The Sandy Block

Tumblr

2008-04-29T23:22:00.001-04:00

Wow, it's been quite a long time since I've written in here. Nobody probably ever read this, but just in case you want to keep up with me now I've moved over to Tumblr. My new website is http://musicalrambling.com. I < 3 Tumblr.

-Tucker

2007-08-07T04:53:00.000-04:00

This is a new post to my blog. Does this thing still work?

Green Room Radio Returns!

2006-11-16T23:53:00.000-05:00

I'm so glad Erich decided to continue Green Room Radio. It was one of my favorite podcasts for awhile but new episodes stopped appearing. It seemed like he had abandoned the show. But, a new post in the show's website says that a new episode will be out within the week! He basically talks about stuff and interviews people from the theatre world, the music biz, basically showbusiness in general. It's a wonderful show and I can't wait for the new episode.

Green Room Radio Trackback

High School Musical Audition

2006-11-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is my audition for the Theatre of the Stars production of High School Musical. I have headshots, a resume, and a song (plus an extra one if needed). I'm excited and nervous! Tomorrow at 10:00am. That's the time i'm supposed to be there. Here goes!

Chicago - Ambassador Theater

2006-10-30T21:03:00.001-05:00

Chicago - Broadway Play, originally uploaded by melmashman.

We're doing this show! I can't wait until we start doing runthroughs so we can see our finished product!

And our shows are like Broadway caliber stuff (well, maybe not quite). Pretty impressive.

Ships destroyed

2006-10-29T21:31:00.001-05:00

Ships destroyed, originally uploaded by corsairstw.

Me in New Orleans, looking over the devastation in the marina - over a year after the storm.

A cool weekend

2006-10-14T21:54:00.000-04:00

I took the SAT for the second time today at Westminster. I came into the test feeling very confident and I think I did a good job (better than last time, at least)! About half-way through I thought to myself, "I think I'm really nailing these questions right on the head and getting them right." We'll see how my grade reflects my effort in about a month, I guess when the scores come in. I also got to see Cooper afterwards and we chatted for awhile, before I headed off to the Pace Fair with Brian and Will Gray. Kate and I were going to see a movie later, but she had to go to the emergency room! Something about a volleyball game gone awry. Hope you're not too doped up now, Kate.

Tonight, Ginny and I went to see "The Dining Room" at Lovett and I reckon it's the best play I've seen at that school (given, I've only seen 2). It was impressive to say the least. As an extra surprise, Eliza invited me to PDC in a very creative way (extra points, Eliza!) That's going to be very fun. And of course she was amazing as a mother, and an adulterous wife ;-).

Demain, I'm heading off to acolyte at church and then going to Galaxy Music Theater with the theater club to help them with various things around their space. I'm looking forward to that.

Oh yeah... I have to fit my homework and college-app time in there somewhere... yeah...

Tragedy

2006-10-03T22:33:00.000-04:00

Sometimes bad things happen randomly. I don't know why they happen, nobody does. I went to Henry's funeral today and participated as an acolyte in the service. It frightens me that something could happen to such a good kid - that it could happen to anybody. He will be missed by everyone on Earth but I know he will continue to do God's will even after death. Henry, we all care for you and know you're alright.

Blue White Red

2006-09-22T15:22:00.001-04:00

blue white red, originally uploaded by bratan.

Vive la France!

Pulp Fiction

2006-09-17T21:33:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally saw this movie. I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E. Tarantino's quite a director. And apparently, I can spell! I also took the ACT on saturday, which was no fun at all. We had Ginny's surprise party today over at Capital City, and I'm not in the mood to write anything else, so watch these scenes from Pulp Fiction. And for you Facebook people reading this, you'll have to click "view original post" to see the movies 'cuz Facebook don't allow embedded movies.

Opening scene:

Restaurant dance scene:

Finally, a weekend

2006-09-08T22:23:00.000-04:00

Got through a short week that seemed extremely long for some reason. School's ramping up and getting harder, though French is still incredibly easy ;-). I auditioned for Octet and Troubadors and probably got into both. I'm thinking tenor 2 in Octet, and tenor in troubs. It's weird, I sing tenor sometimes, bass sometimes, baritone, blah. They just put me wherever they need me, shows, chorus, ensembles...

Anyway, went to the annual theater club cookout and movie at Pace where we watched "The Producers." I don't think I could ever get tired of that movie. It's just that hilarious. Mel Brooks is currently working on a "Young Frankenstein" musical for Broadway, that should impress, as anything he touches does.

Tomorrow, I have 2 fencing tournaments at my club. Local atlanta people, mostly and I think a few people from out of town. Wish me luck!

