Republicans aren't Evil

      I love the CAP program. Really, I do and I’m going to get super preachy here, but could you at least consider reading this? Please? Now, what I want to say doesn’t correlate with the program curriculum, but more the pupils. (I love you, peers. But it has gotten out of hand.)
    What is "it" exactly? Partisanship. Not just partisanship. EXTREME PARTISANSHIP. It was at an all time high during election season, but the problem is fairly consistent. This extreme partisanship leads to informed, ignorant statements that conclude with the infamous words, "Republicans are evil." I acknowledge that we are all entitled to our own opinion, but shouldn't we at least pretend that we've evaluated all sides of an issue?
    I mean, I honestly I have no problem with favoring a specific political party, but we take it to a new low. Are we trying to ensure more policy gridlock? Even worse, I don't think anyone I know accepts any party but the Democratic Party, unless of course its the Socialist or Communist Party. The Republican Party isn't accepted and is no where close to be respected. Even anarchy is regarded as a better solution than a Republican president. Why? Because of a few extreme politicians, like Todd Akin.
      But, in all honesty, don't both parties want the same thing? Stabilize the economy and promote individual freedoms? They support the Constitution, personal rights, and limited government. Doesn't sound all that evil does it? Just because some Republicans are socially Conservatives, doesn't make all Republicans awful people. Right? Republicans are people too.
     For most of my friends, it isn't comprehensible that someone could be a Republican. Have you ever thought that there actually are Republicans in this states? In this county? This school? And they don't voice their opinions because they are afraid to chopped up and exiled from this school. I mean, we only have a Young Democrats Club, no Young Republicans club. Of course, Republicans don't voice opinions especially with all the lies spread around in the predominantly liberal news about the Party.
     Do you want to know a secret? Conservatives aren't the only extremists, Liberals can have extreme views too, and sometimes, BIG SHOCK, these extremely liberal policies hinder the country's development instead of helping it. (I know, it doesn't seem possible that a Democrat could have flaws. But when was the time Obama met with his budget committee?)

Please. Don’t conclude another sentence with, “...but Republicans are evil.” Because I might cry in the middle of class.
You don’t want that, trust me.
Actually.
Maybe you do.

(This is just me venting about how Republicans aren't given any respect by anyone, including all the MEDIA, except Fox News. I mean, you guys do realize that almost all other news stations have at least a small liberal leaning right? So, why must be Fox News existing be such a travesty?)

Glee vs. Smash

  It's the Oscars, and honestly I'm just really sad it is not the Tony's! (The Tony's is my Superbowl, if you change the channel during the Tony's I may cry.) So what is better way to mourn the lack of Tony's then talk about television's musical dramas?
    There are two musical dramas on TV right now, or at least two that I can think of off the top my head.  One is set in high school, the other on Broadway. One is a huge sellout with absolutely no continuity, while the other is a new show with dismal ratings, that honestly hasn't found its niche yet. The former is Glee, the latter is Smash. They have completely different stories on different networks, but last year when SMASH premiered Gleeks screamed their auto-tune protests at NBC. Most claimed that SMASH was a copycat of their beloved show and that Glee was higher quality.Well, let me tell you this right now, Glee fans are beyond wrong.
    Glee, which I've written about before, is just an awful excuse of a television show. It has no continuity or character development. Smash, on the other hand, actually tells a continuous story, there are actual story arcs, and writers know how to utilize cliff hangers.  Sure, the show has obvious flaws, like bland characters, but all its flaws are masked by its strengths.

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    Smash premiered last season on NBC with one of the best pilots I've ever seen! The show is a behind the scenes look at the making of a Broadway musical, specifically a Broadway musical about the late and great Marilyn Monroe.

     Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) are writing partners who have just begun to work on a musical based on the life of superstar, Marilyn Monroe. They are soon approached by the struggling producer, Eileen Rand (Anjelica Houston), who wants to produce a workshop. They agree and reluctantly hire British director Derek Wills (Jack Davenport). However, when casting begins the creative team must decide between their two "Marilyn" front runners  the "Green" Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) and the experienced Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty). 

   This show is all about theater, and it is dominated by theatre actors. Megan Hilty (Wicked, ( 9 to 5), Christian Borle (Spamalot, Legally Blonde: The Musical), Jeremy Jordan (Newsies), Andy Mientus (Spring Awakening), Wes Taylor, Savannah Wise, Leslie Odom Jr, and Ann Harada to name a few! This show's cast is an Broadway geek's dream, plus all the theatre jokes! (Trust me its hysterical!) But beyond the amazingly talented cast, what makes this show so good? Or at least better than Glee? These are the top three reasons.

