A Tribute to a Legend - J.D. Salinger

I remember finishing The Catcher in the Rye for the first time and afterwards going to J.D. Salinger's wikipedia page to learn more about him. I like to use wikipedia to read up on authors, bands, etc. so after I had loved The Catcher in the Rye so much, it was only natural that it sparked my interest in this extraordinary author. The first thing I remember when his page uploaded was seeing that extremely famous photo of him in the top right hand corner, the one that I keep seeing on all over the internet today. Perhaps the only photographic portrait of him, this is the photo that would come to represent him to me. That sharply dressed young man with his hair slicked back looking off into the distance. He had a nice face and the photo screamed '1950s' to me. There was always something about it that seemed to jump out at me. I can't put my nose on it, but something always stood out about it, from the first time I saw it. I guess, it did seem peculiar to me that this was the photo chosen for his profile, as most other profile pages on wikipedia had a more recent picture, but as I would soon learn, Salinger was rather famous for his seclusion, and that just might be the most recent picture of him. It may even be one of the only ones the public has of him. The next thing I so clearly remember is that under that representative photo were the facts:

Born Jerome David Salinger

January 1, 1919 (aged 88)

New York City, New York

United States

And I remember seeing that and thinking "He's still alive!" After all, I knew that The Catcher in the Rye had been written in the '50s, which seemed like a long time ago to me, and most of the authors of the books I read (mostly 20th century literature) were dead. So, the fact that he was still alive surprised me, especially considering how old I thought he was. I was amazed. I even talked to people about how old he was. I also thought it was pretty cool that his birthday was on New Years.

As I later learned, he was perhaps just as famous for how reclusive he was as he was for writing The Catcher in the Rye (the best book I had read at the time, and presently tied for my favorite of all time with The Great Gatsby). I later wondered if he died a while ago and no one knew yet. After all, he pretty much stopped being in the public's eye after Catcher, with the exception of the occasional lawsuit (God, love him), the last one having been a while ago. I happily assumed that I would never know and would probably find out, one day, 20 years from now, that he had obviously died a long time ago. Over the last 2 and a half years, I would occasionally check his page, again, when I was feeling bored. I remember coming on at the start of the new school year (this year, fall '09) and seeing that in May 2009, he was, in the process, of suing some Swedish writer for trying to write a sequel to Catcher. How pleased was I! He was still alive, after all. It made me pretty happy, to see he was still going at it, suing any of the idiots in his way trying to ruin Catcher for me.

And I guess that's why when I got on the computer today and brought up Safari, I was so shocked when I saw that famous photo of him I had first seen years earlier and a headline that said 'J.D. Salinger Dead at 91.' My mouth dropped open, my body froze and I literally said out loud, "What?!" I started to feel very hot, suddenly, and had trouble seeing things. It shocked most, considering we hadn't heard anything in so long and it's not like we knew he was ill, but for me it was even more shocking, considering the little wikipedia anecdote I had lived through. I had come to believe he would be immortal, and he was just making news a couple of months ago. But now he died. I couldn't believe it.

I had finished the marvelous book About a Boy by Nick Hornby, a couple days ago, and a large part of the book takes place the day Kurt Cobain dies. It kind of goes through how the world reacted and in particular, one teenager, who he had affected so much that she wanted to get drunk because she was so upset. I remember reading that, just a couple days before today, and thinking how I don't think the death of a pop star could affect me in the same way, for the rest of my life. After all, Elliott Smith had already died, and though I'm closely connected to my music, I felt like the most a sudden celebrity death could make me feel was a minor sadness. Sure, I would be sad that they died, but I wasn't willing to get drunk over it, or let it take over the next couple months, as a lot of famous pop star deaths have (John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson). Now, obviously, J.D. Salinger wasn't a pop star, but finding out that he's died now, seems like a bad joke. I knew that I would live to see his death one day, but I didn't think it would happen like this, and not today. Somehow, it has really affected me, to the point where I feel like I do just wanna stop everything and mourn his death.

