Happy Fourth of July.
4 years ago
07 July 2009
10 June 2009
Tony, Tony
The Tony Awards were Sunday night, so I thought I would share some of the highlights.
The Opening Number
The winner for best revival of a musical: Hair
Best Score winner (and my personal favorite show from this year): Next to Normal
Best Musical winner: Billy Elliot
The Opening Number
The winner for best revival of a musical: Hair
Best Score winner (and my personal favorite show from this year): Next to Normal
Best Musical winner: Billy Elliot
01 June 2009
Song of the Day- Day 8 "Fire and Rain"
For today:
"Fire and Rain"
by James Taylor
Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things
to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now
Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now
So far, Tori's blog has featured music by Pink Floyd, The Scorpions, The Killers, The Agape Rose, Rush, Panic! At the Disco, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan.
I noticed a definite lack of folk artists on her list, so I thought, in my guest post, I'd remedy that.
I was raised on folk music--Carly Simon, the Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, and, of course, James Taylor.
One of the most important things that my dad has shared with me is a love of music, and James Taylor was one of the first artists he shared with me. Of his songs, "Fire and Rain" has always been particularly interesting to me, because there's so much of a personal story in it.
The rumor is that the song is about Taylor's girlfriend (Suzanne) dying in a plane crash ("Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground'). Though that story would be deep and personal enough, it is not the real story behind this song.
James Taylor, in explaining the song, divides it into three verse. The first is, in fact, about the suicide of a woman named Suzanne. Suzanne was not a romantic interest of Taylor's, but a friend from his days in New York with a band called The Flying Machines.
Part two of the song focuses on Taylor's struggle with heroin addiction following his return to the U.S. after recording his debut album for the Beatles' Apple Records in London. And part three refers to Taylor's five-month recovery process at a private psychiatric institution, Austen Riggs.
Taylor uses this compelling and plaintive song to chronicle the story of the struggles of his early career-- his struggles with drugs and depression. The lyrics are artful and his singing and playing is, as always heartfelt.
One of the best things about this song is that it's one that, whether you know the intended meaning or not (and now you do), you can find something meaningful in it.
So that's my post for "Song of the Day." Check Tori's blog at http://momentarylapseofmusic.blogspot.com/ for the earlier songs of the day and for the upcoming songs.
"Fire and Rain"
by James Taylor
Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things
to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now
Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now
So far, Tori's blog has featured music by Pink Floyd, The Scorpions, The Killers, The Agape Rose, Rush, Panic! At the Disco, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan.
I noticed a definite lack of folk artists on her list, so I thought, in my guest post, I'd remedy that.
I was raised on folk music--Carly Simon, the Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, and, of course, James Taylor.
One of the most important things that my dad has shared with me is a love of music, and James Taylor was one of the first artists he shared with me. Of his songs, "Fire and Rain" has always been particularly interesting to me, because there's so much of a personal story in it.
The rumor is that the song is about Taylor's girlfriend (Suzanne) dying in a plane crash ("Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground'). Though that story would be deep and personal enough, it is not the real story behind this song.
James Taylor, in explaining the song, divides it into three verse. The first is, in fact, about the suicide of a woman named Suzanne. Suzanne was not a romantic interest of Taylor's, but a friend from his days in New York with a band called The Flying Machines.
Part two of the song focuses on Taylor's struggle with heroin addiction following his return to the U.S. after recording his debut album for the Beatles' Apple Records in London. And part three refers to Taylor's five-month recovery process at a private psychiatric institution, Austen Riggs.
Taylor uses this compelling and plaintive song to chronicle the story of the struggles of his early career-- his struggles with drugs and depression. The lyrics are artful and his singing and playing is, as always heartfelt.
One of the best things about this song is that it's one that, whether you know the intended meaning or not (and now you do), you can find something meaningful in it.
So that's my post for "Song of the Day." Check Tori's blog at http://momentarylapseofmusic.blogspot.com/ for the earlier songs of the day and for the upcoming songs.
31 May 2009
Tomorrow
Hey, guys!
My friend Tori over at Song of the Day is out of town tomorrow, so I will be posting for her blog on here tomorrow.
Look for my "song of the day" here tomorrow, and check out Tori's blog at http://momentarylapseofmusic.blogspot.com.
My friend Tori over at Song of the Day is out of town tomorrow, so I will be posting for her blog on here tomorrow.
