Hot on the Trail

Hot on the trail of Glee’s season finale comes season 2 of The Glee Project. In this reality show, 1,000’s of contestants vie for a chance to guest star on Glee. The finalists live and train together as they are mentored by several cast and crew members of Glee. Each week one of the contestants is eliminated from being in the running after they film a music video.

This show, unlike all of the other contest programs, creates friendships. The people bond and apparently come to care for one another. They are willing to sacrifice a spot in the game to save a friend. Many of the first season kids still see each other. Two of the guys live together and two of the girl also share an apartment. It’s just amazing.

Season 2 starts on June 5^th. However, on Hulu.com, you can watch the episode showing the 14 finalists chosen. Originally, there were supposed to be only 12, but there was too much talent not to choose 2 more. That’s OK.

A lot of things happen in the first few minutes of the program. Robert Ulrich starts off by letting the audience in on the process of picking the special ones. He described in detail everything that he went through with choosing who he thought was special enough to stand before Ryan Murphy and perform. It was very cool to see what a casting director does. People outside of Hollywood don’t always get to see that. We see bits and pieces of the online submissions as well as the open calls. However, whoever edited the show cut out the bad bits. We only see images of what could’ve been bad performances.

And then, after 5 or so minutes of showing clips, we get down to business and see many of the auditions as well as hear the potential competitors stories. After seeing so many auditions, we see the final 80,then the final 30, and finally we meet our 14 contestants. All of them are excellent – they have a wondrous look and sound. They all have different backgrounds that would add so much to the show. As I said last season, why can’t all of the contestants get a spot on the show? They’re all that good. 

You can watch it here:  Glee Project season 2. I hope you enjoy it! I know I did!

To Our Veterans - One More Tomorrow

First of all, to any veteran who is reading this post, thank you for your services. Three of my 4 grandparents were in the service. Two of them even were overseas during WWII (one was used the teletype in Europe and the other fought in the Pacific). But anyway, this post is for you and so is this video that Jeremy Buck performed.

"Soldier Song (One More Tomorrow)" is a powerful ballad about life as a warrior. He gets into the mind of this fighter as he croons his thoughts. At times, the tone of the song is often grave and bittersweet, but that is often how life in battle is.

 Buck discusses the trials and the sadness he faces as he leaves for boot camp, which ultimately causes his girlfriend to dump him. Through the video, which shows scenes of fighting and special military occasions, Buck tenderly and respectfully sings about the loss, the fear, and the confusion a soldier has to face. Not only does a warrior have an external enemy to fight, but there is also inner conflict he (or she) wages against when the person joins as well as throughout the training and battles.

There are a couple very profound lines in this song that I'd like to point out. They show both sides of a soldier's life and mentality.

1. "He said "If God made this world for us all here to see/ Why are we killing one another for another to be free?/ It's all so messed up and just makes no sense to me"

2. "But, I will stand, and I will follow/ And I will stay here, and fight for tomorrow"

Not only does he share the strife the man feels, Buck also shares his hope. The hope for freedom. The hope for happiness. The hope for life.

Through the song and the video, we watch as our soldier boy grow into a fighting machine. Buck lets the character grow and let's the listener/viewer see it. He's been hardened by what he's witnessed and there's a little bit of spite and bitterness towards his friends back home.

 But, he's proud. The man is proud of his country. And this warrior is proud of what he's doing with his life.

Good job, Mr. Buck, good job!

One Show, Two Countries, Two Different Series

It seems many shows from the U.K. have been adapted for viewers in the United States. Take for example The Office and All in the Family, both of those programs originated in Britain. One of the newest series to be altered for U.S. viewers is Being Human.

This show centers around three people who live together and want normal lives. They can’t. Why? One’s a ghost, one’s a vampire, and one’s a werewolf. They’re monsters, literally, and are surrounded by other monsters who love to remind them of their true identities, even when these beings try to forge the painful truth of their existence.

The brilliant thing about the program’s concept is that it’s very adaptable for the audience it’s geared towards. While both shows have a werewolf, a ghost, and a vampire, they’re not the same characters. They have faced similar, and yet very unique situations. All of the characters have different quirks and personality traits.

Both shows incorporate humor. However, the U.K version and the U.S. version integrate culturally relevant jokes. The writers have done this by incorporating an item of the region or through how the lines are delivered.  

Hands down, the werewolf character is the funniest on both versions of Being Human. By watching both series, I’ve concluded the werewolf in the British version is a bit funnier. 

 In the U.K.’s version of Being Human, his name is George. He’s socially awkward and has a lot of foot-in-the mouth moments. One quip that I find particularly amusing is when he’d flirting with a female orderly. George states, “You’ve changed your shampoo. It’s minty. Normally you’re vanillary.” So far, so good. And then after she asks him what he thinks, he blurts, “Yes! You smell like a Polo. Have you got a hole?” Good going George  - good going.

