Hollywood Remakes …… I get it now

So I haven’t seen Aladdin with Will Smith, nor have I seen the new “live action” Lion King, nor did I participate in Michael Bay’s destruction of the Ninja Turtles (Golden did tho) and Transformers but I have decided that I get it now. Don’t get me wrong, don’t hit me with all the hate mail in my DMs or on my twitter feed, I still find them to be somewhat unnecessary but … I get it now. Often if it’s well done or done in a new way it can be successful.  

We are half way through 2019 and so far we have had The Lion King, Child’s Play, Mary Poppins, Aladdin, Pet Sematary, Shaft and Dumbo off the top of my head. I’m sure there are more that didn’t even hit my radar and those are just movies, don’t get me started on the fact that they are starting to do this in the TV world too – looking at you Voltron, DuckTales, ThunderCats, TMNT, Rainbow Brite etc. What really drives me insane about these is when it's literally a shot by shot remake with very little new content or insight into the characters. That seems a waste of everyone's time. A few years ago we had Beauty and The Beast which was basically just that. It's a great movie don't get me wrong I love Emma Watson but yeah there was nothing ... new or interesting about it. At least to me.   

I used to think Hollywood was either out of ides or scared to take a gamble on a new idea. I still kind of think that but I also understand it’s a business. Sure they could fund a brand new idea that “might” make money if they get the right cast that they will have to sell on the idea or they can go with a sure fire hit that can get a boost out of an “all star cast” that might jump on board from the get. They get to entertain and know they are going to make money right out of the gate. Plus costumes are already designed, they just need to be created, same for sets. They already know what they are going to need and create cause it's already been created they jsut have to reproduce it, maybe adjust colors but stay in the same part of the color wheel. It’s a no brainer for them. A brand new idea comes with ….. the unknown element… what is going to be the competition when it is released ? Whose going to be the draw that gets people into a theater? What happens if it doesn’t catch fire out of the gate ? Can it have a good 2nd weekend showing ? How do you get the media to pay attention to it without that large star draw feeling like they are on the only one selling it  ….. why put yourself through that stress if one doesn’t have to?! 

They have been doing this for years on the horror front .... Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax, etc., and those don't give people anxiety nearly as much as a new Ariel. Granted you will have the people that stay away cause they are so in love with the original but the odds are that’s not their target audience. They will also have people that are excited and fill the seats with high anticipation only to be disappointed. However what studios are going for is introducing NEW PEOPLE to these characters, to these stories.

A few weeks ago our church had our Vacation Bible School and the theme was “To Mars and Beyond” and I took that to heart. I have several “space themed” shirts and bought a few others to round out the week. For one of the days I wore my beloved Astrosmurf Tshirt, he is one of my all time favorite Smurfs behind Handy, afterall. 

One of the kids said I like your shirt. I said thank you do you know his name. He said I don’t know space smurf with a shrug like this conversation had lasted way longer than he intended for it to already. I said no … Astrosmurf. crickets….. I continued do you know his story? More crickets and a few odd stares. A couple of the parent helpers were trying to figure out how I was going to wind this back to Jesus but this was important I needed the kids to know this. So I told them that it was a comic written by an artist named Peyo about a Smurf whose biggest dream was to visit the stars. He tries his hardest to build a Rocketship and is devastated when it doesn’t work. I said Astrosmurf lacked the fundamentals of engineering to make his ship fly. So Papa Smurf got all the Smurf’s (who had been laughing and making fun of Astrosmurf) together to come up with a plan to make Astrosmurf think he went to outer space. 

To which a kid replied so they lied to him to make him feel better. I said no they showed their love for Astrosmurf by letting him live out his dream. Ok fine he didn’t really go into space but he doesn’t know that. The point was that while they all thought his dream was silly they made his dream come true. Another kid replied that was dumb how does someone not know they were on another planet. I said have you ever visited another planet? He said no I said then shut up Astrosmurf hadn’t either (it is amazing they let me talk to these kids at all really) so he didn’t know it would be different besides he had his helmet on the whole time.  Then a different kid said um… the Smurfs is a move not a comic and there was no Astrowhat’s-his-face. I said no it was a comic strip and there were several of them before it became a cartoon back in the 80’s and has recently been turned into a movie starring Neil Patrick Harris for some reason. Plus there is an entire village do you think you met them all? They proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t a comic. I said yes it was and I’ll prove it tomorrow. I don’t have it with me but I have the comics at my house. 

