Friday, April 30, 2010

Old TV Shows

It seems as throughout the age of television, writers for TV shows have run out of more and more ideas, making television progressively more boring through the ages. So, thanks to YouTube, I've been watching some old T.V. shows.





You might call these old TV shows stupid, but so are modern ones. See, there's a difference between the two. Old TV shows are funny-stupid. Newer TV shows are boring-stupid. The only exception is Phineas and Ferb.:D hahaha. Well, despite what you might think, I like old TV shows. And Phineas and Ferb. How about you?

CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, the
GRAND CONCERT
was last night. And guess what??? We were A-MAZE-ING!!!!!! We (the Symphonic Band) played 2 out of our 3 festival songs: Shenandoah by Frank Tichelli and Anthem for Winds and Percussion by Claude T. Smith. And, for the Grand Finale, we played the Mack Wilberg arrangement of Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. It is BEAUTIFUL!! You know what you should do? You should go onto YouTube and listen to it. Make sure it's the arrangement that they did for Pres. Hinckley's Birthday, not the organ arrangement. Go. Do it. Now.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Shakespeare

So, I was sitting in Stage Crew (4th Period), and Ms. Mecham was doing something at her desk, so I was reading a poster. It was a poster with a bunch of different phrases- all supposedly from Shakespeare. Here's some examples:
-In a pickle
-Fair Play
-In stitches
-Woe is me
-The game is afoot
-Faint hearted
-Knit brow
-Star-crossed lovers
-Truth will out
There's a whole lot of words he invented, too:
-Advertisement
-Bloodstained
-Amazement
-Critic/Critical
-Exposure
-Eyeball
-Gallantry
-Full-grown
-Inaudible
-Varied
And that's just a few! I mean, come on. Shakespeare is probably the most famous poet of all time!
But, as brilliant as the guy was, you have to admit- he was a nutjob! I mean, how can the guy have turned out so many sad stories? Hamlet, Macbeth, even Romeo and Juliet. Every single one of his plays had tragedy in it- even if it was a comedy! I think the guy was clinically depressed or something. Oh well. He's dead and gone, with his art for us to enjoy, even if it is a bit strange, and, for most people, hard to understand.

Friday, April 23, 2010

"I have some good news, and some bad news..."

"...the good news is, I found your hat, Woody!" haha I love Pixar films. Anyway, on with it:

Good News:
  1. The combined band/choir/orchestra is playing "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing", and it's going AMAZING, even after one rehearsal!
  2. Price and Josh and Dad are going on a Scout campout. No Boys! (Well, except for Ethan)

Bad News:
  1. We had early-morning rehearsal for "Come Thou Fount", and now I have a headache.
  2. I flunked all 5 sections of my Algebra mastery. Now I have to do retakes!
  3. Mr. Mott doesn't know our ratings for the District Festival yet. Oh, well.
Ciao!

P.S.: For Youth Conference, Jon Schmidt is coming to perform! EEK!!!!!!!! (If you don't know who Jon Schmidt is, SHAME ON YOU!!! Click on this link to find out about him.

Book Review- Alanna: The First Adventure

Song of the Lioness- Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
This was an interesting book. It's about twins, a boy and a girl. The girl, Alanna, wants to become a knight, while her brother, Thom, wants to go to the convent to learn magic. So, Alanna disguised as a boy, goes to the castle to become a knight. This book, the first of a quartet, chronicles her adventures becoming a page. The others follow her until the last one, in which she becomes a knight. I'm not a big fan of Tamora Pierce, but I really liked this book. The style is similar to Brandon Sanderson's books, which I dislike, but this book was full of adventure, friendship, and mystery.

Rated: PG, for some "uncomfortable" themes, not necessarily inappropriate.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Book Review: Evermore

Today's book review is about the book Evermore. Ever Bloom's family was killed in a car crash, and ever since she has been able to see peoples auras, halos of colored light, and know their life story with a single touch. She thinks that she will never be normal again, until she meets drop-dead gorgeous Damen Auguste. She can't read his thought or see his aura, which she finds strange, but when she's with him, the confusion in her head goes away completely. This book is very reminiscent to Twilight, but is much more well-written.

