Currently....

...reading

1. Texbooks

I’m a college student. 'Nuff said. 

2. “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie

Technically, I’m not reading this yet. But I’ve gotten it from my library for my Kindle. That’s close enough, right? Honestly, though, I do plan to start reading it soon. This is going to be my homework breaks this weekend (and it’s basically my best chance to read. This week was devoted to law, and next week will be to Cedars.)

Anyways, I digress. I saw Cedarville’s theatre production of “And Then There Were None” a couple years ago, and I loved it. It was my introduction to CU theatre, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

I’ve never actually read the book, so now seemed like just as good of a time as any other to do so. Also, it’ll count to my 40 books this year goal (Just so y’all know, for a book to qualify, I can’t have read it before.). I’m really excited to start it!

...watching

1. “Horrible Histories”

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to list all the kings and queens of England but couldn’t? Do you need a refresher on history?

If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, then “Horrible Histories” is for you!

“Horrible Histories” is a children’s show on the BBC, which ran for 5 seasons, with the final season coming out just last year. Based off the series of books of the same name, “Horrible Histories” is a Monty Python-esque show, teaching history through sketches and parodies.

This show is definitely aimed at children (c’mon, it’s hosted by a rat puppet named “Rattus Rattus,” and, yes, I am serious.)

My favorite segments of the show are the songs. 

What better way is there to learn about the Incan priests than a parody of “Stayin’ Alive” (in “Horrible Histories,” it’s “Ain’t Stayin’ Alive”)? Or maybe you have trouble keeping straight Henry VIII’s six wives? Well, there’s a song for that (complete with hand motions!) – “The Wives of Henry VIII: Divorced, Beheaded & Died.” 

And who doesn’t love a good “High School Musical” parody, especially when it’s about vicious Spartans? Of course, there’s also always a time when you need to know who the four most evil Roman emperors were. But where could you find that and learn it in a catchy song? Oh, that’s right – “Horrible Histories” in “The Evil Emperor’s Song.”

But the sketches in the show hold their own against the music. My favorite sketch is “HH Movie Pitch,” where historical figures come in and (unsuccessfully) try to pitch the story of their lives to the produces. The producers always try to turn the truthful story into some huge, dramatic, partially fictional blockbuster. One time, Alfred the Great spent the entire pitch trying to convince the panel to not typecast him as “cake guy.”

2. A lot.

Some of you know that I have kinda geeky taste in my TV shows (and if you didn’t, now you do). Yes, I enjoy watching “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock.” Yes, I did spend a lot of the most recent season of “Sherlock” yelling at my computer because it was so frustrating. No, this isn’t a problem.

But I do watch other, less geeky shows. And I’m juggling quite a few at the moment.

“NCIS” – I’ve been watching NCIS for several years now (definitely more than 5, not sure exactly how long, though). I’m several episodes behind, but I’ll catch up.

“NCIS: LA” – For the longest time, I refused to watch this spin-off. How could they take my beloved characters and just create a spin-off? How could it possibly be as good as the original? My family and I started watching in the last year or so, and I’m hooked.

“Chuck” – I started watching “Chuck” recently (if you can’t tell, I like the action-adventure-crime-drama-type show). It’s a little weird when you start watching it, but trust me. It gets better. And better. And better. Just wait – you’ll find yourself trying to resist watching just one more episode on Netflix.

“White Collar” – This show might win first place for the worst, most painful cliffhangers at the end of seasons. “White Collar” is currently between seasons, so I am here waiting patiently (mostly) for the next season.

“Once Upon A Time” – Yes, this is a little more on the geeky side, but it’s so good! Take fairy tale characters and put them in this world? Great! Add an evil witch? So good. Create a scenario in which everybody in the town doesn’t remember who they are/what happened? Even better.

There’s more that I watch than this, and more that I want to start watching. I started “Supernatural” over break, but I’m not that far into it (note: don’t watch the first episode by yourself in the dead of night. Creepy.). I’ve started watching BBC’s new series “The Musketeers” (very, very loosely based off the books by Alexandre Dumas). And I watched an episode of BBC’s “Doc Martin” over break, and I want to watch more of the series. 

So, yeah. Check some of these out!

...listening to

1. “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” soundtrack

I’ve been obsessed with the soundtrack to “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” for quite a while now. I love listening to movie soundtracks because I can experience the movie again without actually watching it. They’re perfect for listening to while doing homework and fit my criteria for such music (interesting and dynamic enough to keep me awake, but without lyrics to distract me). On this soundtrack, however, my favorite song actually doesn’t play during the movie itself – it’s during the credits. “I See Fire” was written, composed and performed by Ed Sheeran. This song captures the tone of the movie well and is the perfect bow on the package. 