Yes…incase you are wondering....  I was arguing with like 7-10 year olds during VBS about the Smurfs during what was supposed to be bible story telling time before we got into a science experiment. Later that night I was driving home thinking about those kids and how sad that they lived in a world without smurf comics when it hit me that they LIVED IN A WORLD WHERE SMURF COMICS DIDN’T EXIST. Like no one in their life had ever led them down that path to Smurfiness with comic strips. Then I decided they likely hadn't watched the cartoon either. So the next day I walk in with my comic versions of the Smurfs and I swear I saw a few kids roll eyes like not this again. Granted the books I took were remakes of the comics that came out in conjunction with the movie cause my beloved 80’s cartoon versions fell apart along time ago after years of love and reading. However I needed them to have this as part of their world. Isn’t that after all what VBS was about ha! One kid asked if he could have the book and as generous as I am I told him no that they were awfully hard to find and I couldn’t part with it. I guess looking back I should have given him the comic but I’m selfish that way sometimes. 

The point is that as awful as a remake can sometimes be often it opens up these new generations to these characters. My oldest nephew when nuts about the Care Bears coming back out when he was little cause I would get so excited and it was something we could do together. They introduced all these new Care Bears that I couldn’t wrap my head around and my brother was like dude chill they aren’t “wrong” they are just new you are lucky I let him play with them at all relax. Sure I’d have shown him the cartoons from my childhood but it likely wouldn't have kept his attention. However after being introduced to them on his own he was interested in learning more and I was able to open up his world to the Care Bears that I knew and loved.

So before getting online to bash a remake, give it a chance, or just sit there and be quiet. It wasn’t made for you it was made for the new generation. If you must then introduce them to what you grew up with but don't get your feelings hurt when they say it's lame. Cause they likely will. I myself am a little bummed my nephew who loved Dora as a wee one has far out grown her cause I think that movie will be funny and I'd like to see it. Let them enjoy their moment their introduction to the “fandom” unless Optimus Prime has flames cause that’s never going to be ok. 

Fuck you Michael Bay. All …damn…day.

Are there any of these movies I should rush out and watch now that might change my mind ?


Marcy 
@beaslma

VBS + work = exhaustion

Last week was awesome, fun, tiring, and uplifting. It ended with a 14 hour work day that lasted long into the night but it was well worth it … at least that is what I keep telling my exhausted mind/body.

See last week my church had Vacation Bible School. It was not only my first time experiencing VBS at my new church but it was also the first time I led something at my new church. Future Note to Self: don’t dive in with both feet, sit back, help out but don’t lead that’s how the pressure gets to you.

That’s not to say it wasn’t a GREAT week and the kids seemed to really enjoy it but the unknown of it almost did me in before we started. See this church uses a VBS kit which comes with ideas for Music, Crafts, Science, Bible Study, and themes for the week. We decided on Super Heroes for Christ which was right up my alley. Finally those DragonCon Tshirts were going to be put to use during the week not just on weekends as I run errands.

When flipping through the pack I thought Science sounds cool. Another lady in the church said she’d help me with it, I was like score let’s do it. Then life happened. Each group (3 varying age groups for the kids, 1-5, 6-8, 8-10 or something like that – the piece of paper is on the other side of the planet and I’m being lazy (AKA it’s it in the other room) had a “leader” and 2 helpers in which one of the helpers was a youth (aka too old for VBS but still wants to participate, but not quite old enough to be a leader). We ended up being short 2 leaders so I lost my original helper. I was assigned a new helper and she was …. Great … when she was there. Night 1 she brought her husband and a dice game that she was more interested in than helping (tho in her defense she didn't have a lot to help with (more on that in a minute), then night 2 when I really could have used her help she was sick, and night 3 she was very helpful, then night 4 she had bingo and didn't come, tho she had told me earlier in the week that would be the case. So at least there was that.

Our VBS was 4 days long, with the last day a “pizza party” in which the parents got to see all that the kids did during the week. This meant I needed 3 days of activities. This being my first time I decided on one experiment a night that I could really practice and know how to do for all age groups. This would be mistake #1. Future Note to Self: Next year think about the age group you will be doing the experiment with and then adjust accordingly.  

