Once upon a time children's television was intelligent. This show was a masterpiece. What show, you ask?
PINKY AND THE BRAIN!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIu4fP4fOHE
Watch this and you will see what I mean. And if you like tongue twisters at all then this will be right up your alley. I won't give anything else away. Just watch it!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Stood up
Oooh, burnt!!! This is the definitive "I just got stood-up" poem!
A Broken Appointment
You did not come,
And marching Time drew on, and wore me numb.
Yet less for loss of your dear presence there
Than that I thus found lacking in your make
That high compassion which can overbear
Reluctance for pure lovingkindness' sake
Grieved I, when, as the hope-hour stroked its sum,
You did not come.
You love not me,
And love alone can lend you loyalty;
-I know and knew it. But, unto the store
Of human deeds divine in all but name,
Was it not worth a little hour or more
To add yet this: Once you, a woman, came
To soothe a time-torn man; even though it be
You love not me.
- Thomas Hardy
Absolutely classic.
A Broken Appointment
You did not come,
And marching Time drew on, and wore me numb.
Yet less for loss of your dear presence there
Than that I thus found lacking in your make
That high compassion which can overbear
Reluctance for pure lovingkindness' sake
Grieved I, when, as the hope-hour stroked its sum,
You did not come.
You love not me,
And love alone can lend you loyalty;
-I know and knew it. But, unto the store
Of human deeds divine in all but name,
Was it not worth a little hour or more
To add yet this: Once you, a woman, came
To soothe a time-torn man; even though it be
You love not me.
- Thomas Hardy
Absolutely classic.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Drama!
I dug up my last notebook from the archives today to find some study notes, and I discovered that there's actually some good writing in there that I should probably type up. Which makes me wonder if there are things from all my other previous notebooks that I should type up too...
I jotted a couple of things down yesterday that I discovered as I was reading. (Yes, reading!) The first one's a quote from a textbook on early English Drama by one of the playwrights I'm studying, Sir George Etherege:
"My heart was never touched for any for whom there remains not still some impression of kindness."
The second was something I stumbled across in Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares (I think it was quoting Coquelin):
"Art is in itself a creator, it creates its own life, beautiful in its abstraction, beyond the limits of time, and space."
I came up with a few lines yesterday. I think I'll publish them in my Google Docs sometime.
Ooh, speaking of Stan the man, Sharon Kennedy (a local actor and director whom I revere) ran a free acting workshop on Wednesday night as a way of beginning her rehearsals for The Return (Stark Raven Theatre, October 19th, 20th, 25th & 26th @ the Lighthouse Beach Resort). We went over objective, motivation and action with some text from Australian plays. We didn't have time to go too in-depth, but it was really helpful to revisit it. It's given me some fresh inspiration for interpreting some of the scenes I've been thinking about. Also, I made some new friends! (/contacts, hehe.)
I MC'd the local heat of Storm The Stage last weekend. Therese (my lovely friend from Margs) got through to the next round. The judges came into the wings afterwards and had a good chat to the four contestants and gave them lots of advice which I *happened* to overhear from my conveniently chosen hiding place backstage. Steve Lawson is someone I'd like to work with! I hope the opportunity arises. If not, I'll seek it when I have time.
When I have time seems to be one of those things at the moment. I'd better get back to work. Exam on Thursday. I'll keep you posted.
"The cardinal vowel diagram is a graphic representation of the 8 standard positions of the cardinal vowels..."
I jotted a couple of things down yesterday that I discovered as I was reading. (Yes, reading!) The first one's a quote from a textbook on early English Drama by one of the playwrights I'm studying, Sir George Etherege:
"My heart was never touched for any for whom there remains not still some impression of kindness."
The second was something I stumbled across in Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares (I think it was quoting Coquelin):
"Art is in itself a creator, it creates its own life, beautiful in its abstraction, beyond the limits of time, and space."
I came up with a few lines yesterday. I think I'll publish them in my Google Docs sometime.
Ooh, speaking of Stan the man, Sharon Kennedy (a local actor and director whom I revere) ran a free acting workshop on Wednesday night as a way of beginning her rehearsals for The Return (Stark Raven Theatre, October 19th, 20th, 25th & 26th @ the Lighthouse Beach Resort). We went over objective, motivation and action with some text from Australian plays. We didn't have time to go too in-depth, but it was really helpful to revisit it. It's given me some fresh inspiration for interpreting some of the scenes I've been thinking about. Also, I made some new friends! (/contacts, hehe.)
