SCENE 1, INTERIOR. AFTERNOON. CLASSROOM. The students are working on center activities as the teacher finishes up meeting with a reading group. As the kids return to their seats, one boy approaches the teacher at the back table.
JOEY: Mr. Z?
TEACHER: What’s up, Joey?
JOEY: I was just wondering who your favorite student was.
TEACHER:(Surprised) C’mon Joey, you know that I don’t have favorites.
[The boy nods his head and then grins at the teacher.]
JOEY: Maybe you could have one and it could be me.
[The teacher looks at the boy for a moment before answering.]
TEACHER: You know, you’re breathing my air.
[The boy immediately grabs his own throat with both his hands and pretends to be suffocating. The teacher hides a smile as the boy drops to his knees trying to choke out a few words as his eyes roll backward in their sockets.]
TEACHER: Wait, Joey. You can’t die. If you died, I’d be sad.
[The boy stops choking himself, gives the thumbs-up sign, and starts to head back to his desk to continue working.]
I recently had the opportunity to do a photoshoot up in Lehi. The location for the session was Star Mill. I had no idea that this place existed previous to this shoot...it is now one of my new favorite places.
I first felt it as I exited my car earlier this evening and felt myself buffeted by its dominating force—I moved to my house, pushed and pulled in every direction.
The storm twisted and coiled, howling relentlessly like a moan from the undead—and still is, hours later into the dark night. It’s strange…the force with which it presses against these four walls makes the outside night seem more ominous, more strange, more lonely.
I gazed out the window to see the skeletal arms of the trees whipped about, I watched silently as their aged silhouettes groaned in the darkness—branches torn asunder and swept away into the gaping maw of shadow.
Like a night similar to this not so long ago, but not near so menacing and sinister, I move to my warm bed and an audio rendition of a favorite book to lull me to a restful sleep.
However, the incessant cry of the wind as it rolls about is a subtle reminder that the darkness beyond these walls is still there, always waiting. The words which tumble about the room, caught in tides and eddies of thought need to be caught, penned down...
Pin It
Perhaps you've heard of the phenomenon which started off some time ago, where an unsuspecting person clicked on a link - fully trusting that they'd get one thing - but got something entirely different in return. Yes my friends, today I speak of Rickrollage.
I sat at my computer this evening, looking up Youtube clips to use in my classroom. That's when I saw a link which supposedly was going to lead me to a video entitled, "Hilarious Muppet Bloopers!" Well, I found my interest peaked, after all, who doesn't love the muppets? And being able to see mistakes the puppeteers made while shooting? Classic. Well, I clicked the link only to discover that I'd been Rickrolled.
What? You don't know what Rickrolling is? You've got to be kidding me…
Of course, I could pull you out of your state of pop-culture ignorance, and bring you into the fountains of enlightenment; however, I will forbear. If you'd like to know just what it is, and all the various and sundry details, you can read up on it here at Wikipedia.
Just know this...I listened to the whole song
and liked it.
Of course, there are those who'd just rather watch the real video…
Pin It SCENE 1, INTERIOR. AFTERNOON. CLASSROOM. The students are just returning to their seats after recess. The teacher begins to pass out chocolate-frosted brownies on small white plates. The class is instructed to enjoy them as the teacher wanders about between them. The kids are happily enjoying their dessert.
TEACHER: How is that brownie, Leslie?
LESLIE:[Grinning] It’s delicious, Mr. Z. Did you make them?
TEACHER: Indeed, I did. John, how do you like your brownie?
[The boy gives the thumbs-up sign as his mouth is full of the chocolately mass. He also smiles broadly].
BROOKS: Why’d you make us brownies, Mr. Z?
TEACHER: Just because I like you. I thought you deserved them.
[The class continues to eat their brownies as the teacher moves to the front of the classroom].
TEACHER: Now class, remember how I said I’d do a literature response after you all finished yours? [The class nods] Well, I am ready to do mine now.
[The kids grab slips of paper to write notes on about the report once it’s finished. The teacher picks a book up off the table but keeps it behind his back as he begins].
