"Clue" Practice
"I'm not Gonna Lie"
McB's Birthday Party
2:19p.m. Monday. Not a school day. Today is an unofficial Sunday. I haven�t written an entry in a while...the more I read other people�s blogs or MySpaces, the more I feel like writing short entries...and post them elsewhere. I have links, so feel free to check �em out. I�ve been in this class, Internet/Web, where I have been learning all about HTML. Whatever that stands for...but you can kinda tell with my links above, created for this entry. If that's not enough, also try moving your cursor over any pictures (such as the big one at the top of this page or the PG-rated icon at the bottom) or any icons in the "Features" menu.
That class moves kinda fast for me, though. Like, if I don�t feel like working, which happens every couple of days, I just sit there and stare at stuff because I just don�t care to figure it out. So it�s easy to get behind, and it�s hard to make sure the [quote, unquote] �teacher� has checked all of my work. If the class wasn�t as fun as it is...I�d be quite frustrated. But I took my work home and, over the course of two hours, created a �web page� for myself. It was supposed to be experimental, but ended up just turning my �favorites� into a web site. [Quote, unquote] �web site.� It�s not really on the web, but it is my �home page.�
And not only that, but I have also been reading my past entries lately to conform my yearly quotes page. Those quotes pages, I don�t know how they get so long, because this one (so far) really isn�t. But I think I have some good ones...ones that are not only things I have said, but others as well.
Also, and this is just another excuse for my lack of diaryland writing, I�ve been going to �Clue� practice nightly. From 7-9pm on school nights, which was changed from 6-8pm...which I don�t understand how that is a good idea, but whatever. I mean, if I don�t have a really big problem with it, I�m not going to say anything. But that sad part about the practices is that they aren�t progressive. We�re really not getting anything done.
Yeah, the tryouts were huge and it was kind of a big deal. I didn�t get the part of �Mr. Green,� like I had tried out for, but fell back on �Mr. Boddy.� Supposedly his name is John Boddy, since I played the board game, like, yesterday. No, it was yesterday...and that day may forever hold my personal record of most board games in a day played with my participation. I�ll talk about board games later, too.
My character in the play won�t be based on the character created by the board game, just like Mr. Green from the movie and on stage won�t be based on the character of the guy in the board game. According to the board game, Mr. Green is a Reverend. Hmm. Well, Mr. Boddy isn�t also known as �Dr. Black,� although that�d be pretty cool. It wasn�t worked into the movie screenplay, so it won�t be worked into the adapted into the stage script. Mr. Boddy will be known to me as a smooth and cool John Kramer...also known as �Jigsaw,� but since Mr. Boddy doesn�t have cancer, like the �Jigsaw� [quote] �killer� [unquote], I blame my husky voice on the inspirational actor Marlon Brando.
We�ll see how that goes...others said they liked my voice, but it�s certainly not yet of Brando-status. I mean, I�d have to look through the script myself and read-through alone to practice enough to get comfortable. And if �Sound of Music� taught me anything, it�s that I can only get really comfortable with a character if I know the lines. And I don�t mean knowing the lines before having to respond to another character�s lines, I mean knowing what he�d say. Or why he�d say those lines...is he mean? Is he nice? Is he a snob?
He�s a snobbish John Kramer, from the �Saw� films. Originated by the brilliant Tobin Bell. I know Tobin as the scary guy from �The Firm,� which stars Tom Cruise in a John Grisham-based screenplay of �The Firm.�
That movie is a classic that I grew up on...whether or not any of you like it.
But back to �Clue� practices, we�re really not progressing. I mean, we�ve read through...and I�m afraid if we keep reading through, we�ll get tired of the play. I can assure you that I will not be laughing on stage. The jokes are really funny and sophisticated, and that�s what I like, but when you know them...they lose their touch. And predictability isn�t funny. It�s like when you know what�s coming, instead of laughing, you say �I saw that coming.�
Funny...I�ve been watching season 9 of �Friends� with my sister in the hours that we�re home alone, and...I�ve been seeing what�s coming. But somehow I laugh anyways...I�ll give that show that credit. But pretend I didn�t say that...as not to counter my point, here. My point being...basically...I�m not laughing on stage.
Our actors are good and funny, and I can see why they won their roles. But the more we read through, the more I ask myself why I asked for Mr. Green. Justin got that role, and he is certainly very funny, but I don�t think it�s the coolest character. Wadsworth, the butler, who is the star, yet, not in the board game, is probably the coolest character. Sam, a kid I�ve known for a long time, really asked for a lot of work when he tried out for that role. He�s very good at it, and if he asked me, I would tell him to stop working on an English accent, because he�s really got something down. And it could be funny...but the comic relief just...doesn�t relieve. To me, it feels like he�s making it more sophisticated than it should be. That�s another problem with reading through too much, knowing the lines so well that you�re just trying to get through them rather than work at making them said better.
But he�s got a helluva lot to memorize, so I...I just can�t complain.