Let’s start at the beginning shall we. I knew VBS was coming, I had a plan, I checked in with the VBS leaders to make sure it was a good plan and they all agreed that it was. I kept asking how many kids do I need to plan for, they kept saying the year before they had over 30. I was like um…ok….how does that work with each group, which is my largest one? How long do I have to entertain them? What happens if they start to get on my nerves? What happens if I ruin these kids for life? What if they hate me? What if they won't listen to me? What if they listen to closely and the adult in me says something only adults should hear? I worried that they wouldn’t be interested at all or that they would be too interested and ask questions I couldn't answer. My church had never done Science before as part of Bible School so really no one knew what to expect so not much advice for me. Could I deliver?

I was pretty sure I drove them all insane ... but I was scared ..... mostly of the unknown, I kept telling myself I’d be fine after night one. Frankly, I was doubting myself and part of me was hoping I’d break a leg, get in a wreck, and would get out of it all together. I think I scared the preacher cause he kept checking on me between groups, he could tell I was nervous, he could tell I was freaked out, but he kept telling me I’d do great...relax.... which was oh so helpful. Don't tell someone having a panic attack to calm down that's not helpful at all and I was most definitely in panic attack mode on several occasions. To his credit he did spend a lot of time in my room on day 1 but I think that was more moral support than fear I’d screw up one of the kids. At least that’s my hope. I think he really likes me, I hope so cause I think he and his family are fantastic. I’m really glad I found this church, and I think they are glad I found them too, which is nice.

So the Friday before VBS started on Monday I ran around town in a downpour buying my supplies, horrible rain would be a theme of the week I would learn. At one point there was talk of cancelling VBS for fear no one would come in the monsoon that settled over the City that week but they came, Gosh love them they came every night. A lot of what I needed I already had at the house, that was by design as Marcy’s funds are low and I didn’t want to beg the church for money cause I wanted their money to go to the other groups. This being their first time with Science I didn't want to take away from what they normally do for this new thing. On that particular Friday I was also assigned a submittal that would have to completed in less than a week with a PM who is notorious for not completing things in a timely manner. Add to that another submittal (that goes in this Tuesday) which I hadn’t really started yet, because of a different submittal/PM not deciding what he wanted yet, and it was shaping up to be a really stressful week that would start before 6am and end after 9pm with no lunch break which has made for a zombiefied Marcy this past weekend. That being said I did go to lunch one day, well actually my friend forced me to have hearing that I hadn't eaten anything but popcorn for 3 days.

So Monday came, and I was physically ready, mentally was another can of worms. I had a plan I just had to execute it. I left work about 4 because they wanted everyone there early for registration and to make last minute plans. I had told my boss about this and he was A. shocked a science class was going to be taught at a church function, he even asked if it was legal. I said I think so. B. when I actually got up and left at 4 with no prompting from him he was shocked. He was pretty sure he was going to have to kick me out of the office. He said he was proud of me. ha!

Monday – activity SINKING SODA - Did the can sink or float? Why!?

Bible Study 1 Samuel 16:1-12

In our Bible Story, God told Samuel “Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart”

This experiment tackled the idea that while they look exactly the same they reacted differently when put in the same situation. That they would prejudge these soda cans and be shocked by how they acted in the water because it didn’t do what they expected. Basically, don’t judge a book by its cover. I liked this idea. The idea that they need to look into the persons heart not solely base things on outward appearances. In this day and age and with these grade groups this can not be restated nearly enough.

Why I chose this ….. frankly I wanted something I could control. I wanted something that if we were running out of time I could just end, I wanted something that was easy for night one. This would be mistake #2. Future Note to Self: Easy is not always the best option. The biggest problem with this experiment was that it just didn’t take up enough time. Not even a little. I mean come on Marcy you are dropping cans in a big bucket what did you expect. My group ended early which threw everyone else into a tail spin cause then kids were in the hallway making noise distracting the kids who were still in class. I felt awful, I felt I had let everyone down. (which may have been the other reason the Preacher spent most of night one assuring me that everything was going great). I also didn’t buy the right cans. I had a good variety, but I should have bought better. All floated except one, the coke. I should have had a better variety which might have sparked more conversation. After a while they all guessed that they would float cause ... well.... they all floated.. and these kids weren't stupid.......... argh....... Stupid…stupid…stupid (bangs head on wall in frustration). Lastly most of the kids were more interested in if I would give them the sodas or dropping the cans into the bucket, and splashing the water than they were in why they floated or sunk. It got away from me really quick. I am not going to lie, especially with the little kids who discovered early that If they dropped all the cans in they could almost overflow the bucket. It was a tough night 1 yall. I’m not going to lie.

