Disaster May Strike Again

According to the Official Stephenie Meyer website, http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/, the New Moon movie will come out in theaters on November 20th of this year. While many Twilight fans rejoice in this revelation, I have doubts about the movie.

Doubts such as how closely the movie will resemble the book, the subtracting of major parts in the book in order to fit the movie, the adding of scenes that never existed in New Moon, and the fact that this movie will come to theaters in less than a year than Twilight the Movie.

For those who read Twilight first then watch the movie of it, weren't you disappointed in how poor some scenes were? In Twilight the book Edward stayed with Bella after the car nearly hit her; he didn't jump over a car and run from the accident while in FULL view of his peers. Edward wants to hide the fact that he is a vampire not expose his true self while in a parking lot. And the book clearly, let me say it again, CLEARLY states that Edward's special place is in a meadow not on the side of a cliff. I imagined Edward's room a lot bigger, but that's just me. Also Twilight the Movie didn't include as much as Edward's family as I would have liked to see. They were mentioned several times in Twilight the book but shown little in the movie. One lunch scene in the movie had Alice talk to Bella; Alice doesn't talk to Bella until Edward brings Bella to the Cullens' house. I don't know how you pull off a vampire being black when vampires are obviously pale white. Some scenes that I really liked in the book were cut short in the movie. Towards the end of the movie when Bella goes to that dance with Edward, Bella comes out of her own house while in the book Alice and Rose forcefully get her ready for the dance at the Cullen household and Edward picks her up at the Cullens' house. Several other things bother me as well-one being that movie Bella wore leggings; book Bella did not-but I will not dwell on Twilight any longer. My present concern is New Moon.

I worry that the content of the movie won't live up to the expectations that many Twilight fans, including those who did not read the book, have set for it. I also worry that the director was put under too much pressure to make a better movie after the first one was a huge success.

Key points in New Moon are Bella and Jacob's time together (obviously), Alice appearing at Bella's house, (another obvious one) Bella stopping Edward from exposing himself in the sunlight, and the Valtrui (that may not be spelled right but I don't have the book in front of me).

Will these key points be given the justice that they rightly deserve, or will these scenes be butchered and cut down just to fit the time length of the movie?

What about the actors/actresses who will be playing the new parts? I do have to admit that the choice of actors/actresses in Twilight fit their character exceptionally well. That I will applaud. My hope is the newly introduced characters will have their parts fit perfectly also.

One last point I want to make before I wrap this up; how quickly the movie will be produced into theaters. Twilight the movie came out the 12th of December 2008 (originally it was to come out the 21 of November of 2008 but they pushed it to the later date which consequently pushed the Harry Potter Movie out of the 12th of December 2008 to July of 2009), and New Moon the Movie is scheduled to come to theaters the 20th of November 2009. The rapid making of this movie will affect the movie itself. Whether it be that the new director just works fast or scenes in the movie are modified, New Moon the Movie sits on a high pedestal with the limelight shining directly on top of it.

If this movie is decent then I will consider it a win. What I mean by decent is that major parts and scenes are not cut out, and the key scenes get the appropriate amount of time that put into them when Stephenie wrote the book.

Twilight the Movie to me was like taking the book and drawing big red X's through the major parts and scenes then living the rest to fuel itself. It's wrong, and the book is ruined.

So I pray that this movie won't get crushed beneath all the high expectations, and I pray that the director won't crack under pressure. As for the actors/actresses...well, keep up the good work.

I'll end on that positive note, so Brittany Kriz is out.

My Expressed Concern

As another addition to what Travis and Josh have said, I believe some students will put too much on themselves next year. By this I mean the Advance Placement classes. Two of my best friends are scheduling themselves next year so that they have FOUR Advance Placement classes.

I am very concerned for them for certain reasons. One being that I don't know if they will be capable of handling all the work, studing, and time that each class needs in order to do well in them. I myself can only balance two of these classes, AP English III and AP U.S. History, and stay sane (most of the time). Secondly, four AP classes can serious mess with your GPA if you're not careful. It's sink or swim.

I have decided that I will not take more than two AP classes because like Josh said no student should take more than two.

AP classes can shoot you up the rank ladder, but they can also drag you down. Before actually signing up for multiple AP classes I would suggest talking to the teachers that teach them and discuss which classes you want to take with your parents. They may save you from the late night studying and the headaches that come with the classes.