And Alec really needs to take some responsibility. He�s doing great thus far as our director, but the one thing that worries me...strongly worries me...is the sets. Our set idea is seriously of epic proportions...shrunken down. It�s something people should go see, even just for the sets...but I�ll just say that that the scenes will be very busy, even when the stage won�t be. If you don�t understand, the general idea I�m trying to convey here is that the actors may all be in a small part of the stage, in a �room,� such as the library, and the rest of the stage will be dark and empty... �faded out,� if you will.
If I was directing the play...and I wouldn�t want to take on that responsibility, so you may call me jackassy, but...well...alright, �Clue� takes place in a mansion. So pretty much, every room should be as big as the stage. I couldn�t direct this because, not only is there not enough room for what we are planned to work with, but directing is more than just directing. It�s designing the set. And my idea for a set is...the background moves...and the stage set is moved on and off by the actors/stage crew. Sure it prolongs the set changes...but does it have to? I don�t know...I can�t really imagine...but when seeing a play, or even a movie, audiences have to suspend their disbelief and just have fun with it. I went to a children�s theater to see �The Secret Garden,� and they had people dressed in black acting as dogs and birds. No, they weren�t black dogs or black birds, they were dressed in black (with a black backdrop...at first) holding a bird on a stick or a dog puppet. It was pretty ridiculous, and looked really bad when the lights went up and they weren�t in front of a black backdrop.
The basic suggestion I�m trying to express here is that we could have these, I�ll just say �black people,� moving our set on and off for us while the actors say what they need to say. The black people, who would look different and obviously like set crew...could handle our sets. Maybe too ridiculous...but I�d say it�s better than being cramped...in a mansion.
~~
It�s been a four day weekend, though, and �Clue� has, honestly, been the last thing on my mind. I�ll tell you what has been on my mind, or at least was for the five minutes it took me to write it down last night, is the phrase �I�m not gonna lie.� When the hell did that get started? For me...it was Chad...just before 7th Grade Camp. Yes, mind you, it IS a phrase, it�s a catch phrase...and it caught. Whenever somebody says �I�m not gonna lie,� or �I�m gonna be honest,� it actually pains me. I mean, now that that phrase is in our vocabulary, it�s hard to get out, so forgive me for saying anything...but honestly, what the hell.
Last night, I got out a piece of paper...wait...no...it was a plate from McB�s birthday party...and I wanna work it into either my anchoring or a skit that I�m a part of...but I wrote about the phrase �I�m not gonna lie.� First of all, saying that gives off the idea that, otherwise, you would lie. And second, it is pretty much an excuse to be brutally honest. Me...I never lie. I don�t lie. I definitely know how to lie, and am very good at it, as everyone (well, not everyone) could be. I�ll admit, I have an awful memory, but I can somehow remember a lie. Do you know how I remember a lie? I don�t lie very much...so simple little things like what I like to call �white lies,� are easily remembered.
Look at what it�s done to me, look at the first sentence of this part of my entry...the word �honestly� is in between commas now. Just, like, the word �like.� Damnitall.
We, the people, are better than having to be too honest sometimes. I mean, sure it�s good that people aren�t lying to each other, that�s great, I am totally for the truth, and have always thought that telling the truth was underrated, but we shouldn�t need to say we�re telling the truth. It should be assumed. And it�s not that I have a big deal with telling truths or telling lies, but I am just annoyed by the phrase �I�m not gonna lie.� When you think about the idea behind the phrase, maybe it could annoy you, too (not that I want to annoy anyone), and as a whole, we can stop that nonsense.
Thank you.
~~
Onto the real second half of this entry, I went to Erin�s house to watch �Final Destination 2.� No...I didn�t want to watch that particular film, and neither did Justin, who I was going to make sure was going if he wasn�t already invited. So we brought our own movies...I brought the [quote, unquote] �uncut� edition of �Saw�. And Justin brought his latest purchase, �Saw II.� And we watched both of them that night. And it was great fun, Tia and Erin are pretty much the coolest girls ever to watch scary movies with. And I�m one of the biggest horror movie fans. That�d be just another thing Justin and I have in common, though. He�s a big �Nightmare on Elm Street� and �Friday the 13th� fan...while I pretty much only like the originals. But, to me, originals are always the best, even when it comes to the �Saw� films. But they�re both great movies.
But before starting the second one, Christian was getting calls from McB about going over to Eric�s house. Christian is a junior, as is Erin and Tia, and they�re all really nice people. Christian is one of the coolest guys in my book, who I will describe, in Justin�s words, as �a piece of crap,� and in my words as a continuation of that, �that you just can�t hate.� You know those people, maybe a love/hate thing...except I don�t really love Christian. But he�s a cool guy with a sense of humor. But I felt bad for him because I really wanted him to see �Saw II,� but he was going to Eric�s. Eric is another guy I�ve known for a long time, but moved during our sophomore year.
