Taking Fate into Your Own Hands

So for the Shakespeare class I'm taking we were given the option of writing two papers five pages in length with choices of several topics or one paper ten pages in length of a more complex topic (which I will explain shortly). Being the procrastinator that I am chose the ten page paper, because it's due at the later date. The topic consists of choosing any Shakespearean character and comparing them with a well-known person in history. Well, being that my two all-time favorite Shakespearean plays are "Macbeth" and "Romeo and Juliet," I chose Macbeth himself as the character that I wanted to base my thesis of this paper around. Maybe my love for Presidents Kennedy and Lincoln, and my fascination with infamous crimes and murders, led me to picking Lee Harvey Oswald as the person to compare my dead Macbeth to. Though when reading Macbeth I do consider him my tragic hero and always route for him, the reason I chose to compare him and Oswald is because both of their careless actions (murders) are what ultimately led to their untimely demises. Any feedback, suggestions, [better] ideas feel free to leave them as comments.

Lennon

Does anyone else love this man as much as I do?

The Masked Magician

"Breaking the Magicians' Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed" was a series of four specials that aired from 1997-1998 (followed by "Secrets of Street Magicians Finally Revealed in 2000 and "Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 5 - Escape from the Ice" in 2002, both featuring two new masked magicians) on FOX. The first four specials featured The Masked Magician preforming large-scale illusions (some well-known and others not so much) that could never possibly be attempted by any average view at home. In addition, he would preform a small trick or two that could usually be done at home, involving minimal and cheap supplies and not posing any safety risks. I remember watching these specials as they aired and being so excited and intrigued. One of my cousins at the time was really into magic as a kid and I can recall my aunt saying she felt the specials were ruining magic because by knowing how the tricks are done, you ruin the mystery and excitement of the trick. The Masked Magician later explained when he revealed himself as Val Valentino, that he was doing this for the complete opposite reason. Valentino felt that magic was losing it's popularity and it wanted to spark an interest in magic to a young audience by showing them how some of the big illusions are done and at the same time teaching them some smaller tricks they could preform with simple household items. He looked at it as an inspiration, a way to keep magic alive amongst generations to come, and for aspiring magicians to work to for bigger and better illusions that have yet to be preformed. I can understand why other magicians and some of the population were upset by these specials, but at the same time I see Valentino's point in wanting to do the series. Personally, I was very entertained by these specials and continue to be nearly 10 years later. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on copies of some of the episodes and last month caught some of them on the FOX reality channel (digital cable) and apparently for the past few weeks they have been showing some on MY9. Long live The Masked Magician. I would love to see him comeback into the limelight with some new stuff.

Out of Sync

Being a kid, more specifically a girl, who grew up in the '90s, you were either a Backstreet Boys fan or an N'Sync fan. Personally, I was a Backstreet Boys fan, A.J. McClean being my favorite. Though being a Backstreet Boys fan, I had to do the occasional N'Sync bashing, I did own their albums and liked their stuff. When N'Sync member Lance Bass publicly came out of the closet I, personally wasn't shocked. Last month Lance published his memoir, "Out of Sync," which I am completely excited about reading. I watched an interview with Lance and Tyra Banks and I was very intrigued. In the book Lance writes about his struggle with keeping his sexuality and relationships a secret from his band mates and the public, in fear of jeopardizing the bands success and his career. From what Lance was saying in the interview and just his general persona, he gives off the impression that he is doing very well and I couldn't be happier. He seems like a truly genuine person and I am glad he is able to finally be the person he truly is. Also during the interview Lance's former girlfriend Danielle Fishel spoke with him and Tyra. Fishel said how one night she thought her and Lance were going to be intimate for the first time, but Lance didn't think they should because he would be leaving for a tour and wouldn't be able to be there for her like he wished he could. Lance then commented during the interview and said that he knew then and had feelings that he was gay and that's why he didn't want to have sex with Fishel, because he didn't want her first time to be with him, because he pretty much knew that he was gay and wouldn't be able to stay with her. Lance-- what a sweetie! Stay tuned for more after I finish reading Lance's memoir.

