Whew! I'm stuffed! Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, and flavors of soda previously unknown to man (some of them should still be unknown, I'm convinced) have me feeling a bit full, even now. For Thanksgiving I headed off to the Martins' house in Woodstock, GA. We had a great time playing Mario Party 2 on Wednesday and prepping food for the 19-person foodfest on Thursday. t I have to say that, although I will likely die within several days from all of the butter in them, Mrs. Martin's Heart-Attack Mashed Potatoes were amazing. Laura Martin commented that, due to the abnormal ratio of men-to-women in grocery stores on Thanksgiving thanks to the women all being in the kitchen, she wanted to "Go to Kroger and Count Men!" I meanwhile, trying to settle an argument about whether or not a neighbor had their Christmas decorations up, pointed out that the large fir in thier living room was not a Christmas tree but was in fact a Chaunaka Bush.
Friday we got to watch UP! on the new LCD TV which the Martin's braved Best Buy at Zero Dark Thirty to buy Thursday night. Very cool, and made even cooler by the fact that I they hadn't seen it before. Saturday we headed to Atlanta proper to do some touristy things. We took along their friend Mallory Smith, whom through a strange series of e-mails (made by mischievous Laura Martin) I was apparently engaged to before I even met. Marital arrangements aside, we had a great time exploring the CNN studio in Atlanta, where I learned that Anderson Cooper thinks he's an action hero, based on the number of pictures of him trying to look like a soldier or else making the "Terminator" face. Also, I think he owns the building, since every other picture in the building was of him. They even had his flak vest and helmet on display like some relic of Stonewall Jackson.
After Mr. Cooper's Amazing Building, we went to visit the World of Coke, a very crisp and refreshing (ha...ha...ha.. I'm hilarious tonight, right?) exhibit of the history and cultural impact of Coca-Cola. All and all, an awesome exhibit, where we saw some awesome historical pieces (like a vending machine from 60's Germany that proclaims "Trink Coke". Or a commemorative sign which read "Coca-Cola- Refreshing Pakistan for 50 years!") We saw one of those 4-D movies that spray you with water and poke you in the back whenever possible. While funny, I got the sense that their "Secret Formula" was made up by the same people who write corporate goals. You know the type, "This company aspires to be the leader in it's field through the use of SUPER" where SUPER is undoubtedly a dorky acronym that no one ever pays attention to. Anyway, the recipie to make Coca-Cola is apparently "Unchanging Deliciousness, Universal Availability, and U." I love the taste of Universal Availability! :)
After seeing the display proper, we stopped by the "Taste Station" where Coke products from all over the world were available to try. Among my favorites were the holiday themed "Gingerbread Coke", the Peruvian "Manzana LIFT!" and the Mozambiquian (I think that's how you spell it) Ginger Ale "KREST". I most definitely did not like the Paraguayan "Inca Kola" nor did I like the Italian "Beverley" soda. At the end of the tour, Coke was kind enough to give us our very own glass bottle of Coca-Cola. Very cool, though I just realized a few minutes ago that it isn't a twist-open bottle cap, and thus I can't get it open to drink it. >:( I also purchased a jacket, which I really like, that has a cool, artsy design on the front featuring some grey squiggles, an old soda fountain glass, and some text explaining something or other about soda glasses and Coke. The left arm features a tasteful, grey Coca-Cola logo, so that if some uninformed passerby should happen to inquire about my favorite bubbly liquid, I can casually flex my left bicep and display the Coca-Cola logo, thus saving words and looking "macho" at the same time. Yay Walking-Billboard Pickering!
Once returning to Campus, I returned to find my room in a state I have never before seen it in. It totally flabbergasted me how my room got into the state its' in. CLEAN!!!!!!! Shocking, I know. Apparently as I was leaving, Corporal came into our room and asked Neil to let him help us clean up the room. I am thrilled to say I can see the floor and for now, Brandon seems content not to put his things there and thus obstruct my goggling the carpet. We'll see how long this newfound cleanliness lasts...
With that, I'm out of stories to tell. Now it's time to relax, sleep, and look forward to crunch time coming up on finals. 0_0
Mazzel Tov!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Chicken Heart that Ate Up New York
This past week has seen several major developments. One, Founders Skit Night was on Wednesday, at which Brethren took 2nd place! Woohoo! Man Born to be King closed, with great success, and cast lists were announced for Lucifer, the next play. I get to be a Loyalist Angel!
