"Never eat raspberries."
- Grandpa Phil, Hey Arnold!
It was very bad for YouTube to allow Hey Arnold to be posted on its website; I love that show, and now that it's easily accesible, I fear that that's all I will watch. It should be worth noting, though, that that show should NOT have been for kids. There are so many adult themes, like alcoholism and obsessions, that are (not-so) subtly placed in there. Of course, this is why I love that show; makes it twice as funny.
Speaking of things that are not appropriate for kids, how about Disney's version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"? Up until a couple of days ago, I hadn't seen it since 6th grade (and I remember not being too attentive when I saw it last). While I obviously couldn't quote this one like other Disney movies, there were very distinct parts of it that I could remember, because there were scenes that were just terrifying or addressed much more mature issues. Now that I'm older, I'm able to catch all of those issues that I could not distinguish as a kid, and I must say, even as a 21 year old, it's still scary -- burning people alive, lust, religious hypocrisy, social rejection, the list goes on. What makes this film really terrifying though, is the antagonist. Most Disney villains are either laughable (because they're so bad or cheesy), or admirable (because they have a moment or two that make being a bad guy look cool), but the antagonist of this film is one that you hate literally from beginning to end; the guy's a complete monster. I haven't seen a whole lot of films that has a villain that I absolutely despise (the best example is probably Capitan Vidal de "El Laberinto del Fauno", and the latest Joker's up there, too), but Frollo one probably takes the cake. It's a ridiculously dark film as a whole, especially for Disney, and it definitely should have been a PG-rated film. I haven't read the novel by Victor Hugo, but I know it's twisted, I know it's dark, I know it's a downer, and now I really want to read it just to see how much worse it could be (and I'm expecting a lot). Still, watching it again, I REALLY liked it. The music (not necessarily the sing-alongs) is absolutely amazing, and even though the story's watered down, it flows together really nicely. Also, it isn't a typical 'Disney hero' with a typical 'Disney hero' ending -- Quasimodo is such a respectable character.
...okay, I think I am done ranting now.
I think I mentioned in the last post about how we were going to try Anti-Karaoke since we had had a successfull night with Karaoke the week before. That plan still went through -- Kaitlyn, Trinity and I went out to it on Wednesday, and it turned out to be one of the best nights I've had so far. To restate, Anti-Karaoke is basically one giant rockshow, where the audience members get to sing the songs, which are mainly of the rock, alternative, metal, and 80s Classics genres. So you have your Nirvana, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Madonna, The Offspring, Ozzie Osbourne, the list goes on (over 500 songs). All the songs were in English, too, though it's safe to say that some people probably tried to sing them in Spanish (I mean, most of the crowd was Spaniards...) and some that didn't know the words at all. In fact, there was one guy who absolutely butchered "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers; he didn't even try to read the lyrics book, or use the same syllables or sounds! Actually, it was pretty amusing. Anyway, since it was close to Halloween time, there were a good number of people dressed up -- we ourselves came with masquerade masks. But yeah, the whole night was pretty much like a giant rock concert, maybe even a moshpit, and it was awesome. There were some really good performances, too! My personal favorite was the guy that was dressed like a Ghostbuster, and sang "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand. Well sung, and very energetic performance; I was jumping and head nodding/banging the entire time! Well, I did that a lot of the time I was there, but this I particularly enjoyed this act.
And yes, all three of us gave performances, which was half the fun of the night. Trinity did "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar, and she did fantastic. She looked like she was having so much fun up there, and she knew all the words to the song already. And besides, how can you not rock out and love Pat Benatar? Seriously. Kaitlyn did "Fame" from...well, Fame. I don't know too much about it (I know it's a musical movie now), but she did really well. She gave a really girly yet dazzling performance (probably helps that she's a theater major), and she also sang well! As for me, I went for a much heavier (erm, metal) song: the popular "Chop Suey" by System of a Down. Alright, I'm by no means a talented singer (actually, I'm pretty terrible), but I was arguably the crowd favorite of the night. I think the reason I was so well liked was because I was the first one to go all out and do a really heavy song, so yes, there was jumping, there was hair-whipping, there was headbanging, there was a little bit of screaming. On top of that, I highly doubt anyone expected me to do that; it probably went like this: "Aw, look at that cute young girl go up there; she's probably going to do Madonna or something...no wait, she's doing...WHAT!? OH MY GOD, AWESOME!" I put a lot of energy in my performance, and the crowd responded well, jumping around like crazy and singing along. Yeah, I'm sure I looked like a lunatic, but it was amazing, and I got so many compliments that night. There were even people who wanted to take pictures with me (Kaitlyn and Trinity got a good share, too), or even perform with me. I have to admit, I liked being a rockstar that night.
Oh, I only wish I'd remembered my camera that night. That's okay, because Anti-Karaoke comes to Madrid once a month, the last Wednesday of every month, so we'll definitely be going back!
