In the Company of Sinners and Saints

Last Sunday I attended Texas State's new play "In the Company of Sinners and Saints." I hadn't heard too many good things about the play from from classmates who were able to see it before me, so I wasn't really expecting any thing great. To my surprise the play was actually quite entertaining. All of the actors played their characters really well, and the message behind the story was meaningful too. I'm not sure if the playwrite was intending to influence the audience to not use Facebook or networking sites such as Facebook, or if she was just making the play for entertainment, but it was good either way. Although the play was good over all, the only complaint I had was how similar the story line is to the new show Gossip Girl. I think if this play makes it onto a bigger screen then there is a big chance of causing conflicts between the producers of both. But, like I said the play was great in general and I would recommend it to a friend!

Bat Boy Musical

I must say I am not a huge fan of plays or musicals, but after seeing Texas State's Bat Boy a few weeks ago I have a much different opinion. Not only was the story line great, the actors and actresses were fantastic! Each character not only had speaking lines, but sang as well. The musical was at the main theatre and I was disappointed at how small it seemed inside compared to what it looks like on the outside. As I said, the actual play was hilarious! The actual "Bat Boy" was half human and half bat and had lived in a cave his entire life until three kids found him while exploring the gave. The play is set in a small, country and family oriented town that is extremely religous. As the play goes on, Bat Boy had bitten one of the kids that found him and was detained in a cage at the local vet's house. The family seems extremely willing to take care of him although the rest of the town is disappointed. The vet's wife has been falling out of love with him, and when the Bat Boy comes along it just grows worse. As the plot unfolds, and after the Vet's daughter has fallen in love with Bat Boy, we find out Bat Boy is actually the vet's and wife's SON! In the end the wife, vet, and Bat Boy all die, being murdered by the Vet. I can't describe this play in one word; it was hillarious, sad, awkward and heart warming all at the same time. If any of you get an oppurtunity to see this musical on our campus or another, I would highly recommend it!

Aquarena Springs

Last Monday our class had to attend a boat tour in the miserable rain and cold on Aquarena Springs. The boat had a glass bottom so we were able to see the entirety of the springs. It was really interesting to find out that only Texas State has an actual Spring on campus with endangered species, unfortunately we weren't able to see any on the day of our tour. The springs are unbelievably clear and we were able to see over thirty feet deep. We even saw actual Springs that were pushing water out. I also found out that there are HUGE fines and consequences for swimming in the springs, unless you are allowed to do so. Luckily for me I am taking Scuba Diving as my PFW next semester and can get certified to dive, and hired at Aquarena Springs and be one of the few people that get to swim in it! Aquarena Springs was beautiful and a fun experience!

Sights and Sounds

I am a huge fan of Christmas, and Sights and Sounds put me right into the Christmas spirit! :) It's just a short walk from campus and cost only two dollars to enter. Once you're inside there are TONS of Christmas lights every where, including an enormous tree made of only Christmas lights. There's so many different types of organizations with so many different types of food, including the most amazing biscuit I have ever eaten in all my life. The food was a little over priced as it is at most places, but it was delicious none the less. There was also a set up of Bethlehem where there where animals such as lambs, camels, and donkies as well as examples of what the town looked like. The exhibit was interactive and mainly for younger children, but I still enjoyed it. In the back part of Sights and Sounds there are rides, games and shopping. The shops included mainly jewelry and house decorations of sorts and wasn't too expensive at that! The games and rides are a different story, however. The games were outrageously priced ranging from two to five dollars for a few seconds of intense spinning, but were still fun. I do not think the rides were worth that much money, but seeing as this is the only carnival in San Marcos I was willing to pay it. I enjoyed Sights and Sounds overall and cannot wait to go next year!

BAT BOY

Wednesday night, I went to the musical Bat Boy. Initially I went because I'm a HUGE Batman fan!!!! Ofcourse, I knew it wasn't Batman, but I was still pretty intrigued by the play title. Just as I had thought, it was NOTHING like Batman, however, it was an amazing musical!!!! The actors were ridiculously talented and the music and plot wasn't the slightest bit boring. Bat Boy, aka Edgar, is half bat half boy. Being half bat, he's treated as an outcast for being different. We watch as he tries to live day to day as the outcast, and how he deals with being different. I would most definitely watch this musical play again! And i recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a school play! Best one so far! :)

Now this may be pretty late, but I'm going to post a blog on "In the company of Sinners and Saints". The play overall had a good theme, but I honestly think it could have been better

I dont know if any of ya'll can remember, but the actress who played the mom just didn't cut it for me. She did not seem like she knew how to play a mother at all. Also the same music that was played over and over again annoyed the crap out of me.

But aside from those 2 things, the play was pretty good. I remember that the Video Guy was pretty funny and made the show good. The 2nd half of the show really tied the whole show together and gave a pretty good life lesson

I would give this show 2.5/5 stars just because of the mother and the music, also when it got kind of sloppy at times, but it was a show that could have been a lot worse. Decent show

-Ryan Gonzalez

Thursday night, I saw Take which happened to be a pretty good show. All the actors did a very good job in this play, and I liked it a lot. The actors definitely made this show a good show and you could tell they worked very hard on this play.

This wasn't my favorite play I have seen here at Texas State, but it was still a pretty good play. After being in plays throughout all of highschool and seeing plays, this one was up there. The plot overall was very good, and I liked how they made the show not only on the edge of your seat, but also kind of funny.

I would give this show 3.5/5 just because I have seen better plays, but I have also seen a lot of worse plays. I would see it again though if I had the chance to.

-Ryan Gonzalez

Restuarant Review: Blue Goat

The Blue Goat is an interesting and European style bakery, cafe, dessert shop - featuring desserts and baked goods all made in-house. I was very impressed by the baked goods like the croissants and dessert which were almost as good as the pastry and croissants are almost as good as the authentic European counterpart. My favorite is the chocolate dishes, and being Belgian, I know quality chocolate, so the rarity of excellent chocolate make the Blue Goat an outstanding café. Another good choice would be the European breakfast and the fantastic drinks. This is a breakfast place so of course it is open from 8 am to 3 pm on weekdays, 8:30 to 2:30 on Sundays, and not open Saturdays. The Blue Goat is located at 10 Mary Street, San Marcos, TX 78666 * Phone (512) 392-4628

~Kiva McFetridge

Glass Bottom Boat Ride

Monday I went on a glass bottom boat ride on the lake. It was probably one of my most interesting experiences on campus so far! Besides the weather being ridiculously cold and misty, the ride was so awesome. San Marcos is one of the only, if not the only, school that owns it's own lake and river. We started off at the edge of Salt Grass and were taking to the opposite end of the lake, then back. During the boat ride we saw tons of little springs, both high and low pressured ones. The water, although it's dark from the surface, is actually cleaner that filtered water and very clear under water. We saw a bunch of life forms swimming around as well. We saw baby turtles and big turtles, small fish, and a rare animal who's name I dont remember. I learned that the elephant years surrounding a corner of the lake drinks up gallons of water per day and that the springs produce almost a new lake every day. What I also thought was interesting, was that the aquarena hires students of all majors and gives them work, internships, etc., according to their majors.

Take!