Here’s the experiment if you are interested ….

Tuesday – activity Balancing Hex Nuts – the power of magnets

Bible Study 1 Samuel 25

In our Bible Story, Abigail became a hero by using her courage and inner strength

Why I chose this ….. cause I thought it was cool. Basically you have to balance hex nuts on the edge of a cup. Something I showed the kids the night before and none of them believed they would be able to do it. I was determined they would all be able to do it. Group 1 realized they could stack the hex nuts on the magnets then place the entire contraption on the cans (which were reused from Night 1) and move them down to the cup. I thought these kids are geniuses. It never dawned on me to flip it over. Then they also flipped over the cup. So instead of balancing it on the edge of the cup with a large margin of error they had a large flat surface to deal with. Again brilliant. I’ll never forget when a kid who struggled with it was finally able to do it and was jumping up and down so excited and I high fived him for a job well done and for not giving up. Ironically the little kids did the best with this but of course they required the most hand holding. The older kids quickly turned the magnets into cars and could care less about balancing anything. I just let them do their thing, they had a ball and I relaxed and talked with the other adults for a bit. Ironically the older kids did the exact same thing the preacher did when I first handed him the magnets. It was kind of funny.

Here’s the experiment if you are interested ….

Wednesday – activity making their own Silly Putty  

Bible Study James 1:5

Believer asks God for wisdom and understanding about daily decisions. There is one requirement for this help however, the request must be made with no wavering or doubt as a doubter isn’t sure whether God hears him or if God even understands his problem. Such a man is double minded; he attempts to divide his trust between God and himself.

Why I chose this ….. cause I thought it was cool and I also wanted the kids to have something they could take home to remember the week by. I spent the week hyping this up, on Tuesday night after getting home from VBS I decided to try out my plan, thank GOD for this. My plan sucked. It didn’t work at all it was beyond awful. I was super stressed. I had 6 hours to come up with plan B. I wanted something that would allow me to use as much of what I already had so panic was really setting in. I felt unprepared and angry with myself. Then I found a video online that saved me. See the original plan called for Corn-starch and water. However I wasn’t aware there was this thing called “liquid starch” which is apparently what I needed not powder starch which is what I had. Powder starch and water creates a hard rock that when you are moving it around is fine the second you stop it immediately goes back to a liquid, incase you are interested. I have a Walmart that opens at 6am. I was there when they opened the doors buying the DAWN that was going to save my life. I bought two giant bottles and another thing of corn starch just incase. I then went to work and stressed about it all day long, I was like ok this is it...last night and I'm going to fail and make a fool of myself. I left the office at 4 went right to the church and tried the new recipe. This one required faith on the part of the kids cause there was no real recipe to follow. It depended on how much corn starch you added vs how much soap was added and how fast the kid was stirring. So huge margin of error. This too went sideways very quickly, especially with the little kids. They made a HUGE mess, there was cornstarch everywhere and of course we were in the middle of the worse week of rain in our little city all year and the bathrooms started overflowing so on a night when I really needed to get in there to wash little hands we were unable to. I ended up having to take them into the men's room which prompted lots of "what's that" questions when they came face to face with a urnial filled with gross looking water. In the end it all worked out and every kid took some putty home but the stress of this day will be with me for my entire life. I hate feeling unprepared and I was definitely not prepared for this but it was fun and all the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Here’s the experiment we ended up doing, if you are interested …. This girl saved my life !

The one thing all week that I kept forgetting to do was the “bible study” part of everything, you know the REASON for VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL in the first place. I was so excited about getting to the activity that I often blew past the reason those kids were there … learning about Jesus and God. This would be mistake #3. Future Note to Self: Next time have the Bible Study first then do the experiment, cause doing it after never worked.  It was hard to get their attention back once we were in the activity, then before you know it the session is over and they are leaving. It was a disaster.

Mistake #4: Time management. The way the schedule worked out, I had a break between each group, which was nice. I wish I had used it better. To eat, to relax, to reset up for the next group, to clean but mostly to walk around to the other groups to see what they were doing. How they handled their classes, what they did to get the kids to pay attention, what they were doing in general etc., Future Note to Self: spend some time walking around to see what others are doing so you can do better for your group. Or so you can see if you were doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing. Peace of mind always results in relaxation moving forward.