Skit night was pretty amazing, both because Caleb Howard was co-emceeing with Katie Klukow, but also because the skits were pretty dang hilarious. We did a "radio theater"-esque version of Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart" sketch. There's a video here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=207910870655&ref=nf
All the skits were awesome, but my favorites had to be Caledon's "Madame Toussauds", First Belz's skit (which I forgot the name of but it won) and Catacombs "The Tale of Catacombs-san", which was bizzare, written in Japanese, and featured a battle/dance party on stage at the end.
With Man Born to Be King over, the next theater production is Lucifer, the tale of Satan's fall from heaven. I'm playing a member of the loyalist angels who try to convince the rebels not to rebel. Since Prof. Hallstrom wants to keep costuming options open, I'm not allowed to cut my hair until further notice or March roles around. This will be an interesting experiment, and it will drive my mother insane.
:)
Sunday afternoon I got to go see "The Screwtape Letters" performed by Max McClean and Karen Eleanor Wight. For a two-man show (only Screwtape had lines) it was amazing. The use of Toadpipe to help flesh out the letters senior demon Screwtape wrote to his nephew Wormwood was fantastic, and helped to had a great deal of comic relief. Toadpipe was 1/3 dog, 1/3 secretary, and 1/3 hellish demon beast. Odd combo, to say the least.
Thanksgiving's almost here, I leave tommorow for the Martin's (woo!). Just gotta get through 3 more classes and I'm done. When I get back, final's crunch awaits, but I'm not going to go into that right now. It'll ruin my mood. Oh, and I found my camera (which I never really lost, just haven't used.) So maybe I'll get some pictures in here soon so you all can see what my life looks like (in technicolor, if you're good.)
Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape
Skit night was pretty amazing, both because Caleb Howard was co-emceeing with Katie Klukow, but also because the skits were pretty dang hilarious. We did a "radio theater"-esque version of Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart" sketch. There's a video here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=207910870655&ref=nf
All the skits were awesome, but my favorites had to be Caledon's "Madame Toussauds", First Belz's skit (which I forgot the name of but it won) and Catacombs "The Tale of Catacombs-san", which was bizzare, written in Japanese, and featured a battle/dance party on stage at the end.
With Man Born to Be King over, the next theater production is Lucifer, the tale of Satan's fall from heaven. I'm playing a member of the loyalist angels who try to convince the rebels not to rebel. Since Prof. Hallstrom wants to keep costuming options open, I'm not allowed to cut my hair until further notice or March roles around. This will be an interesting experiment, and it will drive my mother insane.
:)
Sunday afternoon I got to go see "The Screwtape Letters" performed by Max McClean and Karen Eleanor Wight. For a two-man show (only Screwtape had lines) it was amazing. The use of Toadpipe to help flesh out the letters senior demon Screwtape wrote to his nephew Wormwood was fantastic, and helped to had a great deal of comic relief. Toadpipe was 1/3 dog, 1/3 secretary, and 1/3 hellish demon beast. Odd combo, to say the least.
Thanksgiving's almost here, I leave tommorow for the Martin's (woo!). Just gotta get through 3 more classes and I'm done. When I get back, final's crunch awaits, but I'm not going to go into that right now. It'll ruin my mood. Oh, and I found my camera (which I never really lost, just haven't used.) So maybe I'll get some pictures in here soon so you all can see what my life looks like (in technicolor, if you're good.)
Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape
Friday, November 13, 2009
My Heart is Dead...Oh, But it's Good to See You Eat!
Well, MBTBK has opened! After a strange and winding road, we're finally here. In the end we had 2 weeks to put together a play from start to finish with new scripts, new roles, and a pretty daunting task. Our director, Katie Jenkins, did a bang-up job whipping us into shape, though, and the result didn't seem half bad right before we opened. Then Prof. Hallstrom came an put the finishing touches on it, and now I for one and really pleased with it. It's dramatic, and tells the story of Jesus' death and ressurection in a way not usually seen in our almost Biblically-jaded culture.
