Little Shop of Horrors Review *Minor Spoilers*

Last night I went to see my friend perform in her first college musical, "Little Shop of Horrors." Having never seen the movie (or read the book, since apparently there's a book), I had no idea what to expect other than a giant plant as a main character. Boy was I in for a treat!

But before I get into that, I want to send a big shout-out to my friend Alex, who has been in the hospital for a couple of weeks now after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. Thankfully he is expected to make a full recovery, but the family could totally use some help with paying for the medical bills and whatnot. If you could lend a hand, we would be extremely grateful. Here's a link to their GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/qxfcpw

Alex has been a friend of mine for a couple of years now, and he's always been really good at making others laugh and see the bright side of things. We're very grateful that he's still with us today. <3

Now, on to the main event.

"Little Shop of Horrors," to put it simply, is about a clumsy young man who accidentally discovers a strange new type of plant that brings in a ton of business just when his shop is about to close down. The success is welcome at first, but it doesn't take long for him to discover that there is something not quite right with this new plant, which he calls Audrey II.

A very good portion of this show was made up of singing - like, at least half of it, probably more. I personally didn't mind since I'm a musical person and the songs were fun. My friend Cassie was in the very first and very last scene and had a couple of solos, which was awesome. The two songs I enjoyed the most were "Mushnik and Son" and "Feed Me." The acting was done well. I think the most convincing was either Mushnik or Audrey II. Least convincing were the various women who kept coming on to Seymour. (Keep in mind, I saw a live performance, NOT the movie.)

This horrific, musical comedy is definitely not what I thought it would be, and it didn't end the way I thought it would, either, which is fine by me. I really appreciate unpredictable endings because they are so rare nowadays. Many people around me in the theater didn't like the ending, but I thought it was completely fitting. Plus, I liked Audrey II's character (voiced by my old high school drama director, by the way).

That's all I've got this time! Make sure you check back here next week for more nerdy posts, and please go help my friend Alex and his family during this tough time. Thank you!

Random Nerdiness

Happy Easter! I got to thinking this past week: There are a lot of topics I want to cover that won't take up an entire post on their own, so I figured, why not combine them? That being said, here are a few things I've thought about in the past couple of months that I want to talk about.

First up: SEGA's relocation and refocus. The article speaks for itself, but to sum up, SEGA is eliminating hundreds of jobs, relocating to Southern California, and refocusing from console games to mobile devices (after the success of Sonic Dash and Sonic Jump). They have since released Sonic Runners. While I'm glad more new Sonic games are coming out, I'm really upset that the company is turning away from console gaming. That's what got Sonic started in the gaming world. It's sad to me that he is now reduced to the endless Green Hill Zone on a mobile device instead of being free to roam Mobius. However, if I had to choose between that and losing Sonic entirely, I would totally choose mobile devices. The Blue Blur is part of who I am. I never want to lose him.

Something more exciting in Sonic news is the announcement of Project Tikal! The guys who created Sonic Prologue, the successful fan film (not to be confused with SONIC, the one featuring Jaleel White), are now working on a new project. I have no idea what it will be about, but the teaser photo features a sunken Angel Island and the Death Egg I, so I'm pretty pumped!

Also, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG THE MOVIE IS COMING!!!

All right. Moving on to TMNT. Specifically, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, coming June 2016. Yes, it's official, it's happening, and I'm sorry for those Shellheads out there who didn't like the first movie. (Personally, I loved it and am now a proud owner of the DVD version.) I'm sure most of you already know this, but I'm going to say it anyway: Bebop and Rocksteady have been confirmed for the second movie, as well as Casey Jones, played by Stephen Amell (aka Arrow). There's also a rumor floating around about another human female...possibly Irma? That would be kind of interesting. We'll just have to see.

Now I'm going to switch gears here and talk about something completely different for me...Guardians of the Galaxy. Specifically Karen Gillan, who played Nebula. I have seen the movie twice now, and both times I watched it I kept thinking, "Is she really right for this role?" Don't get me wrong - I love Karen Gillan. She was Amy in the Doctor Who series, and she did exceptionally well in that role. I'm just wondering if taking on the villainous Nebula was a good fit for her. The evil side of her character seemed forced and she appeared awkward in certain scenes. Perhaps it's simply because I'm so used to her playing a heroine instead of a villain, but Karen Gillain didn't really seem like a good choice for Nebula. I loved the movie, though. The battle sequences between Nebula and Gamora were awesome. I do have to admit that.