Look for my "song of the day" here tomorrow, and check out Tori's blog at http://momentarylapseofmusic.blogspot.com.
29 May 2009
Same Name Game (Lame)
I had a conversation a while ago about people with the same name and all of the confusion that causes. As a person with a common name, I'm very aware of the difficulties that name sharing can lead to, but there are some instances of same-name that are just ridiculous.
For instance:
Christopher Columbus: the man who, in 1492, sailed the ocean blue and discovered the new world.
Chris Columbus: the guy that directed Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies.
Tom Cruise: actor and all-around nutbag.
Tom Kruse: the Hoveround guy-- you know, from those God awful commercials.
Michael Bolton: the guy that sounds and looks kinda like he's in pain whenever he sings.
Michael Bolton: the character from Office Space.
Michael Jackson: a wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens.
Michael Jackson: former member of the Jackson 5 who has made headlines in the past few years for... well, a lot of strange behavior.
Winona: Ryder, actress in movies such as Edward Scissorhands.
Wynona: Judd, country singer.
Red Robin: Gourmet Burger restaurant chain.
Red Robin: DC Comics hero-turned-villain-turned-hero again.
Ramon Galves Huerta: retired chef arrested for being a heroin dealer.
Ramon Galves Huerta: heroin dealer.
(For real. Here's the news story. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090526/ap_on_re_us/us_wrong_arrest)
There are a ton of other examples, of course, but it's really just funny to think about all of the possible cases of mistaken identity that could stem from these names.
EDIT 7:33 p.m.: My roommate just reminded me of another same-name pair.
George Michael: the pop star, famous for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."
George Michael: Bluth, the character played by Michael Cera in the sitcom Arrested Development.
For instance:
Christopher Columbus: the man who, in 1492, sailed the ocean blue and discovered the new world.
Chris Columbus: the guy that directed Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies.
Tom Cruise: actor and all-around nutbag.
Tom Kruse: the Hoveround guy-- you know, from those God awful commercials.
Michael Bolton: the guy that sounds and looks kinda like he's in pain whenever he sings.
Michael Bolton: the character from Office Space.
Michael Jackson: a wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens.
Michael Jackson: former member of the Jackson 5 who has made headlines in the past few years for... well, a lot of strange behavior.
Winona: Ryder, actress in movies such as Edward Scissorhands.
Wynona: Judd, country singer.
Red Robin: Gourmet Burger restaurant chain.
Red Robin: DC Comics hero-turned-villain-turned-hero again.
Ramon Galves Huerta: retired chef arrested for being a heroin dealer.
Ramon Galves Huerta: heroin dealer.
(For real. Here's the news story. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090526/ap_on_re_us/us_wrong_arrest)
There are a ton of other examples, of course, but it's really just funny to think about all of the possible cases of mistaken identity that could stem from these names.
EDIT 7:33 p.m.: My roommate just reminded me of another same-name pair.
George Michael: the pop star, famous for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."
George Michael: Bluth, the character played by Michael Cera in the sitcom Arrested Development.
27 May 2009
...What?
After months of hiding, I am proud (well, maybe not proud...) to announce my return to the blogosphere.
The past few months have been busy. And when they weren't busy, I was lazy.
I'm still lazy.
Anyway, since February, I've played a major role in my first university main-stage show, assistant directed my first community theater show, designed a set, seen Star Trek, traveled back and forth between school and home, held my three-year-old niece during a tornado and cooked chicken spaghetti.
Oh, and I finished my second year of college.
Weird, right?
So it's summer break now--at least until Tuesday, when I start my summer class (boo).
Summer means that it's time for me to
1. get some real writing done--I have about 20,000 words on the novel that I started for NaNoWriMo and lots of fun places to go with that
2. muddle my way through a science class--Again, boo.
And
3. find a job.
Exciting stuff.
But, even with that stuff to do, I still have more free time than usual. We'll see if I can match last summer's posts.
The past few months have been busy. And when they weren't busy, I was lazy.
I'm still lazy.
Anyway, since February, I've played a major role in my first university main-stage show, assistant directed my first community theater show, designed a set, seen Star Trek, traveled back and forth between school and home, held my three-year-old niece during a tornado and cooked chicken spaghetti.
Oh, and I finished my second year of college.
