Classical Genre [Tuesday, 1st Period]

[cuff-me-once.livejournal.com]

Rick was not on top of the desk this week when the students arrived, and looked like he'd really prefer not to talk about it.

"Bund, James Bund," he began in an accent that was aiming for England but ended up somewhere in western Canada instead. "Possibly the most iconic character ever in spy fiction. Thirty-six books, fourteen of them by the original creator, twenty-two official films, and a handful of unofficial productions. If you're from this century, then chances are you know who he is. He's also the reason I became a writer and by extension why you're taking this class." So they all knew who to blame then.

"Today you're going to be watching one of the more recent films, Royal Casino," Rick said. "Which is an example of a number of things. It's a continuity reboot, completely divorced from the previous films, well except for Dame Judi as N. It's an example of some of the unforeseen complications that can occur from selling derivative rights, as usually the first book in a series isn't adapted over forty years after the second was. It's an example of the fact that altering some of the more objectionable aspects of works from older eras doesn't necessarily ruin the spirit of it, and also that changing things in an adaptation isn't always a bad thing."

He paused a beat then added "Though you'd think a multi-million dollar production could spring for a couple of bottles of hair-dye."

Elsewhere on the island, a MI6 agent was feeling vaguely insulted without knowing why.

"Most importantly, it's an example of an awesome film. So enjoy."

[OOC: OCD up.]

[Class Roster|Syllabus|Class Rules|Previous Classes]

Library, Wednesday [November 18]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

Her conversation with Mat yesterday was still on her mind, so Gabrielle was perusing a book on pressure points behind the desk. That would explain the random poking at the air she seemed to be doing from time to time, at various points in a vaguely human-sized space.

If you knew what she was doing, anyway, which meant that she basically looked like she was poking at empty air.

In the name of self-defense practice.

This would go so well.

[OOC: The OCD fled when she tried to practice on it.]

Punching People for Fun and Profit, Period 1 [Class Eleven | 11/18/2009]

[nofatjokes.livejournal.com]

When students entered the Danger Shop, they found themselves in a darkened warehouse, with few lights and single suitcase sitting on a pedestal in the very middle. There were shelves all about with various moddable things on them, mainly just cluttering the place.

Fred Dukes, however, was standing behind the pedestal.

"Mercenary work is pretty simple," he said. "It's a bit of military, a bit of bodyguard, and a bit of crime. All mixed into one. Today's practical example, you all have been hired to protect that briefcase. Now, well... now there will be ninjas. You better stop them. Otherwise you don't get paid. Or in this case... you won't get cake."

He chuckled.

"Have fun."

He stepped off, and left the students to their own devices to fend off the sneaky ninjas.

[ooc: OCD coming Open! Get your ninja action!]

Adventures in Literature, Wednesday, Period Three [Class Twelve]

[carpe_demon]

Drake had something a little more elaborate planned for class today than usual, so he had left a note directing students to the Danger Shop. There was a limit on how much he could do by just snapping his fingers.

In the room, the students would find themselves in a dark countryside, and hovering in the distance was a strange craft.

"The War of the Worlds," Drake said, stepping out from behind a farmhouse. He was oddly dressed like a priest and carrying a bible. "Written in 1898 by H.G. Wells. The book takes place in Victorian England, but the versions most people are familiar with take place in Grover's Mill, New Jersey or California. Actually, with you kids the version you might be most familiar with could be that wacky one with Tom Cruise, wherein the world is destroyed except for Cambridge, Massachusetts. Don't ask me, ask Xenu.

"Moving on! So the book starts out with meteorites crashing into the earth in England. They're actually Martian spacecrafts, and soon they're up and moving and heading out to destroy London, because that's how aliens roll. London, Tokyo, and New York. Really not a good plan to live in any of those cities if you're paranoid about alien invasions. Los Angeles, too, but that's more of a disasterporn hot spot these days. But I digress.

"The Martians stomp through the countryside in their Tripods, just as fierce as any ANTM finalist. The army tries to blow them up as armies do, but the Martian tech is far superior. The narrator of the story runs around trying to survive. Just when all hope seems lost, the Martians all keel over and die. Seems they forgot to get their shots, and they weren't vaccinated against all of Earth's viruses and bacteria. Ooops.

