I am not dead!!

*headdesk* Yep, it's been awhile since I posted: Life. I shall say no more. But, to give you an idea of the goings on...

I would like to call to mind this picture ▼ At the time, I thought it was epic...

But NOW...... pah, not so much.
I would just like to point out that I am now suffering a cold and swollen knee from taking the latter picture. :] Ohh, the things we do for photography. Because of that winter madness, we have been TRAPPED inside for....... awhile. :P Actually, not THAT long, but enough to get to every one's nerves. Thus, we've learned to entertain ourselves. For myself...... I found a couple sharpies *sneaky gleam in eyes.* Is it just me..... or does anyone else get the severe urge to write everywhere when they have a sharpie in their hand?? Haha, no, I've managed to contain myself.... mostly. Here is my main creation:

Yes, I sharpied ALL of that! And even more, but you can't see it all here.

Yes, I like sharpies.

In other news. . . hm, there's actually not that much! I got to see my two-month old nephew for the first time last weekend!! ohmycrunchygoodness, he is ADORABLE! I can't even put into words how much I love this child! I dubbed him my little peanut m&m!

Peanut m&ms..... are amazing! Probably my new favorite candy, next to blue Sour Patch Straws and Reese's cups! I had them when I watched Avatar in 3D with a bunch of friends awhile ago. Speaking of which... well, it was an interesting movie; very sci-fi. My friend claims that they stole a LOT from Pocahontas, but I'm not too sure about that. Home much you like it just depends on personal taste, I suppose. As does everything. My favorite part was easily the glasses we got!! 3D glasses have come a looong way since the red and blue lenses of not-so-long-ago! ▼

▼◄◄

▼

Yep, that would be moi in the glasses! I actually wore them in public- with no shame whatsoever!!

I realize now that you can see my very unmade bed in the background-if anyone is looking close enough. In my mind, a clean room is a sign of a wasted life! Some questions come to mind as I ponder this subject-
1) Why do we make our beds, as we are only going to crawl into them in a few hours?
2) Is this a worldwide phenomenon?
3) Who decided this should be a regular habit?
4) what prompted that decision?
As you can see, I spend time deeply pondering these issues :D What was another weird rant I had..... oh, I was chatting with a friend the other day, and the conversation came to a halt. As a pickup, my friend asked, "so..... what's on your mind?" me: "cows." Friend: "Cows?" me: "Yes, they are my heroes. Without cows, we would have no milk. Without milk, there would be no ice cream. With no ice cream, there would be no happiness. Our world would thus be overrun by unhappy and- heaven forbid- HEALTHY people with no joy in their lives and our world would be enshrouded by darkness. Cows are therefore my heroes. :)"

My friend was stunned to silence. Yes, this is what I spend my time pondering ;) Just kidding, just kidding!

Well, I'm rather rambled-out now... not sure if that makes sense, hm.. but but but, I do appreciate your taking the time to read my ramblings and rantings! Have a splendiferous day

In which the Author learns why it is important NOT to make premature judgements.

Some of you may recall my ranting post quite sometime ago about the Phantom of the Opera sequel quite some time ago. (You can read it here, if you wish)

The story has developed a bit since that time. Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess are set to play Phantom and Christine in the London premiere of Phantom: Love Never Dies, contrary to what I formerly posted. From the official website:

“LOVE NEVER DIES” continues the story of ‘The Phantom’, who has moved from his lair in the Paris Opera House to haunt the fairgrounds of Coney Island, far across the Atlantic. Set 10 years after the mysterious disappearance of ‘The Phantom’ from Paris, this show is a roller coaster ride of obsession and intrigue...in which music and memory can play cruel tricks...and ‘The Phantom’ sets out to prove that, indeed, “LOVE NEVER DIES”.

Wikipedia adds that Madame Giry and Meg Giry accompany Phantom, but I would take that with a grain of salt, considering just about anyone could put something on Wiki.

