Darryl Philbin

me, with a vague plot idea, 1 (one) character name, and an outline that consists of mostly question marks:

17 minutes

Today at 10 am local time across the US, students, teachers, staff will be walking out for of their schools. 17 minutes, one minute for each of the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting that occurred four weeks ago. These 17 minutes are not a distraction or disruption of their day. More time is lost to these students every year for the drills hoping to prevent these tragedies and the news outbreaks when they occur

It has been four weeks since the MSD shooting and two weeks since they returned to school where on their first day back news broke out that a teacher in Georgia brought a gun to his school, locked himself in his classroom and contemplated suicide. So today they walk out, today they march, not just as symbolism or a performance or as a statement. They are showing the adults how big this problem is, how far it spreads, all of those whom it impacts. It doesn’t just affect the students who survived the shooting, had to sit in their classrooms wondering if this was it; or the family members who lost their children, cousins, sisters, brothers, their parents and those who lost their friends. The intense gun drills that aim to sacrifice themselves for others when a shooter has entered their classroom and how to be quiet in your greatest, hour-long moments of fear has become part of their lives, part of their school prep like fire drills and the bomb drills of World War II

This affects everyone, and that’s part of why today they walk out, they March; because this is so important to them and so vital to them and their lives. We can’t say that children are too young to understand when they are the ones literally taking the hits for it. We cannot say their opinions are invalid or that they don’t know, that we know better and are taking care of them and are handling things for them while passing over a true epidemic that is killing and terrorizing them.

These 17 minutes are a request for thoughts and prayers; thoughts of those that lost their lives, prayers that they are at peace, both to be followed by real action. This isn’t about concert tickets, clothes, or youtube stars. You could see the bodies they had to pass on their way out when it was finally over, their classmates, their friends; because when it was finally over, it had just begun. And they are saying that enough is enough.

So this is a statement, they cannot vote but are supposed to be protected by us and we should be voting with them in mind. If we say their opinions are not valid or misinformed than we should be working with them, but we’re not because their opinions are not wrong or invalid and we are failing them by letting this continue. They are reminding us that we have the power to protect them and we need to step it up.

In the most three weeks since the shooting (February 21st until now) some of the tags that pop under Florida related to the MSD shooting have disappeared, but Parkland and Gun Control are still up there. It will not leave and this will not leave them. 

To all the movies I've lost

There are classic movies, movies we're ashamed we love, movies we love to hate, the movies of our childhood, and movies that stick with us forever regardless of type of emotional connection we have with them. Sometimes regardless of their impact, we still lose them. For an English project I once had to watch a few horror/suspense movies and see how the story connected to events going on at the time, I ended up picking the movie The Night of the Comet, a 1980s film about how radioactive material mysteriously left my a passing comet evaporated people or left them sick and zombie-esque. I connected this to the mystery and panic occurring of the beginning of the HIV and AIDS epidemics and how people are panicked and you didn't know who you could trust. Other films I saw was The Shining, but as it took me three days to watch it once that didn't seem like a good choice to study and another film...where a woman gets remarried and starts getting harassed.

This film in random occasion will pop into my head late at night and frighten me to my core, while many claim they saw the ending coming (I agree you had ideas but the FULL twist that gets you at the end in the creepy phrase while she's fighting for her life in her own home)--I'm sorry, you didn't see those specifics coming. I'd like to see it again, either to be freaked or to help and try to get over it, but alas I can't, as I've forgotten what movie it is. I've e searched and searched with clues and facts and cannot figure out the film, so it will continue to haunt me, from a more petrifying distance of mystery, only to become clear as a nightmare

Happy January 13th

Lessons to Learn (from Banned Books)

There are a few stories listed as classics, children’s books and young adult novels that are on the banned lists. Noting a few of my favorites on the classics list (1) and my #1, these are books that produce a unique view and with proper discussion can really influence and mold the individual.

Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling is the obvious choice, not only did it play a large part in molding me but it was also a great comfort that others who were tormented or bullied were not alone in those feelings

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding was a funny and realistic story. If you don’t like the story, then really you don’t like humanity—there was even a US television series that had the same outcome, except this had boys and girls. (2) While it showed how people break down in survival settings and need guidance in someway, it also showed how some naturally lead in a positive way or negative way, the effects of propaganda and how others are natural protectors. The focus of the title and the non-titular character is all a warning about how we can all lose ourselves

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, similar to Lord of the Flies, people seem upset to know that they might not be perfect. One of my first experiences with now the common “near-future destroyed society” similar to The Outsiders you are introduced to a group of kids who start off as, not the best (these guys are worse than The Outsiders). Similar to The Lord of the Flies, instead of trying for a common good, cracks develop within a group of kids being the worst they can be. With two versions, there are two possible long-term endings to the story that nod to the readers belief about life’s outcomes are based on chance or choice

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is one of the most infamous, if not the most infamous, story about how depraved people can be. To the point and getting inside the mind of the criminals, unlike other stories such as A Clockwork Orange or Lord of the Flies where we may suspend our understanding or relationship to the criminals as they are fictitious, here they were real.