Here's me, playing the harmonica. I used to be really good at it! I bought a harmonica on the drive back from Michigan when I was probably 8 or 9, and taught myself to play it. "Ode to Joy" was the first song I learned how to play! Sorry for the choppy video. This iMac G4 doesn't take very good video from my iSight.

Life goes on.

2006-09-05T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm getting through school pretty well. It feels great to be a senior 'cause we have so many privileges. We get the senior cellar all to ourselves, we're going to get open campus pretty soon, the teachers don't treat us like underclassmen anymore. Everything's pretty awesome.
Since I got to choose most of my classes, I actually feel motivated to do the work (haha we'll see how long that holds up) so I'm going to do better. Plus, French this year is going to be a breeze. I took AP last year and learned everything about French grammar. The only thing left to learn would be some vocab which is basically a cinch.

I got back yesterday from spending Labor Day weekend with my cousins and grandparents in Dallas. Having the entire family together is always overwhelming but I like getting to see them all at least once a year. Uncle Robert and his family didn't come because they just moved into their new house in New Orleans and school just started for them. Oh, and let me tell you, I played Dance Dance Revolution. INSANELY FUN. I need to get the "Mario Mix" version for Gamecube :0) .

Chicago rehearsals going as normal. Slowly for me since I'm not in too many scenes. It IS nice to have more time for doing other things besides being stuck at Pace for practices.

It's me, Amos

2006-08-28T16:06:00.000-04:00

Well, the cast list went up for "Chicago" and I wasn't too surprised. I got Amos Hart, Roxie's husband. During the whole ordeal, auditions, callbacks, I kept feeling progressively worse about scoring the lead role, Billy Flynn. When the reading callbacks came around, I only got to read for Amos and Doc had me do this kooky, cracky high voice. I didn't even get to read for Billy. After callbacks I was fairly certain I wasn't going to get it... I have a whole theory about why all this happened and it leads back to one event but I'm not going to go into that now. If you want to hear about it, contact me in person.

Anyhoo, I am disappointed but also looking forward to it. Having a smaller role may be a blessing. A) It's a fun role (not gonna lie). B) I'll have more time for fencing. C) I'll be able to concentrate more on school and applications for college, along with college audition preparation. So, we're going to the "meet the directors" night this evening. Something that made me feel a little better about it was BBT asked me if I was ok when I came in for music theory. I told her yeah, I'm disappointed, but I'm going to have fun. That's what it's all about.

I never got a role that I wanted in a musical at Pace, but I've had some fun. Now I need to go read "Arcadia".

Oh, also, I just found out that John C. Reilly got nominated for an Oscar when he played Amos in the "Chicago" movie in 2002. Maybe I'll do even better than him ;-).

Chicago

2006-08-24T13:03:00.001-04:00

I auditioned for "Chicago" last night. I will say that it went pretty well. I felt really strong on my song but I forgot a line in my monologue and got stuck. Jeff helped me out though and gave me the line. I was fine from then on. The talent pool is very strong this year as I said in my last post. The chorus is going to be powerful. So, I got a music callback for tonight, then dance auditions, then probably reading callbacks. After that, it's off to the senior party! 007, baby!

School's getting nearer

2006-08-23T11:36:00.000-04:00

This is my last week of freedom before school starts.

Last thurs, spent the night at Carter's house and we camped out. It was sort of a going-off party for Carter because he's going to boarding school. Robert was also there! I hadn't seen Robert since the summer that he left so it was awesome to get to talk to him again.

Dad got back from the camp alumni weekend in NC on Sunday and Ginny and I had our first choir rehearsal. After that, my family went to go see "Cars" at the Fox Theatre, shown with a new fancy shmancy digital projector. The picture quality was almost unbelievable. I can't wait until all the movie theaters move to this new technology! It was also raining the whole time when Ginny and I walked to the theatre to buy tickets and we only had one small umbrella... Yeah, you can probably imagine how that one worked out.

The first night of auditions for "Chicago" were last night. I went to check it out, you know, INTIMIDATE THE COMPETITION! Haha, actually not. We have some very talented people auditioning this year. I have a feeling it's going to be an amazing show. I did find it kind of odd that some people auditioned with songs from "Chicago." That's supposed to be a big no-no for auditions, but this is a high school, so I guess it doesn't really matter. I'm going tonight to perform my song and monologue. Callbacks and dance auditions are tomorrow!

Also, we're having the senior party and spend the night on thurs. I have yet to convince my mom to let me go... any suggestions? She doesn't like the idea of us all spending the night in the same house and coming to school in the morning.

"Come on mom, there will be chaperones and it's a tradition!"
"Well, some traditions aren't good"
"But, it's my senior year"
"Too bad."

GRRRRRRrrrrrr... I 'll go, through wind, sleet, snow, or ice... I'll go.

