Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews is one of my favorite actresses, so I decided to research her and see what I could find.
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"I was learning on my feet every single performance."

Julie Andrews, born Julia Wells felt right at home on a stage at the age of ten when she joined her mother (a pianist) and her step father (a professional singer) on their family tour.

Julie Andrews spent the early part of her career on Broadway, giving a excellent performance as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady." After earning an Oscar for her first feature film, Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews was a household name for most people.

After Mary Poppins, she went on to star in one of her most recognizable roles to date, Maria in "The Sound of Music." Her talents as an actress and as a singer were put to the test, due to the extensive music score.

In 1995 Andrews was suffering from vocal cord damage and had surgery to repair it. However the surgery went wrong and caused Andrews to lose some vocal tissue needed to keep singing at her range (four octave). Since then, her acting and singing career has taken a back seat to something else Andrews has longed to do: write childrens books. She currently has 8 children's books published an a memoir, letting her audience a little deeper into her life through words.

Andrews took back up acting by portraying Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries. She enjoys being recognized by the younger generation.

"I know, it's phenomenal. There's a whole new generation out there that says 'Do you remember Mary Poppins,' 'yeah.' 'The Sound of Music?' 'yeah,' 'Princess Diaries,' 'oh cool!' and I just love it."
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It was a great interview that started out with a little anecdote about her life and as a child, and then gives more detail and more detail about her life as an actress and singer, and then ends with another little snippet of her life, letting the readers see she is a real person as well as an actress.

Representive Profile Piece

I was looking on the Washington Post website trying to find an article that was a representative profile piece. For some reason, this one caught my eye:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103709.html

1 (Lead)-"In the four months that Deborah Ann Brown had been making iced lattes and counting out Munchkins at a Dunkin' Donuts store in Northwest Washington, she became known as the slight, cheerful, generous woman whose personality made others smile" - gives you a little detail about Deborah Brown and what she did, although it does not say what happened (she was killed)

2. (Nut Graf)- paragraphs 3-4 say exactly what happened (she was in the wrong place at the wrong time) and gives a little detail about the man who killed her and gangs (which he was in.)

3. (Body)-the body goes into detail about how this has been a crime in a string of violence in Columbia Heights and gives statistics about the homicide rate being down and how the victim and assailant know each other

4. (ending) "In Brown's case," Fenty said, "she was an innocent victim"-the body brings up the neighborhood as a whole, but the end brings Deborah back into focus and reminding people that not everyone knows their assailant.

The article was gripping and made it realistic by talking about a specific person before branching out and talking about how crime has been fluctuating in Columbia Heights for a spree.

Homesickness

Traci Piercey, top, and Jeannae Richardson

Students admit that getting homesick is natural

It's not just the freshman getting homesick it seems. Across the board, students get homesick when school starts. However, it doesn't apply to everyone.

The school year just started. College students feel the freedom and the responsibilities that come along at this moment in time. Freshman are trying to find their way around campus while forcing themselves not to call their parents every two minutes to say how their day was. However, freshman are not the only ones who are reaching for the phone.

"I miss my dogs and my family," junior early childhood education major Traci Piercey said. The 20-year-old admits that she cries every time she leaves her family, even if she just came home for the weekend.

Jeannae Richardson, however, has no trouble admitting how she feels about home. "I'm so glad to be out of that house," the senior psychology major said with the shake of her head. "Sometimes I think about my family and miss them, but for the most part I'm glad to be here."

Readers may have heard that only freshman get homesick. While this may seem like a true statement, since freshman have never gone away for a long period of time before, the myth can be stated as false but some upperclassman.

"Hello, sixteen hours away from home," sophomore Kayla Piscatelli said. The theatre education major feels right at home at Winthrop, but still misses her family.

So freshman, take comfort in the fact that you are not the only one missing mom and dad. Everyone goes through it, some are just better at dealing with it than others.

Love Comes Softly

First order of business: I got my cast off!!

Second, let's talk about some books. I have been rereading this series of books called "Love Comes Softly." The first one, just entitled "Love Comes Softly" tells the story of Marty, a young woman who is moving out into the west with her husband. Through circumstances and hardships, Marty suddenly finds herself alone, trying to make it through her first winter out west. 

In walks Clark Davis. This handsome young stranger proposes an idea, literally. He asks Marty to enter into a marriage of convenience. She needs a place to stay and he needs help raising his young daughter Missy. Realizing that she can't do it alone, Marty unwillingly accepts.

Throughout the novel, we see Marty struggling with her grief and confusion while also trying to teach young Missy, who clearly doesn't have any desire for another mother. The two often quarrel until Marty finally understands where Missy's frustration is coming from. Clark, knowing his daughter needs a mother figure, is okay with stepping back and letting his "wife" and daughter work out their problems.

The story continues and we find Marty pregnant with her husband's child. Clark is determined to be there for her, wanting to keep up his end of the bargain. As winter turns to spring and Marty's son is born, readers see that Clark has fallen in love with Marty and we see that Marty has feelings for Clark as well, although she is unsure of how to feel. Having lost most of her faith when she lost her husband, Marty wonders if she could be good enough for Clark, who is a devout Christian man. 

I must admit that I fell in love with the movie before I read the book. After watching the movie, however, I realized that the book had to be better, and truth be told it was. I have since read the entire series, and it has to be one of my favorites. To see Marty and Clark struggle to come to terms with their past and slowly build a new future together is exciting. 

I say this at the end of all my posts, but if you haven't read it I ask you to give it a try. Join Marty and Clark as they realize that love doesn't always barge in. Sometimes, love just comes softly.  

So I get my cast off in a week, which is definitely exciting!

So someone asked me recently if I knew of an author named James Michener. Truth be told, I don't. But I've done a little research.

He was apparently born in 1907, and in his 97 years he published over 40 titles. He never really knew his parents. His "mother" took in children and raised them. 

One of his most well known works is "Tales of South Pacific" for which he won his Pulitzer Prize in 1948. He has also published some non-fiction works, as well as a memoir. 

I read an interview by Mr. Michener. Click here to read the interview and find out a little more about James A. Michener. 

Michael Crichton dies

So I just posted a blog a few minutes ago, but I just found out that Michael Crichton passed away due to cancer and wanted to pay a tribute to him.

First of all, how freaking awesome is "Jurassic Park?" The movies were great, but the book just blew me away.

Second, Crichton also helped create the medical drama "ER" which I love; great stories lines that have lasted for 15 seasons. Crichton must have done something write (and I spelled it that way on purpose.)

He will be missed. 

The Outsiders

I love "The Outsiders."

The book itself is about the a group of boys who depend on each other when everything else in the world sucks. Ponyboy (yes, that's his real name) is our main character. We follow Ponyboy as he struggles being a "greaser," one of the rough and tumble kids in town as they are known.

"The Outsiders" is about growing up and really learning who your family is. Ponyboy has two brothers who will defend him and help him grow no matter what. But Ponyboy also surrounds himself with some boys who understand that he's really not just some poor kid who is never going to amount to anything. He's something special to each of them.

I prefer the book to the movie, although I would recommend seeing the movie. It's a great story and I think it could really make a difference in people's lives; it helped me see that people might not be cut from the same cloth as you, but they are cut from cloth just as you are (strange metaphor, I know, but we're going to go with it.) Click on "book" to find out more about the book, and "movie" to get some info about the movie. 

Have a good afternoon and be safe.

-Ace