Advance Placement classes are no joke. They will not pardon mistakes. Jesus will forgive, but these strenuous classes won't.

And to my friends that I mentioned (not by name) above, I am not being contrary to your choice of taking four AP classes. I just want you to be cautious and realize the needed effort for taking four AP classes. I'm being your concerned friend. :)

What kind of hero are you?

Specifically, what kind of superhero or superpower do you believe you are/possess? ...Okay, not exactly specific, but you get my drift.

My story (that is two posts down) is based upon one supervillian realizing that she may have a different purpose for her powers. In my story I have several super characters who represent friends, family, or people at my school-except for their powers that is. Those that know me may be able to guess who each character is set out to represent; others who may not know who I am...good luck (just kidding). For those who don't know me or do know me but haven't a clue who I could be talking about try to put someone that you know into one of the parts.

Getting back to my point, everyone is different, and your probably thinking DUH! But I want to know what kind of superpowers you can think of to be. It may take 30 seconds, 30 minutes, or maybe 30 years (if it is taking you that long...I would advise so serious help). I just want people to possibly get a feel of their own personalities.

You have the freedom to post/not post a comment/blog about your hero or power, but I would like to know. It gives me ideas of the types of people in this world, and you never know I might like your idea enough to use it. You could even start your own story with it.

Again, what kind of hero are you?

Highway Bus

As another school day finally ends, I pull out of my parking space and make my way to the line of impatient cars waiting to escape the site of educational prison (prison to most, but an inconvience to others). At last I drive away from the school and gladly head towards home. I must pass through the college street school zone, but my spirits stay high. The last school zone before I'm home free aproaches and I slow down to aquire the appropriate speed of 15 miles per hour. Then to my distaste the yellow cheese wagon hastely gases the pedal so it can pull out right in front of me.

Yeah, thanks that's exactly what I want a dumb block of metal cheese cutting me off from relaxation.

So, by this time I'm upset...not mad (yet) just upset...I keep my distance from the bus but at snail speed. When we (The bus and I) go past the "End of Contruction" sign, I am forced to wait for the metal box to pick up speed, and I think this is only the beginning of the bus annoyances. Before I can cruise at a comfortable speed of 60, I see the yellow lights flashing, and I reluctantly brake. This process is repeat several times. The only two times that really anger me are when the bus drops off one kid(s) then moves at least 10 feet to let the neighboring child(ren) get off.

WHY? Can't the driver just let them all off at once?

It's very irratating to the other drivers when they have to stop and go, stop and go, and so on until the cheese wagon turns onto a different street.

I do have one solution to this very annoying problem. Extend the highway from two lanes to four lanes! People will start to move out towards Pocahontas and Highway 280 because of the elementary school that will be built there, but does anyone who holds a high office in this town even think about that? I surely doubt it. I hope someone realizes this sooner than later because I can already predict what will happen.

But for now I will have to resist ramming my 1988 GMC Jimmy into the hunk of metalic cheese on wheels and suck it up for a least another year. I might be able to last until then...maybe...

My First Story

Freedom. That’s what it’s called…freedom, right? Running away from home, ditching school, refusing phone calls, and escaping the hawk like eyes of my friends and family, who-by the way-are hunting me down, is freedom, affirmative? Well…this is the mess I got myself into and for whom? Myself? No, ha, I chose do this because of him. I wouldn’t do it for anyone else but for him. Maybe I should start from the beginning…to explain a few things…


“Hey, Aqua, don’t forget PAT after school,” my sister, Ember, told me six months ago.

“Do I ever forget, Em?” I answered rhetorically. Every week Em and I have Personal Ability Training, or PAT for short, with our parents in our trillion dollar sparring arena. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention, my parents are extra ordinary, extremely prosperous human beings, or, as everyone calls them, super villains. What did you think I was going to say? Heroes? Ha, don’t make me laugh, seriously, because I can’t even giggle at the moment. Anyways, my mom is this super genius that by shear chance met a half-crazed military mastermind, wedded, and had twin girls. The younger one was gifted with the power of fire; fiery orange eyes, spiked haired with singed ends, and always clouded with a film of smoke enticed Em’s hot-head personality. The older twin, by FIVE minutes, was cursed for enterity with the direct opposite of her sister. I have a watered-down, easy going quality. Not a problem in my opinion, but the source of many others.