On Thursday night, I went to see Take on campus at Texas State University. This is the third play I have seen at Texas State and all of them have been very good.

I often see plays that relate to other plays, or have the same idea and plot as another play. Take was very original to me, and I've never seen any other similar production. It was about a famous actress who ended up getting kidnapped and held hostage. It was unique to me because you never really hear stories like this happening. The actors did a great job making the play seem real.

Take was a very diverse play, and I had never seen anything like it. It had very many different aspects of theatre put together, which is not common. It had me feeling very different emotions throughout the play. At times, I was nervous and other times I found myself laughing.

Although this play was only held on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I would recommend it to any one if it comes through Texas State University again!

By Kristen Redwine

Casey Donahew at Midnight Rodeo!

This past friday night, I went to Midnight Rodeo in Austin to see one of my favorite music artists, Casey Donahew. Because I am not originally from Texas, this was a brand new experience for me. I had been to concerts in Washington DC and surrounding areas, but never I had actually been to a "texas country" concert.

When we walked in, I was surprised to see a huge dance floor in the middle of the building. We got there at around 10 o'clock and even though the place wasn't packed yet, there were already people two-stepping on the the dance floor. This was also new to me. At exactly ten, Curtis Grimes took the stage as an opening act for Casey Donahew. He put on a very good performance, and it was cool to find out that he actually went to Texas State a few years ago.

Around 11, the place was packed and Casey Donahew finally took the stage. He put on a very good show, playing mostly his songs but also old school popular songs which put a nice swing to the show. It was funny to me because usually when I went to concerts back home, everyone just stood there. At Midnight Rodeo there were a few people just standing around, but mostly everyone else was two-stepping on the dance floor. By the end of the night I was two-stepping like a champ!

I'd have to say one of the best parts of the night was that I got to meet Casey Donahew, and even take a picture with him! I had an amazing time and will definitely be going back to Midnight Rodeo in the near future!

By Kristen Redwine, photo by Robert Medina

Sights and Sounds

Hey everyone!

I attended Sights and Sounds yesterday night. It was so fun! My favorite part about it was the little Bethlehem town! You can go pet all the animals. They were so cute! There was a huge funny looking camel, really adorable baby lambs, and donkeys that reminded me of the movie Shrek. My friends and I walked through the craft area, and we found some really cool items. There was this booth that had a bunch of African bags all brought from Africa. There was also a candle booth, we were there for a while smelling all of the scents..haha. The hot chocolate was amazing in the freezing cold weather! My hands were frozen. Note to self, bring gloves next time. Anyways, you guys should definitely check it out!!

Claire

Take

Last night I went to the play, Take. It involved a soap opera/broadway actress and her drug dealer who kidnaps her when she goes to his house. The acting was very well done by all of the actors. The beginning of the play kept me on the edge, wanting to figure out what was in store for the actress' fate. The second half was when it really started to get interesting as well as slightly humorous at times. Although, I was kind of confused at the end of the play what the moral was suppose to be because it was so twisted. They're putting on another performance tonight at 7:30, I suggest seeing it because it was different and entertaining. Make sure to get there early though because the seats did fill up so several people including myself had to sit on the stairs to watch it.

Hello everyone!

Tonight at 7:30 pm i attended a play called Take. It was about a famous actress who gets kidnapped by her drug dealer. It was really crazy! The acting was great. The female character who played the actress did an amazing job! The fights and struggles seemed so real. Also, it was cool how the play was some what bilingual in nature. If you do not like vulgar plays, however, this should not be for you. I enjoyed it very much and the story kept me on edge the whole time! There is another show tomorrow at 7:30 pm. You guys should try and check it out!

Claire

Time to blog

The semester is drawing to a close. Make sure you make your last blog posts.

Today I got to go on the glass bottom boat ride. They take a boat and put glass at the bottom in the middle so you can see the plant and animal life in the lake. Texas State is one of the only if not the only university that owns its own lake. My university seminar class went all together. While I was walking over to Saltgrass, where they pick us up for the ride, it started raining. It was very cold and windy so the walk was very unpleasant. Once I got to the dock most of my class was there and we all got onto the boat. The boat was fully covered so the wind wasn't so bad. It was about a 30-45 minute ride. We traveled down to the opposite end and back. We saw lots of plant life that took up most of the lake. There were lots of fish and turtles. We saw these tiny cute turtles and they said that these little turtles can spray just like skunks. We also saw a fish with a giraffe pattern skin and a long nose that looks like an alligator. All the things we saw in the lake were interesting and a lot of them are endangered species. In this lake since there are so many endangered species they don't let anyone swim in the lake. The only people who can get into the water are certified scuba divers. I had been thinking about getting certified in scuba diving and now I think I will just to say that I'm one of the few people who can get into the lake.

Valentino's Critique

On September 23, 2009, my roommate and I went to eat at Valentino’s in San Marcos. I had heard the pizza was the best many people had ever had. My roommate is a sophomore so she agreed with many others that it was amazing. As hungry as we were we ordered a large to have leftovers for lunch the next day as well. We ordered a supreme pizza and it was one of the best pizza’s I have ever eaten. It was not filled with grease and sauce. It had a variety of veggies and was hot and fresh. The crust had a little bit of sweet flavor, which gave the pizza its interesting taste. The atmosphere at Valentino’s was also very different and relaxed. Many groups of friends were sharing pizzas and enjoying themselves. The building itself seems as if it has been there forever, and it had a lot of character. The employees are very friendly and funny as well. I will definitely be going back to Valentino’s very soon!

Taylor Francis

Bat Boy

This past Wednesday I went to see the musical Bat Boy. It was so amazing! All of the actors were very talented, especially Bat Boy. The plot line was extremely good, it had a few small twists and one huge one that I never expected! The musical numbers were intriguing and even though the sets and costumes were fairly simple, the actors did a great job of lighting up the stage with their charisma and enthusiasm. The one scene where the costumes were pretty outrageous, however, was when Bat Boy and Shelley were in the woods and all the animals came out and danced with them. That was really entertaining. Also, one thing that amazed me maybe most of all was the artwork on the curtain! Before the show started, there was a hanging mural in front of the stage that was completely hand painted and it looked fantastic. I was blown away by the talent it must have taken to complete that work. Overall, Bat Boy was an amazing show, and I was very impressed by all the hard work that must have gone into it.

-Claudia Giertz

Computer Science Seminar

This past Friday, November 20, 2009 I attended a Computer Science Seminar in the Nueces building. It was titled "Towards a Revolution in Countering Electronic Crime." Dr. Randal Vaughn, from Baylor University, was the speaker for the presentation and a well educated man at that. He went into detail at the approach him and two other colleagues had come up with for the popular tactic of cybercrime. They hope to construct a Research Center that will be able to process and generate a method in dealing with the criminals behind all this. Dr. Randal already had an agenda for all this to go under way, by spring 2010 everything would be in order, as far as funds, partners for the centers, and even locations; then by 2011 the Research centers would be up and running. The whole presentation was rather boring as one might say but it held much interesting and important information the community should be aware of.

