The Must List, Oct 6

1. Sherlock Holmes' "Mind Palace"
This scene happens in Season 2, Episode 2. What a beautifully constructed scene that completely takes you into the mindset and thought process of Benedict Cumberbatch's interpretation of Sherlock Holmes!! Check it out HERE!

2. "The Light in the Piazza" at the Haywood Regional Arts Theater
I saw this musical last night, and it was such a treat!! Why is it completely under the radar? The acting was top notch, especially the college-aged actors (which included two of my friends) that spoke Italian 75% of the time even though they are your average Southern American boys! One word: IMPRESSIVE. A 20-something girl and her mother travel to Florence, Italy to see the sights the mother visited on her honeymoon with the father. Almost immediately, the girl, Clara, meets Fabrizio - a young Italian man who immediately falls for the redhead American. But, there's a secret that Clara's mother is covering up. Will she ever expose the secret? And, will Fabrizio's love withstand the truth?

3. Foot insoles 
Recently, I found out that I am flat-footed. My chiropractor set it up that I received custom-made insoles for free thanks to my insurance!!! HIP HIP HOORAY! I still walk around campus in high heels, but now, my feet aren't achy or sore. The insoles have made a huge difference in every which way. My lower back isn't in pain all the time, and I stand strong. They are even created to fall short of my toes in order not to hang over or be visible when wearing open-toed shoes. I strongly recommend everyone get some!

4. "Sons of Anarchy" Season 4
The drama is back in this original FX series about motorcycle club, Sons of Anarchy. Jax and the gang have been released from prison and now must deal with the sheriff's department that has taken control of their town of Charming. Gemma, my favorite character, is on the warpath to keep Jax from finding out the truth about his father, but Jax wants out of the club altogether. I can't wait for disc 2 to arrive!!

Gemma in "Sons of Anarchy"

5.  Appalachian Mountains in the fall
The leaves have started changing their color, and it is glorious to watch on an every day basis. Driving to school is even enjoyable because of the sheer beauty that surrounds Little Honda. I highly suggest taking a trip and visiting soon before any heavy rain knocks all the leaves off the trees.

6. Daniel Radcliffe in Horns
Didn't see that one coming did you? Harry Potter is back!!!

"South Pacific" sailed smoothly

I was very excited to do an Arts and Entertainment story again... the same section that I started with in 2009 as a unpaid freshman! I enjoyed the show... Stuart was not happy to have "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta my Hair" stuck in his head for days!

"Smoky Mountain High School’s theater department presented the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “South Pacific” at the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University from May 11 to May 13.
The production was colorful, exciting and family-friendly with many musical talents like senior Elena Cope, junior Galen Martin and a guest performance from Western Carolina’s Joseph Callahan.
The show sets sails during World War II on two islands in the Pacific. The play provides two beautiful love stories and comments on racism and war. Nellie Forbush is a navy nurse who falls in love with Frenchman Emile de Becque, a man hiding some secrets about his past. When Nellie discovers that Emile loved and had children with a Polynesian woman, her racist attitude hurts the relationship. Meanwhile, Lt. Joe Cable falls for a native islander’s daughter, Liat, and is torn between his commitment to the army and his love for her. Both Joe and Emile leave to act as spies to report on the movements of the Japanese army, and the women are left wondering if they will ever see their men again.
Linda Haggard, theater director and chorus teacher at Smoky Mountain High School, said she has wanted to produce “South Pacific” for all 10 years she has been a faculty member. This year, she had the right type of voices among her students for the musical.
“It’s about America being at war in World War II,” she said. “We’ve talked a lot about the importance of living in a free country and what that means and the sacrifices that men and women have made.”
Haggard continued to say that the “South Pacific” sets were her favorite in her 10 years, and that they provided a feeling of stepping off a boat onto the warm sands of a Pacific island.
The Bardo Arts Center was decorated in such a fashion with large palm trees swaying onstage over platforms painted to look like stone terraces and walls. Each were covered with dozens of pink, purple and red flowers. Circling the outside of the orchestra pit, a beach walkway with harbor posts and netting allowed the actors to come closer to the audience and take a stroll in the sand.
Joseph Callahan, choreographer of the production and WCU student, stood in for senior Nate Buchanan, who was playing for the SMHS baseball team. Callahan was an excellent example of what the students will one day become if they continue to pursue musical theater. Callahan’s voice was noticeably more mature and richer. He responded well to the other actors and had more control over not letting his eyes wander or his hands fidget."

