~Scardy

Okay, so I auditioned for a part in Dracula on Monday and today they posted the callbacks. I didn't get into the callbacks. I'm feeling rather disappointed about it. I also auditioned for a voiceacting part in a podcast, but I haven't heard anything from them, so I'm not sure I got that part either.
No biggie, right? I mean, it's not like it's the end of the world. I was up against some tough competition for the part, and theater majors naturally get the first picks because it's their major. I just wanted to do it out of love.
...*sigh* I love Dracula. Well, maybe I can get onto the crew.

Anyways, maybe it's for the best. I already have a busy semester before me.

I'm just going to be in that corner over there, crying...

That's Right! It's the first day of classes at MSU!
I'm so happy! I've got a nice roomie. She's an exchange student from Korea. Her major is English (heh).
Most (all) of the exchange students I've met are english majors. I guess that makes sense. I mean, it's not like many people around here are going to understand Korean (Is that the name of the language?)
I like rooming with FE students. It's mainly for selfish reasons. Once they're program is done (Either 4 weeks or the whole semester) they leave, and I get the room to myself for the rest of the semester for the same price as a shared room. Also, since they are in a foreign country, exchange students tend to be meek and don't complain if your side of the room is less than pristine.
..Unlike certain american roomies I've had.
Okay, I'm not entirely cold-blooded. I realize that I'm representing americans to these girls. I want to give a good impression of Americans. It's my patriotic duty to help make allies with other nations for America!
I really like this roommate. the sign on our door says Sun Mi, but she introduced herself as Mia. I think they pick Americanized names to fit in (or avoid having to listen to Americans butcher the pronounciation of their names.)
Mia has been a real sweety so far. We've done a little bonding, we talked about movies for a bit, compared majors... the standard introductory stuff. I hope we'll get to know each other a little better as time goes by.
I hope I'm helping her learn more english... and not making it worse. As Hentry Higgins said, we americans haven't spoken english in ages.

Today I saw my two guys, Billy and Alex. They're both doing good and we'll be sharing classes again.
I confessed that I was becoming a fan of manga to Alex, who gloated and promised to lend me Vampire Hunter D.
Billy has a new beau, so congrats to him.
The three of us are in Graphic Design together. (Finally! HAHA! I finally got into the graphic design class! Do you know how HARd it is to get into that class? I've been trying two years!)
Graphic design means using the computer to make art. Of course, y'all know that I'm no stranger to using the computerdora for art, though in the past it's mainly been for coloring.

Artix Entertainment has opened Beta testing for it's new MMO finally!
It's only open to subscribers to it's other games, so Unless youre' like me and splurged about twenty bucks to upgrade your account on one of the games, you won't be getting on for a while.
However I have upgraded accounts on all three RPGs, so I'm special.
If anyone want's to team up, I'm ScardyG and I'll be on Evil Sir Ver.

I'll be auditioning for Dracula on Monday. I've never had the guts to audition for a play before, so this is sort of monumental for me. I have to prepare two monologues for the audition. Yikes! I already picked two monlogues, but now I'm considering changing them.

I'm so glad to be back in school. I've really missed it. I got into a real rut over summer break. Working the desk at Super 8 was a nice change from school and the jobs I've had before, but I was ready for classes to start.
I'm taking Graphic Design, Sculpture 2, 19th cent. Art history, Non-major acting and French. (Ack! French! My old nemesis!)

In other news, today is the birthday of H.P. Lovecraft. I plan on celebrating by reading a story or two. I used to have Call of Chuthulu as a podcast on my computer, but I had to wipe the harddrive recently and decided not to spend the memory on putting it back on.

BTW, is anyone going to see Clone Wars? Has anyone seen it? Is it worth it to see it in theaters, or should I just go ahead and wait for the dvd rental?
Being that I've already got the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoons collecting dust in my extrenal hardrive, I'm not sure if I care to see this new movie.
It's obvious that it was finacially motivated over artistically.
Of course, just because someone needed to pay student loans or for a new olypic sized swimming pool, that doesn't mean it can't be worth a watch.