Weird, right?
So it's summer break now--at least until Tuesday, when I start my summer class (boo).
Summer means that it's time for me to
1. get some real writing done--I have about 20,000 words on the novel that I started for NaNoWriMo and lots of fun places to go with that
2. muddle my way through a science class--Again, boo.
And
3. find a job.
Exciting stuff.
But, even with that stuff to do, I still have more free time than usual. We'll see if I can match last summer's posts.
27 February 2009
Thoughts For A Rainy Day
It has been raining here all day.
Which means that I've had rather a lot of time to think. And that's never good.
I spent a lot of time thinking about things that I've learned in my life-- especially the really odd things. So, today I bring you a list of (non)vital information for a rainy day.
* If you put thirty-five candles on a cake and light them all, you will set off the fire alarm and the fire department will come and shut down your opening night party.
* Nothing good can ever come from being in a Waffle House after midnight.
* It's a bad idea to wear a tank top and sandals on a late night walk in October.
* There's a song for everything. I mean everything.
* Some people should never have coffee.
* If you play a character that is stoned in a show, you will be remembered as "The Girl Who Was Stoned" or "Pot Girl."
* It's awkward when it's one of your professors who remembers you as "The Girl Who Was Stoned."
* Whenever people come to your apartment, there is a risk that they will fall asleep on your living room furniture.
* There's also a risk that your guests will break your dishes.
* There's always someone geekier than you are.
*Making a good grade in a foreign language class means nothing. Unless it's Japanese.
* Taco Bell is a brilliant idea.
* The bread at Olive Garden is not to be fooled around with.
* Hot dogs are made out of nasty.
* Kids shows will never be as good as they were when you were a kid.
* Calvin and Hobbes is still cool.
* It's always funny when friends who are drunk fall on their faces.
* Even people who love to read rarely have the chance to read for pleasure during the school year.
* It's far easier to sit in a coffee shop and talk for hours than it should be.
* Innuendo is everywhere.
* An hour spent watching YouTube videos is an hour well spent.
* Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Sierra Mist, Dr Pepper and Lemonade (sometimes) combine to make fruit punch.
* Adding "bitch" to the end of a statement makes it more authoritative.
* Carrying a wedding dress across campus will earn you a lot of strange looks.
* The word "epic" no longer has any meaning.
* The Wii is a dangerous thing.
* It is possible to injure yourself with a butter knife.
* The best stuff in the world hides in five dollar movie bins.
* Staying up all night with friends is, and ought to be, a regular occurrence.
I hope you're able to find some wisdom for a rainy day on this list. Or some random crap that got you to giggle. Either one.
Which means that I've had rather a lot of time to think. And that's never good.
I spent a lot of time thinking about things that I've learned in my life-- especially the really odd things. So, today I bring you a list of (non)vital information for a rainy day.
* If you put thirty-five candles on a cake and light them all, you will set off the fire alarm and the fire department will come and shut down your opening night party.
* Nothing good can ever come from being in a Waffle House after midnight.
* It's a bad idea to wear a tank top and sandals on a late night walk in October.
* There's a song for everything. I mean everything.
* Some people should never have coffee.
* If you play a character that is stoned in a show, you will be remembered as "The Girl Who Was Stoned" or "Pot Girl."
* It's awkward when it's one of your professors who remembers you as "The Girl Who Was Stoned."
* Whenever people come to your apartment, there is a risk that they will fall asleep on your living room furniture.
* There's also a risk that your guests will break your dishes.
* There's always someone geekier than you are.
*Making a good grade in a foreign language class means nothing. Unless it's Japanese.
* Taco Bell is a brilliant idea.
* The bread at Olive Garden is not to be fooled around with.
* Hot dogs are made out of nasty.
* Kids shows will never be as good as they were when you were a kid.
* Calvin and Hobbes is still cool.
* It's always funny when friends who are drunk fall on their faces.
* Even people who love to read rarely have the chance to read for pleasure during the school year.
* It's far easier to sit in a coffee shop and talk for hours than it should be.
* Innuendo is everywhere.
* An hour spent watching YouTube videos is an hour well spent.
* Mountain Dew, Pepsi, Sierra Mist, Dr Pepper and Lemonade (sometimes) combine to make fruit punch.
* Adding "bitch" to the end of a statement makes it more authoritative.
