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Sunday, August 31, 2008

Trion Rising

When I finished this book, I got mad. You want to know why? Because the next book in the series doesn't come out until October.

Trion Rising is the first book in the Shadowside trilogy (by Robert Elmer) which seeks to answer the following question: What would it be like if Jesus had come to another planet?

The story follows Oriannon Hightower, a daughter of an elder of the bright side of Corista. But all she knows is shaken when a new music mentor named Jesmet takes over her orchestra class. Soon she finds herself in an adventure that takes her over to the shadowside of the planet which is always left in darkness.

I read this book in one day. The fact was helped by a three hour car ride and time to read at the condo last night, but it is a special fact. Usually, I'll read part of a book then leave it alone for awhile, then come back to it. This time I was hooked to the story. I liked that it wasn't a simple step by step allegory and that you had to look (but not far) for the correspondance of some things. Other things were so important you could tell right away what events of the Gospels linked to the events in the books.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for its great concepts, interesting characters, and Christian undertones.

Chinatown


For the whole of this movie, I had no idea what was going on. And I loved that. I love movies that keep you guessing.
For those who don't know, Chinatown is the film noir classic of 1974, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Nicholson stars as the private investigator J.J. Gittes who is hired to investigate the water department head Mr. Mulwray. His wife believes that Mr. Mulwray is seeing another woman and wants to find out who it is. Before long, Gittes realizes he's been set up by a woman pretending to be Mrs. Mulwray. The plot thickens when Mr. Mulwray seemingly accidentally dies. Gittes, believing Mulwray was murdered, is now hired by the real wife to find out who murdered him. Many more plot twists ensue.


I can see why this film is a classic. It has an intriguing storyline, great acting, and a great screenplay. I read a book on screenplay writing that highly recommended this movie on the basis of its screenplay. And the author was right. For a screenplay to be good, it has to get the audience within ten minutes because the average audience member will know whether he likes a movie within ten minutes.
So anyway, 3.9 out of 5 stars.

Classic movies reviewed: 2/50

~66~

#66: Get my family to play Clue with me

Last night was a crazy game of Clue. (funny how we didn't get this to happen until vacation..) It started out with six of us playing, (Mimi was busy, Grandpa was cooking) with Martin and Paulie sharing a person. Then Martin quit cause he thought he had messed something up, then Paulie quit cause he got bored. Sooo.....I won...ha ha....Mickey was zapped into the Twilight Zone from the Lobby with the Room Key. Yes........I love my Tower of Terror themed Clue. That puts two of my favorite things together.

Coming Soon:#47: Get up on a slalom at the Lake (waterskiing)
We are at the Lake. As soon as I recover from being sick and we get some smooth water, I will start the attempt to slalom.
Coming Soon: Continuation of #21: I watched the classic Chinatown with Mom and Dad the other day, so a review will come soon.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Blog stalking...

All right, I read this on someone's blog and it...is...amazing. Please take the time to read it.

Do You See Him?

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Quotes

"Self-plagarism is style."

"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it."

"Drama is life with the dull bits cut out."

"When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, 'It's in the script.' If he says, "But what's my motivation?" I say, 'Your salary.' "

-Alfred Hitchcock

Favorite Movies

(see post on books below this one)

Australia
Bella
Bourne Identity, The
Bourne Supremecy, The
Bourne Ultimatum, The
Breakfast Club, The
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Clue
Curse of the Black Pearl
Emperor's New Groove, The
Empire Strikes Back, The
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Gods and Generals
Great Muppet Caper, The
How To Train Your Dragon
Ideal Husband, An
Importance of Being Earnest, The
Island, The
Jane Eyre (2006)
Lord of the Rings, The
Lost Boys, The
Meet Joe Black
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Moulin Rouge
Muppets from Space
Muppets Take Manhattan
Northanger Abbey (2007)
Overboard
Parent Trap, The (1998)
Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Pink Panther, The (1963)
Pink Panther Strikes Again, The
Prince Caspian
Princess Bride, The
The Producers (both versions)
Rear Window
Reduced Shakespeare Company, The
Return of the Pink Panther, The
Revenge of the Pink Panther
Return of the Jedi, The
Robin Hood (1973)
Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann version)
Say Anything
Secondhand Lions
Secret of N.I.M.H., The
Shot in the Dark, A (1964)
Signs
Singin' in the Rain
Sixth Sense, The
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Trek: First Contact
Strictly Ballroom
Village, The
X-Men
X2: X-Men United
X-Men: the Last Stand

~

Animaniacs


Battlestar Galactica
Big Bang Theory
Charlie's Angels
Fawltey Towers
Firefly
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The (1981)
Lost
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Muppet Show, The
NCIS
Pinky and the Brain
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Twilight Zone, The
X-Files

Books I Recommend

So, today I was looking at my profile and I realized how cluttered it looked. So, I'm putting my favorite books here, with a link to this page on my sidebar.

Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Caroll
And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
Anthem, by Ayn Rand
Book Thief, The, by Markus Zusak
Candlestone, The, by Bryan Davis
Circles of Seven, by Bryan Davis
Edgar Allen Poe: Short Stories and Poems
Eyes Like Stars, by Lisa Mantchev
Eye of the Oracle, by Bryan Davis
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Frog and Toad, by Arnold Lobel
Go, Dog, Go, by P.D. Eastman
Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Great Gatsby, The, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hank the Cowdog series, by John R. Erikson
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The, by Douglas Adams
Hobbit, the, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Horse and His Boy, The, by C.S. Lewis
Hunger Games series, by Suzanne Collins
Importance of being Earnest and Four Other Plays, The, by Oscar Wilde
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Last Battle, The, by C.S. Lewis
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The, by C.S. Lewis
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Lord of the Rings, The, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Magician's Nephew, The, by C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H, by Robert C. O'Brien
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
Phantom of the Opera, The, by Gaston LeRoux
Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis
Princess Bride, The, by William Goldman
Quirkology, by Dr. Richard Wiseman
Raising Dragons, by Bryan Davis
Reserve Two for Murder, by John Randall
Scarlet Pimpernel, The, by Emmuska Orczy
Screwtape Letters, The, by C.S. Lewis
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
Silver Chair, The, by C.S. Lewis
Swiftly Tilting Planet, A, by Madeleine L'Engle
Tears of a Dragon, by Bryan Davis
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The, by C.S. Lewis
Watchmen, by Alan Moore
William Shakespeare: Complete Collection
Wind in the Door, A, by Madeleine L'Engle
Wrinkle in Time, A, by Madeleine L'Engle
You Can't Take It With you, by Kaufman and Hart

Last but definitely not least, the ultimate book: the Bible. I would be nowhere without this book. Personally, I recommend the New American Standard, Holman Christian Standard, and English Standard translations of the Bible.

Reviews

Books:
And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
Anthem, by Ayn Rand
Book Thief, The, by Markus Zusak
Bones of Makaidos, by Bryan Davis
Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Children of the Mind, by Orson Scott Card
Eternity's Edge, by Bryan Davis
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Horse and His Boy, The, by C.S. Lewis
Inkdeath, by Cornelia Funke
Phantom of the Opera, The, by Gaston LeRoux
Princess Bride, The, by William Goldman
Screwtape Letters, The, by C.S. Lewis
Silver Chair, The, by C.S. Lewis
Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome
Trion Rising, by Robert Elmer


Movies:
42nd Street
And Then There Were None (1945)
Around the World in 80 Days (1989)
Bella
Chinatown
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Inkheart
Lady Jane
Meet Joe Black
Phantom of the Opera
Prince Caspian
Princess Bride, The
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Trek
Thomas Crown Affair, The
Vantage Point
Village, The
Walk the Line


Music:
Colour, by Andy Hunder
We Shine, by Fee

TV Shows:
Animaniacs
Lost thoughts

Theater:
Phantom of the Opera

Monday, August 25, 2008

And Then There Were None~1945 version


I have to say, I think they did a great job. As I've ranted before, films these days (for the most part) do not have the same quality that they did back then, and this movie confirms that. The story is perfectly executed, the characters were human, and the mystery was chilling.
As with the book, ten people are brought to Indian Island by a U.N. Owen, but they are accused of murders that cannot be proven. As the story progresses, each of the members of the party are killed off in accordance with the Ten Little Indians rhyme.
Another reason I really liked this version was that it happened alot like I imagined it when reading it.
And for those who have read the book: the ending is different, but I still liked it.

My review of the book
Classic movies reviewed: 1/50

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Looking into the archives.../completed goals

So, because people liked my poem it seems, I thought I'd give y'all a couple more. These I don't consider to be as good (I wrote them a long time ago) but I think they're nice.

Stars in the Heavens

Look into a clear sky and what do you see?
Stars like diamonds twinkling in the midnight sea,
When one shoots by, you must look fast for when
You turn around it will be gone again.

