An article by Gustavo Arellano

There is nothing remotely Mexican about Potato Olés—not even the quasi-Spanish name, which has a distinctly Castilian accent. The burrito was more insulting to me and my heritage than casting Charlton Heston as the swarthy Mexican hero in Touch of Evil. But it was intriguing enough to take back to my hotel room for a taste. There, as I experienced all of the concoction’s gooey, filling glory while chilly rain fell outside, it struck me: Mexican food has become a better culinary metaphor for America than the melting pot.

Taco USA: How Mexican food become more American than apple pie

Trayvon Martin Gun Range Target

Link

"My main motivation was to make money off the controversy," said the seller of a gun range target designed to resemble murdered Florida teen Trayvon Martin in an email to Local 6 reporter Mike DeForest.

Seriously, Humanity, have we no shame? First George Zimmerman, the coward that he is, attacks an unarmed teen for no good reason, nearly gets away with murder, stirs up a beehive of racial controversy... And now this? This seller (who remains anonymous, likely for his own protection) didn't even try to mask it:



He could've just left it without the Skittles and can of iced tea, and anyone who objected would've been claimed to be blowing things out of proportion. I mean, just doing that surely wouldn't have been controversial to most people. He could've just made a target that didn't add unneeded fuel to the fire. But no: instead of making a positive contribution to all this, he goes ahead and makes something just to "make money off the controversy". According to the second link, "Before DeForest identified himself as a reporter, the seller claimed that targets were still available for purchase. After being informed Local 6 was investigating his online business, the seller claimed the targets would no longer be sold." Not that I'm the bravest person on the internet--I'll admit to being afraid to discuss certain subjects, and sometimes withdrawing from my statements when the going gets tough--but I'd have to agree with the idea that what he, the person selling these targets, did was cowardly.

Cover of Civilization IV Theme

A semester almost finished, and a breakthrough at my church

(Apologies if this blog comes off as too vague--it's about as detailed as I can get right now. I'll try to fix it later. Also, I'll try to pick up the pace with regards to posting new stuff.)

I really do wonder where the time went. It feels that, not too long ago, I had just taken my first class at the U of A. I mean, of course, it's not like I'm going to graduate this year--I still have a few more semesters to go until I'm done. But, really, this didn't feel that slow.

I'd have to say that both my classes were interesting. In Public Policy and Administration, which deals with how government runs and functions, it was cool to be able to learn more about all that. Urban Growth and Development--a prerequisite for my Regional Development minor--basically talks about how cities grow and develop, challenges facing it, and (sort of) their future. A pretty fun class, and I'm feeling more confident about being a Regional Development minor because of it.

Now, about that breakthrough at church. Every Wednesday night for about 8 weeks (upcoming Wednesday will be Week 7), I've had this class called "Walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit",  which is part of what our church calls Rock Solid/Roca Solida (this book, The Walk of the Spirit--The Walk of Power, is what we've been using). Now, the book is basically about praying in tongues, why it's not only a good thing but vital, and the benefits of doing it. If I've never said this before, I promise you that I'm not some religious nutcase--I was just interested in praying in tongues, as I wasn't very familiar with it and wanted to know more. If I have said that before, then I guess it bears repeating. Anyhow, last Wednesday, I got it. Beforehand, I felt I just simply couldn't, or it was barely coming out (put too much thought into it or something). That night, however, I just thought, "Let it flow--don't think too much on it, just do it." And it worked--well, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Dream Journal--April 5-12

April 5:
I actually had two dreams, but of those the second manages to stick out in my mind the most. I was in this very bright area, almost seemed like pure light, when to the right of me at my feet was this person--I keep thinking it was a woman, but I can't say for sure. She seemed to be radiating darkness, and my first instincts were to pray over her. I call them instincts because I don't remember consciously doing so--it seemed to come naturally. As I began to pray, and I note that I'm not even sure what language I'm doing this in, out of the corner of my "eye", I sensed something (first sensed, then viewed). As I look, the person who was possessed tried to attack me. Almost instantly, the dream goes away, and I'm left with me trying to make sense of it all.