-Ryan Howard

Bat Boy: The Musical

On Tuesday, November 12th I attended "Bat Boy; The Musical!" It was amazing. The musical is about a boy who is half bat and half boy. He is abandoned by his parents at birth. The singing, dancing, and acting was flawless. The setting is the present in a small town called Hope Falls, West Virginia. The Bat Boy, otherwise known as Edgar is taught how to talk, write, and become a well-mannered young man. He faces many obstacles in trying to live in the world around him that refuses to accept him because he is different. This musical will make you laugh hysterically and make you cry. I have seen the musical three times, and not because I am a Theatre major, but because it was brilliant. This musical is a must see for everyone!!!

The Black Balloon

On Wednesday November 18, 2009 I attended the showing in LBJ of the movie "The Black Balloon".This was an inspirational movie about a family's struggle to raise their autisitc child/sibling. During the time when the pregnant mother of the house was placed on bed rest by the doctor it took a huge strain on the younger brother Thomas. He found it hard to fit in at his new school due to his brother's health problem. This strain resulted in Thomas saying negative things about his brother and beating him up on one incident. In the end Thomas and Charlie's relationship is strengthed.

The story really touched me because it shows how kids can be very cruel and how it can often lead those who are picked on to drastic measures;in this movie Thomas fights his autistic brother. I really enjoyed the movie although some parts were sad and I recommend it to anyone one who is looking for a touching story.

Ambria Brand

Steven L. Davis: J. Frank Dobie: A Liberated Mind

This afternoon I attended Steven L. Davis's new book J. Frank Dobie: A Liberated Mind. The book is a biography of the life and works of a man who was known for his works about the rich traditions and cultures of rural Texas. Davis opened the presentation with humor regarding the 'commonality' of his name and his acknowledgements to those who helped him write the book. He then went on to describe a number of Dobie's works, influences, friends and enemies that he had throughout his life. He closed the presentation with a few readings from people who admired Dobie for his works. Overall you could see why Dobie's works were so influential to spreading the culture and heritage that Texans pride themselves on.

This past Wednesday, November 18, I attended the showing of The Black Balloon in the LBJ student center teaching theater. It was actually a really pleasant showing; they handed out free sodas and popcorn, kind of corny but cute. The movie was based on a young man, Thomas, and his family that move to a new home and he has to start at a new school, all he wants is to fit in. When his pregnant mother has to take things easy, his father Simon puts him in charge of his autistic older brother Charlie. Thomas, with the help of his new girlfriend Jackie, faces his biggest challenge yet. Charlie's unusual antics take Thomas on an emotional journey that causes his frustrations about his brother to pour out. Majority of the audience were female, and it did somewhat turn out to be a more feminine version of a movie, I think. Certain scenes in the movie were really emotional and just made you appreciate everything so much more. Overall this was probably the most rewarding common experience event.

-Ryan Howard

Veterans Day

Last week, on Wednesday, I got to experience a particular event. Bellow the wrestling horses statue, Texas State held a Veterans day ceremony in the quad. I got to attend the event as a photographer for a Texas State project. Starting off with a whole host of qualified speakers, the event quickly filled up. The flags where flown and people listened quietly as they reflected on the sacrifices veterans have made to keep them safe.

As I took photos with my handy dandy 35, I noticed something peculiar. For the first time in my stay at Texas State have I noticed a group of people feel such strong emotions. As I scanned the audience with my viewfinder, I could see in their faces the genuine feelings and deep thought they held .

Just as this phenomenon reached hold of me, the general came to the podium. I forget his name, but I highly doubt that has any importance. What is important is how this man, this General, spoke. He spoke short and hard, yet had everyone hanging from his every word. I could swear his dark aviators looked into my soul. Speaking of the American revolution, to the fallacies of Vietnam - everyone sat and listened. This was a man with the power to explore the genuine feelings the audience was holding.

Then the planes flew. Flying high above, the jet fighters shook the ground and added the climax to this emotional ceremony. As the ceremony wound down, I found myself thinking, "what did it all mean?" This emotional journey (if I can call it that), truly surprised me. This show of appreciation for the brave soldiers protecting us, may have been just like the thousand others going on across the nation, but for Texas State, and at least for me - this was something spectacular.

Yet, the question still remains : What does it all mean? I looked at the last picture in my roll and it finally clicked.

It means we are darn lucky, to have these brave souls have our backs.

- Edgar

Remember to post

Don't let the end of the semester catch you off guard. You must write at least two blog posts on Common Experience events to receive full credit for this assignment. You may do an extra blog post for extra credit.

Open Door Dance Theatre

Last Friday, October 30th, I went to Evans Auditorium to watch the 25th Anniversary of the Open Door Dance Theatre. This was an important dance event for Texas State because it has been going on for so many years now. Another reason to why this performance was so interesting is the fact that the dance directors for Texas State always perform with their pieces that they have choreographed. Although some people found the dances to be a little far fetch, I found them to be very moving and unique. Having LeAnna Smith as a dance teacher, it was amusing to see her perform. She has such grace that only many years of training can produce. I also have Michelle Nance for a dance teacher and she performed as well. Both Nance and Smith danced beautifully, showing off their ability to execute modern dance. Another cool thing about the show is that a dancer named Louis Kavouras made an appearance. Kavouras is a very skilled dancer that specializes in Hawkins Dance. For those who are not familiar with Hawkins style, it is a very traditional style of dance that focuses on basic movement. All in all the show was a hit! I can’t wait to watch the show again next year and hopefully even perform in a dance piece!

Tim O'Brien

Today I attended a presentation given by the author Tim O'Brien. O'Brien is the author of If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, Going After Cacciato, and ,probably his most notable work, The Things They Carried. He opened up his presentation with a short story about his family. He then began to speak on how important the imagination is to writers and read off several examples of both good and bad ways to grasp the attention of audiences/readers. Throughout the presentation, he tied in several personal examples, and some of these were quite emotional. At the end of his speech, he used another very emotional example that he had used earlier but with a different twist. Overall, you could tell that O'Brien knew how to "get" to the audience by using examples, which I thought, were extremely powerful and real. At times, you could hear his voice tense up when he got to one of these examples and you could feel the audience tense up too. His experience and knowledge is beyond questioning and I think that he would be an interesting teacher to have (every now and then he teaches English here).

On Monday October 26th, the coffee house Wake the Dead hosted an open mike night for local poets, musicians, and writers to share their Halloween oriented work. The coffee house overall was a really interesting combination of art and Tim Burton with its red and black striped walls and the local art on exhibition throughout the domain. There were a large number of attendees though only a few were dressed for Halloween and even fewer wrote for the Halloween theme. I found this somewhat disappointing and even further, that the events only went on for an hour. However, the live music, poetry and written work was very good, varying from funny to touchingly emotional and the hour really flew by with much interest. The coffee, as this is a coffee house, was excellent of course and the hazelnut chocolate cookies were amazing! Honestly, I would go back just for the cookies. Once the performances were done, most of the people crowded into the front of the building to talk and mingle and I soon found myself out the door and on my way home. As things go, the Wake the Dead open mike event was an interesting and thought provoking event with an excellent ambiance, but I don't think it was really worth the 30 minutes my friend and I spent looking for parking upon our return to campus.