Well, it's been a while.
This summer I managed to get a great job at the local Super 8 Motel as a backup desk clerk/housekeeper.
The managers are a married couple from I'm guessing India by all the Hindu religious images they have hanging around the back room.
They are a nice enough couple, but also the most unorganized managers I have ever had.
It's a good thing I like my job. Good for them, because I work cheap, any hours they need, and have no problems with helping with housekeeping when it gets busy.
I'm also one of the few reliable staff members. I'm not naming any names, but there's at least one person I'm surprised they keep on.
Not that all of my coworkers are unreliable. In fact, I look up to a couple of my coworkers. One of the other desk workers is an amazingly capable guy who I think is one of the few things holding the place together, and there's a married couple that work together on housekeeping who leave even us younger ones in the dust.

Sadly, I'm not scheduled to work these last couple of weeks. The boss lady says that it's because she want's to give me some time off before I go back to school, but I think it's because she doesn't want to have to figure out how to send me my money for the last two weeks. (We get payed every other week and the payday would be on the day when I'm traveling back to college) I don't rightly blame her.
I'd like the money and maybe a couple more midnight shifts behind the desk, but I'm not exactly crying over it.
I like working, but I'll take goofing off and sleeping in just as easy.
You don't have to twist my arm to get me to take time off!

Despite my promises at the end of the Spring semester, I have been woefully negligent about working on Grave Shift.
Sometimes I feel bad about it, but then I remind myself that I'm doing Grave Shift for my own personal amusement and I'll do it when I darn feel like it, and then I don't feel so bad.
However, I have come up with a basic idea for the next story-arc. Grave Shift has always been more of a gag strip than an actual tale, so I don't stick slavishly to story arcs anyways.
The arcs are basically there to move around the characters and help build the humor.
I got the idea from when I visited a meeting of the local ghost hunting society. I've always been interested in the supernatural/paranormal and I've wanted to go on a real ghost hunt since I was a kid. the meeting was a bit of a disappointment since the group was preoccupied with an upcoming convention and other administrative worries. I'd been hoping that they would be discussing case studies, looking over evidence, and talking about places to investigate.
Instead it was forty minutes of the same sort of mundane meeting stuff that had bored me out of my skull when I was in Girl Scouts.
Then about fifteen minutes of joking about a guy renowned in the group for his snoring, and the time another group had mistaken it for demonic growls and snarls.
That story was the highlight of the meeting for me, since a similar misunderstanding had occurred during an eighth-grade trip to Washington D.C.
(A story for another time)

Needless to say, Grave Shift is about to dip into the murky world of paranormal investigations.
I say murky because the paranormal field suffers from the same drama, attention-whoring, and senseless rivalry as about every other field of investigation and research out there.
There's money to be made from book deals, network deals, and lecturing. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, you know? There's money and attention in it. Different groups have different styles, practices, beliefs, philosophies and goals. It's human nature to compete, and they'll sling barbs and mud just as readily as politicians.
(Who also get money and attention out of it)

I've been packing my things to head back to Murray. I already packed my DVDs, books, clothes, and household supplies. I still have to pack up the furniture, my electronics, and other odds and ends. I've kept out the things that I'm going to be using up until I leave, so my bedding, tv, micromave and computer stuff are still out, along with my art supplies.
I have to haul all my pieces from the past few semesters back to school! Can you believe?
I have to keep them with me for the mid-degree review. If I pass this upcoming review, then I'll be able to work on a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree instead of a simple Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.
I've finally gotten into the Intro to Graphic Design course! Graphic Design is supposed to be my focus, but it's very hard to get into the class because of the limited amount of space. Graphic Design will have me working with computer art, making posters and ads. This will open up a large field for me, including, but not limited to film, advertising, magazine design, etc.
If you ever look up the people who've worked on shows such as avatar, Danny Phantom, and such, you'll notice that they tend to boast BFAs in Graphic Design.
It's a more commercially viable degree than painting, art history, or drawing, though these are all important components.
The liberal arts education creates well-rounded people with a variety of skills that can be communicated into a variety of fields within and outside what people perceive as the arts.
Drama and theater training helps you present yourself, think in abstract terms, come up with creative solutions in a blink of an eye, work with teams of people, and adapt to sudden, unexpected changes.
Drawing helps with communication and observation. Sculpture teaches thinking in multiple dimensions, working with and understanding a variety of materials we use every day.
Music teaches you to listen to tones, pitch, and rhythm.
All these skills can be applied to everything you do every day, in every field and situation.