At the end of the week they asked the kids what their favorite activity was and I was told Music always comes out on top, this year however they all yelled science. I wasn’t there to hear it as I was trying to clean up the giant mess of cornstarch left in our room, but it made my heart swell that they all felt that way. The man who runs the VBS program gave me a huge hug and thanked me for all I did. He said I can never leave now. Which made me feel really good.

So while it was a long stressful week it was a great week and I’m glad I helped out. I did end up having to work until 9:30 Friday and will also be at work 7am Monday morning but after Tuesday I hope to get back to a more normalized schedule. Zombiefied Marcy will have to last a few more days, I miss sleep, I used to enjoy it. I hope to do so again one day. Unlike Golden I am NOT a member of Team No Sleep. I am very much PRO-Sleep and if I were being honest I also like pants.

Anyway … that’s been my last week …. Hope you all have a fantastic week ahead.

HUGS

Marcy

Visiting Golden .. Missing Golden …. VBS

This time last week I had made the 4 hour drive (that I can make in 3 …. Beating my GPS estimated time is my favorite thing to do …. Just saying) to Golden’s house for the final part of the #MonthLongCelebrationofGolden a hang in person with one of my favorite people on this planet. One of the best parts of the trip was finally getting to meet my new fur-niece Mighty, whom I’m not convinced knows her name but is still pretty freaking adorable.

I mean really … look at her … how would you yell at her? Golden and I haven’t figured it out yet cause you tell her something and she looks at you like a little stuffed animal and suddenly you forget why you are angry …. That’s her super power.

Last Friday we met up with Marible and got some dinner, some adult beverages, and saw Guardian’s of the Galaxy Volume 2. I admit I enjoyed the 2^nd one better than the first but I don’t know that either are movies I want to watch over and over again. My favorite part is the beginning of the movie where Baby Groot (possibly a close 2^nd to the cutest thing on the planet – of course Mighty is #1 in that category) dances around without any care in the world while everyone tries to keep him from dying.

That’s actually in the first 10 minutes so there you go read into that what you want. Then we came back to Golden’s where Marible left her phone in my car which led to the stupidest moment of my life. I found Marible’s phone and immediately said “You need to call her and tell her we have her phone!” Golden looked at me and said… “Really?!” I was like, “yeah I don’t have her number!” she looks at me and says “think about this for a second….” I will not disclose how long it took me to understand why none of this made sense. It was funny that Golden then tweeted Marible to tell her we had the phone and we also called her dad. She eventually came back and we gave her the phone and the problem was solved but I felt like a major idiot. It was not my best moment.

Then on Saturday at the crack of dawn we got up for the Annual trip to the Birmingham Zoo. A Birthday tradition for Golden, one that I’m happy to be a part of even if it was crazy hot. We got to ride the train, see all the animals, spend time with the family, and have a nice relaxing day getting some exercise. It was a fun day, a LONG day but a fun one. I think we were both asleep by 9. We are not nearly as young as we used to be. Sunday we did a whole lot of nothing and it was everything I’ve ever dreamed that it  could be. We watched Dr. Strange, a movie I hadn’t seen before but wanted to. Then watched several episodes of Wynonna Earp which I liked by was really taken aback by  how careless she was with her “peacemaker” when it’s the one thing between her and well her being dead. I can see myself watching the upcoming season, I’ll need to watch the rest of last season but I think it’s one of those shows that I’d be ok if I didn’t get to watch the episodes I’ve missed.

On Monday we had breakfast with Golden’s parents before I headed south. Leaving is always hard not cause she and I don’t talk throughout the week but because I don’t get up there nearly as much as I should not to mention that drive home. While I can do it in 3 it’s still a lllooonnnngggg drive which eats up a good part of the day. Again, I ask ... where the hell is my portal to other places science … I mean seriously get on that … what are you even working on!!!!!

So that was my Memorial Day weekend …. It was a good weekend but this “short week” felt really long. Next on my agenda is getting ready for the Church’s Vacation Bible School in which yours truly will be leading the “science” section of the night. I’ll keep you posted as I start to prep for the 4 day event … I’ll admit I’m really nervious about it. I’ve participated in VBS before but never “led” a section of it. When we joined our new church I decided I was going to get more involved and so far that’s what I have done. I’m scared to death I’m going to make a fool out of myself. The theme however is “Super Heroes” so at least it’s an area I’m familiar with.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Marcy