Don't worry, I didn't drink anything (except an A&W), but I did take the rest of the night to sit in the hot tub and read my old, beaten down copy of Catcher. I know now that I will keep this forever. Reading it makes me miss Holden, and Salinger, and I can't believe that our world has lost the man who put these words to paper. This great talent, the greatest talent. This man has had such an affect on my life, more than most of the 'phonies' I meet in person, that I can't believe his time has passed. He is be the greatest artist that will die in my lifetime. He really understood the world, terrible as it is, but I can't help but feel like he's the only one who got it. I got pretty upset today with our Pep Rally at school, which made me realize how much I hate these people. It was the typical high school, cliquey bullshit and I was thinking, 'Were still doing this? I thought this was over in middle school and people would start to grow up now. This is just so the 'cool kids' and the jocks can feel better about themselves.' I thought the seniors and the juniors were supposed to be more sophisticated, but watching them today made me realize that the majority of them are the same amount of douches that most of the kids in my grade are. I don't know what brought it on, but it all came to me, and for some reason, it seems connected to Salinger's passing. That's how confused, isolated Holden saw the world, which I can relate to so much.

The Catcher in the Rye will stand down as one of the greatest books ever written, certainly the only one that so perfectly captures how we, humans, think, but it's also one of the most beautiful and I'm gravely sorry that J.D. Salinger is no longer with us. I'm sad that he hated the publicity so much to shield his work from us, but I understand why he felt that way. How could he not? And he had every right to keep it to himself and I respect that. It's a rotten world and I can't blame him for not letting us in on his masterpieces. There's talk about releasing all the unpublished material he wrote during his seclusion, which I'm against if those were not his wishes, however I'm sure I'd love them. He apparently broke his hip in May of last year, but had been doing fairly well, until a recent decline in health starting after the New Year. I'm sad that he's passed, but apparently his death was not painful and of natural causes, and he had been healthy all these years. I'm glad that if he had to go, that was the way, because that really is the best of ways, and he deserves it. After rereading Catcher tonight, I decided that the next best way to honor him, would to be to write about him on this blog, because that's what he would've done. Write. And Salinger, my promise to you, is that is what I will continue to do. Thank you, for everything.

Love,

Marc Hansen

R.I.P.

Top Tens of the Decade

Well, it's New Years Eve and this year it's not just the last day of the year, but the last day of the decade! :O And what a decade it's been. Not too good for the world, in general, but nonetheless, a very significant one for me (though ten years is a long time, I don't know if there won't be a decade in my life I wouldn't consider significant). This decade did take up two thirds of my life after all (:O), so a large portion of my experiences, memories, good and bad, took place during the 2000s. Too much to share the ups and downs or any personal favorite moments, so I don't really feel like celebrating in any way personal, but I thought to honor the occasion, I would post some of my top tens of the decade (movies, music, and books). Over the winter break, I've been seeing these things all over the place, so I'd thought I go through mine.

I also want to start writing more and posting on this blog, even though no one reads it. But I feel like I've been wasting time looking at stuff like top ten lists on the internet (The Internet: World's Worst Distraction), instead of doing something meaningful like writing or working. One more thing: I'm not gonna be explaining my choices or anything, because I don't feel any need to prove my tastes to anyone. I simply like what I like, which is constantly changing, but it's all subjective and these just happen to be the pieces of art that have affected me emotionally. Everyone's lists will be different.... sorry for pointing out the obvious. On all the other lists I've seen, they usually say that.... What is it with top ten lists, anyways? Why do I feel the urge to rank things....

I'll start with movies:

Top Ten Films of the Decade:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (d. by Michel Gondry)

2. Wall-E (d. by Andrew Stanton)

3. Adaptation (d. by Spike Jonze)

4. Amelie (d. by Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

5. There Will Be Blood (d. by Paul Thomas Anderson)

6. The Dark Knight (d. by Chris Nolan)

7. The Departed (d. by Martin Scorsese)

8. (500) Days of Summer (d. by Marc Webb)

9. Almost Famous (d. by Cameron Crowe)

10. Brokeback Mountain (d. by Ang Lee)

Other films that I love, but didn't quite make the list (in no specific order, just the order I thought of them):

Memento (d. by Chris Nolan)

Sideways (d. by Alexander Payne)

Kill Bill (d. by Quentin Tarantino)

Punch-Drunk Love (d. by Paul Thomas Anderson)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (d. by Shane Black)

Synecdoche, New York (d. by Charlie Kaufman)

Finding Nemo (d. by Andrew Stanton)

Inglourious Basterds (d. by Quentin Tarantino)

