Goggles!

So, for the longest time I've wanted a pair of steampunk-type goggles, but to my dismay they are extremely hard to find, and usually expensive. So instead, today I realized that I've been looking up How-To videos for Fashion/Fabrics class. And so I decided to google "goggle how to." Hehe "google goggle!" Anyways, I found a very easy How-To video on Threadbanger! So, I've decided I'm gonna try to make one! But first I need materials. I have a lot of them already, but there are still a few I need.

The materials I really need right now are a baseball (or preferably a softball), an old pair of jeans, plastic tupperware, and some spray paint (black, silver/metallic, and/or green). It will be kind of difficult at first, but I have faith that I can do it! The video didn't make it seem too complicated. I may get my brother to help me though, because I need to cut circles with a box cutter, and he might be better at it than I am. To finish it, I'll also have to use the hot glue gun in the art room, and one of the sewing machines in Ms. Ezzel's room. Other than that, I'm sure I will have no problems.

Therefore, when I finally convince my dad to take me to Walmart to get hairspray, I'll get a softball, tupperware, and spray paint too! I am determined to get this project done! And now that I think about it, I need stuff for my Senior Scrapbook too, so now I have even more of an excuse to go to the store.

I hope I get the results I want from this project. I've never attempted something like this before, but I really want to do this! These goggles will be my favorite accessory! It will match all of my clothes, because it will most likely be just black and silver/metallic, depending on what color of spray paint I can get. And it will go so well with my new haircut. I'm so frikken excited! I can't wait! It's gonna be perfect!

Anyways, here is the link to the How-To video that I found:

http://www.threadbanger.com/ispydiy/episode/iST_20080826/how-to-make-steampunk-goggles-threadbanger

And here is the link to the actual page I found it on:

http://www.threadbanger.com/episode/iST_20080826

The guy in the video explains the process very well. And he uses only household items. Thankfully he speaks very clearly and doesn't stumble over his words at all. And he seems to know exactly what he's talking about. The goggles he made looked very nice, and hopefully durable. There's also plenty of helpful comments below the video to make them better and look cooler. So, wish me luck!

Como La Cigarra

I've been trying to memorize the spanish poem, "Como La Cigarra," by María Elena Walsh, for Spanish class. I'm supposed to be able to memorize, pronounce, and present the poem by memory. It's very difficult for me considering I can barely remember things in English, let alone Spanish! But the gods smiled upon me today and I got an extra weekend before I have to recite it for the test. Thank goodness for my good friend that kindly sent me the "song" so I can listen to it over and over until I get it, at least mostly, memorized! I've been so lucky today! Anyways, it's a poem about someone that had survived a war and feels loved one day and isolated the next. He feels grateful to be alive one day, and lonely the next. In Spanish the poem is:

In English, the poem says something like this: 

So many times I killed

I died many times

But I'm here

resurrected.

I give thanks to the misfortune

and handy with a knife

Because they killed me so bad

and continued singing.

So many times I wiped out

many disappeared

My own funeral I

alone and crying.

I made a knot to

but I forgot after

that it was the last time

and came back singing.

So many times you killed

many resurrected

spend many nights

desperate.

When the wreck

and the dark

someone will rescue

to go singing.

Singing in the sun like the cicada

after a year underground

as survivor

returning from the war.

"Friday" Fundraiser

Starting this Monday, the school constantly played the song "Friday" by Rebecca Black before school, after school, and between EVERY class! Why you ask? To torture us all into making donations, why else? Haha, it was a very good idea that they probably profited more from than any thing else they've done. They finally shut the music off for good yesterday after making the announcement that they would if they received $50 more in donations. And they did! And it's a good thing they did too, because a couple more days of that and most of the school would be skipping!

