Post #7 - And the carousel turns around and around.

• People from Pointe Place, The Maitland and The Foxberry filter in to the fair at Yelsnag Park. It was a chilly evening in February and a hazy fog covered the full, bright moon. Gabe Crimson had already been there for hours setting up the fair rides: a ferris wheel, a carousel, a house of horrors, and a room full of distortion mirrors. Anna Evita walks past the petting zoo filled with baby goats and bunnies to get a balloon animal from a nearby carnival worker. Violet Cortez is wandering around the fair alone, taking everything in. She feels unsettled but she feels like it’s more than just the rats running around the funnel cake hut and the eerie fog. Tyson has set up his own carnival booth. He quickly chugs glass bottles of coke and stacks them in pyramids for people to knock down. Another booth next to him has mini bowling balls for people to play ski ball and win brightly colored stuffed animals hanging above the booth. Everyone seems to be in a haze like the fog, walking around in their own world. At 10pm, microphone feedback breaks their trance and calls them all towards the central stage where Matt Maeson begins his set with “Mr. Rattlebones.” Everyone begins to sing along with the smooth erie music until suddenly the music stops, the lights go out, and the rides stop with a screech. Everyone looks around confused, the fog resettling around them. Someone screams as the carousel begins to spin again. It starts to spin faster and faster. The carousel lights flash on and off and the creepy carousel music follows everyone as they scatter into the dark night. Suddenly, someone screams, others begin to shout and point. Across the stage, the ghost of Mr. Evans appears, moving toward the crowds.  
  If your character is not explicitly mentioned, you should discuss their experience at the fair and their interactions with other characters. The circus is a strange place in this blog. Your character should be confronted with a startling event or startling revelation that make him or her realize a change is needed.
  This is your last post. Due May 1st.
  Set the scene.  Time of day, weather conditions, etc.
  • Evening
  • Chilly with a slight breeze
  • Flannel weather
  • There is fog, it covers the bright full moon
  Include your ideas
  • Fair came to town
  • Set up in the Yelsnag park
  • Rides: ferris wheel, carousel, house of horrors, funny mirror house,
  • Petting zoo with small animals like bunnies and baby goats, milk cows
  • Concert at 10:00pm by Matt Maeson who sings Mr. Rattlebones
  • A lot of food trucks
  • Rats are running around the funnel cake hut
  • People use mini bowling balls to play ski ball
  • The singer of “Mr. Rattlebones” is performing at the central stage at the fair
  • Gabe Crimson was hired as a carnie, he helps with the rides and then if needed he works at the fair games
  • Tyson has a booth where he is chugging beer and then stacks the bottles for people to knock down and win prizes
  • Violet Cortez is wandering around the fair alone, taking everything in. She senses something “off” (magical realism?)
  • Anna Evita gets a balloon animal from a carnival worker
  
  
  • 
    

Post #6 - Midnight

• Being unable to sleep Georgie goes to the roof of Pointe Place and finds Coco lying on her back staring at the stars. “What are you doing up here?” He asks. “I come up here when I can’t sleep.” She replied. Georgie joins her on the roof as they stare at the stars. All of a sudden there is a bright burst green light that fills the night sky. The light is blinding and people start to look out there windows because the light brightens every room in Pointe Place. After a second Coco is upset that she can’t see anything and exclaims, “It is too bright, I wish it would stop!” and as if it was a prayer answered from the heavens the light begins to fade. Georgie is shocked that her wish was answered and began to wonder whether or not the light granted her a wish. He quickly exclaimed, “I wish for a lambo!” Immediately a car appeared before him on top of the roof beside him. Coco was bewildered and asked, “How will you get it down?” All of Georgie’s excitement dissipated as he realized his misfortune. All he could mutter was a faint “Damn.”
  Shortly after, the stairwell door swung open with Master Gooway, Joseph Ward, Arizona Smith running to the roof. They stopped in their tracks as they see the car. Arizona Smith said, “We were trying to come up here to see a better view of the light but what’s with the car?” Georgie responded, “The light granted us wishes, I just didn’t think my wish through.” Joseph mentioned, “At least it looks nice.” Master Gooway looks off into the stars and asks himself, “What should I wish for?”
• Your character needs to wish for something.

