Quaranteened

Man, it has been a long time since I blogged. Happy New Year! By the way it’s 2021 and the world is in total shambles. I cannot believe that it has been almost one year of Covid. So as a way to feel better, I decided to continue doing my old blog “What’s Up, Dock” for fun.

Even though I have been on a big hiatus, I can’t wait to write stories about what I find interesting every day. I was so busy that I had to take most of the year off. Last year was really bad in some ways but really good in some ways. Even though we were in lockdown and I have been in virtual school, I managed to still get good grades. I was also in three virtual productions and got to make friends via Zoom. The productions I got to be involved with were an Edgar Allen Poe anthology called "Shuddersome" with NCT, and "Quranteened" and "Stories" with Theater Bug. "Quranteened" (pictured) actually got in a few film festivals.  Acting is something I am really into and I can’t wait to get back to do some cool auditions in person. I could be the new Leonodo Decaprio for pete’s sake.  Ha Ha Ha! 

Though I am happy, America is still kind of in a rough spot right now. We are still divided about the results of the presidential election and don’t have a  handle on the pandemic. To add to this mess, my hometown had a really horrible year too. Our friend Grimey’s music venue was damaged by the tornado.  Downtown Nashville is messed up due to the bombing from Anthony Warner, the man who died while blowing up Second Avenue. Despite this, I am still doing fun, safe activities like distancing with my grandfather and going to Cheekwood to see the lights. 

I really hope that all of you have a good start to this new year. Wear a mask, distance and be safe, and I hope that we can have a huge party without masks to celebrate it being better later this year!

Being Qurantined

What is up with the Coronavirus, are we living in an alternate reality? In a weird way, It
is kind of like I was preparing for this staying at home thing for a while. In the fifth grade,
 I got diagnosed with something called PANDAS and I am not talking about the cute little bears. PANDAS is a misguided autoimmune response that makes some kids not feel or act like
themselves when they are exposed to an illness like strep and can cause anxiety about school.
 Even though I think I am growing out of it and feeling a lot better now, I decided to be
 "homebound" for my freshman year of high school. Doing my school work from home is more relaxing for me and in some ways, it is working out really good because I am getting all A’s. But, I haven’t been able to do some activities like being with kids my age at school or being in school plays like when I was in “Annie” in middle school. I was planning for this spring
to be my big comeback for being social but then the Coronavirus came in and ruined my plan. I have
already been spending some whole days at home so, like I said, I have been practicing this
home thing for a while. Ironically, this quarantine is a chance for us kids who are stuck
at home to connect online, like through Zoom or Facetime or whatever because we are all in the same boat and we are all in this together.

What is the greatest Disney Remake?

Disney has been killing it in the box office, with its remakes of classics like The Lion King and Aladdin making over 1 billion dollars. So, I thought it would be fun to review every Disney live action remake (not including Glen Close's 100 and One Dalmatians and the 1994 Jungle Book) and see which one is the best.

Let's see our Nominees:

Alice in Wonderland

(Even though it acts as a sequel to the original 1951 film)

Maleficent

(AKA the Wicked of Disney Remakes)

Cinderella

The Jungle Book

Beauty and the Beast

Dumbo

Aladdin

The Lion King

Notes:

• I didn't choose Christopher Robin because it is a part of the timeline to the other Winnie the Pooh films.
• Pete's Dragon was originally a Live action/Animated film. I'm reviewing all films that were all animated. That's the same reason why I'm not putting Marry Poppins Returns on the list because it is a sequel and is not totally animated.

8) Dumbo- This is only because I haven't seen this movie

7) Aladdin- I don't like the movie's tone because I cherish the original Aladdin so much 

6) Alice in Wonderland- Good film, still it's a little dark
5) Maleficent- This film has the same flaws as Alice in Wonderland

4) The Lion King- This film is so epic, I still see some flaws like the expressions of the characters and the shortened Be Prepared.

3)  Cinderella- Great Remake because of the performances, set design and the deeper connection between Cinderella and the prince.

2) Beauty And The Beast- I love this retelling of this timeless classic

1) Jungle Book- Action packed and awesome.

So, when you need to think about a perfect Disney remake, think of the 2016 Jungle Book film.