"Your task for today?" Drake finished. "Survival. But I don't advise doing something like this." Drake held up the bible and walked toward the alien ship, which was lowering its neck and "eye" to look at him. "We come in peace," he said. "We come in --" The eye glowed red and released a heat ray at Drake, vaporizing him. Ooops. And now more ships appeared and started moving toward the students.


[Syllabus | Class Roster]

DADA for Muggles [Wednesday, November 18, 5th period]

[siriuslyscarred.livejournal.com]

Today as the students arrived, the ceiling had been enchanted a clear blue, probably to counteract the subject matter.

"Because this came up so often in the introductory class, Professor Lupin and I decided that the one day we devoted to zombies and Inferi was probably not sufficient to fully cover the dark art of necromancy," Sirius began. "We have any number of places represented in this classroom right now, and bringing people back from the dead seemed to be a common theme for many of you. It is, unquestionably, a dark art." His glance swept over each student in turn. "Why, then, is that one of the first things people reach for when someone they love is taken from them?"

He looked over at Remus. Over the course of the years, they'd both lost more people than he'd thought he could bear to.

Remus, for his part, was struggling to look mildly interested and not too invested. "In our world, there are strict rules about moving on once a person has died. If the person fears death or is otherwise tied to this world, they might linger on as a ghost. But otherwise, their time here is done, and bringing them back is not only reckless and stupid, but detrimental to the person in question, as well."

After the brief discussion, Sirius waved his wand and dozens of textbooks (some covered liberally in dust) appeared on a table in the front of the classroom. "Use the rest of the class period to research necromancy and the horrible consequences that always arise when you try to bring back the dead," he concluded. "Next class, please bring in a report--covering at least a foot of parchment--explaining what you learned."

Infantry Tactics [Wednesday Second Period]

[furious-maximus.livejournal.com]

As students arrived for class they'd notice a large stack of assorted equipment. Very, very assorted equipment. Most of it seemed to be focused on specific sorts of environments: climbing ropes, snow shows, rain coats, water-proofed boots, and just about anything one could imagine. "Today we're going to be discussing and working in difficult terrain. Grab what you think you need from the stack and we'll get to the run." He grinned just a bit as he very carefully didn't tell them what terrain they needed to prepare for. "Remember that you should try to carry everything you need without carrying anything you don't..." Just seeing who grabbed what was going to be interesting.

"You are free to coordinate with one another on who's going to carry what. You have one minute," he added, waiting patiently for precisely sixty seconds before turning and beginning the run.

"Many irregular units are trained to handle difficult or uncommon terrain," Max explained as he ran along. "Mountains or desert or snow or forests. Many are trained to handle more than one. This is extremely important because the entire point of irregular forces is flexibility. If you have to move your teams through the same predictable easy terrain that regular troops move through, then it becomes easy for your enemies to intercept them. Having a flexible force allows you more freedom of movement which allows you to move your irregulars around pretty much at will, or forces your enemies to devote resources defending far more locations either of which is a very good thing for your side."

"For a lot of missions an irregular force has time for planning and proper equipment selection. You can look at maps and pick routes and then select gear based on those plans, but often that's not an option. Sometimes you don't have time because the opportunity to strike is short. Sometimes your plans have to change at the last minute. And sometimes you just don't have access to the equipment you want, and so you have to improvise."

( And then things got fun... )

Art 101 - Wednesday, Period Four - 11/18

[notsobadatall.livejournal.com]

Nick had been a little worried about this class, not in the least because he'd not really been sure how to cover such a subject as Romanticism. That was why he decided simply to set up a classroom with a few choice pieces scattered around the room, some chairs, and art supplies.

"Today, we'll be dealing with Romanticism. Now, considering what we've learned in our previous classes, I thought that a discussion along with a free expression period might be best. Feel free to take a chair, or spend a few minutes looking at the pictures. They're as much a part of this as anything else."

And he sat.

[ocd up!]

Ethics [Thursday, November 19, 1st period]

[sith_happened]

Today Anakin's desk was covered with droid babies in bassinets.

Each baby had a tiny stuffed Ewok tucked next to it. Shh.

"Today we talk about lust," Anakin said. "Or rather, the unintended consequences that can happen when you take action without precautions."

He smiled. "Meet your little projects for the next two weeks. They're heavy, they cry, and they will record everything you do with them. So if you stuff them into a closet for the duration, believe me, I'll know."

After all, he'd built all of them.

He reached for a list of paper. "Some of you I've paired together, some of you are single parents." His smile turned a little evil. "Some of your babies are a little fussier than others."