I MC'd the local heat of Storm The Stage last weekend. Therese (my lovely friend from Margs) got through to the next round. The judges came into the wings afterwards and had a good chat to the four contestants and gave them lots of advice which I *happened* to overhear from my conveniently chosen hiding place backstage. Steve Lawson is someone I'd like to work with! I hope the opportunity arises. If not, I'll seek it when I have time.
When I have time seems to be one of those things at the moment. I'd better get back to work. Exam on Thursday. I'll keep you posted.
"The cardinal vowel diagram is a graphic representation of the 8 standard positions of the cardinal vowels..."
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Google Docs (does it get any better?!)
Google is like, one of my best friends!
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgndw3s3_2cgjns7
My Google Docs Page :)
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgndw3s3_2cgjns7
My Google Docs Page :)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Snap. The dictionary closes.
For someone who loves literature, I really haven't read that much of it.
I hate that about myself. The fact is that I'm a slow reader and in the past year or two I've probably only read half a dozen books. It's disgusting. It needs to change. I'm embarrassed to even admit it.
Those of you who know me well will know that the main book I care about reading is the Bible. All other books pale into utter insignificance next to God's Word! So that's always right up the top of the reading list, the top of the study list.
As far as other books go, my first (rather drastic) idea for reading more is to take on less work next year and spend the whole of 2008 on a strict reading plan. It seems like a diet. I feel like I should get a consultation from a personal trainer or something. I think taking that year to read everything will benefit me endlessly in the long run. I don't know. Maybe it's a dumb idea. Maybe I should be living life instead of reading about it. But literature is important to me. Maybe I can find a balance. I love the feeling I get when there are ideas whizzing around my mind from something I've read. I think what you read colours everything you see.
And I want to be a better writer. There's a wolf on a mountain at the core of my very being that is howling to write. If I don't read, I will lose my language skills. I will lose my grammar skills. I will lose my... what's the word... vocabulary.
For me, through hard times in my life, sometimes words have been my only friend. Writing has been my alternative to self destructive behaviour. Being able to express something means it has less power over me. Writing it down validates my feelings right before my eyes. I guess the more you can unpack something - the more you begin to understand it - the easier it becomes to overcome. I like that sense of clarity. I seem to chase it in every area of my life. I want to know. I want to get it. To get it and to live it.
It all comes down to Honesty and Truth, and how those two fit together in The Great Puzzle.
So I'm going to be a reader. First port of call, my own bookcase. Well, my own three bookcases to be exact. I'm going to keep a detailed journal of what I read. I'm going to monitor my progress through the library.
I'm going to take notice of each new colour I see.
I hate that about myself. The fact is that I'm a slow reader and in the past year or two I've probably only read half a dozen books. It's disgusting. It needs to change. I'm embarrassed to even admit it.
Those of you who know me well will know that the main book I care about reading is the Bible. All other books pale into utter insignificance next to God's Word! So that's always right up the top of the reading list, the top of the study list.
As far as other books go, my first (rather drastic) idea for reading more is to take on less work next year and spend the whole of 2008 on a strict reading plan. It seems like a diet. I feel like I should get a consultation from a personal trainer or something. I think taking that year to read everything will benefit me endlessly in the long run. I don't know. Maybe it's a dumb idea. Maybe I should be living life instead of reading about it. But literature is important to me. Maybe I can find a balance. I love the feeling I get when there are ideas whizzing around my mind from something I've read. I think what you read colours everything you see.
And I want to be a better writer. There's a wolf on a mountain at the core of my very being that is howling to write. If I don't read, I will lose my language skills. I will lose my grammar skills. I will lose my... what's the word... vocabulary.
For me, through hard times in my life, sometimes words have been my only friend. Writing has been my alternative to self destructive behaviour. Being able to express something means it has less power over me. Writing it down validates my feelings right before my eyes. I guess the more you can unpack something - the more you begin to understand it - the easier it becomes to overcome. I like that sense of clarity. I seem to chase it in every area of my life. I want to know. I want to get it. To get it and to live it.
