"I will right all wrongs and triumph over evil, and that means you!" - Sailor Moon, North American Version
I have been singing for as long as I can remember. I was told in 2nd grade that I couldn't sing, so I spent the year practicing with the songs on the radio until I was good enough to join the choir. I have performed in choirs all the way up through college, and I currently sing in the Chancel Choir of University Baptist Church on Lane Avenue. I loved doing plays in high school, but I looked forward to every musical because I loved being surrounded by the music. I'm so addicted to singing that I've purchased all of the Karaoke Revolution games for the Playstation 2! Of all the singing experiences that I've had, the one that had the most impact was my six years as a Singing Angel
I joined the Singing Angels in September 1990 and I had no idea that it would change my life. I met a ton of friends and I got to show the zany side of myself at rehearsals where I would do such things as run around and randomly quote lines from plays I did in high school. I got to travel (admittedly, I never went on tour but I got to go on bus trips to concerts which was the highlight of my early years) and even landed an occasional solo. My big break, in which I moved up to a featured soloist position, was my senior year when I landed the solo in the song One Little Candle. There was an unwritten rule about solos; if someone did not make a concert and their solo was part of a chorus song, it could be moved around to the next available singer. The big deal about my Christmas solo was that I was the only one to sing it that year. If I missed a concert, the song was not performed. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone else but it meant something big to the Angels.
I graduated with a small but mighty group of singers (two were missing from the color photo; see the b&w pic in the Photography section for all seniors). Every year the seniors do a song as their farewell to the group and we wisely chose an a cappella number, I Return To Music, for our last Spring Concert performance. We did not want to run the risk of anyone breaking down in the middle of the song because there were only 8 of us, so an upbeat song sent our message out loud and clear. Sometimes the schedule was crazy (especially the Christmas season with 90 total performances a year) and there was competition bulit-in because of the evaluation system where each child in the Performing Chorus was ranked, by section, on vocals, choreography, and several other points, but it was an experience I miss.
I still want to perform, or maybe get lucky and actually get a recording contract or sell an album, but it's embarassing to talk about my singing.
I have been a viola player since the 4th grade, when Cleveland School of the Arts had auditions for string instrument players. To get into the school, students had to audtion in four areas:
Once in the school, they recruited students into the different instruments by holding audtions. Months before, I had auditioned for the woodwinds/brass section hoping to get the Saxaphone, an instrument that I was madly in love with at the time. I instead got the Cornet, so I moved on to strings. In my family, my mom played the guitar and the piano, my aunt played the violin and my uncle, the clarinet. I wanted to be my own person so I chose the viola over the violin. I fell madly for an alto string instrument that, unfortunately, cannot be heard over anything else in the orchestra. I played all thoughout school and stopped playing for a time because I had never owned the instrument. It was always school property. My grandmother bought a viola for my birthday five years ago and I practice and play on my own. Once my school schedule slows down (or I graduate, whichever happens first) I would like to join a group, like the Cleveland Women's Orchestra when I move back to town.
The viola is a beautiful instrument that is often ignored and frequently mispronounced (it is vee-o-la not v-eye-o-la). Try to listen for it the next time you hear an orchestral piece
I became a fan of Japanese Anime in 1997, Winter Quarter at OSU. I went to a showing of animé at the Animate! Ohio State club and I've been hooked ever since. I have watched a lot of shows over the years, and I have developed a taste for almost every genre imaginable, but my altime favorite show is Sailor Moon.
I am a huge fan of Sailor Moon. I have seen all 200 episodes (in Japanese, with subtitles), the t.v. special, all 3 movies, and the two mini movies. In my heyday, I would acquire fan subbs (tapes of the show subtitled and distributed for no profit to spread the love of anime), I bought wall scrolls & card games and I even own such items as a Sailor Moon measuring cup. I've been able to move on and enjoy other shows but Sailor Moon always has a special place in my heart
The image shown is of Sailor Pluto, my favoite character from the series. The theory that I have about this character is one that makes sense only if you are familiar with the show. Sailor Pluto is known for hanging out with the youngest characters in the series, namely Chibi-Usa and Hotaru [I refer to all characters from their Japanese names, not the North American ones]. My question is: Why does she always want to be with the youngsters? My answer: Maternal Instinct. This is a character whose purpose was to guard the portal of time. She was to be alone for all of eternity guarding a door and, therefore, she would never have children. She was befriended by Chibi-Usa in the second season before the pink rabbit (Chibi-Usa's nickname) came to present time, and that may have triggered the maternal response in the solidary solider. It's just my theory and it's one of many I may deal with in a future website.