Finally...it's Camp NaNoWriMo! During April and July, campers are allowed to set their own word goal and work on any project they want instead of being limited to a 50,000 word novel. For example, last July I won Camp by writing more than 10,000 words for my fanfiction story at the time (I was still writing Sonic) after having failed the previous April session. This April, my goal is 10,000 words towards my newest fanfiction (a TMNT fic). I'm already 2,831 words into it. There has been a major hiccup in my progress due to a friend of mine recently being hospitalized, but last I heard he was stable, and as soon as I know he'll be all right I'll get back to writing.

And that's all I've got for this week! You'd better hold on to your seats, though, because I've got a pretty big nerd rant coming your way soon. You've been warned. Again, Happy Easter, and I'll see you back here next time!

Spring Into Reading! (March Book Wrap-Up)

Well, its March 31st! That means it's time to update you on my reading / writing status. This month has not been very productive in either area, as I had originally planned to read five books and only read four. I also planned to do a lot of writing over my spring break, but things took a turn for the chaotic, so I ended up not writing almost anything. In fact, I had to inform my readers on Wattpad that there will not be regular updates for a while. I feel terrible, but right now, family and classes come first.

All that aside, let's get into it!

Writing
I did not begin work on "Follow the Raven" this month as I had originally planned. I have been in the brainstorming stage, however, so I am slowly making some progress. As far as my fanfiction on Wattpad goes, I did post a couple of chapters this month, but as I mentioned earlier, I have had to shift from regular updates to irregular ones. At least I'm not pulling a TMNT and waiting two months to give my readers anything new. I did that once (unintentionally) and it didn't end well. My current stats for "Dude, This is No Vacation" are as follows: 1,287 reads; 99 votes; and 32 comments.

Reading
This month I wanted to read five books since I had a week off during my spring break and had the extra time. Instead I used that time to catch up with things around the house and do some spring cleaning of sorts (you should see my bookshelf - it's amazing!). Anyway, that being said, these are the books I did manage to finish:

• Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
• Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Personally, I did not really care for Enchanted. Perhaps it was because it's a YA novel, but I have read several YA novels that were written much better and had way more interesting stories. This book was scattered, illogical, and a drag to finish. I would not recommend it. I would, however, recommend Lucid. It is really interesting to see how the characters struggle with their realities vs. their dreams, and when it all comes crashing down on them...just wow. It's amazing.

And that's all I've got for this month! Stay tuned for more nerdy posts in the near future. I've got some especially good ones concerning Sonic Boom coming your way. (FYI, TMNT has been put on pause until April 26.) See you next time!

TMNT Battle for New York *Spoilers*

Not gonna lie - I was not expecting this episode. I didn't know it was coming, I hadn't seen promos or heard anything about it, so when Andre mentioned it at the end of his review of Episode 11, I had a major fangirl moment and threw all other plans of getting enough sleep out the window in order to watch it early (thanks, nick.com!)

OH. MY. GOSH. There is so much awesome in this hour-long special! For real! I almost couldn't handle it all!

First off, the Mighty Mutanimals. (Kind of a cheesy name, but y'know...) I wasn't at all surprised to see Slash and Leatherhead return. It was so good to see Slash again. I really love his character. What did surprise me was the return of Pigeon Pete and Doctor Rockwell (characters we haven't seen since Season 1). I noticed right away that Rockwell's voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't until the end of the first part that I realized it was Tom Kenny - the voice of Gibson from SRMTHFG! (And Spongebob, since no one else reading this blog knows what the heck SRMTHFG! is.) It was so cool to hear Tom doing his Gibson voice again. As for Pigeon Pete, I was completely thrown off-guard by his reappearance. I'm not a huge fan of his character, but who knows? I might be surprised a few episodes down the road. As for Kurtsman, their benefactor...how is he not dead? He was shot in the back and somehow only walked away with a broken arm? I don't buy it.

Should I save the fangirl moment for the end? Nah, I'll just do it now - WAS THAT MONA LISA?!?! Ohhhh my gosh. I didn't even notice the first time through, but when I re-watched it with my brother about a week later I saw it and had to pause the video and take it in and proceed to run around the house sqee-ing. Now, I know she looks kind of...weird. BUT I think it was Mona for a couple of reasons. 1) Why would that picture be thrown in there randomly like that? 2) Raph totally liked what he saw. You know he did. 3) The fans have been begging for Mona to show up at some point. I think that was her first appearance! Of course, I can't confirm it, but I'm telling you, that had to have been Mona Lisa. Either that or - ugh - Venus, and I KNOW they wouldn't dare put her in the show. There would be an uprising.