2006-08-15T23:26:00.000-04:00

One of the Worst The Price Is Right Players Ever

This is incredible... Just watch as this girl fails then wins at life. I can't believe it. Hahahaha

How I met David Hasselhoff

2006-08-10T00:28:00.000-04:00

Well… It’s kind of strange. I was in a voice (singing) lesson one day and my teacher was telling me about how she grew up with David Hasselhoff and they were great friends growing up, yada yada yada.

Zoom forward a few months. I was seeing “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” on Broadway with a camp that I was at for the summer of 2005. The show was interrupted because one of the actors had a vocal issue and couldn’t sing. So, they stopped the show. The actors were all confused and then they were told to go backstage over the loudspeaker.

Then, the loudspeaker voice came on again. “Mr. Hasselhoff, is there a Mr. Hasselhoff in the house? Would you please make your way up to the stage?” David Hasselhoff was in the audience and they were asking him to spell a word while we were waiting for the understudy!!!

Of course, I was freaking out because I was like “My voice teacher KNOWS him!!!” So, after the show, everyone was crowding him and I made my way up to him. “Mr. Hasselhoff? I think you know my voice teacher, Mandy?”

“MANDY!!! I love MANDY!!!”
“Um.. yeah, she said you and her were good friends.” Of course, I’m nervous as all getout.
“Here, give her this.” He pulls out a signed headshot and writes his PHONE NUMBER on the back! I got David Hasselhoff’s phone number! He told me not to give it to anyone but Mandy and I delivered it when I got back home.

His daughter was also there and she took a picture of him with my group. It was a great night! The show was amazing and I met David Hasselhoff!

Learn more about David Hasselhoff

2006-08-07T19:50:00.000-04:00

Boston University Fine Arts Building

2006-08-01T10:19:00.000-04:00

BU Fine Arts Building

How to Improve Your Memory

2006-07-31T21:50:00.000-04:00

I ran across this on wikihow.com and decided to share it. This article contains some helpful tips on improving your memory. Maybe it'll help me memorize my lines for my next play or memorize a date in history class! A very interesting read.

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Memory

Wouldn’t it be nice to just look at a page and never forget what was on there? What if you could never again forget a friend’s birthday? The bad news is, almost all scientific experts agree that photographic memory—the ability to recall facts, images, and events perfectly—simply doesn’t exist. The good news, however, is that everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started.
Steps

1. Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly “exercising" the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

2. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures."

3. Reduce stress. Chronic stress, althought it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.

4. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.

5. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

6. Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

7. Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or the date of the Battle of Hastings, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.

8. Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.

9. Use mnemonics. Mnemonics, also called “mnemonic devices" are memory aids. There are a wide variety of mnemonics suitable for different tasks. Some are very simple, such as “first-letter" mnemonics: the nonsense name Roy G. Biv, for example, uses the first letters of each of the colors of the spectrum in order. Mnemonics of increasing complexity, such as creating a story which includes things you need to remember, or creating a sentence the words of which correspond to a series of digits (the number of letters in each word is the next number in the series) can be used to remember longer or more complex ideas. One of the most powerful mnemonics is the “memory palace," a mental journey that can be used to remember almost anything.

10. Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).

Tips

* Most people’s brains are not very good at remembering abstract information, such as numbers. The key to being able to recall such things is to build associations and links that evoke the memory. This is why almost anybody with normal brain functioning can dramatically improve their ability to recall things using mnemonics. While building a memory palace, for example, actually requires that you "remember" more, by associating the thing to be remembered with other things (emotions, other memories, images, etc.) you build more mental "links" to the memory, thus making it easier to access.

* A large number of memory improvement products are available (a search on the internet will produce hundreds of such products). Most of these products actually teach you mnemonic strategies, and while some are no doubt bunk, some are legitimate.
* One easy method to help you remember people’s names is to look at the person when you are introduced and say the person’s name: "Nice to meet you, Bill."

* Try memorizing the order of a deck of playing cards. Although this may seem like a pointless task, it will allow you to discover memorization techniques that work best for you.

* Put black ink at the end of your palm to remember any important thing for the next day or for that day itself. Whenever you see the black dot, you'll remember what to do.

* Visualize whatever you have to do as part of something you see every day. For example, if you have to give your dog some medicine, visualize your dog in your fridge every time you walk past it or look inside. This will keep your dog fresh in your mind.

* Write the event or task down immedietely. If you don't have a pen, one thing you can do is change the time on your watch; later on you will remember why it is set at the wrong time. You could also wear your watch upside down.

* Write in a diary or journal every day without fail. Even small issues should be written down -- this is a good way to make sure you don't miss anything.

* Leave yourself a telephone message reminding yourself of important "to do" tasks.

* Memorize your favorite song or poem until you can say it to yourself without any help. Try to do this often.

* Stop smoking marijuana. It decreases your short term memory.

