Diversion Tactics

Today I want to take a second to reflect on the most important things in life, your loved ones. Experiencing a tradgedy in someone's family with who I am close to has really affected the way I am thinking today. So many people have petty arguements with people who just want the best for them. I am struggling with the idea that someone can feel so alone in a place they call home. Reflecting on how they must feel, I am looking into my heart to realize that where I am today is a place that I want to be. Being surrounded by people who would do anything for me, I find myself incredibly lucky to have that. Wishing for you to realize that what you have is something you shouldn't want to trade for the world, I am giving you insight into what I believe is one of the most heart shattering feelings experienced right now. Loss, is hard to deal with. Even though I am not apart of their family I feel every bit as affected as they do. Some may say that I don't have the right to feel the way I do, but when you get to know someone as well as I knew him it really changes the outlook. Please just remember that your family is a precious thing and you should cherish every moment you have with them because you never know when it can be taken away from you. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” 
― Dr. Seuss This quote just makes me happy because I know I was blessed enough to meet and be friends with such a great individual. So for now, I hope you tell those you love that you love them every second of every day of every hour because in a flash it's all gone.

Hugh Jacked-Up

As you probably guessed, this post is going to take us into the wonderful world of Hugh Jackman. Born in Austrialia, in October on the 12th of 1968, Mr. Jackman started his great career in 1994, and has only seemed to go up from there. Jackman in this movie plays the good turned better as the "criminal" Valjean. As Valjean goes through life he interacts with Fantine. Valjean becomes Cosette's father after Fantine passes away. In my opinion Jackman is a very influential person in that he has never sang in front of a screen before. He also is very good at showing emotion, with which being an actor is must. For someone who is portrayed very strong characters in movies, he does the very soft, gentle side well. Jackman having to build on the muscle to show a stronger character it is really strange to have such a size difference between he and Cosette. As his storyline continues and he is on the run from Javert, we see his world shift, from a sense of helping others to protecting Cosette and himself. As he lays dying, hearing Fantine's voice and seeing her ghost, Valjean appears to be sort of in love or admiration with Fantine. Fantine is very thankful for the protection Valjean has placed on her daughter. Realizing he is going to be with Fantine Valjean releases his life to God. This shows us how he has now seen himself as a better person, a more evolved human being. He is such an important character to me because it is how we view ourselves, imperfect. This teaches us that even we can reach a state of selflessness. An important lesson to learn from a very fictional charachter, Valjean teaches us to look past the artificial things and deep into peoples' hearts. For now, Asian Out!!!

Amazing Amanda

Today I am starting my whole, these Les Mis actors/actresses are better than everyone else because I say so posts. We are starting off with the AMAZING Amanda Seyfried. Born December 3, 1985; Amanda came into the spotlight in a different way than acting. Amanda started at age 11 as a model. Later, she would later realize her love for acting and pursue many roles. She started off in a role of Karen in Mean Girls in 2004. This role started off a very iconic desent into Hollywood. As she matured she was given roles in Mamma Mia!, Red Riding Hood, and Gone. Amanda came into Les Mis with 2 years of opera training and 5 years of Broadway training, in singing of course. For me the way Amanda plays Cosette is perfect because she really captures the young love aspect of life. Cosette, who falls in love with Marius, is a young lady who is just trying to figure out where she belongs. Never knowing her mother, Cosette is very confused by her "father's" actions because she does not understand who he really is. She is used to having to hide her face because of her father's past with the law. As the story turns the Revolution begins and the question of will they be together comes to mind, well I'll just let you watch the movie and find out. The inpressionable way that Amanda is able to convay really opens up the character. She is able to make the character's feelings relatable even if the time period we can't relate to. French life back during the Revolution was very hectic. When we meet Cosette as a young lady we feel for her when her father pulls her away from someone she shares a very close connection to. Amanda is so good at portraying the stages of emotions. The excitment of something new, the heartache when its pulled away, and finally hope, hope that she will one day see the one she has fallen in love with. Even though they fall in love very quickly in the movie, they make their love believable because they use true emotion. They can relate us to them. Amanda will always be one of my favorite people because she is such a dynamic person and can pull us into places we never knew about. Leaving with you with the question that Cosette and Marius may or may not be destined to be together.Until next time, Asian Out!!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1086543/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm; More about Amanda

Les Mis Pt.1

One of the most critically acclaimed musicals, turned movie, Les Mis never disappoints. Basing its origin in France, Les Mis starts off by introducing us to a "criminal" by the name of Jean Valjean. Valjean is currently in a work camp because he stole a loaf of bread for his starving sister's child. As the story develops we meet Fantine. Fantine works in a factory and we then hear of her daughter, Cosette, who is staying with the Thenardiers. As Cosette grows up, Fantine has died and Valjean, now escaped the legal system is starting over as the mayor of a town, is taking care of Cosette. As the French Revolution begins, Cosette falls in love with Marius, a local nobleman fighting on the lower class side of the war. Through the whole plot line we see Valjean running from Javert the lead policeman in charge. We also see Cosette and Marius fight for love and well as the whole idea of the French Revolution coming about in the course of all the people fighting for individual rights such as; freedom, love, integrity, and honor. These themes are huge life goals that most people want to attain for themselves. Les Mis is one of the greats because it has so much underlying content beneath the intial love story and heartache. For me Les Mis is so dynamic because it combines real life events to real life emotions. You can't put such force into a movie without some people to be emotionally and mentally moved. The force behind this magic is the cast, those who bring our beloved characters into light. I have decided that since I love the cast of Les Mis so much that I am going to analyze the characters and performers one by one over the next blog posts. Now I know that this might seem excesive for the following blog posts but I really enjoy this charismatic cast. So with that I sign off, looking forward to introducing you to my favorite people of the century right now. Asian Out!!!