1. It doesn't have too many main characters. Sure, it has an ensemble cast, but guess what? That ensemble is an ensemble! They interject witty one liners and carry the musical numbers like the talented Broadway actors they are. Smash doesn't have over fifteen main characters and screen time is split fairly equally, unlike Glee, where half the hour is dedicated to one very unlikable character, Rachel Berry. 
2. The Music on Smash is predominately original.

Every single song on this album is original. Glee's claim to fame in the field of a original songs is a song called, "My Headband." (I mean there are four others, but they all have the same beat, plus the lyrics are to pitiful to mention.)

This is music on Glee. It is literally that pitiful. Smash at least attempts make quality music.



See? They try and do really well typically!!

3. Story Arcs and Character Development! There are distinct stories in this show and they continue past one episode. (Progress). The principal stories of Smash are:

•  Who will play Marilyn Monroe?
• Will Julia continue her affair?
• Will Eileen be able to fund the show?
• Will Derek Wills be able to finish the blocking before previews?
• How will be the understudy?

Just to name a few.

- Also, Ivy Lynn and Karen Cartwright definitely change from the premiere to the finale. Ivy is quite standoffish at first, but over the season she becomes more humble; and Karen Cartwright becomes more experienced and begins to understand the competitive aspect of Broadway. It's an interesting transformation! (And engrossing.)

So, in conclusion, this is a completely biased review by a Broadway deprived fangirl. But I do think that Smash is a good show that needs your viewership this Tuesday at 10 PM. So consider it, it's honestly a good show. A little confused maybe, but full potential. 

Man, I wish it was the Tony's.

Heroine Comparison: In Defense of Bella Swan

    Some novels have a heroine.  Some are beloved and some are hated. Very often these heroines are pitted against one another. Each characters strengths and flaws are exploited to the point of no return. Last night, I sat down to watch a movie with a despised herione, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. Bella Swan is among the hated as she the series of her genesis. Her main opponent in the heroine wars? Hermione Granger of Harry Potter , and more recently Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games.
     I have never seen Bella Swan emerge victor of any of these squabbles, and I have a few theories as to why. If we are to dissect Twilight and its characters, we must understand its origins. Stephenie Meyer's series is straight out of the "Mormon Corridor." At Meyer's alma mater, nearly 50% of the students were married before graduation. So, Bella marrying young and having children at a young age isn't really a stretch in the area of the country Meyer attended college. I think this is main problem people have with Bella, she wants to get married early and has no inclination to fight.
    Secondly, she's much more feminine than her opponents, and Bella's never faced war. Bella is considered meek and mild, but unlike Katniss and Hermione Bella never had to fight to protect her country and her race, she fought to keep her friends and family safe. So, of course she's isn't as "cool" in a violent sense, because Bella almost never has to fight with the intent to harm or kill. It's not a part of her world, which makes the whole comparison a little bit unfair. So, with this blog post I attempt to bring some sort of honor to Bella Swan's name because she isn't quite as bad as the media has portrayed her. (I'm coming at this as someone who has read and owns each book. I'm analyzing Bella's actions in the book. No where else, I mean, she does most of the same stuff in the movies but her motives aren't really explained. Also, you don't get that personal link to Bella's mind in the films, a true advantage of reading the books.)
-So, here is a complete list of reasons why I don't believe Bella to be the shimpering ninny every one else thinks she is. I'll try to defend her against each common argument against her. At the end, make your own judgement, but is Bella really all that bad? Jusr because two men like her?

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1. Bella is tough. Time and time again, Bella is ready to put it all on the line for her freinds her family and friends. I think the most poignant example comes in Eclipse. Bella is ready to get directly into the middle of a fight if she knows it can help weigh the outcome towards benefitting those she loves. In Eclipse's final battle, Bella plans to get herelf killed in an attempt to save all the werwolves and vampires lives. Bella is more than willingly toput her life on the line to save those she loves. I'd say that's fairly brave anf tough.
2. Bella is not an awful character for being depressed. In New Moon, when Edward leaves Forks for good, Bella is understandbly sad. How does she cope with her loss? By not really dealing with it and becoming depressed. If Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close taught us anything its that every person copes with loss differently. If this is how Bella copes with loss who are we to judge? Not all of those can be productive in copious amounts of pain and I don't she should have be strong. Its her right to cope as she wants to cope. No one elses and it really doesn't make her a simpering ninny. After all, she lost the love of her life, isn't that a lot to loose?
3.  Bella is compassionate and grateful for everything she has been given. These are perhaps Bella's most defining and best traits, she put the needs of others before her own and is always saying thank you. In fact, she relishes in helping her father, Charlie, around the house because she is thankful to have a home and a loving father. And Bella always cares, even if she's fighting with someone, their safety is always a concern of her's. She always wants to help, I didn't realize that a defining attribute as this one who create a hated character.