Post #5 - Things we should know

• Maple Ryn wanted inspiration. Marie Matias wanted to get out of her apartment. Brendan Bellman wanted to get his mind off being mugged. Anna Evita wanted to meet someone else. Joseph wanted to read a book about a Praying Mantis. CJ wanted free access to the internet. Elaina wanted to revisit all of the places she used to go to but had not visited recently. Master Gooway wanted to take the advice of Tyson in his search for his son. Tyson wanted to follow Master Gooway.
  For whatever reason the whole town ended up at the library at the exact same time. Nobody’s reason for going there was for Ryan Lochte's Ted Talk but that was what they all ended up watching. Ryan has fallen off significantly from his days of an olympic swimmer and talks about trying to get back where he was until he eventually made the realization that he just needs to embrace who he is now as a different person. Right before Ryan’s speech a rat sprinted across the stage in front of him to everyone's appall.
  Everybody is going to write a small piece of Lochte’s speech. Anna Evita is going to start the speech and Violet Cortezz is going to end the speech. The rest of you just make up something that sounds like it could go in the middle of the speech and have your character reflect on what is being said. Maybe it somehow does give them the inspiration or guidance they needed. We can put together the whole speech after the posts are done, with the order going by the order of the names in the margins. So the order after Anna would go Arizona, Brendan, Caris, CJ, etc.
  Also Coach K, Duke basketball’s head coach, aka rat face, was supposed to speak after Ryan Lochte and a lot of people are actually excited to listen to him. But Ryan’s speech goes overtime and rat face gets skipped.
• Post due by the start of class Feb. 13th.
• 1.     Pause
  2.     While I was a swimmer, I focused on only one thing: speed. I wanted to be the fastest person in the pool, and if I wasn’t, I either got more determined or depressed. Most of the time, it was the latter. I threw everything into swimming during the season and partied constantly during breaks to avoid acknowledging my emotions, all while refusing to admit to my friends and family that I was in a dark place. This dangerous behavior came to a head at Rio in 2016.”
  3.     "I am a firm believer that anything is possible, so when people told me I cannot return to my Olympic swimming form, I tuned them out. I did not care what they had to say because I had a plan. I traveled to the Himalayas to meet the Yeti Monks because they offered me a remedy for my athletic low. A metal box locked away in a cave on Mount Everest. When I flew into Nepal, I had nothing on me except my iron spirit. The monks informed me that this box contains my future, my destiny, and if I was to ever swim again I would need this box. I trekked for days in the blistering cold, dodging death at every turn. I reached the cave only to find the box locked, but before I could get the monks to open the box, I lost it in a blinding snowstorm. Despite not getting the box, I felt fulfilled in that I came out of Mount Everest alive. It gave me all the motivation I needed to get back in form. That's all you need really, a box and a goal."
  4.     I didn’t understand the importance of the opportunities I had. I took them for granted and let the fame get to my head. I thought that my popularity and status could be used to cover up my immature actions. I didn’t realize that I should’ve used it to help others. I have since realized this which is why I am here now. I want to help you all realize that you have many opportunities around you, and maybe some you haven’t discovered yet. there are many important opportunities around you that shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
  5.     Pause
  6.     A lot of people didn’t get to see how I felt after the situation. People got to see the cleaned up version
   of me that I quickly created to stay composed for interviews and clean off my name in the media, but
  no one really got to see what I was like at my lowest point. You see, swimming was me and I was
  swimming. I lived for swimming and dedicated every day of my life to it. I didn’t know how to explain my
   identity without mentioning swimming. Once I was forced to stop, I can’t lie, it was one of the hardest
  experiences I have had to deal with in my life. I questioned who I was, if I could still be me and not
  swim, and how I had reduced myself to only become one thing. I relied on swimming to define my
  sense of self, and without it I was powerless…”
  7.     “Hey kid, put your book away and listen, I’m talking up here,” Ryan Lochte shouted from his Ted Talk stage.
  8.     At that point I was at the height of my fame. I thought everybody knew my name. I spent most of my time training, but I appeared on lots of TV shows and I got calls from interviewers and sponsors and my manager was loving it. When I floated the idea for my own TV show, no one thought I could do it. But I told them that I was going to be successful. That's the only mentality that works. It's how I get through any competition or anything.
  
