Whump!
Sorry, that was me collapsing from this ridiculous week.
I thought that the show being over would give me some rest....I was wrong.
Finally, two exams and two quizzes later, I can stop and take a breath. There are some weeks where I feel like college is a lot harder than it should be, and this was definitely one of them.
But anyway...
The show turned out to be a wonderful success, and I'm very proud that I got to be a part of it. And I may be helping with the next one, so theatre continues to suck me into it's inescapable grasp. I'm cool with it.
Speaking of theatre, I saw an amazing adaptation of Julius Caesar last night. It was set in modern times, but still used the original language. I was very impressed with the production; one of my friends compared it to the awful movie "Romeo+Juliet" that came out several years ago that was absolutely and unequivocally ridiculous and terrible. I disagree.
Unfortunately, I was unable to turn off the designer side of my brain and found myself critiquing the costumes. Drat. I'm wondering if I will ever again be able to simply watch a production without thinking about how I could improve the costumes.
I'm working towards a voice competition in March. I'm doubly excited: first, for the chance to get some critiques, work on song characterization, and perhaps earn money; secondly, I'll get to see my first voice teacher!
This guy is awesome. Hands down, awesome. I learned so much from him in the two semesters that I had him for a teacher, and I really miss him now that he's gone. I'm so happy that I get to see him; and maybe I can impress him with my progression since he heard me sing last.
Let's see, what else....
WINTER JAM IS ON SUNDAY!!!!!
To those who don't know, Winter Jam is a national, annual tour where a bunch of varying Christian artists get together and perform. Admission is $10 at the door; first come, first serve. Tickets go fast though; the last three years or so, about every venue that they've had has sold out. So it's become an annual tradition with my siblings and I to arrive about five or six hours early and stand/sit in line so that we can get close seats. Last year was a little rough; for the first time, it didn't fall on Spring break. So it was February, freezing, and snowing. Yes, snowing. It's supposed to be better this year, temperatures in the high 50's-60's. Thank God. This is a highlight of every year for me. Not only to we get to see a lot of great artists, but I enjoy the time spent with my siblings and whoever else comes with us. Since I've started college, times like this are few and far between. I'm so stinking excited!
So for now, I leave you, friends. In excitement/anticipation of the next Star Trek movie:
"Live Long and Prosper"
Friday, February 24, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friday Musings
TGIF!!!!!
Once again, Friday has come upon us. And not a moment to soon, in my opinion. It's been an interesting week, to say the very least.
I've had a great time working as a "techie" at the community theatre, despite dealing with some technical difficulties along the way. I tell you, depending on the show, sound can be trial by fire. I mean, imagine working on the show for a week, and everything goes fine. Then Sunday hits, and nothing wants to work right. Needless to say, I freaked out a smidgen. But never fear, our wonderful director was there to fix things/calm me down. That's live theatre for you. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I've simply loved watching the cast perform every night. It's filled with people that I know and admire as actors, and I feel like I learn something new every time that I watch them. The director has also been a great source of inspiration to me as I watch his dedication to the craft of theatre. He's definitely inspired me to try my best to get better at what I do.
In other news, I watched the Grammy's on Monday (I was at ballroom dance and then auditions when it was actually on). So many things....
Whitney Houston passed away. I understand how sad it is, and how her family must feel about losing her. But flying the flag at half staff for her funeral? You've got to be kidding me. There are so many soldiers who have died during the course of this war, people who gave their lives to defend our country. Whitney was great, don't get me wrong; but she hadn't accomplished near the things for our country as Martin Luther King Jr., or any of our fighting men and women. I don't feel that she deserves this honor. For almost the entire week following Whitney's death, all that people were talking about was "How did she die?" I'm as interested in celebrity gossip as anybody, but I don't care. I really don't. Why don't we spend our time talking about how we can upgrade our education system, or make our environment better, or something? I'm just saying.
And Niki Manaj's Grammy performance. What. Was. That. Celebrities are continually looking for ways to shock the public. Mission accomplished. Between the confessional, priests, and scantily clad choir members/dancers, Niki managed to satirize an exorcism to a catchy beat. And don't get me started on how she totally destroyed "I Feel Pretty" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". Now I'm not Catholic, but I was very offended by her performance. Not to mention that she named a demon after my brother.
I'm just very annoyed that people seem to be worried about such shallow things when they should be worrying about where they're going to end up for eternity, you know? Sure, you can listen to Niki; but she's not going to get you to heaven. Neither is Whitney, by the way. We're at a point where we need to stop putting so much stock in people and material things and start putting our focus on God.
Forgive me, the preacher started coming out.
Anyways...
There are two more nights of the show, so I'd best try and get some homework done before I head off to the theatre. Thanks for listening to the ramblings! (Reading the ramblings? Whatever.)
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
The Rum Diary
Once again, Friday has come upon us. And not a moment to soon, in my opinion. It's been an interesting week, to say the very least.