THE TURTLE BLIMP made its first appearance, too! Cowabunga!!

Now for the big question: Was this episode the end of the Kraang?

Hear me out. I know they probably aren't gone for good (although I think Kraang Sub-Prime is toast now), but the way the plot unfolded and wrapped up in this episode made me think, "All right. That's it. No more Kraang." Reason being, their mutagen missile was stopped, every human they'd captured was returned to Earth, and they were all returned to Dimension X. And in the episode following this one, they are not around at all. All we see is whatever they left behind. I felt like this was a good way to wrap up the Kraang issue and focus soley on the Shredder and Karai and HUN (OMG YES) from now on. I understand that they have the rest of this season and a whole fourth season to go, but I was really getting a "this is it" vibe from "Battle for New York." Was this the end of the Kraang? I think it was.

That's all I've got this time, folks. Next week will be a reading / writing wrap-up for March. Stay tuned, and as always, BOOYAKASHA!! (Leo is now the only one who hasn't said it, btw. Watch closely at the end of "Battle for New York.")

In Memory of Terry Pratchett

For those of you who don't already know, renowned fantasy author Terry Pratchett passed away on Thursday, March 12, after losing his battle to Alzheimer's disease. He was most famous for his Discworld series, consisting of 40 books. I have not read many of his them, but a very close friend of mine thoroughly enjoyed the series and admired the man behind the words. He is extremely saddened by the loss of such an amazing writer, so I am dedicating this post to Terry Pratchett for him. Also, for those of you who don't know, Pratchett's final book will be released this fall. It's called The Shepherd's Crown (Discword #41) and it is about Tiffany Aching. For more information, click here.

A loooooong time ago, I stumbled across the Bookshelf Tag and decided I really wanted to do it even though I wasn't tagged by anyone. Months later, I'm finally sitting down to get 'er done. Here we go!

Is there a book that you really want to read but haven't because you know that it'll make you cry?
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I've heard a ton about it, and many of my friends adore the book, but I am so tired of hearing about cancer taking lives. I have seen firsthand what it does to people. I don't need to read about it, too. I hear the story in the book is really inspiring, which piques my interest, but knowing how it ends is enough to make me back away.

Pick one book that introduced you to a new genre.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This was the first dystopian novel I read. (Dystopian is generally based in post-apocalyptic worlds.) I finished the trilogy, but after seeking out other dystopian novels, I discovered quickly that it is not my favorite genre. All the stories are basically the same. They get old and predictable fairly quickly.

Find a book that you want to read.
A Work In Progress by Connor Franta. Oh my goodness. I knew he was thinking about writing a book a while ago, but now the final product is coming out in April and I just really want to read it. Connor was the first YouTuber I subscribed to. It will be cool to hear his story.

Is there a book series you've read but wish you hadn't?
Divergent and its followers by Veronica Roth. No, no, no.

If your house was burning down and all your family and pets were safe, which book would you go back inside to save?
Just one? Oh, jeez. Well, I'll have to go with the first book I thought of and the one I consider my childhood favorite: The School Story by Andrew Clements. I still love this book. It's kind of an inspiring read for me, considering how I want to be a published author someday soon.

Is there one book on your bookshelf that brings back fond memories?
A lot of books bring back fond memories. But again, I'll go with the one I thought of first: Bigger by Patricia Calvert. I don't remember much about the story itself, but every time I see this book, I remember a close friend of mine from Montana and it makes me smile.

Find a book that inspired you the most.
Can I use the same book for two answers? Well, I'm going to. The School Story, as I said above, inspires me still because its protagonist is a girl who wants her book to be published. I can relate.

Do you have any autographed books?
Yes, actually! Roof Oasis by Marie Gilbert and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie are both signed.

Find the book that you've owned the longest.
A good portion of the books on my shelf were given to me as a child, and I simply do not remember which one of those I've owned the longest. Sorry.

Is there a book by an author that you never imagined you would read or enjoy?
I'm going to use a book I've already mentioned again. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book that I never thought I'd like. I met the author, Sherman Alexie, in October of 2014 and liked him just fine, but when I read the synopsis of his novel I was not looking forward to reading it for my English 1020 class. However, about 50 pages in, I changed my mind and ended up really liking the story.


