Yes, I know. I missed yet another Mid-Week Music post. But I have an announcement to make, and the following will hopefully count as a funny picture.
Brian Regan, a famous comedian, once said something in one of his bits. (Amazing, I know.) We at our house repeat it at every possible opportunity. I found it rather fitting for the situation I am announcing. Thus, here it is.
Yes. Something's changed!
That something, in this case, is this blog. I must inform you that from this point on, Saint George Academy with Grace will be just that. This blog will become my school blog, while I continue writing all my other posts (including Mid-Week Music) on a new blog.
Don't worry, though: all the posts I've done here already will still be here. I haven't yet decided if I will put copies of these posts on that blog, or if I will just be starting with brand new posts. If I do end up starting with new posts, I will refer back to this blog.
So, here is the link to my blog. I may edit it to go to my first post instead of just the homepage. As it is, there's a test post by my mom up. And my new blog is called...
So, I suppose this will be the last post on this blog for a while. For all continuing posts from me (except school ones), click on that link above. Hopefully, I'll see you there, not too far in the future! Goodbye...
Well now, before I get to the song of this week's MWM, there's another song I must mention--the Very Sorry Song. Yes, I missed this past week's MWM. I'm very sorry. It's complicated--part of the reason was that I could not think of a song. I could have done just a random song, but all the random songs I know are connected to this week's song.
The point is, I did have help picking this week's Music, from my younger sister, Kaitlyn, whose birthday is today! I told her she could choose the song for her birthday, and this was her first and only choice. She didn't have a second thought, just said it: "I wanna do the one where Doofenshmirtz and that guy with the white beard sing Milo!" That would be the second video, you see.
If you've read my blog since October at least, you're probably familiar with the show Milo Murphy's Law. I did a Halloween post all about it. It's a wonderful show, and I tell all about it in that post. In short, Milo Murphy is followed by a cyclone of calamity wherever he goes, and it causes many, many adventures for both him and his friends. There's also a lot of time travel involved. And a crossover, coming this April.
Oddly enough, though, just the other day I was finishing up rereading The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. Gandalf's words to Bilbo at the end return to my mind as I'm writing this post.
"You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only a little fellow in a wide world after all!"
We know, of course, that every single detail has been planned, because it is a story. Even in the context of the story, I don't doubt that Clara's right--everything that could possibly be important will be important, eventually, and Milo's 'luck', good or bad, is all to a purpose. And that's rather how it is in real life too. It's a story, just as much as Milo Murphy's Law. And nothing is without a purpose.
So Kaitlyn, here's hoping that your birthday's exceptional, and every day; that your life, no matter what sort of 'luck' you have, is never boring even for a minute. Here's your song, the Milo Murphy's Law theme song. Happy Birthday!
That's the normal theme song. And goodness gracious, that background is packed with details. Now, I also have a second version, which has two special guest singers. It's not really as good, but it is definitely funny. Here are Cavendish and Dakota--er, I mean, Major Monogram and Heinz Doofenshmirtz.
(Sorry, the original video seems to have disappeared, and this one is cut short.)
No, I did not fall off of the face of the planet, get sucked through a wormhole, or accidentally time travel. I simply got sick. Okay, the cold has just been in the past couple of days, but before that, it was Chronic Procrastinitis. Been going on for a while now, honestly. And it needs to end.
In short, I need a drill sergeant who will yell at me to get my work done on time (and, sometimes, at all). Do any of you know of one I could borrow? Brother Drill Sergeant Combs Sir is otherwise occupied. He's the best at it. I could settle for Principal Strickland if no one angrier is available. Leave any recommendations in the comments below!
I'm very sorry, all of you. It's almost two weeks into the New Year and I've done nothing. There's no excuse for laziness. Things will be back to normal in a very short time. I apologize. Mid-Week Music will be back this very Wednesday, no question.
As per usual, I will give you a picture with my in-between post.
A reflection of some of my watching habits during illness. A very cool combination of them. And why not?
Again, please let me know if you can find a good drill sergeant, and I apologize for my laziness.