Josh is the werewolf in the U.S’s Being Human. He is slightly obsessive compulsive and quite the worrywart. His lines often come out understated and deadpan, which oddly relieves the tension of the scene. There’s a mix of casualness and seriousness with his lines. Take for example, when Sally (the ghost) asks if he’s all right. Josh as le leans on the couch, replies, “Well, I didn’t kill my sister, so… I guess I can’t complain.”

I’ll leave this article with two questions. What does that say about ourselves, our psyche? Is the United State’s cavalier sense of humor healthy or should we be more like George – willing to become open and say fool heartedly things?

Glee 2!

OK, here's my 2nd part to my favorite Glee videos! I hope you enjoy them!

I think this is my one of my favorite mash-up's they have done. Santana and Mercedes both do an awesome job. They're voices are strong and fit the song perfectly!

Again, here's another mash-up. It's another of my favorites that they've done. I love all parts to the song - from the costumes, to the way they sing it, to the simplistic dance moves.

I know not everyone likes Alex, but I think he's a great performer! He did an amazing job. I was so impressed with his performance.

Who cares if someone thinks Lindsay is 'fake'? She's a star! I think her character should've been Rachel's younger sister though.

I fell in love with Glee because of this song. I love Darren's rendition.

OK, so that's it - until next time! I might do 1 or 2 more Glee centered posts. I don't know. You'll just have to see. 

Glee!

Hey gang! Long time no see. I've been busy - applying for PhD programs, teaching, etc, etc. But, here I am and in a very Glee0tastic mood. I thought I'd share some of my favorite performances. Enjoy!

OK, I think they do a wonderful job with 'Sing'! I'm so thrilled Sue got into the action here. I can't believe she has a plaid tracksuit.

I loved seeing the rift between Blaine and his brother. The way the show turned from being about a bad break up into a song  about bad family relations was handled brilliantly. I was surprised when they chose this song, but definitely not disappointed. 

I have mixed feelings about this song and performance. On one hand, I loved it. They did an awesome job and I actually like this version a little better than the original. I was thrilled that the gang was back together. However, on the other hand it's about drinking. It sends a message that it's OK for under-aged people to drink and get drunk. Thoughts?

Oh, Blaine, you've done it again! This is just beautiful and sends cold chills up my spine. I think it's so sweet that he serenaded Kurt like that. I must wonder how he got all those instruments outside and who's going to get them back in there.

What I enjoyed about this video was the cellists. They really make this song and create tension - although there was quite a lot in the air already. I personally think Santana won. I loved her 'Who! Who!' and the hat. What do you think?  


I think that's enough for today (or at least for now). I'll post the other 5 songs from Glee that I adore. Until next time!

Mischievousness

 

 Here's a little piece I wrote for a challenge. I thought I'd share.

Under the amber leaves of autumn, she perched on one of the high branches of the oak. Her elongated fingers wrapped around her perch as she leaned forward. Her blue eyes peered at the foliage-covered land below her. As the fall winds whistled through the branches, it whipped her long brown locks around her petite face and pointed ears. A mischievous smile twisted the corners of her lips upwards as two humans passed by. *What trickery shall I play,* thought the fae as the couple stopped under the tree she was in. As the lovers leaned in for a kiss, she whispered to a near-by spider. A pithy laugh escaped her lips as the arachnid lowered itself and spun a web between the two. Just as they were about to lock lips, one of the humans got entangled with the web. Screaming, the web was wiped away and the lovers left unaware of the folly of the moment.

The ABC's of Autism

 I posted this on my Nuzcom.com blog and I thought I'd share it here:

A is for all things unique.

B is for finding beauty in the ugly.

C is for caring for all others the most.

D is for doing the best.

E is for everything's a challenge - don't give up.

F is for facing a funny fear, like the sound of a telephone.

G is for going the distance - you know you can.

H is for hope.

I is for the intensity of all things in life.

J is for the jokes that might not be understood.

K is for keeping up and trying to fit in.

L is for loving life and loving all; no matter what.

M is for the many things forgotten, can cause a meltdown.

N is for never giving up; no if's, and's, or but's.

O is for being overly sensitive and how it can be good or bad.

P is for wanting to participate in life.

Q is for the questions asked. Who am I? Who is she?

R is for remembering thing through rote.

S is for all the stuff the mind can hold.

T is for the timeless moments of make believe.

U is for the universal truths we all understand.

V is for the varying severities in the spectrum.

W is for welcoming with open arms a schedule.

X is for Xenophobia, which I don't have.

Y is for yin yang and how autism and normalcy coexist.

Z is for zero tolerance of bullying. Kindness matters.

This post is brought to you by this sentence: Why have bread when you can have a salmon?