Mcgrooves's Blog

younger sibling

mcgrooves — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:20:19 +0000

It is always important to look for a deeper meaning within a text. If you are having a hard time, it is helpful to pull out specific words and think about what you associate said words with. Receiving feedback during peer reviews is very helpful and can calm nerves about turning in papers. Listen to what people have to tell you about your writing, they are your audience, and it is of prime importance to make sense to your readers. I learned from a lecture that there is no real thing as writer’s block, just someone who is being stubborn. Even if you sit at your computer for hours, write something, anything, you can always go back and edit. It is better to have too much to work with than too little, the extra “fluff” is never really of any substance anyway. You are going to be given assignments that you DO NOT want to write about… just be sure to include a little bit of yo into the paper, and writing won’t seem to be such a chore. Some inspiration for writing can come from anywhere, but what I have found to be a good motivator is current news, even if it is just to poke fun at people from time to time. It is easy to get wrapped up in school and grades and forget about the rest of the world, and I can assure you, there is a lot more to write about outside of what is going on in school. Keep with you a guide on how to cite information– this is key in avoiding plagiarism , and other sticky situations– also a lot of professors use apa formatting as opposed to mla formatting… a pain i know.

Also, the more you write, the better you get, so don’t get discouraged when you get back a paper that doesn’t have an A shooting across the top margin, take the comments seriously and use it to your advantage on your next piece. It is easy to get burnt out when school picks up, but the papers that turn out to be something you will want to revisit, are the papers that you enjoy writing.

quick write

mcgrooves — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:18:53 +0000

A movie poster should embody what the film is about. Instead of using words, a poster should usually depict either the high point of the story, or what type of genre the film is. It is always nice to see which actors are in the film included on the poster, it helps to assign personality traits to the characters, because of the associations of the actors/actresses from other films we may have seen. The tile of the movie should be clearly written on the poster, so that if I am “bought” by the poster, I will be able to purchase tickets seamlessly.

a split image of someone as the star of the play and then of her sitting alone writing in her diary… light choices–on stage would be bright– diary would be dark and tearful. microphone–not being heard and includes element of theater that main character participated in. bouquet of flowers maybe on the ground.

color

mcgrooves — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:32:29 +0000

If the play about the little girl and her dad were a color, it would be yellow. The play addresses the issue of not having a mother, which is a sad occurrence, but I call the play yellow because it is a play with hope. The play also takes place at a camp, a place where i associate laughter and lots of sunshine. The play starts off in a sad situation, but it gradually gets brighter as the characters learn that there are more important things in life than being just like everyone else. It has always been interesting to me that love is depicted as red, although eye catching and deep, red cannot describe the love of a parent and child– yellow can. Yellow, also eye catching, is seen more widely from day to day and is perpetual like the sun. The happy outcome of the story is a shade of yelow.

metaphor

mcgrooves — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:25:49 +0000

Time Bomb – The Format

Oh no, was it worth it?

Starting now I’m starting over
I’m gonna sleep
with the next person I meet
Starting now I’m starting over
You swore “together forever”
Now you’re telling me lies
Tell me your words have got
no concept of time

Tick tock, you’re not a clock
You’re a time bomb baby

Oh no, was it worth it?
Was it worth what you did to big business?
Was it worth what your friends
put up their noses?

Starting now I’m starting over
Tell the new wave kids their make-up kits
can find me where self pity gets
a breath of fresh air

Tick tock, you’re not a clock
You’re a time bomb baby
You set the watch
You’re just in time
to wreck my life
to bring back what I left behind

Five years and you fell for a waiter
I’m sure he says he’s an actor
So you’re acting like
you never tried to take your life
So starting now I’m starting over
I’m throwing bottles
I’m taking showers
I’m going to sleep
Starting now I’m starting over (stop it)
Starting now I’m starting over (stop it)
To play the game
Get even
Act my age

Oh no was it worth what you
did to your wrists?

In this song, the singer is comparing what i would assume an ex-lover to a time bomb. The connotation is negative, because the singer seems to feel as though his ex has done him wrong and seems to hate the person he refers to as a “time bomb.” A bomb is often times unpredictable and well- a mess, as the other lyrics seem to imply about the “time bomb” person. BOmbs are also used during wartime, and a war seems to have been created between the singer and the person who has essentially destroyed their life with drugs and destructive decisions. Also, a bomb allows for starting over, another line form the song. When everything is completely destroyed, it allows for rebuilding.

I am a horse

mcgrooves — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:31:35 +0000

I am muscular

long hair (mane)

I like to compete

Horses are social animals, as I enjoy being around people

Horses are born a large size, as I was

Horses all look different from eachother

Communication occurs among horses, which is one of my strengths

Getting stung my bees would make me freak out

sometimes i get in the mood to just run

I enjoy being outside

I am always in the mood for food

I am known to be stubborn when i am passionate about something

Play Review

mcgrooves — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:31:53 +0000

The first play that was shown by team 2 about the neglectful mother demonstrated much preparation on the part of the actresses. Scene changes were almost unnoticed and the characters showed a significant development. The plot was well written and did not contain unnecessary scenes in order to increase the length of the performance. The group also made a good use of props to further develop and give the viewers a sense of setting. The inner thoughts of the main character, Emma, is made clear through her diary entries and her actions. The fact that the play ends with Emma upholding her want to raise her children differently than her mother did. The play relates to The Phantom of the Opera and Autobiography if a Face, since the mother in the novel neglects her child like Eric and Merrick were pushed aside by their families and by most people.