Little Miss Sunshine (d. by Jonathon Dayton and Valerie Faris)

Once (d. by John Carney)

Top Ten Albums of the Decade:

1. From a Basement on a Hill by Elliott Smith

2. In Rainbows by Radiohead

3. Funeral by Arcade Fire

4. Oh, Interverted World by the Shins

5. Once Soundtrack by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova (The Swell Season)

6. Far by Regina Spektor

7. Set Yourself on Fire by Stars

8. Achilles’ Heel by Pedro the Lion

9. Kid A by Radiohead

10. Figure 8 by Elliott Smith

Now, other albums I love, but didn't quite make the list (in no specific order, just the order I thought of them):

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire

The Dresden Dolls by The Dresden Dolls

Fate by Dr. Dog

Elephant by The White Stripes

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix

Begin to Hope by Regina Spektor

Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie

Strict Joy by The Swell Season

I'm Wide Awake It's Morning by Bright Eyes

Now, books are a little trickier, because though they're probably the strongest of these three art forms, I can listen to a cd or watch a movie a lot quicker than I can read a book. So, there are lots of movies and cds that didn't make either of those lists that I still liked, but I don't even have an "other books I love, but didn't quite make the list" books because I've only read a little over ten books from this decade. So, i have no way to rank ten other books, unless I count like Andrew Clements or Leminy Snicket books. Also, I don't really care for Harry Potter, so he's not on this list. Sorry. :P Also, just to clarify, I have read way more than 20 books this decade, but only about 15 of them were released this decade (which is what I'm ranking). Most of what I read came out a long time ago (though usually in the 19th century). Sadly, looking at this rather weak list, none of these books compare to my favorites (FitzGerald, Salinger, Yates, Vonnegut), except for my number 1. My top five, I actually think is pretty strong, even though I'm always complaining about how there's no good literature anymore. Certainly better than anything I've read from the 80s. I also haven't read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay, The Kite Runner, or The Story of Edgar Sawtelle yet, so I'm sure any of those three could have made it on here. Also, I'm only doing fiction, so two of my favorites (Marley and Me and Manhood for Amateurs) couldn't make it. Wow, that was long. Anyways, here was go:

Top Ten Fiction Novels of the Decade:

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

2. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

3. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

4. Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

8. Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk

9. The Breif Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

10. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

And there we go. That's everything. I don't watch enough TV to do a top ten of that. Maybe a top five. (Arrested Development, The Office, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, The Daily Show). Damn, 1 short. Well, there's four anyways. I wish you a Happy New Years. (It was so weird yesterday, I was on the phone with Apple trying to figure out computer problems and at the end the lady, who was being really flirty, told me not to drink too much on New Years Eve, and I wasn't sure if I should say that I was 15 or just laugh and say I wouldn't.... so instead I said "You too." :I She also told me that she met her husband on AOL 16 years ago. Then, she said "Can you believe that? We've been together 16 years!" And, again, not really knowing what to say, I just said " Wow. That's impressive.") Anyways........... I've been stalling way too long. I have to get back to work. Adios and Farewell.

"Ain't Misbehavin'" Review

I forgot to post this a while ago.

Review of ATC’s Production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’”

by Marc Hansen

ATC’s revival of the classic Fats Waller musical “Ain’t Misbehavin,’” which won 7 Tony awards back in its heyday, is fantastic. The play does a magnificent job of bringing you back to the swinging, jazz filled 1920s. By the end, you really feel like you’ve just spent the night in a different era. Featuring 30 of Fats Waller and others hits, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” hits all the right notes.

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” isn’t a typical plot-driven play and as someone who loves stories, a great one would’ve only made it better, but a bad one could have also brought it down. The production is, instead, a collection of songs detailing the rise of Fats Waller and a tribute to the black musicians of the 1920s and ‘30s who were part of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. There’s not much to dislike about “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (named after the Fats Waller song that opens the show) and it remains perfectly enjoyable, even without a plot. Besides, having a story only would’ve taken away from the production’s greatest accomplishment - the wonderful atmosphere it creates. Through the use of music, light, set design, and costumes, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” takes you to a new world, and makes you forget your own.

