I chose and my world was shaken...

STEEL MAGNOLIAS
Dec. 1st (TONIGHT!!) and 7th at 8

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
Dec. 2nd (TOMORROW!!!) and 8th at 8

DOUBLE FEATURE
Dec. 9th at 7

FUCKING GO TO LUNCH.

What a loss. He'll be missed.

DEMOCRATS TAKE CONTROL OF THE SENATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful.

I don't see "Aye Aye", but I do see "Captain's Log".

ETA - Now I see it. Crazy.

Hello?...small child in the snow...


:)

To quote Molly, "AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Per. 1 - Chem Honors - Seems like it won't be TOO too bad. My class doesn't talk, so I'll be more inclined to participate. Carey's very cool.
Per. 2 - Driver's Ed - I like Floruss, but it's the only course where our life kind of depends on being good at it...yikes.
Per. 3 - English Honors - YAY! Rothbard's great so far, and the books we're going to read are all amazing. :)
Per. 4 - Computer Apps - Shut up. I needed a tech.
Per. 5 - Lunch - Meryl and Joanna and Jill, Oh my!
Per. 6 - Spanish 3 Honors - Fernandez seems cool. My class is predominantely female. I have to start back up reading Veronika Decide Morir.
Per. 7 - APUSH - DOWNING! Whee! He's amazing. It should be a really great learning experience.
Per. 8 - Chorus/Orchestra - Lots of freshman here. Thank god for Brittany and Lianne.
Per. 9 - Algebra 2 Honors - Pogach is great -- I REALLY need to brush up my Algebra (I took the course two years ago, and hardly remember anything).

Let's do Mystery of Edwin Drood for the musical this year! PLEASE!

From "Funny/The Duck Joke":

Alice: The only completely unfunny people in the world are professional accordian players.

KC: And me.

Alice: You're funny!

KC: When have I been funny?

(pause)

Alice: Well, I'm sure you could be funny.

KC: How?

Alice: You could tell a joke! Yes, of course you can, anyone can tell a joke! I'm gonna teach you. I'm gonna tell you a joke, and then you're gonna tell it back to me. OK?

KC: OK.

Alice: Ok, here's the joke. This guy walks into a psychiatrist's office with a duck on his head. The psychiatrist says, "Can I help you?" The duck says, "Yeah, get this guy off my ass."

(pause)

KC: The duck talks?

Alice: Hm?...Yeah, yeah, the duck talks.

(pause)

KC: A talking duck?

Alice: Uh-huh. A talking duck. AL-right now, you tell it back to me.

KC: A man-

Alice: Hold it...."This guy" is better than a man. Ok? And you're doing fine. Go ahead.

KC: This guy walks into a doctor's office-

Alice: Psychiatrist's-

KC: Right, sorry, I got it: This guy walks into a psychiatrist's office, wearing a duck-

Alice: WHOA! WEARING a duck?? No, he's got a duck on his head.

KC: I told you!

Alice: I threw you off. Go ahead.

KC: This guy walks into a psychiatrist's office with a duck on his head; the guy says to the psychiatrist, "Can you help me? I have a talking duck on my head!"

(LONG pause)

Alice: Oh...oh, yeah!...

KC: Yeah?

Alice: ...Yeah...(nervous laughter, then crying; hands KC slip of paper)

KC: What's this for?

Alice: ACCORDIAN LESSONS.

I'm back from camp! It was a crazy six weeks, and I do miss it already, but I'm glad to be home. I met a lot of really awesome people, and re-united with old friends. First session, I took swing dance, which was great -- our performance at the dance concert was really energetic and fun. I took fencing, which I was decent at, and a directing course with a brilliant director who taught me SO much. More on that later.

I did two shows, both of them dramas (musicals are great at French Woods, but I'm certainly not complaining that I didn't get into one -- I had two really wonderful roles this summer). The first session I was there I played Andrei in Three Sisters. It was one of the biggest challenges I and my fellow cast-mates had ever faced; one of the most difficult plays in the theatrical canon done in two and a half weeks with a cast of 15 to 17 year olds. In the end, I think we really pulled it off -- it was a phenomenal production, largely due to our director (the aforementioned directing course teacher). He's the vice-president of Equity in Australia, and changed the way I think about acting.

Also, Molly and I got the chance to direct one-act plays this past session. Molly's was a dark comedy called Lawyers, Guns, and Money, and mine was a 10 minute play-on-words entitled Marred Bliss. It's a hysterical play in which the things characters say sound like what you would expect, but have completely different meanings. Example: at one point, a character angrily says to another, "I can't bereave this! There's no reason to be sub-species, Jane!"

The show I did 2nd session was Bus Stop, a charming little play by William Inge. I played Dr. Lyman, a lecherous old drunk who used to be a college professor. I had a lot of fun with it, especially the scene in which he plays Romeo in a re-production of the balcony scene opposite a 16 year-old Juliet. Molly played a cabaret singer on the run from a cowboy who wants to marry her.

And now I'm home, reading A Tale of Two Cities and doing AP US work. Yippee.

A lot. :)

Ok, who saw History of Violence? Anyone? I just watched it today, and thought it was phenomenal. Really disturbing, with a few revelatory performances (Maria Bello comes to mind). I'd love to discuss it in more detail, but if nobody saw it I think I'll save my...breath (fingers?).

Oh, I saw Cars too. Is there anything Pixar can't do?

