I've discovered that I really love musicals. This isn't a new discovery; it's something I've known since high school. The musical I keep going back to this year though is "Notre Dame de Paris." I went as far as to spend over $20 to buy the music from Itunes...the thing is, it's all in French, and I've never actually read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," the book it is based off of. However, the music is incredible and the dancing remarkable. My current favorite song is called "Liberes." It's got a certain tension in it, an underlying desperation that's tired of being desperate and is becoming angry and rebellious. It's good stuff.
I was in the writing mood earlier and wanted to write something...but I really don't have much to write and I haven't written creatively for enjoyment since I was in my creative writing class my freshman year of college, which was in winter of 2005, 4 years ago. And I haven't really drawn since my drawing class my sophomore year. I'm woefully out of practice and it's really a terrible thing.
I actually joined a second D&D group yesterday. This was a good thing, because I'm beginning to just loathe my other D&D group, and I"m not sure why. Familiarity breeds contempt, perhaps. I like most of the people in the group...i mean, my best friend is in the group, and i adore her. But it's kinda...becoming a chore I don't want to do as opposed to something that I do because it helps me forget all the other "chores" i have to do in life. But in this new group, all of them both write and draw in their spare time and it's...kinda intimidating? But that has negative connotations. It's really good for me because it makes me want to start up doing those things again. They're....people I want to know because they do things I want to do, as opposed to people I know that I only know by a fluke of nature, you know? I explain things badly, don't I....
I'm about a month behind in my Korean class. It will really really really suck if I fail.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, December 6, 2007
FW: I'm not gonna talk about boys...gonna talk about anime!
I love my friends. Especially my best friend. She's someone I can call whenever and I know that she'll come over as soon as is physically possible, and that's pretty comforting. And she's as weird as I am.
So she sort of introduced me to this new anime, Death Note. I say sort of because I actually read the manga for awhile, before I came up to college. So I was familiar with it but I had never watched it...well, she got me to watch it and we watched the last episode today...it was a lot of fun. It is, in my opinion, a very profound anime. Its basic premise is rather philosophical. Light, the main character, finds a "Death Note." Basically, it's a notebook that if you write someone's name in it and think of their face, they'll die. Light decides (once he tests the book's power and realizes it works) that he's going to create a new world...one where there isn't any evil...and he's going to start by killing criminals. It's a noble cause, to rid the world of evil. Killing people and not having to reap the consequences in this life. It's also more interesting than most animes because it doesnt' rely on huge battles with swords or guns--almost all the fighting is done with the mind. Light trying rid the world of evil and L (another character) trying to track down this same mass murderer. It's really really fascinating.
But yeah, Jessica came by today and we watched the last episode. It was very powerful. Of course, me being the kind of person who smiles when nervous or when faced by angry people and the kind of person who laughs at all her friends when they cry...I totally made fun of it. But crazy people are so easy to make fun of...it's really irresistible. :)
...yeah, yeah. i'm a geek, I know.
So she sort of introduced me to this new anime, Death Note. I say sort of because I actually read the manga for awhile, before I came up to college. So I was familiar with it but I had never watched it...well, she got me to watch it and we watched the last episode today...it was a lot of fun. It is, in my opinion, a very profound anime. Its basic premise is rather philosophical. Light, the main character, finds a "Death Note." Basically, it's a notebook that if you write someone's name in it and think of their face, they'll die. Light decides (once he tests the book's power and realizes it works) that he's going to create a new world...one where there isn't any evil...and he's going to start by killing criminals. It's a noble cause, to rid the world of evil. Killing people and not having to reap the consequences in this life. It's also more interesting than most animes because it doesnt' rely on huge battles with swords or guns--almost all the fighting is done with the mind. Light trying rid the world of evil and L (another character) trying to track down this same mass murderer. It's really really fascinating.
But yeah, Jessica came by today and we watched the last episode. It was very powerful. Of course, me being the kind of person who smiles when nervous or when faced by angry people and the kind of person who laughs at all her friends when they cry...I totally made fun of it. But crazy people are so easy to make fun of...it's really irresistible. :)
...yeah, yeah. i'm a geek, I know.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
RA: A WoW parody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I-0badO8rc
This is a spoof of a series of commercials that Apple did...I think about the time Ipods first came out. It's a World of Warcraft-inspired video trying to convince people to switch from Alliance(the side that most people are on; humans, dwarves, gnomes, night elves) to Horde (orcs, undead, tauren, trolls).
WATCO switching from alliance to horde on your desirability as a character people need in groups?
