The Yellow Jacket

The Best Of Me: A book review

      

    In the brief moments between assigned readings I started reading, dare I say, “The Best of Me” by Nicholas Sparks. I was looking for a quick fun read and though Nicholas Sparks has never been my cup of tea, at the suggestion of my sister, I went and bought this new book. 

     “The Best of Me” tells the story of two high school sweet hearts who come from opposite sides of the tracks. They come to the end of their high school careers and can no longer be together. After years of separation, the death of a mutual friend brings them back together, only for them to realize they still cannot be together. In the end however, they are brought together in a surprising turn of events.
    
  Aspects of this story are told from nearly every character’s perspective, which makes the simplistic writing style, and over used plot line bearable and interesting. It’s a fast paced book with twists and turns that are predictable but unique. I will admit to crying towards the end of the story, though if you’ve read any of my other commentary you know that’s not out of the ordinary.
     
      After reading and hearing the opinions of others, perhaps I liked this book better than those who have been fans of Sparks’ earlier books did. I suggest reading it, if you need a fast read to fill those boring hours that aren’t filled by netflix watching, but if you’re looking for something with a little more depth I can’t say I urge you to go out of your way to read this one.

         2.5 out of 5 stars. 

 

Cutting Loose: a Footloose (2011) Review

     There were many people I wanted to be like growing up. The four I can remember off the top of my head were my father, Elvis, Kenickie (from Grease), and Ren MacCormick. It’s quite obvious that two of those people are fictional characters, and one of those fictional characters has been remade into a Wiz Khalifa listening, hip-hop dancing, rebel hipster in the remake of Footloose.
       
        I was one of the many people who shouted “blasphemy” when I first saw the trailer for this remake, but, because I am who I am, I couldn’t pass up seeing a new dance movie-if anything I would try my best not to compare it to the original movie made in 1984. 

        Footloose is the story of a city kid, Ren MacCormack, who moves town where loud and suggestive music has been banned, teenagers have a legally binding curfew and dancing is not allowed. Looking to make a difference and voice a belief that means something to him, Ren embarks on a mission to: make the town accept the youth culture and hold a dance.
       
     
This film starred Kenny Wormald, a virtual unknown, as Ren MacCormack and Julianne Hough, best known for Dancing with the Stars, as Ariel Moore. The two put on a stellar performance, their dancing was superb, they filled the screen with an amazing tension and they both are amazingly good looking, which always adds to a performance. Dennis Quaid played Reverend Moore and gave a less than wonderful performance in the shadow of John Lithgow. 
       
      In all honesty I would give the stand out award to Miles Teller who played Willard, a goof ball hick who wants to learn how to dance so that he can show his girlfriend a good time on the dance floor.
        
      None of the acting was Oscar worthy, not that this movie would be nominated any way, but it is a fun time. While I do suggest you rent the original (or buy it) I would also suggest seeing this movie.

         Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.   What do you think?

 

Cody Weinberg: social media and networking editor

 

Wall of Influence

    I have been jokingly thinking of dropping out of school. The plan is simple; I'll pack up my car with clothes, books, and my laptop then drive to Savannah Georgia. I'll live in my car for a month or so while I work at a restaurant and get enough money to find a place to live. In my free time I'll write while sitting in a cafe just off the river.

   Now this has nothing to do with Randolph-Macon, in fact I love it here and could never picture myself attending another school, but let's face it, anyone that knows me knows I've never been a very good student. I read books that I want to read instead of the ones assigned, I write papers last minute and though last year I spent hours making over 300 French vocabulary cards I never really learned how to use them correctly. I have sporadic and even horrid sleeping habits and a mind that wanders incessantly. Sometimes I think college isn’t for me but perhaps everyone has that thought at one point.

     While diving into these thoughts I decided to take the one square of my dorm room that isn’t covered by a Band Poster and make a collage of inspiration. Right now, not surprisingly, it is made up of pictures of college dropouts or of people that never went to college at all. It’s an idea I stole from two teenage boys who currently inhabit pages 1-50 of the “novel” I’ve been “working” on for a year.

     The collage started with a picture of Steve Jobs. Jobs dropped out of college and went on to co-found Apple inc. Though Jobs cannot be considered the technological mastermind behind Apple, I credit him with being the reason Apple is successful. His eye for detail is unparalleled; he even called up Google and asked them to change a small part of their coding so that the Google web page would look better on the new I-Phone.