2. “Wicked” soundtrack

As my unitmates can attest, I’m either listening to the “Desolation of Smaug” soundtrack or to “Wicked.” They’re probably a little tired of hearing them, but I love both these soundtracks.

I had the privilege to see “Wicked” on Broadway over Christmas break, and I was hooked.

I’d heard the music before. My choir had sung it. I learned some in voice lessons. And I liked the music then. But now? Addicted.  

Why do I love it so much? Two words – Idina Menzel (Adele Dazeem?). Idina is so talented that I can’t even begin to do her justice.

First of all, she’s an alto. I’m an alto. I can sing all of her parts. And there’s nothing better than belting out “Defying Gravity” or “No Good Deed” when you have a particularly annoying or stressful piece of homework to do.

Second, she pours so much emotion into her performance. Unfortunately, the closest I have come to seeing her perform is me sitting at my laptop watching YouTube videos. But still, she pours everything she has into Elphaba.

What are you currently reading/watching/listening to?

Radio Dramas and Audiobooks, Part 1

I love reading and good stories, but I don’t always have the time or ability to read a physical book (like when driving. Holding a book really wouldn’t go well). So, what do I do? Enter radio dramas and audiobooks.

I started listening to radio dramas when I was little (“Adventures in Odyssey,” anyone?). Then, on the most magical of nights, my mom came home from the homeschool convention and gave me my first set of audiobooks. Technically these are classified as radio theatre, but they’re based off of one of my favorites book series, so I've always thought of them as audiobooks.

Anyways, you might think there’s a limit to how many times a little girl can listen to the same cassettes of “Adventures in Odyssey,” but there’s really not. It was (and still is) the same way.

“Ok, I get it,” you say. “You love radio dramas and audiobooks. But why should I care?”

Radio dramas and audiobooks allow you to immerse yourself in another world while still being able to do things (such as driving or cleaning your room. I know. These examples are totally similar). But that is their beauty. They allow all the adventures of reading without holding a physical book and actually reading. And they’re just plain fun.

My family listens to radio dramas every Sunday night after Awana. If we pack everything up quickly enough, we can listen to all of “Dragnet,” then part of “Gunsmoke” before stopping for dinner. I’m not entirely sure what airs after that because the programming shifts around and I’m normally at least partially asleep for the rest of the trip.

For the Christmas break drive of my sophomore year, my dad came and picked me up, and we listened to Canadian radio the whole way home (Yes, Canadian radio. No, I don’t live anywhere near Canada). During that drive, I discovered a “new” radio drama – “I Was A Communist for the FBI.” The title really says it all. It’s about a guy who was a Communist for the FBI (Fascinating, right?).

At school, I still listen to my audiobooks all the time. There’s really only two series I listen to at the moment, but they’re each seven books long. My mom gave me Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre’s “The Chronicles of Narnia” when I was little, and my brother-in-law gave me all the Harry Potter audiobooks last year.

So far this semester, I’ve listened to all the Harry Potter audiobooks and am currently working my way through “Narnia” again.

My Harry Potter audiobooks were read by Jim Dale, an English actor/voice artist/singer/songwriter. He just reads the books, but he created a specific voice for every character, plus his natural voice as the narrator. He actually holds a Guinness World Record for creating and recording 146 different character voices for one audiobook, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

Dale’s smooth voice draws you into the story, and his characters’ voices are spot on. It is extremely easy to tell all his characters apart, so I don’t have to be paying super close attention to keep up with the storyline.

“The Chronicles of Narnia” has always been one of my favorite book series. I read them when I was young (but only “The Horse and His Boy” when I was little, because I was scared of the others) and still love the stories (though I do read all of them now). Focus on the Family’s adaptation of the stories was excellently done. The radio dramas cover the entire plot of the book, keeping entire blocks of dialogue exactly as written in the book, while still condensing them.

Focus on the Family always has wonderful voice actors, and these dramas are no exception. The actors connected with their characters and, with the emotion in their voices, it’s easy to visualize the scenes.

One of my favorite parts of the dramas isn’t part of the books themselves – it’s the intros and closings by Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis’s stepson. Gresham shares stories from his childhood and experiences with first meeting Lewis then of the other times they spent together. These anecdotes richen the experience of listening to the dramas by providing some backstory.