Time travel is confusing, even at the normal rate of sixty seconds per minute.
Think about it: in no less than one hour, it will be 2018. How did time go so fast? In a year, we'll still be thinking the same thing, because time will still be moving, and that's always confusing. So, before this year ends and a new one begins, I will post this little review of the past year. Not review as in a movie review, of course. Just looking back on a lot of things.
Firstly, Donald Trump became President of the United States of America. I know there are some people reading this blog not from America, so this may not be as big a deal to some of those people. But it has been a big win for us. The Wall isn't up yet, but a lot of other great things have been done. Just go on scifiwright.comand click the Not Tired Of Winning link on the side for a list.
(That's just a funny parody that the kids love listening to every night. Gives you an idea of things, for those who don't like clicking links.)
Now, on to personal matters. I started this blog! This is the 35th post I've done since June 30, which was when I started. (Also, let me apologize for not putting up a Mid-Week Music this past week. I mistook Wednesday for Tuesday, and we were all still sort of busy.) I have had so much fun writing these posts, and I am definitely looking forward to writing more in the coming year.
Things have also been happening in Newsom Hall. For example, I have a new baby brother named Ransom! He's the sweetest thing, and he loves the Christmas lights. (Yes, we've still got the Christmas Tree up, and there it'll stay until after Twelfth Night.) I get to hold him a lot now, even though I've still not gotten to see him smile as much as I'd like. But hey, I have a baby brother!
A lot of things happened this year. One of the scariest things was that I turned seventeen. (Enter overdramatic gasp.) We had an amazing vacation, discovered a lot of new bands and musical artists, read books, and basically did lots of things. We watched a couple of movies in the theatre this year, the best one being The Man Who Invented Christmas. There will likely be a review sometime in the coming year, because we definitely intend to see it in the theatre again with the whole family. Please go watch that film if you haven't.
I had wanted to finish my first novel this year, but I'm still in Chapter 8. Tsk. However, I have fully written and edited a novella for a writing contest (by Rooglewood Press), and--by the time this post has gone out--entered it as well. It's called Princess of the Seventh Star, and some of you may remember a post a while back with the first scene. That project took up most of my writing time, but I think it was worth it. I may not have done all the things I'd planned, but I have done things.
Speaking of which, a website I read called goteenwriters.com recently put up a writing exercise. It was to make a list of all the good things that happened to you, all the things you succeeded in, every win. Since I read that website more often than not, I made one. It's a bit too extensive for a single blog post, but that might be because I included smaller things. Ah well, I suppose it's mainly a list for oneself. Read the post, if you will.
There's the past year for you: hectic, filled to bursting, and wonderful. As for the present, we're enjoying one of our Christmas presents--gingerbread houses, or something else made of gingerbread--as we prepare for midnight. And the future? Well, I plan to finish my first novel, and begin work on the second. I'll likely be working on some radio scripts--both in way of recording and of writing. I hope to see one of my works published. But that's out of my hands now, I suppose. So we'll see. I'm also going to be putting up many more posts on this here blog. I may even get a driver's license.
You know, this is rather an odd time, New Year's Eve. Everyone reminisces about the past year, marvel at how quickly the present time has arrived, and make plans for the coming year. It's almost as if the past and the future meet and shake hands in the few moments before the year ends.
Whatever the past may have brought, whatever the future may hold, let us never forget He who is the Lord of all time--the One who is eternity. It is He whose birth we have all been celebrating in the past week, commemorating the day when eternity stepped into time in the person of Jesus Christ.
Of the Father's love begotten Ere the worlds began to be He is Alpha and Omega He the Source, the ending He Of the things that are That have been And that future years shall see Evermore and evermore
Happy New Year, everyone!
Well, this week's MWM is yet another Christmas song. And once again, it's not exactly a traditional one. That will come next week. However, the movie this song comes from is a tradition in our household, so it might well be considered traditional. That movie is called Scrooge.
