Friday, May 30, 2008

Five Things

Five Things You Can Do With A Small Spatula With A Rubber Tip that Sane People Wouldn't Think Of:

1. If you are a teething baby, you can stick the rubber end in your mouth.
2. Get another one and use them as a violin and bow (you'll have to provide your own violin-sounds, though).
3. Use it as a sword.
4. Make a hanging mobile by hanging string from both ends.
5. Try to use it as an arrow, and see how far you can shoot it.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

News, finally!

Ok, we heard from Peter, the director of YCTWY (I don't feel like typing it all out right now) and Comedy of Errors. I'm to be Luce, a kitchen maid in The Comedy of Errors. It's a small part - YES! :D I'm so happy about that. This is my first play, and I don't think I'd be able to handle a big part.

Now I need to find The Comedy of Errors and read it.

And I need to get ready for the day. Late, late start today. *sigh*

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Fingernail Biting and Les Miserables

I'm beginning to bite my nails in anticipation. I mentioned a while back that I went to an audition for You Can't Take It With You and The Comedy of Errors? I STILL haven't heard anything more about that, and I'm starting to wonder... Tell me, are you contacted even if you don't get a part? I don't care very much about not getting a part in either play (though like I've said before, I live in a small town and that seems rather unlikely), but this waiting is driving me crazy! EDIT- Just learned that You Can't Take It With You has been cast, but not Comedy of Errors.

*SOME LES MISERABLES SPOILERS* Last night we watched a 1952 version of Les Miserables. Hm... how can I say what I thought of it...nicely? I managed to get through the first part of the movie without too much, "What about such-and-such!?"s or "That's not in the book!"s but honestly. *sigh* The first thing they did that was upsetting was reuniting Cosette and Fantine. Sure, it's ha little appier that way, and I didn't mind it TOO terribly. The upsetting thing that happened around the same time was what didn't happen - we didn't see Valjean rescuing Cosette from the Thenardiers. As a matter of fact, they cut the Thenardier family out completely, except for Gavroche, who was in for a few minutes (and didn't die.) So no Eponine. It's a mystery to me how she can be so popular with fans of the musical (which turned her into a patient, deserving martyr suffering from the cruelty of Marius and Cosette) and so unpopular with the movie-makers. Very odd, indeed.

But all of this was bearable until it came to Marius. Valjean was just coming home to his little shack at the convent (he was oddly well-dressed) when there was some shooting in the street, and a strange (and rather goofy-looking) young man ran into his yard to escape, claiming that he was in trouble for calling the king a fat pig. "Oh, please," I said. "Please, please don't be Marius." "It is," my sister said with confident pessimism. But it wasn't! It was "Mar-ee-YOOS!" Ugh! That's how they said his name... it was unbearable. And he and Cosette? "Fifties fluff," as my mom put it. Javert wasn't too bad, though his suicide scene was. Valjean ran after him and saw his drowned body floating in the water, five seconds after he had watched him jump in. Can a person really drown in five seconds? He was right THERE and he didn't even try to save him. Bah.

And we MEANT to get the 1935 version from Netflix, but they sent us this one instead! It's really too bad. I don't think I'm particularly hard to please as a Les Mis fan, but when people go around leaving out characters and making it all happier than it ought to be, what am I supposed to do?

One good thing came of the movie: My dad and sister and I had an interesting discussion about epic stories. I'll post more about that some other time. Soon, I hope.

Monday, May 26, 2008

The Past Few Days

On Thursday we went to Disneyland, "the happiest place in the world," as the t-shirts say. It rained and rained, my brother was scared of Pirates of the Caribbean and didn't want to go on any rides after that, and we had some arguments about where we ought to go next, etc. But all together, we had a really good time. I took some pictures in between the rain, which I will be posting in another post. :)

Then on Friday my siblings and I (excluding Baby Zoe) all left to spend the weekend at my grandparents' house. That was fun. :) My grandma has so many books! I had a lot of fun looking at them, though a few of them were so old that I was afraid to take them off the shelf! I read the play, The Miracle Worker, while I was there. I also read West Side Story, which was short and could be made shorter by skipping over the long, mushy songs. I would have read The King And I if I had the time, but I didn't. Maybe the library has it.

When we got home two things had happened: The Beggar of Volubilis had arrived - finally! I was supposed to read it first, but I got bored after about 50 pages, so I let my sister read it. She finished it in one night, of course. I finished it this morning.

The second thing? My parents had given our horse to the same guy we gave our other horse to. It feels weird, not arguing about whose turn it is to feed the horse(s).

Today my mom was cooking chicken in the kitchen, at about 1:30. She was talking about making eggrolls, and I was wondering why she was making dinner so early. I glanced at the oven clock. It said 7:30! "What?" I thought, "7:30? I mean, I know I slept late, but..." I think I scared my mom by gasping, "WHAT? 7:30? It CAN'T be..." But she told me to look at the clock above the kitchen door. The oven clock was wrong. Funny... I wonder how long that's been going on? I use that clock quite a lot...