So after that outstanding night, the weekend was fairly chill. It was nice, though nothing too overly exciting. We stayed in on both Thursday and Friday and just kind of relaxed. On Thursday, we watched the Spanish film "El Espinazo Del Diablo (The Devil's Backbone)" which is by "Hellboy" and "El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)" director Guillermo Del Toro. I'd heard it was a chilling ghost story, creepy yet interestingly mysterious (so in other words, really good), but frankly, I was disappointed. I wasn't scared at all during the movie, and the storyline was a bit dry and unoriginal; I guess I was expecting a bit too much out of it. It was the movie that actually inspired Pan's, but Pan's is better on every level, though I think that Pan's gets a boost because it mixes the elements of fantasy and reality. We had to watch it in Spanish without subtitles, and there were definitely some points where it was hard to pick up what they were saying (there was one scene where it was as if the guy was trying to break the record for 'syllables per second'), but we were able to follow it. It's good practice to watch Spanish films. Then we watched the documentary "Jesus Camp" which I'd seen before, but still stands as one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Friday was much the same. We probably had another "American food" day and made more Velvetta cheese sauce. Trinity and I had a miniature Hey Arnold marathon, and then at night (Robby'd joined us), we ended up watching three movies (God, we're just so exciting, aren't we?): "Red Eye" (an entertaining thriller despite being very predictable and unbelieavable), "Panic Room" (I've seen this one many times and think it's extremely underrated -- they do some cool stuff with the camera), and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" (God knows how long it's been since I've seen a Jurassic Park flick, but they're pretty fun, though I tend to just stick with the first one).
Then Halloween day. You'd think we'd do something special for Halloween, but the holiday's nowhere near as big here, especialy in terms of the younger children and Trick-or-Treating, but there were still a bunch of people out in costume. Before the night fell, we went to a park that was a good ways outside the city (12 metro stops...but hey, at least we didn't have to pay for transportation). It was a bit bigger than Los Jardines Botanicos en Madrid, and just as pretty, but good Lord we had a hard time finding it. The map of Madrid didn't extend that far out, and the directions which Trinity wrote down were...off, or at least we couldn't find the road. We probably wandered around in circles for a good hour before finding it. Luckily, entrance was free, and there were some cool things to see, like the Temple (though not really) of Dionaysus, and a labyrinth (which sadly we could not enter due to construction). During the night, we went out to a discoteca (free entrance for that, too) and spent the night dancing there. They played some good music for a while, and it was fun overall, but I'd say the night overall was on the strange side -- there were some really weird people there, and it was crowded as hell after a while, which made it a bit uncomfortable.
And Sunday was everyone's favorite "Get your homework done" day!
So it was an awesome rockshow and a good weekend overall. Next weekend is Barcelona, which I am very, very excited about! It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Spain.
Oh yeah, I managed to pick up a small tutoring job! La hermana de mi anfitriona is taking English classes, and wants to improve by having conversations with someone. It's only once a week for an hour, so it's not like it's taking up much time. They want to pay me a little bit for it, too, which given the short amount of time it is, I think that's a bit too generous. Still, I guess it would be nice to pick up a tiny bit of spending cash. Plus, this will help both of us -- I can practice more Spanish, and she can practice English!
I've only got a little over a month left of classes. They're still going pretty well, though Lengua is proving to be tougher than expected -- the professor, while she is a really good professor, is a tough-as-nails grader and will find even the smallest error and mark off for it. We finally got our exams from a month ago back, and only a small group of students did well. Thankfully, the Spanish grading system is a bit more generous, so ultimately, I think I faired alright, but seeing all those marks on your exam is like...wow. I haven't had an exam in any other class; only smaller writing assignments. I'm doing really well in my Cine class, and History I'm doing alright, too. Both of those classes have a final exam that's worth a large portion of the whole grade, though, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of those yet. I'll probably start studying for those early. Cuento is going pretty well; my whole grade is based around a single short story that I write, taking all the elements that we've learned and making your own. I'm actually very excited about it! I already know what I want to write about; it's a matter of how I want it narrated that's giving me trouble. Still, I've already started writing, so we'll see where it goes. And yes, I am writing it in Spanish. I was contemplating on whether I wanted to write it in English first, then translate it, but I want a challenge.
Weather's turned a bit cooler again this week, but it's still pretty nice, unlike the coldness that I've heard Illinois is struggling through.
In the US, basketball season is underway, and I've been keeping my eye on it. The Bulls seemed to have a nice opener against the consistent Spurs, but have dropped the other two against Boston and Miami. I wasn't expecting them to beat Boston, especially with Rasheed Wallace in their lineup now, but Miami hasn't really done anything to improve; D.Wade's unstoppable. Oh God, speaking of Boston, Rajon Rondo's little stunt with Chris Paul really makes me angry. "I have a championship, and you don't and never will!" First of all, are you that low class that you have to make personal attacks like that? That's ridiculous. It's very immature and unnecessary to be taunting someone on that level. Shows how much of an ass he is. It really frustrates me to see athletes, especially pros who should know better, perform such poor sportsmanship. Second, just because Rondo has a championship does not mean he's a great player. He's quick and good at taking the ball to the basket, but he's a cheap defender, doesn't have a great outside shot, and most importantly, is by no means a leader. Not to mention he's playing with three all stars; of course you're going to look good playing next to them, and of course, they're going to help you get better! Chris Paul didn't have any all-stars playing next to him, and still doesn't, and look what he's become! He's one of the best point-guards in the game today; he's a superb passer and a great defender. If Rondo and Paul switched places, Rondo would not be the same. He is not someone that's going to lead a team to the finals, let alone the playoffs, and he hasn't even earned all-star status. Paul single-handedly carries his team; he is the star of that franchise, and has been doing a damn good job the last few years on making them successful and reviving New Orleans sports. Yeah, I think Rondo is a punk that needs to stop running his mouth, because he is not that good. Oh yeah, he should not have gotten that $55 million extension either. Isn't' it ridiculous how much athletes get paid?
...this blog is turning into a "Laura Rants About Pointless Stuff" kind of thing. But at least I still tell you what I've been up to. Te he.
Probably won't update until I get back from Barcelona. Until then!
Hasta luego!
~ LSquared
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