I have quite a bit of downtime at my job, because the person I replaced midyear has FOUR conference periods. I don't even know how he is a teacher. I'm not really complaining, per se, just in awe that he still has a certificate.
But I digress. Part of what I've been filling my conference periods with is reading. Yes, I'm awful, yes, I'm lazy, blah blah, get over it. I decided to restart reading my Mercedes Lackey novels, because I honestly really enjoyed them in high school but haven't read them since. I'm curious as to whether they stand the test of time. I also, because I am SPECIAL MC SPECIAL PANTS, am going to post reviews and My Thoughts.
I'm reading in more or less the order they were published. Thus, I'm beginning with the "Queen's Own" trilogy (I might possibly be making up these trilogy titles as I go) originally published in 1987. Yes, that is the year I was born.
Queen's Own
In this novel, Holderkin child Talia opens our entry into the universe of Valdemar by...knitting? no, carding wool, that's it...and reading a tale. We're introduced to quite a few of the major elements of this universe (Companions, magic, Vanyel) in a dream sequence wherein Talia fantasizes about escaping.
We immediately find out how much Talia wants to escape from her oppressive life, and stumble right on Lackey's favorite method of introducing a character: sympathetic bullied character is wildly oppressed by their family, then they get out.
Now, don't get me wrong: I don't think this is a bad thing, and it becomes much less common after her first few trilogies. I distinctly remember reading about how Talia (and especially Vanyel, but that's another story (LITERALLY HAHA)) is treated and identifying so hard, even though my family life was HILARIOUSLY nowhere close to anything that happens in these books. That doesn't mean that my eleven-year-old brain didn't think "I'm just like this, I can get out too right? Can I have a Companion?", because it totally did. It really immersed me in the story, and very quickly built a lot of sympathy for Talia, especially when she did something about it rather than angsting for three books (COUGH VANYEL).
Anyway. Moving on. The interesting thing about the Queen's Own books is that, while they were written first (as far as I know?) they do such an incredible job of setting up this universe. One of Lackey's failings, to me at least, is how she basically made up her magic as she went. Reading from The Last Herald-Mage to the Winds trilogy and especially in The Mage Storms, the concepts she employed in how magic work get drastically more refined and specific, to the point where the books are almost contradictory.
However, nothing in Queen's Own is like that. The mind magicks are very simply described, and stay consistent even with what's written in the Exile or Collegium books. And really, these books are, first and foremost, about characters. There's not even really a plot to speak of; Talia settles in to life at the Collegium and meets a bunch o' folk. Talia learns to use her Gifts in Arrow's Flight, and we are introduced to Ancar and the Hardornen Folk in Arrow's Fall. Yes, Fall gets much plottier. And yes, there are arcy elements like Orthallen.
The simplicity of these books versus the Exile novels is what draws me to them, again and again. I think they are three of the best written novels in the entire Valdemar universe, no joke. AND I AM CLEARLY AN EXPERT.
Okay I think that's all I have to say. Next time: Magic's Pawn, the book that almost literally defined my life in seventh grade.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
IT'S FRIDAY FRIDAY GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY
No. No it is not Friday. Sunday came afterward, and tomorrow comes that dreaded day that Rebecca Black cannot even begin to fathom: Monday.
Fortunately, I have a flex day at work, which essentially means I don't have to do anything because I don't teach a subject covered by our standardized tests. Thank God.
So I've been watching Scrubs again, and I forgot how much I love this show. I have nothing witty to say, I just wanted to let my adoring fans know.
I've been teaching at this school since March 1st, and in a lot of ways I like it. My high school band class is fine, and the 6th grade band and the 7-8th grade band class are awesome. Middle school kids are my jam.
I also have a class period that is, quite simply, hell on earth. Let me introduce you to one of the most basic axioms of public education:
Class = Subject + Teacher + Students
Remove any one of those elements, and you get a different result.
Subject + Teacher - Students = FREE DAY
That's right.
Subject + Students - Teacher = TAKS test (or possibly substitute teacher day)
Students + Teacher - Subject = THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, BUT YOU DO NOT FEEL FINE, BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY TO REIN IN THE DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF TEN TO THIRTY ADOLESCENTS
I bring this up because my fourth period class is literally pointless. Its official title is "Music Ensemble"; of my ten students, only three of them are in the high school band class, and of those three, two do literally nothing every day. The other seven are some of the worst discipline problems in the entire school. I am full of displeased whenever I even contemplate this class. The period from 10:32 am to 11:17 am is the worst part of my day.
Fortunately, immediately following that period is my conference period, immediately following that is lunch, and immediately following THAT is my favorite class of the day. So I don't let Evil McHellClass get me down; I suffer through those poor 45 minutes and then bask in the wonder that is the rest of my day.
It also helps that I'm getting paid $15.54 for those 45 minutes of hell. Not a lot, but some. :D
Fortunately, I have a flex day at work, which essentially means I don't have to do anything because I don't teach a subject covered by our standardized tests. Thank God.
So I've been watching Scrubs again, and I forgot how much I love this show. I have nothing witty to say, I just wanted to let my adoring fans know.
I've been teaching at this school since March 1st, and in a lot of ways I like it. My high school band class is fine, and the 6th grade band and the 7-8th grade band class are awesome. Middle school kids are my jam.
I also have a class period that is, quite simply, hell on earth. Let me introduce you to one of the most basic axioms of public education:
Class = Subject + Teacher + Students
Remove any one of those elements, and you get a different result.
Subject + Teacher - Students = FREE DAY
That's right.