Halloween

So for pretty much all my life I have had an obsession with horror movies. I'm not sure if it's entirely healthy that you can recite the entire dialog to the movie "Scream" by age 10, but oh well. Ten years, and many, many horror movies later, I can honestly tell you one thing, "Halloween" is probably the most underrated horror movie by the general public. Let me explain to you why I say the general public. If you go on websites devoted to horror movies or even see the selection of sites entirely devoted to "Halloween" or read forums of people trying to list their all-time favorite horror movies, arguing over which ones should make the top 10 or top 5 cut, you will notice that in fact most horror movie fanatics usually tend to pay "Halloween" homage. Now the general public in this situation, would consist of everyone minus die-hard "Halloween" fans and big horror movie fans in general. To get a better understanding of what I am trying to point out, take a look at "Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments" which is a five part television special that originally aired in 2004, but is continued to be shown every year around Halloween time. Well, I must say I was extremely disappointed when "Halloween" did not make the #1 spot, mad again when I saw that it did not even make the top 5, and pretty much irate when I found out that it didn't even make the top 10. If we take a look at their top 10 we have: 10. "Wait Until Dark" 9. "Night of the Living Dead" 8. "Carrie" 7. " The Silence of the Lambs" 6. "The Shining" 5. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" 4. "Psycho" 3. " The Exorcist" 2. "Alien" 1. "Jaws" Lets start off with the fact that some of those movies aren't even completely classified as horror movies. This countdown is called "Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments." Okay, maybe a movie doesn't necessarily have to fall into the horror movie genre to scare someone, but that's usually the case. Lets take "The Silence of the Lambs" for example. If I had to compile a list of my all-time favorite movies this would definitely land a spot somewhere on the list. I think "The Silence of the Lambs" deserves it's 5 Oscars and 4 stars without a doubt (even though it did beat out "Beauty and the Beast" for best picture, can't win 'em all Disney), but it's just not really "scary" in my opinion. I don't anyone ever went to bed having nightmares because they watched "The Silence of the Lambs." I would expect for "Psycho" and "The Exorcist" (two other personal favorites) to be in the top 5 and am please with Bravo for getting that right. I mean the shower scene in "Psycho" and the stairway scene in "The Exorcist" are absolutely classic. "Jaws" taking the number one spot on on scariest movie moments countdown is just plain silly to me. I'm not doing any "Jaws" bashing, but I just don't think it deserves number 1 on this countdown. I'm not saying at all that "Jaws" isn't scary, because that would be a lie, or that "Jaws" shouldn't be on this countdown, because that would also be untrue; rather what I am trying to say is that I don't truly feel that "Jaws" should have took the number 1 spot on this countdown. On the countdown "Halloween" took the number 14 spot (absolutely insane, i know!) and "Scream" took the number 13 spot. Now don't get me wrong, I love "Scream," I can quote the entire movie, own the vhs tapes, the dvd trilogy, a few masks and robes, etc. and "Scream" without a doubt falls in my list of top horror movies and movies in general. My issue is that if you watch "Scream" you know all the "Halloween" references and stuff, I mean they are even watching "Halloween" on tv in "Scream" for the love of God! In my opinion that's just pretty much disrespectful to put "Scream" in a better spot than "Halloween." I mean I'm still mad that neither or them made the top 10 and even more mad that a classic like "Halloween" didn't even make the top 5. Another not so comforting thing, is the "Top Rated Horror Titles" on IMDb (The Internet Movie Database). "Psycho" made number 1, that didn't upset me or anything. "Jaws" made number 7 which made me a bit upset that it beat out many horror movie classics, but again I guess the great white truly must scare people to continue biting into the top spots. "The Exorcist" came in at number 23, disappointing for such a classic. "Halloween" came in at 36, which I'm sorry but is pretty much ridiculous that it didn't even make the top 5 or 10 and the list is only out of the top 50! Again, this is all just my personal opinion, I didn't say one bad thing about "Jaws" or any other movie. I know "Jaws" is a classic too just like "Halloween," but on a scariest movie moments countdown that was created to show around Halloween time and a list of the top 50 rated horror movies, I just think "Halloween" deserves a little move appreciation.

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Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

I was beyond intrigued when my girlfriend told me to look in The New York Post for an article pertaining to a sexual relationship between former Brady Bunch co-stars Maureen McCormick (Oldest sister- Marcia Brady) and Eve Plumb (Middle sister- Jan Brady). From time to time I wondered if off-screen romances between television co-stars from the past existed, like 90210 and Saved by the Bell. When it came to The Brady Bunch I always wondered whether or not television siblings Marcia (Maureen McCormick) and Greg (Barry Williams) were getting it on behind the scenes. It turns out McCormick and Williams did date and Williams revealed this in his book Growing up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg turned movie Growing up Brady. Okay, so the fling between Marcia and Greg, we could have all seen that one coming, but Marcia and Jan! Can you say Marcia, Marcia, Marcia?! How about serious opportunity knocking for so many sexual jokes it's ridiculous. McCormick's book "Here's the Story" is set to be released sometime in 2008 and is to tell the story of a sexual relationship between her and co-star Eve Plumb. The original article from The New York Post can be viewed here.

Hey Mr. President (Or maybe Ms. President)

Though the next election is nearly a year away, political fever has swept our nation. Will we have a woman elected for the first time in United States history, or maybe man who has a name so close to a loathed terrorist, or maybe even the man who held New York together when it was in shambles? In any event, I deemed a little presidential trivia appropriate.

Four appear on Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Two ran unopposed: George Washington (both terms) and James Monroe (second term).

One was elected to four terms: Franklin D. Roosevelt

One resigned: Richard Nixon

One never married: James Buchanan

Three died on the Fourth of July: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe.

Eight died in office: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy.

Four have been assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (by John Wilkes Booth), James Garfield (by Charles J. Guiteau), William McKinley (by Leon F. Czolgosz), and John F. Kennedy (by Lee Harvey Oswald).

Five have survived assassinations: Andrew Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford (twice), and Ronald Reagan.

A quote from the movie Conspiracy Theory that fits quite well:

Jerry: David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy, Richard Speck...
Alice: What about them?
Jerry: Serial killers. Serial killers only have two names. You ever notice that? But lone gunmen assassins, they always have three names. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, Mark David Chapman...
Alice: John Hinckley. He shot Reagan. He only has two names.
Jerry: Yeah, but he only just shot Reagan. Reagan didn't die. If Reagan had died, I'm pretty sure we probably would all know what John Hinckley's middle name was.

[about lone gunmen having three names each]
Jerry: I just thought of another one: James Earl Ray, the guy who got Luther King. Then of course, there's Sirhan Sirhan. I still haven't figured that one out. Maybe it's Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan, I don't know.

The Stratford Man

Whether you read Hamlet in high school, or watched Leonardo DiCaprio star in Romeo and Juliet, everyone has been exposed to William Shakespeare (or at least I hope). Perhaps you love him, or you can't stand him. Maybe you would be lost without the margin side notes, maybe you wouldn't. Regardless of whether or not your feelings towards Shakespeare, you are probably using terms that he coined nearly everyday, and don't even have a clue. Phrases like eaten out of house and home, spotless reputation, full circle, are neither rhyme nor reason are all phrases derived straight from the Bard himself.