***

out of 5 stars

~Kiva McFetridge

Wake the Dead

On Monday, October 26th, I went to one of the common experience events at Wake the Dead. Wake the Dead is a small coffee house that is very cozy. It is not only a coffee house, but every once in awhile, it is a place for people to go read aloud something special they have written. Monday night was called open mic night and at first, there was a really dry audience. No one wanted to get up and read anything, so I was skeptical at first whether or not I was going to stay. But a few minutes later, a young man got the courage to stand up and read aloud his poetry to the audience. After he went, a lot of people started to go up on stage and feel comfortable in front of the other people in the crowd. It was just easier to get the first person out of the way, so the others would feel more welcome. A lot of poetry and stories that were told were original pieces that people had written themselves. A few people shared works on Shakespeare, which I thought was truly interesting. I have always had a hard time understanding the words of Shakespeare, but the ones who chose to read some of his work, changed up the work and made it easier for me to comprehend. A lot of it was very beautiful and some was even emotional. Overall, I truly enjoyed myself and am definitely thinking about attending another open mic night soon.

Dan Pink

I recently watched Dan Pink talk about his book "A Whole New Mind", and it was a pretty interesting presentation he had. Alot of the stuff he talked about really made me think about life and the choice to go down the road of left brainers. Ive been a left brained person my whole life until i came to Texas State. Pink has made me think and showed me that right brainers really will rule the future because of creativity and thinking outside of the box. I thought the picture he showed us with the candle and how to use it correctly without dripping wax on the table was pretty interesting too. I probably wouldnt of figured it out without him displaying how to do it to us. I believe the career of engineering really lets right brainers shine because of the ideas you have to pull out in order to build and solve problems also looking at the big picture. My favorite thing about Dan Pink was his humor and how he could relate to us as college students. He was an overall great guy and I look forward to more of his publishing's if we can receive them for free!

Wake the Dead

Yesterday I went to the common experience event at Wake the Dead. It is this coffee house that people go to and you can write something and read it aloud there. I went to the open mic night on Monday. There were a bunch of people in a tiny room where the event was held. At first nobody wanted to get up and read something so I went and got a hot drink. When I got back someone started to read their poetry, but I had lost my spot in the room so I had to stand at the door. After the first person went the other people got up the courage to go up and share their stories. Some people shared Shakespeare, and some altered already written stories and gave them their own twist and read those aloud. They were all very creative and interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to. But there was one person who really stuck out in my mind. I can't remember his name, but he did something so original that I wish he never left the stage. I just wanted to keep listening to him. He took an older story, put it in an old western time period, and then played it on the guitar. It really intreaged me and I wanted to listen to some other stories he had, but he only did the one. After he left the stage, I stayed for a couple more poems. They just didn't compare to his put to music. I really enjoyed the open mic night and I'll will probably go back to listen to some more readings.

Daniel Pink

I saw Daniel Pink last Wednesday speak about his book, A Whole New Mind. He was a very good speaker, and was very funny, which I found surprising. I didn't think that he was going to boring, but I didn't expect him to be so personable.
I liked that he broke his book down for us into Asia, Automation, and Abundance, and then his thought process in writing the book. He backed up every one of his points with facts, and his humor added to his credibility in my opinion.
I'm glad that he wrote A Whole New Mind because I am definitely a right brained person, who has always been discouraged by that fact. I never thought that being more creative and 'big-picture' focused would be a good thing.
The thing I liked the most about Daniel Pink's speech, however, was the fact that he did not speak in a patronizing tone. He was very relaxed, and even though he was trying to fill us with a large amount of information in a relatively short amount of time, he still managed to keep a sense of humor and conversational tone the entire time.
Overall, Daniel Pink was a very good speaker and I enjoyed hearing him.

Not sure what to put here

I saw Daniel Pink on October 21st. I went to the second speaking, about the book itself. It was actually a very good presentation. Pink seemed to know his audience well, and was very comfortable with speaking. He said some very interesting things, but remained entertaining, mostly due to his humor. One thing that bothered me was that he really did not expand upon any of the ideas in the book. He outlined it very well with his "decade of reasearch in 60 seconds" or whatever the exact amount of time was, but he never expanded on it. This is all well and good, but for those of us that actually read the book, there wasn't much to take from the first half of the presentation. These are, of course, only my personal feelings, but I don't see how anyone else to read and retained the book could've heard anything new in the beginning of the presentation. The second problem arose with the questioning portion of the presentation. Perhaps this is just me, but it seemed that if you deciphered all of the statistics, and large words, and Pink's apparent need to repeat certain words up to 4 times in a row, you would find that he didn't actually answer any of the questions posed to him. What he did was simply qualify the questions, expand upon them, and then relate them to the topic. That one guy who threw a bunch of statistics about Indians becoming Accountants and how this proves L-Directed thinkings dominance (I think. I couldn't understand that guy), simply got a regurgitation of what we had been told. Pink didn't address any of his issues directly. I would've liked to pose a question myself, but the aforementioneed lack of closure, combined with the fact that it was late and I was still looking at a substantial drive back home, prompted me to withhold my opinion. As such, I'll simply put it here and see if anyone else has other thoughts (yes, I know he put his e-mail address up and I could ask him that way, but honestly I've forgotten it, and there's still that issue of him not directly answering questions to begin with. I'm sure I would get some jargon-infested reply that would ultimately say something like "you make a good point, but you're wrong"). Anyway, I beleive that the right-brain is not going to rule the world in the future. I beleive that (and I will try to avoid sounding sexist here because I promise that I am not) with the addition of women in the workforce, the values of the right-brain are becoming more accentuated. By this, I mean to say that women are, statistically speaking, more right-brain oriented than men. This is not my opinion, it is a fact. As such, with the addition of women in the work force in the past decades, we are now beginning to see a rising of their right-brain perspective in our day-to-day lives. I recall a passage about scented candles still existing. Pink says this is strange, since one would think the invention of the light-bulb would phase out candles. He cited this as an example of Design's importance. I respectfully disagree. The reason candles still exist is because of women (again, my opinion. Not sexist). My mother loves scented candles. Has them all over the house. My father couldn't care less. I would think this is the truth for most households. Men simply don't care as much about pretty things. Function is more important to men than is design. Women are not the same. As such, women are becoming more a force in the workplace and are achieving a more equal standing in terms of monetary distribution. Basically, since women now work, women now get a say in what gets bought. Understandably, things that appeal more to the right-brain (the feminine side) are now becoming more prominent. However, I believe that this is a limited trend. These right-brain ideas have been on the rise, but they will eventually reach a point where they are no longer the driving factor because eventually the spectrum will balance out as is always has. I am not saying that the age of right-brain thinking doesn't exist or that the right-brain isn't important. I am merely saying that the age of the right-brain has passed. Or rather, it is upon us, and soon will.

Johnny Bunko

This past Wednesday evening I attended the Johnny Bunko event with author Daniel Pink as the guest speaker. He talked about his book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need. He explained how his book is set up like a Manga comic because when he went to Japan he noticed how popular the comics are and considering how book popularity is decreasing in America, it may draw in more readers. I'm glad he cleared that up with the audience because I'm sure I wasn't the only person who thought that it was an odd approach. He was also humorous at times and tried to involve the audience when appropriate which helped keep my attention. Aside from that, I feel like the seven lessons he presented to us were points that I was already aware of. Some of those points were: don't have a plan set out, tell employers what you can do for them, having persistence, learning from your mistakes, and leaving an imprint. Overall I can say I was satisfied probably just because it was interesting to be able to hear what an author had to say about their own book.

