Hee

This cracks me up. I see things like this and wish someone would make a blog filled with letters like these and yesterday's Branson complaint.

Inaugurating

Obviously, I'm all for this inaugural party thing. Obama has been sworn in, great. I love American politics, it's a lot of fun to follow. The one thing I couldn't help noticing through this year's inauguration is the huge emphasis on blacks. People are excited and happy that a black man has been elected president. I understand this, I really do. But this thought has come up a few times in conversation with friends lately: what about Asians?

Personally, I'm all for doing away with racial labels and becoming the melting pot America has supposedly been all these years. I want to see America forget about race for a change. To not have that thought even enter our minds. But as that day is not yet here, I wonder about the under- and mis-representation of my race.

First, the obvious one: no one is clamoring for a first Hispanic or Asian president. Why is this? Are we not as important as blacks when it comes to minorities? Do they get seniority because they've been around America longer? Because they've suffered more? Oh, wait. We've all suffered. Every country goes through a period of xenophobia. It's almost like a rite of passage.

Possibly even more glaring is culture's focus on whites. How many TV shows or movies feature Asians in key roles? Name some Asian movie stars. Lucy Liu? Ok, who else? Bai Ling? If they're all you can think of, maybe you understand my frustration. On television, you have one Asian couple, on Lost. Granted, we understand their dynamic now, but what did everyone think of Jin at first? My sincere thanks to the writers for utilizing and breaking stereotypes so well. Otherwise, Asians are stereotyped into the ground. And don't you dare tell me Hollywood has never been racist or stereotypical towards Asians. Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorite movies, but it makes me physically ill to watch Mickey Rooney.

TBC

No.

Oh, Florida. Your stupidity knows no bounds. Seriously? I should think you'd have to ingest the books themselves in order to achieve harmful levels of lead. Also, am I not living, breathing, fully-functioning proof of large scale exposure to books not having an effect on children? (I really need to make a list of everything I've ever read in my life one day.)

Zing, Zang, Zoom!

Usually, my reaction every January is "The circus is coming to town, the circus is coming to town!" This year was no different. Usually, my reaction upon seeing it is sheer delight. I love circuses. I love music. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses have managed to combine both beautifully every time I've seen their shows. This year's Red Train show, however, failed on both counts.

I don't know if it's because Orlando is one of Ringling's first stops and Zing, Zang, Zoom hasn't had enough time to mesh fully or if it's a truly awful show. I understand that most audience members are under the age of 10 and have a sense of wonder about circuses in general, but ZZZ just doesn't pack in the circus feel as well as the Blue Train's show, Over the Top. I saw that one debut last year as well. OtT has all aspects of what you'd expect from a circus show: Ringling's ever-present elephants and tigers, hilarious clowns, and amazing and innovative stunts and acrobatics. OtP truly is over the top. The songs were lovely and catchy and the performers engaging.

ZZZ has two songs. Levitytia clearly lip-synched and Ringmaster Alex likely did as well. "Don't Try This at Home" was a fairly annoying number that felt belittling. Give the audience some credit. A small disclosure about trained magicians would suffice. Devoting an entire song indicates a lack of creativity. In fact, this entire show lacks creativity. It's main premise is magic. Great. Interesting beginning, especially considering the dearth of magic show specials on TV. I recall watching those as a kid and being absolutely enthralled. What's been forgotten however, is that this is a circus. Death-defying stunts and acrobatics and novelties abound! Those things don't go hand in hand with illusions. The key to a circus is that everything is in full view. You see the harnesses and that's where the stab of anxiety comes from. He's not tethered to anything! She's tethered by her hair and only her hair! These two opposing concepts fight each other for dominance in the show and fail to make it spectacular. ZZZ needs to focus on one or the other in order to pull this off successfully. I suggest the circus aspect because really, who goes to the circus to see a magic show?

I was in Section 108 at the Amway Arena; the audience had no enthusiasm until the gravity-defying rings performance. ZZZ needs a lot more zing before intermission for this to become an even show. The audience was buzzing with anticipation before the show started, but once it was underway, Ringmaster Alex had to put a gargantuan amount of effort into getting even minimal audience participation. When it's obvious the cast knows it's not keeping the audience entertained, it's just painful to watch. The audience around me seemed surprised by the ending and I'll have to agree, it was far too abrupt and anticlimactic. I, for one, was wondering where my money's worth had gone. Hopefully, ZZZ gets it's kinks straightened out. Otherwise, it's going to be a torturous two years.

Test Post

I decided on Blogger because I'm a creature of aesthetics. The ability to change themes and layouts are highly appealing to me.

All entries dated prior to this one were imported from my LJ. I had started it up to keep an online record of my semester in Form/Technique of Fiction. I decided I like blogging though, so I uprooted them all and plonked them down here. So everything is in one place and all. I need to go back and edit those posts down properly so they expand the way they were intended to. I think that's a chore for a later date though.

So let's see how this goes.