Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Snoopy's Defeat

On a winter day in December, when it was very cold, the Peanuts gang was enjoying the afternoon skating. Clutching his blue blanket tightly to his cheek, Linus stood in the middle of the pond, wondering why he had come along. He’d much rather be inside with a toasty mug of hot cocoa, cuddling his blanket and sucking his thumb in his favorite chair instead of in the freezing wind, which was making his poor blanket whip back and forth. Clumsily hobbling towards the bank, Linus decided that ice skating was not for him.

Snoopy, who enjoyed skating immensely, was turning pirouettes and spinning circles around everyone as usual. When Linus turned around, he discovered that Snoopy was charging his way. In an attempt to escape, Linus shuffled hurriedly towards the safe edge of the rink. Zooming towards Linus, Snoopy caught him just as he reached the bank.

Snatching the fuzzy blue blanket in his mouth, Snoopy spun Linus around. With determination, Linus clung on to his blanket, his most precious possession, while Snoopy dragged him around the pond. Linus wouldn’t let go. Crazily, Linus was pulled ‘round and ‘round, until his head was spinning wildly. Linus jerked his blanket suddenly, sending Snoopy towards a large snow bank, where he landed dejectedly in defeat.

A Day for Ice Skating

Waiting for Charlie Brown and the others to arrive, Linus, who was early, was skating around the pond slowly. He hadn’t wanted to arrive early, but his mom said, “Better early than late.” In the air he could see his breath fogging up. While he circled the frozen pond, he rubbed his hands together for warmth. Suddenly a freezing gust of wind almost blew him over as he wrapped his blanket tightly around him. He couldn’t wait for Charlie Brown to arrive.

In the distance, Charlie Brown and Snoopy trudged slowly through the deep snow. Looking towards the pond, Charlie Brown could see a speck, and he thought, “That must be Linus!” As he pushed through the snow, Charlie Brown wondered where everyone else was. Suddenly, bounding in front of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, his dog, sped off towards the lake, while Charlie Brown didn’t pick up the pace at all. Charlie Brown watched him run off, shrugged his shoulders, and kept moving forward at his own pace.

As he grew closer to the pond, Snoopy picked up the speed considerably so he could arrive as soon as possible. Violently shivering in the cold, Linus could only make out a white and black blur speeding towards him. Reaching the ice, Snoopy tried to slow down, but went flying across the pond, grabbing for the only thing in his reach. The only thing in his reach just so happened to be Linus’s blanket, while Linus, who refused to let go, got dragged along with Snoopy until they both crashed into the snow bank at the edge of the pond. In the icy snow, Linus and Snoopy untangled themselves to find Charlie Brown, who had finally arrived, skating across the pond to where they were. “I don’t want to skate anymore Charlie Brown,” said Linus.” Freezing cold, they went home.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Defying Gravity


Since its opening in 2003, the Broadway show Wicked has been the show to beat. Based loosely on the novel Wicked: The life and Times of the Witches of Oz, which is a novel paralleling Frank Baum’s classic film The Wizard of Oz, the musical Wicked is an uproariously funny, yet deeply thoughtful story. Initially premiering in San Francisco, Wicked created little buzz with its audiences. Critics wondered if the show would make it. The show then traveled to New York for the premiere there. It immediately became a box office smash! Like Elphaba, the show has been defying gravity ever since!

Driving While Texting

Everyone has heard of a DWI, but how about a DWT? The reaction time and concentration of a person texting while driving is equal to that of someone who has consumed three or four drinks of alcohol. It’s taken far less seriously. Unfortunately, one out of five drivers admits to texting while driving, while over half of people between eighteen and twenty-four have texted or emailed while driving. Since most people don’t admit to texting after a car accident, these statistics are likely to be significantly higher. Considered far less serious than drinking while intoxicated, texting while driving poses a dangerous problem and will continue to, unless people begin to change their risky and untimely habits.

Six Kids and Their Music

Forming a band for fun in 2005, six kids began what is known today as The Devil Wears Prada. As they tour more and more, The Devil Wears Prada has quickly become immensely popular with song names like “Reptar, King Of The Ozone.” From Dayton, Ohio, The Devil Wears Prada is a hardcore band that has released three full length CDs and one EP album, although they have been a band for only five years. Deriving their name from the book with the same name, the meaning for the band name is completely different. It’s a message about anti-materialism, or as their screamer Mike Hranica put it, “When standing before God, He won't care about your sweet Prada scarf or Gucci shoes or whatever.” On August 22, 2006, they came out with their first full length album, which was named Dear Love A Beautiful Discord. Recently making a new record, The Devil Wears Prada’s newest EP, which is named Zombie is exclusively about zombies and even comes with a zombie comic book. They’ve come a long way from six kids playing music for fun in 2005.

No More Cover Songs

Our Last Night is a five piece band made of guys who were “sick of jamming out to cover songs.” Starting while they were still in high school, they played wild shows and quickly grew popular in the New Hampshire area, and they also gained much attention for their vocalist , because he was only eleven years old when he joined the band. Throughout their career they have put out three full length albums and one EP. In August of 2007, they signed to Epitaph Records and put out their album The Ghosts Among Us. Strenuously working with Andrew Wade, who also works with the bands A Day To Remember and Versa Emerge, Our Last Night released their CD We Will All Evolve on April 30, 2010. Our Last Night has become a great band since their decision to stop jamming to cover songs.