Enthymeme: Switching from alliance to horde will increase your desirability as a character people need in groups because switching from a paladin to a shaman makes your all-around stats go up.
Logos: More than half of the "commercial" is about the problems with being a paladin. (Just as an FYI, you can only be a paladin on alliance and you can only be a shaman on the horde.) It points out the problems of being a paladin, such as everyone expecting you to be able to heal. It also points out the better attributes of shaman, such as totems.
Pathos: The entire thing is made up of jokes that are generally much more funny if you actually play World of Warcraft. None of the arguments are new; it's only the style in which they are presented that makes it interesting. Also, spoofing directly from a Apple commercial adds to their appeal, because it makes them memorable and gives them something to link to whenever they see an Apple commercial or hear this music they might think of these spoofs. I do, at least.
This is a spoof of a series of commercials that Apple did...I think about the time Ipods first came out. It's a World of Warcraft-inspired video trying to convince people to switch from Alliance(the side that most people are on; humans, dwarves, gnomes, night elves) to Horde (orcs, undead, tauren, trolls).
WATCO switching from alliance to horde on your desirability as a character people need in groups?
Enthymeme: Switching from alliance to horde will increase your desirability as a character people need in groups because switching from a paladin to a shaman makes your all-around stats go up.
Logos: More than half of the "commercial" is about the problems with being a paladin. (Just as an FYI, you can only be a paladin on alliance and you can only be a shaman on the horde.) It points out the problems of being a paladin, such as everyone expecting you to be able to heal. It also points out the better attributes of shaman, such as totems.
Pathos: The entire thing is made up of jokes that are generally much more funny if you actually play World of Warcraft. None of the arguments are new; it's only the style in which they are presented that makes it interesting. Also, spoofing directly from a Apple commercial adds to their appeal, because it makes them memorable and gives them something to link to whenever they see an Apple commercial or hear this music they might think of these spoofs. I do, at least.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
FW: English
I was talking to a friend in Leading Edge today, and we decided that English is the way it is because of its tragic past. It never really knew it's original parents and went through a series of foster homes with the Romans, Vikings, and Celts.
Then came puberty and the popular kids were all like "We are sooo much cooler because we're a romance language!" and considered English kind of like the kid who once wore their shirt inside-out on yearbook photo day. So English decided it wanted to be cooler and while emulating the cool kids who hung out at the mall...it assimilated all the French vocabulary.
It sort of worked. English graduated and tried to find real work in printing. But then there were people who were trying to change it to fix their requirements. English didn't have a very good resume, so it tried to make up things and pad the resume. Like...not splitting gerunds. It looked to the highly successful Latin, who had it made and was considered godly among the languages, even though Latin by now was very old and came with that "old man" smell that comes with old age.
Now, even though it's stretched itself pretty far, it's discovered that it likes hanging out with other languages and lifting their spare vocabulary when they aren't looking. It likes the adreneline rush.
Then came puberty and the popular kids were all like "We are sooo much cooler because we're a romance language!" and considered English kind of like the kid who once wore their shirt inside-out on yearbook photo day. So English decided it wanted to be cooler and while emulating the cool kids who hung out at the mall...it assimilated all the French vocabulary.
It sort of worked. English graduated and tried to find real work in printing. But then there were people who were trying to change it to fix their requirements. English didn't have a very good resume, so it tried to make up things and pad the resume. Like...not splitting gerunds. It looked to the highly successful Latin, who had it made and was considered godly among the languages, even though Latin by now was very old and came with that "old man" smell that comes with old age.
Now, even though it's stretched itself pretty far, it's discovered that it likes hanging out with other languages and lifting their spare vocabulary when they aren't looking. It likes the adreneline rush.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
FW: Dancesport
I love Dancesport. It happened last weekend. This is the second year I've gone to it...4th semester. Despite this, I've never actually seen the professionals dance. It just gets too crowded in the Wilk, and the Marriot Center is a very long way to walk for a show. So I get my kicks from watching the amateur championship. That's more fun anyways because sometimes I recognize people as being my teacher or TA in another class. And the costumes! I LOVE what people wear to dance in. The girls always have these sparkling dresses that you could never wear anywhere but a dance floor, and the guys wear those lovely latin pants that would look strange anywhere but a dance floor. There's such great energy...dance is probably one of the few sports that I'll watch. It makes me so envious...
I also danced at dancesport. That wasn't as fun. I didn't like my partner at all, and he didn't really know the steps. And he looks awful when he dances. I don't look that good either, but....yeah. So I watched this movie about dancing with Richard Gere in it? And he goes to a dance class, and that first day with the guys? The way they dance? Yeah, that's about my partner's ability. And we practiced too! A lot! Outside of class!