  Anyway, my stereotype has always been a "dumb jock" so I wanted to prove them wrong. I wanted to be able to do this for myself. Even though not everyone knows that "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?" was a show that even existed, I'm glad I did it. Getting that show off the ground required everything I had, really. I had to prove that it was a good idea, and then go through with it, to get someplace new and be someone new. I had to prove to myself that it was even worth it. Everything I did for that show helped me first try to look beyond swimming and into something that could push me beyond my limits. And I don't regret it."
  9.     “Family is the most important thing in life,” said Ryan, “they’re the ones who help you through tough times, provide you with good times, and gave you the greatest gift of all: life.”
  10.    He pauses and takes a sip of water.
  11.   "Those days were hard. It was a hard life. It was hard being me. I struggled to balance the glamour, glory, and girls with my strenuous swimming lessons twice a week. Swim, sleep, party, repeat. I learned a lot through those long, tough weeks. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the amount of times I threw up in the pool during training after a night out. I still struggle to come to small dumpy towns like this to speak because I got used to big cities and pint house sweets. It has been a tough transition but its nice to educate people like you all who don't know too much. I enjoy coming to towns like Pointe Place and seeing how the simple life is lived sometimes. It's cool."
  12.   Another pause, he turns back to the audience.
  13.   “Even though I am no longer able to swim like I used to, I am still able to do great things. I might no longer be as famous but I’m still able to do great things. I go around America inspiring people and talking about my life. I get to see a large crowd of people that want to hear what I have to say. It was important for me to realize that it is ok to change as a person. Even though I was once a famous Olympic athlete, I can still be something great. Like an inspiration to all of you here today.”
  14.   “Here’s the thing guys, even if you are a titan of your field, people fall off the path all the time, but you know what you gotta do, you just have to keep moving, keep doing stuff, it doesn’t matter what stuff, but you just have to keep doing something.” “I mean you can take that from me look at my story, I never stop doing stuff, I’m a prime example of this, and look at how successful I’ve been, a much more American swimmer than some other people.”
  15.   He smiles and looks out at the crowd
  16.   .“Never reveal too much about what you do in the Olympic pool, for it will come back to haunt you.”
  17.   “Sometimes you may seem disconnected from yourself and even disconnected from who you once were. You will always try to search and find that person who you once were but your searching will be never ending until you realize that your past self can no longer be who you are in the present. Some things, some hardships, even some joyous moments you must let go of in order to be who you want to be now. If there is something you don’t like in your life then only you have the power to change it.”
  18.   Lochte’s jumps back as the rat scuttles across the stage.
  19.   “After being so successful in the olympics, it was really hard for me to accept that that part of my life was really over. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get it back, but I’m so thankful that I have moved on to a better part of my life. I have really learned how to focus on bettering myself, and cherishing all the positive things that have happened to me since.”
  20.   I am a changed man. I don’t feel like the swimmer I once was. Swimming was my entire life, I loved swimming more than air, and we all need air, but I don't need swimming. I think that I need to find who I am because I'm not just an athlete, I'm a human being with feelings and emotions who need more experiences in his life. I want to learn how to love something not just because it can give me money or fame but because it gives me wholeness.
      People that look at a guy like me and call me a disgrace but I'm just a person. People like me mess up all the time, but because they're not famous, they don't get punished for it. I think that people should live a day in my shoes and see how all the fortune and parties and instant “friends” can change them. People who constantly tell you how great and talented you are, are not the people you need. People that lie to you no matter how wrong you will make you forget the values that you were raised with.
      I'm talking to you all today to tell you that no one stays the same. We all grow up and change for better or worse. I just hope you all give me that chance. Often celebrities are painted as perfect, and if they aren’t perfect something must be wrong with them. I’m here to tell you that isn’t true. Just like you’ve all done bad things so have I. I'm allowed to mess up and learn from my mistakes. Thank you for listening to my TED Talk. I hope you all learned something new about me today and now know to treat famous people with the same respect as someone who isn’t.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Post #4 - Transitions in the Dark

• There is nothing more erie than the morning after a battle. The smell of change dances in and out of the survivor’s nostrils slowly making them aware things will never be the same. The past is gone and the future is here. The day after can bring triumph to some and immense loss to others. Although the citizens of Pointe Place had not been in battle, it felt much like the day after a violent interaction when they slowly emerged from their places of hiding. Who would triumph? Who would suffer?
  