* Carrying a wedding dress across campus will earn you a lot of strange looks.
* The word "epic" no longer has any meaning.
* The Wii is a dangerous thing.
* It is possible to injure yourself with a butter knife.
* The best stuff in the world hides in five dollar movie bins.
* Staying up all night with friends is, and ought to be, a regular occurrence.
I hope you're able to find some wisdom for a rainy day on this list. Or some random crap that got you to giggle. Either one.
17 February 2009
Ah, Childhood
When I was a little kid, I was a big fan of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. I really identified with Calvin, and still do-- we theater folks tend to have over active imaginations, and Calvin was definitely a prime example of that. Here are a few great moments from the comic strip.
15 February 2009
Slightly Bookish
So maybe I never need to promise daily posts again. Sorry, folks.
Anyway, if you were around the blog this summer, you know that I'm a bit of a bookworm
And that my job was horrifically boring. But I digress.
I found this thing on Facebook and thought I'd share it as today's thing that makes me happy.
The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?
I'm not able to verify the above statement, but I'll do this anyway.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
x 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
x3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
x+ 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
x5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
x 6 The Bible (New Testament)
x 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
x 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
x10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
x11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
*14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
*15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
x21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
x 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
x29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
x 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
x40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
x41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
x42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
x49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
*51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
x57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
x59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
x64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
x70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker *
x+73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
x+76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
x+81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
*83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
x87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
x88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (in French, no less!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
x+ 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
x99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Totals
x- 28
+-5
*4
Anyway, if you were around the blog this summer, you know that I'm a bit of a bookworm
And that my job was horrifically boring. But I digress.
I found this thing on Facebook and thought I'd share it as today's thing that makes me happy.
The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?
I'm not able to verify the above statement, but I'll do this anyway.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
x 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
x3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
x+ 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
x5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
x 6 The Bible (New Testament)
x 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
x 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
x10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
x11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
*14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
*15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
x21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
x 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
x29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
x 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
x40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
x41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
x42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
x49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
*51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
x57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
x59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
*61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
x64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
x70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker *
x+73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
x+76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
x+81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
*83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
x87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
x88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (in French, no less!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
x+ 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
x99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Totals
x- 28
+-5
*4
11 February 2009
This Is Not My Lit Paper
Sorry about not posting the last few days. I've been busy. (And being busy is one of the things that make me happy, but I was too busy to post about being busy. Make sense? Yes?)
Anyway, I have a five page paper due Friday, so the thing that makes me happy today is procrastination.
To share the joy, here a few videos that can prevent you from being productive today, too.
Anyway, I have a five page paper due Friday, so the thing that makes me happy today is procrastination.
To share the joy, here a few videos that can prevent you from being productive today, too.
06 February 2009
Staged
Theater has always been something that makes me feel better when I'm down. Something about getting to forget who I am and what's going on in my life just really relaxes me. So, today's post is all about theater. I found this meme on Facebook a while ago, and I'm going to re do it, just for this blog.
LAST SHOW ADDED TO YOUR RESUME:
Company
LAST SHOW YOU AUDITIONED FOR:
Anything to Declare?
DID YOU GET IT:
Indeed I did. I'm playing Madame Dupont.
LAST SONG YOU USED AT AN AUDITION:
Well, we did songs from the show at Company auditions. Before that, I used "Taylor the Latte Boy" for Little Shop auditions.
FAVORITE MUSICAL:
I have three favorites: Les Miserables, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Last 5 Years
FAVORITE PLAY:
My favorite drama is Hamlet and my favorite comedy is either Noises Off or The Women.
FAVORITE ROLE YOU'VE PLAYED, AND FROM WHAT SHOW?
The title role in Laura. It was not only my first lead, but also my first experience with SCT (such a great group of people!). And she was so much fun to play. Madame Dupont may make it to my top two--we'll see later in the process.
FAVORITE ROLE OVERALL THAT I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY:
Wow, that's a difficult question! I guess my top three would be Clytemnestra in The Orestiea, Cathy in The Last 5 Years and Fantine in Les Miserables.
SUPERSTITION:
I usually try not to think that I'll get a role during the auditions-- it seems like when I see myself getting a role, I don't get it. Also, I never say the name of the Scottish play on stage. Never. And I don't say good luck.