The Light in the Piazza just aired on PBS, and luckily I taped it -- it's a wonderful recording of a fabulous show, and will likely never be shown again or released on DVD. The cast is very different from when I saw it last year, but Victoria Clark is still delivering a performance for the history books as Margaret Johnson, a mother who learns to let go of her daughter in Florence, Italy. Clara, her daughter, was played by a fresh-out-of-college Katie Clarke, who, while not possessing the vocal power of Kelli O'Hara, captured the "child-like" quality of the character that is essential. Aaron Lazar was even better than Matt Morrison in the role of Fabrizio, and Clarke and Lazar's chemistry was palpable. Light in the Piazza closes soon, and it's great to know that I'll always have it. :)

I'm SO excited for APUS next year. The meeting was today, and it was wonderful -- a lot of people looked intimidated, but I think I'm ready for a bigger challenge. Cuneo and Downing were both excellent (Downing especially :)), and on top of all that, I got Julie Sher's textbook! YAY!

It was a nice telecast tonight -- the performances were very energetic, and it was kept at a good pace. For a year that didn't have many gems (Threepenny and Well being notable exceptions), I enjoyed myself a lot.

Of course, part of that (well, most of that) is due to the fact that I watched it with Justine! Justine + Tonys = :).

And who saw the Dreamgirls trailer? I am SO excited. I'm a huge fan of the original show, and am praying that Bill Condon doesn't screw with a classic. After seeing this and other little clips, it seems like he won't, and that it will be a beautiful movie. My #1 hope is that he fixes the ending, which is much too rushed. I have faith in Condon.

"We're your Dreamgirls, boys, we'll make you happy...yeah, yeah, yea-ah..."

It's all because of fucking opposable thumbs.

ALL ALL ALL ALL ALL the instruments - of JO-o-O-o-OY! Of Joy!

I wish I had sung that. :)

It's 8:35, and instead of studying, I'm staring at my arm, because it's moving by itself. Seriously. It's really freaking me out.

Not that I'd be doing anything productive anyway -- I should be studying for Spanish, and Geometry, and Biology, and Global, and English, but I'm not. I even LIKE studying, and I'm not studying. Blargh.

I love Nina Simone. Yes, she may have shot at her share of young French boys, but she was such an emotional performer. I've been listening to her "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (written by Jacques Brel) for half an hour. The french is gorgeous (and it's not hard to understand what the lyrics are supposed to mean), but the english translation is heartbreaking.

Do not leave me.
We must forget
all that can be forgotten,
that already has passed away.
Forget the times
of misunderstandings,
and the times lost
trying to know how
Forget those hours
which sometimes killed
in attacks of "whys"
the heart of happiness.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.

I'll cover you
with pearls of rain
from countries
where it never rains.
I will dig the earth
until my death
to cover your body
with gold and lights.
I will make a land,
where love will be king,
where love will be law,
and you my queen.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.

I'll make up
crazy words
that you'll understand.
I'll tell you
about the lovers
who have twice seen
their hearts catch fire.
I'll tell you
the story of this king
who died from not
being able to meet you.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.

We often see
the fire erupt
from the ancient volcano
we once thought too old
It is shown that
lands that were burned
gave more wheat
than the best April.
And when the evening comes
with the sky blazing
-- the red and the black --
which doesn't blend.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.

I won't cry anymore
I won't talk anymore
I will hide there.
To watch you
dance and smile
and to hear you
sing and then laugh.
Let me become
the shadow of your shadow,
the shadow of your hand,
the shadow of your dog.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.
Do not leave me.

AP English-ers, 4th period Glucksman: I couldn't stop smiling as I heard your reactions. Thank you -- today was great. :)

How's everybody's Memorial Day weekend been so far? Cool, cool, that's, that's cool, bro. I saved up a sh** load of dinero and took a road trip to Vegas (WOOO VEGAS YEAH!), where I got hooked on those lemon mojitos and playing the slots. I scored, like 1,000 bucks, but then I blew it all 'cuz the mofo next to me told me to play just one more round (To be fair, Fernando was a polite, if nihilistic man). So, I ended up back here at, like, 1 in the ay em, and mowed the lawn 'til sunrise. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend.

In between all that, I managed to see The Threepenny Opera, and I'm befuddled. Befuddled at the overwhelmingly negative response to this production. I can understand why the majority of the normal theatergoing crowd wouldn't like it, but I really only know of a handful of people who loved it like I did. It was fantastic, and definitely better than both Sweeney and Pajama Game. Maybe combined.

I'm also getting ready for The Laramie Project (WOOO LARAMIE YEAH!): Tuesday and Wednesday (May 30th and 31st) at 7:00, Heritage Middle School. Come see it!

Also, if anyone can identify this song, I would be eternally grateful, as I've been singing it all week:

Buuuhm, BA bum. Ba ba ba ba ba ba Ba BA Ba Ba ba ba ba -
BUUUHM, BAA bum. Ba ba ba ba ba ba Ba BA Ba Ba ba ba ba -
BBBUUUHHM, BA bum. Ba ba ba ba ba ba Ba BA ba ba ba ba -
BBBUUUHHM, BA bum. Ba ba ba ba ba ba Ba BA ba ba ba ba ba -

Thanks.

:(. Luckily I'm a lot better than before - my fever's gone down, and my voice is slightly better, though I don't know how I'll sing tomorrow. Yikes.

Tony Noms! They came out today, and while I was pretty apathetic about this season, I was very excited about Lisa Kron's Best Actress nod, as well as a few others. Next season is shaping up to be much better: Chorus Line, possibly A Little Night Music, Company, 110 in the Shade, etc.

And lastly, Spanish Contest results! I don't know them, because I wasn't at school today, but I heard we did pretty well, so conratulations all. :)