Interlude April 29, 2008

Today at approximately half past midnight, I heard a splash directly outside our window as I was reviewing for my WGSS exam. Now this was no ordinary splash. At first, I thought dear god, please don’t let someone pee in the bushes outside of our window. But it wasn’t a urinating sort of splash, just a great big splash. So the next thing that popped into my head brought me back to London, pre-sanitation, when people made use of chamber pots and then tossed the contents out the window onto the street below. Which of course made me wonder what exactly had splashed down onto the ground (and hopefully not the open window in my room) from some unknown room above? What could it have been, given the quantity implied by the grandeur of the sound? And why was someone throwing some liquid out there window after midnight, during quiet hours, while I was studying and my roommate was sleeping?

And then I resumed studying.

PS

I love my friends, but I really can’t afford/don’t want to get sick right now, when summer vacation is less than a week away and I have to start my new internship the week after I get home. So, love my friends though I do, I’m not spending any time this week with the sick ones, no matter how much medication they are ingesting. Not that I have any free time anyway.

Reason #45: Why I’m Happy April 22, 2008

Because Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary! It was close–55 to 45, according to CNN.com–but she won, nonetheless. If my highly imprecise arithmetic is correct, she came in with around 200,000 more votes than Obama. And, if you look at a map of PA divided by county, you can see that she won almost every county in Pennsylvania.

Go Clinton 2008!!

A look back at BLACK COMEDY! April 22, 2008

In March, you may remember that I was crazy busy working on a little one act show called Black Comedy, written by Peter Shaffer (you can find the script here if you’re interested). Now that I’ve finally transfered my pictures from my camera to my computer, I thought I’d share my favorites with you.

A great shot of most of the set:

And the family picture:

Check It Out: The Truth About Silence April 21, 2008

Check out a 15 minute video–a true story about sexual assault–and vote for it to win the Babelgum Online Film Festival! It is directed and produced by a fellow theater chum of mine from Richmond, and he’s done some fabulous stuff!

This documentary is a true story about sexual assault. It is painfully real. This story will inspire current victims to speak about their tragedy and get help. This story is a must-see for any young woman in our society. ‘Don’t be afraid to tell your story.’ Suffering in silence is far too common among victims of sexual assault. One in five girls will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18, a shocking 88 percent of cases go unreported. Jessie’s story is real; it attests to the tragedy that can arise form staying silent. Jessie has sought counseling and support for many years and has discovered the best way to overcome this tragedy. As Jessie remembers her painful past, one thing becomes clear: she regrets the fact that she stayed silent for so many years. Jessie hopes her voice will inspire others to not be afraid to tell their story.This documentary captures the horrifying emotions caused by sexual assault and inspires victims to get help. “The Truth About Silence” film project started as an undergraduate assignment at the University of Richmond, Virginia. The assignment was to create a documentary for social change. As soon as the story began to reveal itself, it became apparent that this story is essential for every young female to see. The tragedy of sexual assault is not something that should be avoided. Jessie, a senior at the University of Richmond feels it is her obligation to tell her story, barring nothing. In “The Truth About Silence” Jessie lays every tragic detail of her childhood out for everyone to see. She has learned that hiding her tragedy was one of the worst things that she could have done. In her experience, her silence led to the rape, and brutal assault of her mother, by her own brother. This real life Oedipal tragedy is an example of what happens when sexual assault is not dealt with correctly. Jessie is determined to tell her story in hopes of inspiring others. She is currently president of Stealing Home, the University of Richmond’s “Sexual Assault Awareness & Peer Education Organization.” She is also an emergency respondent to victims of sexual assault. Jessie’s confidence and honesty is compelling. Previous distinctions include screenings at the Artivist International Film Festival held in Hollywood California, London England, Lisbon Portugal, and also at Georgetown University and the University of Richmond Virginia.

Tralala Tralalala! April 21, 2008

Instead of doing any of my work, I’ve decided to explore the library website for fun online things I can read, and guess what I found? I found an 18th Century Collection, so, right now, I’m reading ‘Twas Right to Marry Him, or The History of Miss Petworth”. I don’t really know what it’s about, aside from the typical Jane Austenesque marriage theme, and I don’t know who wrote it yet, but I am entertained.

“It is not, therefore, Sir Thomas’s age which occasions my opposition to his wishes: no–my principle objections are to his person, and to his manners; the former is disgusting; the latter are not to be endured.” (p. 8 )

Cheers, Author!

Chuckles April 21, 2008

The Wizard of Id, by Parker and Hart (c/o Washingtonpost.com)–April 21, 2008

That don’t impress-ah me much April 21, 2008

Actually, I’m very impressed by the number of people who search for wolf spiders. Maybe I should add more insect or arachnid related blurbs. The problem being that I’m not a big fan of either…

So, about my misadventures.

It’s Saturday night. Roomie and I head over the Pier to watch Sweeney Todd, which was fabulous. Oh, except for the raging open-mic night held about 15 yards away. We could hear every word those people were singing and/or rapping, through closed doors and walls. :sigh: Pardon me for observing that rap and Sondheim don’t really mesh. And, to compound matters, throughout the movie, people kept on coming into the big reception room we were watching the movie on in order to take chairs for the open-mic night event. Which is fine, we weren’t using the chairs or anything. But whenever they would come in, the noise from the open-mic night would EXPLODE. It would be so loud that we couldn’t hear the movie, plus the light from the open door weakened the projection. And of course, during the most anticipated and dramatic scene in the entire freaking MOVIE, they come in to put the chairs back. They could have stacked them outside the door and brought them in ten minutes later, when the movie would have been over. Did they? No. They were just as rude and inconsiderate as they had been throughout the previous two hours. What did they do instead? They come in, start playing with the lights and decide to leave the back light on, which brings visibility down considerably. Then they start pushing chairs around, and we hear the metal clinking of chairs reverberating in this huge room. Then, as they go to leave, right as Sweeney is about to bring the blade down to kill the judge, they flick on the lights in the ENTIRE room. The ten of us watching the movie sat straight up in shock. It was totally sense-numbing and movie-killing.