“I’m just warning you, Aqua, that stunt you pulled last time was not fun on my part. They punished me with twice the amount of training thanks to you,” growled Em. I decided that I was going to have a real life and go hang out with some people after school, special villain school to be precise, that afternoon. I would have been fine if the people I chose to interact with weren’t the three most famous orphans in the heroic world. Yes, one of those three heroes was him. I know ironic right? Curly, pitch black hair with dark brown eyes, small smile, and a quality that has me drawn to him counter his electrical powers.

“I’ll be there. Promise.” I lied. I don’t lie a lot or at all for that matter, but I never thought I could lie so easily and have someone, least of all my sister, believe me. I lied and instead took the sewer-it’s not as bad as it sounds-into downtown Topeka, Kansas to go bowling with-whom else?-my new friends.

Liquefying myself into the sewer water was well…let’s face it, the most disgusting thing I have ever done, but I enjoyed the peace and quiet. I made sure no one saw me as I pulled myself out of the sewer, and I walked north down Fillmore Street until I ran into 6th Street. From there I strolled across the four-lane road and peered though the door of an old, rundown bowling alley called Sunflower State Lanes. He smiled a rare smile and motioned foot me to come inside. I waited until I started breathing again, then I casually opened the grimy door to join my friends. I hadn't known then that they could have killed me on the spot, least of all that they were super. I don't think that they knew that about me either because, like I said, they might have killed me as soon as I stepped through the threshold.

“Maria!” screeched Cyrene, who believe it or not does not have the power of sonic shriek. Her name actually means strength, and she has a lot of it.

“Hey,” I greeted. Word of warning: Don’t underestimate Cyrene! She stands about four feet six inches tall, but what she lacks in size she makes up with her ambiguous personality alone. Strength just gives her the edge to be a heroine.
Cyrene always wears this jet-black toboggan, and until just recently, I never knew why. Cyrene was born with bleach blonde hair. But because of her ever changing disposition and some strange genetic defect, Cyrene’s short cropped hair can transform into every shade in the rainbow, depending on her mood specifically.

“Sup, Maria,” said Lance, Cyrene’s other half a.k.a. her boyfriend. Every time I look at Lance I think ‘Thank the Lord she has him!’ Because without Lance, Cyrene would be a complete mess. I don’t see how she got through 16 years by herself. Lance is the most tranquil person I know. Exactly six feet tall, pulled back shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and fairly muscled compliment his telepathic abilities. Lance moves objects with his mind and is a message service, meaning that he can send and receive thoughts.

“Glad you could make it, Maria,” smiled the guy who still makes my heart stop. If you’re thinking that I don’t know his name, then you’re wrong. I presume it’s useless trying to protect his identity now since we are all on the run. Voltage. That’s his name. He’s six feet four inches tall, slightly tanned complexion, and also fairly muscled. Sigh, I miss him every moment I don’t see his handsome face. I wish I could see him as I lie here-

“I’m pleased to be here. I need time away from my crazy family,” I confessed, “They are driving me up the wall.” Little did they know, at the time, that I was serious.

“Okay! Now that the formalities are over, let’s bowl!” Cyrene pressed. And so we bowled. The only weird part was when we were leaving the lanes. Volt was telling me about this really cool restaurant down the road.

“I am completely serious. They have the best food there, and none of the ingredients have preservatives in them. They even have vegetarian choices, too.”
“Really? I might have to take you up on that offer, but I can’t tonight. I’m already going to be late getting home.”

“Oh, I hope you’re not in to much trouble. Do you want me to walk you home?” And such a tempting offer…

“No! I mean, I’ll be alright. Plus, it’s like way across town, and I’d feel responsible if I dragged you into dilemma with me.”

“Nah…my parents are cool about letting me stay out late. Are you sure you’ll be fine because I can always call a cab…”

I smiled widely, “I’m positive. And if I should come by some misfortune on the way, I won’t hold you accountable.”

He caught the joke and grinned, “If you should come by some miscreant on your peril less journey home, then let me depart you with this…” And to my surprise Volt gave me a quick kiss on the lips leaving me in a temporary state of shock and delight. The weird part? Well, in that moment of pure guilt free happiness I felt electricity. Literally, it felt like Volt zapped me with his lips. I didn’t give much thought to it, though, until the next morning.