It has taken me most of the day to write this post. I keep getting kicked off the computer, and I have to save it. But now my dad has gone fishing and has taken my little sister with him. Zoe is quietly....*looks around* being quiet. So is Noah. And my other sister is playing a video game, while my mom is... *looks around again* cleaning something. Quiet holiday. :)

The Midnight Dancers comes out in less than a week!

Monday, May 19, 2008

The Untitled, Unfascinating Blogpost

Only a little boy like my brother would think of turning a big sister into a car. He used her arm as a stickshift, the gas pedal, and the brakes all in one. Quite impressive, if you ask me.

Today has been rather mundane and ordinary. I've been reading Five Little Pigs (or Murder In Retrospect ) by Agatha Christie. It's a medium-sized yellow paperback, so it just feels so different, as most of the Agatha Christies I've read have been small paperbacks or black hardcovers (my favorites! They're just perfect for respectable murder mysteries. Paperback whodunnit novels aren't quite so respectable-seeming.)

My sister and I have been watching The Music Man (1962). I liked the movie and the music a lot more than I thought I would. Our favorite?

Oh, we got trouble!
Right here in River City!
With a capital T and that rhymes with P
And that stands for POOL!


Nothing else to say: sorry for the disappointing post...

Friday, May 16, 2008

The Doctor Is In

[CHARLIE BROWN]
Oh, Lucy. I'm so depressed. I don't know what to do.

[LUCY]
I think what you need most of all, Charlie Brown, is to come
right out and admit all of the things that are wrong with you.

[CHARLIE BROWN]
All right, I'll try
I'm not very handsome or clever, or lucid,
I've always been stupid at spelling and numbers.
I've never been much playing football or baseball
Or stickball, or checkers, or marbles, or ping-pong

I'm usually awful at parties and dances,
I stand like a stick or I cough, or I laugh,
Or I don't bring a present, or I spill the ice cream
Or I get so depressed that I stand and I scream...

Oh, how could there possibly be
One small person as thoroughly, totally, utterly
Blah as me?


[LUCY]
Well, that's ok for a starter.

[CHARLIE BROWN]
A starter?

[LUCY]
Certainly. You don't think that mentioning these few superficial
failings is going to do you any good, do you? Why, Charlie Brown,
You really have to delve.

You're stupid, self-centered and moody

[CHARLIE BROWN]
I'm moody

[LUCY]
You're terribly dull to be with

[CHARLIE BROWN]
Yes I am.
And nobody likes me,
Not Frieda, or Shermy, or Linus, or Schroeder-


[LUCY]
Or Lucy.

[CHARLIE BROWN]
Or Lucy.

[LUCY]
Or Snoopy.

[CHARLIE BROWN]
Or Sn-
Wait a minute. Snoopy likes me.

[LUCY]
He only pretends to like you because you feed him.
That doesn't count.

[CHARLIE BROWN]
Or Snoopy.
Oh why- was I born just to be
One small person as thoroughly, totally, utterly-


[LUCY]
Wait!
You're not very much of a person...

[CHARLIE BROWN]
That's certain

[LUCY]
And yet there's a reason for hope.

[CHARLIE BROWN]
There's hope?

[LUCY]
For although you are no good at music,
Like Schroeder, or happy like Snoopy,
Or lovely like me,
You have the distinction to be
No one else but the singular, remarkable, unique
Charlie Brown!


[CHARLIE BROWN]
I'm me!

[LUCY]
Yes- it's amazingly true,
For whatever it's worth, Charlie Brown,
You're you.


[CHARLIE BROWN]
Gosh, Lucy you know something. I'm beginning to feel better already.
You're a true friend, Lucy, a true friend.

[LUCY]
That'll be five cents, please.

From You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Ha. Ha. Ha... :D

Prince Caspian (The Movie)

SPOILER ALERT!

My sisters and I saw Prince Caspian with Hannah and Lainey, as I mentioned we would be doing in my previous post. My sister, Desirae was hopping and screaming with excitement, but I was feeling sick. Really stomach-sick, I mean. It wasn't nervousness, or excitement.

So... we got into the theatre without tripping over the rugs, or something dreadful like that. We had excellent seats in the very top row - why did we think it was going to be crowded? There was less than twenty people in the theatre.

When the movie actually started, I didn't even realize it. It was like I was numb or something. First, we see Queen Prunaprismia giving birth to Miraz's son, and then Cornelius waking Caspian up. It all moved very fast. During the credits, when Caspian was running away from the palace, with the Telmarine soldiers in pursuit, it started to hit me that this was IT! I had been waiting so long that I just gotten used to waiting... During that whole chase scene, I had my hands clasped underneath my chin, as if I was praying (I almost was). I finally put them down on the armrests, so I wouldn't look too strange.

Prince Caspian was just a better movie than The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It was more emotional, more majestic, and funnier. And there was Reepicheep. The changes They made didn't bother me as much as they should have. ;) I don't even feel guilty about saying that!