...however, I feel guilty trying to hoist all the blame on him because it really isn't all his fault. I'm not the best dancer either and I don't tend to act like I'm having fun if I'm not having fun. As I said in an earlier blog post, I'm only a mediocre dancer.
Oh well, we got cut the first round, which was embarrassing, though not surprising. But, putting that aside, it was a lot of fun watching those more talented than I.
I also danced at dancesport. That wasn't as fun. I didn't like my partner at all, and he didn't really know the steps. And he looks awful when he dances. I don't look that good either, but....yeah. So I watched this movie about dancing with Richard Gere in it? And he goes to a dance class, and that first day with the guys? The way they dance? Yeah, that's about my partner's ability. And we practiced too! A lot! Outside of class!
...however, I feel guilty trying to hoist all the blame on him because it really isn't all his fault. I'm not the best dancer either and I don't tend to act like I'm having fun if I'm not having fun. As I said in an earlier blog post, I'm only a mediocre dancer.
Oh well, we got cut the first round, which was embarrassing, though not surprising. But, putting that aside, it was a lot of fun watching those more talented than I.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
RA: Disneyland
I wrote this whole thing up, and when I hit "publish post," Internet Explorer died. I hate technology sometimes.
Ok, so my roommate ordered this DVD from Disneyland because she wants to go there. It was a vacation planning DVD and basically nothing but a huge advertisment. However, it was a rather effective one, so I thought I'd do my RA about this DVD.
WATCO taking a Disney vacation on your ability to re-experience child-like wonder?
Enthymeme: Taking a Disney vacation will remind you what it's like to experience child-like wonder because taking a Disney vacation is the epitome of a fairy tale dream come true.
Logos: They used a lot of comparisons for logos. Things like while buying all these seperately might cost you $10,000, using his package it's only $5000! (Of course, $5000 is still a huge chunk of change and spending more than my college tuition for only 7 days at a theme park seems a bit wrong to me...) They also spent a lot of time talking about "the more you play, the less you pay." This, in theory, means that the longer you stay at Disneyland, the less it costs per day to be there. It makes it so that spending several thousand dollars seems to be the more reasonable option.
Pathos: I never realized how much music could be a pathos. In the introduction, it shows people (ages 6-90) giving testimonials about how wonderful Disneyland is, sporadically weaved through little clips of the favorite animated characters from Disney movies. All the while, it has this background music of very wistful yet inspirational music. My roommate almost cried by the end of it.
Ok, so my roommate ordered this DVD from Disneyland because she wants to go there. It was a vacation planning DVD and basically nothing but a huge advertisment. However, it was a rather effective one, so I thought I'd do my RA about this DVD.
WATCO taking a Disney vacation on your ability to re-experience child-like wonder?
Enthymeme: Taking a Disney vacation will remind you what it's like to experience child-like wonder because taking a Disney vacation is the epitome of a fairy tale dream come true.
Logos: They used a lot of comparisons for logos. Things like while buying all these seperately might cost you $10,000, using his package it's only $5000! (Of course, $5000 is still a huge chunk of change and spending more than my college tuition for only 7 days at a theme park seems a bit wrong to me...) They also spent a lot of time talking about "the more you play, the less you pay." This, in theory, means that the longer you stay at Disneyland, the less it costs per day to be there. It makes it so that spending several thousand dollars seems to be the more reasonable option.
Pathos: I never realized how much music could be a pathos. In the introduction, it shows people (ages 6-90) giving testimonials about how wonderful Disneyland is, sporadically weaved through little clips of the favorite animated characters from Disney movies. All the while, it has this background music of very wistful yet inspirational music. My roommate almost cried by the end of it.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
TA: Sanity
TA: WATCO taking on more responsibility than you have time for on your level of sanity?
Taking on more responsibility than you have time for will totally decrease your level of sanity because making yourself do more than is physically possible is exhausting, mentally-draining, and it makes you hate people.
…but after I wrote that I realized that there’s no argument there. No one would argue that being an overachiever was particularly good for your sanity.
WATCO not doing homework on your sociability with other people?
Not doing one’s homework will likely cause many sad things to happen when it comes to sociability with other people because avoiding responsibility that will have repercussions weighs on the mind and effects how you interact with others.
Implicit assumption: Anything that weighs on the mind and effects how you interact with others will cause many sad things to happen when it comes to sociability with other people.
…while worded perhaps not as well as it could be, it’s arguable now because I know a lot of people that say that it doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life you should be able to be social and stuff. Like me. But…it’s not really true. So I think it works as an argument…
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