Lin-Manuel Miranda - One of my new favorite people

The musical In the Heights came to my attention a few months ago, and I absolutely love it. It won the Tony award for Best New Musical in 2008. It was written by the main man of this post: Lin-Manuel Miranda. The music is a scintillating mix of melody and spoken word - some would call it rap. For a taste of the sound. Lin-Manuel is the one rapping at the beginning, in the cap.

I was already a huge fan of Lin-Manuel for this reason. Then I heard that he was the translator for the new revival of West Side Story . Why would they need a translator, you ask? Because almost all of the dialogue between the Puerto Ricans is now Spanish. What's more, some of the songs have been rewritten with Spanish lyrics - most notably "I Feel Pretty" ("Siento Hermosa") and "A Boy Like That". There are no subtitles - I think it would cheapen the adaptation if there were. The show has also been reworked so that the gangs are more real and frightening, the Jets and Sharks share blame for all wrongs, and the story is more about Tony and Maria and their love. I would love to see this revival; simply one of the best ideas I've heard in awhile. For the New York Times article describing the new show.

And then Lin-Manuel popped up in the most unexpected place this week: PBS Children's Television. "The Electric Company" was plugged in once again in January of this year, reviving a long-running show in the 70s. Every Friday at 5pm, a new show is aired, but they can all be seen here. This reincarnation stars four teenagers who have the power to create words and letters on every surface, but is similar to Sesame Street (and the original) in cut scenes, vignettes, and short animations featuring wordplay. There I was, working on my computer and watching tv, when I heard a familiar voice - Lin-Manuel was singing about silent 'e' being the ninja of the English language! Turns out that one of his closest buddies is starring as the show's beatboxer, and he himself is writing much of the music. The show is filled with spoken word! It's more entertaining to watch than you might imagine. It's colorful, it's teaching how to play with language, and as an English linguistics major, I find this fascinating. When you teach kids to go from "slid" to "slide" or "sop" to "shop", you're teaching them minimal pairs in phonology. And to invite kids in with beatboxing, spoken word, and urban sensibilities - I'm really excited about this show, to say the least. And I can't wait to see what else Lin-Manuel Miranda pulls out next in his already amazing career.

One Door Closed... it's ok, it smelled funny in there anyway

For the sake of my parents' peace of mind when it comes to the next year of my life, I applied for graduate school at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign back in January. It was really last minute. I had to rush to get letters of recommendation, an interview for an essay, and the standard application needs. I'm pretty proud that I was able to get everything together in a week.

Well this morning, I received an e-mail saying... that I was regretfully denied. I'm not very disappointed. My true desire for the coming school year is to be accepted to JET to teach English in Japan, or (Plan B) do a year of service with a religious organization. I got the sense when I visited the U of I in January that it wasn't the right place for me next year. I think I still want to go to grad school for Library Science, but... honestly, I'm so tired of school right now. The last thing I want to do is go back in the fall for more of the same. I want to be out in the world, making it a better place and all that.

You don't have to tell me the "when God closes a door... blah blah blah" schpeal. God closed that door in my heart awhile ago. It's officially closed now - closed and deadbolted - so I can move on to the things I feel more strongly about.

And stop worrying, I'll let everyone know in a few weeks whether I'll be going to Japan next year or not.

...But please pray for me. Thanks :-).

Bacon Goes with Everything

Eating vegetarian isn't that difficult when you only cook for yourself. I'm trying my hardest to eat lots of vegetables, instead of just relying on grains and dairy. I haven't quite ventured into the land of beans yet, but oh, do I plan to.

On last week's menu:
Baked Mac 'n' Cheese with Carmelized Onions
Homemade Fried Rice

The rice didn't exactly turn out, because I don't own a wok. The pasta was DE.licious. Definitely going to make that again. But through it all, I can't help thinking:

"This would taste great with bacon."

Lent's about sacrifices. And giving up meat isn't a sacrifice unless the temptation is there.

Easter Sunday will be EPIC, my friends.

It's That Time of Year Again... LENT!

Hey all,

So it's been a looooong time since I last posted. It was coming up on the end of February, and I couldn't bring myself to have one lonely post for the entire month. But now it's March (aaaaaahhhhh so much closer to graduation!). Spring better be on its way. For real.

Last Wednesday was the beginning of Lent - 40 some-odd days (it's never an even 40) before Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. It's a time to focus on God, to clear our lives in a kind of spring cleaning for the soul. We make sacrifices in our daily lives so that we can taste a fraction of Christ's suffering before His death. I try to make it a practice to give up something dietary and something more soul-pertaining, and adding more prayer. This year, it's manifesting itself in the giving up of meat for all 40+ days, as well as giving up listening to music in an attempt to better understand silence. I had resolved very early in the school year that I would give up meat this Lent, because I felt that it was within my means to do so. I felt ready. I'm only a few days into it, but it is not easy. Literally, everything that I was craving on Ash Wednesday was once part of an animal. The absence of music has also been difficult. I've allowed myself to "celebrate" on Sundays (not included in Lent, because they are feast days). The most difficult part of this is being in my car, particularly when I will drive home in two weeks. I'll say a rosary, pray in other ways, talk to God, relearn how to be still. On the flip side, I'm adding one-on-one meetings with a few people who have been on my mind and heart, and going to mass on Saturdays, because I feel like my prayer life also takes a vacation on Saturdays when I'm not around a church. Lent is a time of sorrow, yes, but it's also a time of preparing for the joy of the resurrected Christ. Never forget that the story of faith doesn't end with the crucifixion - there's a happy ending.