Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow-Play Review

Ah, we’re back to Rainbow Theater. Ready to hear my scathing review? Tough luck, chumps, because this was actually a good play. My sister even had a part in it: the Indian Chief Phantom.

Overview:

You should ALL know The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving’s scary story. EVERYONE at least knows the Headless Horseman. If you don’t, you are a disgrace to people everywhere (I kid... but maybe). The rural town of Sleepy Hollow is full of ghosts. And the worst of them is… the Headless Horseman! I think you saw that coming. No? EPIC FAIL! But ‘nuff of that, let’s move onto the main guy: schoolmaster Ichabod Crane. “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Yeah, most of you won’t get that reference, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s the (HUNGRY) new schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow. He falls in love with Katrina the moment he arrives. The problem? Brom Bones, Katrina’s evil so-called boyfriend (even Katrina hates him). He doesn’t like it when guys like Ichabod come and like his girlfriend. So, anyway, a bunch of random, unimportant (but funny) stuff happens, and Ichabod finds out about the ghosts, and we learn he is a chicken. Check that. He’s an ostrich. Check that, that’s an insult to ostriches everywhere, especially the strong ones. Let’s just call him a fraidy-cat. Check… Oh just forget it! And then, a bunch of more random, unimportant (but funny) stuff happens, and Ichabod finally proposes marriage to Katrina. Of course, previously, we learned he only liked her money, though he did think she was beautiful. Anti-hero, anyone? Yes, I know, that’s an insult to anti-heroes like Darth Bane, who are completely epic, but I’m too lazy to type it. But I just… DANG YOU PARADOX OF EVIL READERS! And of course, Bones knows of this. He runs Ichabod out of the joint and into the graveyard, only thinking of his bad luck, and not the ghosts he was terrified of. AND OUT COMES THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN! And Ichabod disappears, his clothes still on the rack, one moment at a party, next moment gone, never to be seen again in Sleepy Hollow. The only thing left is Bones’s Heschan coin, and no one knows it’s his. YOU decide what happened to Ichabod. I’ll blame it on Bones, who is actually the Headless Horseman.
Other:
I didn’t feel much emotion, but the humor was LOLWTHOMGBBQ (Laugh Out Loud What The Heck Oh My God BarBeQue) worthy. But there is something faintly unsettling about seeing a headless actor with a stump on his head clap during the credits.

Rating:
I must say, it was a good play. What about LOLWTHOMGBBQ OXSOM? In other words, funny and good.

Our Home Concert

Yesterday, 9-17-10, we had a concert at our house. It was so exciting! Two days previous, we had set up our entire downstairs for the concert. We brought in all our rugs, moved the furniture, and even set up a monitor for people who couldn’t see the musicians. My dad made a slideshow all about the temples of Karnataka, the topic of our concert, and used a projector he was lent to show it on our wall. All the songs were composed by great composers in those temples.

Jayanthi Umesh, my mom’s music teacher and expert bay area singer, was the singer. Ravindra Bharati was the mridangist and Lakshmi Balasubramanam was the violinist. They were all music experts.

Over 100 people came to the concert. We were packed! I had NEVER seen that many people in a house!

There were 13 songs, each referencing a great temple of India. The songs were Matte Malaya Dhwaja Pandya Sanjate, Vaatapi Ganapatim Bhajeham, Ubhaya Kaveri Ranga, Hatakesshwaram, Sri Chamundeshwari, poetry of Putina and D.V.G., Trigunathmakale, Kandu Dhanyanade, and more.

The temples situated in Chamundi Hills, Mysore, Badami and Tiravarur, Srirangapattana, Nanjanagoodu, Melukote, Kolluru, Udupi, Sringeri, Dodda Malooru, Koodala Sangama, Beluru, and Devarayana Durga.

After the concert, we had dinner.

It was really, really, REALLY cool to have a concert in our house. If we hadn’t moved, we would never have even been able to host the concert because our old house was smaller. Our new house was another thing celebrated at the concert. Anyway, I think, and hope, that we will have more concerts.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

My 12th Birthday

Yesterday, 9-12-10, I turned 12. I was waiting FOREVER for my birthday this year, and it was one of the best days of my life.

I woke up at around 8:30 in the morning. My parents told me to stay in my room while they set up for my birthday. I stayed in bed and watched videos on youtube on my dad’s phone until 9:30 in the morning. I then brushed my teeth, took a bath, and went downstairs. I got my presents. I got the new, AWESOME laptop I’m now typing this on, an Amazon Kindle with 5 books on it (I retract my opinion I posted on a previous blog about eBook readers), and 3 physical books as well. My grandparents gave me a card with $25, and the rest of my family gave me a LOT of cards and a $25 Gamestop giift certificate. My sister also gave me a lot of special stuff. She gave me origami, hand made bouncy balls, and other cool art stuff, and smelling stickers. My aunt and uncle and younger cousins also came too, and they gave me some money as a gift.

At 11:00 in the morning, my friends started coming. Sanjana, Sanjana, and Ankith all came, and we played Mario Kart Wii until it was time for lunch. We had pizza and orange cake. We then started watching the Karate Kid. However, a few minutes into the movie, we switched to Bedtime Stories. We also made our own personal ice cream sundaes.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, Sanjana and Sanjana left. We dropped off Ankith at 3:00 in the afternoon at his house. I spent the rest of the time watching videos on my new laptop and downloading an FPS until we had to leave to go to some houses for a religious festival. We left at 6:30 in the evening and got back at 10:00 in the night. I played the FPS I downloaded, Alliance of Valiant Arms, until 10:30 in the night. It ran really well on my laptop.

Like I said before, yesterday was one of the best days of my life.