It's the one from 1970, the musical, in case you were wondering. I know there've been a lot of adaptations with the same title. We've watched several adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (the most recent being The Man Who Invented Christmas, which is a marvellous one, to be sure). It may not be the most accurate one--the scene between the final ghost and Scrooge's awakening shows that very clearly--but few have made me quite so happy as this one does every time. Highly recommended.
But moving on, why this song in particular? Well, first, we are going to start watching Scrooge tonight (or we plan to). But we also plan to get back to reading The Nicholas Book again. The Nicholas Book is a novel set in 1959, and written by my daddy, William Chad Newsom. The story is about a pair of twins--Joshua and Rachel--who go on a Quest to find out the truth about Santa Claus. We've read it every year since... well, possibly since it was published. It's one of my favourite traditions. If the idea interests you, please take a look at it!
Of course, this song isn't the best source of truth on Santa. No indeed. The boys are simply calling old Scrooge by the name of Father Christmas to mock him. It's not very serious. But it is quite fun. And you know how A Christmas Carol ends. In fact, the same boys later change, if not their tune, their words. By the end of the movie, they half believe Scrooge really is Father Christmas himself. And that's a wonder to see.
I suppose in a way, the boys were placing the characteristics and, well, character of Scrooge onto that of Father Christmas. If they were being serious about it, I'd say they were being like Lou Nyten. (Especially in that last line...) But by the end, the character of Father Christmas has been placed onto that of Scrooge. Interesting. But it's getting late, so I must be on my merry Christmas way. For now, here is... Father Christmas!
Boy 1: Blimey! Who's he? Boy 2: That's Father Christmas!
Scrooge:
A plague on Father Christmas!
Boy 3:
And he sends his best to you too, guv'ner!
Boys:
Father Christmas, Father Christmas
He's the meanest man in the 'ole wide world
In the 'ole wide world, you can feel it
He's a miser, he's a skinflint
He's a stingy lout--leave your stocking out
For your Christmas gift
And he'll steal it
It's a shame he's a villain
What a game for a villain to play
On Christmas Day
Every Christmas, Father Christmas
Will be just as mean as he's ever been
And I'm here to say we should all send Father Christmas
On his merry Christmas way!
**
(loudly)
Father Christmas!
(quietly)
Father Christmas
He's the rottenest man in the universe
There is no one worse, you can tell it
Boy 1:
He's a rascal!
Boy 2:
He's a bandit!
Boys:
He's a crafty one--leave your door undone
He'll go in your house
And sell it
Boy 4:
It's a crime
Boys:
It's a scandal
What a game for a vandal to play
On Christmas Day
If you distrust Father Christmas
It's as well to know that I told you so
Cause I'm here to say we should all send Father Christmas
This week, I decided to do a more modern Christmas song. In fact, this is one of my favourites. That's right, I'm going to do that classic from 1984, that peak of all songwriting capabilities, Do They Know It's Christmas...
Oh wait. Never mind.
Yes, I was just kidding on all counts. This is not the same song. This is a Christian parody of that song, made by the talented Hans Fiene at Lutheran Satire. Writing songs is actually just part of what he does. Most of the time, he makes videos that do something along the lines of what I like to call Yelling At Culture. In his own words, he "teaches the faith by making fun of stuff". I highly recommend hopping over to his channel.
This video actually has most of the characters from his videos in it. So if you're confused about any of the characters, just go take a look at some of his videos, and you'll find out who they are. And let me tell you, every time the original song comes on the radio, I now sing these lyrics instead. Thanks, Pastor Fiene! And I mean that--these lyrics are way more fun. And not just fun: they do in fact teach the faith by making fun of stuff. So do pay attention to the lyrics, if you will.
Now here is the real question: Do They Know What Christmas Is at all? Let's hope they find out, once they listen to this song.
It's Christmastime, and we know why we celebrate
Cause at Christmastime, the love of Christ, it conquers hate And with this word of comfort, we can know salvation's joy
Get to church, and grab your Bible, it's Christmastime
But say a prayer, pray for the other ones Those who won't go to Mass cuz there is football onnn There's the world outside your window
Where they've clearly lost their way Where the only book they're reading is that Fifty Shades of Gray And their children don't know Jesus, but they sure know Pikachu Well, tonight, thank God it's them instead of you Yeah, no, don't remotely thank God for that. That's a terrible prayer.
