-Post by Kathleen
I'm sure that I am not the only one, at least of the girls who are reading this, that has looked back at all of those old fairytale stories and think that they are nothing but lies. Most of us girls have probably been waiting for Prince Charming to come and thought that it will never happen, that he is never coming and you will end up forever alone (I really don't like that phrase because nobody ends up being alone unless they themselves choose to be alone). But trust me when I say that there's still time. You're still young (even if you think you're not, at least believe you're not old) and your Prince Charming will come into your lives eventually. Also, ladies, don't leave it all up to the guys; you should be out there trying to find him too because the poor guy might be stuck in a tree somehwere (credits to a Facebook post that I saw this last line on).
-Post by Kathleen
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Is there a word for that envious yet empowered feeling you can get from an EPIC movie or book? You know, the kind of story that makes you want to live in that world. Come on, I wasn't he only one who was totally bummed OUT that I could not hop into my closet and pop out the other end in Narnia, right? And who else was mind blown by Inception? I am so amazed by these utterly unoriginal ideas, by the sheer variety of other peoples imaginative powers. Taking original ideas and making them into a new, unforgettable unoriginal ideas is then super awesome isn't it? A poorly envisioned and executed re-make is always a let down. But a well made re-mix is its own type of unoriginal creation. After all, everything we know is a remix of many things. New style trends are recycled, modified from there older versions but still are inherently the same. Similar story plots are written with different characters and settings. People are constantly re-imaging old movies making them into new ones. A couple of my all time favorite re-mixes of classic movies (classic to me) today are Man of Steel and Snow White and the Huntsman. My favorite princess growing up was Snow White. Repeated viewings on VCR can do that to a susceptible young toddler. I think it had to do with the black hair and singing. I was a sucker for a good song back then, still am today. The new movie sort of opened my eyes to the beauty of a timeless story. The more serious and less girly Snow White was a very interesting story twist. Actually the whole mood of the movie was much darker than the original story was which was a cool contrast. I loved it. Man of Steel relocated the story of Superman to the 21st century. Many elements stayed the same yet the new setting really made the adventure more relate able. I loved how this movie actually gave a more detailed 'history' of Superman's home planet and family. I love the older movies just as much as the newer ones. It's just that the re-mix was capable of giving me that same feeling of longing, which is something I appreciate and hate bitterly because it isn't real. I can only wonder and dream, which is fine by me. ~ Tina
mood music, give it a listen. seriously.Today, October 16th marks the 90th anniversary of The Walt Disney Co., meaning that I have only been alive for less than Disney's existence. Oh, how young I feel. Anyway, I'm sure if Walt Disney were alive to see how his company has been doing, I would like to think he would be fairly proud of how far it's come. From the first feature-length animated film in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the upcoming Disney movie, Frozen, coming out on Thanksgiving, Disney's certainly has developed its distinct animating style and direction. I for one am excited for the upcoming movie, Frozen, whose trailer I will discuss in an upcoming post! For now though, let us reminisce, raise our mickey hats, sing praises to Mr. Walt Disney, and of course mark our calenders for the movie, Saving Mr. Banks starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.
Naturally, a large group of people is extremely chaotic. Just go to any sort of concert or high school dance *cough* *homecoming*, and you can see the insanity that bringing so many people creates. It is when this insanity is organized, though, that the most magical things happen. In my 5th grade, there was a period of time in which the 5th graders and 4th graders came together as one large group with the sole purpose of playing capture the flag on the full soccer field. Even after we split up into teams, how is it that about 40 kids managed to form a relatively organized game without any extreme difficulties? The key was division of roles. Any successful military or business organization can tell you that controlling large groups of people would be near impossible if they didn't break them up into sections, be it smaller squads or teams. And so that's what we did, divided up our team into 3 essential roles, with of course smaller subdivisions as the game developed: the attackers, the defenders, and border control. The OffenseThis was our front line: the fastest, wittiest, and most fearless players. If we were Spartans, these would be our 300. Now their job was to undertake the journey across the border to take the enemy's flag and bring it back. Now, considering we were playing on a full soccer field, this was HARD. However, the most difficult part of this role was having to keep attacking, keep moving in hopes of catching their defense unawares. In this way, the offense could be considered as entrepreneurs starting out a business or a project of some sort. They're the ones that pitch ideas and then try to sell them to potential investors in hopes of obtaining huge success at equally high risk. Another thing they might do is attract people to their project so that it gains more support. The most important part of being the offense is never giving