YOUR GOAL IN SHOW BUSINESS:
Ideally, Broadway. I'd love to do national tours or regional shows, too.
FAVORITE DIRECTOR YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH:
Dwayne Craft. But I've been fortunate enough to work with a ton of great directors.
WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST SHOW?:
If we're not counting dance recitals, An Evening with Ed--A Really BIG Show (a dinner theater with AUM). My first community show was Annie.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A DANCE SOLO?:
I had a dance duet in Pocahontas.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SINGING SOLO?
Yes.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THE LAST PERSON TO TAKE A BOW?
Only once-- in Laura.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO NEW YORK?
Three times. The first time with the youth group at church. We didn't get to see any shows. The other two times, I went with the drama department at my high school.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO LA?:
Nope. I've never been that far west.
WHAT'S THE SCARIEST PART OF AN AUDITION?:
The waiting. Open auditions are most nerve racking for me, because I find myself comparing my work to the other people's. It doesn't bug me with straight acting auditions, but I can psych myself out so easily when it comes to singing auditions.
WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF AN AUDITION?:
Seeing what a show could be. I tend to cast shows in my head at the auditions, so I get to imagine how it will turn out.
NAME A SHOW YOU WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN:
Pocahontas and Sound of Music.
NAME A SHOW YOU COULD DO FOR YEARS:
That I have done? The Good Doctor. I could probably do Last 5 Years or Les Mis for years if I had the chance.
WHAT ARE YOU AUDITIONING FOR NEXT?
I'm not sure. Probably the summer musical.
DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH PAST CAST MEMBERS?:
Yeah, most of the time. I've met some great people doing shows; it'd be a shame not to keep up with them.
ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW IMPORTANT IS GETTING PAID?:
Well, I've never been paid for it yet. But once I'm completely out on my own, it will become very important. Unless I make a lot of generous and rich friends while I'm in school.
SOMETHING EMBARRASSING OR UNEXPECTED THAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE ON STAGE?:
Well, pulling down the curtain during Laura was certainly unexpected. And embarrassing. It was a real shame, too, because, as far as acting goes, that was probably the best performance.
WHO IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PERSON (ON STAGE OR OFF) THAT YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH?:
Probably best not to mention names here, I think.
EVER BEEN NAKED ON STAGE?:
No.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KILLED?:
In Laura, everyone thought I was dead until the end of Act One. That's the closest I've come to that. There was one point in the process for Orestiea when I was always there when someone died.
BEEN DRUNK?:
No, but I've been high. (On stage, of course.)
PLAYED SOMEONE HALF YOUR AGE?:
Nope.
PLAYED SOMEONE TWICE YOUR AGE?:
Haha--yes! I always play older.
CRIED?:
Yeah.
FIRED A GUN?
Nope.
BEEN DRENCHED?
No.
BEEN IN A DREAM SEQUENCE?
Yes, in Pocahontas
BEEN KISSED?:
Yes, in The Good Doctor and in Laura.
LAST SHOW ADDED TO YOUR RESUME:
Company
LAST SHOW YOU AUDITIONED FOR:
Anything to Declare?
DID YOU GET IT:
Indeed I did. I'm playing Madame Dupont.
LAST SONG YOU USED AT AN AUDITION:
Well, we did songs from the show at Company auditions. Before that, I used "Taylor the Latte Boy" for Little Shop auditions.
FAVORITE MUSICAL:
I have three favorites: Les Miserables, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Last 5 Years
FAVORITE PLAY:
My favorite drama is Hamlet and my favorite comedy is either Noises Off or The Women.
FAVORITE ROLE YOU'VE PLAYED, AND FROM WHAT SHOW?
The title role in Laura. It was not only my first lead, but also my first experience with SCT (such a great group of people!). And she was so much fun to play. Madame Dupont may make it to my top two--we'll see later in the process.
FAVORITE ROLE OVERALL THAT I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY:
Wow, that's a difficult question! I guess my top three would be Clytemnestra in The Orestiea, Cathy in The Last 5 Years and Fantine in Les Miserables.
SUPERSTITION:
I usually try not to think that I'll get a role during the auditions-- it seems like when I see myself getting a role, I don't get it. Also, I never say the name of the Scottish play on stage. Never. And I don't say good luck.