Yes, I had a very extreme bias towards this show, and I'm still not happy that this could ruin the perceptions of some of my musical theatre heroes, but just yesterday... I found this. It's a clip of a song from the musical under scrutiny. Ramin Karimloo sang it at the press launch of Phantom: Love Never Dies. I'm trying to figure out how to post videos directly to my post, but til I figure it out (Or someone tells me [hint hint!!]), here is the link to Til I Hear You Sing from Love Never Dies. Grant it, it's kind of creepy that he is still obsessing over this woman (that could be his DAUGHTER [age-wise] if you think about it), but I have to admit... I was swooning by the end of the song.

AH, what's a girl to do?? I don't like the fact that this is associated with one of my favorite musicals in the entirety of the universe (why couldn't they just leave that out of it and make it with totally new characters??), but I loved this song and the man's voice! Have you ever heard anything more phenomenal?!?!

.:.:.:.

This is why we shouldn't judge. Most of the time, we are wrong anyways. And then admitting it is a big mess when we proud people want to hang on to our original bias. *siiiiiigh* (Goes to watch song again)

Musical theatre perhaps at its PEAK?? Official favorite musical in the entirety of the universe!

**Note, prepare for major rambling like you have never heard before!**

If I were to pick a single word to describe it.... I doubt I could actually decide. Maybe, "Beyond-wow" (The dash makes it one word ;) ), "thrilling," or perhaps, "Indescribable!!" Or, there's always the cliched "Wicked," that being the name of the object under scrutiny.

Yes, I had the wonderful experience of seeing "Wicked: the Musical" on stage.

What a darn gift!! So much I could say! It is my favorite musical in the entire world of musicals!!! The subtle hints toward the "Wizard of Oz" movie; ("Lemons and peaches and mango's, oh my!," "There's no place like home," etc.) The costumes-- oooooh, the costumes!! I could write an entire post going off in tangents about their costumes!! Galinda's sparkling ballgowns, Elphaba's discreet yet powerful black gowns, and the chorus' costumes - Each one seemed to tell it's own story!

And, of course, the cast and the music. Wow. To put it simply, I cannot imagine a cast to work better together! There was such amazing chemistry between all of the characters! Ah, so much talent!!

OK, the music-- I can't even begin to describe.. I laughed delightedly at the lightheartedness of "Popular," and I got chill-bumps when I heard Marcie Dodd belting out "The Wizard and I." Then, there was the long-awaited for "Defying Gravity." Neither words, nor even youtube videos can ever do it justice. There is so much energy and passion in that song... I mentioned I got chill bumps in "Wizard and I?" My heart was pounding so fast at the end of the song, my mind racing with the sheer energy in the theatre... I honest-to-goodness thought I was going to defy gravity myself (Cheesy as it sounds, yes.)!

Oh, here is an amaaaaaaaazing gift God gave to me while we were there! During intermission, my friend and myself ran down the stairs to rent some binoculars to use during the show (This is the most inspired idea perhaps in the universe!), and ran back up the stairs. We then realized how amazingly these worked (seriously, we were in the balcony and, with these handy little devices, could see every single facial expression on the stage!- wow!), and were sent back down the stairs for another pair! (Note that I was still on a high from the last hour-and-a-half, and hadn't tired yet of the stairs) Once we were down to the lobby, and had the binoculars in question, I turned to my friend and suggested that, "Since we are already heeere, why don't we go to the orchestra level and see the stage from there!" Now my friends is a very level-headed person, and suggested we go back to our seats since intermission was almost over. A valid point. But, being a stubborn little moi, I said something to the effect of, "Come on! Intermission is FIFTEEN minutes!! It hasn't been that long!! Let's just go take a look and seeeeee, then we can go back up stairs!" She gave in.

We walked to the stage, so close that we could see into the orchestra pit and probably could have walked onto the stage if we had a mind to... when, all of the sudden, the lights dimmed. The show started. And we were not in our seats.