    Next to Jobs is a picture of Woody Allen who is a screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, and playwright. His movies are elitist in nature drawing heavily on literature and philosophy. Allen was thrown out of NYU for poor grades and then dropped out of a City College. He famously says, “I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics final. I looked within the soul of the boy sitting next to me.” I reviewed one of Allen’s Films, Midnight in Paris, over the summer and I’m positive the film had more intellectual and literary depth than most of the college graduates in the audience had ever been exposed to.

  There is a large picture of Ryan Gosling who dropped out of high school at 17 to focus on acting. He is credited to being one of the new generation of leading men who take more interest in being experimental and true to their art than making money. That’s framed by an article about the actor in New York Magazine, read it here.

    The wall is then littered with the faces of and articles about Sean Parker and Justin Timberlake, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. A picture of Byron Katie is taped beside one of John F. Kennedy, who dropped out of Princeton in 1935.

    Though Glenn Beck is not on my wall…for personal reasons that I wont talk about, he, too, did not go to college, saying “I am not anti-college....There is such a thing as getting an education other than through the gates of a university that are charging our children $100,000 to $150,000 to $250,000 just to be able to have a certificate that doesn’t necessarily mean anything to them....I’m not anti‑education. I am anti‑massive debt. I am anti‑giving our children’s souls over to these universities.”

   Perhaps I will not drop out of college, but I will continue to explore in an unlimited way. If we want to make a change in this world, if we want to grow as human beings it is important that we never stop learning and never stop wanting. Be passionate about your decisions; be passionate about your life. Think before acting; act with out regret. We are only limited by the cages we build for ourselves. I’ll paint my mind in different colors, after all, isn’t that the beauty of the Liberal Arts?

   I leave you with an article written by a dear friend of mine, one who never went to college. Lunch With The Wizard.

- Cody Weinberg is Social Networking and Media Editor for the Yellow Jacket Newspaper 

COMING SOON: New Equipment in the Brock Center

            The Brock Center will be undergoing some major changes over hopefully Fall Break, but over Thanksgiving Break at the latest. After years of wear and tear, the Brock Center equipment is finally being upgraded.

            In last year’s budget, funds were requested to support a regular upgrade schedule for all work out equipment. Mr. Davies, the new VP in the Business Office, worked out a way to pay for the equipment using a portion of the student fee funds.

            I asked Dean Azdell to outline some of the upgrades that will be occurring.

            “Basically an upgrade of most of the cardio equipment (some of it is 10-12 years old) and some of the other work out equipment in the weight lifting area of the Brock Center will be replaced as well,” Azdell said.

            In order to keep the equipment continually upgraded, the school has decided to lease rather than purchase work out machines.

            “[Using this system] we can more effectively rotate out the older equipment, keeping us up to date with performance equipment that you may find elsewhere,” Azdell commented.

            The new equipment was a direct result of student activism.

            “We received very good feedback from students who actively use the Brock Center about the age of our equipment and the frustrations that they experience when it breaks down. We shared this feedback with budget planners and got results. This is a positive result from a proactive approach to finding a solution to the issue,” said Azdell.

            With all of the changes occurring on campus, a change in equipment in the Brock was definitely a timely upgrade.

 

Academic Success at R-MC

This week’s issue of the Yellow Jacket offered an article detailing some secrets to academic success at Randolph-Macon College, according to two successful R-MC seniors. Here, we have a full bulleted list of the tips given in the article, plus a few extras.