And there might be snow in Michigan this Christmastime
But snow don't rescue squat from death and sin
Oooh, come on, Patrick!
So when they can't even spell Saviour or Emmanuel
Do they know what Christmas is at all?
Do you... wait, what part is this? I don't know this part.
Is this the bridge? No one knows the bridge to this song! Why didn'tIget a better part?
Don't you know who Horus is at all?
[This is the boring part of the song where nothing happens.]
[Here's a picture of a duck to pass the time:]
*shows a picture of a Canadian goose*
Read the Wo-ord
Let them kn--oh, sorry, not that part yet, sorry
Read the Wo-ord
Let them know--
The third time, Frank--we do that after the third time!
Sorry, man!
Read the Wo-ord
Let them know what Christmas is again
Go to chu-urch
Let them know what Christmas is again
Read the Wo-ord
Let them know what Christmas is again Go to chu-urch
So... wow. It was even longer than I'd expected before I was able to get back to this. Things will hopefully get back to a normal schedule now. I'm really sorry about all this. But someone decided to show up late.
Ah, of course not. Only after four days of waiting in the one little hospital room.
In case any of you have not guessed, the reason why I have been so busy, why I put that picture up just now, is because of my now week-old baby brother, Ransom! (Well, he's a week old at the time of my writing this, which is sometime between Thursday and Friday). Two weeks ago was when we were all preparing for Mommy to go to the hospital, which was why I posted that I was so busy. He came on Thursday, at 11:01, I think.
I am not sure if I will post pictures yet. Not in this post (unless I edit them in later). But he's such a sweet little baby, and I love holding him--when I get a turn, that is. In a house with five other people who love holding him, not including Mommy and Daddy... well, you can guess how that is! But I love all of them, especially little Ransom. As Thanksgiving is coming (or here), I know we're all very thankful for him.
This week's MWM is a lullaby--the first song on an entire album of them--by Michael Card. I'm not sure why I decided on this one, but since it was the first, I suppose it makes sense. I wonder if someday, when little Ransom is older, he sees this little post. In such a case, hi! Hope things are going well in the future! You've probably listened to this many times as you've grown up. So here is a lullaby for you, baby brother: Sleep Sound in Jesus.
Sleep sound in Jesus, my baby, my dear Angels are watching, they keep you so near Though for His sake you'll be safe through the night Sleep sound in Jesus, I'll turn off the light
Sleep sound in Jesus, sweet heart of my heart
The dark of the night will not keep us apart
I lay you down in your bed for the night
He holds you gently till morning is night
Sleep sound in Jesus, the angels are near
They're keeping watch, so there's nothing to fear
Against any foe they are ready to fight
So sleep sound in Jesus, I'll turn off the light
Sleep sound in Jesus, my baby, my dear
Angels are watching, they keep you so near
Though for His sake you'll be safe through the night
Today's MWM has to do with two things: Halloween, and Milo Murphy's Law. The second one is a cartoon show rather in the vein (and universe) of Phineas and Ferb, and made by the same people. The show is about a boy named Milo Murphy, who has some of the strangest luck I've ever heard tell of. Basically, it's the idea of "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong" come to life: bad and absurdly weird things happen to him and his friends every day, and a cyclone of calamity follows him wherever he goes. However, his constant optimism and crazy preparedness somehow always manage to bring him good luck and allow him to escape serious harm. So he either has the worst luck in history or the best luck in history. It's honestly almost a superpower.
I must admit, this show has grown to be a bit of a favorite in our household, especially of mine. Part of the reason for this is the time-travelling twosome, Cavendish and Dakota. They're from the future, you see, and they're in the 21st century because... well, the reason changes over the course of the show, but it always has to do with pistachios. They're very funny, and an important part of the show, as well as two of my favorite characters overall. This week's MWM has to do with them in particular.