For ten blissful minutes, I watched the most thrilling musical closer to the stage than I ever thought I would be that night. How darned sensational!!!! It was a highlight of my night! ( After the aforesaid ten minutes, an usher realized our plight and escorted us out of the orchestra level. Or else, you can bet your best bucket I would have stayed there all night!!) But is God good or what?!

That is all I can say for the moment, as it is getting rather late, but I can most surely state that I will be on a major high from this for [at least] the next month!! As I told an usher on the elevator I took up, "Musical theater goes to my head like wine." (My level-headed friend gave me a warning look at this, so I stopped. Otherwise, I probably would have pulled an Anne of Green Gables, and went on with something to the effect of, "At least, that's is how I imagine it would be; your face is flushed, your head is reeling, your heart is beating a mile a minute ; everything is vivid and exciting, and you just want to drink it all in so that you never forget it!")

But goodness, how I ramble! I'm very sorry! If you really read all the way through this post, let me know, I may give you an award or something! I shall stop now, and bid thee farewell!! So long, dear readers!

A Lovely Day...

The sun is shining, the sky is clear, the wind blowing... I suppose that sounds cheesy. Today, after laying out in the sun for awhile, my sister and I went to enjoy some wonderful snow cones in the summer-i-ness of our backyard. (I don't think it is possible to enjoy a snow cone as much inside as you can outside. It's just one of those funny things...) My sister and I put on our snow-cone shirts to boot!!

Before anyone take that wrong (I realize now that that sounds kind of nerdy), let me elaborate; the other day, as my sister, mother, and I were shopping, my sister came across this adorable pink shirt with big white polka dots on it. She modeled it [and I thought it was just darn cute] but wasn't sure she would ever wear it. I think her words were, "Yes, it's [really] cute, but when on earth would I wear it??" And I promptly answered, "When you go get SNOW CONES!! Obviously!! It's def. a snow cone shirt!!" We laughed; because THAT made a whole lot of sense... :) At home, I have my own bright, candy-striped shirt, which makes me feel like a little girl from the sixties, but is soooo fun!! And thus explains, in more words than necessary, the snow cone shirt.

Anyway, after enjoying our snow cones in our snazzy snow cone shirts, we came in and watched "West Side Story". I hear it talked about quite a bit, but I had never seen it before. It was...... interesting. Definitely copy of Romeo and Juliet. The choreography was amazing, however!

Now, I sit here blogging to get out of setting the table. Clever, no? What else happened today...? A-ha!! I was listening to the Christian radio station, and the played a BRILLIANT song!!! It's by Johnny Diaz, and is called "[[There can never be a]] More Beautiful You." Good message!! It talks about how you are beautiful THE WAY YOU ARE!!!!! Boy, do we need that today in some places! The link to the music video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ks3R2BwyO0
Check it out!! Good stuff.

Holy cow, it's dinner time already!! I shall try to post some more later!! Til then...

Oh, once again, if anyone has any musical-theatre-audition tips or songs they cared to share with me, I would really appreciate it! I'm a mezzo soprano... who is reminded she must go to dinner now by the calling of her little brother. Cheerio!!

Surely, I'm not the ONLY one...

...who gets *extremely* into whatever song they are listening to at the moment. In my mind... how can you not? Especially if it's a very passionate song...


It's even easier (for me) if it's a Broadway song. Then you have the whole character there right in front of you, you know their situation; it's so EASY to put yourself into the place of the character!!


Sometimes it's a deeper, more melancholic song, you may find yourself tearing up a bit (O.K., maybe some slightly more sane people don't; but I am certainly cheesy enough to do thus. Like when I'm singing "Home" from Beauty and the Beast, I can't help but feel lost and a little hopeless, just wanting to go HOME! I don't really know where I am, I just wanted to save Papa!! Anyway... *cough*), and just feeling the longing the character would feel (Be it for home, for mother, for freedom, etc.).



Then there's the more upbeat songs that are just so fun to get in to!! For instance, right now I'm listening to "I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray, and I actually got up and started dancing-- because clearly the WEDDING BELLS were RINGING!!!!!!! He TOUCHED me!!!!! Despite what they say, this is CLEARLY the start of something!! -- I actually go on much longer in my mind than I type out, just so you know.