The money donated was put towards our Prom this year! Though, I hope "Friday" isn't part of the music selection. The song is just too repetitive, shallow, and... annoying. I don't think I've heard any other Rebecca Black songs, and if I have I didn't know it was her, but from what I've heard her other music isn't nearly that bad. A lot of people use to say the whole song was an elaborate joke. But I think the song was either a complete failure at trying to relate to teenagers, or she just isn't very good at joking. But oh well, without that song we wouldn't be able to laugh at it. :3

Anyways, in conclusion, it's been quite a week so far. Hopefully the prom committee has some more funny little tricks up their sleeves to keep things interesting. I'm glad people have such a sense of humor in this school, by the students and the staff/faculty/whatever! I hope our real Friday turns out to be a good one!

Mulan and Cartoon Stereotypes

So I've watched a lot of cartoons throughout my almost 18 years. And I mean A LOT. Old ones, new ones, pointless ones, educational ones, and even stupid ones. I believe every cartoon has a lesson, whether it be big, small, or vague. It's always there.

Mulan was one of my favorite cartoon movies when I was little, and has a very important lesson. The overall lesson is basically that you can do whatever you want if you work hard at it and try your best, no matter what gender you are, or family you're from. And sometimes it's best to do what's right even if the rest of the world is against you.

The main character, Mulan, is a young woman who is trying her best to bring her family honor and not disgrace them. But her clumsy and awkward nature seems to be the root of all of her failure. She tries to pass as a "perfect bride" for a woman to matchmake her with a husband, but her "lucky" cricket causes a chain of chaos in the small room. The woman then stated that Mulan would never be a good bride and that she is basically a disgrace to her family.

So, when the military comes to send her father to war, Mulan decides to take his place. To protect her father's life and her family's honor, she sneaks off to join the army under the name of Ping. Her clumsy nature is a huge problem at first, and even almost gets her exposed, but she soon finds a way to exceed all expectations and find a balance. And eventually she saves China.

This movie was the beginning of cartoons giving women the respect they'd been denied before. Before Mulan, cartoons depicted women as helpless, useless, and annoying beings with no sense of direction. Mulan was the gateway for cartoons to branch out from the usual stereotypical image of women, to a more respectable, strong, and independent role. And if not for that, the cartoons we enjoy today would be much different.

Before Mulan, women were always either the "damsel in distress" or the "old hag". Men were always the heroes, or villains. It was unbefitting for a man to be in distress and a woman to be their hero. And it was most definitely unbefitting of a woman to dress as a man. When I first watched Mulan, I was amazed. The thought of a woman dressing as a man to do things a woman wasn't allowed to do was revolutionary.

I've always believed that anyone could do or be anything, as long as they really tried their best and had good intentions. I also believe that everyone deserves a second chance, and that anyone can be a hero. Gender, race, hair color, clothes. None of that matters. Anyone can be a hero. You may screw up a lot and make a mess of things, but you just have to keep trying. As long as you keep trying, you will prevail. Mulan was the movie that brought this all forward.

Murder In The Knife Room! Bwahahaha!

Friday night I went to the showing at Benton High School for "Murder In The Knife Room." It was an amazing play about murder, mystery, and betrayal that reminded me of Clue. But they put a comic twist in it that kept me laughing pretty much the whole time. The characters were named after the stereo type they were portraying, with Mysterious Host at the lead.

In the beginning, Mysterious Host had gathered over a dozen of people to tell them there was incriminating evidence in a mystery box in the middle of the room. As he went to reveal what the evidence was, the lights went out. When they came back on, Mysterious Host was dead with a knife in the chest. But the question was... Who killed him? Then one of the characters, Probably Pretending To Be A Deaf Mute, revealed that he was, in fact, a detective. He went through all of the characters' backstories that had to do with why they wanted Mysterious Host dead. And each of them had a secret they didn't want Mysterious Host to reveal.

And, of course, each of them had a ridiculous backstory or personality that made the play just that much more entertaining. They were so good at portraying their characters, it was easy to forget that I even knew most of the actors. It was like watching a real life cartoon, without all of the animation of course. And in the end, the characters ended up giving the audience a "special surprise." I loved it and if I could see it again I definitely would.

Benton Theatre!