• FIND A GOOD PLACE TO STUDY. “Personally, I prefer to work in my dorm, but the ideal location for studying varies from person to person. For example, many people find that their dorms are too distracting and choose to work in the library. Whatever your choice, it’s important that your location allows you to stay on task and enables you to work quickly and effectively. If you are constantly unfocused while trying to study for a test or complete an assignment, you are wasting your time. Finding an ideal location will allow you to work more efficiently, which will improve your test preparation and the quality of your coursework, causing your grades to improve.”-Mark Lotts
• STUDY EARLY AND ONLY IN SHORT INCREMENTS. “Cramming never works for me, and honestly, I don't see how it could work for anyone; not only is it stressful but it's proven that cramming the night before doesn't ever really mean you'll retain the information. I try studying from anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour--maximum-- two or three nights before an exam, or test. It seems really time-consuming, but just studying in quick bursts like that every night allows you to absorb the information better.”-Cassie Morgan
• MAKE VOCABULARY CARDS. “Making vocabulary cards seems really elementary, but it never fails. Really! Just make sure that the information you're putting on them is absolutely correct. That sounds really silly, but I'm not ashamed to admit I've done that before, so it really does happen!”-Cassie
• COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PROFESSORS. “It is extremely important to communicate with teachers outside of the classroom. This can include anything from e-mailing them when you know you’re going to miss a class, to stopping by their office to ask questions about homework assignments. Teachers want to see students succeed, but they also want students to help themselves along the way. If you just start communicating with a teacher about your struggles in their course a few weeks before the exam, they most likely won’t be willing to help you salvage a passing grade; however, if you let them know as soon as your start having problems, and you communicate and meet with them regularly, they will be more than happy to help you. Also, teachers sometimes disseminate important information, like changes to assignments and due dates, via e-mail, and if you don’t regularly check your e-mail and happen to miss one of their messages, you might find yourself in a tough situation.”-Mark
• BE CONSIDERATE OF YOUR PROFESSORS. “I've found that the best communication with professors happens when you take the initiative to be friendly, respectful, and understanding of their busy schedules. Try reaching out to them about something as soon as you can, not only so you don't miss the deadline, but just to make sure they have plenty of time to get back to you if they have a tight work load--which is almost always. It's also generally just nice to e-mail them during the day or morning, and not when we're all awake at 2 in the morning. They also appreciate it if you put your best effort into your work before just scribbling something out and sending it to them; asking a question to a professor shouldn't mean doing so just to get the right answer, but doing so to enhance what you think to be your 'best shot' at the question, essay, etc.”-Cassie
• USE RESOURCES LIKE THE HAC AND THE WRITING CENTER. “Yes, the Writing Center and the HAC are excellent resources, and it’s unfortunate that more students don’t take advantage of those opportunities. People often don’t visit the Writing Center because they don’t think they need writing help, but they are kidding themselves if they think they can’t improve. In reality, the Writing Center can help good writers become great writers, and can also help great writers get even better. The HAC tutoring is also very useful, especially for underclassmen that are just starting to take classes in their major. The tutors can help students understand concepts from their classes, work through example problems, and prepare for tests.”-Mark
• DO ALL ASSIGNED WORK, EVEN IF IT IS NOT GRADED, OR IS EXTRA CREDIT. “Professors don’t put problem sets on their syllabi for no reason, so even if the assignment is not collected for a grade, looking at the problems and working through the problems well definitely help students improve their quiz and test grades.”-Mark
• WRITE ESSAY OUTLINES. “Professors give you plenty of time to work on essays, and not so you can put it off until the day before. Don't simply plan ahead about what you want to write, but make an extensive outline; this is something you can do really far in advance and shouldn't take long, if you just work on it for a few minutes or so every day. Once you have a week left, you'd be surprised at how extensive your outline can get. Sometimes, I've been able to copy most of my outline into my essay doc and I've already got my whole essay written. And then I can just go through and revise, revise, revise. Revising is the best tool ever and I used to hate it (sometimes I still do) but it can make a monumental difference.”-Cassie
• BE ORGANIZED.  “I also think being organized is also very important when it comes to grades. Organized students won’t lose assignments, won’t forget due dates, and will be able to study for test and quizzes more easily. Personally, I always look at my syllabi at the beginning of the semester and take note of the dates for the tests and quizzes for each class. This allows me to plan the most efficient way to get my work done so that I never get behind and always have time to study.”-Mark
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. “Don't be afraid to ask questions of your professors. That was perhaps one of the greatest lessons I took away from freshman year. Had I not gone to my professors and simply asked, directly, what they wanted, I would have floundered through the semester. I sometimes get anxieties about sounding silly asking certain questions, but it's better to ask then trust your own judgment sometimes. And I definitely know that my judgment about papers or homework can be quite off sometimes, so it's good to get a second opinion.”- Cassie
• WORK HARD FROM THE BEGINNING. “I think the best way for freshmen to transition to college level material is for them to prepare to work hard at the beginning of their first semester. Most freshmen will find that they have to work much harder than they worked in high school in order to maintain a decent GPA, but they won’t come to this realization immediately. However, if they fall behind at the start of the term, it will be hard for them to try and improve their grades as the end of the semester approaches. It’s always easier to start out working too hard and then scaling back if necessary, than it is to start out lackadaisically and then try to increase your effort once you realize that your grades might be in jeopardy. By starting off on the right foot, the freshmen will be better prepared to manage the more difficult college coursework.”-Mark

 

R-MC Study Abroad Fair this Friday

By Bethany Rotenberry ‘12

 

                If you have the urge to see the world, R-MC’s Office of International Education has the solution. On Friday, September 16 at 2 pm in the Campus Center, the OIE is holding a Study Abroad fair for interested students.