April 12:
At this point, as I write this, a lot of the details about it are becoming fuzzier. I remember the first 2/3 as being pretty exciting, but for the life of me I can't even describe it at all. So, I'll have to work with what I have:

I'm on the bus--my usual mode of transportation--, or a streetcar, and we're in an area that's similar to Downtown Tucson/area around the University, but greener and more open. This was actually a transition moment from my previous dream bit to this, but still fun. Anyhow, eventually, there's this guy who... I guess in the dream, I'm thinking he's attacking a woman, but I can't really remember anymore. So, I chase him down and get him down into this building (reminds me of a blend between storage room, metal shop, and a random building downtown). I end up shoving his head twice into a wall I found when I turned right from going in the room. I'm not sure what happened, but he ends up collapsing. Some of my "friends" (people I seem to know in the dream) show up... And I can't really remember the end.

About the April 5 dream: I've certainly had weird dreams before--my mind seems to specialise in those, to my amusement. I just don't remember ever having any "God-dreams". The class I'm taking at church, and the book our class is reading, deals with the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues--no, we're not weirdos, just usually spirit-filled oddballs to some extent--so that might've had something to do with it. I'll be happy to have a dream like that again.

About the April 12 dream: I don't know if I've already said this, but I'm taking a class called Urban Growth and Development. Part of it involves public transportation--buses and streetcars--and how cities are designed--one of the more popular ideas are that they should be more greener and open, more of connected neighbourhoods than broken-apart housing areas with not much sense of belonging, and revitalised downtowns. Our downtown, as of late, is going through that improvement. I'm sure that those factors played into this.

Fake trailer for a non-existent Harry Potter-based TV show: The Aurors.

Facebook Timeline and something I'm working on

For those reading this--I'm assuming that, thus far, most if not all of my readers are my Facebook friends--you're probably aware of the new(ish) Facebook timeline. I was actually hoping to hold out on it until I made my final decision as to whether to accept it or not, but Facebook made the choice for me. To be honest, it felt a little odd--having a visual record of all of my posts and other stuff that I've made since I got on there. I've been looking over it, reminiscing somewhat, and pruning the more spammy bits off of it. And I think I can live with this.

• It was odd reading the status updates that really had no context behind them. I mean, normally, I can look on there, find a random update, and understand why I did that. And then I find one that makes me go, "...huh?"
• I'll have to go through more of these updates and such, but I enjoyed finding those past updates that either meant a lot to me back then for different reasons or became something greater. Even if I know it means next to nothing to anyone else that doesn't get it.

For a few months, I've been not-completely-seriously working on a story based on the Harry Potter series. Right now, I'm only giving out the link (here) to the "Brainstorming/Ideas/Rough Draft" Document for it. All of that will hopefully become the Final Draft, which I'm hoping to post on here--more than likely, chapter by chapter.

The story centres on the character Alexander Rosethorn, a reasonably good (with all things considered) Slytherin, and his journey through Hogwarts and life, along with the rest of his friends. He's a contemporary of Harry and his friends, so out of wanting to match things up with the books I was planning on making each part correspond with each book. Which I'm sure I'll end up undoing, but it's what I've decided on doing right now. So, I see Parts 1 and 2 being the ones where the characters are established and fleshed out, though I'm not sure yet what to do about Parts 3 and 4. Part 5 is when things get interesting.

I'm also posting this because I'd really appreciate it if you read it, commented, and maybe throw out some (hopefully positive) suggestions about it--I'm basically looking for a beta reader (or readers) to go over it. I'll be honest and admit that while I'm decent enough with coming up with ideas, the whole getting-it-off-the-ground bit is a completely different matter. When I said that I wasn't completely seriously working on it, I'm either not sure what to write or just can't be bothered to do so--having someone to prod me into developing more of it will be very helpful. That, along with the fact that I haven't read the books in quite a while (I basically stopped at Goblet of Fire), haven't seen any of the movies after GoF, and I'm just trying to learn what I can off of the internet on occasion. There's a couple of other things that are nagging me about this, but it's not really worth going into.