I've had a great time working as a "techie" at the community theatre, despite dealing with some technical difficulties along the way. I tell you, depending on the show, sound can be trial by fire. I mean, imagine working on the show for a week, and everything goes fine. Then Sunday hits, and nothing wants to work right. Needless to say, I freaked out a smidgen. But never fear, our wonderful director was there to fix things/calm me down. That's live theatre for you. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I've simply loved watching the cast perform every night. It's filled with people that I know and admire as actors, and I feel like I learn something new every time that I watch them. The director has also been a great source of inspiration to me as I watch his dedication to the craft of theatre. He's definitely inspired me to try my best to get better at what I do.
In other news, I watched the Grammy's on Monday (I was at ballroom dance and then auditions when it was actually on). So many things....
Whitney Houston passed away. I understand how sad it is, and how her family must feel about losing her. But flying the flag at half staff for her funeral? You've got to be kidding me. There are so many soldiers who have died during the course of this war, people who gave their lives to defend our country. Whitney was great, don't get me wrong; but she hadn't accomplished near the things for our country as Martin Luther King Jr., or any of our fighting men and women. I don't feel that she deserves this honor. For almost the entire week following Whitney's death, all that people were talking about was "How did she die?" I'm as interested in celebrity gossip as anybody, but I don't care. I really don't. Why don't we spend our time talking about how we can upgrade our education system, or make our environment better, or something? I'm just saying.
And Niki Manaj's Grammy performance. What. Was. That. Celebrities are continually looking for ways to shock the public. Mission accomplished. Between the confessional, priests, and scantily clad choir members/dancers, Niki managed to satirize an exorcism to a catchy beat. And don't get me started on how she totally destroyed "I Feel Pretty" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". Now I'm not Catholic, but I was very offended by her performance. Not to mention that she named a demon after my brother.
I'm just very annoyed that people seem to be worried about such shallow things when they should be worrying about where they're going to end up for eternity, you know? Sure, you can listen to Niki; but she's not going to get you to heaven. Neither is Whitney, by the way. We're at a point where we need to stop putting so much stock in people and material things and start putting our focus on God.
Forgive me, the preacher started coming out.
Anyways...
There are two more nights of the show, so I'd best try and get some homework done before I head off to the theatre. Thanks for listening to the ramblings! (Reading the ramblings? Whatever.)
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
The Rum Diary
Friday, February 10, 2012
Who Pushed Fast forward?
My goodness gracious, has it been a week already? Time seems to just be flying by. I guess it's true what they say; if you keep busy, time flies.
My affair with the theatre continues. I'm working the sound (first time!) for a show at the community theatre. I'm also auditioning for the next show on Sunday and Monday, so I'm just kicking right along! I've also found out that auditions for the summer show will take place in April, instead of May like I was expecting. Also, I need to find a song that's either gospel, pop, country, or classic rock. Not exactly anything that I have readily available. Btw, if you have any suggestions, please share!
I've also been informed by my voice teacher that the voice department is planning a musical. That makes me happy! I can't wait to see what the final choice is.
The past few days have been SO fun. The lady working the lights for this show was the director for my first show, and I've had a blast hanging out with her upstairs. I was given a crazy assignment to make up multiple choice questions, and we had fun making up goofy answers. I love her.
Mmmm....
I love my theatre peeps.
Anyways, I don't have much else going on. Theatre kinda takes up your life, but I don't care! When you love it, it isn't work.
"Sing it like you feel it.” -Tender Mercies
My affair with the theatre continues. I'm working the sound (first time!) for a show at the community theatre. I'm also auditioning for the next show on Sunday and Monday, so I'm just kicking right along! I've also found out that auditions for the summer show will take place in April, instead of May like I was expecting. Also, I need to find a song that's either gospel, pop, country, or classic rock. Not exactly anything that I have readily available. Btw, if you have any suggestions, please share!
I've also been informed by my voice teacher that the voice department is planning a musical. That makes me happy! I can't wait to see what the final choice is.
The past few days have been SO fun. The lady working the lights for this show was the director for my first show, and I've had a blast hanging out with her upstairs. I was given a crazy assignment to make up multiple choice questions, and we had fun making up goofy answers. I love her.
Mmmm....
I love my theatre peeps.
Anyways, I don't have much else going on. Theatre kinda takes up your life, but I don't care! When you love it, it isn't work.
"Sing it like you feel it.” -Tender Mercies
Friday, February 3, 2012
Rising As A King?
Okay. Blogs are places where you can rant about things that matter to you, and people can read it if they want to, right?
Consider yourself warned.
First, I will show you the catalyst for my rantings.
http://youtu.be/AVkoQHCXSK8
To give the shortened version, a man saying that he was from Israel (Ralph Messer) brings a supposedly priceless scroll. After displaying the scroll, he then presents it to Bishop Eddie Long, he then drapes him in a tallit (Prayer Shawl) and has four men lift him up in a chair. He then proceeds to proclaim him as a king; and a spotlight centers on Bishop Long as the people sing praises.
