Fear of change.
I'll be graduating from community collage in a few weeks, so I can say first hand that change is downright scary. You're life's been going along all normal when suddenly you see a turn up ahead and realize anything at all could be on the other side. Yikes!
A lot of story characters yearn for change, for adventure. They're desperate to know what's around the next bend. It's easy to see why those people make for great heroes. You don't have to prod them at all. They're raring to go. Just point them at the plot and stand back! (Taran the Assistant Pig Keeper, in Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles is one such character.) But there are plenty of protagonists who don't like change at all.
One of my favorites is Muggles from Carol Kendall's The Gammage Cup. Muggles rarely ventures an opinion because she hates to make waves. All she wants is for everyone around her to be safe and content, and as the story progresses, we see that she's willing to go to great lengths -even face banishment!- in order to protect her quiet little village.
People who wait for problems to come to them can be wonderfully interesting heroes. The stakes have to be high to push them into heroism, but once those quiet, unassuming character decide to act, you know they mean busyness.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Happy Easter everyone!
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by his stripes we are healed. - Isaiah 53:4&5.
Hope you all have a terrific Easter.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Phantom of the Opera
Last week I mentioned going to see a local high-school performance of `Phantom of the Opera.' I was a bit too worn down to write about the experience that evening (so worn down that I now have a cold that makes me sound like Daffy Duck) but I thought now would be a good time to talk a little about the experience.
First of all, I went with a great group of friend and family. There's something about company to a theater that magnifies the experience. When a particularly funny or dramatic moment happens on stage you can glance over at the people you're with to catch their expression.
Second, seeing things live allows you to experience the story in a way you just can't when listening to a CD. I never got the full impact of the song `Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' until last Saturday. It is a truly awesome, showstopping song -and I never knew. In fact, it's one of the songs I've always had a tendency to press skip-track for.
Third -is it just me, or are highschool students getting younger? I admit, it's hard to properly appreciate the tragedy and horror of the story when you keep thinking, "aww, those kids are so cute up there on stage."
There's something about a live performance that connects the audience with the story in a way that no other art form does. Plays have been around in one form or another since the time of the Ancient Greeks, and no matter how technologically advanced society becomes, I doubt that's going to change. People like hanging out with people sharing the experience, showing their appreciation directly, clapping until their hands are tired to make the kids on stage take just one more bow.
What can I say? I love theater.
First of all, I went with a great group of friend and family. There's something about company to a theater that magnifies the experience. When a particularly funny or dramatic moment happens on stage you can glance over at the people you're with to catch their expression.
Second, seeing things live allows you to experience the story in a way you just can't when listening to a CD. I never got the full impact of the song `Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again' until last Saturday. It is a truly awesome, showstopping song -and I never knew. In fact, it's one of the songs I've always had a tendency to press skip-track for.
Third -is it just me, or are highschool students getting younger? I admit, it's hard to properly appreciate the tragedy and horror of the story when you keep thinking, "aww, those kids are so cute up there on stage."
There's something about a live performance that connects the audience with the story in a way that no other art form does. Plays have been around in one form or another since the time of the Ancient Greeks, and no matter how technologically advanced society becomes, I doubt that's going to change. People like hanging out with people sharing the experience, showing their appreciation directly, clapping until their hands are tired to make the kids on stage take just one more bow.
What can I say? I love theater.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
A little swamped
I just wanted to let everyone know the reason I didn't post today is that I got a little over-busy juggling homework, and didn't have time. (Well that, and I just went to see an excellent High-school performance of Phantom of the Opera.) Sorry to leave you all post-less this week.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Scrooge in Blue
A rather grumpy looking still life I did a few years back. The attitude of this resin fake-rock head tickles my funny-bone. I call him `Scrooge in Blue'. I wasn't going to upload another picture so soon (I'm worried that my constant art may be getting monotonous) but I've been working on a school project all day, and just didn't have the energy to come up with a decent blog subject. Hope you all have a great week!
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