TEACHER:My book is by author, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. It’s about a boy named Andy who is in the fifth grade. His school has a contest each year put on by a well-to-do family about various topics; it’s sort of a memorial for the son in the family who died a few years ago. The winner of the contest gets $50 in prize money. This year, the topic is ‘conservation.’ Well, the whole fifth grade is pretty upset because they don’t like this topic, and they decide to boycott the contest. This means that everyone refuses to do it. They’re hoping that Mr. Sudderman will change the subject if nobody enters.
Unfortunately, Andy’s cousin, Jack, enters the contest and now, if nobody else enters, he’ll be the winner. Already he’s working on an idea of conserving power by cooking food on vehicle engines. He believes that by grilling hamburgers and other food on car engines, money will be saved, thus conserving electricity as well.
Andy is worried that his cousin will beat him and comes up with an idea to help conserve food. Since insects are high in protein, he begins taking beetles, mealworms, and other insects that he chops up, and begins putting them in food. He starts off by taking a batch of brownies to his friends at lunch, with chopped up beetles in them instead of nuts. Only, he doesn’t tell his friends what they’re really eating.
[The teacher pulls the book out from behind his back and show the class the cover: Beetles, Lightly Toasted. There is complete silence in the classroom as several of the students stop in mid-chew, eyes wide. Several of them glance nervously at each other. One boy spits part of his brownie back onto his plate. Another student walks over to the trash can and throws the rest of her brownie away. Several kids make a break for the drinking fountain at the back of the classroom].
TEACHER: Soon, Andy is feeding his family mealworm egg-salad sandwiches, and other dishes that he dreams up. The problem is…will Andy end up winning the $50, but losing everyone’s trust?
[The teacher pauses and glances around the room with a sheepish smile].
TEACHER: For my project, I decided to make a very special brownie recipe.
[Most of the class is still staring silently at the teacher with open mouths. One girl’s hand tentatively rises into the air].
TEACHER: Becky, you had a question?
BECKY: Are…there…um…beetles…in…these? [She indicates the half-eaten brownie still on her desk].
TEACHER: Well, my project had to come from the book, didn’t it?
[Most of the class is still sitting in their desks, speechless. The teacher smiles again and then breaks out laughing. He lets the class know that the brownies are actually from a local bakery, and don’t contain any insects at all. A sudden sigh of relief wafts about the classroom as a few students begin to laugh. A few of them continue to eat their brownies, while others choose not to do so].
TEACHER: My project was not bringing brownies, but was instead a lesson on empathy. How many of you think you can relate to the characters in the book when they find out what Andy’s done to them without their knowledge?
[Two dozen hands immediately punch the air].
TEACHER: I would recommend this book to any kid who likes stories about friendship, mistakes, and ‘just desserts.’
[The class begins to write their reactions to the book report amidst quiet conversations, snatches of which can be heard throughout the room: That was the coolest literature response ever! He really had me going for a minute there. I wish I’d thought of that. I’m going to read that book now! Mr. Z is so cool. I wonder what beetles really taste like. I was never going to trust Mr. Z again if that were really true. Isn’t Phyllis Reynolds Naylor awesome? Do you think she really ate beetles when writing the book?].
[The teacher begins to eat one of the brownies himself, he moves back towards his desk. A boy catches his eye and grins at him].
JOEY: You know what, Mr. Z?
TEACHER: What’s that Joey?
JOEY: I’d have still eaten them, even if they had beetles in them.
TEACHER: Really?
[The boy grins].
JOEY: Yeah, my mom cooks a lot of gross stuff. But if beetles tasted this good, I’d eat them all the time.
[The boy pushes the last of his brownie into his mouth and begins to chew it].
JOEY: Beetles are my favorite…
TEACHER: If only there were beetles in them, Joey…if only.
Or do you? If not, you just might get struck by lightning seventeen times, fall down in an old well, get beat up by a kindergarten gang, and lose all of your friends.
SCENE 1, EXTERIOR. MORNING, CROSSWALK. Students are arriving by ones and twos to school. The sun is about to rise above the snowy, eastern mountains. The teacher is on crosswalk duty, and is crossing students with the aid of the large stop sign. A boy waits on the opposite side of the street, practically busting with the need to share something with his teacher. Even before he’s crossed, he begins to talk excitedly from the other side of the street. The teacher moves to the crosswalk and stops traffic so the boy can safely pass.
