"Glee" - my high school years?

The pilot episode of "Glee" aired Wednesday after the American Idol finale. I watched it the next day online, intrigued about a show based on high school show choir. I thought the characters weren't believable, and the story was forced. Why do they have to make it up like singing and dancing makes these kids insanely happy? The spanish teacher who takes over the "glee club" (no one frickin' calls it that anymore) says that his time in show choir was the happiest time of his life. Please. I did show choir in high school because it was fun, yes, but also because I was good at it and it gave me something to belong to. And PLENTY of normal people do it. "Glee" makes it seem like only really big losers like to sing. The pretty girl who can sing is shunned by everyone. Let me tell you, if someone can sing like that in high school (and those kids do NOT have high school voices), she won't be a loser. Though there was a great line from the jock turned singer about everyone being losers in high school. And let's not discuss the we-don't-need-real-practice-we're-just-this-good-all-the-time crap that they show from "practice". It doesn't really succeed in being tongue in cheek, in my opinion. Just fake.

Overall, I didn't think the story was very convincing. HOWEVER. The music was fantastic. There was no orchestral background music throughout the show - everything was in acappella arrangement, which thankfully distracted me from the fake characters. And then there was this number:


This is another show choir that they go see. Ok, so this isn't exactly what our numbers were like, but MAN, is it cool! A great arrangement of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" (that would almost never be sung for competition), and great choreography. If "Glee" has more of this to offer, I might just stick around. But I do hope they put a little more effort into the story.

Post-Graduation

Hey all you in the blogosphere -
I'm finally back on after a trying two months leading up to college graduation. I handed in my thesis on May 17th, graduation day (yay!), but I actually have a few things left to wrap up. Grades must be in this Friday, but none of the things I have to turn in would affect grading. It really doesn't feel like I'm done with this momentous part of my life.

In fact, college graduation feels entirely different from high school graduation. When I graduated from high school, I knew I was headed for UW-Madison in the fall. It was the start of something exciting, and I knew what it was. Now I'm on the edge of a precipice. I don't have a job, the same as half of my graduating class. I don't know what I'll be doing next year; I have NO idea where I'll be living. So it's difficult for me to feel really excited about graduating when I can't see where I'm going. God is teaching me patience and (above all) trust in Him. The amazing part was that I prayed for trust, and He has given it to me. It's a little bit like "blind faith", because I have to trust that God knows which path is the right path for me. He's leading me blindly, which is where the patience comes in; I don't like having unknowns in my life for very long. Yet He takes care of His children, even more than He cares for the lilies of the field, which are clothed splendidly and do not worry about anything. I trust that things are going to work out, but the blank space in front of me doesn't exactly fill me with glee.

That being said, I AM excited for summer and the things that it will bring. I'm volunteering at Wisconsin Public Television's (WPT) live auction next week and the week after. I'm hoping to get my foot in the door there, because I would love to work for public broadcasting. I'm actually very excited about this opportunity; even though I'll really only be doing grunt work, I'll be doing it for an organization that I believe in. I'll also be filling my time at St. Paul's, whether volunteer or paid. There is a lot which needs to be disassembled from the musical this spring, and as long as I've got time, I'll do it. It will involve unscrewing things, and packing stuff in boxes. Again, grunt work, but satisfying. I'm really excited this summer to look after the things in my life I've neglected these last two months, including, but not limited to:

-spending time with friends
-having fun
-sleeping
-eating well
-cooking for myself
-reading for pleasure

Which reminds me, send me any and all of your book recommendations. I've got to compile this summer's reading list.

Until later,
-A college graduate

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.