This image is © Copyright Takeuchi, Naoko, the creator of Sailor Moon.
Manga is essentially the term for Japanese Comics. The book form is called a tankobon, or what is referred to as Trade Paperback or Graphic Novel in the U.S. I got into it because I could afford it. For $30 I could either buy one DVD of a series or three manga. You do the math. Anyway, this has enabled me to enjoy series that are commercial without the financial risk of buying a DVD I don't like. I can't preview DVDs but I can read the books at the store or at the library before purchase.
I got into American comic books because I was buying so much manga at The Laughing Ogre, a local comic book store, that I was coming in at least once a month. I started off by buying independent label comics along with the manga and I slowly turned onto DC and Marvel. I loved reading Archie comics as a kid, but I was never into DC or Marvel. A lot of comic book connoisseurs look down on Archie readers but the comic is really good and is a slice-of-life perfect for kids daydreaming of the day when they will reach high school (before they find out that reality is a huge disappointment), but I digress. I primarily take out my comic books from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, but I do purchase titles when they are not available or they are very interesting
I think there is a correlation between Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon, one that deserves further study (which I would like to do as a PhD thesis). Wonder Woman played a pivotal role in comics as she was the first female super hero who did not need a man. Her appearance, during WWII when women were entering the workforce in droves for the war effort, has some similarities with Sailor Moon. The Japanese heroine made her appearance in the early 1990s, when women in Japan were going though a revolution of their own. Of course I am speculating, but these characters represent the Women's Liberation that was occurring at the time of their appearance (but I'll have to do more research to show that this is accurate). They also wear the same color schema and, they are still popular today. This topic is very interesting to me and hopefully will be followed-up once I have time.
I have been taking pictures since the seventh grade when I got my first camera. I have over 1000 color photos and dozens of black & white pictures in my collection, and I have featured some of my images throughout my webpages. The b&w images were also developed by me when I took Photography 1 my senior year of high school. I primarily focused on human subjects but I have turned to still life and nature photography in recent years. It's something I enjoy doing and look forward to doing this summer when I have some free time in my schedule.
I love to go out dancing. I went to every dance I could in high school because I love to dance so much. I'm not that good but I have rhythm, so that keeps me from standing out too much. My favorite spot was Outland, a goth bar near my residence in Victorian Village, Columbus, OH. I could dress in my corsets and other dark outfits, get great drinks, and dance the night away to industral or 80s music (depending on if you're inside or at the outside deck). The place closed late 2004, but they are supposed to open again soon. I look forward to it. My girlfriends from Cleveland would drive down so that we could go out. I hope it opens soon!
Marcon is the Multiple Alternate Realities CONvention, held annually at the Hyatt in Columbus Ohio. It has science fiction, anime, Masquerade, and just about anything else you can imagine. This is the 40th year of the convention and some big names are going to be there this year. This convention was also single-handedly responsible for Outland becoming a ghost town because just about everyone who came to the club goes to the convention. I highly recommed checking out their website for more information. See you there!
I love to assemble furniture. I buy the kits they sell in stores and I put them together. I'm not very good at what I do; something is always a little crooked but only noticeable if you're a perfectionist or if you get really close.
I am including links to other pages of interest
Here are some photos from my trip to New York City, where I met the ambassadors to Mozambique and Mali at the U.N. I met them with several other Young Scholars from Cleveland.
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This webpage, and most of its images are © copyright Kay Clopton
The background is © copyright IconBazarr
The Marcon banner is © copyright Marcon
Sailor Pluto is © copyright Takeuchi, Naoko
This page was last updated April 4, 2005
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