Week 2 Comments

Robert - A Story from the Summer

Tanya - storytelling week 2

Going Backstage at COME FROM AWAY

This past summer was my first time ever going backstage at a Broadway theater. We were at the Schoenfeld Theatre, seeing Come From Away, the 100% true story of what happened when 38 planes were forced to land in a tiny town called Gander, in Newfoundland, because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. My brother's acting coach is friends with Jenn Colella, the star of Come From Away, and he got us backstage passes. I couldn't believe I was going to meet Jenn Colella, and go backstage at a Broadway theater.  The show was one of the best, if not the best, shows I've ever seen, and I was SO excited to meet the star. But there was another surprise that I was not expecting on the other side of the stage door.

My parents couldn't come backstage with my brother and me because we only had two passes, and they wanted us to go. We were cleared by security and went to a tiny room. It seemed like downstairs were the dressing rooms, upstairs was the tech area, and the only other place to go was backstage. I knew that backstage areas (dressing rooms, backstage, etc.) were small, but I wasn't expecting it to be that small. Anyway, about a minute later, Jenn came out, and I felt a rush of a mix of joy and oh-my-god-I'm-meeting-Jenn-Colella-backstage-at-Broadway-theater. She took us backstage and onstage, and it felt like I could touch where the audience sits. There were the flags of Gander, Appleton, and other communities that had housed the "plane people." But also backstage was that surprise I talked about: Josh Groban.

While I can't say I'm his biggest fan, I became kind of obsessed with him after he played the role of Pierre in another Broadway show, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. He ended his run in that show about a week before and then stuck around New York City before heading back to his home in Los Angeles. He saw Come From Away that night and had also gone backstage. When I saw him, I was speechless. I could barely muster the courage to say "Hi, Mr. Groban!" He was very nice, and he even took a picture with my brother and me. I am still kind of beating myself up about not asking him about when he will sing tweets next on Jimmy Kimmel. That would have shown him I really know who he is. I did congratulate him on Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, though. Meeting him and Jenn is something I will never forget (in fact, the picture is even my background on my computer).

A List of Cages by Robin Roe

I was at Barnes and Noble picking out what books I was going to read over the summer, and A List of Cages caught my eye. Its plot is about the struggles of beginning high school, which I was about to do, and also the struggles of having a disease like ADHD, which I would always love to learn more about. There are some violent scenes, and the images are pretty vivid. Roe notes that the book is based on her life experiences, so I really hope what happens to Julian, the character who is beaten by his uncle, didn't happen to her in her early life. Adam, who is a senior in high school in the book, notices that Julian, a freshman, isn't at school often, he starts to investigate. Adam befriends Julian, but still can't figure out what's going on with him. But when Julian "leaves" abruptly, without a trace, and without telling anyone, Adam begins to piece things together.

While I admit I cried during some of the cruelest and most violent parts of A List of Cages, I did appreciate the detail. I much rather imagine something that's in a book with vivid detail than with minimal detail so I would have to fill in the blanks. This detail also allowed me to bond more with the character, and sympathize with them more. When they feel sad, I feel sad. When they feel scared, I feel scared for them. The story does have its happy moments though, and they really make the reader happy as well. While it is mostly sad, I highly recommend A List of Cages to any mature reader who is ready to go through an emotional roller coaster ride of a book.

Week 1 Comments

Matthew - High School - My Thoughts and Goals

Ellie S - My Favorites

The Pixar Theory

When I can, I will post things about Pixar or musicals, two of the three of my favorite types of entertainment (comedy is the other). Today, to start off, I will share with you the theory of all theories: The Pixar Theory. This is a theory that basically says that all Pixar movies are connected in one timeline, starting with The Good Dinosaur and ending in Monsters Inc. A man genius named John Negroni came up with this theory, and it is my pleasure to pass it on to you, my fellow bloggers. Let's get started:

The timeline has three main sections: humans, animals, and AI (artificial intelligence). It starts off with The Good Dinosaur, then comes Brave, which explains why some animals in the Pixar universe act like humans. Next, The Incredibles and Toy Story 1 and 2, which introduce the beginning of the rise of AI. In The Incredibles, with Syndrome's Omnidroid, and in the Toy Story franchise as the toys come to life. It also comes up in Toy Story that the toys need humans to stay alive. During these movies, including Toy Story 3, toys, and AI in general, start to become fed up with how the humans treat them.