I still have a ways to go before I finish the series (I’m only on “The Horse and His Boy”), but that’s what long car rides home for break are for!

Stay tuned for the next installment of “Radio Dramas and Audiobooks.”

Aristophanes' 'The Frogs'

I’m currently reading Aristophanes’ “Frogs.” How did I choose this? Well, I love Greek literature! I’ve read (actually, translated) part of “Frogs” before - way back in my senior year of high school.  When I got my Kindle, I discovered that I could download “Frogs” for free. Score! I’m only through 22 percent of the book (thank you, Kindle), and we won’t be covering even all of that here. (If you're interested, I'm primarily talking about lines 60-184)

Here’s a little bit of background before I dive into the play.

Aristophanes was a Greek playwright who lived circa 445 - circa 385 B.C. and wrote in the style of Athenian Old Comedy (these plays were all satires). This style is now sometimes known as Aristophanic comedy because only Aristophanes’ works have survived - we have 11 complete Aristophanic plays as well as either parts or titles of 32 others. “Frogs,” a satire on Greek drama, won first place at the festival of the Lenaea in 405 B.C.

Anyways, now that you’ve had a mini ancient Greek history and culture lesson, let’s get back to the play. In “Frogs,” Dionysus, the Greek god of theatre is traveling to the underworld. Why? He believes that Athens doesn’t have any more good poets left, so he’s going to go get Euripides (a tragic playwright who had died the previous year) and bring him back.

But to bring him back, they first need to get to Hades, so Dionysus and his slave turn to Dionysus’ half-brother Heracles for some help. Dionysus wants to get to Hades by the quickest way, but he also wants to be picky about it. Heracles suggests three ways for Dionysus to get to the underworld - hanging himself, taking hemlock or throwing himself off a tall tower. But Dionysus, being the lazy wimp that he is, says hanging is too stifling, hemlock too cold and jumping just not for him. Of course, there’s a fourth option - Dionysus can just go down to the lake and pay for the boatman to take him to the underworld. Convenient, right?

When Dionysus and Xanthias leave Heracles’ house, Xanthias is so tired of carrying the luggage that he begs his master to hire someone else. But who would even think about taking a job carrying bags down to Hades? Someone already on their way who wants to make a little extra money. Oh, wait. Most of those people are dead. So, Dionysus attempts to hire a corpse as a porter, but he snagged the most disagreeable corpse possible. This corpse insists that he be paid two drachmas, and Dionysus tries to bargain with him, offering instead nine obols (equal to one and a half drachmas). The corpse will have none of that, saying, “I would rather be alive again.” This section, by far, is one of my favorites in the book. Who doesn’t love a sassy corpse?

This play is beautiful to read in English, but it has lost some of the subtleties from the Greek construction. The sarcasm and plays on words are more powerful in Greek, especially with the translation I’m reading. You know the phrase “lost in translation”? Well, for me, there is definitely some humor and snark missing in the translation I’m reading, but it’s still well-worth the read (and, if I remember correctly, there’s an epic dead playwright smackdown in Hades near the end).

You can read "Frogs" here (or if you desire it in Greek, here).

This is me

I am a writer.

Now that you know that much about me (and I’ve already put myself in a box), let me introduce myself. I’m Lauren Eissler (nice to meet you, reader!), and I’m a junior journalism major at Cedarville University. But that’s just part of my life. Journalism is a big part because of my classes and my job at the student paper, Cedars, but that’s not all there is to me. I love telling stories - either my own or others’ through journalism. Through this blog, I will be telling my stories. Part of that will be about my journalism experiences, but other parts might come through cooking or reading books.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ll be writing about:

• Cooking dairy-, corn-, tomato- and chocolate-free This doesn’t sound too intense, and for some recipes it’s not. But then there are others that are full of these foods. So I’m currently working on finding good alternatives to homemade spaghetti, chips and salsa, and cheesecake, just to name a few recipes. There's also a lot of simple substitutions to make that I'll be sharing also!

• What to do with old magazines Last semester, I had a magazine subscription. Even though I don’t have the subscription this semester, I still have about 15 magazines hanging out in one of my desk drawers just waiting to be turned into some Pinterest-y craft.
• Books I’m reading For Christmas, I got a Kindle. This year, I've set a goal on Goodreads to read 40 books. So far, I’ve read four. I still have a ways to go for this goal and a lot of year left to get it done, so I’m excited!

So come on by and join as I embrace blogging and share my stories with y'all.