:: Pedantic Platitudes ::

:: Sunday, May 29, 2005 ::

Update!

I finished with packing after my finals and on Tuesday took the train to Philadelphia. The train had some engine problems so we were delayed for more than an hour, but I got into town in the early evening. I found my dorm on the UPenn campus, and settled in. The campus is pretty and it's near a bunch of restaurants and a supermarket, so I will probably be eating more often than when I was in Miami!

I got up early on Wednesday and ran a bunch of errands, from getting an access card to enter the building I'm living in to researching how to get around this (huge) city. I took the subway (it's a bit complicated... like being in New York!) and somehow managed to get to work. I got to help write a couple of stories this week, but soon I'll be writing my own stories.

Anyways, it's been a good week. I've been trying to get used to the city and figuring out where things are, how to get around, etc. Yesterday, I went to see Independence Hall, where the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. I also saw the Liberty Bell and Benjamin Franklin's grave, as well as a bunch of other historical buildings and sites. It felt it was a patriotic thing to do, especially on Memorial Day weekend. I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be exciting. I've been back on a regular sleep schedule this week, and it feels good to go to bed early enough and actually wake up before 9 a.m. without feeling tired throughout the day. Hopefully this will continue through the summer, and because I'm doing reporting and don't have the night shifts of copy editors, it should come pretty naturally.

Oh! Last week, my friends put on a stage production of the six-hour TV mini-series "Pride and Prejudice" called "Pride and Prejudice - Live!" (PNPL, for short). I was originally planning to just play the role of the carriage, continuing my short career as a portrayer of inanimate objects in random theatrical productions. I was then asked to play Mrs. Bennett (whose name, for some reason, I keep thinking is Mrs. Haberdash - I'm not sure where that came from), but I didn't want to be typecast as the loud, annoying character. Later, however, I was cajoled into playing the role when somebody dropped out due to a schedule conflict. Forced to play the role of Mrs. Haberdash, I mean, Mrs. Bennett, I decided to spice up the part a bit. My friend Marion (standing next to me in the scarf in the third picture below) played Mr. Bennett, and she offered to share a script with me, so I joked that in addition to sharing scripts our characters also shared conjugal beds. Later on, I discovered that my character had five children, so I commented that my uterus was sore and stretched out.

The play was enjoyable... we all did silly fake British accents, and we had a small audience (the actors outnumbered the audience members), but it was a lot of fun. I got to wear a silly costume... check out some of the pictures (yes, I am indeed wearing a skirt as a poncho):

:: SL 10:47 PM [+] ::
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A couple of friends and I went to see the Star Wars Episode III last night! It was such a great movie, though very sad and tragic. Anyone who has seen the original films knows what is going to happen in the end, but it's still depressing to see all the events spiral out of control and the fall into evil of a character for whom you grow to become sympathetic.

Quote of the Day: "Your deeds, [President Bush] - neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment, and misleading the country into war - do not exemplify the faith we live by. Many of your supporters are using religion as a weapon to divide our nation and advance a narrow partisan agenda. We are deeply disappointed in your failure to renounce their inflammatory rhetoric."

:: SL 10:48 PM [+] ::
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Yay, I just finished my last final and am ready to start summer '05!

Summer plans:

5/25 - 7/23: Internship at the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper
6/16: Morro Bay High School Class of 2005 Graduation
[7/17: Disneyland's 50th Birthday]
7/24 - 8/28: Study Abroad in Oxford, England
8/29 - 9/7: Travel in Europe
9/8 - 9/12: Home

To my dear friends: Let us meet up this summer for good times galore!

:: SL 9:50 AM [+] ::
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The teaser trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is now online. Apparently, the trailer preceded the new Star Wars movie.

It's looking to be an epic, epic film; I'm looking forward to seeing it this winter.

:: SL 11:55 PM [+] ::
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Soon after I was invited to join the group "Students Against the Misuse of 'Heart' as a Verb" on TheFaceBook.com ("Because we're elitist snobs who believe in using nouns as NOUNS, and think that "I heart you" is the worst thing to be perpetrated upon the English language, EVER. Join us in the fight! We don't fucking "heart" ANYTHING!"), I was invited to join the group "I ? Fisting."

I don't think my life can get any stranger.

Quote of the Day: "Join us as we recognize the lure of the fist. Just don't forget your Crisco."

:: SL 11:52 PM [+] ::
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Some random facts as I study for my Human Sexuality final:

A 1992 study reported that worldwide there are more than 100 million acts of sexual intercourse daily.

In the US, 1/2 of all pregnancies are unintended, resulting in 1.4 million abortions and 1.1 million births that women either did not want until later in life or did not want at all.

Klismaphilia: being sexually aroused in response to enemas
Autoerotic Asphyxia: a form of sexual masochism which links strangulation with masturbation
Telephone scatologia: making obscene phone calls

In a study it was found that only 1/3 of those that had visited a prostitute actually enjoyed the experience.