The reading of these stories when we are younger is not always best (Lolita) but discussion and true examination while you read can open your mind not just to different life experiences or difficulties you share with others but also common human struggles that have different levels and the different ends they may come to.

 (1) http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics

(2) https://www.flavorwire.com/474701/kid-nation-looking-back-on-tvs-most-disturbing-reality-show

Parking Wars

Today is the 10th Anniversary of Parking Wars. A dramatic reality-TV show the focused on the daily interactions those with parking enforcement that dealt with ticketing, booting, towing and releasing you car from impoundment. While in some aspects it filled my screen with shenanigans to laugh at similar to others who watched The Jersey Shore: the woman who repeatedly hid her sticker but then got angry and called the officers incompetent when she got ticketed, the stalker who said “so” about parking in front of a fire hydrant, and the many didn’t see an issue with parking in the fire lane of a mall parking lot ( a factor in how a cashier got hit by a car near me because neither could see the other); it was also somewhat educational and gave the opportunity for viewers to understand why things were, when not in the heat of the moment: why you get towed for no insurance, that you can’t leave and come back to a timed spot and why and others. I enjoyed this show, and continue to this day as it reminds me and hopefully others that there are consequences to their actions and that people in various service industries really are trying to serve the public as a whole, so maybe not just you. 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

There are quite a few things that come to mind when I think about this book. First and foremost, is that I recall this is the edition I was reading (whether for the first time or reread I don’t know) when I discovered JK Rowling wasn’t a man, how I ran back to look at the book and wondered why I thought she must have been from the title, and understood why she wrote her name so as not to be identified and turn others off (oy! how nothing has changed). 

Next, while I was young at the time I do not know what I anticipated but following the events of their first year we expected Harry, Ron and Hermione to either be dealing with Voldemort again or not--and I love how we got both. While in some ways the fact that they were all included again makes no sense, but again it all does. Harry can speak Parseltongue and therefore gets more information and gets Ron and Hermione involved, Ginny comes from a family with morals and is the exact opposite of the Malfoys and Death Eaters so Lucius trying to frame them, being the coward as he is, all makes sense and while seems a bit stretched is just coincidental. As Minerva McGonagall and Ron later discuss, however, why it is always them? Must just be their fate. 

Relatedly, we continue to get depth with our main trio: Hermione, Ron and Harry and the wizarding world in general while they continue to grow. While in the previous year Hermione broke some rules, they were only in regards to emergencies (stopping Snape from getting the Sorcerer's Stone, lighting him on fire) or to stop others from breaking rules (stopping Harry from getting in trouble with the dragon). But in her second year she sees breaking the rules as more of a means to an end; even when the end isn’t as near or dire. She becomes less rule-obsessed or rigid in this sense and tries weighing the options and looking more at the big picture (both with stealing the ingredients of the Polyjuice Potion and just in making it and knocking out Crabbe and Goyle). With Ron, we learn more about who he really is as we see him interact more with his siblings, with Hermione (my uncle caught onto that one, not me) and learn about how he feels about himself overall even if we don’t realize it all in depth at the time. Finally, We also learn more about Harry and, with him, the wizarding world in general; how there is a class system, the downfalls of being a hero or celebrity, what it actually means to be a hero or role-model and many other somewhat small things that create a deeper meaning combined.

Finally, holy hell was this the novel with annoying people; see Myrtle, Dobby and Colin. While Dobby and Colin grew on me, and I believe all of us, they both just wouldn’t shut up or listen and you would cringe with Harry as he deals with all their drama. But on both, Harry changed; growing to be broken by Colin’s death in the final battle and of course Dobby, one of his best friends. Both of these characters represented innocence, kindness, friendship, truth, honesty and so many other admirable qualities before even getting to the fact that they risked their lives for others. 

Myrtle? No, just creepy; I mean she was a younger teenager at the time. Do ghosts get older? Ugh, sorry, no love there. 

Dunder Mifflin is a part of..Say-ber (Sabre)

Hopped of the train in Scranton, PA

Another cloudy, grey afternoon

Home of the Railriders and Scranton Miners

Did you pack your snow shoes?

 Jumped in the cab

Here you are for the first time

Look to the right and you see the-electric-city-sign

This is gonna be a good day

For Dunder Mifflin and Sabre

The stock markets going crazy and you really don’t know us

Too much pressure and you’re nervous

That’s when the taxi man turned on the radio

And the music took over your brain

And you thought this might be insane

But you decided to try and stay

 So you put your hands up

You take a deep breathe

The butterflies will fly away

Your noddin’ your head like yeah

Straighten your tie like yeah

You got your hands up

You’ve done this before

We’re all gonna be o-kay

Yeah, yeah, ye-eh-yeah

Dunder Mifflin is a part of Sabre

 Get to the office in your taxi cab

Everybody’s looking at you now

Like “Whose in charge, whose calling the shots”

Is this gonna all work out?

