Death in the Great Hall from the Odyssey (Zombie-fied)

My brother and two other procrastinators were assigned to work together on a project for their freshman humanities class. I ended up filming and doing most of the editing. I'm kinda proud of myself.

It's probably really hard to follow unless you've read the Odyssey. I don't feel like explaining, so I'll leave it in its ambiguity. No, zombies are not part of the original work.

Oedipus Unrated

Oedipus is probably the most disturbing thing I have ever read. Or seen in operatic form.

Basically, it's about Oedipus, who was prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother. His parents ordered him to be killed when he was a baby, but he was taken in by another family as their own child. Eventually, the Gods tell him his destiny, and he runs away, thinking that his his adopted parents are his real parents. Then Oedipus has roid rage and kills a man who happens to be King Laius (his biological father) while on the run, and enters Thebes, where he becomes King after solving a riddle, thus marrying his mother, Jacosta, thus making him history's most famous mother-f****r. They have four kids together, then Oedipus seeks to avenge Laius' death, unaware that he killed him and that he was his son. Oedipus realizes that he killed his father and married his mother, so he gauges his eyes out and banishes himself from Thebes.

The plot is strange, yes. But the graphic gore and unnecessary details are even more strange. For example:

From her clothes he ripped the golden brooches
she wore as ornaments, raised them high,
and drove them deep into his eyeballs...
With these words he raised his hand and struck,
not once, but many times, right into the sockets.
With every blow blood spurted from his eyes
down on his beard, and not in single drops,
but showers of dark blood spattered like hail.
(1513-1526)

Ah, my children, where are you? Come here,
come into my arms--you are my sisters now...
Your father killed his father, and then ploughed
his mother's womb--where he himself was born--
conceiving you where he, too was conceived.
(1750-1770)

Lovely visual images, eh?

After we read it in class, we watched an operatic rendition. I'm in love with it. Of course, I love Stravinsky in general, but this is extraordinary. The set and costumes are made by the same man that did the Lion King, so they are out of this world. Almost as incredible as the makeup. Here's a little taste:

Anyway, my best good friend and I dressed up for the occasion. We so made the yearbook:






By the way, Jessye Norman is beyond amazing--look her up on YouTube. Lady has some pipes on her.

First Day

Today was the first day of my senior year. As you may have deduced from the title. Here are my thoughts on my classes:

1. Senior Mentor - I ended up being a Senior Mentor for one of our women choirs--which makes me happy because I can help the Altos bang out notes, practice, or take my private lesson during that period.
   
2. AP Calculus BC - The teacher, Cap'n Crotteau is way more awesome than I remembered. The man is incredibly intelligent, has like eight degrees, toured as a professional golfer, and was a captain on a nuclear submarine. I don't understand why he would choose to put up with a bunch of high-schoolers every day, but I sure am glad he does, because he's stinkin' hilarious! However, instead of having us sit in rows like a normal math teacher, we sit in table clumps, like in first grade. I named my table "The Table of Champions". I pleased (and slightly intimidated) with the people at my table.
   
3. Campus Singers- There are 73 people in that choir. That is way too many. I was going to audition for Alto section leader, but one of our vocal virtuosos (and choir president) that I thought was a Soprano II (but used to be an alto) moved back, and I think she is more cut out for the job.
   
4. AP English IV- This class is WAY TOO LARGE. There are 38 people in a class with 36 desks. It makes me feel claustrophobic and socially awkward. We also have a gigantoid project called Poet Museum. My teacher, Ms. Simons, told us that we can work alone or in pairs. I am very independent--I am an introverted, finicky, obsessive perfectionist. I like to hog projects, and given the opportunity, I will do them by myself. However, my dear friend (who I ADORE) gave me "the do-you-want-to-be-partners?" look. I'm in a pickle.
   
5. AP Physics- I am so excited for another year of my Physics teacher's obliviousness--it's quite entertaining.
   
6. Lunch
7. AP Macroeconomics- I think I am going to love this class. There are only 16 people, and they are some of my favorite people in the world. Yesssssss.
8. Pre-AP Spanish IV- I am pleasantly surprised with this one. I expected to feel awkward being a senior in a class full of sophomores, but I really don't. There are about 12 people, so I think we'll really get to know each other. However, all but two or three of us are girls, which is weird because Spanish is usually the language that the guys take.

After school, I got a call from a representative for Naval ROTC. I have a meeting with him this Friday at Starbucks. Which makes me super nervous because I heard that a guy at my school had a scarring experience with an Air Force Academy rep. The man sounded nice on the phone...

I also met my (potential) organ teacher today. He was nice. Kinda smelled weird. But he was nice. My dad had mixed feelings about taking organ lessons because he wants to teach me lessons about budgeting and whatnot. But I'm going to try my hardest to go through with this.

So far, I haven't screwed up my fast from solid food and facebook. However, I've been playing massive amounts of piano to avoid thinking about it. I really think I should try to pursue the spiritual aspect of the fast, but I'm so afraid about confronting my beliefs.

Schedule

It's official--I'm a senior. I can prove it, too: I have a schedule. It's on paper and everything!

1. Senior Mentor - Basically, I'm supposed sit in a basic math class (i.e. Algebra or Geometry), and help out freshmen or sophomores that aren't really latching onto the concepts. However, the teacher that I'm mentoring for has an AP Calculus AB class first period. A student that was in the same situation last year wrote on facebook, "She'll either make you basically a teacher aid or will ask you to find an algebra class going on the same period to mentor. I had a friend who became an aid and she asked me to find another class. (Took the off-period because my assistance was not needed)."
   
2. AP Calculus BC - Theoretically, this class is right next to the class I'm "mentoring" for. Which would've been convenient. Pfft. On another note, I had the same teacher for Pre-Cal my sophomore year as I'll have this year for calculus. He was a captain on a nuclear submarine. And he got mad at a kid my sophomore year for calling him "Cap'n Crunch".
3. Campus Singers- This is the top choir at my high school. No big deal or anything.
4. AP English IV- I had to read Wuthering Heights this summer. I heard the quiz was brutal. I'll let you know the result later.
5. AP Physics- The instructor of this class also taught my Physics class last year. He is a goon. See video below.
6. Lunch
7. AP Macroeconomics/AP Government- I heard that the government teacher is quite liberal. But I'm okay with that.
8. Pre-AP Spanish IV- I couldn't fit the actual class in my schedule, so I'll be doing the curriculum in a Spanish III class. Hooray for sophomores...