YOUR GOAL IN SHOW BUSINESS:
Ideally, Broadway. I'd love to do national tours or regional shows, too.
FAVORITE DIRECTOR YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH:
Dwayne Craft. But I've been fortunate enough to work with a ton of great directors.
WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST SHOW?:
If we're not counting dance recitals, An Evening with Ed--A Really BIG Show (a dinner theater with AUM). My first community show was Annie.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A DANCE SOLO?:
I had a dance duet in Pocahontas.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SINGING SOLO?
Yes.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THE LAST PERSON TO TAKE A BOW?
Only once-- in Laura.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO NEW YORK?
Three times. The first time with the youth group at church. We didn't get to see any shows. The other two times, I went with the drama department at my high school.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO LA?:
Nope. I've never been that far west.
WHAT'S THE SCARIEST PART OF AN AUDITION?:
The waiting. Open auditions are most nerve racking for me, because I find myself comparing my work to the other people's. It doesn't bug me with straight acting auditions, but I can psych myself out so easily when it comes to singing auditions.
WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF AN AUDITION?:
Seeing what a show could be. I tend to cast shows in my head at the auditions, so I get to imagine how it will turn out.
NAME A SHOW YOU WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN:
Pocahontas and Sound of Music.
NAME A SHOW YOU COULD DO FOR YEARS:
That I have done? The Good Doctor. I could probably do Last 5 Years or Les Mis for years if I had the chance.
WHAT ARE YOU AUDITIONING FOR NEXT?
I'm not sure. Probably the summer musical.
DO YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH PAST CAST MEMBERS?:
Yeah, most of the time. I've met some great people doing shows; it'd be a shame not to keep up with them.
ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW IMPORTANT IS GETTING PAID?:
Well, I've never been paid for it yet. But once I'm completely out on my own, it will become very important. Unless I make a lot of generous and rich friends while I'm in school.
SOMETHING EMBARRASSING OR UNEXPECTED THAT HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE ON STAGE?:
Well, pulling down the curtain during Laura was certainly unexpected. And embarrassing. It was a real shame, too, because, as far as acting goes, that was probably the best performance.
WHO IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PERSON (ON STAGE OR OFF) THAT YOU HAVE EVER WORKED WITH?:
Probably best not to mention names here, I think.
EVER BEEN NAKED ON STAGE?:
No.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN KILLED?:
In Laura, everyone thought I was dead until the end of Act One. That's the closest I've come to that. There was one point in the process for Orestiea when I was always there when someone died.
BEEN DRUNK?:
No, but I've been high. (On stage, of course.)
PLAYED SOMEONE HALF YOUR AGE?:
Nope.
PLAYED SOMEONE TWICE YOUR AGE?:
Haha--yes! I always play older.
CRIED?:
Yeah.
FIRED A GUN?
Nope.
BEEN DRENCHED?
No.
BEEN IN A DREAM SEQUENCE?
Yes, in Pocahontas
BEEN KISSED?:
Yes, in The Good Doctor and in Laura.
05 February 2009
Blue Hair
A song that a friend introduced me to last night is what's making me happy today. It's called "Blue Hair" and is performed here by Cortney Wolfson, who was directed by Andrew Keenan-Bolger (check my blog roll for his blog).
04 February 2009
You May Quote Me
Today's antidepressant is my personal favorite.
I love quotes. I remember random witty or silly things that are said to me (or around me), and I cherish them. Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite quotes. Some are funny; some are deep.
"Everything I say is true. Except the mistakes and the lies. And the lies are just there for drama."
Eddie Izzard
"A woman is beautiful when she is loved, and only then."
Mr. Skeffington (Claude Rains) in the film Mr. Skeffington
"I want to thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities."
Tina Fey
"Does Heaven need our help to enforce its laws?
Leave vengeance to the Lord, Sir; while we live,
Our duty's not to punish but forgive
And what the Lord commands, we should obey
Without regard to what the world may say."
Cleante in Moliere's Tartuffe
"I like my men like I like my tea--weak and green."
from Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes; I am out of control and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
Marilyn Monroe
"Be ashamed to die before winning some battle for humanity."
Horace Mann
"In this world you can either be oh-so-smart or oh-so-pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me."
Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) in the film Harvey
I love quotes. I remember random witty or silly things that are said to me (or around me), and I cherish them. Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite quotes. Some are funny; some are deep.