I like hanging out with him, but he just lives too far away. So when McB called back...on my cell phone, I had a hard time telling him that I couldn�t go, or that I didn�t want to go, or whatever. I mean, �Halo� parties shouldn�t last very long in my book, but labeling them �Halo parties� sounds promising...in a bad way. Point being, I like Halo parties, I like overnight things, maybe not at the same time, and maybe not so far away (Eric�s house).
And on top of all of that, I wanted to finish �Saw II,� and couldn�t drive my mom�s van all the way to Eric�s after the movie. So, on the phone with McB, I started to wrap up the conversation and was thinking about saying something like �I�ll see you on Sunday.�
Because I was. But luckily, in the middle of a stutter, I thought twice about saying that...
I was going to be seeing McB on Sunday...Sunday was his birthday party...but...it was his surprise birthday party. I almost ruined it for everyone on that phone with McB, which Justin pointed out when I said to them what I almost said. Apparently, and I found this out last night at McB�s party, McB could tell I was stuttering or something. I know I didn�t say �I�ll see ya.� I stopped myself. I ruined nothing...but McB claimed that the phone call made him curious.
I almost blew it...almost.
His party was pretty amazing, though. While the guys went on and on playing Super Smash Bros, there was another party going on in the back of his basement. First we played Twister...which I still don�t count as a game that I�ve played. Haha, I�ve never played Twister. I�m always the guy on the spinner...spinning without looking at the spinner.
Ooh, I have to say that I missed the surprise...I was on the effin� computer copying Byrdman�s �Office Space� soundtrack, waiting for 6:15 to go to the party...and then realized I�d missed it. So I had to wait until McB showed up and got surprised before he could see me walking over to his house before the �surprise.� So I waited at home until Justin called me back to say that McB showed up.
I�ll have a birthday card for him on Thursday...March 2nd...his birthday.
After Twister, which is a board game (spinner on a board), we played �Imagine If...�
That game was pretty sweet...reminded me of when Laura (a senior last year at the high school) picked me up to take me to our friend Stephanie�s dorm room. It was so much fun, making college life look really cool. I�ll admit, walking down the halls (for a �tour�) was scary because there are some crazy people there. But we played this game where, and I can�t recall the name of it, and I can�t describe the rules, but basically you were guessing things that OTHER people would be thinking. Imagine not telling the truth, but guessing what others were thinking. Is it easier than guessing the truth? It is when playing with friends who you know.
Well, �Imagine If...� was a game where you would read a card such as �Imagine If...� Justin �were a food...which food would he be?� And then it gave multiple answers. You don�t guess what Justin would say, but you guess what the rest of the people would say that he would be. Sure, � McB � would imagine himself as a sports writer...but �Romance� is funnier...that�s what other people guessed, and that�s what I guessed. It took me one wrong answer to get the gist of the game...and I came in second place. First place was Emmaleigh...who I think just got lucky.
But no, it�s really not luck...it shows how much you know people. That�s the purpose of the game, to see how much you know people, if you think about it. It was a fantastic game, though. I wanna find out what game Stephanie had in her dorm, though, because that was a lot of fun, too. It also has a deeper meaning, finding out what you are like. I think it�s called �Apples to Apples� or �Adam�s Apples� or something...you get these cards with words on them, and the words you get to keep supposedly say something about you.
Laura earned the card �easy.� That was funny. Laura�s easy. Haha.
Lastly, we played �Cranium,� and I had an amazing partner, Beka. That�s Bekah without an �h,� I think. Doug and Justin won, because Beka and I just kept getting unlucky, but, we did rock out. We started out slow, but we got up there...taking the �slow track� almost the whole way and advancing one space pretty much the whole time. It was a blast, though...and somehow that game felt really easy with Beka. Like, if I didn�t know what to do, which wasn�t that much, it was okay. I�ve always been a good speller, so I had those ones down. She, drawing with her eyes closed, allowed me to guess so much easilier. Easilier, I�ll say it again.
She�s also one of the nicest people ever, and it was just so cool to actually be a team. That�s the point of that game, to have fun with a good partner. You don�t really have a chance to learn who you�re ideal partner is...you just have to get lucky. Don�t take that the wrong way, but I definitely noticed that it was really warm in that basement.
Good times. I may have left prematurely, but Lisa and Amber, Brad and Beka, and even McB�s girlfriend had left already. If I had to leave, and I think everyone left at some point, then I had to go. But I wanted to stay...because it was so much fun.
So special thanks to McB�s girlfriend and McB�s mom...for putting on that party.
I went home to watch �Friday Night Lights,� which my dad liked...earlier I watched "Hero," which is one of the best foreign films ever. It's so...beautiful...very well made, very amazing. After "Lights," I stayed up for �Shaun of the Dead,� which I loved...staying up until 5a.m. which may or may not have been a longer party than the one at McB�s house.
I�m not gonna lie, I could go for another party like that. Birthday parties are the best.
~~
Music of the Day: The �Office Space� soundtrack. Damn, it feels good to be a gangster.
What I�m looking forward to: �Clue� practice tonight. Seeing �The Lion King� ...soon...on a Sunday...on stage.
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