Even some non-Broadway songs are fun to get into, like "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. My favorite part is towards the end-ish, just before the key change:

"I grew tired of waiting, wondering if you were ever coming around. My faith in you was fading, when I met you on the outskirts of town. And I said 'Romeo save me, I've been feeling so alone. I keep waiting for you but you never come! Is this in my head? I don't know what to think!' He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said [[this is my favorite]], 'Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone. I love you and that's all I really know. I talked to your Dad, go pick out a white dress; it's a love story, baby, just say yes!'"

Speaking of "Love Story," does anyone else think someone should tell Taylor Swift how Romeo & Juliet really ends?? I always thought that was kind of funny... I mean, I wouldn't *quite* want my love story to end that way...

Pwaaaaaaa, and [formerly] speaking of musicals... I'm planning to audition for a couple musicals in the some-what-near-ish future. It'll be my first musical audition, so if any of you have tips and/or song suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it-- especially the song suggestions. I'm a teenage mezzo-soprano [but not quite a belter--yet], if that helps a little. Thank you all so much!! I must go now. Cheerio!

Abbrv. & txt tlk

I suppose it's time for a post a little longer and with less extreme randomosity than what I've been posting. It's just been busy this spring!


What started me on the topic at hand was a text that was received. To quote:

OMG! LOL!! idk, u r hiliros o i g2g ttyl!

So should we be proud that we can understand this... or worried? It's not that I'm anti- text lingo, but sometimes it just seems a little extreme, as in the formerly mentioned case.

I understand the need for a quick, "lol" or "brb" in some instances (I mean, I use them on a regular basis), but if you're going to take the time to text... it doesn't take that much longer to spell a word out, does it?


Then I started thinking about abbreviations in general. Why do we even have some of them? They often drive me insane! Especially abbreviations for state names- all the ones that start with "M" I almost always get confused as to which one is which! "MI" "MO"MA" etc.

One particular abbreviation boggles my mind; it's shorter to write, but the abbreviation takes longer to say than what it is abbreviating! : WWW. Count the syllables- it's longer than what it stands for (World Wide Web).


Goodness I'm tired! *yawn* To end, I wish to quote the amazing "Calvin & Hobbes" (Bill Waterson) (Seriously, you can find a quote to apply to ANYTHING from Calvin & Hobbes!! The man is a genius!)

Yes, Hobbes, I believe you prove my point.

Alright alright, I can't resist; whilst I am rambling about the English language... I found a new word! Snollygoster: A shrewd but unprincipled person. BWAHAHAHA!!!!!!

O.K., I'm really going now. No, wait, I'm not! "O.K." just made me think of the history of "O.K." (yet another interesting abbreviation) Do any of you know what it stands for? It stands for... "All Correct" except in this case you spell it "Oll Korekt"! See, in a previous century, people thought it was funny to misspell words and abbreviate them. "O.K." made it's first appearance in a newspaper... and it stuck!

I'm really going now. Cheerio!

Narnia Tags x TWO! ( I love Narnia. I really do)

...And a TAG! If you are tagged, it is because I see you as a true-beyond-reason friend of Narnia (what other's refer to as "The-total-and-complete-Narnia-geek/nerd/whatever). Directions are... to simply write what comes into your head about Narnia, be it words, sentences, or pages.

.:.:.:.

What is it about Narnia..? The feeling it gives you when you read it.. It sort of leaves you longing for more. It's so rich, so moving. Everything about it is so... I don't know what the word is. But for some reason, you don't tire of them. Every time you read them, you see something more, something deeper.

Forgiveness. Truth. Trust. I see these displayed so much throughout the stories.

Then the longing, especially in the "Last Battle" for me, is so wonderful and terrible all at once. I try to touch on what exactly it is I feel but in the end, I can't really express it; I want to laugh and cry all at once. To quote my mother, "It hurts so good."