Daniel Pink- Common Experience

On October 21st, this past Wednesday, I got the chance to see Daniel Pink, author of the common experience book A Whole New Mind, speak to the Texas State campus. Though I was sitting on the floor of the absolutely packed LBJ ballroom floor I learned much from the Skype like system that allowed us to hear and see Pink speak from Evans Auditorium just down the stairs of Alkek. With his dark colored suit and technicolor striped tie Pink looked nothing like I had envisioned and told us things that I hadn't necessarily expected from him either. For instance, he attended law school and graduated in the top 90% of his class possible (his words, not mine). He hates the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words", not necessarily because it's wrong but because the writer in him says this is improbable. He insisted that because he is a writer he is in love with metaphors and spoke in them frequently. And while these were all interesting facts about a man that none of us had ever met and were very unlikely to in the future, it was the facts that he spouted next that weren't about himself at all that really captured my attention.
In the not so distant future India will have a larger industry than America; Ryan Daniel the accountant will face competition from Turbotax, like so many other jobs in the country being replaced with technology. While anyone who read Pink's book could have told us the same things, it was also the things that weren't in A Whole New Mind that gave us something to think about. For example, 460,000 cell phones are discarded every day. 88-89% of the world has a cellular device, a cellular device which carries around more power than existed in the entire world than when Pink's grandparents were his age. Scary but true.
All in all I enjoyed Pink's presentation. It was informative as well as creative, and his audience interaction, though in Evans rather than the LBJ ballroom , kept everyone entertained at the very least. I'd like to hear him speak again for sure.

PRSSA: Dress for Success Fashion Show.

Photo taken by June Leal

Today I helped out with the PRSSA Dress for Success Fashion Show. This fashion show was about and showed what kind of business attire you could wear to either an interview or just to your job. What I helped out with was telling the models when to go into the room where they could model the clothes. Another jobs that members of the committee for Dress For Success were opening the door for the models to exit the room where the fashion show was happening, going out to vendors and asking them if we could borrow clothes for the fashion show. Also there was a person who was the MC for fashion show, there was a DJ, there was also a bake sale going on outside of the event, and someone was there to work a spotlight for the show. This event was my favorite event out of the whole Mass Communication Week. Kendall Schmidt did an amazing job putting this event together!

June Leal

Daniel Pink

Last night I went to hear Daniel Pink speak. I found it pretty interesting and some of the stuff he said made you really think. In tooday's world we have to be aware of what is going on now and in the near future because what we do today matters. School is an example of that idea, what we study today will be out dated when it is time for us to enter the work force. Therefore we are always learning. He also talked about outsourcing, abundence, and some things. I think if you read the book it would be more interesting. I tryied to pay very close attention because i found the stuff he talks about interesting but i was frezzing and couldnt really consintrate.

Daniel Pink Johnny Bunko Event

On October 21, 2009 I attended an event at Texas State Evans Auditorium. The speaker was Best-Selling Author Daniel Pink. Pink was speaking about his latest book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. This book is said to be the “last career guide you will ever need”. I personally do not have a specific plan of what I want to do with my life, just a few ideas I bounce around on. Pink’s lecture on his book was about what the main tips are for choosing a good career. Lucky for me, the first tip was-there is no plan. The way Pink explained this tip made perfect sense. The world does not work in a planned out way because the world is constantly changing. If you have you whole life set on one job and one firm with one office you will most likely be disappointed or have a boring life.

Another tip that related to me was make fundamental not instrumental decisions. Pink said that making instrumental decisions is for example, going to law school, even though you hate it, so that you come out of school with a job waiting. This is a bad choice because even though you have a job, you will probably hate it. However, if you make a fundamental decision and choose to do something because you love it, you will be very successful. The passion you have will cause you to be persistent, which will always trump talent. Persistence was another main tip of Pinks. The workers who are persistent will produce better things and ideas than those with talent. They will often get farther to achieving their goal as well. Deciding first what you have passion for is the hard part, and then being persistent is what will make something out of the passion.

The lecture helped me to realize that is okay, and in a way better that I do not have a clear plan with steps of how to live my life. Pink inspired me to find my true passion and use it to make an impact on the world. I will definitely be purchasing his book Johnny Bunko. Also the book is written in Japanese Manga comic artt, which is very interesting. I recommend the book to any person, not just a college freshmen, that needs a new take on life.

Taylor Francis

Student Organization Panel

Photo taken by June Leal

Today, I attended the Student Organization Panel for Mass Communication Week and it was very interesting and informative. I learned more about organizations that I didn't necessarily know about. After going to this panel I am really considering joining more organizations and possibly applying to work at the University Star and KTSW. There are many, many good opportunities that come out of joining these student organizations. They help you network with other people and also make new friends. This panel was very informative and encouraged me to get even more involved with Texas State. Overall, I really enjoyed this event today.

June Leal

Tx State Pink Out Game

This past Saturday I attended my first Texas State football game. It was definitely not what I expected and very different from all of the other college football games I’ve been to. The weather was perfect football weather; cold but not too cold. The band, Strutters, and cheerleaders did a great job leading the crowd. This particular game was the Pink Out game which was to support Breast Cancer Awareness and Education. Most everyone was wearing something pink to support the cause. The Cheerleaders wore Pink Out t-shirts, coaches wore caps with the breast cancer ribbon, football players wore pink sweat bands on their arms, and the fans had anything from pink t-shirts to pink pompoms. Although we did not win this game, it was very fun and exciting and a great way to support and raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Big Love

I just came back from a Texas State play called Big Love. I wasnt sure what to expect or what it was even about. When I was waiting for the play to start I read the program and it said fifty brides and fifty grooms but not all will make it to the altar. From that it doesnt really explain what its about. I soon found out there were 50 sisters had an arranged marrage to 50 of their cousins. All the guys were set on marrying the girls, but the girls wanted nothing to do with them. They didnt know what to do so they ran away from Greece to Italy. The play was very dramatic. They stomped and yelled alot to show their frustration with the arranged marriage. Finally they all agreed to marry the cousins but on the weadding night no man would survive. But one of the 50 sisters had fallen in love with their husband to be. That night the only husband that survived was that one girls husband. All the other sisters were mad that she broke her promise but came to realize that unconditional love trumps all. The overall play was very good and funny. I really enjoyed it.

In The Company of Sinners and Saints

Last Monday i attended the Sinners and Saints play. Coming in i had low expectations for the play because plays usually bore me to death. After a little of the play went by i was pretty into it and the comedy was pretty funnny, i especially liked the Video Store guy he was a real character. The music of the play was a little repetitive which i didnt really like but all in all it was an ok play. The main points i learned from the play were picking the right friends. Lucy makes the mistake of listening to Alex which only gets her deeper in the hole because Alex convinces her to throw up in order to lose weight, and only when students start noticing Lucy’s bold fashion choices Alex becomes jealous and puts fake pictures up on Facebook to embarrass Lucy. Trusting Connor and St. Lucy were wise choices because they were always there for Lucy and didn’t backstab her only for fame and glory.