So hard with the sun down by seven

Hope you don’t get seasonal depression

‘Cause it all gets cold and starts to snow

I guess you never got the memo

The stock markets going crazy and you really don’t know us

Too much pressure and you’re nervous

That’s when the Andy and Erin jumped center stage

So they could sing you a welcome song

So we could all sing you this song

And we hope you sing along

 So you put your hands up

You take a deep breathe

The butterflies fly away

Your noddin’ your head like yeah

We’re noddin’ our hears like yeah

You got your hands up

You’ve done this before

We’re all gonna be o-kay

Yeah, yeah, ye-eh-yeah

Dunder Mifflin is a part of Sabre

 Feel like skipping on that flight (on that flight)

Tallahassee’s just alright (alright)

Something her feels just right (just right)

It’s that welcome song that let’s you know you’re gonna Be! Al-right!

So you put your hands up -> Dunder Millfin is a part of Sabre (x2)

Harriet the Spy

Ha, look at these youngins. So this is a movie I was obsessed with, the colors and what I remember being an active city but also quirky neighbourhood background for Harriet’s adventures. There was a lot I liked and connected to with this is film; I too had mostly been looked after by a caretaker because my parents worked, only child, high observations—thou it would be about two decades before I’d ever have mayonnaise and I don’t think it's with (baloney?—can’t remember). This film I would say has an extremely unrealistic ending and definitely not the best lessons for a kid; she’s mean to her friends and then lies to get them to be friends with her again? Thou….maybe accurate--John Mulaney: cliques

Another possible reason I hold this movie on a higher pedestal than it probably deserves the part where everyone hates her. Being bullied when I was younger and being sent to a psychiatrist to find out why I’m upset was shown as stupid in the movie and was stupid in real life (thank goodness the world is not the suburbs) but this is a small upswing, and on some level there was something wrong with Harriet—a little narcissism and grandeur, but that’s not important. The points I will focus on was while it had an unrealistic ending it was overall a film about someone quirky not necessarily a genius or a princess but someone a bit outside the box who had friends who were also a bit outside the box and looked at how being outside the box was a good thing

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix we are propelled more into the depths and darkness the war will bring out that we see grow throughout the remainder of the series with Molly’s boggart turning into finding out any and all of them have been killed, the picture of the original Order of the Phoenix (most of whom have been killed) and even with the song sung by the Sorting Hat.

There is also an additional level of maturity brought to the story, because while our three are becoming more into their own, they are learning more about the complexities of life and good verse evil. Previously even those who were evil but were masquerading as good, we saw as still just evil when revealed (Pettigrew, Quirrell, Barty Crouch Jr.); but now we have Fudge, Percy, and Umbridge who are supposed to be the good guys but are doing more harm than one could imagine, forcing Harry and the others to not just fight against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but also the Ministry acting out of fear and for power. Then, this complexity is heightened as we learn more about the relationship between James and Snape. In this context thou, the inclusion of Fred and George’s growing business and the boring task of OWLS, we are reminded that during our worst crisis’, funny or not, life goes on.

As Harry Potter progressed thru out the years, he went from fighting with his friends, fighting on his own, and in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we see him progress to the next level; trying to navigate being a leader of more than just him, Hermione and Ron. Unfortunately this isn’t a lesson he masters by the end of this year or book and is given a painful lesson in the consequences of his actions and thinking things thru. But he does make some strides, in one of my favourite moments in the series of the films, is when Voldemort possesses Harry Potter and in return Harry chooses to think about choosing love over hate, choosing his friends, and decency and fights off Voldemort.

Newsies

Ahh, Newsies. A major throwback, I’ll start by saying I loved how the broadway show and the music played was able to bring me back to remembering how much I loved this movie—so much that I ruined the VHS. There is a lot of things you can draw to be important for viewers to see: issues of children pre-foster care, the resourcefulness of children, how not to judge a book by it’s cover (from all angles: Newsie and schoolboy), and the historical significance. But the biggest feeling was the overall comradery of the film within the gangs and between the different gangs'

It was very “boys will be boys” but in the genuine way that expression should be—that boys are more likely to roughhouse, make inappropriate jokes and get dirty, not be overly aggressive or hostile towards each other. While they would mess around with each other and insult, there was no doubt in the minds of any of them that in a true need they would be there for each other, and had become their own family. That’s what truly resonated with this film, and while I cannot say why people didn’t see it in theatre, is probably what made it the cult film it became.