The song is from the Halloween special, Milo Murphy's Halloween Scream-a-Torium. Yeah, odd name, I know, but it's an odd show in general. And the song itself is... well, pretty much absolutely ridiculous. Very Phineas-and-Ferb-ish. But what can I say? After a few times, it's grown on me. That's probably why it's the first song on my Halloween Playlist. Besides, it's Cavendish and Dakota, whaddya gonna do?
Anyway, in the episode, it turns out that there is no Halloween in Cavendish and Dakota's time. And they're in the 21st century on the last Halloween in history. (What comes of that plot point is both hilarious and awesome). They do some sort of research to figure out how the thing works. And... how shall I put this?... they get it wrong. Well, they got the costumes part right--Dakota's costume is pretty clever!--but they get everything else completely mixed up. The following scene occurs...
Welcome, my friends, to The Last Halloween!
*** I think I understand, I think I get the knack It's just a way to get free candy--what a racket! We are gonna score tonight, it's gonna be a phenomenon! Halloween is just the best! Too bad it's the last one We need to stop at every house--oh wait, we just passed one We got to make the most of this while it's still going on We're going door to door, just asking for candy On any other night, it would be panhandling I think you know what I mean It's the last Halloween Look at this candy--look at this loot! We should avoid that house, I hear they're giving fresh fruit But right next door, they've got full-sized candy bars Oh, hey, I got an idea--it's a little bit shady But if we change costumes, that same old lady's Gonna give us more candy, cause she won't know who we are Wear a costume that's simple, or really elaborate Using papier-mache, or just cheap fabric You can be a ghost, and I can be a Fronk-en-shteen We're going door to door, just asking for candy On any other night, this would be panhandling But live it up folks, cause tonight's the last Halloween Yeah, live it up, folks Cause tonight's the last Halloween!
Well, by now, you've probably figured out that this is the special post that I told you about earlier in the week. And in that special post, I said that it was an anniversary. Well, today is the second anniversary of the future. By which, I mean...
BACK TO THE FUTURE!
That's right: today is the second anniversary of the day Marty McFly and Doc Brown travelled to the future. In fact, I scheduled this post to come out at the exact time--4:29 PM--that they arrived. Put quite briefly, I am a very big fan of this trilogy. They're some of the few movies that make me get all excited every time I watch them, and probably the only series that makes me get that way over every single movie in it. That is what this post is going to be about.
Now, I've got to tell you: before I watched Back to the Future, I liked time travel. I really did. But after I watched it... I loved time travel. The first time I watched it was the night before we went to a certain Renaissance Faire somewhere in our state. The Renaissance Faire had a theme: it was Time Traveller's Weekend. And at that Renaissance Faire, they had the DeLorean. It played music from the movies and everything. I was very, very excited!
Well, enough background: now on to the movies themselves. Now, I won't go into every little detail that make those movies great in this post. I do need something for later Back to the Future posts, and I'll go into the specifics in those. But for now, I'm going to tell you, in general terms, a few things I like about the Back to the Future trilogy.
First, it's time travel. I've said already that I liked time travel anyway, and, having watched these movies, I now love it. You could see some of your favorite times in the past, or discover how things will look after your time, far in the future. There are so many possibilities, but I think my favorite parts would be when I could meet people--from heroes in days past to distant grandchildren, and yes, even my parents and grandparents when they were my age.
Back to the Future is a wonderful example. Not only is it a Time Travel Story, but it's also a Time Paradox Story as well. Those are always fun, if sometimes a bit brain-breaking. The logic of the thing generally holds up well enough (except for one slight discrepancy in the third one, but it really isn't that big a deal), and it also doesn't break my brain when I think about it. Usually. But I haven't thought about it hard in a while, so I may have to get back to you on that.