  
  Anna emerged from the the arena which held up better than the other buildings, as she looked at the horizon all she saw was the destroyed city she knew as home a few hours before. She should consider herself lucky as should the rest of the occupants in the arena as they barely managed to avoid being crushed by a fallen building. Cars were everywhere, flipped upside down laying all over the city, some inside or on top of buildings. The surviving buildings left with the scars of the battle the city decisively lost to the storm, the type that never went away. All this made Anna feel a little sad inside, however she knew this wasn’t the end it was only a new beginning.
  
  
  Maple, still inside Pointe Place building, still not able to leave the building, sat staring out the window looked at the small town basically have been wiped out in the last couple hours. She never got to see her family and now with all the destruction around the city the murder of Mr. Evans will no longer be any type of concern for awhile and it may not be ever again. She thought about this as she stayed in the building not able to go outside, "what will happen next?" She thought.
  
  
  Master Gooway stepped out of the dark building to dip his bloody hands in the snow.
  “Thanks for getting us out of there. That had to…” Cleo said, following Gooway out of the dark, amazed. Both stood quietly. “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it,” the young girl said as she turned and walked back into the building. “This is too much.” Master Gooway was standing alone next to a turned-over car, wiping dirt and grime out of the cuts on his hands when he heard it. He tilted his head to get a clearer listen through the still, dull air. It became clear. “Call me Mr. Rattlebone. Holy Ghost who haunts your home. They don't know you like I know you. Call me Mr. Rattlebone.”

Blog #4 is due on January 28th. You can assume that the damage from the storm gets cleaned-up by the next post. If you are not specifically mentioned in this blog, your character should have some kind of change. An after-the-storm realization that will have a noticeable affect on character.

Blog post #3 - In the eye of the Storm

Accidents happen all the time. Depending on the person, the place, and, of course, the circumstances, accidents are inevitable. Some people call it fate, others call it bad luck, but whatever the reason, anyone at anytime can be a victim of circumstance.

Take Mr. Evans for example.  Sitting in his car, he paused and reflected. After years of pinching pennies, eating the daily specials at Grandma's grits--regardless if it was palatable or not-- he was ready to move to Florida. His boxes, what few there were, would fit into his car.  He just returned from Steve's and the car was good-to-go.  He closed his eyes for a moment. The little girl noticed him, but passed on by. He awoke, and saw her walking alone and rounding the corner.  He thought she needed someone to walk her back to her apartment. "That child shouldn't be alone so much," he said as he got out of the car. He didn't see the car coming around the corner.

And now, weeks later, the weather was getting troublesome. Most thought the first winter snow was coming, but little did anyone know, it would soon feel like the second coming. 

Joseph and Eliana, ever the good souls, were in Yelsnag park discussing improvement projects for the park with one another when the wind started moving through the trees with startling speed. As they ran for cover, they saw Mr. Po sitting on a bench. He seemed asleep. They ran toward him, grabbed each arm and ran across the street to the parking deck. There was an night guard office that had long been abandon. All three ducked in.

When the hail started, it sounded like rocks hitting the metal roof of the Zip-n-Sip. All the parents grabbed their kids and headed to their cars. The doors swung wildly in the wind.  Caris and Anna sat together with their skates still on, drinking their shakes. They were alone. Their parents dropped them off for the day and told them to walk home. Now, they had no place to go and no one to look after them. "What are we going to do?" Caris said.  "I don't know," replied Anna.

The wind, mixed with snow and hail, started moving things through the streets. Trash cans flew around. Trash was held suspended in the air. Everyone scattered to anyplace they thought was safe.   Then tornado siren bellowed through the city.

Due Dec. 14th. If you are specifically mentioned, you should fit your next blog to the main page in some way. If you are not specifically mentioned, where would your character go? What "accident" happens to him or her?