"Victoria...Come...Mama"

Mama (2013)
Director: Andrés Muschietti
Writers: Neil Cross, Andrés Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti
Rating: PG-13 (for violence and terror, some disturbing images and thematic elements)

    Its here, Guillermo del Toro is ready to scare you again. del Toro didn't direct it though, Andrés Muschietti did and this director's first full length feature film wants to make you scream in terror and cry for the film's villainous "Mama" all at the same time. The film boasts an amazing cast and a fairly strong script, in fact this is the most character development I've seen in a horror movie. To be quite frank, there is probably more character development in this 100 minute film than all four seasons of Glee. So, what does Mama have to offer? Emotional depth mixed with a healthy dose of jump scares!This is a horror flick after all, but more than that its a drama based off of the very very humane maternal instincts, the jealously that comes with loosing connections with the one's you love, and the grief of loosing a child. (Fun Fact: This film takes place in Washington D.C., Richmond, and Clifton Forge, VA. Oh YESSS)<---- That was sarcasm
   Mama opens in the midst of the 2008 stock market crash, a man, Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) , kills his business partners and wife. The prologue, seen through the eyes of the three year old Victoria, begins on screen after Jeffrey's murders when he comes into his daughters', Victoria and Lily's room. He takes packs them into the car and takes them from Washington DC to Clifton Edge before Victoria speaks up distracting her father who crashes in the woods. No one is hurt and Jeffrey takes the girl's out of the car to find some sort of place to light a fire, and its snowing to make matters worse. But, "luckily" the family find a cabin which Victoria does not want to go in, when she peeked in the window she sees a dark shadow fly past the window. When she tells her dad, he doesn't believe her and brings them inside, he makes a fire and excuses himself from the room.
    Now, this is completely my opinion, but I think the most emotional part of the film and perhaps the best acted happens now, in the first ten minutes, when Jeffrey excuses himself. The camera follows Jeffrey as he takes out a gun and dry heaves. At this point you're pretty sure he's going to kill himself that very second. But he doesn't, he collapses sobbing and slamming the wall with his fists as he falls. Of all the images the film provides I think this is one of the most memorable. Coster- Waldau gives an incredibly heart-wrenching performance and sets the stakes high for the rest of the film. Honestly, if the film was not this emotionally intense at the beginning the rest of the film would not be able to come together into a coherent piece.
     Anyway, Victoria calls for her dad and he comes back into the room. Victoria tells him there's a floating woman outside, but Daddy just wants to answer her earlier questions about Mommy and why they went in the car. He explains that Moms and Dads fight all the time and that we all do things we aren't proud of. He then embraces Victoria, sobbing, and tells her how much he loves her repeatedly. Jeffrey then takes off Victoria's glasses and tells her to look at the snow. He pulls out his gun, planning to kill the children and himself, but Victoria sees the woman again and Jeffrey is pulled away by a blurry woman. It should be noted now that Victoria has never seen Mama clearly and if she did she "Mama", she was in the middle of a snowstorm. She didn't the most grotesque of Mama ever, that pleasure all went to the little sister, Lily, who had great vision. After "Mama" drags away Dad, the girls sit in front of the fire and are rolled cherries by Mama who will be their caretaker while living in the woods. 
   Five years later, Lucas, Jeffrey's twin brother, also played by Nikolaj Coster- Waldau has searched for his missing nieces for five years, when one day a search party finds his feral nieces in the cabin out in Clifton Edge. He and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), who has no maternal instincts take in this children while living in a house owned by a research institute. After all, the girls were found in the woods, acting animal like, and somehow still alive. The girls talk about "Mama", a spirit Victoria and Lily play with at first, but soon Victoria is happy to be reunited with Lucas and Annabel. She has no interest in playing with the jealous Mama that Lily clings to, and this is where all the family's problems begin.
     The film is a horror film and it uses a lot of the classic gimmicks while being innovative. The ending which hasn't been completely well received is what sets this movie apart, connecting with the villain.  I'm not going to give anything away, but the film takes a big risk here, deciding to use a more dramatic than horrific ending. I think it pays off, especially if have siblings or have lost touch with those you love. The emotion instead of the jump scares is what chills you to the bone in this film. That's why I liked it, it toke a gamble but it wasn't so far from the generic horror movie. It works, or at least I think so.