(For Yani/someone whose English isn't perfect/someone who's just confused: if anything I've written doesn't make any sense, just ask. I was writing this partly under the assumption that my readers knew what I was talking about, but I have to remind myself of these things.)

"Jesus is Coming"--a short play

Jesus is Coming

Written by Larry Nester and Lee Goodrum

CAST OF CHARACTERS

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

ASSISTANT

SINGERS

TEEN #1--DAVID, if male, ELIZABETH, if female

TEEN #2--ISAAC, if male, REBEKAH, if female

OLD LADY

CROWD

JESUS

JESUS' ENTOURAGE--DISCIPLES, FOLLOWERS, MUSICIANS, and DANCERS

PROPS

HORNS/SHOFARS* (If possible)

FLUTES

TAMBOURINES

LUTES (If possible)

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Everyone, everyone! Jesus will be here shortly. I repeat, the Messiah--our rightful King, our Liberator--will be here in Jerusalem. (Beat) Now, where are those...

ASSISTANT: Musicians... and singers have already left--yes, they know where to go.

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Right, aren't we supposed to be having some people dancing, praising, bowing down... Paving the way with...

ASSISTANT: Palm leaves?

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Right, right.

TEEN #2: (Runs up to COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN with TEEN #1) That's us!

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Ah, yes, you two are finally here! And that's everyone, right?

ASSISTANT: (Reading off mental checklist) Yes, that's it--we're good to go!

COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: And we have... (Checks left wrist--NO WATCH!) Just a few minutes until Jesus arrives? (To TEENS) Well, what are you waiting for?

TEEN #1: Yes, sir! (Runs off with TEEN #2)

ASSISTANT: (Ad-libbed discussion with COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN--goes on for less than a minute)

OLD LADY: Oh, I can't wait to see Jesus, the Messiah and King! (She stumbles and falls)

TEEN #2: (to TEEN #1) Hey, aren't we supposed to go that way?

TEEN #1: Oh, right! (Beat) Can you believe we'll get to see Jesus?

TEEN #2: (Excited) That has got to be the hundredth time you've asked, and I still can't contain my excitement! I told you about my friend and how she saw Him turn all that water in those pots into wine, right?

TEEN #1: Yeah, and He raised... what's-his-name? Lazarus? From the dead!


TEEN #2: And wasn't your cousin working with Peter—you know, one of Jesus' Disciples?--when he ended up with all that fish? We ate on that for days!

TEEN #1: Yeah, Jesus took some kids lunch—some fish and a bit of bread, I think—and, like, multiplied it to feed a whole crowd.

TEEN #2: No way!

TEEN #1: Way

(In the middle of the path lies an OLD LADY. She is dressed in ragged clothing covering much of her body)

TEEN #2: Whoa, check it out!

OLD LADY: (Moans)

TEEN #1: I think she's hurt.

TEEN #2: Yeah,you're right. She looks bad.

TEEN #1: What are we going to do? We can't stay here—Jesus will be coming soon.

TEEN #2: (Becomes incredulous) Excuse me?

TEEN #1: (Is confused) You were just telling me how excited you were to see Jesus, weren't you?

TEEN #2: Yeah, but that was before this. (Points to OLD LADY)

TEEN #1: Look, we don't have time for this. How about we just find someone else to help her.

TEEN #2: Find someone else? In this crowd? On this day? (Folds arms and rolls eyes) By the time we find someone to help her, she'll be lucky to be alive!

OLD LADY: (Moans)

TEEN #1: We'll send someone. We've got a job to do!

TEEN #2: And what are you going to tell her family when they find her dead? DEAD, (TEEN #1)! “Oh, I'm sorry guys. We totally found her alive, but I was too stupid to help her to somewhere safe...”

OLD LADY: (Moans louder)

TEEN #1: Okay already, but let's hurry. (to OLD LADY) We're going to get you to some help.

TEEN #2: Maybe if we're lucky, we can catch a glimpse of Jesus.

TEEN #1: A glimpse of the Messiah? I could live with that. Now, help me take her to my Aunt Esther's house.

TEEN #2: Will she be home today?