My Gatlinburg trip

I went to Gatlinburg last weekend, and I had a whole lot of fun there. We went to the Smoky Mountains to celebrate my eighth grade graduation.  Our trip was originally scheduled for Memorial Day weekend but most of the cabins were already sold out. That was okay for me because I went to a waterfall with my friend Foley instead. Anyway, we left on the Thursday of that week to begin our fun adventure in Gatlinburg with my dog Daisy. It took 4 hours to drive there, as the cabin we stayed in was in the far east of Tennessee.  When we went to the cabin I was in shock because there was a beautiful game room upstairs and a hot tub on the balcony. The game room featured pool, air hockey and an old arcade machine featuring vintage video games like Donkey Kong. That same Thursday night, Mom and Dad took me out on the Gatlinburg strip. I saw Blake's Shelton's restaurant Ole Red there, which sister location in Nashville I been to. I ate at Mellow Mushroom and just walked around the strip. The Next night, I went to the new Dolly Parton dinner show, Pirates Voyage, near the Island at Pigeon Forge. It was exciting and the food was delicious.  There were great acrobatic tricks like in Cirque Du Soleile and spectacular special effects coming out of the water. I got a cool pirate souvenir cup also, when I ordered a non-alcholic cocktail.
The next day was my Dollywood day, as it's a thing people traveling to Gatlinburg usually do.  A new land called Wildwood Grove has just opened and features attractions including the dragonflier, a suspended roller coaster. I was a little afraid and I didn't do that one. My favorite rides there were the Thunderhead (voted one of the ten best wooden roller coasters in the country) and the log flume. I just read that Dolly Parton doesn't go on any of her rides at the theme par. I don't blame her but I conquered my fears and rode rides that I was afraid of.      

You should really check out the new attractions at Dollywood!            

Movie Villain Fights: Maleficent VS Hela from Thor Ragnarock

Today we're gonna compare two mistresses of evil: Maleficent VS Hela. They are both very similar and are some of the darkest female antagonist of all time. (Sorry Proxima Midnight).  Lets now battle them head to head to see who is the better villain, as the first installment of my Movie Villain Fight Series



  Villain #1: Maleficent

         
Home: Forbiden Mountain

Pets: Diablo (raven)

Minions: Goons

Children: Lilith Page (Once Upon a Time)

Killer: Prince Phillip

Species: Dark Fairy

Love Instrest: King Stefan (formerly)

Abilites: Able to cast Magic spells, Shapeshifting into a fire breathing Dragon

Voice: Eleanor Audley

Portrayed by: Angelina Jolie
                                   

           

     















 Villain #2: Hela

Powers: Able to conjur weapons from thin air; can destroy power weapons like Mjolnir

Homeland: Asgard

Family: Odin (father), Thor (half-brother), Loki (adopted half brother), Mother (Unknown)

Place of Banishment: Hell

Job Titles: General of Odin (formally), Godess of Death

Killed: All of the Valkires except the woman who became Scrapper 142 on Sakaar, the Warriors Three

Pet: Fenris

Killer: Surtur

Featured in: Thor: Ragnarock

Played by: Cate Blanchett



Conclusion: Hela is a better villain because she is more powerful.

My Current Year

Hey Guys, I've had quite a year so far. First, I went on Spring Break to go to Florida (Orlando and West Palm Beach. It was super fun and exciting for me. I saw my grandmother and more family in West Palm Beach.) I went to Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando. During that portion of the trip, we stayed at the B-resort, a hotel located close to Disney Springs. (on Disney World property). There was a cool star wars VR experience at Disney Springs, so me and Dad checked that out.  I went to Miami, also. There we ate at this authentic cuban restaurant, which kid of reminded me of Waffle House. I really want to go check out Miami again, because I only got to walk around South Beach. (Maybe during another cruise?)
 I also went to a lake house in Tennessee recently, thanks to Mom's friend Erin for inviting us. We spent about 1 hour on the lake (center hill lake). There is also a hiking trail about 15 mins from the house, so me and mom gave it a try. We almost got lost also, from there being no other human beings on the trail.I am excited about some things this year including my middle school graduation, a trip to New Jersey and more. I will make blogs about it this summer.

Dock

Happy 2019!

I had a great New Years! First off, my dad was out of town-he was in Vegas, so I had five days as the "man of the house". We hung out with some friends, boardgames and dinner with friends and hikes. I went record shopping with my mom for my new record player that I got for Christmas. I got to check out all the cool record stores like Grimey's, Third Man Records and McCays. I also went to the "world famous" Bluebird Cafe with my mom and G-Bob to my "Uncle" Don Henry's songwriter round for his birthday. It was my first time to go which was a big deal. Mom sang one of her songs that she wrote with Don which was amazing. I behaved so well when I was there, since the Bluebird is a listening room and their motto is "Shhhhh"!
On New Years we (me, mom and G-Bob) went out to dinner at a fancy place near downtown (in the "Gulch") called Sambuca. It was cool because they sat us at a fancy booth near live music. There was a jazz/blues band. We had four courses. My dinner there was a lobster bisque soup, bleu cheese salad, steak and shrimp and a desert sampler platter. I personally think that Sambuca is an awesome place to go for New Years Eve.  Afterwards we went to my grandfather's house where we played my first boardgames of the year, Facts And Five, and watched the New Years celebrations and spent the night because it was so late. Our dog, Daisy, stayed there too.
I really started the New Year off with a bang. I will blog much more this year. My resolution is to just be very happy. And I hope you have a good new year too!