There you have it! The Bookshelf Tag. Now I'm tagging my grandmom over at Gilbert Curiosities. Have fun, grandmom!

R.I.P. Terry Pratchett.

The Meteor: Are Lyric and Shadow Soon to Follow?

Sonic Boom is back! And I have to say, the last several episodes have been much better. It seems like they've picked up the pace after the break we had in December. Episodes have better plots and are funnier in many ways. Of course, there are still some outright silly ones, but for the most part they have gotten better, in my opinion.

In this post, I want to talk a little bit about the episode "The Meteor" (Season 1, Episode 14). I know that back when the creators were still working on this show, they said that there would be no ongoing storyline and that the world would "reset" every time, but it sure seems like there is some continuity going on. Also, they said that the two Sonic Boom video games would be prequels to the show. If that's really the case, then the Shattered Crystal and Lyric and Shadow are all part of the universe and simply have not shown up on TV yet.

That being said, here's my theory: The meteor we saw in Episode 14 is part of the Shattered Crystal.

The reason I say this is because, as far as we know, not all of the fragments of the Shattered Crystal were found in the video game. That means that there are still some pieces left (duh), and the meteor looked an awful lot like it could be one of them. It had the same color scheme and a weird power that switched Sonic and Eggman's minds. It came from who-knows-where. However, something that could undermine my theory is the fact that none of the characters seemed to know what the meteor was. They just thought it was...well, a meteor. So that's a thing.

BUT, if the games really were prequels to the show, then it is a very likely possibility that the purple rock we saw in Episode 14 was part of the Shattered Crystal. I sure hope so, because if it was, that means that Lyric and Shadow are not far behind.

I really hope that Lyric will appear in the show at some point. I know he was supposedly defeated in the games, but come on. Villains ALWAYS come back. It would be cool to have him in the series and show Eggman how evil is done. (Seriously, the new Eggman is just not the same.) It would really give the show a boost to have him there, plus it would be totally awesome to see Sonic and his friends step up their game and show us all that they are still the epic Freedom Fighters we remember from the Prime universe.

More than anything, though, I WANT SHADOW. Seriously, when is he going to appear? They said he was going to be in the show. I want to know so much about his rebooted character. How does he know Sonic? Why is there a rivalry between them? What's his motivation? Is he an android (rumored)? I would really like some answers!!

I got excited this last weekend because I heard his voice and thought he was going to show, but it was a different villain. I am convinced Kirk Thornton was behind the mic, though. The voice was so similar it's not even funny. How dare you trick me into thinking it was Shadow, show creators!

Ah, well. He will come...eventually.

So there's my newest Sonic Boom theory for you! I strongly believe that "The Meteor" was part of the Shattered Crystal from the games, and that that episode was a precursor to Shadow's arrival in the TV series (possibly Lyric's, as well). Here's hoping!

Spock: Remembering Leonard Nimoy

I discovered Star Trek through my parents. When I was in grade school, they would sometimes send my brother and myself to do our thing while they watched The Next Generation in the living room. Little do they know (or maybe they do and just never said anything), I would sometimes sit on the staircase behind them and watch as well. I didn't know what it was, but I had the theme memorized and it looked neat.

A few years later, I re-discovered Star Trek when the 2009 movie was announced. My parents decided to let my brother and I watch some of TNG with them, and it became the show that introduced me to science fiction. Soon after, I was trying my hand at writing it (a skill I'm still working on, since science really isn't my thing).

It wasn't until the 2009 movie came out that I discovered Spock (played by Zachary Quinto). I liked his character right away. Then it came to that scene in on the ice planet when Kirk was chased into a cave, and Leonard Nimoy was introduced, and my parents told me he was the original Spock. I was intrigued enough to look up some of The Original Series later, and though I didn't entirely care for William Shatner as Kirk, I still really liked the Vulcan.

Then I went on a Star Trek cruise for a while before coming back around to Sonic like I always do. But in that time, I grew to really identify with Spock and enjoy all of his screen time. I even checked out some Star Trek books from the library that were specifically about him just so I could get a deeper glimpse into his character.

Leonard Nimoy was an amazing actor. He lived long and prospered. It was a very sad day in my house when we heard of his passing. Hopefully Zachary Quinto will be able to carry on the legacy that Nimoy started.