The stage has been transformed to look like a ‘40s nightclub with a disco ball and a piano that impressively moves around the stage. The ladies’ elaborate gowns only add to the illusion that we actually are in a ‘40s club and the way the light is used to create mood is incredible. The lights are perfectly dimmed in slow ballads, where you feel like just closing you eyes, curling up with a loved one, and letting the music take you in, but during the bright, jumpy swing numbers, the lights are bright and dramatic, more representative of the music’s poppy exuberance. Credit also has to go to the jazz musicians that give the production its playful energy. After all, what would a Fats Waller musical be without musicians that do its composer justice? Luckily from Darryl G. Ivey on keyboards to Thomas A. Fries on drums the band members are all top notch.

The cast is similarly excellent, from Angela Grovey’s spunky wit to Christopher L. Morgan as the charming goofball. And though they all have boisterous voices, Ken Robinson’s ability to hold a note stands out, as he proved in “Honeysuckle Rose.” Rebecca Covington and Aurelia Williams round out the cast, and while Covington has an undescribable, but immediate likeability (she even does a piece where she sings bad, in character), Williams, or the character she played, is a little too over the top. Either way, her loudness was mildly annoying.

But really, the star of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is Fats Waller, himself. It’s his playful energy and sense of ethnic pride that seeps through the performances. It’s everywhere, in the hilarious “Your Feet’s Too Big,” about dumping a woman because of her overly large feet, in the literally jumping Act 1 Finale “The Joint is Jumpin’” and in the ode to pianos “Handful of Keys,” in which the quintet cleverly sing like a piano (Robinson’s low bass note boops to the others’ high note bops). The production’s wit and energy is infectious, and it’s impossible to leave without a smile on your face. There’s always a certain joy in the meaningful plays that really get at something deep, but sometimes, as “Ain’t Misbehavin’” proves, it’s just nice to sit back and be entertained.

The only misstep in the songs is Morgan’s drawn out “The Viper’s Drag,” in which Morgan flaunts off his muscular physique as he seduces the crowd. Morgan just didn’t work for me as the bad-boy sexy type, especially after he had already been established as a lovable goofball, a la Clark Gable in It Happened One Night. That slight misstep was quickly forgiven though with the beautiful harmonies between the cast in the moving “Black and Blue,” by far the best performance in the production. Though you might think this would be likely to put the audience to sleep, because it’s so calming, the opposite is actually true. It’s so startingly good that we’re more awake than ever, and ready for the finale.

The production truly takes you back to a different time, a place you may not have even known about, but believe me, you’ll be glad to have taken the journey. Buying the soundtrack just wouldn’t be the same, because you’d miss out on all the crazy hijinks, the humorous facial expressions, and the pure, raw electricity from the actors playing off the audience. “Ain’t Misbehavin’” may not have a plot, but that’s only because its job is to transport you back to the era, and let you create the story for yourself.

Overall Grade: A-

"George is Dead" Review

Review of ATC’s Production of “George is Dead”

by Marc Hansen

“George is Dead,” the new stage comedy produced by the Arizona Theatre Company and currently playing at the Temple of Music and Art, sounded great on paper, but is, ultimately, an utter disappointment. It’s not that “George is Dead” was a great idea and just didn’t work out on stage, it’s that writer and director Elaine May (who also happens to be a comic legend and an Academy Award nominee) seemed to have no idea where she wanted to go with the idea in the first place. There are things it did quite well, but its faults bring it down to a seemingly endless, directionless, bore of a show.

I’m not even sure how to set up the plot, because there’s not much of one to start with, but it contains two couples who are the exact opposites of each other. Emmy winner Marlo Thomas stars as Doreen, the dim, socialite wife of the much older, richer, but very happy George (Don Murray). Michael and Carla, on the other hand, live in a crummy New York apartment because Michael, (nicely played by Reese Madigan) an angry liberal History teacher, can’t afford anything better (hey, he is a teacher) and Carla (Julia Brothers) is too busy being neurotic and trying to please everyone in her life. Halfway through the play, George suddenly dies while skiing, and Doreen depends on Carla to take care of her for the rest of the play.

May does write the characters well, I’ll give her that. They’re all cardboard cutout stereotypes, but at least they’re consistent, making it feel less like May wrote them as stereotypes and more like they’re real people, who just happen to fit those stereotypes. I mean, it worked magnificently in The Birdcage (which May also penned) and sometimes it can be a good technique, because it does make us feel like we personally know the characters.

