Thursday, May 10, 2007

Scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream

For a scene I would like to act one containing the actor such as Bottom and Quince. In the first scene they appear in, I would have to act like our troop is talented and skilled. It would be challenging to try to act like an amateur actor that's trying their best to act professionally well. I enjoy the craziness that ensues when they're trying to practice their lines. It wouldn't matter to me who I played in the scene.
I would also like the second time they appear because that's when Puck makes his mischief, turning the head of Bottom to that of a donkey. This scene would display the actor's surprise and distraught, while Bottom remains undeterred, which would be challenging, but fun to act. It once again doesn't matter who I play in the scene, just one of the troop or Puck.
For a scene not containing the actors, I would like to do any part in Act 3 Scene 2. This is the part when both Lysander and Demetrius are spellbound by the flower to love Helena, with the Oberon and Puck behind the scenes. I like this scene because of the interactions between the characters, as well as Puck and King Oberon meddling in their affairs. In this scene I would like to play either Lysander, Demetrius, or Oberon.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

FlatWorld Reflection

Our Class participated in a writing project called 1001 Flatworld stories. This is our class reflection on it.

1. What did you like best about the project and why?
I liked that our comments of our story was from many different people with varying viewpoints on writing, it wasn't all the same people with similar thoughts. I also liked that we got to read pieces from over the world and see the way they think.

2. What did you like least and why?
I least liked when people gave either criticism that could be more precise or none at all. It makes it hard for your story to work well if your commenter aren't doing their jobs.
3. What was something surprising that you learned about the other students (from other schools)?
I learned a lot about the areas they live in and what kind of culture they have. In the school in Korea, I read numerous stories containing their cultural food, as well as stories about both the North and South Korea. From the school in Colorado I learned about the favorite pastimes they enjoy on the mainland.

4. How do you think the project affected your writing?
The project altered my writing my introducing me to many different types of styles. There were countless ways a story was introduced, and even more differences on how it was carried out, and I saw some excellent techniques that I could employ myself.

5. Describe the most challenging aspect of the project.
The hardest part in this project was collaborating with people around the world. Since all the variations in timezones, work was often due on different days for everyone, which made it confusing at first. After a few weeks though it became clear what was due on each day.

6. Offer some advice to future participants.
Be sure to read and give comments, and especially give them on time. The commenting is one of the things that makes the Flatworld project unique. You can get feedback from people that have a lot to offer you writing wise. If you don't use their comments your giving up a valuable resource to make your story shine.

7. Other comments.
This project was really fun, and it was great to work with all the people from Colorado and Korea.

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Continuation of Bellow Analysis

Bellow from Act 1 acts almost exactly like the Bellow of Act 3. He'd probably look almost the same, considering not much time has gone past since they were last in the play. They have their whole cast, but are still missing most everything of the play. One detail we get from Bellow is that he's a well-respected character in the troop. When talking to Peter Quince, he referred to Bellow as "bully," which in their time (and to my surprise still does) meant worthy or admirable. He seems like a master of play directing compared to everyone else, offering script and scene recommendations to his troop. He still sticks out to me as comic eccentric character as he does very random things when he's not acting. In this Act, like Act 1 he sang another of his self-composed songs. His appearance does change about halfway through the act as Robin changed his face. He thought his entire troop was making fun of him, but he now has the head of the donkey. He never finds this out, but when and if he does I think he'll be distraught. He'll probably even sing a song when he finds out for dramatic effect.
Another part of his character revealed in the Act is how gracious, or at least courteous Bellow is. When meeting the Fairy Queens attendants, he asks for introductions and praises them. This surprised me as he takes on a totally different character when not around his fellow actors. I think Bellow's the kind of person who is rowdy with his friends and polite to people he doesn't know.

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream

Bottom from the Midsummer Night's Dream is first introduced in the casting of a play. He is a weaver and plays the part for Pyramus, the gallant lover who eventually dies. He himself isn't so gallant, from what I ascertain from Bottom's words. If he was to be acted, the actor would have to act like a comic fellow with odd and erratic behavior while not on stage. Here is one example of his behavior,


Bottom What is Pyramus––a lover or a tyrant?
Quince A lover that kills himself most gallant for love.
Bottom That will ask some tears in the true performing of it. If I do, let the audience look to their eyes. I will move storms; I will condole in some measure. To the rest,–– Yet my chief humor is for a tyrant. I could play Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cat in, to make all split;

The raging rocks And shivering shocks Shall break the locks Of prison gates. And Phibbus' car Shall shine from far And make and mar The foolish Fates.
This was lofty. Now name the rest of the players.

