Extra! Extra! I saw NEWSIES. Read all about it!

I walked in thinking it would be a show about a bunch of paper boys singing,dancing,and jumping around....

I was right.

 Plot

If you want me to spoil it for you, I wont. If you want me to give you a general idea of why these boys are dancing all over the place and singing about how shit is unfair, then I guess I could tell you.

Without giving too much, Newsies is about the struggle between the publishers of newspapers, and the paperboys (Newsies) who would sell the papers to consumers. The Publishers try to make it harder for the Newsies to sell papers, and the Newsies band together and go on strike. 

Thoughts

Newsies, and/or musicals in general are sort of hard to give reviews on. First off, you have to actually like musicals to begin to really critique them. If you go into a musical hating musicals, I'm pretty sure you will want a refund no matter what you see. I on the other hand appreciate musicals enough to sing them in the shower, so of course I had to go see Newsies for myself. The long and the short of it is that I liked every second of the musical. The score for the musical was good, the dancing and/or jumping was very entertaining, and the acting was pretty good. Aside from the over exaggerated New York accents, the actors really made me believe they were paperboys (paper men?) standing up for what they believed in.

If that's not enough to snare you into giving this musical a chance, I will leave you with this...

THERE'S A PART WHERE THEY WERE FREAKING TAP DANCING. IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING.

Okay now what?

Go watch it.

The Price of Freedom

I paid some dude $30 to lock me in a room.

     Today I did something a little different with my leisure time. I decided to visit an escape room.

      An escape room is exactly what it sounds like. The basic premise is that you pay someone to lock you in a room,  they give you a set of conditions or clues, and then you try your best to escape from said room within a certain time limit. I took on this challenge, and I was ready to get down to it. Then, twelve other Asians arrived...

How many Sherlocks does it take to get out of a room?

    THIRTEEN. Yes, it apparently takes thirteen people to be put into a room to solve how to get out of it.

     As I arrived to solve this escape room, I was met with twelve other like-minded souls. At first I thought this was a problem, I also thought to myself that these 'simpletons' would get in my way and slow me down...

Thank God I was wrong. 

     The host took us to a room called 'Sherlock's Study'. The room itself looked like what you think a study might look like. Lots of books, a grandfather clock, portraits on the wall, etc. After he corralled us inside, he gave us a little speech and some rules and locked the door, and started the timer.

It's like CLUE. No it's not.

     **I DON'T  WANT TO BE TOO SPECIFIC IN CASE PEOPLE WANT TO GO**

     As soon as the door locked we all went to work. We looked through the bookshelves, ransacked desks, and basically looked under anything that was not fastened or bolted to the floor. After this 5 min raid for clues, we all pooled our resources and put the clues we gathered on the desk and tried to make sense of them. Some clues led to even bigger puzzles, while some seemed like obvious red herring's. Regardless, our team of detectives worked through each clue multiple times till we found our answers.

EVERYONE and ANYONE should do this.

     Going through the game made me realize that doing this with a diverse group of people is the most ideal. The game is great at naturally showcasing everyone's individual expertise. I saw many instances where someone that was good at math blow through a number cipher, but get hung up on a riddle. The room rewards those who are able to focus, but also rewards those who can think unconventionally. This out-of-the-box thinking helped us gather many more clues which eventually lead us out of the room. It is clear to see that the best way to get out of the room is to have the most diverse team.

5:42

     It took us almost the whole hour to find the final code to final room to the final lock to the final key to get out of the room finally. With some time to spare, 5 minutes and 42 seconds to be exact, we all burst out of the room and back into the lobby where we celebrated in front of our host/warden. We initially walked into that room as skeptical strangers, and walked out as something more. We shared an hour, we shared a room, and we shared an experience that is hard to explain. 

Some things to consider

Were there alot more people there than I expected? Yes.

Was the admission kind of pricey? Yes.

Was it Fun? Hell Yes! 

     In the end I think that's all that really matters.Proving your intelligence or showing your skill is always fun, but it is nothing like the feeling of camaraderie you get when you all leave that room under the time-limit.

     I can see this kind of activity work well in an office setting as a team building exercise.

      It was my first time doing something like this, but it will not be my last. Supposedly places like this are popping up all over the southern California region. I really enjoyed this experience and look forward to going to and through many more places like this.

*Want to go?*

INFO:

Exodus Escape Room

5140 E La Palma Ave Unit 203, Anaheim, CA 92807

(714) 392- 7909

    http://exodusescaperoom.com/

**IF YOU MENTION MY NAME THEY WILL not GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT**

Imitation Crabs

OMG! He gave me shrimps!

(would be funnier if I ordered crabs... I see that now.)

** Out of respect for no one, I will change the name of the competitor**

 Shrimp in a bag, Boiling Lobster, Krusty Krab and restaurants like it are pretty obvious imitations of the Coiling Brab.(see what I did there?) 

I've been all over this great land we call southern California, and have eaten at many of these 'Seafood in a Bag' kind of restaurants. So much so, that I have compiled a Field Guide if you will to these kind of seafood shacks that seem to be popping up like Subways.

In my travels I have come across many factors that can set these restaurants apart from eachother. For the sake of time and because my own field guide is making me hungry, i picked out a couple of factors that the Imitation Crabs should consider if they want to become more popular

It seems like there are 3 things that can help these newcomers become more like the Coiling Brab.

1. The Sauce.  William Hung might ask "Is your sauce She-Bangy enough?" Of all the places i've been to, there's just something different and I guess I would have to say magical, about Coiling Brabs sauce.
   
   
2. Size Matters.  While I think 3.5 inches is pretty big. I've known some girls that want it bigger. It seems that the size of the shrimp is a big factor when it comes liking and returning to said restaurant. Case in point, Coiling Brab still has the biggest shrimp. Size matters. So does Family. (get it? No? Damn.)
   