up. The DefenseThese guys would no doubt be the backbone of the entire team or project. Their job was to protect the flag from attackers, so they need to be on constant alert. The few times they do see action, they become the hounds that you never want to encounter, forcing you back with ferocity that seemingly comes from nowhere. In a business, the defense would be the people in charge of planning and scheduling, the seemingly trivial work but is in reality the most important of all. They would make sure everyone is running smoothly and doing what they're supposed to. Other tasks they might have are managing a website of some sort, or other social media websites. Border ControlWhile many would consider this role as just a sub-category of the defenders, there's an important reason why I have placed this as its own separate role (other than the amount of times I've won in Capture the Flag). The border control would be the most versatile of all the groups, being near offense but also playing a defensive role. Their job is to psych out the enemy offense into thinking they're trying to get their flag, but in reality they're actually there in order to make sure the enemy doesn't cross the border easily. This could is easily one of the most fun jobs, as nearly anyone can take this role and simply toy around with other people. In a business, these are your jack-of-all trades. They're there because they have many skills that can be used. They round out the different groups of people on a team and eliminate any glaring weaknesses. One day they could be helping creating spreadsheets, the next day they could be shooting a promotional video. Yet another day they could be just driving people around or making coffee. Their job is to make sure everyone else's job is running smoothly and nobody is overwhelmed. Now of course, by no means does a team consist solely of these three categories. In fact, you may not with to define a team by these terms at all! After all, these are concepts created from the minds of 5th graders playing capture the flag. However, the greatest ideas often come from the most simple of concepts, and you can't get more simple than elementary schoolchildren. It is my hope that this brief explanation of some team concepts, you can develop your own ideas of how a team should function, and what roles people might take.
-Kevin Just thought I would post up a few pictures that pretty much sum up my childhood, and most of these still relate to who I am now.
And yes, I spent most of my time in front of a T.V. screen. (: -Post by Kathleen Ahh, that feeling when your English class reads yet another classic by everyone's favorite English playwright, Shakespeare. This year we are reading Othello, which from our small introduction, I believe to be about love, jealously, and racism. Doesn't everybody love those themes. So there are pretty much three main characters, which are Iago, Othello, and Desdemona (Of course there are other important main characters, I just saw these as the most important). So before the book even starts, Othello, a Christian Moor and Venetian general, has eloped with Desdemona, the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio. Another person named Roderigo is in love with Desdemona and before the book starts he had Iago try to court her with all his money. And Iago, the book's villain, is Othello's second-hand man, but was passed over for a promotion to lieutenant, so understandably he wants revenge. Okay enough background information, and on to what I really want to talk about: how I see the book in terms of the Pixar movie, Toy Story. So we have Woody as a blend of Iago and Roderigo and Buzz as Othello. Of course, these aren't perfect character matchings, but they work in a way. Iago and Roderigo, like Woody, probably mostly started out as okay people. However through certain events, they became compelled to embrace the road of evil. For Woody, it was being replaced by Buzz by Andy. For Iago, it was being passed over for a promotion, and for Roderigo, it was not getting the person he loved. While it remains to be seen the actions of Iago and Roderigo, Woody certainly showed the extent he would take for revenge, attempting to make Buzz seem lost to Andy so that he would be the favorite toy once again. So Buzz is supposed to be Othello in our crazy Toy Story/Shakespeare mix. Othello in the beginning of the play certainly seems like a hero, honest, well-respected, and of course he's already gotten the girl! Buzz is also honest in a sense, but he is also naive, a trait that I believe will show in Othello later. Buzz is also manipulated by Woody, as he had replaced him as Andy's favorite toy. I get a feeling Iago is most certainly going to manipulate Othello as the book progresses, although for revenge and not necessarily jealously.
So, why are we putting Othello in terms of Toy Story? Well the inner child in me naively hopes that by the end Iago and Othello will make up and be best friends like Buzz and Woody, but of course that probably isn't Shakespeare's style. No, the real reason we put Othello in terms of Toy Story is to see how certain themes, in this case revenge, transcend time and are often altered to suit the prevailing audience of the time. In addition, being able to compare and contrast characters with totally different characters helps us to obtain an understanding of the characters. Their similarities and differences allow us to make certain insights on how we think they will develop and what the plot may have in store for us. -Kevin One of the most universally strongly disliked type of person is one whom we all have known at one point in our lives. It's not the tyrant. Not the hypocrite or the landlord. Not the liar (well perhaps to some degree...). It isn't even the criminal, no. No no, friends. It is someone who can hurt us far worse than that. It is...
