Dun da-dun dunnnn, dun da-dunnnn...

I just got back from seeing Indy 4. Not quite up to the level of Raiders or Last Crusade, but still a good movie. For the most part they did a good job of balancing grittiness with camp (you can't have Indiana Jones without at least a little camp), and several scenes felt right at home among the original trilogy. The last scene, however, I could have done without.

My main worry going into the movie was that I would be too distracted by thoughts of, "get your sci-fi out of my occult," but that wasn't much of a problem until the portal opened up. Seeing Indy in a 50s world rather than a 30s world was jarring, but not too much time was spent in the city. And it goes without saying that we got the map/travel overlay, a lot of action stunts, Indiana flexing his Knowledge (history) skill, and a particularly excruciating miniboss death.

Overall I give the movie a B.

Today is a good day.

Oridnarily I would currently be recovering from the Senior Trip to Disneyland right about now, but I got a cold this week and didn't want to exacerbate it by staying up all night. So why is today a good day? Because I just just got the essay topics for my Modern Western Thought final, plus a message that (due to a combination of Senior Status and presumably writing some well-thought-out question ideas) I only have to write the first of the three essays. Nine-page final just turned into a three-pager. Woohoo!

Shoddy review better than no review, right?

Spring play got reviewed in the school paper today. There were a few typos, such as word instead of an adjective, and four scenes instead of the actual two were connected to Love, Death, and the Prom. I wish more specific actiors had received mention, too. Oh, and Ratched didn't get nearly enough recognition for being--I don't know--the heart and soul of Reckless! At least it was generally complimentary of the play, and I could tell that the reviewer had paid attention to it. Finally, I must admit the last line made me laugh: "...and Peter [last name censored] took his shirt off: what more could we ask for?"

Brains...*splash*

The zombie war was resolved today at lunch. I think Scanlon won. This was immediately followed by a water fight where I paid back my zombifier with a full glass of water to the face.

Brains...(translation: Curses!!)

Brains...(translation: a dispute over technicalities forced me into a match of rock-paper-scissors as per the rules, which I lost)

Braaaaaaaaaaaaains...(translation: at least I helped to bring down the DV instructor by luring him outside before he got wind of my change of allegiance. I am now working to put Ratched in first, Red in second, and Scanlon in third.)

Curses.

So much for my plot. Red never showed up.

The number of survivors has dwindled to approximately ten. All three upperclassmen are still alive, as are the two faculty members, but the lower classes have been decimated. Tomorrow will be very difficult, as I need to cross campus twice. I'll have to enlist sympathetic zombies for protection.

*zip pop stuff stuff zip stuff pop stuff zip stuff*...Groovy.

On Monday began a schoolwide game of Humans v. Zombies. The rules:

If a zombie tags you, you become a zombie. Last one standing wins, with prizes for the top three.
Zombies must wear green Zs (provided) to mark themselves and must be wearing said Z to make any tags.
Indoors are safe zones. Puppy-guarding is illegal.
A zombie pegged with a hackeysack or tennis ball may not tag anyone for five minutes.

The endgame has begun. I checked the scoreboard in the main hall before lunch today, and there were few enough survivors for a hit list to have been posted. When I saw it, only half the people on the hit list were still alive, including a only two seniors. One is Ratched. The other is me.

Even on Monday I was sticking to the backroads of campus, but now that I have a real chance of winning, I'm stepping it up. Today I ditched my rolling backpack for something more portable on the run and worked on inciting class pride amongst the Senior zombies. On that note, Ratched and I are now being viewed as favorable winners, and I have heard that there is money on me. I do not intend to disappoint.

Tomorrow I am fortunate enough to have a minimum of 35 minutes between classes, so I can take backroads as long and secret as necessary (such as circumnavigating the entire middle school). Some senior zombies have even promised to protect the two of us and focus on hunting down the underclassmen. Oh, and tomorrow I'll be armed to the teeth. I was packing a soccer ball for most of Monday (not legal ammo for neutralization, but possibly a tripping weapon), and by Tuesday morning I had gotten my hands on a tennis ball. After rummaging through the garage and my wardrobe, I will be armed with no less than twenty rounds to supplement my stealth tactics (which have worked well so far; not once have I been chased). Unfortunately, the Death Valley instructor remains unzombified and will be very hard to bring down, as he is an excellent runner and rarely goes outside.