   
3. The Waiting Game  No one likes to wait... Actually we do. People outside of Coiling Brab complain so much about that wait, but would they be there if there was no wait? Hell No. We Californians love to build hype and be apart of it no matter what you say. You wait at Pinks? You Wait at Kogi? You wait at Costco for the mini pizza lady but then let the salad dressing lady be all by herself? If you answered Yes to any of those congrats, want to go to Coiling Brab?

Although I'm sure there are many more factors to help these guys out that don't include mirroring every technique the Coiling Brab uses, the fact is I don't care. I like the Coiling Brab.

Though I understand the need for an identity in literal a sea of other crabs, I can't help but think of the idiom of imitation.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." - Some fucking Guy 

Do yourselves a favor and flatter the shit out of Coiling Brab.

**I call them like I eat them. **

Everyone else side-step your Crab game up

Movie Review - Cinderella (Don't salt your popcorn, your tears should do it)

If you look close enough, you can see my manhood and my dignity. Both of which have turned microscopic.

I saw this movie and loved it.

Okay there, I said it. Let me explain why.

Today I watched Disney's re imagining of their animated classic Cinderella. 

I could tell you that my expectations were high for it and that I was hyped to see it. 

I could have waxed poetically about why I loved this franchise and how seeing the retelling of this story would fulfill me in ways that other movies couldn't-- But I can't, and I wont.

Truthfully, I went into this movie preparing to dread every single second of it. I had no interest in any of the actors, or even the story itself for that matter.

 I mean I'm sure all of us have had this story drilled in our heads since we were kids, and I for one hated it even then. The premise of an orphan girl working for and living with people that were nothing but cruel to her, was a concept that, thankfully,  I could not relate to. 

Even more so, the chances of  a glass slipper fitting only one maiden in the kingdom made the whole 'Santa Clause is real' thing seem a little bit more plausible.

 Don't even let me get started on the mice with shirts and no pants... 

Before everyone starts sounding off, i understand this was a cartoon. I also understand that this was made for kids, and probably and more specifically aimed at the female populace.

That being said, and before this post turns into a tirade about things I hated in my childhood, I underestimated the fuck out of this movie.

This movie was so good in so many ways, that it instantly made me forget about Disney's first animated attempt at this story, and made me accept this new Cinderella story as cannon in the Disney universe.

Before I get more into the feature film, I guess I should preview that with reviews of the previews.

WHO REVIEWS PREVIEWS?!?!?! - I DO.

First off, the previews were pretty good. At the theatre I attended we saw another trailer for Tommorowland which actually started to show signs of a plot. It was mostly George Clooney being Clooney in that Clooney kind of voice, while some action happened around him.

The second trailer was for a re imagining of Peter Pan, but done in live action (which we have seen before) The interesting thing about this live-action adaptation of Peter Pan is that it's kind of a prequel. Without spoiling too much of the trailer, it looks like you see the beginnings of never never land, the lost boys, and Peter and Captain Hook's relationship.

After that, some Dreamworks new movie thing about a blob or a slob or a glob. You decide.

I think after that the FROZEN FEVER short played which I must admit was pretty awesome. I don't know what the FROZEN writers are doing, but whatever they are doing is working. Oh, I heard earlier this week that FROZEN 2 is green lit so yay.

Okay, so let's praise the shit out of this movie...

The casting for this movie was amazing. Every, and I mean every, character played their part spot on, and made me believe that they were actually part of this make-believe world.

In my opinion, the way that you can tell a person is a good actor/actress is how they play a villain. The way Cate Blanchett played the wicked step-mother was perfect. I believed that she was wicked, cruel, and basically the spawn of Satan. A good villain makes you want to kill,strangle, or maim them in some way. Through the course of the movie, I felt like doing this numerous times.

For every evil there must be a good, and that comes in the form of Cinderella played by Lily James.

Cinderella herself was fair and kind, and most importantly, believable. I didn't question that she was too kind and too perfect to a fault, and that she seemed  too positive all the time. I didn't even think to question how she could talk to animals. 

All I  ended up caring about was that she was so good, in a world that became so rotten, and that somehow or someway she would have the strength to get through it, and get her 'happily ever after'.

 WHAT ARE THESE FEELINGS I AM FEELING???

To tell you that this movie brought out some feelings in me would be an understatement. As soon as this movie started I was all over the emotional scale. It is very rare that I have experienced so many different emotions in a short amount of time.

 Although I did not actually shed a tear, the sensitive side inside me that I keep buried under the monster trucks, guns, and strippers was crying all over the place, and drowning in tears. Like i said, I DID NOT CRY (repeat until someone believes you) but, I did get choked up enough where another sip of Mr. Pibb became warranted.

This movie appeals to the most primal needs of someones emotions which in my opinion is to find someone to love, and to be loved. Although it tugged at the heart strings, it was a good kind of tug. The kind of tug that is needed sometimes. The kind of tug that sets us apart from the Robots- which will someday reign over us lowly homo sapiens and start the age of the CYBER EMPIRE!.... But i'm getting ahead of myself. 

This movie delivered in spades, and I cannot recommend it enough. 

Without making this post much longer, the only thing I could say to someone who is on the fence about watching this is...

GO WATCH IT, BRING TISSUES

If you feel nothing seeing this, then you can skip Cinderella.

What to expect...

I wake up.

I get dressed.

I go to work.

I get off of work.

I get hungry.

I eat.

I sleep.

Repeat

This blog, if you choose to call it that, will serve to give detail to those events listed above, and everything in between that I deem important.

Since you have to start somewhere, I decided to start here. This is less of a actual blog post, and more of a proclamation.

So, with all that said, welcome to my first proclamation.