Cracked

Comfortably sitting in the study, waiting for Mr. Perry, Betty was thinking the day over. Picking up a book, she wondered why the name Betty had been chosen for her because she hated the name Betty. It wasn’t her real name. Her real name was actually Meg, and she was an information gatherer. Under cover as a health consultant for Mr. Perry, who was the owner of all the electrical companies going under in the United States, her mission was simple: see how Perry was taking bankruptcy. While she relaxed in the chair, she also wondered when Mr. Perry would arrive.

As she sat, a loud noise broke into her train of thought. Wildly swinging from the gold chandelier above her was--none other than--Mr. Perry himself. Hooting like an owl and flapping his wings crazily like a bird as he swung back and forth, he kept clawing at nothing with his feet. His clothes were torn, he had half a beard, and he kept screaming, “They will never find me in this jungle.” Above Meg’s head, Mr. Perry, who finally spotted her, let out a howl of rage, and started grabbing books off the shelves, as he chucked them at her head.

Calmly observing the man, Meg watched as he rocked back and forth. “After all your scheming and bribing your way to the top, you have finally cracked, you old tyrant,” she thought. “Although I think I like you better this way anyhow.” Standing up slowly, Meg curtsied and called up, “I shall take my leave now, Mr. Perry,” and with that she turned, smiled to herself, and exited the room. As she walked down the hall to the front door, she planned her report in her head. She didn’t have much to tell the boss, because Mr. Perry could be summed up in four short words. Cracked, but quite delightful.

Fifty Bucks Well-Earned, Almost

As Marge walked down the long aisle she looked up to see the groom, who was standing, smiling at the end of the aisle. Immediately saying yes when he had proposed, she could not wait to be married, especially to the man of her dreams. Waiting at the end of the aisle, Frank stood nervously. He had been waiting for this moment all his life, and he could not believe it was already upon him. He felt like jelly. In the first row, the mothers were clutching their tissues and bawling boomingly into them as Marge passed.

Meanwhile, Francis was standing in the lobby, ready to enter behind Marge. On a pillow next to him, lay the wedding rings, small and gold. He did not want his sister to be married because he didn’t much care for Frank, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Picking up the rings and starting slowly into the aisle, he realized that if he didn’t want his sister to be married he would have to act immediately or forever hold his peace. Quickly, he shoved them up his nose. “This will stop the wedding for sure,” thought Francis as he followed Marge.

When he reached the end of the row, the preacher looked down at the pillow and then at Francis. “Where are they?” he asked. “I don’t know,” replied Francis innocently as he sucked them farther up his nose. “Do you have a cold my dear bo--HOLY CRAP! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR FACE!” screeched the preacher, finally noticing Francis’ bulging nostrils. Digging up his nose with his finger, Francis pulled out the rings, which were covered in snot, spit on them to rinse off the mucus, and handed them to the shocked preacher. On this note, the preacher quickly married the couple. Gloomily searching for his parents, Francis finally found his father, who took the pillow from him as he said, “If your plan had worked, I would have paid you a well-earned fifty bucks.”

Gold Digging

Watching his beautiful older sister glide down the aisle, escorted by their father, Jimmy’s heart sank. Exasperatedly, Jimmy rolled his eyes at the idea of people falling “in love”, which he found to be very obnoxious. Marriage was a fun-sucker. Jimmy, on pain of death by his parents, was the ring bearer; although he’d done everything he could to avoid this terrible prospect. With all his heart, Jimmy loathed that man, from the moment he’d met him. Although he’d hated all of Lia’s boyfriend’s, Cuthbert was the worst. What made him the worst? Cuthbert had actually succeeded in taking away his dearly beloved sister.

Dejectedly he thought to himself that the worst part about it all was that there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had planned. He had schemed. But he had lost. All of his plans, all of his daydreams, which included things such as blowing the groom up, pushing him off a cliff, or chasing him away with a giant rabid ape, had failed. Panicking, Jimmy looked around, and as he did, a brilliant plan popped into his brain. This was his last chance! In desperation, he snatched the two rings from the frilly white cushion, and without hesitation, stuffed one into each nostril. As he marched innocently behind his sister up the aisle, he felt a glow of pride at his own brilliance. No one would ever suspect to look there. He would stop the wedding if it was the last thing he ever did.

Jimmy chuckled to himself, remembering what his mother always said when he picked his nose, “Are you digging for gold?” Now he literally was. When Jimmy arrived at the altar, he held out the empty white pillow to the priest. Glaring at Jimmy, the priest,aghast, demanded where the rings were. Jimmy shrugged his shoulders casually. To Jimmy’s delight the wedding was postponed in order to search for the rings. As the day continued however, the rings began to slide down his nose, so Jimmy continually pushed them farther up. Unfortunately, Jimmy had a very small nose, so this was an extremely painful predicament. Finally, three hours later, he screamed that he couldn’t take it anymore and stuffed his pinkies up to pull the rings out, but Jimmy had pushed them so high up that this was problematic. The rings were stuck! Jimmy’s parents were furious when he confessed, but they, too, couldn’t extract those precious rings rom Jimmy’s tiny freckled nose. In the end, the rings had to be surgically removed, which was an excruciating experience for Jimmy. His parents decided that this was punishment enough. As Cuthbert and Lia took their vows, Jimmy made his own vow that he would never dig for gold again.