 The references to life, light, and darkness continue to draw on Genesis motifs (cf. Gen. 1:3–5, 14–18, 20–31; 2:7; 3:20; cf. also Isa. 9:2; 42:6–7; 49:6; 60:1–5; Mal. 4:2; Luke 1:78–79). Against this background, Jesus as the “light” brings to this dark world true knowledge, moral purity, and the light that shows the very presence of God (cf. John 8:12; 1 John 1:5)."

At church today, the pastor spoke about how we as believers should have a childlike dependency on God, and have faith like that of a child. In the High School service, the youth pastor talked about how God has in mind for believers to grow into the people he wants them to grow into.

After church today, I went to the library to get some homework help on my math. The volunteer helped me to understand some problems I was having difficulty with, and I got them all done. When I came home, I worked more on the script for my graphic novel. I had chicken and vegetables for dinner while mom and dad went out. Before I went to the library, I also finished reading Teen Titans/Outsiders: The Insiders, and I should have the review for it up to tomorrow.

St. Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day is celebrated annually on February 14th. On this day, people celebrate romantic love. There are several legends about the historical events surrounding the establishment of Valentine's Day, but the most pervasive one is about Valentine of Rome. Valentine was put in prison by the Roman Empire for performing clandestine Christian marriage ceremonies for soldiers, who had been forbidden to marry by the Emperor. He was eventually executed, but not before allegedly healing the sight of his jailer's daughter. He also apparently left a note for the jailer's daughter, which ended with "from your Valentine." The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates two different St. Valentines in July.

Today on St. Valentine's Day, I wore a tie for spirit day at my co-op, where we had to wear a tie today. I wore my favorite tie, a nice skinny black one. After getting home, I was persuaded by my family not to go to taekwondo tonight, but to stay home for the holiday. As much as I would have liked to go, I elected to stay home and do some exercises. My dad got me a big chocolate bar for Valentine's Day, which I thought was nice, and we cleaned the kitchen for my mom. We had a nice dinner.

School

Today was my first day of school after Thanksgiving vacation. I go to Legacy Homeschool Center, a homeschool co-op which is based out of Overlake Christian Church. The way it works is that we take classes once a week on Thursdays and do homework for the rest of the week. This year, my classes at the co-op are Geometry, Economics, and World History. I'm also on the Bible Quiz Team at Church, so that falls under my curriculum for this year. My favorite class by far is my World History class. My least favorite class is Geometry. My cousin-in-law tutors me in math, but it's still a struggle. But without him, I'd be totally lost. Anyhow, today was a typical day at school. I didn't understand much of my geometry, flunked my way through a quiz in Economics, and learned about Medieval Europe in World History. The reason I like history is that it's like reading a story. A true story, at that. I also enjoy learning about the Middle Ages because it gives me inspiration for my book. Yes, I am writing a book. It's being listed under my writing or arts credit this year, I think, and I'm trying to write five-hundred words a day. So far I've got six chapters done. It's going to be awesome when I finally finish it.