Pimps introduce the females into prostitution. They provide housing, protection, money, even jewelry in return for the money that the girls earn. However, abuse is often the result of such an arrangement.

Quote of the Day: "Well I certainly will take no part in such debauchery!"

:: SL 11:48 PM [+] ::
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A news story today stated: "The White House said on Monday that a Newsweek report based on an anonymous source had damaged the U.S. image overseas by alleging that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay."

As if the image of the U.S. overseas hadn't been damaged already...



The Bush administration through its foreign policy has been damaging the U.S. image overseas nonstop for years now... I don't think it carries much weight when they now accuse a magazine of doing that.

:: SL 6:09 PM [+] ::
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Finally... after hours of writing and resizing/uploading photos:

Disneyland's 50th anniversary kickoff features Christina Aguilera, Julie Andrews, LeAnn Rimes

Disneyland 50th anniversary celebration begins with ceremony in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle

Highlights:


Donald Duck, Christina Aguilera, Art Linkletter, Julie Andrews, Walt Disney Company President Michael Eisner, Walt Disney Company President-elect Bob Iger, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts President Jay Rasulo, LeAnn Rimes, Disneyland Resort President Matt Ouimet, and Mickey Mouse gather for a picture in front of the newly decorated Sleeping Beauty Castle featuring new crowns on May 5, 2005 to begin Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration.


Christina Aguilera, Julie Andrews, LeAnn Rimes, and Mickey Mouse in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration kickoff.

Quote of the Day: "To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world." - Walt Disney, July 17, 1955.

:: SL 2:31 AM [+] ::
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Having attended all these press events at Disneyland this past week, it's sort of weird to see myself on other Disney websites.

For example, that's my hand, camera, and hair in the bottom of this picture of Disney President Michael Eisner:



I'm standing in front of the gold lamppost in the center of the picture for this event with comedian Steve Martin:



And I'm wearing the black jacket on the right for the big ceremony in front of the castle (Leann Rimes and Christina Aguilera performed, and Julie Andrews narrated):



Pictures of my own will be coming soon.

:: SL 8:51 PM [+] ::
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Wow, I leave for a few days, come back, and there are a billion and a half e-mails, messages, and LiveJournal posts to catch up on! Who knew there'd be so much going on this week?

The three-day Disneyland 50th anniversary media event was amazing. The park was actually closed on May 4 for a private celebrity party, but they gave me press access to cover the event. I got to see/meet so many Disney "higher-ups" such as Walt Disney Company President Michael Eisner, Disney Company President-elect Bob Iger, Disneyland President Matt Ouimet, Disney Parks/Resorts President Jay Rasulo, Golden Horseshoe Revue star Wally Boag, Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar, etc. and celebrities like Christina Aguilera, Leann Rimes, Julie Andrews, John Voight, John Stamos, Geena Davis, Karl Malone, Sean Astin, Tyra Banks, Andy Garcia, Steve Martin, Kelsey Grammer, and Tim Allen. Plus, for the celebrity party, the Goo Goo Dolls gave a live performance. The food was amazing: spectacular catered meals and desserts with all the snacks and drinks you could care to have in between.

They premiered the new parade, which was a lot of fun to watch. The music is very catchy and the floats are much more detailed than previous parades. They also have new puppets and audio-animatronics to animate the scenes, and they are all elaborate and fluidly life-like. The parade also runs at night, so all the floats light up, making them a lot prettier. The new fireworks show was incredible; the biggest and best fireworks show I've ever seen in my life. They not only use the classic Disney songs, but they also pay tribute to Disneyland itself, using songs from rides and blasting new types of fireworks created just for the show. New special effects also enhance the presentation. The show is narrated by Julie Andrews, and it was very heartwarming. Yay for Disneyland.

And oh, they gave us such cool merchandise. All these new 50th anniversary collectibles, pins, and souvenirs. I even got my own pair of golden Mickey ears!



The publicity people treated us so well (what with the free meals and Disney hotel stay). It was strange doing work at Disneyland, but at the same time, the people helping the media gave us such great perks. I don't think I'll ever see Disneyland the same way ever again. I can't wait until Disneyland's actual anniversary on July 17!

:: SL 6:04 PM [+] ::
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Well, my poor baby, my trusty laptop broke down (akin to the manner in which a psychologically unwell individual breaks down upon having his/her long-held yet socially reactionary beliefs challenged), and I had to take it to the store to get it fixed.

I've been using the computers in the computer labs across campus; it's a bit of an inconvenience, but it's better than not having access to a computer at all. I should get my laptop back this week. Yay.

This should be an interesting week. I'm flying out to Los Angeles to cover the opening festivities for Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration on May 5, 2005, as well as the press event on May 4. It should be a blast!

Quote of the Day: "I am convinced that in the future it will be fashionable to wear your fly down."

:: SL 2:54 AM [+] ::
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