              The study abroad fair will have brochures to all of the exciting J-Term trips offered this January. Luckily for those of you still interested, some of those trips still have spaces available. So if you’d like to spend a few weeks in Italy, Israel, Austria, England, or many more, the Study Abroad fair will have the answer to all of your questions.

                This year’s J-Term trips include:

• BIOL 335.01: Evolution & Conservation in the Galapagos Islands. Destination(s): Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
• CHEM 160.01: The Chemistry of Winemaking. Destination(s): Australia, New Zealand
• CHIN 212.01: Intermediate Chinese II. Destination(s): China—Beijing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Shanghai
• CHIN 221.01: Chinese Culture and Society. Destination(s): Beijing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Shanghai
• CLAS/FLET 206.01: Peregrinations: Travel in Antique Lands. Destination(s): Italy—Rome, Florence, Naples
• CLAS 222.01 The Archaeology of Israel. Destination(s): Israel
• CSCI 181.01: Computer Service Learning in Haiti. Destination(s): Haiti - Port-au-Prince, Lascahoba, Hinche
• ECON 383.01, 02: Britain in the International Economy. Destination(s): Wroxton, England
• FLET 381.01: Vienna’s Art and Culture. Destination(s): Vienna, Austria
• FLET 381.02: Paris in Literature. Destination(s): Paris, Berlin
• FREN 212.01: Intermediate French II. Destination(s): Paris
• FREN 216.01: French Culture and Society. Destination(s): Paris
• HIST 101.03: African History since 1885. Destination(s): Ghana - Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast & Ho
• HIST 381.01/BLST 381: Diasporic Connections: Ghana and West Africa. Destination(s): Ghana - Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast & Ho
• INST 335.01: Science, the Environment, and Conflict in the Conquest of the Amazon (Co-Req SOCI 273). Destination(s): Brazil - Rio de Janeiro, Amazon & Paraty
• MATH 470.01: The History of Mathematics. Destination(s): England—Wroxton, London
• PSCI 331.01: Major Governments of Western Europe. Destination(s): London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels
• RELS 240.01: Italy: Heritage of Christianity. Destination(s): Italy
• SOCI 250.01: Human Rights in the Global Village. Destination(s): TBA
• SOCI 273.01: Globalization, the Environment, and Social Dynamics in Brazil (Co-Req INST 335.01). Destination(s): Brazil - Rio de Janeiro, Amazon & Paraty
• SPAN 381.01: Central American Culture, Literature, and Civilization. Destination(s): San José, Costa Rica

 

            The Study Abroad fair will also have information regarding semester abroad or year abroad programs. It’s not too late to apply for Spring 2012 Semester Abroad, so go to the Fair or contact the OIE for more information.

            If you can’t make the fair but are still interested in Study Abroad, email studyabroad@rmc.edu or mayuminakamura@rmc.edu. Also, lots of information can be found of the OIE’s home page. You can peruse all the information on programs and scholarships R-MC has to offer at http://www.rmc.edu/Academics/study-abroad.aspx.

Earthquake Update

On Tuesday, August 23, the East coast of the U.S. was shaken from Pennsylvania to Georgia by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake.  This quake is the second-largest in Virginia's history.

Ashland, Virginia was merely a few miles from the epicenter of the quake that dominated CNN directly after its occurrence.  Students were swarmed with R-MC Alerts through text and email as phone lines were overwhelmed by even the small population currently on campus.

Even though the campus was in an uproar, Sophomore Melanie Kramer was not affected.

"I was driving through campus and didn't even feel the earthquake.  I only began to worry when I heard about it later and realized I shouldn't have been driving."

Students on Facebook claimed annoyance about the number of alerts while others expressed fear of what was to come.

Luckily, R-MC fared well in the earthquake.  Dean Azdell, who provided information throughout the event, discussed the aftermath on campus.

"There are no damages and no injuries on campus," he said.  "We had a couple of offices with pictures falling off walls and books off of shelves, but not too bad."

There were two after-shocks, but neither could be felt and were only 2.2 and 2.8 magnitude.

The Yellow Jacket will keep you updated with further news and after-shocks.  If you have photos, videos, or other information, email us at yellowjacket@rmc.edu.

Top Ten of the Summer from our Politics Junior Co-Editor

Zach Spaeth, a new editor for the 2011-2012 school year shares his top ten summer experiences:

10) I have finally taken up tumbling with Tumblr. I find it quite awesome because I can post long, interesting stories that people would not want to read on facebook, so if they really care, they can go on another site.