I'd imagine he'd look look like a slightly above normal height, with some meat on him with a deep voice. I'd also imagine him to be sweet faced, because of Quince's comment saying that "You can play no part but Pyramus, for Pyramus is a sweet-faced man, a proper man as one shall see in a summer's day" When he is acted, I expect him to be rowdy and also roused by conversation since he likes to word in edgewise on everything that goes on. He might also wobble around a little like he's half drunk because he acts like someone who's had a few drinks. However when he's on stage, he has a complete change of character, acting noble and proper just as how the play asks him to be. He seems like the person to get laughed at because of his behavior, but holding on to them by the shoulders and laughing along so he could share his marriness. The people their probably admire his skill of an actor, but some might not appreciate how he acts off the stage.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Sustainability Survives

Sustainability was a big topic at our school last week Friday. We had a fair displaying all the different ways you can become more sustainable. It also had mind blowing numbers. Did you know if you wanted to power a T.V. with a bicycle it would take five people. Who would have guessed a hair dryer takes twelve times as much energy as that T.V.?
There are different methods to becoming sustainable, from reducing energy use to using alternative methods. One interesting alternate energy form was fuel cells. I'm sure you heard of this before, but just that day I really learned how it works. It takes hydrogen gases, H2 and separates them into two separate hydrogen atoms, creating energy in the process. The hydrogen then mix with oxygen, so the byproduct of fuel cells is water, not CO2 emissions.
It can be very easy to ease up on your CO2 consumption. Biking or commuting with someone 3 days for work would save one ton of CO2 from going into the atmosphere. What I find scary is that an average tree only absorbs 3-15 pounds of CO2 a year. Keep in mind how to keep the world clean, if you are trying to get somewhere close, do you really need to take the car? If you keep sustainability in mind, not only will you be helping the environment, but you'll probably save some money as well. Sure we have a lot of trees and resources on this planet, but with deforestation and increased CO2 pollution, how can the Earth keep up?

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Flickering Lights

Yesterday we were sharing ghost stories in class. After hearing the stories, it helped me remember my own strange happenings one Saturday.
My friends and I, along with our families were camping at Bellows, an which is next to the beach. We were staying for two days, and by night we had accumulated a lot of trash that our parents told us to dispose. The trash dumpster was quite a distance away, thankfully our path was lit. There was no one else out, save for a passing car. As the building entered our sight, a soft wind started blowing. As we got closer, the wind got stronger, and when we were twenty yards away a can made a clink as it fell down and rolled on the ground. The building in question was lit by two lights, one on either side, the left flickering. The dumpster was past the light, with only darkness where the beach should be behind it. We stopped in front, as we were getting chills. The whole time the light was going on and off, on and off, but a moment after we paused the light turned off. We then noticed the stars. They were shining not the usual white starlight, instead all of them were shimmering hues of red, green, blue and white. Sincierly freaked out by now, we ran to the right side, where the light still worked, dropped the bag and fleed. As we looked back, the light on the left was back on, perfectly fine. The weird thing is the light was a halogen bulb, the kind that take a minute or five to turn on. We made it back to the campsite safe, the wind was still.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Woman Warrior Word Definitions

These are some words definitions from Woman Warrior which you many not know.

commune (p.50):A relatively small, often rural community whose members share common interests, work, and income and often own property collectively. A relatively small, often rural community whose members share common interests, work, and income and often own property collectively.

Three-legged toad: A symbol of good wealth and fortune

Javanese (27): of or pertaining to the island of Java, its people, or their language (Java is an island off the coast of Indonesia).

quarry (26): an excavation or pit, usually open to the air, from which building stone, slate, or the like, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc.

goodly: of good or substantial size, amount, etc.

palanquin: (formerly in India and other Eastern countries) a passenger conveyance, usually for one person, consisting of a covered or boxlike litter carried by means of poles resting on the shoulders of several men.

idiom (53):A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.

fontanel (40): one of the spaces, covered by membrane, between the bones of the fetal or young skull.

palpable (41) 1. readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived, etc.; obvious; evident
2. capable of being touched or felt; tangible.

collared (44): To seize or detain. (slang)

deigned (48)
To think it appropriate to one's dignity; condescend