   

When Television Becomes Fanfiction: Jumping the Shark

 There is a point in a television show where it  all goes downhill. A point where it all becomes just a little ridiculous, where the story is too contrived and the characters are completely out of character. There is a term for this phenomena. It is called "jumping the shark." The term comes from a little show called "Happy Days." You may remember it, The Fonz, Ron Howard and all their friends and family making up the quintessential all American 50's family. In the fifth season premiere, The "Fonz", the epitome of cool, jumped over a shark. Here is the infamous clip below:

 
Now, perhaps when the writers thought of this story it made a ton of sense. It was perfect, but alas it didn't do anything positive. Heck, it named an idiom that represents the decline of a television series. Tv Tropes explains it well.

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"Jumping the Shark" is an art form truly? There are so many ways to jump over that aquatic animal, however there are a few classic ways.

1. Getting rid of a popular character
2. Any type of new character ever can trigger this
3. The death of an actor
4. A lack of character development 
5. Flat characters

I wanted to take the time to aquatint you with my top five instances of the "jumping the shark" (In Increasing Order)

1. Full House: The Womanizer aka Uncle Jesse gets married. Welp there goes those few years of innuendo. AND WHAT? Now the Olsen Twins aren't the cute little babies? Nope. Sorry. Season Five has crashed and burned. Sorry Miller- Boyett Sitcom we have reached a point of no return. Plus, we didn't need those little boys anyway.They were pretty cute though. Not going to lie.
2. Glee: Glee jumped the shark purely by getting another season. Really. I mean, who thought this was a good idea? It is a dinosaur themed prom. ( This clip makes me feel ashamed that I've watched this show.) If you actually watch that clip all the way through, you are a brave solider. I am truly sorry to have even given you a link, but I think I prove my point.

3. The Nanny: Another sitcom that bite the dust. Literally. The intro sums up the whole premise of the show quite well:

All that intro leaves out is that:
    The Nanny wants to get with the boss. Basically, half of the show was setting them up to become a couple. So for five and half years, they shamelessly flirt. But then they get together and it all goes downhill. I'm telling you. They get married and it all goes under. Fran (The Nanny) pulls a Pam Ewing and goes baby crazy, so for like six episodes you sit through fertility woes. Its more depressing than funny to be truthful. I mean there was some good stuff in that sixth season, but ya know the marriage we had all been looking forward to kind of killed it for me.
4. Dallas: Do I actually need to explain this one? This one tanked at the end of the mini-series (aka Season One), and then it went on for another thirteen years. For starters, Pamela fell out of a barn. SHE. FELL. OUT. OF. A. BARN. I can't make things like this up. It is a soap opera and did have some good moments, can anyone say, "Who Shot J.R.?" Also, we can only tolerate so many fights with Cliff Barnes.
5. Brothers and Sisters: Brothers and Sisters takes the cake. I haven't seen another show "Jump the Shark" so shamelessly and so pitifully. I don't know when this show started to tank but in the beginning these guys had it made.
I mean:
Sally Fields was the coolest mom ever.

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Calista Flockhart was a Republican.

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Oh yeah Rachel Griffiths was there too:

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But then Rob Lowe guest starred and everything was right in Brothers and Sisters land. So right, that Sam Seaborn became a series regular.

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Plus Rob Lowe and Calista Flockhart were like the best Republican power couple on ABC. (Really they were the best.) How did this seemingly untouchable show tank? Well, every single member of this family got into massive pile-up that made no sense logistically. Plus, they killed Rob Lowe and Patricia Wetting lost her memory. It just got awful in ways that can not be described with words.


So yeah. Those are my top jumping the shark moments. What are yours?