It all comes down to Honesty and Truth, and how those two fit together in The Great Puzzle.
So I'm going to be a reader. First port of call, my own bookcase. Well, my own three bookcases to be exact. I'm going to keep a detailed journal of what I read. I'm going to monitor my progress through the library.
I'm going to take notice of each new colour I see.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Bookworm
Got rid of the Sudoku widget. It was starting to bug me. I don't even like Sudoku.
I wrote three essays at the library today. It was cold there, so I had a rug around me. The librarian took a photo!
I wrote three essays at the library today. It was cold there, so I had a rug around me. The librarian took a photo!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Which eye do you wink with?
Clara and I discovered tonight through a random line of conversation that I naturally wink with my left eye. If I do it with my right eye it feels perculiar! I'd never noticed that before. I'm so excited about asking people which eye they wink with now! What a great conversation starter/ice breaker!
Hi, how you goin'? Which eye do you wink with? Really? No! I wink with my left eye too! I feel like a spack winking with the other eye. Well, actually I feel like a spack winking in general. I mean who winks these days anyway, except, like, sleazy old men? Or people with something stuck in their eye. But you don't really wink when there's something in your eye, you blink. It's not like you're gonna think, 'hang on, I better not close the other eye while I wince in pain'. So yeah, winking is like, so yesterday! Until you become a sleazy old man. Then it's ok. Not that either of us are planning on becoming sleazy old men any time soon. So, nice weather we're having...!
Works for me!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Dover Beach and the three toos
I just read a poem. The last stanza is so gorgeous, I have to share it. The poem is called Dover Beach and it's by Matthew Arnold. This is the last stanza.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
To me, this is saying we cannot have a truly loving or peaceful relationship with this uncertain (albeit beautiful) world, so we must share and maintain our joy and light with one another on a personal level. Without that, we are lost.
As I was reading my Theatres and Audiences book this morning like a good little student, I thought of an interesting idea.
I took a cake to a cake competition. It came second, so I decided it was good enough to take to a cafe and sell. The following week I took two cakes to two different competitions. The first cake won the competition, so this time I took it to two cafes. The second one won so I took it to two too.
I wanted to get all three spellings of 'too' in a row, but I had to make up a little story to make it make sense. Decided to chuck the two 'one's in as well. I guess it's a little bit like that poem, 11 was a racehorse, 22 was 12, 1111 race, 22112.
Gotta love wordplay.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
To me, this is saying we cannot have a truly loving or peaceful relationship with this uncertain (albeit beautiful) world, so we must share and maintain our joy and light with one another on a personal level. Without that, we are lost.
As I was reading my Theatres and Audiences book this morning like a good little student, I thought of an interesting idea.
I took a cake to a cake competition. It came second, so I decided it was good enough to take to a cafe and sell. The following week I took two cakes to two different competitions. The first cake won the competition, so this time I took it to two cafes. The second one won so I took it to two too.
I wanted to get all three spellings of 'too' in a row, but I had to make up a little story to make it make sense. Decided to chuck the two 'one's in as well. I guess it's a little bit like that poem, 11 was a racehorse, 22 was 12, 1111 race, 22112.
Gotta love wordplay.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Back from the point of no return
Our BRECCY classes are still getting late enrollments. It's great to see that the idea is popular for kids in Bunbury. I hope we are delivering a class that makes the kids and parents happy. I'm finding it a constant challenge and a great way to refine my skills and learn new ones. As I said to my teacher the other day, it must be great to watch kids grow from 7 to 17 as performers and people. I hope I'll be teaching some of these kids for that long!
I had a really rough couple of weeks battling with myself, but I'm overcoming it now and trying to make better choices. I was resenting my schedule and trying to escape from my commitments by ignoring them and doing something else. Now I've found a new motivation inside myself and I actually 'want to' do it all.
I'm grateful for what I have.
So incredibly grateful.
I had a really rough couple of weeks battling with myself, but I'm overcoming it now and trying to make better choices. I was resenting my schedule and trying to escape from my commitments by ignoring them and doing something else. Now I've found a new motivation inside myself and I actually 'want to' do it all.
I'm grateful for what I have.
So incredibly grateful.