The play’s also funny; not laugh out of your chair, slap your knee funny, but a ‘that was pretty clever’ chuckle kind of funny. Funny, nonetheless, right? I guess, I just felt like the humor was almost too tame. I admired it for its wit, but it wasn’t daring enough to truly make me laugh. I hate to say it, but I think the play’s sense of humor perfectly illustrates the vast differences in each generation, that is the play’s theme. While the older, more conservative character ‘George’ would probably enjoy this play, his 22-year-old cabbie and Michael’s students (who are constantly texting) are used to more severe, inappropriate, and ‘racy’ jokes that would go against a ‘George’s’ traditional values. Being a youngster myself, I’m not the target audience for this play, but if ‘George’ is just a metaphor for that older generation and, as the play’s title suggests that ‘George is Dead,’ then this play’s audience is dead, too. Instead of getting into how every passing generation gets more rebellious in its music, clothes, movies, and culture, I suggest May stop looking down on her cabbie and students and pick up the new memo.

But honestly, I’m not even entirely sure if that was the play’s theme. I hope it was, because it’s a good theme and that would be one of the few positives about the play, but the play seemed to slyly suggest that it might be, yet wouldn’t explore into this interesting concept enough to confirm that it was. Instead, the play preferred to spend more time having its characters engage in drawn out nonsense. May took a good premise and then did nothing with it. There wasn’t even tension to fuel the play, which was the play’s biggest downfall. Parts of some of the conversations are interesting, but for most of the time I was just wondering where they were going and what the point to them was. It’s as if May was a first time writer and was so enamored with hearing actors read her lines that she decided to insert her daily, uncut conversations instead of an actual story. Half the play was spent on the last stage where Doreen spends the night with Carla, and besides a fight Carla and Michael have near the end, not much else happens. It’s mostly just an opportunity for Marlo Thomas (of That Girl fame) to shine and show off her natural wit and comedic timing. She was, by far, the highlight of the entire show, but because I was spending most of the time pondering what May was trying to get at, it all felt meaningless. I don’t think May even knew what she wanted.

Sometimes it can be good to make your viewer confused, but the questions the viewer has have to be answered by the end, or at least left up to the viewer to decipher their meaning. With ‘George is Dead,’ I instead felt that I was confused throughout and after the play, but that I wasn’t supposed to be. The play did have nice lighting, convincing sound effects, and great sets-the apartment set looked like a real apartment-but its serious script flaws prevent it from becoming anything more than a disappointment. And ‘George is Dead’ is the worst kind of disappointment, because it had the real capacity to be great.

Overall Grade: C

'The Kite Runner' Play Review

Wow. So, it's been a long time since I've been on here. But I'm doing this thing for the ATC where I review their plays, so I'm posting my review on here. Here it is:

"Review of ATC’s Production of “The Kite Runner”
by Marc Hansen

The first show of the Arizona Theatre Company’s 09-10 season is an adaptation of the acclaimed best-selling novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I haven’t read the book yet, so unfortunately I won’t be able to compare it to it’s original source (as I’m sure fans of the book are wondering if this production does it justice). I have, however, talked to some who have read the novel and they say the play certainly contains more of the emotional impact from the book, as opposed to the movie which instead put in lots of cool shots of kites flying.

But if you are new to the material, like me, I’d highly recommend it. As for fans of the novel-I’d see it just to see it, even if it isn’t as good as the novel. The material is dark and very emotional, so it’s not for everyone, but if you’re willing to give it a chance, it will engage, entertain, and most importantly, make you feel and care for the characters. I assume most of what’s best in the play stems from the novel, because really the best thing about the production is simply the story. Yes, the sets are beautifully constructed, the music adds to the atmosphere, there are over four hundred costumes and the acting is, for the most part, very good, (as you can always expect from the ATC) but what makes this play really great is the story. It’s truly excellent, and that’s rare these days.

The play starts out in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s. It follows a young boy Amir, an aspiring writer who loves movies, but whose father wants him to play sports. Instead, Amir feels his father’s attention is mostly on Amir’s best friend/servant Hassan, who Amir would never actually admit he likes, because he is Amir’s servant. Hassan, on the other hand, is almost too loyal. He’s such an angel, but you feel so bad for him, because he would literally do anything for Amir, but Amir wouldn’t do so for him. One of these things include when a group of teenage bullies threaten to rape Hassan if he doesn't give them a ske Amir won, but Hassan endures it because he's so faithful to Amir. Amir witnesses this (though he doesn’t think Hassan notices him) and yet doesn’t do anything about it. The guilt he feels haunts him forever.