Not that I'm knocking mathematics or the sciences. they are definately important. However, they do not teach you how to operate outside the lab, how to spread what you've learned or put it to practical use.
For that you need inventiveness, creativity, communication and a dose of presentation.
Yeah, I'm making the argument for liberal arts education. the Administrations have been cutting down on art programs in schools. There's an obsession with science and math. Language, theater, music, art, and other humanities are getting the shunt. My school never even had such practical studies as home economics or shop class.

I only had a half year of PE and a half year of health studies. Sex education lasts at most, a week, and parents can pull they're kids out of it if they wish. (Like a five one-hour lectures could possibly cover the subject of sex!)
Teachers have to take their own initiative to make sure students learn such basic skills as how to balance a budget, find a job, understanding bank rates, getting loans, writing checks, or keep up a good credit score. No one on the school boards make sure high schoolers how to wash clothes, cook food, take care of children, what local laws are, or what one's credit score means.
I guess they expect the parents are going to teach their kids, but when your folks are holding down their own full-time jobs on top of all these other concerns in our racing society, you just can't assume these things.

My mom, as many of you know, is a high school art teacher. She's been teaching for as long as I can remember, and I went to the same school she taught at for the majority of my school career. I had her art class when I was elementary school, and the year I moved up to the high school art program, the other teacher retired and my mom filled her place. Meaning, of course, that once again she was my teacher.
This is why I have such strong opinions on education. I believe learning should be free, openly and widely available, and uncensored.
through television, radio, books and the net, information should be freely shared with everyone.
Yeah, I'm totally an idealist when it comes to communication and education.

Dude... This has gotten long.
Well, it HAS been a while since I've written here.
I'm signed up for other blog and journal services, but for some reason I always just say it here, on DeviantArt.
Outta sight, outta mind I guess. I don't go onto blogs and journals often, but I'm here everyday. So if I've suddenly got a burning need to ramble on about something, I just do it while I'm here insterad of running to livejournal or blogspot.

G.Night everyone. I'll see you when the semester begins.

ROCKS!!!!!

Now just a warning, kiddies. This one ain't for kiddies. It's scary.
Heath Ledger? Of Brokeback Mountain fame? He blows away everyone else in a performance as the Joker that has youlaughing and cringing against your will.
There arn't many movies that scare me (and I'm a full on horror buff!) but this had even me hiding my eyes.
Heath Ledger deserves an award. Even if he's dead. This is absolutely the scariest, most twisted, out and out flipping insane portrayal of the Joker.... of a psychotic! That I've ever seen, and I'm including Hannibal Lector and Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson inThe Shining) in that statement.

The Dark Knight lives up to it's name. It is very dark, but it offers a glimmer of hope even when things seem their most dire.
You know there's gonna be another. I look forward to where they take it. They have not only lived up to the mythos of Batman, they've taken it to the next step.
This is a movie for the adult comic fan. It's about time.

~A wise man once said, "Wanna see a magic trick?"

...or "I blame my mom (again)"
Mom and I discovered another new geek obsession for the both of us. Joss Whedon's Firefly.
It's really good and the series is on sale at Target.
Target has had an influx of good movies. I finished my collection of Batman Beyond dvds.
With Batman Beyond dvds and reruns on the discovery channel, I have been getting a lot done on...
not Grave Shift. ButI am at level 28 on DragonFable and my cross stitch is coming along great.

~A wise man once said, "All we wanna do is eat your brains."