 

9)  Attending Emerging Leaders Weekend at Macon. It showed me that there are even more and more people every year that want to develop into true leaders, which our campus is really in need of. Seeing the future students interact as complete strangers, in the middle of the summer, and sometimes in emotional scenarios is the most spectacular thing ever.

8)  The Philadelphia Phillies acquired Hunter Pence, the power-hitter right hander they needed all season. Are we unstoppable and going to win the World Series? Yes, enough said.

7)  After spending a year at RMC where most people listen to rap and country, it was nice to come home and remind myself of my love for rock, pop, and R&B. I spend everyday on Pandora, Grooveshark, or iTunes listening to all the oldies I forgot about.

6)   HP7. If you don't know what the stands for, just skip to #5. Anyway, the long anticipated end to the series was so amazing. I still remember being a kid reading the books as they came out, and then went to see the movies with my mom. I finished seeing HP the same way I started, Sunday afternoon matinee with my mother.

5)  Discovering the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. I've already read about 6 of the books this summer, and I am truly in love. If I ever have free time, you'd see me with my Nook reading one of his books.

4)  ICE CREAM CAKE. When you work at a Dairy Queen a lot in the summer, you rack up enough food credit to spend money on whatever you want in the store. So I spend half my $42.73 on an ice cream cake. I am sharing it with my family, but I am still fat and eating most of it.

3)  Going to Washington State on a 7 day vacation was the most amazing thing ever.  It is strange to imagine that their culture is so much different from the East Coast, but in a very unique way.  Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the cold weather, but did not enjoy the 6 days of rain. But, worth it nonetheless. 

2)  Attending a Philadelphia Phillies (baseball) & Union (soccer) game in one day. Phillies won their game and the Union lost. But was it worth the hundreds of dollars? Yes. I was 100 feet from Christiano Ronaldo.

 

 

 

 

1)  Seeing Lara O'Brien over the summer. enough said.

Our Editor-in-Chief, Lara, must be pretty awesome.  Looking forward to a great year with a great staff!  Couldn't be happier for a fun-filled and informative year!  YJ staff is the best!  Email Lara O'Brien (laraobrien@go.rmc.edu) if you would like to share you're summer top ten or join the staff!  We are always looking for bright-eyed, bushy-tailed new writers!

 

 

 

Top Ten, According to the Editor-in-Chief

Though our wonderful networking editor had a fantastic list, here is a spin on the summer's Top Ten from the previous Sports Editor and current Editor-in-Chief of your very own YJ.

10) Randy Moss is retiring!  

After watching him wage fights in high school, moon fans at Lambeau Field, squirt officials with water bottles... and make really impressive catches... it is about time he threw in the towel.  Who knows what offense he would have committed next.

 

 

 

9) Discovering the Ashland public pool.  Though seemingly a small event, the Ashland public pool was crucial in getting through the hot days of the summer.  My housemates and I took full advantage of the cool waters on skin-melting 100 degree days.

8)  Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps in the 200 free and 200 IM at the World Championships in Shanghai in the only two head-to-head matches the men swam against each other!  Though non-swimmers probably couldn't care less, I am super excited to see Michael Phelps put in his place.  Ryan Lochte is definitely accomplishing his goal to beat out Phelps as number 1 all-around swimmer in the U.S.  Also, his 200 IM was a new world record, which is always exciting to see now that technical suits have been banned.  See here for more on Phelps vs Lochte. 

7)  Great deals were discovered at Off the Hookah in downtown Richmond for any girls looking for something to do on Thursday night!  From half-price sushi at dinner to dollar wells from 9-10 to free hookah at 10, Off the Hookah was the place to be this summer!  Also, the bar tenders juggle fire - what more can you ask for?!

6)  A Dance With Dragons, George R. R. Martin's 5th installment to his A Song of Ice and Fire series FINALLY came out!  I have been waiting for 6 years for this book to come out, and it couldn't have taken longer.  In fact, I have almost completely forgotten the first 4 books and am having to reread them.  We'll see if Martin doesn't kick the bucket before he gets his rear in gear and gets book 6 out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)  Stephen Stamkos re-signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning!  It would have been a sad, sad season of hockey if the Lightning had lost such a premere forward.  Hopefully the playoffs will go a little better next season... The Bruins vs Canucks game was just not cutting it.  Speaking of, the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup Finals is probably at the bottom of this summer's Bottom Ten.  Right next to the basement flooding.  Ugh.