Do you ever get that feeling that something just doesn’t seem right? Like when you left you favorite necklace at home and ever time you reach up to place your hand on it, it’s not there? Well, that’s the feeling I had as I awoke to the rising sun. I squinted at the bright light, and as soon as I started to part my lips to yawn, a sharp, stabbing pain sent me flying, figuratively, off the bed and into the bathroom. My face lingered six inches from the mirror and ever so gently stroked the top of my burned mouth only to be rewarded with the same throbbing pain. Panic never crossed me first; suspicion did. Like a crawling bug the light hairs on my arms stood on their ends. I diverted my attention from the red worms on my face to stare at the hairs. I hovered one of my fingers over them, felt the slight jolt of static electricity, and watched several hairs drift down to rest back on my arm. Although I like to think that I never learned anything from my parents or that trap infested prison called school, I will admit this maybe one of the few times that I appreciate the endless hours of my training. Electricity. Volt. Could he be…? I shook my head and laughed to myself about my suspicions, but I didn’t forget them.

Now I will take the time to describe to you a typical day at my school. Well, maybe not as typical because Em didn’t talk to me the whole day which didn’t bother me at all; on the contrary, I knew it was killing her on the inside, again figuratively speaking. I had to take the sewer because Em’s persistence to refrain from speaking to me left me with the option of walking or the sewer. I would have taken the bus; however, no bus service wanted to drive roughly 45 miles from our house to the school. Yes, we live that far out of town surround by the miles and miles of wheat. Nevertheless, I got to the school. Similar to my other trip in the quiet depths of disgust I rid myself of the sewage waste and smell before I entered Hayden High School the world renowned high school for villains. That is to say it is famous to the ones who know about it.

To attend this high school you have to have swagger, you need to hold power, you must…have money…Basically every moral right I abide by is shattered by every high school student on a daily basis. Food fights during lunch are encouraged, to be the lowest ranked in the class is treasured, fist fights are allowed because if you can’t stand to take a punch from a peer then you won’t hold your own in a battle against your arch enemy, and so on. You get the picture; villains break “rules” in school.

Arms crossed I walked down the locker lined halls swarmed with the future super villains. I found my locker in the midst of the morning chaos, wrenched open the archaic and decrepit locker door, and jumped feet first into the cavity below. Did you actually think the fragile classrooms would host the intense, destructive training super villains require for survival? However, due to the school wide requirement that every student must take an oath to conceal the secrets of the school, I cannot tell you what happens in the brightly lit depths that exceeded fifty feet below Hayden High’s basement.

Lunch at Hayden High School…hmmm…It’s like feeding time at the zoo. Super powered zoo so to speak. I swear I was perhaps the only civilized person in the room; even the lunch ladies couldn’t get out of the line of attack in time. I’m stifling a laugh just thinking about it. I didn’t eat lunch since my lips still ached. Thank the Lord that the burn didn’t scar; it just looked like my mouth was badly chapped. So instead I left school early; our school hours are fairly short, from 7 a.m. to noon, but extremely intense.

I regret leaving now. As I remember prancing out the double-door entrance, I fail to recall Ember trying to stop or catch up with me because skipping lunch is a tradition I do at least once a week. Em, no matter how much she denies, is completely jealous of me. I figured the daily dose of jealousy combined with the new anger from the broken promise kept her away. Again I wish I had departed the building later, but…sigh…love conquers all thoughts.

Despite the strong urge to run like a madman with a rabid bear after him, I strolled at an even pace down the sidewalk towards the bowling alley. I hadn’t really planned going there today; however, my mind was driving me crazy and my heart did nothing but long to see his face, to touch his skin. I started to second guess myself, thinking the whole idea was stupid and drastic, when coincidentally a stray, bright yellow taxi cab came around the corner. Stray taxi? In a school zone? I made a mental note of it; luck couldn’t always be on my side.

Though it appeared to be a potential trap, I hailed the taxi and told the driver the address of the lanes. I didn’t really know what to expect; I ran through the possibilities of danger and the numerous ways to counter them in the five minutes the cab took to arrive at Sunflower State Lanes. I peered through the window, and to my disappoint he wasn’t there. So feeling hunger start to creep up, I walked inside and ordered a fruit smoothie to-go. I barely stepped on the sidewalk when I heard the sound of a…well…a fire ball smashing into a building, glass shattering and falling on the ground, and of course who could forget the people shrieking.