TEEN #1: We don't have a choice. (As they pick her up) Careful, CAREFUL! There!

(TEEN #1 and TEEN #2 carefully walk with OLD LADY to AUNT ESTHER's house—a small one-bedroom mud-and-brick house. Once they approach, TEEN #1 knocks on the door)

AUNT ESTHER: Whoa! What is this?

TEEN #1 She's hurt bad.

AUNT ESTHER: (Opens door) Aren't you kids supposed to be out there greeting...?

TEEN #2: We were, but you see...

AUNT ESTHER: What happened to her?

TEEN #1: We don't know. Can you help her?

AUNT ESTHER: Come in, come in—, just try to get her on the bed over there. I'll see what I can do to help. SAPHIRA (her daughter), bring me some moist towels and some water.

SAPHIRA: Yes Ma'am (as she goes to get towels)

(Teens gently place the old lady on bed)

AUNT ESTHER: All this fuss about this Jesus. After all I here He's just a carpenter from Nazareth. That hardly qualifies anyone to be King.

TEEN #1: Have you not heard of His Miracles?

AUNT ESTHER: He's still just a man.

OLD LADY: Oh, no. He's more than that. He's the Messiah that was prophesied by Isaiah (then passes out).

AUNT ESTHER: Hurry with that water and towels!

(At the sound of a horn, JESUS and ENTOURAGE begin the procession. The crowd begins praising and waiving  palm leaves. The musicians begin playing and singers begin singing. The various dancers begin dancing as the procession moves down the aisle toward the stage. Jesus is smiling and blessing the crowd and the disciples are waving and praising. When they reach the stage...)

JESUS: (Dismounts noble steed, and holds up his hands) Wait!

(Beat. Then a DISCIPLE comes before JESUS. Although confused by His act, he also knows that He is surely doing this for a reason.)

DISCIPLE: What is it, my Lord?

JESUS: There is someone in need—here in the house! (Points to AUNT ESTHER's house) I must go there.

(JESUS knocks)

AUNT ESTHER: Who could that be now? (She opens the door to find JESUS) Oh my... (A beat passes as she is rendered speechless—JESUS at the door.)

JESUS: I came because I knew there was someone in need of my healing.

AUNT ESTHER: I, uh... Yes, yes! This way!

(JESUS enters in. TEEN #1 and TEEN #2 stand dumbstruck, bowing and clutching each other's hand.  JESUS arrives to the OLD LADY.)

JESUS: Woman, rise up, you are healed.

OLD LADY: Oh, my God... I'm... I'M HEALED! (Instantaneously, she begins to dance and jump)

JESUS: (To teens) And thanks to you two for getting  her here. Join me and my Disciples.

JESUS (To AUNT ESTHER) And bless you too my daughter for helping her. Come let's join the celebration.

TEEN #1 and TEEN #2: (Run up and hug JESUS. He leads them outside to the procession and the celebrations continue, lead by acrobats doing flips etc..)

OLD LADY: He healed me! Jesus healed me! (as she twirls in jubilation)

EVERYONE: Hosana to the King!

__________________________________

Yes, this is the script I wrote for the short play I mentioned in my previous blog. It was completed after a few weeks--Lee, the head of Grace To The Nations' Drama Department, received the basic idea (a short play for Palm Sunday) from one of the pastors, relayed the idea to me after I told him I had a talent in writing (well, at least I could probably do this), bounced ever-developing versions back and forth, and finally completed it. I basically decided to post this as a "Hey, everyone, I made this..." sort of thing. If you ever want to use this for your church production, you'll need to contact me or Lee Goodrum so we can make the final decision--it's nothing personal, and it's not some ego thing, but it is our work and I figure he'd like to have some sort of control over distribution. I mean, sure it's free, but it's also our intellectual property. 
Note: Pretty much none of us are more than amateurs at best--quite a few of us have next to no experience with acting or just recently got into this--and the Grace Drama Department (or whatever the proper name for it is) is sort of new and on a small budget. This play is also intended to be bilingual (the Spanish service hadn't had much experience with these sorts of things). We do this to give glory to God and because we can.