The West Side

Probably one of the most popular musicals of all time is, West Side Story. One of my favorites, and a classic, West Side Story takes you through many social issues in 50s. First you meet the Jets. The Jets leader is Tony or for lack of leadership Riff-Raff. Tony is the main protagonist in this musical. He feels that the boys all need to stop fighting with the Puerto Ricans, known as the Sharks. Later we see Tony fall in love with Bernardo's sister Maria. Bernardo being the leader of the Sharks, wants to rumble, or fight, with the Jets because of the racial tension. The love we see grow between Tony and Maria defies the social rules of that time. Their love epitomizes a lot of what we strive for in life. To break from the mold of society set. I think this is a common theme throughout the whole musical. I think that the first edition is always the best. When I first saw West Side Story it was at my local theater and I instantly fell in love with the characters because of the different styles of musical. The Sharks had a very Latin vibe while the Jets were more of a swing style. My favorite character is Anita. Anita is Bernardo's fiancé who has come to like America for it's less oppressive lifestyle. She makes a stereotypical change in that she stops judging on what she is told and judged by action. Although she received harsh treatment from the white people in the area, she is a strong woman and perseveres through.  She is a symbol of change and courage in a time where many people lacked the ability to stand up for what is right. This musical does not disappoint because it holds the underlying key of not judging people for their skin color or race. It shows that all people are equal and that we all see the negative side of human nature. For me West Side Story is the most energetic way to teach people how what we say and do effects not only our lives but the lives of people we may not fully know. To understand this timely classic you have to be able to look past the glitz and glam and realize that our society has a twisted way of view the world. With that little food for thought, Asian Out!!

Demon Barbers?

Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, probably enough to scare some off. From the stage to the big screen this adaptation of the horrid terrors of a serial killer barber and his cannibalistic baker neighbor terrorize unsuspecting people in London. You always hear about the different types of interpretations when it comes to book vs. movie, but right now I am going to explore the difference between a stage performance and film performance. Starting off with the movie, many expected great things because of the high profile cast. First, Sweeney Todd is played by none other than the fantastic Johnny Depp. Then we travel to Mrs. Lovett, portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter. These two amazing people collaborate on many of Tim Burton's projects for two reasons; they are all best friends and Helena is married to Tim. Then we travel to the world of Harry Potter of so it seems because Alan Rickman and Tim Spall  join this charismatic cast. I personally feel that Burton just has an overwhelming obsession with this cast because more times than not you will find them in not just one but many of his movies. For the musical side, although in the original cast I have no idea who any of them are they are they were very successful in bringing home many awards for the first musical performance. Musicals unlike movies don't present the opportunity to redo, you are live on stage and that is your only shot at making someone feel something. That is what impresses me the most because the performers have to evoke that emotion on command they can't say wait let me try that again with another type of feeling, they have to know what they want to portray in every second they are on stage. For someone with an objective view on the movie vs. musical debate, I would choose the movie just because of the cast but if you want a true experience of real live action emotion you should see the musical. Now while you may feel uncomfortable with the decision to watch something about a demon barber, I promise you won't be dissapointed. Signing off, Asian out!

Wickedly Good

Starting by exploring the realm of Broadway, I am going to analyze the most popular musicals of our time. I am going to start off with one of my favorites, Wicked. Wicked follows the story of Elphaba, the "Wicked Witch of the West," before she was truly wicked. Glinda, the Good Witch and her go through school and an unexpected friendship appears. Being much before Dorothy drops into Oz, we see the evolution of Elphaba. From good to evil Elphaba's journey is one filled with wonder and spectacular imagry. For me Wicked will always be a classic, even though I am still younger I hope that Wicked will be around for a long time.Being that I believe it to be a classic, there must be others that believe that it isn't so amazing. Wicked can come under scrutiny for different reasons. Some people may just not enjoy the idea of a prequel to The Wizard of Oz because it allows them to sympathsize for someone they thought was pure evil,others just because they like to pessimistic and want a reason to not enjoy the magical experience. When I attended the performance in Chicage, Illinois, Elphaba was enhanced by none other than Idina Menzel. Glinda the Good Witch was performed by Kristen Chenoweth. For me this was a dream come true, please excuse the cliche, but they are very iconic people who I idolize. Along the way falling in love with these two amazing performers, helped me gain insight into why I love showbiz so much.Those who don't know what the heck showbiz is, it's just an abbriviation for show business. To me this musical will always hold a special place in my heart; it got me started into my obession with musical and musical performance. The people make the performance for me and no matter if they change who is the new performer in the part I will always think of those who started me off on my journey through music. Signing off, it's Amy the Asian...

Hello Bloggers!!

Hello World! Welcome to Blogway and Beyond. My name is Amy Jo Wacker. Born in South Korea and raised in Iowa. I am involved in Marching Band, Tennis, and Show Choir. Being apart of these activities I have become addicted to music, even though tennis isn't a musical activity. Being an 11th grader, I was interested in taking a tougher course. So, here I am writing about my interests in hopes that someone somewhere will actually care about what I have to say. I will be your tour guide through this adventure. For those of you who couldn't guess, this blog is about Broadway and other types of musical theater such as opera.Broadway in itself has so many different avenues, such as different; plots, character, types of shows, and the stars brought in to play the dynamic characters. Opera takes a different path bringing in new emotions and languages. I apologize if this sort of thing isn't your interest but if you read this, bear with me, I promise it will be more interesting than this introductory post. Hopefully, throughout my blog post you will begin to love music as much as I do. Signing off for now, Asian out!