Believe it, wool.

Sidenote, weekend long stomachaches = not fun.

What was our show about? “CATEGORY 5: a musical blown out of proportion” centers on Seagull High, your average run-of-the-mill educational facility with students, faculty, and a healthy student news team. Well, run-of-the-mill UNTIL 4 students receive letters in their lockers, inviting them to join the mysterious janitor’s club. This club has been gathered to help the students discover their superpowers, eventually joining together to save the town from a 2012-style storm. Too bad the gossiping students and fear-mongering media don’t look kindly on mutants! Will the super students save the day? Who will save the super students?

Anyways, the show was oodles of fun. Lovewell shows tend to include everything from angry mob dances, indie guitar trios, razzmatazz soft shoe numbers, and pseudo-political raps. Lots of fun dances, plenty of catchy songs.

I always like trying to figure out what sparks Lovewell shows. This year focused on acceptance and a need to feel useful. These kids are entering middle school, just beginning to face tough academics and more competitive arts education. And, as awful as it is, most middle schoolers are about to discover that they’re not quite as special as the gold stars of elementary school dictated. They’re pushed into their small areas of expertise: you’re good at math, you can be funny, you’re a good musician. Don’t try your best at everything…stick to where you succeed. It thoroughly depresses me that these AMAZING kids (they’re bright and warm and terribly fun) will feel inadequate. These kids (who are ALWAYS smiling) will grow up to be the 99% of high schoolers that always seem to be in a bad mood. They’ll be the same messed up adults that frown on newness and obsess over the dangers of the world (instead of the promises). These kids want to be superheroes now.

Can’t we all be?

1. Family Feud of Harvard vs. Caltech? Wonderful. Especially when they are shocked to find their favorites excluded from the survey of “Most Famous Writers” (pity they didn’t guess Stephen King instead of Dickens) or that “ski lodge” is not one of the top 7 places to find a smart male.

2. I cleaned my room today. This isn’t particularly interesting, unless you’ve ever seen my room.

3. My favorite song of the minute is “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri. I can’t say it’s a particularly innovative song, but I like the metaphor and her voice is really chilling. I’m about 60% done with the arrangement; I’ve got the bass line/chords down (it helps that she lists them on her website) and now I get to go through and get creative with the more repetitive parts of the song.

4. I should sleep now. More substantive post tomorrow? I’m excited to see the Lovewell Teen show. I think they finished writing it this morning. Über, über excited.

During the actual process, time pretty much stops. And races forwards. And lingers to the point of exhaustion. Basically, once you jump into a new Lovewell, you live in Lovewell-land. No escaping to friends and stress; you just keep chugging along that crazy roller coaster (our staff handbook refers to stages in the process as a “vortex of chaos” and “frenzy of creation.” no lie. now do you see what I mean?). So, now that it’s over, I feel like a debriefing.

What is the show about? What does it reflect in the kids? How strange is it feeling like an adult? How strange is it feeling like another child? Why do these kids only want to grow up? Can I grow down?

Answers tomorrow. I’m demolished tonight.

I’m going to try to break that habit.

This isn’t much of a post, but it’s tiny free fall off of my personal cliff. I’ll try to post everyday for at least a month. Somehow I like pretending that the Internet is a bottomless pit that I can just shout into with no repercussions. I like writing. And the Internet’s least useful to me as a bottomless pit. I need to deal with the fact that I need outside criticism to improve my writing/reasoning. And, deep breath, I’m going to give it a shot.

So add me to your blogroll, friends. I’m sick of being your humorous Facebook status patsy.

I’m getting really freaked out by this movie. In books, kids with swords and crossbows always made me feel empowered. The whole “don’t underestimate children” crap. I could be totally pro-war as long as the ten year old had the grenade. Yay, triumph of innocence!

Unfortunately, they now make movies of these books. Major plot points involve encouraging a teenage boy to kill. His sister’s against it, but once he kills a wolf, yay! Sissy’s gonna go train.

What? How is that a moral? I guess I never noticed it until this movie. Sped up pacing and oh so vivd graphics are now sort of making these stories disgust me. Why do we teach our boys to prove themselves in violence?

Uch, childhood. I miss you.

Anyways. I have learned things.

Robin Williams is an absolutely horrendous talk show guest. It’s like watching a conversation between a human being and a living wikipedia race. Jarring, to say the least.

Also, bands are absolutely hilarious. The band was called All Time Low. If that name doesn’t scream confidence, I don’t know what does. It’s as if they’re preparing for their ultimate failure by sailing under the ruse of planning it all along.

Next step: full out, to the nose, straight-haired bowl cuts. These hairdos are magnificent for all forms of head shaking. Which the guitarist did, on beat, with alternating angles, for a full 20 seconds.

Third point: the guitarist. My new favorite. While every other member of the band played within a 2-3 foot radius of their respective microphones, the guitarist chose to run around. And dance. And play guitar at strange angles. And keep head shaking. Now, I understand hamming it up, but the best part of this? The guitar line was completely unimpressive. All the more reason for dancing, eh?

Last reason why this band was amazing to watch: there was a guy all the way in the back on the right with a microphone whose one job was to scream repeats of words like “go” twice in every chorus. DREAM JOB.

My consistency? Awkwardly organized emails and scrunched faces.

Observe:

Haha, that’s really great! I loved that CD when I first got it and I just rediscovered last Tuesday.

No, sorry, I can make it to your birthday party tomorrow. But I do have your present! So next time you come back into this hemisphere, be sure to come pick it up!

Also, hi. I miss you.

See? That is NOT a real email, but anyone who has received a Jenna email knows that that is, if anything, better than my normal attempts at correspondence.

And for the scrunched up faces remark? You just have to know me.

……………………..

Currently: watching a show called Castle. The basic premise is that a mystery writer tails a detective to get good material for his books. I began watching it because I enjoy free things, it popped up on Hulu’s homepage, and it stars Nathan Fillion (who I found was funny when I watched Firely for free on Hulu). It’s actually relatively fantastic. Not because police dramas are ever truly original (I mean, it’s difficult when they are 80% of every show ever), but because the dialogue is funny and the vehicle is really interesting. Storyboards within storyboards are just the type of clever plots that are sure to get a show cancelled. Still, I am now totally invested in the first season.

Also, the music’s pretty good.

And crap. It’s 4:15. Oh well. Waking up for Target tomorrow.

Did I mention I’m going to college in a month?