What I mean by that is so often in this culture we're used to seeing an almost cliched version of the gospel story. Holy, white Jesus is born in a clean, Martha Stewart-decorated stable while well-groomed shepherds gaze on in awe. As Jesus grows up, he attracts a crowd of disciples, who are faithful, but rather stupid. Then there's Judas, the evil villain that everyone else must have been blind not to recognize as the scoundrel he was. After Judas springs his evil plot, no doubt giggling with vile glee and rubbing his hands together, Jesus goes to the cross, where he silently hangs, looking almost serene as he dies. Once he says "It is finished!" (sometimes nearly triumphant in his tone) he dies and is laid in the tomb. The disciples go back to thier daily lives, albiet more like sheep whose shepherd has left. Then Jesus rises from the dead and everybody is happy. Not the most accurate depiction, and certainly hard to stay interested in. Now, please don't think I'm saying the gospel story is boring. I don't! It's the greatest story ever told! But we don't tell it very well on the whole. It's sort of like watching Star Wars on a broken, 6 inch-television screen, in Japanese, and then expecting our friends to be impressed.
Dorothy Sayers, member of the Inklings club from whence authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien emerged, has written a masterful re-telling of the biblical account. While not perfect, Sayer's version humanizes all the characters. No longer is Judas the Snidley Whiplash so often portrated in today's christian media. Instead, he is an extremely intelligent man swayed by logic, and his own inability to fathom Christ's choice to take the way of suffering. It makes for a much more engaging tale while staying firmly withing the boundaries laid out in the Bible.
Anyway, last night's performance was small, since it was Thursday we didn't have a big crowd, but it went really well I think. Jacob Corbett's performance of Jesus on the cross is one of the most unsettling things to sit through, especially since I'm kneeling at his feet as he does it, so I'm right next to him.
Other than the play, things around here are starting to move towards the end of the semester. Classes are starting to focus on what we should know for the finals, projects are being returned, and plans are being made for next semester. Today my Accounting class was cut short by a fire alarm (false, by the way) so I'm offically in my weekend. We have another performance tonight, but other than that I can relax. Oh, and I have a bottom bunk now. Isaiah and I decided to switch bunks today, so I'm pretty happy right now.
I think I'm out of interesting stories to tell, and my fingers are starting to hurt, so until next time, Kwaheri!
What I mean by that is so often in this culture we're used to seeing an almost cliched version of the gospel story. Holy, white Jesus is born in a clean, Martha Stewart-decorated stable while well-groomed shepherds gaze on in awe. As Jesus grows up, he attracts a crowd of disciples, who are faithful, but rather stupid. Then there's Judas, the evil villain that everyone else must have been blind not to recognize as the scoundrel he was. After Judas springs his evil plot, no doubt giggling with vile glee and rubbing his hands together, Jesus goes to the cross, where he silently hangs, looking almost serene as he dies. Once he says "It is finished!" (sometimes nearly triumphant in his tone) he dies and is laid in the tomb. The disciples go back to thier daily lives, albiet more like sheep whose shepherd has left. Then Jesus rises from the dead and everybody is happy. Not the most accurate depiction, and certainly hard to stay interested in. Now, please don't think I'm saying the gospel story is boring. I don't! It's the greatest story ever told! But we don't tell it very well on the whole. It's sort of like watching Star Wars on a broken, 6 inch-television screen, in Japanese, and then expecting our friends to be impressed.
Dorothy Sayers, member of the Inklings club from whence authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien emerged, has written a masterful re-telling of the biblical account. While not perfect, Sayer's version humanizes all the characters. No longer is Judas the Snidley Whiplash so often portrated in today's christian media. Instead, he is an extremely intelligent man swayed by logic, and his own inability to fathom Christ's choice to take the way of suffering. It makes for a much more engaging tale while staying firmly withing the boundaries laid out in the Bible.
Anyway, last night's performance was small, since it was Thursday we didn't have a big crowd, but it went really well I think. Jacob Corbett's performance of Jesus on the cross is one of the most unsettling things to sit through, especially since I'm kneeling at his feet as he does it, so I'm right next to him.
Other than the play, things around here are starting to move towards the end of the semester. Classes are starting to focus on what we should know for the finals, projects are being returned, and plans are being made for next semester. Today my Accounting class was cut short by a fire alarm (false, by the way) so I'm offically in my weekend. We have another performance tonight, but other than that I can relax. Oh, and I have a bottom bunk now. Isaiah and I decided to switch bunks today, so I'm pretty happy right now.
I think I'm out of interesting stories to tell, and my fingers are starting to hurt, so until next time, Kwaheri!
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