Let's get it on.

*later that evening*

I have just learned that only 3 upperclassmen remain alive (Red, Ratched, and myself). Since the top 3 all get recongized, I think it's time to orchestrate an Order 66 on everyone else. Currently, Public Enemy #1 is the Death Valley instructor, and I am working on a conspiracy to neutralize him. Not easy when nobody seems to be home right now.

*later still*

Word is spreading among the eager seniors, and I have agents in the lower grades warning the zombies off the bait--I mean Red. Tomorrow at lunch, Public Enemy #1 may very well fall.

The end of an era

That's all, folks. Never again will I be doing a show in high school.

We had a lot of technical snafus last night, such as Vince getting a nosebleed during Scene 8 and me crushing my champagne glass during the Tom/Pooty death scene, but I felt the acting was our best yet.

The spring play has been denied a review in the school paper for two years in a row, but I managed to accost one of the writers tonight. Hopefully we'll get one this time.

Vince's eternal presence, Ratched's sheer dedication, Candy's intensity ("Scream, Cheryl, SCREAM!!!"), Little Sally's...for lack of a better word, happiness, Lockstock's oddball-yey-compelling characters, Hope's ability to call up laughter or "awww"s with equal ease, and, of course, T as a friend as well as a director...I'm going to miss all of them.

*turns and looks behind, fades to sepia*

Yeah, I watch trash.

Worst. Survivor move. Ever.

"Let's think about this for a moment. I am a strong and obvious physical threat. I am the only guy left in a tribe of girls who like the idea of an all-girl alliance. I've won immunity three or four times in a row. I've backstabbed everyone left in the game and they know about it, so they all hate me now. Clearly the logical course of action is to give up my immunity necklace."

Yah WOOT!

Opening night is finis! It went really well, technical hiccups notwithstanding (mostly champagne glass-related). Got to talk with Loyal afterward. :)

First Act: I was playing Uno backstage. I'm sure it went well, though.

Tom: I never really felt solid on the Tom scenes, but T said they were particularly good tonight, so I can't complain.

Tim Timko: Playing a loud-mouthed sleazebag can be quite fun. Ah, who am I kidding? It is fun by definition. Bonus points for running around shirtless.

Third Doctor: Well enough.

Tom Jr: The acting felt good, but I still hate my costume no matter how fashionable people say it is. At the end of the scene my pants were actually in danger of falling off!

Cabaret steals our Saturday (grrr), so tomorrow is our second and last performance. So sad...

...or maybe they are.

Long period today was AP Stats. We spent the whole class watching 10 Things I Hate About You.

Also, we've managed to trim the show to three hours flat. Which still makes it the longest in my career.

The beginning of the end

My last show in high school opens in 44 hours. This show as a whole is HUGE. We're talking Peter Jackson-length if we don't get those transitions streamlined. Cast is the largest non-musical cast I can remember, and the costume changes are insane. It's fun, though. It's powerful. It's why I act. Ratched has come so far in recent shows; it's really amazing. And we have definite rising talent for the years to come.

Better conserve my energy. Classes aren't over yet...

This eye shadow is not just makeup

15 hours. That's how long I was in rehearsal today. New record. This is not a complaint per se; I like the all-day rehearsals, but tomorrow I have my Stats AP exam. An exam that will last four hours, will not affect my class grade, will not register on college applications, will not give me any college credit no matter how well I do, and will cut two hours out of rehearsal when I feel my scenes are really weak. And now I'm short on sleep for the test.

Will someone hurry up and perfect cloning technology?

Staving off senioritis

Well, that wraps up my six-page History of Justice essay and yet another draft of my mini-scene for Dramatic Writing. Hopefully the first half is more realistic this time.

Shakespeare stuff

Just got my monologue assignment from the Shakespeare God. I'll be working on Edmund's "Thou, nature, art my goddess." Fun times. After seeing Sexmeister's performance I'll really want to do this monologue justice.

Later this weekend I play host to one of the boarders.