My sister and Lainey were giggling every time Susan and Caspian looked at each other. When the movie was over, Hannah, Lainey, and my sisters were all laughing about The Kiss, and they thought I was, too. I was shaking, and I had my hands over my mouth. I tried not to... but when the Regina Spektor song started playing, and the Pevensie's went through the door, I couldn't bear it - I started crying. We're not talking about a little tearing up; that happened when Caspian hugged Susan. After they all went through the door, I started CRYING. I said to Hannah, "Oh, my gosh! That was so..." "Are you laughing?" she said, laughing herself. "No! Crying! I'm...crying!" I said, trying to act as if I wasn't going to go into total hysterics. It didn't work. I put my head on my lap and just burst into tears. Courtney came up to me, "See! What'd I tell you! It was AWFUL!" (Meaning The Kiss)

"No!" I said, "It was wonderful!"
She looked rather disturbed, "What, the kissing?"
"No," I moved my hands wildly, "Everything. All of it... in general."
"Are you laughing or crying?" she asked, disbelievingly.
"Both!" I nearly shrieked.

It's hard to move on, in a way, after seeing it. I feel like I felt after I finished reading Waking Rose, and Anne of the Island. Sort of ... lost. But happy.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Assorted News and Updates

I tried out for a play. Two plays, actually - The Comedy Of Errors and You Can't Take It With You. I will probably get a part in one of them, because there's so few people. I hope it's not mushy, though... Both roles I read at the audition were romantic leads. *gulp* However, I'm very happy that I went. When I was 10 I went to an audition and chickened out. *sigh* I had my song (Castle on A Cloud) all ready and everything. But when I saw the other little girls singing their songs with such feeling, I just couldn't do it. When I went to This Audition, I came in and almost left when the lady who greeted me handed me The Piece of Paper and said, "Could you fill this out, please?" I dropped the pen. Then, I filled it out, and started watching the people auditioning. It was Shakespeare. And funny. "I can't do this," I said to my mom. "You don't have to do this," she said. I didn't mean that I wanted to leave, and she knew it. So... Tuesday night was my first audition, and pretty much my first time acting. Exciting. :D

Some funny, semi-interesting conversations at my house:

Three-year-old Noah: "Blaaaaaauuugh! Mommy, Courtney won't let me brush her hair! Her hair is awful. I don't like it like that!"

Some boys were calling my little sister today and hanging up. My dad came home and put a stop to it. "Here," he said, "Let me answer it next time." We did. The phone rang, and he said, "San Francisco Police Department." Click. It was kind of funny... we don't even live in San Francisco!

Me, to my sister: "You're a lot more mature than some thirteen-year-olds your age."
Sister starts laughing hysterically.

We're seeing Prince Caspian TOMORROW! :D After a whole year of thinking we wouldn't be able to see it on May 16th... we ARE! And hopefully with Hannah and Lainey. (I would put a link to your blog, Lainey, but Blogger is being mean.)

The Midnight Dancers' first chapter is up on the website! (:D So is the prologue, but you have to hunt for it. (Hint, to Alyosha: It's on the chapter one page. On a picture. Find it, you. :P )

Friday, May 9, 2008

A Sticky Situation

This afternoon I had a little adventure in the kitchen. I was home alone with my sister, and my sister was at the computer. If I had older, wiser, or nosier family members at home with me, it would not have happened. But I get brilliant ideas when I'm alone that turn out to be not so brilliant.

I was going to have some chocolate chip ice cream. I scooped some into a bowl, got out the hot fudge, and suddenly had one of those "brilliant" ideas. I decided that I would melt some caramel in the microwave and put it on my ice cream. I unwrapped four caramels and into the microwave they went. For only 20-30 seconds. I took them out. They did not look at all delicious... Part of the caramels had indeed melted and turned black and bubbly. I touched the black-and-bubbly part. OUCH. The phrase "blonde moment" comes to mind. You would think that I would be smart enough to do the math. My finger didn't hurt for very long, fortunately.

I melted the caramel some more and took them out of the microwave in a hurry when I started to hear a hissing noise in there. I stirred the caramel around, thinking, "This might work..." But in stirring the caramel around, I stirred in the black parts too. I ditched the whole idea. I put my bowl of ice cream into the freezer - I didn't need melted ice cream on top of everything else! I spooned some of the caramel into the trashcan, wrinkling my nose at the little black bits mixed into it. I then turned to the sink to puzzle over how best to clean the quickly-hardening caramel out of the little bowl. I REALLY didn't want anyone to know about my kitchen problems and stupidity. The spoon I had stirred the caramel with was pretty easy. But that bowl. *shudders* I soaked it in hot water, and scraped and scraped and soaked and... augh. I was so glad that I had cut my fingernails a few nights before, because I would certainly have broken several in the scraping process.

FINALLY I got all the caramel out, and either into the trash can or down the drain or vanished somehow or other. I ate my ice-cream without further decoration than hot fudge and enjoyed it very much. And I told my mother later that day. She thought it was pretty funny, but I don't think she would have thought it so funny if I had left it for her to clean.

So. That was my minor kitchen catastrophe for the day. At least, it seemed like a catastrophe at the time. It also seemed very interesting, but now it just seems stupid and dull. The moral of the story is: Never leave me alone in the kitchen for too long.