4)  Mardy Fish made the quarterfinals in Wimbledon, posing as America's only hope at this stage of the game.  Roddick was out early against Lopez and the Williams sisters both fell on the same day.  Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal proved to be too much of a challenge for the American, but at least he made it to the quarters!  Thank you Mardy for giving us someone to cheer for at the end!

3)  Dolphins were jumping out of the water about 7 feet from where I was swimming at Virginia Beach!  Though I wish I had a picture of this event, it was absolutely incredible.  I was out in the waves when we saw fins popping out of the water a few meters from where we were swimming.  After watching them for a few minutes, we realized they were getting closer until finally the dolphins were within mere feet of us, jumping and playing in the water.  It was the most beautiful event I have ever seen.  Definitely not going to forget that.

2)  THE NFL LOCKOUT IS OVERRRR!!!!! About. Time.  Like, seriously.  If there had been no NFL, I would have been so bored.  And so studious - which is just not allowed.  But never fear, the Texans will be playing this season AND going to the playoffs (this is the season - I can feel it).

 

 

 

1)  Texans vs. Saints preseason game - August 20.  I'll be there.  This may not have happened yet, but the excitement still makes it number one.  Saints are going down.  TEXANSSSSS!!!!!!!!

If you have a top ten to post, email the Yellow Jacket at yellowjacket@rmc.edu or myself at laraobrien@go.rmc.edu

Top Ten of the Summer according to a networking/media editor

      This summer has been a rather exciting one for me, so I decided I would put down my "Top Ten" of the summer. 
     Starting with (10) Twitter, which I recently rediscovered and have learned to use in a some what annoying way that provided much more entertainment than it truely should have. I in fact talked about twitter at (9) The June Registration Day. At the registration a turn of events had me leading a group of incoming freshman around the campus as an orientation leader. It was a wonderful experience and having twenty some kids yelling that the word of the day was "SMILE," was a beautiful, beautiful thing.
    I saw many movies this summer and one of three on this list is (8) Friends With Benefits. The
movie starred Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis who embark on a sexual friendship that ends like any other Chick Flick. One of the best parts of this movie was when Timberlakes Character took Kunis home to LA to see his family including his Father who has a terrible case of alzheimers. Needless to say I was sobbing quietly to my self, trying to hide my face from the girlfriend.
    (7) The Tony Awards this year was a wonderful experience. I sat down with a great group of friends and watched/made snide witty comments about the performers. Neil Patrick Harris was a hilarious host and "The Book of Mormon" swept the award show.
    (6) My Droid X which I just bought a few weeks ago due to a rather unfortunate incident with my previous phone. It's a wonderful Frankenstein invention that allows me to check out my Klout Score at the same time that I'm beating my cousin on Words With Friends. I keep hoping that it will help land me that big media job some time soon.
    I took pictures on my Droid while at (5) Warped Tour. Normal I hate large crowds of people and music to which one can't understand the lyrics (let's face it, normally I hate music that isn't a 11 o'clock number) but it was a great time. The crowds were fun, I moshed, helped people crowd surf, and found some new bands that I liked. Music is as wonderful now as it ever was. 
   The second movie on this list is (4) Midnight in Paris, written by Woody Allen. It's a wonderful film starring Owen Wilson, who is full of wit and brains as he portrays a screenwriter turned Author stuck in a slump. You can see my Review of it at video review. 
   Getting Close to the end now. Here are my Top Three:
    (3) Catch Me If You Can The Musical. The show was a fabulous time. I cried, I laughed, I cheered, I danced, I had good theatre etiquette. Read my review of the show on this very blog, at Catch Me Please. 
  (2) Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows p.2. You knew it was coming, I knew it was coming. This movie was amazing. A great end to the movies. I laughed, I cheered, I cried (hmmm I do that a lot). You can check out my thoughts further on my personnel blog Here we are, Taken.
    The rights to Spring Awakening the musical were released, but because of a special arrangement with the holders of said rights, a local theatre charity in my home town got them first. (1) The National Amateur Premiere of Spring Awakening. I ran lights for the show and did everything I possibly could to help out. The show was directed my a dear friend of mine and I made many more along the way. It was perhaps not only the most rewarding experience of the summer but of my entire life. The friends I made I'll keep forever. It was truely sublime.  

 

There it is. My Top ten of the summer. 

If you have a top ten and would like to share it, shoot an email too yellowjacket@rmc.edu or to CodyWeinberg@go.rmc.edu.