Rating: PG-13, for strong language and mature themes

Monday, April 19, 2010

Book Review

I've decided that every time I finish a book, I'm going to write a review for it, just so you know if it's good or not.
Rangers Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan
This was a very good book. It's about an orphan named Will, who wants to become a warrior like his deceased father. Because of his small stature, Will is rejected from enrolling in Battleschool. Instead, he is apprenticed to Halt, a Ranger. The Rangers are a mysterious intelligence force for King Duncan of Araluen. It talks about Halt, Will and the rest of the rangers and their adventures fighting the evil Kalkara, giant Sasquatch-like creatures of amazing speed and strength. This is the first of a nine-book series. The tenth one is scheduled to come out November 2010. This was a good book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rated: PG, for some thematic scenes and violence

Band

Well, I might as well post something before I go to school- just so you can get to know me even better. On Friday, the Pleasant Grove Junior High School Symphonic Band went to BYU for the State Band Festival. We were one out of 14 bands selected to participate. Even Farmington was there. (BTW, Farmington went to Nationals a few years ago; they were amazing!) I play flute. Click this link to see a picture of the Christmas Concert. We have District Festival on Wedneseday. Yay!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

The Azores

Fasten your seatbelts- this is going to be a long one.
I am going to tell your about my experience in a foreign country. First, the most commonly asked questions:
-No, I did not learn the language. The people were nice enough to learn English for me.
-No, I did not go to a foreign school. I went to an American school.
-No, my father doesn't speak the language either. He got a job at the AMERICAN school.
There's one question remained unanswered. (Don't worry! I'm getting to it!)
It is: Where the heck are the Azores?????
Okay, here goes:
So, one summer, my parents decide that we're moving. Where to? This set of tiny islands called the Azores. I still know what you're thinking. Where the heck is that? Am I right, or am I right. If you've lived in the Azores, sorry for having to explain. The Azores are basically smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. See? Right there, smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic. The bottom half shows the actual islands. We lived on Terceira, the third largest one. It's also the third from the right. See it? It's actually the only normal shaped one. :D haha just kidding. So, we arrive there at about 6pm MST, but it's midnight there. Normally, I wouldn't be tired at 6pm, but taking 3 different planes (Salt Lake to Georgia, Georgia to Baltimore, Baltimore to the Azores), I was sacked out. So, I plopped down on a random bed, and slept. When I woke up, I found myself in a hotel. It technically wasn't a hotel, so I'll have to backtrack a little bit.
The reason we were in the Azores there was an air base. Lajes Air Base, to be exact. (Pronounced La-jace) There was an American school for all the military "brats" (don't worry, their not really brats), and since Dad's a teacher (Health, History, and Physical Education), he got a job teaching at this school. So, guess what, we got to tag along. I was pretty upset at first, but the excitement of living in a foreign country quickly overpowered my depression. Here's some pictures of our life in the Azores:
Porto Martins: The costal town we lived in

The beach: also where Rachel, a friend, had her baptism
At the beach. This one's a few blocks from our house
Neighbors
The House itself. My room was the top right window.
The TLF- our "hotel" when we came

The Duck Pond
Lots of pretty hiking country...
On our dolphin trip- we didn't see any dolphins, though
Algar do Carvão, a volcanic cone. Very chilly, but extremely pretty and mystical. It's basically a cave.

Well, that's about it. There's a lot more, but I can't fit it all onto one post. You'd stop reading!
Ciao!

Being LDS

Being a member of the LDS church in Utah is pretty easy. However, outside of our little world, it's more difficult. I experienced this first hand when I moved to the Azores (I'll save that for another post). People are misled about what they believe. There was a documentary several years ago that gave false information about the Mormons. Here, I'll lay down the basics for my non-LDS friends:
Joseph Smith had a very religious family, but they were split into the Presbyterians and the Methodists. He felt very confused about which he should join. He turned to the scriptures for help. In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith read James 1:5 "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." As he reflected on these words, he decided to pray to obtain an answer. He went into a small grove of trees near his home, and knelt down to pray. As he was praying, Satan ,(or the Devil), tried to get him to stop, racking his body with endless pain. Joseph prayed harder, and all of a sudden- "When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (See Joseph Smith History 1:17) Joseph asked which church to join. Jesus Christ, the Beloved Son, told him that none of the churches had the full truth. Years later, Joseph Smith was called as the first prophet of this dispensation. We do not worship Joseph Smith. We do not think he was a god. We believe that he was an instrument in the Lord's hands to restore His church upon the earth.

The rest of our beliefs can be answered in 13 simple sentences called the Articles of Faith:
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Please, reflect on these, all non-LDS members, and try to accept, if not understand, our beliefs.
Ciao, Rebekah

Welcome!

Okay, so my last blog didn't work out so well... so, I'm going to try again! Today is Sunday, April 18, 2010. Yay. Well, here's a little bit about me:
-I play flute and piano
-I am a writer
-I love interior design
-I am the Beehives President (Not for long. My birthday's in May)
-I love working backstage on school shows
Well, that's about it. Ciao.