Of course, the play wouldn’t work if it wasn’t adapted well, which it is (by Matthew Spangler), but it does sometimes stumble over trying to take novel conventions and apply them to the stage. For one, the narration of adult Amir (Barzin Akhavan) during the first act, which chronicles Amir’s childhood, which I guess is necessary because without it you would lose his point of view and thoughts, but at the same time it just seems kind of unusual with adult Amir always standing in the background, like the ghost of Christmas past, while the rest of the story continues. Obviously, Spangler understood that why the book worked and the movie (which didn’t include this) didn’t was because you had Amir’s thought process, but it’s hard to include that in a play (which is why it was probably written as a novel in the first place). Thankfully Akhavan’s performance makes it work.

There’s also a fight scene in the second act between Amir and the main bully (pretty much an Afghan version of Kiefer Sutherland in Stand by Me). Unfortunately, they actually “acted” out the fight, even though everyone could tell neither of them were hitting each other (but I guess we’re supposed to believe they are because they would each fall back and make groans). This was just disappointing. This is a play! You shouldn’t have a fight scene. The strengths in this play are emotions, not action. If they didn’t want to cut it out, they could have at least handled it better, like they handled the “rape scene” in the beginning, which was beautifully done (the actors run off stage and Akhavan describes the action).

That’s one bad example of the translation from text to stage, but there were scenes that don’t usually fit into the play format, that I thought still worked really well. Like the aforementioned “rape scene” and the “kite running” scene where young Amir and Hassan win the race, which seems realistic even though they obviously weren’t holding real kites, but my mind filled in the blanks because of the execution and the fact that I was into the story. The music composed by a brilliant Tabla player Salar Nader really helped here.

Another aspect which really surprised me was the amount of humor in the play. Whenever you hear people talk about this story, they always mention how deep and powerful the story is, but you never hear about how funny it is, as Thomas Fiscella (who perfectly plays the father) mentioned to me. He, in particular, gets some of the funniest moments, like when he and Amir first arrive in 80's America, after enduring the hardships of war, and the ensemble breaks out into disco, or the old Vietnamese grocery store owner who tries to kick Fiscella’s character out of her store.

Overall, despite its few flaws, I really enjoyed ATC’s production of “The Kite Runner.” At its heart, and what makes it so good, is a really excellent story, but this production does a great job in retelling it, especially in the first act, which is just perfection in every way (the second act drags a little). It also contains a magnificent twist, which I didn’t see coming at all but makes so much sense once it happens, and a really excellent performance by the lead, Barzin Akhavan. He might be the biggest highlight of the play. He really tugs at your heartstrings and makes you feel his pain. This guy is going places (too bad young Amir sounds like Andy Kaufman). All in all, while I wouldn’t see the play again, I’m really glad I did see it and would definitely recommend it. And best of all, the play made me want to go out and read the book.

Overall Grade: B+

The Kite Runner is playing at the Temple of Music and Art presently until October 3rd.

TV Commercials and a little Short

So, first of all, I changed my little setting thing, which looks really bland now, but it's the only way to fit the whole youtube videos in my posts.

So secondly, I thought I'd ad a few videos before I leave tomorrow. For those of you who haven't seen them (or can't wait to see them again!...... anybody?)here's my Gemeni Commercial:



And here's my Vit-A-Bear Commercial:



And premiering for the first time every here's a little montage I made:



I'll be gone for a month (......anybody?) but back with a documentation of my trip in Europe! (a.k.a. a documentation on how spending 24 hours a day for 4 weeks can drive a family to kill each other-it's gonna be good.) Bye!

Twizzlers

Okay, so last time I promised that I would be back with a humorous video that my brother and I made. And I have kept that promise. We actually made it over a week ago and it's been on youtube for a couple days now too, but I just decided to post it on this blog today. So here it is:



Enjoy! And thanks to all of my positive comment.....okay, thanks Alison for the only comment on my last one (but seriously thank you :D).