Read the rest of the story HERE!!!

59. Oedipus Rex

Book 59: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (A-)

This book is actually a play written during the Renaissance... which is why I had to read it for Renaissance class. It tells the story of a man who is fated to kill his own father and marry his mother. It's a classic, twisted tale that lets us know that no, today's generation isn't where the problems started. And, it wasn't the hippies either.
No, it was Sophocles, whose graphic ending is sure to leave your stomach turning. I read the passage out loud to Stuart, who immediately made noises of disgust and said, "That's gross, baby."
It is a captivating story, however - pure classic. Still, to get through the ending... I'd hate to see the live theater version.

8. Wicked

Book 8: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (A++)

Wow, I am so excited to do a blog post on this book because I am in absolute love with it!!! I honestly didn't think I was going to enjoy it. I have shunned the musical for years because I hated the film and book The Wizard of the Oz so much!! I don't know what it was about it, but I never enjoyed the story. But Wicked!!! Now, that's a story.
It was so much deeper than just the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, whose real name is Elphaba. Through a five part novel, the reader follows the complete story from birth to death of the Wicked Witch of the West from the original The Wizard of the Oz. In its pages, the reader explores the magical Oz that Dorothy never shows you. And, Maguire does an unbelievably amazing job of writing a beautiful, emotional, deep story with undeniable detail and charisma. I could hardly put it down!!

From the musical Wicked

Not only are readers able to explore the behind-the-scenes of the classic book everyone knows but there's also deep discussion about life, death, evil, religion, and the rights of Animals - animals with souls that can speak, think, and feel. An example of these intellectual conversations appears in a banter between Elphaba and her lover Fiyero:
"You have no soul," he teased her.
"You're right," she answered soberly. "I didn't think it showed."
"You're only playing word games now."
"No," she said, "what proof have I of a soul?"
"How can you have a conscience if you don't have a soul?" he asked despite himself...

Elphaba and Fiyero

"How can a bird feed its young if it has no conscience of before and after? A conscience, Yero my hero, is only consciousness in another dimension, the dimension of time. What you call conscience I prefer to call instinct. Birds feed their young without understanding why, without weeping about how all that is born must die, sob sob. I do my work with a similar motivation: the movement in the gut towards motivation, fairness, and safety. I'm a pack animal wheeling with the herd, that's all. I'm a forgettable leaf on a tree."
"Since your work is terrorism, that's the most extreme argument for crime I've ever heard. You're eschewing all personal responsibility. It's as bad as those who sacrifice their personal will into the gloomy morasses of the unknowable will of some unnameable god. If you suppress the idea of personhood then you suppress the notion of individual culpability."
"What is worse, Fiyero? Suppressing the idea of personhood or suppressing, through torture and incarceration and starvation, real living persons...? (255-256)"
The entire book is equally as intellectually probing and downright deeper than a tale about a green-skinned witch.
Another favorite passage of mine is Fiyero's wife telling Elphaba about different types of anger.
"Tribal mothers always tell their children that there are two kinds of anger: hot and cold. Boys and girls experience both, but as they grow up the angers separate according to their sex. Boys need hot anger to survive. They need the inclination to fight, the drive to sink the knife into the flesh, the energy and initiative of fury. It's a requirement of hunting, of defense, of pride. Maybe of sex, too."
"Yes, I know," said Elphaba, remembering.
Sarima blushed and looked unhappy, and continued. "And girls need cold anger. They need the cold simmer, the ceaseless grudge, the talent to avoid forgiveness, the sidestepping of compromise. They need to know when they say something that they will never back down, ever, ever. It's the compensation for a more limited scope in the world. Cross a man and you struggle, one of you wins, you adjust and go on - or you lie there dead. Cross a woman and the universe is changed, once again, for a cold anger requires an eternal vigilance in all matters of slight and offense. (364-365)"
I find these statements about anger to be extremely respectful and most often correct.
My only problem with the book was the part IV In the Vinkus. I felt this part slowed the book down and didn't carry on an important part of the story. It developed who Sarima was and how that affected Elphaba and their life together, but wasn't as impressed with this part of the book. The first three parts were so amazing and beautiful that I felt let down when we ventured down into the land of Vinkus to confront Fiyero's wife. I just wanted Elphaba and Fiyero to stay in Emerald City forever as Elphaba did her secret terrorist work against the Wizard and Fiyero wrote letters to wife while loving on Elphaba. The sad thing was that character Elphaba wanted the same thing, but it wasn't meant to be.
My suggestion is to definitely read this book! I don't know about the musical, but if you whether you disliked The Wizard of Oz or not... you must read this novel!!!!