Second, the characters are so memorable. Marty is almost a master of ceremonies, taking us--the -audience--through these many adventures, characters, and good times (and even some bad ones). Doc Brown is very funny, Great-Scotting every-which-way, and being hilariously expressive about everything. Biff, the constant villain, is a wonderful source of comedy as well. He always messes up his puns, and he too is incredibly expressive. And there are multiple versions of him too, all played by the same man, so for every version to be funny is pretty good on the film-makers. The rest of the characters are interesting too: a few of my favorites are Clara Clayton and George McFly. They all just sort of... click, I suppose. They work well together.
And this is an important part of the story to me. The story partly hinges on this point, on whether or not you have great characters. That's why I try to bring to life great characters in my writing, characters who are real but can take people by the hand and lead them into any fancied world I invent. And I don't mean realistic, which has now come to mean dark and depressing, humourless and perpetually hopeless. No, characters must be real to the readers. Or watchers, or listeners. And the characters in Back to the Future do that, for me anyway. I don't think about the acting: I think about the characters themselves. They're real to me.
This is one reason why I hope that they never remake or reboot Back to the Future, because at the current rate of reboots, they will screw up colossally, especially with the characters. But I get the feeling that it will not happen anytime soon, so that's a relief.
Along with those two reasons, the whole thing's just so well done. It's well-written, and the funny lines just keep coming, one after another after another. It's well-acted, on all counts, and well-directed, and well-cast. The special effects look particularly great for that day and age, and the music--well, let's just say it's been played a lot through the past few days, and is also going to be played a lot in the very near future. You may have actually heard one of the songs recently on this blog.
Not only that, but the action in this thing has me practically hopping up and down on the edge of my seat, despite knowing what's going to happen. It's exciting, and there are so many moments worthy of a fist pump and a yelled-out "Yes!!" My family actually says every time we watch it "No, we can't watch it anymore, it makes Grace too happy." But we always watch them again anyway. Whatever else they may be, the Back to the Future movies are some of the most fun movies of all time.
I think there's a term some people use, where people just love some movie or TV show to death, and never get tired of it. What is it... fangirl? Yeah, that's the word for it. I'm a fangirl of Back to the Future. If I'm a fangirl of anything, it'd probably be Back to the Future. I know there are flaws and shortcomings, as there are in every movie. And I'll willingly acknowledge those, and point them out. But because I can pick them out and say they're wrong without messing up the movie, I'd say it's absolutely worth it.
In short, fast-paced action and quick-witted characters are revved all the way up to 88 in this epic classic. Little wonder that this movie is one for the ages.
This clip is about how I feel every time I watch a Back to the Future movie.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that watching this movie had partially inspired a certain script I've been working on. It isn't really the main project I'm working on (or the main one I should be working on), but, you know, I've been working on it. It's currently called There and Back in Time. Funny, considering the picture that was included in that earlier post. But no, it's not a time-travel story having to do with Middle Earth. That one will come even later on.
You see, this one has a main character named Ben. He accidentally time-travels from his time (early 18th century/1700s) to this one (early 21st century, for those who don't know to which time they have jumped). He makes friends with a few different people, not least among them a girl called Glory. He furthermore makes enemies with a familiar-looking fellow named Jack Tanyer. So he has to figure out not only how to navigate this odd new world, but also how to get back home.
Now, the script's not done, and it may be some time before it's recorded and ready for listening. I'm pretty busy with other things, and those keep getting interrupted anyway. So don't be surprised if it's more than months before I say I have made an end. However, I have been working on it, and several of the details are influenced by the Back to the Future trilogy. A character here, a scene there, a few odd references dotted around, and probably more, too. What did you expect?
Well, that about wraps it up for this post. But I would also like to say that I am going to begin a tradition for this day. From now on, October 21 is Time Travel Day. The week preceding could also be considered Time Travel Week, but I won't make that official. The Mid-Week Music for that week will have something to do with either Back to the Future or time travel of another kind. And on every October 21, I will do a post having to do with the Back to the Future trilogy.
But as I said, that's about it for now. I have some things I need to do that are waiting impatiently. Great Scott, it's later than I thought. Perfect. Sorry, gotta go now. Don't want to be late again! *So take me away/I don't mi-i-i-ind/But you better promise me/I'll be back in time!*
