More Blogs!

Today's Update: Kurt Gugelev-Shapiro interviews author Daniel Suarez

More Passion Projects!

Michelle's blog shows many works of a very artistically busy person during this Covid-19 quarantine. She plays piano, she dances, she shares stories and illustrations, and includes really cool videos. Above is a great example of a dance from The Nutrcracker. Enjoy! And make sure to check out her blog, "The Memory Palace!

Cosmo's blog is dedicated to the book "The Witcher," a series of books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and its TV adaptation by Netflix. In his most recent blog post, Cosmo examines the way the creative people at Netflix have represented these characters on screen. Here's a comparison between the character The Urchin and the description.

The Urchin from The Witcher: By Netflix

Compare this image to the description, highlighted by Cosmo:

Add caption

It's worth noting Sapkowski's use of alliteration in the description -- I wonder if that choice affected the way the artist perceived the character...

In another media-related blog, Aagya has developed a collection of reviews of film adaptations of classic books. So far she's published reviews of Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King, The Hobbit, and The Goblet of Fire. All three reviews passionately discuss the adaptations of the stories, showing great attention to what was in the books while critiquing the adaptations. These reviews are definitely worth reading for their enthusiasm, their thoroughness and their honesty.

Aagya doesn't pull any punches here...

Maeve Ross goes the entirely creative route with original stories derived from Lewis Carrol's classic stories Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland. These stories are well-crafted and they make brilliant connections between the characters she has invented and the ones from the original:

Make sure to check out her blog. It's really worth a read!

Passion Projects!

It's Passion Project Season, and we have some wonderful beginnings to share!

Adrien has taken on the challenge of solving the Rubriks cube while blindfolded!

He's also learning video editing skills in the process. Check out his blog, where you'll see some explanations and very well-made video about the experience. It's really fun to watch!

Samrawit's project includes illustrations of characters from fiction literature and poems from those characters' perspectives. She already has published several examples, and they're all beautiful. Definitely worth checking out!

Thomas gives us his insights into the fascinating subculture of animated Television, His first post is a comprehensive look at Steven Universe, an animated series by Rebecca Sugar. In his review, he explores the show's themes and innovative storytelling techniques. This is a great place to visit if you want to learn more about animated television!

Jed's blog includes a unique layout and some really beautiful illustrations. The focus, however, is on the music that accompanies these video games. If you want to learn more about the intricacies of video game design, have a look at his blog. While you're at it, check out Jed's YouTube channel!

Blogs of the Week -- Grade Nine

The first few posts by the Freshmen are up, and there are some excellent examples of creativity and of analytical thinking. Here are some of the gems.

In addition to some beautiful photos from Mt. Kenya, Kurt Gugliev-Shapiro's blog has a very interesting analysis of Persepolis. You'll see in this post a very detailed examination of Satrapi's writing and the source of her humor. Kurt chose his own topic, and the results are imaginative and informative. He also adds a song parody to complement the rest of the post.  Check it out here!

For a closer look at these two images, have a look at this link and this one.  

Do these images look familar? Well look again: They're original drawings by Michelle Woo, who created two extra pages to Persepolis. In them, she asks what might have happened if Marji's mother had been captured for her activities as a protester. Her blog is exceptionally well laid-out and organized, and the content is excellent. If you want to do well, follow these examples!

Blogs of The Week -- The Tempest

Thoughtful Playlists and Articles:

Sean Achola leads this week's list with two posts that convey exactly the right kind of thinking about the characters and events of the play. Have a look at his playlists, and note the carefully thought-out direct links between contemporary songs and Caliban's lines. Sean also composed a very clever "news" article saying Prospero was "exposed" as a tyrant by Caliban. Notice how Sean quotes the text of the play to construct this short article:

Prospero Exposed by Caliban

Caliban, an inhabitant of the island and servant to Prospero, the leader of the island and former Duke of Milan, has exposed his master. It is understood that Caliban's master Prospero, has been exposed for abuse towards his servant. Caliban claims that "Prospero regularly sent spirits to torment him when he did not bring wood to his master fast enough." According to Caliban, "Apes used to chatter and bite him, hedgehogs pricked at his feet, and snakes hissed him into madness. When confronted with these allegations, Prospero has denied any involvement in these occurrences and claims that Caliban is lying in order to get publicity. Caliban says that he has no motive to get publicity and is only making these claims to let the island know the terrible things Prospero does. 

More Thoughtful Combinations:

Darianna Tavares found some great parallels between pop music and lines from Ferdinand (above) and Caliban (below).  Ferdinand calls Miranda "so perfect and so peerless" -- as Lucas Grabeel says to Ashley Teasdale, "No one like you." Ferdinand adds that Miranda is created "of every creature's best," suggesting that she's the sum of all the great things he's met previously. 

Caliban's anger with Prospero is equally poignant, especially considering the island was his before Prospero decided to "Sty me in this hard rock"

A pretty good summary of The Tempest

The Tempest: Act 2 Scene 1 in 6 slides