JOEY:(excited) Mr. Z, guess what?
TEACHER: Good morning, Joey, what’s up?
JOEY: You’ll never guess what I watched on TV last night…
[The teacher shrugs as the child stops in the middle of the street. The teacher urges him to the other side, the boy still talking the whole way].
JOEY: I was watching this program last night about this murderer. It was a special on him because he caught this kid and drowned him in a lake and his body was found later on because the kid was dead. Now, the guy has been caught and he’s gonna go to trial for what he did and he will probably be in jail for the rest of his life or might even get the death penalty!
TEACHER:(somewhat speechless) Uh…whoa. And here I thought you were going to tell me that you saw High School Musical 3.
[The boy turns and begins to amble up the sidewalk, shaking his head].
JOEY: No, I’m not allowed to watch that, my mom says it’s inappropriate.
Need to seriously bust a move and forget all of those things which seem to be cavorting about you incessantly?
Thanks to my blogging friend, Tib, I was introduced to this...
May it bring you up as well... Addendum: Just to know what the song was actually saying, I listened to it a few times and transcribed the lyrics; what a powerful message. Now did I make a few mistakes?
Probably
Did I spend far too much time doing this?
Probably.
Was it worth it for the message?
I say, yes.
United State of Pop
I know you want pop You want dance You want, you got that right You want it, boom, boom. This year's remix got some funny songs
I got pop I got dance I got rock I got electronic club beats I got hip hop music let the future fly
So don't worry even if the sky is falling down, down, down Gonna be okay when it knocks you down, down, down So baby don't worry It's alright, alright When it knocks you down when you go down, when you go down No need to worry, just get back up When you tumbling down, down, down It's like I've been awakened (Every step I'm taking) Every rule I had you breakin' (Every move I'm making) It's the risk that I'm takin (The chances I'm taking) When you see my face And it never feels out of place
Livin' on the pop Livin' on the dance Livin' on the got that right Livin' on the 'rumba' seventeen Got some funny songs I like that pop I like that bass I like that rockin' electronic club beats Livin' on the hip hop music Let the future fly
Baby, don't worry it's alright, I'm alright when it knocks you down somewhere up along this road Stressed-out I wanna let it go I feel down, down, down Baby are you down, down, down, down? And oh, (hey) I've been traveling on this road too long (too long) I'm just tryin' to find my way back home But the old me's dead and gone Dead and gone. I got a feeling (wooh hoo) I found God
Livin' on the pop Livin' on the dance Livin' on the Got that right Livin' on the feeling Livin' on the music of the flyin' songs We got the pop We got the dance We got the rockin' electronic club beats We got the hip hop music Let the future fly
People in the place Put your hands, your hands in the air Now put cha hands up (uh oh uh uh oh) Forever united here Livin' on the poker face So let's get light Let's live it up If you want to get down (down, down) I want to get down, down, down So baby, don't worry it's alright, I'm alright When it knocks you down When you go down, when you go down No need to worry just get back up When you're tumbling down, down, down... Don't you
Livin' on the pop Livin' on the dance Livin' on the boom, boom, boom Gotta get that 'rumba' Able-way what the Boom, boom, boom Gotta get that pop Gotta get that dance Gotta get that boom, boom, pow I gotta get, I gotta get This year's remix What the future's now
I got a feelin' And I never really had a doubt That tonight's gonna be a good night That tonight's gonna be a good night And I say the same thing every single time You know that I could be somebody (be somebody, wooh hoo) Well open up your plans and then you're free Look into your heart and you'll find love, love, love Not feelin' down, down, down Can't you see the love, love, love Isn't this easy? Feeling love, love, love Down, down, down It's like I've been awakened (can't you see) to this path I'm takin' (don't be afraid) The risk that I'm takin' (can't you see) I've had a little bit too much feeling down, down, down Can't you see you can make it? Every rule I had you breaking Isn't this easy? Feeling love love love? Change your mind Baby, just say it...