Subject + Students - Teacher = TAKS test (or possibly substitute teacher day)
Students + Teacher - Subject = THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, BUT YOU DO NOT FEEL FINE, BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY TO REIN IN THE DESTRUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF TEN TO THIRTY ADOLESCENTS
I bring this up because my fourth period class is literally pointless. Its official title is "Music Ensemble"; of my ten students, only three of them are in the high school band class, and of those three, two do literally nothing every day. The other seven are some of the worst discipline problems in the entire school. I am full of displeased whenever I even contemplate this class. The period from 10:32 am to 11:17 am is the worst part of my day.
Fortunately, immediately following that period is my conference period, immediately following that is lunch, and immediately following THAT is my favorite class of the day. So I don't let Evil McHellClass get me down; I suffer through those poor 45 minutes and then bask in the wonder that is the rest of my day.
It also helps that I'm getting paid $15.54 for those 45 minutes of hell. Not a lot, but some. :D
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Legally Blonde: A Review in Many Parts
So I saw Legally Blonde today. Here are my Thoughts (and be warned, they are numerous and strong):
First of all, the pit was amazing. High fives all around, y'all. A couple times I wished they had kept the instrumentation from the original, but I understand that you can't carry a bassoon around the country for two measures of one song. I forgive you.
Vocally, overall the cast was fairly strong. Elle, Brooke, Emmett, and Vivian were outstandingly good, while Callahan, the Greek Chorus, and Paulette were acceptable, and Warner was just plain bad. Interestingly, many of the male characters skewed much more toward the baritone/bass side than the tenor side, despite the demanding tessitura of the show. Also, a significant portion of the lyrics were altered from what I'm used to hearing. Most of the time, it wasn't a big deal, but I felt like "Ireland" really suffered from the rewrite.
The choreography was......uneven. "Whipped Into Shape" was fabulous, as was the very natural choreography of songs like "Legally Blonde", "Take It Like A Man", "Harvard Variations", and "Chip on My Shoulder". Songs like "Omigodyouguys" (and the various reprises), "Bend and Snap", and especially "Legally Blonde (Reprise)" gave me a very distinct high school vibe. Not to say that the choreography was PERFORMED poorly, because it wasn't. It just wasn't on a par with some of the other choreography I've seen and even done myself.
The sets were very minimal, and that took me some time to get used to. The set pieces were high quality, but there were only two backdrops used at all, and one was an abstract. I'm not sure I like the overall effect, but with the very fast scene changes it was obviously done intentionally and I can certainly respect that.
Now, my Big Problem with this musical, and one I hadn't anticipated: it's incredibly hypocritical. The entire premise of the show (and movie!) is looking beyond someone's stereotype and seeing that they can have talents and abilities you wouldn't expect. Elle is blonde, big boobed, and beautiful, so obviously she's dumb. Emmett is poor and has bad taste in clothes, so he's obviously not a good lawyer. Vivian is pale and standoffish, so she must be a preppy clique queen. All these get subverted and you realize that they are actually whole people with dreams and aspirations. Yay!
But what about the judge, who was nothing but a black stereotype, or Enid, the butchest bull dyke to ever have punched someone in a bar? Dewey, who was the worst portrayal of trailer trash I've ever seen (and wasn't even well acted at that). Every gay male character portrayed on stage was the exact same kind of flamboyant, feminine, fairy queen. Not all gays are camp, Legally Blonde! It really bothers me how this show can say one stereotype is okay, and the other is not.
Okay, there are my Thoughts. You are Welcome. I will stop capitalizing Nouns any Time now.
First of all, the pit was amazing. High fives all around, y'all. A couple times I wished they had kept the instrumentation from the original, but I understand that you can't carry a bassoon around the country for two measures of one song. I forgive you.
Vocally, overall the cast was fairly strong. Elle, Brooke, Emmett, and Vivian were outstandingly good, while Callahan, the Greek Chorus, and Paulette were acceptable, and Warner was just plain bad. Interestingly, many of the male characters skewed much more toward the baritone/bass side than the tenor side, despite the demanding tessitura of the show. Also, a significant portion of the lyrics were altered from what I'm used to hearing. Most of the time, it wasn't a big deal, but I felt like "Ireland" really suffered from the rewrite.
The choreography was......uneven. "Whipped Into Shape" was fabulous, as was the very natural choreography of songs like "Legally Blonde", "Take It Like A Man", "Harvard Variations", and "Chip on My Shoulder". Songs like "Omigodyouguys" (and the various reprises), "Bend and Snap", and especially "Legally Blonde (Reprise)" gave me a very distinct high school vibe. Not to say that the choreography was PERFORMED poorly, because it wasn't. It just wasn't on a par with some of the other choreography I've seen and even done myself.
The sets were very minimal, and that took me some time to get used to. The set pieces were high quality, but there were only two backdrops used at all, and one was an abstract. I'm not sure I like the overall effect, but with the very fast scene changes it was obviously done intentionally and I can certainly respect that.
Now, my Big Problem with this musical, and one I hadn't anticipated: it's incredibly hypocritical. The entire premise of the show (and movie!) is looking beyond someone's stereotype and seeing that they can have talents and abilities you wouldn't expect. Elle is blonde, big boobed, and beautiful, so obviously she's dumb. Emmett is poor and has bad taste in clothes, so he's obviously not a good lawyer. Vivian is pale and standoffish, so she must be a preppy clique queen. All these get subverted and you realize that they are actually whole people with dreams and aspirations. Yay!
But what about the judge, who was nothing but a black stereotype, or Enid, the butchest bull dyke to ever have punched someone in a bar? Dewey, who was the worst portrayal of trailer trash I've ever seen (and wasn't even well acted at that). Every gay male character portrayed on stage was the exact same kind of flamboyant, feminine, fairy queen. Not all gays are camp, Legally Blonde! It really bothers me how this show can say one stereotype is okay, and the other is not.
Okay, there are my Thoughts. You are Welcome. I will stop capitalizing Nouns any Time now.
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