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995. Print.

Show of Splenda

This afternoon, I went to see a show that was unbelievable, completely original, extraordinary, and more moving than any show I've seen. It was called "Sweet-N-Low: The True Story of One Diabetic's Journey to Keep Spirits High and Sugars Low."

A classmate of mine, Jonathan, got up on stage with two folding chairs, a table, and a red bar stool and told his story of being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 and so on. I watched completely enthralled as he reenacted every step of the way starting with a hilarious and warm tale of traveling to Disney World to the broken, heartbreaking sobs of a 12-year-old boy begging nurses to stop taking his blood to a young adult managing and living life to the fullest! Never have I sat through an entire show with tears in my eyes throughout it all from either laughter or sadness.

Bright spot number 1: It wasn't told by a doctor. It wasn't told by a therapist or dietitian. It was told by someone who had been there. Someone who has acting talent that would blow 15-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio out of the water! Instead of someone preaching to me, lecturing me about the ups and downs of diabetes, the audience and myself were shown this "journey" through the emotions of an actor.

Bright spot number 2: It was real. Jonathan didn't sugarcoat his self pity or his pain. He didn't cut out the parts that would make some people think he was ungrateful. Jonathan laid it all out there and at the same time didn't ask for anyone's pity or for them to be sad for him. I can't speak for him, but I can imagine that he wanted people to come along for the ride and go through the experience with him as a means of understanding. I can't tell you how many people have talked to me differently or done the "Ohmigosh, are you allowed to eat this? Are you sure? Maybe I should cut it in half..." bit because I have hypoglycemia. Incurable and as difficult as hypoglycemia is, I cannot imagine (with my great fear of needles) how much courage one must have to give themselves insulin shots. And through "Sweet-N-Low," I was able to fully grasp the other side of the scale that is someone with diabetes and come to understand how it is for them.

Bright spot number 3: I got to sit directly behind Jonathan's mom. I don't know this woman, but I know she and her husband must have been exceptionally brave and strong through the whole process beginning with learning that their son had an incurable, potentially fatal disease. I could feel the pride rolling off of her as her son continued to speak. It was incredible! For me, seeing how proud she was of her son and how much love she had for him was as remarkable as the show itself.

I'm not going to steal Jonathan's thunder and talk about my own struggles with hypoglycemia. I'll just say that even though it was diabetes, it was close enough that the performance rocked my world and gave me such hope that maybe one day I won't have to live like this either because someone found a cure or I will have the strength and courage like Jonathan to adapt to the lifestyle I was born with.

I truly wish that the show had more dates and that every Western Carolina student would go see it. I wish my mom had been able to see it. I wish Kate and my father had seen it. I hope it continues ("Sweet-N-Low" has already spent time touring over the summer) to grow and becomes something people can see not only nationally but globally so everyone will understand like I came to today. It was truly remarkable.