Oh, I forgot to mention the…how shall I put this?…rudeness (that’s a good, diplomatic word for it) of my fellow movie watchers. There were four or five people spread in a semi circle around my roomie and I, two behind me, a bit to my left, and three to my roomie’s right. And they were there to see J. Depp. Which is fine, if that’s why you’re interested in seeing a fabulous movie musical, go for it. But you should also have the decency to respect those around you. Did they? OF COURSE NOT! They laughed and giggled and talked through the entire thing. Old filthy beggar woman, gone insane on the streets singing for alms? Funny. Young sailor singing of his love-at-first-sight moment to the well guarded ward? Abso-blooming-lutely hysterical. Never mind that this is an incredibly dark musical. Never mind that it contains some of the best music and book of any musical out there. Never mind that most people aren’t willing to listen hard enough to actually catch the hysterically dark humor that is there. No, these stupid, giggly girls had to live up to their reputation and act like total disrespectful bimbos.

But that’s not all, oh no!

Saturday night passed with much Alias-watching, as Player’s Prom was canceled due to inclement weather. And we went to bed and all was well. We were cozy, happy, sleeping soundly. Until around 9 a.m., when three old and gray men decided to play croquet outside of our window. And when I say outside, I mean right outside. Apparently, they play every Sunday morning early, but usually they play on the lawn that is somewhat more removed from my dorm. But, since it had been raining, the lawn was too wet to play on, so they moved to our little court yard.

Do you fully appreciate how loud a mallet whacking a croquet ball is? Plus old men chatter?

So, after trying to go back to sleep and pulling pillows over my head while attempting not to suffocate myself, I flung myself out of bed, pulled sweat pants over my boxers, grabbed my keys, and ran outside to tell them to stop.

I must have looked pretty scary, because old man in rain slicker (yes, they were playing in the rain) held up his hands as though physically trying to defend himself.

I’m told they went off to the alumni center in search of happier ground.

Just keep swimming… April 20, 2008

Gotta love Finding Nemo

I’ve just finished hangPROUD Update #who know what, and they are getting longer and longer. Well, not quite. Last Sunday, it took 2.5 hours, exactly, thanks to horrendously slow internet. Tonight, it was an hour and forty minutes. I like to call them marathon updates, and now that I’m doing them twice weekly almost in entirety, I’m running low on articles and the complaints keep flooding in.

News Bulletin: I’m doing the best I can, with 17 credits and four reading intensive classes, with finals coming up next week excluding two research papers, with two theater organizations, and with crazy friends (whom I almost always love), with a journal launch on Monday at noon-thirty and tapping in at four and…seven, I think. I ought to double check that, really. It’s tough, and I love it (most of the time), but it’s stressful.

/news bulletin.

Sleep well! I hope I do! Silly men playing croquet outside my window at nine a.m. on a Sunday. But that’s another story. Misadventures will come all in good time

Where oh where can my baby be? April 20, 2008

That song has been stuck in my head all day!

Anyway, while on break from homeworking, I cruised around the NYTimes website and found a feel-good article about the campaign. Enjoy!

So it was with obvious gravity that 74 fourth graders at Erdenheim Elementary School assembled this week behind the glass and tan brick walls of their classrooms to debate the campaign’s central issues. The children, most 9 or 10, then signaled their preferences for the Democratic nomination in a gradewide straw poll.

“It’s a battle between man and the environment, and the environment’s losing right now,” Michael Kassabian announced to his fellow voters in Renea Boles’s room, before explaining that he was endorsing Mr. Obama at least partly because of the candidate’s enthusiasm for renewable energy sources.

Henry Centeno said that the candidates’ stances on health care should take precedence, and that his support depended on which candidate would guarantee health insurance for anyone age 25 or younger. Why 25? “If it’s 25,” he said, “Miss Boles would still have free health care.” (His teacher, he knew, is 24.)

With you, my brown-eyed girl April 16, 2008

So, right across the court yard from lovely room there is a reception hall that the university rents out. And right now, there’s a youth group in there with lots of young, singing (loudly) people.

As I try to do my homework, I hear: shalalalalalalalalalalalatidah LATIDAH! JUST LIKE THAT! YEAAAH!

And they cheer and clap and holler. What’s up next? Must be a good one. Someone’s talking…I hear music… clapping resumes. If you want to call me baby. That’s what it is. There’s apparently a very loud loud loud section in which everyone in the youth group must shout out the words.

Chant. Cheer. Clapping. Hollering. Somebody shouting. 1-2-3-something REALLY LOUD! Oh. 1-2-3-GOD? Hm.

yeah. Definitely 1-2-3-GOD. Interesting.

:sigh: Now they’re just talking and cheering. No more sing-a-long. Oooh well.

EDIT at 8:35

There is a countdown and some live guitar playing! What’s going on, I wonder? They’re counting again. And popping balloons? Huh. I’m so out of the youth group vibe.