While I'm on the "Last Battle" streak... I just read the last paragraph of said book. It is, without a doubt, my favorite part of the entire series, and the entirety of all in the book world. It never fails to make me want to cry (and often, I do), to sort of give you that tight feeling in your chest like you want to cry tears of joy and sorrow all at once! (yes, I am very aware this sounds supremely cheesy. )

Call me a dork if you wish, but I truly have a passion for Narnia, and all things concerning it. I kid you not, there have been days when I would think about nothing but Narnia. I truly wish I could convey the feelings I have. But for the moment, I shall end this ramble with, what else, the last paragraph of the "Last Battle":

"And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but things began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

Pardon me while I grab the tissue box.

.:.:.:.

Whilst I am on the Narnia streak, I found this on Lyceria's blog and stole it:) filling out my own answers;

NARNIA~Favorites

~Fav. Narnia Book? The Last Battle!

Fav. Character? ASLAN, Reepicheep, Lucy, Edmund, Mr. Beaver (okay, so I'm a little biased on that last one...)

Fav. Pevensie? Edmund or Lucy ( I don't like picking favorites!)

King or Queen (of Narnia)? Um... Ever? Queen Lucy the Valiant, King Tirian, Queen Swanwhite, etc.

Fav. Talking Animal? Aslan (of course) and REEPICHEEP!!!! My hero!!! XD

Fav. Gift from Father Christmas? Either Lucy's vial or Susan's bow & arrows & horn

Fav. Weapon? Aslan's paws :)

Fav. Antagonist? The White Witch

Fav. "added scene" in movies? Ohh, um.. anything BUT The farewell kiss in PC!!!!

Fav outfit (in movie)? Mr. Beaver's Armor (LWW)!!!! Then, Susan's coronation dress (LWW) Susan's farewell dress (PC), and Grown-up Queen Lucy's hunting dress (LWW) and pretty much any other outfit in there :)

Fav. Line or quote from book or movie? From the book: The last paragraph from the "Last Battle!!!!!" (Didn't we just go through this?) And then from the movie... anything Mr. Beaver said in LWW (XD), annnnnd.... yeah. I could go on for awhile, but I won't

"WHO DO YOU LIKE BETTER?~
Mr. or Mrs. Beaver? Mr. Beaver (I'm a *little* biased, as I said. Having played him and all...)

Orieus or Glenstorm? Orieus

Peter or Edmund? AGH! I don't know!! *thinks a minute* Edmund I guess

Susan or Lucy? Lucy the VALIANT and the NON-TRAITOR!!!

Jadis or Miraz? Jadis

Jill or Eustace? ... Both!

Drinian or Rynelf? Drinian

Reepicheep or Trufflehunter? REEPICHEEP!! (With no offense to Trufflehunter (he's great too), what kind of a question is that?)

Trumpkin or Nikabrik? Trumpkin

Polly or Digory? Digory

Bree or Hwin? ...yes.

Aravis or Shasta? BOTH!!!!

Rilian or Tirian? Tirian; I think he has a stronger character.

Coriakin (the magician or Ramandu (the star)? I really don't know.

.:.:.:.

For the first thingy, I tag... Viola (who doesn't have a comment board so I HOPE that you read this!), & Lyceria

For the second, I tag.... you. If you've read this (Which I see you HAVE) you've been tagged!

Cheerio!!

What's in a Name? (The Name being "Bookworm")

This was the topic of discussion in the car with my mother the other day: What defines a bookworm?

The subject came about while we were talking about a book I had been reading; I believe the author tried to paint the main character the bookish type- you know, the one that always has her nose in a book- (She'd read all Jane Austen's novels a million times through, etc.) but something about calling the girl a bookworm just didn't seem right. I couldn't figure out why.

I certainly consider myself a bookworm, as do many of you, I believe.

The dictionary defines "bookworm" as "A person unusually devoted to books or study." So my mother asked, "If that's what it means, then what separates you from her in the book world?" I struggled to grasp the right concept. Not someone who was just always reading, but someone who reads with a passion, almost...