"Everything I say is true. Except the mistakes and the lies. And the lies are just there for drama."
Eddie Izzard
"A woman is beautiful when she is loved, and only then."
Mr. Skeffington (Claude Rains) in the film Mr. Skeffington
"I want to thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities."
Tina Fey
"Does Heaven need our help to enforce its laws?
Leave vengeance to the Lord, Sir; while we live,
Our duty's not to punish but forgive
And what the Lord commands, we should obey
Without regard to what the world may say."
Cleante in Moliere's Tartuffe
"I like my men like I like my tea--weak and green."
from Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes; I am out of control and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
Marilyn Monroe
"Be ashamed to die before winning some battle for humanity."
Horace Mann
"In this world you can either be oh-so-smart or oh-so-pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you may quote me."
Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) in the film Harvey
03 February 2009
Continued
I realized today that a left out a character that I dearly love yesterday, so I'm continuing with yesterday's Justice League Unlimited post and count it as a separate thing (since there's just a few minutes left of today).
The character today is The Question. He's not nearly as well known as Batman, but fans of The Watchmen might think he seems a little familiar-- the character Rorschach was based on The Question.
(This post is actually kinda doubly fun for me-- The Huntress is another of my favorites.)
The character today is The Question. He's not nearly as well known as Batman, but fans of The Watchmen might think he seems a little familiar-- the character Rorschach was based on The Question.
(This post is actually kinda doubly fun for me-- The Huntress is another of my favorites.)
02 February 2009
Superheroes
Continuing my list of things that make me happy, I came across this video from the Justice League Unlimited tv series.
I am a closet comic book fan (...though I suppose I'm out now... oops). My love for the DC superheroes spread into an appreciation for the animated series. This scene is a great on for Batman, and Batman happens to by my favorite of the DC heroes.
I am a closet comic book fan (...though I suppose I'm out now... oops). My love for the DC superheroes spread into an appreciation for the animated series. This scene is a great on for Batman, and Batman happens to by my favorite of the DC heroes.
01 February 2009
From A Smoke Filled Bar
So in the last post, I said I'd try to post something every day that makes me happy.
Today the thing that makes me happy is jazz music. There's something incredibly soothing about sitting around, listening to a softly playing piano and a mellow saxophone playing, while a velvety voiced woman sings, sounding. The image of a woman in a sparkling gown, singing into an old-style microphone in a dark, smoke filled bar is one that always makes me feel better. Here are some of my favorite jazz songs.
"They Can't Take That Away From Me"
"Moonlight Serenade"
"At Last"
Today the thing that makes me happy is jazz music. There's something incredibly soothing about sitting around, listening to a softly playing piano and a mellow saxophone playing, while a velvety voiced woman sings, sounding. The image of a woman in a sparkling gown, singing into an old-style microphone in a dark, smoke filled bar is one that always makes me feel better. Here are some of my favorite jazz songs.
"They Can't Take That Away From Me"
"Moonlight Serenade"
"At Last"
31 January 2009
Blergggggggggggggggh
Hey, folks. Sorry about my lengthy absence. There's really no excuse.
Anyway, January is almost over.
This is good news.
I'm one of those people that gets kinda down in the winter. January to mid-February is always a little on the melancholy side for me.
So, to cure my mid-winter blues, I'm going to post songs and videos that make me happy every day (er, hopefully) between now and February 16.
Sound good? Good.
Something like this actually happened to me about a week ago. It was strange. Funny, but strange.
Anyway, January is almost over.
This is good news.
I'm one of those people that gets kinda down in the winter. January to mid-February is always a little on the melancholy side for me.
So, to cure my mid-winter blues, I'm going to post songs and videos that make me happy every day (er, hopefully) between now and February 16.
Sound good? Good.
Something like this actually happened to me about a week ago. It was strange. Funny, but strange.
05 January 2009
My Secret
I've discovered a love for a sitcom called The Big Bang Theory.
Maybe you've heard of it.
Anyway, the show kind of reflects my life. There've been a few moments from the show that I have lived.
For example:
These are really more exaggerations, but they're not too far from the truth of my life.
Maybe you've heard of it.
Anyway, the show kind of reflects my life. There've been a few moments from the show that I have lived.
For example:
These are really more exaggerations, but they're not too far from the truth of my life.
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