Video:Pedestrian Problems

Well, it has been a crazy few weeks. Finals, snow, and changing schedules. I've been exhausted what about you?
Anyway, in our latest video challegne we were suppposed to highlight what its like to live in Silver Spring. At first, I was going to do a day in the life sort of montage, before I realized I had done that on the last video challegne. So, instead I tried to focus on a specific aspect of living in Silver Spring and for some reason the idea that wouldn't leave my mind was documenting the messed up sidewalks that I fell on constantly earlier this month.
 My family and I have all been hurt by the bad sidewalks and lack of sidewalks around specific parts of this area. Once, I was close to falling into the sewer and my Mom broke her foot picking me up from school years ago. So, basically I just wanted to highlight the sidewalks flaws in hopes that our guests wouldn't fall on Colesville Rd, like I have mulitple times.
This video was made on my phone, which is why it didn't come out exactly how I wanted first it had such a limited frame and secondly, the video quality was just awful but I was able to imporve it a wee bit while editing. That was nice. Anyway, I think in the time to come, I want to redo this video on a real camera so I can be proud of it. I mean, the sidewalks aren't going anywhere and I thought the sidewalks I filmed were pretty pathetic, but honestly I have over seventy videos on my phone related to this and none of them were stunning quality. That was frustrating and maybe if I understood technology this would look a bit better, but nevertheless I tried to be unique here and talk about the woes of walking home in my hometown. However, maybe I've failed much more miserably than I imagined, and I guess my auidence must be the judge of that.
Also, I apologize in advance because you have to see my face on camera. I suppose we can get through the ugly together.

"Are you sure it's not a brain tumor?"- My life story

      Hello! Happy exams week! Today I am updating my blog from a mobile device, because my mom is coughing and I can not deal with it. At all. It's a classic case of me projecting my hypochondria on to other people. (Also if you don't like needles I would consider not reading the bottom part about what I want.)
   I'm a hypochondriac. I wrote that in our introductory posts this fall. I have terrible anxiety. Terrible terrible anxiety. Heck, I'm surprised I can get things done at all with my anxiety. (If I ever turned anything in late, there is a 101% chance anxiety is the cause.) I spend days and weeks upon end examining my body and getting petrified over the tiniest things.
For example:
Today, when I got out of the shower I noticed I had bruise. The most logical first thought I could have had would be, "Hmmm. No wonder my leg was sore." Guess what? That was not my first thought. My first thought was," Oh I have a bruise. Oh my gosh where did I get that? I don't remember. I have leukemia. Oh my gosh."
That sounds crazy to some but in my head it makes perfect sense. In fact, I'm still monitoring my symptoms at this very instant. My hands kind of hurt and I actually want to cry.
The worst part?
This happens all the time. I've been to the emergency room for a pulled muscle which I thought was appendicitis. I went to urgent care to make sure I didn't have melanoma. (It wasn't melanoma.) I spent all of Saturday convinced I had a brain tumor and the entirety of break worried about meningitis. It's quite stressful really and very time consuming. Very time consuming even into the wee hours of the night.

• I mean I hate hospitals but right about now I want:

1. A spinal tap
2. An MRI
3. Bone marrow testing

Yep. That is literally all I want right now. A needle. I am willing to go as far as to have a needle in back. However, I doubt I would be satisfied.

So what's the point? That I can't just stop worrying. According to my good friends at webMD, hypochondria is a mental illness and that is true. So, just a word of advice Hypochondriacs can't just stop worrying about because that isn't the point. The way we think revolves around this anxiety and it doesn't get to go poof and stop whenever we want. That's the difference between, "I'm worried I'm sick." and hypochondria. Hypochondria controls your life and your livelihood, the other statement  could just be a casual statement that does not imply panic attacks and mental breakdowns.

A Day in the life of me goes a little something like this:

• Going to bed as last as possible to minimize the window of time that I could contract a deadly disease while I am not alert. 
• Cyberchondria: Web surfing myself into states of panic 
• Cry about terminal illnesses I could contract
• Look up survival rates for assorted diseases 
• Always assuming the worst
• Sleep loss (Sometimes voluntary)
• Worrying about kidney failure
• Keep your phone in reach 24/7. This way I can easily call 911 whenever and wherever. 
• Panicking over bruises and little red dots
• Worrying about whether or not I have come into contact with meningitis weekly
• Once I've convinced myself I have meningitis I worry about whether or not it is fungal, bacterial or viral. 
• Cry about meningitis 
• Cry while doing homework
• Freak out because something always needs to hurt right as I go to bed
• Google symptoms 
• Panic until I fall asleep
• Wake and repeat 

So please don't take hypochondria lightly. It's very hard to live in a body you don't trust and can't trust. Hypochondria makes it so you never feel safe.