Then something c licked within my brain as to what was the difference between the fictional girl mentioned and myself: She read so much because she was bored and had nothing else to do; I read so much because I enjoy it. I love being wrapped in another story; another world. A good book will literally give me thrills. I can't imagine that is why the formerly mentioned girl reads.

So what really defines a bookworm? Someone who merely reads often, or one who reads constantly because of the passion?

Peter Pan: A Book Review

So I don't know if I just don't have a broad enough imagination or what, but I really didn't care for "Peter Pan" by Sir James Barrie. The plot seemed too...... it seems as if Sir Barrie made it up as he went along. Actually, there was no major discernible plot as far as I could tell. But here's the summary (thanks to Commonsensemedia.org):

"One night Peter Pan flies through the window of the Darling nursery in search of his shadow. There he meets Wendy, Michael, and John, teaches them to fly, and leads them to the home of the Lost Boys in Neverland.
... There, among pirates, Indians, and wild animals, the children have innumerable adventures.
But Captain Hook, the evil leader of the pirates, is determined to wipe out the Lost Boys, and especially the cocky Pan. He concocts a plan to kidnap the boys and Wendy, poison Peter, and make the boys walk the plank while Wendy watches. But Tinkerbell the fairy saves Peter from the poison, setting the stage for a final confrontation aboard the pirate ship."

I can't say I found any of the characters lovable, nor could I identify with any of them. They were all so... I don't know the word- the author describes Peter multiple times as "conceited" or "cocky," which I found to be true, but that wasn't the word I was looking for. The Darling children are described as "selfish," which was true towards the end, but again, not quite the word. I suppose it's that they're either so stereotypical, or that they're so outside the box that you couldn't quite believe that they were real.

The time concept just threw me off completely, I really couldn't discern what was happening when and where. And then the ending did not satisfy me at all. (I shan't say what the ending was, for the sake of *trying to* keeping this spoiler free, but it was VERY annoying and dissatisfying. Well okay- *spoilerish* practically everyone forgot)

I'm trying to think of something positive to say about it... it's very interesting to watch all of these characters, with their idiosyncrasies, interact with one another. The cocky Pan, the motherly Wendy, oblivious Smee, scheming Hook, etc.

After seeing the Disney movie, it's interesting to note that Captain Hook was voted the second scariest villain in children's literature (The White Witch from "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" came in first)(And I have to admit, I thought Hook was indeed scarier in the book than the Disney version).

Well, I'm afraid I'm just rambling now, so I'll stop. But wait- before I stop, I wanted to mention that the reason I read "Peter Pan" was because a theatre is putting on a production of it here and I was thinking of taking part in it. I still haven't decided if I will, but if I do, you can all be sure that I will tell you ;-P. Okay, I'm really stopping now. Cheerio!!

Random Rambling: Should there be a more detailed Narnia?

*note: LotR stands for Lord of the Rings; CoN stands for Chronicles of Narnia*

A certain friend and I were talking, (she's a LotR freak and I'm a CoN geek) and certain friend said that she didn't like CoN because there's not enough detail. But she loves LotR because of all the description! (If you have not read LotR, then I shall sum up a bit of J.R.R Tolkien's lovely description: pages. Upon pages.) Certain Friend said that if he (C.S. Lewis) had wanted to target a higher age group, he should have put in more description. Without all the description, he was seeming to target a group of three-year olds, and he's just really not telling us what it's like there.

I, on the contrary, believe that one of the beauties of the Narnia series is that there isn't a ton (i.e, pages upon pages) of description. It's like C.S. Lewis leaves whatever lies beyond the wardrobe door up to us. We get out of it what we put into it. Whereas in LotR, everything is very defined, and it seems that you're just watching what is going on, not being a part of the story. (honestly, in the three times that I've read LotR, I've skipped the parts of description and lineage) Anyway, I suppose I'm just rambling on, so I'll stop now, but please tall me what you think on the issue.