The backstabber. Hey there guys. So, in English class, we are currently reading Shakespeare's play Othello. We aren't that far in the play yet, but a lot has already happened (especially before the play even begins). And OF COURSE one of the things that has to happen before the play is that Desdemona runs off and secretly marries Othello, a man who she "traditionally" is not supposed to fall in love with. Do you know what that makes me think of? It makes me remember so many Disney movies that I've watched in my childhood, such as Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp, Gnomeo and Juliet, and many more. In all of these movies, the main female character falls in love with a man who is not accepted by either their "people" or by their culture. Either way they are not meant to fall in love according to society. Princess Jasmine, who is meant to marry a wealthy prince, falls in love with Aladdin, a poor boy begging, stealing, and pretty much just living on the streets. Pocahontas, the daughter of the chief, falls in love with one of the European men who invaded their land in order to dig and take the gold from it. Jane falls for an ape-man. Belle and the Beast, who can only be transformed back by finding true love, fall in love as Belle looks towards the inside rather than his appearance. Ariel, a mermaid, and a human end up falling in love. Lady, who lives with a high-class family, falls for, well, a tramp. Finally, Gnomeo and Juliet is an animated version of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, except for in the end they do not die. (It's a children's movie, they can't have the main characters die.) Why would anyone go through so much trouble for something as silly as LOVE? Well, it's simple. Love seems silly to everyone except for those who experience it. When in love, people are willing to do anything, go against anyone, and even face some fears to be with that one person. It has been said that when in love, nothing else in the world matters to you other than that one significant person. -Post by Kathleen
just a little mood music....I love Cold Play. "Oh and I don't have a soul to save, Yes, and I sin every single day, We never change, do we? We never learned to leave." A favorite quote of mine goes something like this. " Be the change you wish to see in the world."- Gandhi Now this is a lot easier said, ( liked on Facebook/Tumblr/Pinterest, re-blogged, re-tweeted,re-spammed... etc.) than done. Not many people have the time to think up new ideas to help change the world. Even fewer people have the willpower and courage to nurse those ideas for innovation until they become full fruit-bearing trees; it's a rigorous process. I, unfortunately, feel as though I am stuck in that latter category. I have ideas, so many ideas, yet I've failed time and time again to act on them. Do not fear! I don't think I'm a terrible person because I haven't say found the cure for cancer or miraculously de-polluted our oceans overnight. (I'm working on it though.) There are many things which can block and discourage any innovator's project's. One thing that always got me ever since grade school was something I'll name, The Cruella De Vil Hypothesis. Its basically that feeling you get halfway to halfway through your project. When its 3-am and you're having a meltdown and shouting at a wall "WHO THE **** CARES?!?!? THE WORLD IS NEVER GOING TO CHANGE ANYWAYS!!." It is something which I let prevent my ideas from moving forward. But let me clarify my point in regards to the name. In the Disney movie 102 Dalmatians, Cruella De Vil ( the notorious puppy snatcher of 101 Dalmatians also one of my favorite villains) was put in an experimental behavioral therapy institution in order to fix her tendency toward puppy-slaughter. She emerges after some time utterly changed, almost saint-like and holy with her new found love for dogs. It was so nice to think that even Cruella de vil could change her ways. But after some time it became evident that the psychological work the scientists had done to her could be undone as soon as the subject was exposed to the chimes of Big Ben, London. It was something that left me thinking, "If I can't even fix my sleeping habits, what made me think that I could fix the world?" Growing up I was often overwhelmed pondering the sheer amount of people just alive on planet earth- that's about 7 billion people. And the more problem riddled countries happen to be the most densely populated countries too, Asia stealing 4,140,336,501 of the world's population as of 2011 and Africa with a stunning 994,527,534. That was way too many humans for one girl to help. And what was the point? How much would I help anyway? The answer is I don't know, because I have not tried my absolute best yet. I will not be content with being Cruella, who only managed to change herself temporarily. A complete and permanent change is necessary in order for my ideas to manifest themselves completely and successfully. Like the heroes from 102 Dalmatians Kevin Sheppard (who started his own dog shelter in the movie) and Chloe Simon (who granted Cruella parole! what?), I want to believe in the world and believe in my own capacity to help change it. ~ Tina http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/102_Dalmatians
images from Google search. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZSobH1wiiM |