Happiness Is a Warm Facebook Comment

To start off this post, I won't beat around the bush.

In the Company of Sinners and Saints did not provide me with the experience I was expecting.

Yet, truth be told - I wasn't exactly sure what I was expecting. The idea of a play dealing with the dangers of the internet and social networks does seem like an interesting idea, but could it work? Debating wether or not it could, I decided the best approach was to decenter myself from my thoughts and focus primarily on what the play had to offer.

It is important to note that the play is still in the stages of development. It is still a work in progress. The following words I write are meant to be constructive (not destructive) criticisms to this fledging play. I will focus on larger picture issues with the play rather than nitpick away with pointless criticism.

The first thing I noticed was that the play borrowed a plot tool used by the successful CW show, "Gossip Girl," the idea of a gossip blog playing an increasingly important role in the key character's lives. Was this intentional or unintentional? I'm not sure. Perhaps the writer, Monica Michell knew this connection could increase interest in the audience while providing a strong backbone for the tone of the play. Yet, the use of the "Sinners and Saints" blog in the play seems to have faired unfavorably with many I questioned about the play. Some felt the blog aspect was sort of bolted on to play already dealing with a large topic. I too felt the blog added more weight to the play and perhaps could have been handled in "lighter" fashion. Also of note, I found the revelation of who the author of the blog was to be quite predictable.

Along the same lines as the blog plot point, is the use of purgatory in the play. My own bias against the whole "Five People You Meet in Heaven" story arch might explain why I didn't enjoy this part of the play - but it is hard to ignore the fact that this idea has been used many times (especially the 8os) in pop culture, and seems stale. This of course is personal opinion, and I have spoken with many who disagree with me. Yet I do feel it is a fair request that perhaps an even "fresher" approach to this part of the play be explored. I feel the play would highly benefit.

I found the music for the play to be very well written, yet I can't help but agree with many peers who thought the use of it became far too distracting. The main song, although good does not seem to lend itself to repeat play. Perhaps the music could be played less and thus providing deeper and longer lasting emotional connections with the audience when it is played.

Some of the blog posts i've read have also mentioned the problem of length in certain parts of the play. Sitting in the audience, I have to agree. It was hard to ignore the chit chat and bored looking faces during longer parts of the play. It's not that the audience was rude, many of them returned back to the play with full attention once the play picked up again, it's that the length of certain scenes just dragged for far too long. The intro car scene did not need to be as lengthy as it was.

A classic warning story the play did have large portions that were perhaps better suited for a PSA . This is what hurt the play the most. Of course in any story that pushes awareness there has to be some aspect of PSA , even soapbox, but the play relied too heavily on this. The story is strong enough to stand on its own. There really is no need for the video guy (including his rap sheet), the accident, much less the coma. The stories between the two friends, the mother and her daughter, and the main character and the employer are enough to support the play. More importantly these parts of the play are also the most relatable for the audience. If these parts of the story were focused on more it would prove much more successful for the play.

Even if I didn't quite enjoy the play, I still think it was a valiant effort. Please note that a play dealing with such important issues is very important. Thus this play will be and is important. Certain aspects are still requiring tweaks and tuning, but the basic idea is loud and clear. And everyone can agree that's a good thing.

Sinners and Saints

This Wednesday night I saw the play 'In the Company of Sinners and Saints' and found that, although I had heard very negative things about it, I actually enjoyed it overall. Though certain parts were unrealistic I still found the character's relatable and entertaining. I know of others who have friends like Alex, shy guys like Connor and tag-a-longs like JD. What I enjoyed most was the way the 4 friends could have been virtually any high school students. From the way they acted to the way they spoke to each other, their car rides especially were reminiscent of my own high school days.

I enjoyed the pay mostly because of the entertaining character's and fairly good acting skills of the actors on stage. It was a good learning experience for those who were unaware of the dangers of internet predators and/or simple sharing sites such as Facebook. I definetely recommend it to anyone who has nothing to do on a quiet night.

Well here it goes...

This past Monday, I attended the play “In the Company of Sinner and Saints.” Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the play as much as I hoped to have. I guess it was just not my style but for some reason I could not get myself to like it. The acting was great, definitely the main character, but the music was extremely aggravating. Between almost every scene this irritating song would come on. I think the song said something along the lines of, “the higher I get the harder it is to stop.” I swear these lyrics kept repeating in my head over and over again… The funny thing is I actually liked the song the first time I heard it!

Well I don’t want to completely hate on the play because I really did enjoy some parts. The overall message was great! Sadly on a daily bases, young adults face situations just like the ones that occurred in this play. So even though the play wasn’t that bad, it definitely could make some improvements.

In the Company of Sinners and Saints

So last Monday I want to the play In the Company of Sinners and Saints. I went into it not knowing what to think. All I knew about it was that it had something to do with facebook therefore I was hoping it would be good. Honestly I did not really enjoy it. I didnt think it was awful it just didnt hold my attention. Although I got bored the message was good even though we tend to hear it a lot. All in all, good job to everyone that was involved.

Ok, so last Monday I went to see Sinners and the Saints. Although, I was hesitant about going to see the play at first I gave it a chance and I really enjoyed it. It took a while to get into the point of the play, but most of the scenes were pretty comical so that was fine with me. I learned several things from the play. As many of us should know by now we have to be careful of who we share our personal business with because sometimes it has negative outcomes. Also I learned how outside influences can effect our ability to make the right or wrong decisions. All in all the play turned out better than I thought and they actors were great!!!

In the Company of Sinners & Saints

Last Monday, I attended the play In Company of Sinners & Saints with our US Seminar class. Similar to some of the other classmates, I was apprehensive about going because I had heard many things about the play before I even saw it. Some of the negative comments I had heard I did end up agreeing with, while others I disagreed with.

Beginning with the positive aspects of the play, I thought it was very easy to relate to. Although I have not been in every situation that was brought up in the play, I have heard of similar things happening to people I know. This made it easier for me to have a connection with the actresses/actors. I also thought that each person was casted correctly for the play. Each actor/actress in the play seemed to suit their role very well. Everyone did a good job making their situations believable, which helped the play seem more realistic.

One of the things I did not like in the play was the music. I felt like the music did not suite the play because the play was more modern, while the music did not seem modern to me at all. I also think that certain scenes of the play were drawn out too long, and some of the scenes were not touched on enough. For example, I did not see the purpose of the first scene (car scene) being so long. It could have been shorter and gotten to the point more quickly instead of the people rambling on about things that did not have much importance to the play as a whole. With this in mind, I believe that the last few scenes were too short. At the beginning of the hospital scene, I was completely confused about what was going on. I think if more detail was added into that scene, the play would have come together quicker for me. It took me a few minutes to realize that “Lucy” was the saint, and that she had been in the play before that point as other characters.

Overall, I would recommend this play to other college students. I believe it has a good message that can be carried on throughout life.

Kristen Redwine

In the Company of Sinners and Saints

I was learning how to blog and posted this on my own blog first.