Warnings

* If you notice a severe or sudden deterioration of memory, talk to your doctor immediately. Sometimes "senior moments" can be precursors to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

* While improving your ability to recall things can make a lot of tasks easier, it does not guarantee any sort of success in life.

* Exercise due diligence when purchasing a memory improvement product. Find out as much as you can about how the program works, and do your own research to determine if it will work for you. Some of these products are simply scams. Be especially wary of products that promise to improve your memory instantly or with little or no effort: effective strategies to improve recall take time and practice.

* While some herbal supplements that claim to improve memory may in fact work, there is no conclusive evidence that any of these are effective. Most are harmless, however, and may be worth a try, but exercise caution: some supplements can have harmful effects, and not all contain what they say they contain.

RIZR Love

2006-07-30T18:30:00.000-04:00

Look at this phone...It's called the RIZR. I think I know what my next phone is going to be.

Doesn't that just look amazing?

Back in Atlanta

2006-07-28T22:47:00.000-04:00

I'm back home. The trip was wonderful. After visiting Choate, we got to Boston and saw Emerson and Boston U. I really liked both of them, maybe Emerson a little bit more. The facilities at Emerson are so modern it's almost like working in a professional setting. The fine arts building at BU was a little lacking (namely ceiling panels missing, etc.). The building used to be a used car dealership and was converted for classroom use. Both of them have great BFA programs for acting and musical theater. Actually, BU only has acting - but I think I still want to consider it for now.

A rather strange thing happened on the Emerson tour. We had the info session and then they broke us up into groups of two for the tours. The kid I ended up with with had introduced himself as being "from Paris" and named Jordan. My mom asked them where in Paris they lived (since we had lived there also). The woman said they live in the 16th Arrondissement. That's where we lived! In Square Lamartine! It gets stranger. Then, out of curiosity, I asked the boy where he goes to school. He said, "Ecole Active Bilingue Jeannine Manuel." That's where I went to school! So, it turns out that he knows lots of people that I was in school with along with my teachers. I asked him to say hi to them for me :-).

And tonight I saw "Miami Vice" with Avi. I was really excited about this movie. Michael Mann directed it - the one who directed Collateral which I love. And let me say, "Miami Vice" totally lived up to expectations. It was awesome.

Me in the car

The fountains at Ithaca

Dorm room at Vassar

Miami Vice

College Hunt '06

2006-07-25T23:36:00.000-04:00

I've seen a few schools so far. My mom and I flew in to Rochester, NY and we drove to Ithaca where we stayed in an old bed and breakfast. I got to see Cornell and Ithaca. Cornell was way too big and I didn't like it all that much but Ithaca was awesome. The theatre program there looks very intense and I feel like it would prepare anyone to go into the professional world. I want to go up in a few months and stay with Jeff for a night. We drove to Poughkeepsie this morning and I saw Vassar, which I also enjoyed. Shaina happened to be at the school so I saw her randomly and said "hi" while I was on the tour. Then, on the way to Boston we stopped by Choate Rosemary Hall where I got to see Liz and some people from camp last year! That was very fun. Now I'm in Boston to see Emmerson and Boston University. Jeff H. is in town for an acting camp at BU so I'm going to try to meet up with him tomorrow.

Later,
Tucker

2006-07-21T23:57:00.000-04:00

"Is It Any Wonder?" by Keane

This is a great new song and a cool video.

2006-07-21T23:48:00.000-04:00

Darius De Haas sings "King of the World"

This guy is incredible. he's definitely better than the performer on the origial cast recording of "Songs for a New World." This performance is truly flawless... I'm in awe.

Diggnation

2006-07-21T23:04:00.000-04:00

diggnation, originally uploaded by corsairstw.

Diggnation is probably my favorite weekly podcast. Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht sit around and discuss the hottest stories that week on digg.com. It's always a good time

http://revision3.com/diggnation

New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Trailer!

2006-07-21T23:01:00.000-04:00

This looks awesome. CGI ninja turtles running around the city! Check out the new teaser trailer that just got put up.

read more | digg story

Attack in Preparation

2006-07-21T23:00:00.000-04:00

Attack in preparation
Originally uploaded by corsairstw.

I'm on the right at the DivIII Summer Fencing Nationals in Atlanta this year. I did pretty well, got 29th place out of 211 opponents! Fencing is so much fun.

Welcome...

2006-07-21T20:59:00.000-04:00

This is my new blog. Hopefully it will get me interested in blogging again. I've gone through sort-of a lull and abandoned Xanga because I don't see much of a future in such a limited system. Blogs have revolutionized the standard media, why not take adavantage of such a wonderful opportunity?

Ok. Enough with my feelings on blogging. I will probably be uploading all sorts of stuff to this site. I'll use it for pictures, vodcasting, and audio (using Audioblogger). Here I go!