The next movies are Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Inside Out, Ratatouille, Toy Story 3, and Up. In these movies (excluding Inside Out and Toy Story 3, which was addressed with Toy Story 1 and 2), the rise of the animals occurs. In Finding Nemo, for example, we see a father fish get his son back from humans. Inside Out shows why AI and monsters need humans for energy: their emotions. It is also important to note that Up is the first time BnL shows up, a company that eventually takes over the world, and has a more important role in Wall•E.

The timeline now skips about 100 years to the year 2110, when the Cars franchise takes place. Here, there are no humans left, just AI in the form of cars. All of the humans are on a spaceship called the Axiom, which appears in the next movie, Wall•E. Here, we see that BnL has taken over Earth and humans. When the humans return, they begin a life that allows other life forms to come back too, like bugs. Yes, A Bug's Life takes place way in the future. But really, that's not that hard to imagine, as these bugs live in cities, and are inventing things. This leaves the last two Pixar movies in the timeline: Monsters University and Monsters Inc. According to the theory, animals evolved into monsters because of radiation caused by BnL, and accidentally wiped humans off the face of the planet. They realized that they needed humans, namely their screams (and eventually laughter), so they went back in time to retrieve it. This leads us to Boo.

I love Boo, and she's my second favorite character, behind Edna Mode. No capes! Anyway, according to Negroni, Boo never forgets Sully and spends the rest of her life looking for him. She eventually figures out how to time travel, using wooden doors. She goes back to the source of all magic, the will-of-the-wisps (Brave). There are references to her in the witch's hut in Brave, including wood carvings of Sully and the Pizza Planet truck. Although she knows how to travel through time, she doesn't know how to determine what time period she will go to. Therefore, there is speculation that Boo is the one planting easter eggs (references) throughout all the Pixar movies because she has been accidentally going through different time periods. So this means Boo must be the witch in Brave, connecting the whole Pixar timeline.

There you go! The Pixar Theory makes so much sense, it just has to be true. I, personally, believe it. John Negroni really is a pure genius. As Pixar releases new movies, the timeline becomes more and more complex and fun to think about. The conspiracy theorist in me makes me bring a notepad and pencil to every Pixar movie, and I take notes about the different easter eggs. At the end, I write how I think it fits into The Pixar Theory. I hope this changed how you watch Pixar movies for the better. Watch closely, and maybe you can come up with a theory of your own!

Response to A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White

I love stories where the main character overcomes barriers to do what they want. That is why I loved A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White. When Jill, the main character, is drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates, a baseball team, she is the first female to be drafted in the history of the MLB (Major League Baseball). While it is fictional, this story reminds me of Jackie Robinson. Jill faces lots of bigotry and discrimination because of her gender, as did Jackie. While it may not be intense as what Jackie went through, Jill's story still feels like it could be a reality.

What I liked the most is the inclusion of the harsh reality of being a baseball player, especially one that is breaking a barrier in the sport. White includes the legal process of becoming a baseball player, along with what comes before a player plays in front of the big lights. The story actually doesn't include Jill playing in the major leagues, just in the minors. And if what she faces in the minor league clubhouse and field is close to what she'll face in the major league, she will have a very difficult time being a normal baseball player, without any discrimination. As I was reading, I really bonded with the character of Jill, as I am also told that I can't play a sport because of something I can't control: I'm short. If I ever wanted to play football, for example, there wouldn't be many positions I would be allowed to play. So I loved the fact that Jill overcame that barrier, and played baseball like a normal baseball player would. I hope some little girl reads this book and decides to be just like Jill. Except this time, in the real world.