Hello everyone. I attended the play, " In the Company of Sinners and Saints." Over all I really enjoyed the play. Myself, being a theatre major was able to watch and learn from the actors. That is the best way to improve yourself. The play touched a variety of things from bulimia, dangers of social networks, parents, and relationships. The music was actually created by composer Diane Michelle. The actors did sch a great job at portraying their character. At the end of the play I stayed after for feedback. I met the playwright, Monica Michelle and all of the actors. Only four people stayed after. They asked questions about the play and I gave them my opinion. I told them how it was interesting that every single character was completely different and had their own personality. Since I stayed after for about an hour to speak with the cast I missed the the card swipe. But instead Monica Michelle signed the back of my program saying that I attended the play. " I recommend anyone to see "In the Company of Sinners and Saints."

Joanna Gonzales

In The Company of Sinner and Saints

So this past Monday I went to the see the play, In The Company of Sinners and Saints and honestly, I went into the auditorium expecting the worst. But what came out of it was a very good experience and lesson, may I add. For instance, how the main character (sorry, i don't remember names) pretty much learned from her "saint" that you don't have to be perfect in every shape and form in order to be viewed as good.
In my opinion, I think that the lesson she learned was beneficial, I mean, even tho it was learned the hard way, it was still a learned lesson. I can relate. I had to learn the hard way that forgiving but not necessarily forgetting is sometimes the way to go. My grandmother, someone I never forgave for the way she treated my family and myself, passed away this past December. Knowing that I never made peace kills me inside now. I know she wasn't as mean as I portrayed to be, but it is too late to forgive her in person. So what I took from this play, was that forgiving sometimes is necessary.
Overall, this play was fun to watch. It used a lot of "today's slang" and modern ways. I would recommend it to anyone asking. Even if they didn't ask, I would still recommend it haha. But seriously, go watch the play & learn from it.

This past Monday, we had the honor of attending an new play: "In the Company of Sinners and Saints" hosted by B.F.A. and written by Monica Michelle and directed by Heidi Mendez Harrison. While it was an interesting and cute play with a good message, I felt it was slightly drawn out and the acting seemed to lack something.

The plot was basically some teen movie with a news story warning parents and students about the dangers of Facebook mixed in. Though highly relatable to the masses and funny at times, there were parts like the circus-ring-leader-outfit part that seemed unrealistic even for a high school kid. The acting at times was somewhat over exaggerated and seemed to exude an "I'm in high school! Can't you see how young and naive I am?" personality which seemed over the top but at other times was excellent like Laura Cannon's (the mother) part. The plot was fairly obvious as well at some parts, like for example, who didn't see the video store guy was going to be the creep from the beginning?

All in all, "In the Company of Sinners and Saints" was a fairly good play for the college crowd but anything further would be a stretch as immaturity would overshadow the good traits. There were the points that people laughed and smiled and were generally enthused but towards the end I felt it was more of an "after school special" than a "groundbreaking theatre event."

~Kiva Mcfetridge

In the Company of Sinners & Saints

Monday, September 21 2009, I was one of those lucky students that attended the play, In the Company of Sinners and Saints. I will say going into the play I had my expectations of sitting through a two hour production that wasn’t going to be to my liking. As it started off somewhat corny and tedious, it quickly evolved into something interesting and informing. All the actors did an awesome job in playing their parts and passing on the message to the audience. Kirsten Langham (Alex) looked just like Rachel McAdams (Allie), from the notebook. I found that really funny.

Being based on the world of the internet and its potential dangers, the play conveys a realistic situation. Not many students realize how easy it is in today’s world to get caught up in such a life threatening position. Lucy was lucky in having St. Lucy be her wake up call, but we all know we’re not going to be so lucky. Online social networks can be a great communication resource for keeping up with friends, family, teachers, and just about anyone/anything else. Anything being the keyword, I find it so amazing at how the internet has evolved to be such a playground for online predators. Though the play was not based on your typical internet relationship where the female gets lured to meet her online friend’s domain, it was pretty close. Overall I believed the play to be a great success and awesome message to the audience.

-Ryan Howard

Of Sinners and Saints

Hello everyone!

I attended the play "In the Company of Sinners and Saints" with the U.S. Sem class on Monday. It was a great show! I was a little apprehensive at first, but it turned out great. I applaud the acting in the show. I specially enjoyed the character of the Saint. She had a pretty decent accent throughout the whole thing. The play, over all, had a really good message and tied into the realities of society today quite nicely. Hope all others enjoy it as well! Again, it was great! 

Claire Kibodeaux 

In the Company of Sinners and Saints

This past Monday I attended the play In the Company of Sinners and Saints with my University Seminar class. I had heard some not so great reviews of the play from others. Awaiting the play I had no idea was to expect and the props weren't conveying much. However, when the actors came out and began the first scene everything came together for me.

In the beginning of the play, I though it was a little corny. Once the characters got to the movie store is when it got interesting for me personally. My favorite part of the play was definitely the ending though. I never would have guessed any of that. I thought Alex was doing all of horrible pictures of Lucy. The "saint Lucy" character was also a very good twist. I had no idea she was the old lady in the movie store.

The play brought an overall good message across that many people can relate to. Its moral lesson is a thing that pretty much everyone deals with. We should all stop and think sometimes about the right decision and what can come from making bad decisions. I think there are a lot of kids trying to find themselves and make a statement but you have to know how to go about it. The play was not one of my favorites but it was decent. It was a good to experience the theatre part of Texas State which I am interested in.

Taylor Francis

In the Company of Sinners and Saints

On Monday night I attended the play, "In the Company of Sinners and Saints," with some of my classmates. When I first walked into the teaching theater, where it took place, I thought the set up on stage was a little confusing. The actual props and furniture weren't confusing, but the background was strangely colorful and had a weird design. When the characters first came out, I could immediately figure out their personalities, which I liked. The first scene dragged on a little too much, but with the characters humor, it kept it interesting. I also liked how the boy, Conner, didn't talk at all in the first scene because it made me question who he was and what his character was like. 

As the play went on, I started to get into it more and get a feel of what the characters were trying to portray. At first, when the "video guy" was introduced, I thought he was going to be someone unimportant. But I had no idea that he was going to later turn into the creep that started all of the drama. I really liked how everyone kept the audience amused and entertained throughout the whole play. When the "video guy" threw in his dance moves in the middle of the play, I couldn't stop laughing. He did an amazing job at his part.

I enjoyed this play a lot because it was easy for most of the audience to relate to. Everyone has wanted revenge at one point in their lives, and we have to sit back and decide if that's really what we want, or if that's just out of anger. Sometimes we make the right decision and sometimes we make the bad one, but everyone learns their lesson over time. Luckily, the main female character in the play, made the right decision by forgiving and forgetting. The rest of the characters also learned their lesson, and the creepy "video guy" got caught, which was very good. In the end, we all learned that making the right decision is never the easiest, but it gets you a lot closer to forgiveness than revenge ever will.

By: Anna Silberman

In the Company of a Critical Audience

Well here goes. I'm not a big fan of blogging, in fact I resent it. Either way, I've never done it, so I'm just going to go ahead and post a little essay I wrote about that show we saw this last Monday, September 21st. I tried to keep it as brief as possible and (believe it or not) I cut about half of what I wrote.