Play Ideas

mcgrooves — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:45:42 +0000

After picking the topic of giving up values to fit in, we thought about religion, mean girls, and overall placed the setting at a school. Religion stood out to me, especially since many immigrants follow uncommon religions with strict values. I like the idea of giving up fitting in with people at school by not following religious values or by not fitting in with the peer group in order to remain loyal to the family’s value system.

I was thinking that the character could be from India, the most common religion in India is Hinduism, but Islam is another prominent religion in India as well. I would be a good idea to give the character a sibling (also good because we have a group of 4) and we can include the sibling’s struggle with conforming as well. The character should move to the States probably as a young adult (around 15) so that the values taught to them by family members would be habit. we should throw in a significant event, because thus far what i have talked about seems as though it has been done before. The character should somehow participate in the ultimate denouncing of their faith (or something along those lines) and then face the loneliness of not having family support. We want to focus on how people deal with their loneliness, so we need to make sure that the character has some sort of coping method. Gradually the character pulls away from the family and ends up losing touch with their ethnic group and in turn struggles with identity. (The sibling should be around the same age, but chooses to stay true to his/her religion and family values. It is probably in our best interest to keep the siblings close in age so that we can create a dialogue between the two.)

play ideas

mcgrooves — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:35:31 +0000

Some play ideas could include the themes of trust, adaptation, how illness affects a family, or using a diability to one’s advantage.

Both Merrick and Lucy somehow begin to flip around the negative aspects into positive outcomes. Merrick’s illness allowed for him to be able to meet a lot of famous people and Lucy’s illness allowed for her to skip school which she hated. It took a while for both characters to become comfortable with their appearances, but once they gave up on trying to be “normal” they realized that their disabilities somehow made them unique. It would be interesting to me to create a play with someone who has an illness but uses their disability to trick and manipulate people. (not something that Merrick or Lucy did, but this relates in the fact that both characters used their disability to their advantage)

Trust is another idea, Merrick seemed to be more trusting than Lucy. Merrick, however, only fully trusted Mrs. Kendall. Lucy trusted her mother to an extent, and the doctors, but mainly trusted the horses that she worked with. Lucy kept her hat on as a way of hiding from people, and Merrick stayed hidden away, bot clear signs that the characters lacked in trusting strangers. Trust seems to be a broad topic, but there is a lot a plot can take on with this theme. For the play, it might be fun to create a story line resembling, but not copying The Beauty and the Beast, since it so closely relates to both stories. I like the idea that the Beast would stay hidden away until Beauty pushed her way in and gradually gained the Beast’s trust. I would like to focus on the idea that trust is a process and does not often happen immediately.

Merrick’s music choice

mcgrooves — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:46:47 +0000

If Merrick were alive today, he would probably listen to a little bit of each genre, because he seems to be curious about different types of people as a whole.

this place is a prison- the postal service ( the freak show)

cast no shadow- oasis ( feeling like no one actually cares)

The way i am- ingrid michaelson (dealing with the way he looks and accepting his condition)

suddenly i see- kt tunstall (realizing that the doctor is more concerned with himself)

as ugly as i seem- the white stripes (being treated poorly and feeling ugly and outcast)

people watching- jack johnson (was very interested in observing people’s behavior around him)

sleep song- rooney (couldn’t sleep like other people, had to be sitting upright)

the riddle- five for fighting (his attempt to understand why his life was the way it was)

just what i’m looking for- matt white (befriending mrs. kendall was exactly what he described he wanted)

cocoon-jack johnson (being in the “home”)

everybody wants to feel like you- john prine

need to love- the starting line (believed that love was the reason for life)

who are they- tim mcgraw (all the people coming to see Merrick)

the luckiest- ben folds five (feeling lucky to have so many people wanting to see him, and meeting mrs. kendall)

amazing grace- sufjan stevens

naked as we came- iron and wine (began to be unembarrassed by condition)

catch my disease- ben lee

everybody loves me- the 88 (being on display made him feel special)

when did your heart go missing- rooney (when people would make remarks like “he would only fit in around the blind.”)

dirty and left out- the almost (not being allowed to participate in the same activities as the others)

Sequence 2 Writer’s Memo

mcgrooves — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:18:38 +0000

Throughout the novel, The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux, it was obvious that the main character, Erik, suffered from some sort of mental disorder. I took a psychology class during high school and easily related schizophrenia to Erik’s character. I wanted to make the argument that Erik did not actually love Christine and instead had a severe mental disorder, because it is too common for girls to mistake over possessiveness for love. The Twilight books and movie have been a recent hit among teen aged girls and the main character is extremely overpossissive. My first inclination was to compare Erik’s character to the main character in Twilight, but instead of doing a simple compare and contrast between the two characters, I decided to focus on the reasons behind Erik’s behavior. Taking a deeper look into schizophrenia allowed for me to fully understand the disorder and pick out specific behaviors that the character Erik exhibited. I enjoyed the format of this paper, because it is different and straight to the point. I had a difficult time remembering all the details of the book, which could have enriched my argument. I hope that reader’s gain insight after reading this paper, because I am shocked at the amount of pain some people go through for the sake of romantic “love.”