Post #2 - Stranger Things

     "I swear," said Ollie.
     "You can swear all you want, you old drunk fool," retorted Coco. "But there's no such thing as a talking dog.  Now, I've known my share of dogs, if you get what I mean, but they walk on two legs."
     "I know what I heard," said Ollie. "That girl was talking to her dog--"
     "People talk to their dogs all the time, Ollie," Coco was now getting tired of Ollie's wild theories.    "But dogs. Don't. Talk."
     "Give him a break, Coco," Gabe said as he strolled up.  The two sat on a bench passing time between the two of them at the edge of Gertrude's junkyard. As her dog trotted from around the corner, all three heard "Jet!" shouted from around the corner, "you better come here!"
     As Gertrude rounded the corner, she clicked her tongue and said, "I told you guys to shove-off before the yard opened. Now people will see you and think its open season in here for drunks and bums."
     Coco, unfazed, looked up to Gertrude, "I will if you tell this idiot that dogs don't talk." She squinted into the morning light.
     Gabe laughed, "Strange things around here, strange things, Miss Gertrude.  Dead men in parking decks, talking dogs, next Ollie will swear he's seen an alien."
     "Oh, no,"  Coco rolled her eyes. "Don't get him started on that one again. Bugger thinks he heard a secret service guy telling an alien what she can and can't do."
      "You know what," Ollie says, "I'm going to find that woman and make her turn back into that alien. Then you'll all have to shut-up. I know what I know. "
     Coco slowly makes her way off the makeshift bench, glares at Ollie and says, "you all drive a woman to drink. Bunch a nutters" as she wanders off toward the gate.  She heads toward Cece's. She knows someone will buy her a drink and probably some food for her not to sing. She smiles at the thought.
     Coco spots Dante across the street when he whistles at her. "Forget it, son, mind your manners, and tell your daddy you probably shot the wrong guy."
     LeClerc stops in his tracks, looks across the street at the young man and back to Coco. He decides not to go for coffee; instead, he follows her into the karaoke bar. Thinking he is a man for all occasions- a James Bond if you will-- he will start his questioning with her. He thinks that she will be an easy mark for information about the death of Mr. Evans. Little did he know...
     And the day begins. People start to wander in and out of places. The sun seems to lighten the heavy times, but much is still to unfold. The residents of Point Place find themselves talking with people they've only met or the regulars on the streets. The death of Mr. Evans seems to have brought them out into the world.

Due date for Blog#2: Nov. 16th by the beginning of class. You must have a dialogue with either another character, or one of the common characters.  Or make-up another common character.

Post #1 - Mr. Evans

The day started very early for Coco and George. While Coco was just getting "home,"  George always arrived at 6:30 AM to greet residents who are heading off to work, and clear out any unwanted guests before the day began.

On this particular day, as George was cleaning the glass front doors, Coco stumbled towards him, grabbing his arm and said, "Georgish, there's a dead guy parked."
      "What?"
      "Hesh in..." Coco lost her train of thought for a moment, leaned a little closer to George and said, "in the deck. Georgish! He's dead!" She pulls George into the parking deck, points up the ramp and says "up there, Georgish, he's up there! Go!"
 
His eyes followed her shaking finger up the ramp and back at Coco. He hesitated, carefully leaned her against a parked car, and quickly walked-up the ramp.  Coco isn't always clear about her facts, but she seemed more lucid than normal so George decided to look around.  He thought that by the time he returned, she will have wandered into the lobby and passed out on the lobby couch.

As he rounds the corner thinking about having to move her once again to an unused apartment, he saw the body.  Sure enough parked in space 303. "Mr. Evans," George whispered more to himself than to the dead man.

Twenty minutes later,  the 3rd level of Pointe Place's parking deck is bustling with police persons and draped in yellow tape. Mr. Evans, an older resident of the building, was, in fact dead and had been for several hours. Many knew him as the guy who knew the odds and ends of the building.  He'd lived there for 40 years.

The policemen kept asking George questions he couldn't answer.
     "How'd you find the body?"
     "I always make a sweep of the deck," George lied. He was thinking that he needed to find Coco, and not have the cops get to her first. She'd be back in jail in a blink of an eye. As annoying as she often was, he didn't want to see her locked-up yet again.

Your character url is due on October 19th by the beginning of class.
Your blog is due the 26th of October by the beginning of class.