May I begin this by saying that, on the whole, I enjoyed "In the Company of Sinners and Saints." It was a relatively entertaining way to spend an hour and a half which, at the end of the day, is all you can really ask from a play. With this in mind, allow me to explain that I am a very cynical individual who happens to be a major critic. Being an actor/singer myself (I've attended summer camps from the age of five to the age of fifteen and I can assure you I am by no means an amateur), I feel the need to pick apart the weaknesses of a play regardless of how good it was as a whole. This is why I chose to say that I enjoyed it. Now I can assertively state my critiques and opinions without people assuming I am just "hating on the show." I will begin where any sensible thing would begin: at the beginning. Which, coincidentally, is precisely my first problem; this show did not start at the beginning (or am I alone in assuming it seemed to start somewhere in the middle?). I feel as though starting us in a car with four people who are apparently friends (though one is male and doesn't speak and appears to not be accepted by the others) assumes a level of understanding that we simply do not, and cannot, possess. Who are these people? Why doesn't the guy talk? Where are they going? Why are they all piled in? Yes these questions were all answered later on, but this is precisely the problem! It is simply ludicrous to begin a play with such ambiguity. It would have been more prudent to begin with Lucy and her mother in the morning, giving some dialogue so as to explain the situation. Perhaps something like: "Why are you still here, Lucy?" "Alex is running late mom, she's almost here though." "I see. Is Conner still carpooling with you? I've always felt sorry for him; having to ride in a car full of girls..." "yea mom, he's Alex's cousin and he's not old enough to drive. How else is he gonna get to school?" "Well..." "Besides riding the bus." *insert car honking sound effect* "Oh, that's her! Gotta go mom, love you!" This would've been a perfectly acceptable way to begin a play. It introduces us to the main character in a natural setting, introduces her mother, and answers all the aforementioned questions.
I'm trying to keep this brief, so I'll skip right to the end and leave out the five possible paragraphs of other things I could nit-pick. Two things: St. Lucy and the Video Guy. Firstly, wow, the main character was named after the Saint. How clever. Anyway, I might be alone in this, but I realized as soon as that woman walked into the video store that it was also the police officer from five minutes before. At the time, I assumed they were simply reusing the same actress so that one person could have a large role, rather than three people having small roles. Then Lucy mentioned the "old woman" who was giving away her "wordly possessions" and i immediately realized that this was not the case, they were legitimately the same person who could obviously be no other than St. Lucy (owing to the ten plus references to Lucy's pendant). It was at this moment that I realized more or less exactly how the show would end. I knew that somehow Lucy would have an out of body experience where she had a moral discussion with St. Lucy. The squirrel was kind of a surprise. Ok, I suppose that's not TOO bad, just a little obvious. The Video Guy, however, was just awful. I sincerely hope the writer wasn't trying to make that a legitimate plot twist because it was the most obvious plot twist since Princess Leia ended up with Han Solo. So obvious in fact, that I'm surprised Lucy didn't figure it out! For goodness' sake, he takes pictures of you, shows you he has the ability to mess with things electronically, and says "Alex isn't done with you, I know what I'm talking about." I suppose he could've said "Hey Lucy, I put that picture of you drinking up on Facebook," but this is the ONLY thing he could've done to make it MORE obvious.
For the sake of time, I'll stop there, but rest assured I could go on. And on. And on. Let me remind you, however, taht I enjoyed the show. It was...adequate I would say. I suppose I would give it a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being Les Misèrables and 1 being Cats.) Could I ahve written this show? Most likely not, as such I respect and admire the work. Could I have improved upon a few things? Most definately, as such, I reserve the right to critique it and offer my opinion. After all, that's what blogging is for, right?

Learning to blog

We are learning to blog in US1100. Blogger is our blog of choice, but many other blogging programs exist.

You might try WordPress or Moveable Type.

Questions of Death!

The most deadly of all questions, are the questions of death.

How to Post: First, write your headline here

Start writing your blog post. Do not indent the paragraphs. In the world of Internet writing, it is easier to read if there is a space between paragraphs. So after you complete a paragraph, space once and start the next paragraph.

You can add links by highlighting a word and selecting the link button the top of this text box. Before I link, I got to the Web site I want to link and copy the URL so that I can just paste it in the link box on the blog. That way a typo won't ruin my link. Enter the URL to which you want to link in the box that pops up when you click LINK. If you would like to insert a photo, click the photo icon next to the word LINK. That will let you browse for the photo you want to insert. The photo must be on your computer so you can find it.

You can preview your blog post to see what it will look like by clicking on PREVIEW at the top right.

Please edit yourself before you post your blog entry. Check for GSP (grammar, spelling and punctuation) and just make sure you are pleased with the way your entry is written. But don't panic if you post and find an error. You can go back to edit your own blog posts at any time by clicking the pencil icon at the bottom of the post from the main blog screen.

Please add your name to the top or bottom of the post. It is professional and it will help me locate your posts in the event your Blogger user name is not your full name. I like to put my name in Ital at the bottom or Bold at the top. If you use photos, be sure to add a photo credit for who took the photos. Full credit for using any material is very important.

You may add labels (sometimes called tags). A label is sort of a subject word. I might label this: assignment.


By Kym Fox, photos by Kym Fox

Blogging Assignment

US1100: University Seminar – Texas State Blog
For mass communication majors (and a few others)
TXStateUS1100.blogspot.com

Assignment: Get out and get involved. You must attend two Common Experience campus events throughout the semester and blog about them. The opportunities are endless (but no, parties don’t count.)

The Blog – Blogging is just a form of publishing on the Internet. Our blog is at http://TXStateUS1100.blogspot.com. Each time you attend a Common Experience a Texas State tradition, you’ll write about it on the blog. In the post, include the title of the event and the day it occurred. You may write this entry in first person or more journalistic in style. Post an event photo as proof you attended or other pertinent images, even video. For example, you might scan in your ticket stub or program and add that to the blog. REMEMBER: This is a public blog, so take that into consideration as you write and always strive for perfect GSP (grammar, spelling and punctuation. We’ll practice blogging in class, and I’ll add you to the How To Blog @ TX State so you can practice.

The proof: I’ll need proof you attended events. Photos work best. Camera phones must be good for something. Acceptable forms of proof that you attended an event: A photo of you at the event (identifiably at the event.) A program from the event (scanned in). A ticket stub from the event (if it was ticket-controlled.) Swiping your ID at an event where that service is provided (I get a list of all who attended.) If all else fails: A 5-paragraph essay about the event (submitted as your blog entry).

Deadline: You must post to the blog within one week (seven days) of the event. If the event ends at noon on Friday you must post by noon the following Friday. It is always better to post to the blog soon after your event. Deadlines are important in mass communication and in life. Failure to post your blog entry by the deadline will result in an F.

Events:
Common Experience Calendar has a complete listing of events and is often updated, so keep checking back for events that interest you.

EXTRA CREDIT: You may pick up extra credit points by attending 1 extra event or writing about a Texas State tradition. This extra event does not need to be from the Common Experience calendar. You might attend a football game or a mass communication (or other) club meeting. (AND no - parties still do not count.)