Well.
Where do I begin?
I sat watching this entire video in dumbfounded silence. When it ended, what I wanted to say is not something that I can share. There are SO MANY things wrong with this. I'm going to limit my comments, otherwise we'd be here for awhile.
How do you as a Christian see this going on and not feel in your spirit that something is wrong with this? No wonder people think that Christians are nuts! They're only exposed to incidents like this, incidents that are on television and Youtube that make us look absolutely off of our rockers.
NO MAN should be exalted above God. Although the church was singing a song to God, it's interesting to notice that they were singing this song while the Bishop was illuminated by a spotlight.
Something similar to this happened in the Bible, you know. In Acts 12:20-23, an account is given of King Herod's death. The people hailed him as a god; he didn't say anything against this, so God struck him down.
While the title given is different, the premise is the same. Both the titles of "god" and "king" are titles that, within the church, should ONLY be given to God. Therefore a man being given the title of King within the church is very wrong. And I've not seen anything stating that Bishop Long has denied his new found "Kingship."
In hearing some of the discussion about this incident, I heard it stated that if the scroll was supposedly "Priceless", then why were they handling it without gloves? Why wasn't it in a vault somewhere being preserved as a piece of Jewish history? If it really was so priceless, why are you wrapping it around someone? And why are you giving it to someone as a gift? Might as well just give him the Dead Sea Scrolls, while you're at it!
Ralph Messer claimed that, on behalf of all of Israel, he was giving the scroll to the Bishop. Please, please explain to me where he gets that authority?
On researching this topic, I found an interesting blog that states that Ralph Messer isn't even Jewish. (Below)
http://studentactivism.net/2012/02/02/ralph-messer-eddie-long/
Need I say more?
I am very pleased as a Christian to hear that so many people disagree with this. It reminds me that there is, in fact, hope for us. If people can realize that this is wrong, it shows that people have been reading their Bibles, praying, and listening to the Holy Spirit within them.
So there it is. Just a small little rant. Look up some of the other things related to this incident; it's quite interesting.
I leave you with a beautiful quote from Robert Browning:
Consider yourself warned.
First, I will show you the catalyst for my rantings.
http://youtu.be/AVkoQHCXSK8
To give the shortened version, a man saying that he was from Israel (Ralph Messer) brings a supposedly priceless scroll. After displaying the scroll, he then presents it to Bishop Eddie Long, he then drapes him in a tallit (Prayer Shawl) and has four men lift him up in a chair. He then proceeds to proclaim him as a king; and a spotlight centers on Bishop Long as the people sing praises.
Well.
Where do I begin?
I sat watching this entire video in dumbfounded silence. When it ended, what I wanted to say is not something that I can share. There are SO MANY things wrong with this. I'm going to limit my comments, otherwise we'd be here for awhile.
How do you as a Christian see this going on and not feel in your spirit that something is wrong with this? No wonder people think that Christians are nuts! They're only exposed to incidents like this, incidents that are on television and Youtube that make us look absolutely off of our rockers.
NO MAN should be exalted above God. Although the church was singing a song to God, it's interesting to notice that they were singing this song while the Bishop was illuminated by a spotlight.
Something similar to this happened in the Bible, you know. In Acts 12:20-23, an account is given of King Herod's death. The people hailed him as a god; he didn't say anything against this, so God struck him down.
While the title given is different, the premise is the same. Both the titles of "god" and "king" are titles that, within the church, should ONLY be given to God. Therefore a man being given the title of King within the church is very wrong. And I've not seen anything stating that Bishop Long has denied his new found "Kingship."
In hearing some of the discussion about this incident, I heard it stated that if the scroll was supposedly "Priceless", then why were they handling it without gloves? Why wasn't it in a vault somewhere being preserved as a piece of Jewish history? If it really was so priceless, why are you wrapping it around someone? And why are you giving it to someone as a gift? Might as well just give him the Dead Sea Scrolls, while you're at it!
Ralph Messer claimed that, on behalf of all of Israel, he was giving the scroll to the Bishop. Please, please explain to me where he gets that authority?
On researching this topic, I found an interesting blog that states that Ralph Messer isn't even Jewish. (Below)
http://studentactivism.net/2012/02/02/ralph-messer-eddie-long/
Need I say more?
I am very pleased as a Christian to hear that so many people disagree with this. It reminds me that there is, in fact, hope for us. If people can realize that this is wrong, it shows that people have been reading their Bibles, praying, and listening to the Holy Spirit within them.
So there it is. Just a small little rant. Look up some of the other things related to this incident; it's quite interesting.
I leave you with a beautiful quote from Robert Browning:
"All service ranks the same with God — With God, whose puppets, best and worst, Are we: there is no last nor first."
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