*~*

Sunset

God sets up his canvas,
And his colors He picks carefully,
Wanting to show His glory must be
Planned properly.

He takes up his paintbrush,
And dips it in deep red.
He brushes it over part of the sky
And His beauty is aptly fed.

He adds more colors,
Orange, maybe yellow,
Because His eye is always perfect,
None of them are ever mellow

When He looks back at His work,
He sighs contentedly,
And says, “I think that should give
Them a good example of my glory.”

~*~

Singing Psalm 95

Sing for joy to the Lord!
Shouting joyfully to the rock of our salvation,
With a joyful heart and dedication,

Sing for joy to the Lord!
Coming before His presence with thanksgiving,
To Him, we sing Psalms and from Him, we find forgiving.

Sing for joy to the Lord!
He is a great God where we find our peace,
He is the Great King over all other gods that our thought to them must cease.

Sing for joy to the Lord!
His hand is in the Earth, and His breath upon the air,
The mountains are His, and because of Him, they are fair.

Sing for joy to the Lord!
For He is the one who formed the seas,
And the land, His hands brought forth, and that it is good, He sees.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

99: I've left my Phantom graphic up for more than a week now, and because I'm feeling lazy, it'll stay for awhile, ha ha.

21: I watched the old black and white version of And Then There Were None the other day, and I will do the review right after this post.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

*Evil Laugh*

YES! I have figured out how to master Mom's video editor, and have taken our video clips of Encyclopedia Salesman, put them together, and made a video worthy of youtube. Mwah ha ha!!!

Our take on the Encyclopedia Salesman sketch.

See also: The Annoyed Director montage

Wow.....

We have a video on youtube....that seems so weird..
So anyway, here's a video of Mom's tumor removal. DO NOT WATCH if you have a weak stomach or have just eaten....it's not pretty.....

THE PROCEDURE

Friday, August 22, 2008

New Feature!

I'd like to bring y'all something new: Quotes of the Week!
Every week, I will bring you, funny, inspirational, and what-not quotes from real life, movies, books, or whatever I deem fit.

"A poet can survive anything but a misprint."

"People who count their chickens before they are hatched act very wisely because chickens run about so absurdly that it's impossible to count them accurately."

"Life imitates art far more than art imitates life."

"A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies."

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

"In this world there are only two tragedies: One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."

"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go."

Can any of y'all guess who this is?
Hint: one of my favorite playwrights.

THE Procedure.../Completed Goals

Wellll, yesterday Mom finally had her procedure. After 20+ years of having that bump on her arm, she had it removed. It was quite a day. This is the bump, its mere hours being numbered.



We rode into town with Mimi, and as soon as we got there, Mom went charging over to the door, and she broke the door handle!! We couldn't stop laughing for a long time, especially when Mimi said, "I've never seen her so excited to get into a doctor's office!" because as most people know, my mother hates about 98% of doctors. ("to be fair" she says)


So we finally got someone to let us in, and Mom is still super excited. After years of people saying, "Ewwww, what happened?" or "What is THAT on your arm?" she was finally getting that thing out.


This dermatologist was really cool. He had a Scottish name, so I envisioned him as a Scottish warrior in a kilt on the Scottish highlands, hee hee.

Then Mom got called in, and we all went trooping back there: Mom, me, Mimi, and Princess Geo.

Then she got the procedure done...I got it on video, and might post it on youtube but I haven't researched that yet. Let me tell you, it was disgusting. It was bigger than we thought it would be....oy........

So she finally got it out and there was much rejoicing. (yaaaaay............) To celebrate (and calm our stomachs...) Mimi treated us to Baskin Robins right across the road. It was delicious...

And as one final bonus, I've completed goal #32. I've worn alot of funky socks recently, including these:

(who says you can't wear knee socks with shorts? ha ha)

In other news, I went to the Geopalooza exhibit (80, I believe) which was AMAZING. There were tons of incredible geodes, most of them amethyst. There were rocks that looked like they were painted because of their color. There were rocks that glowed in florescent light. And finally lots of fossils. Definitely worth seeing.

Then, we hung around in the energy hall and we saw one of the pins being knocked down by the pendulum. Isn't it fascinating how that thing works? They get it started, then it keeps swinging because of the weight, and it swings (albeit slowly) in a revolving circle because of the Coreolis affect. For those who don't know what that lovely effect is, is is also the effect that makes water swirl around and makes people walking around in circles inadvertantly make the circles smaller. Basically, it swirls because of the speed of the earth's rotation. And I feel like a total nerd being so excited about the Coreolis affect....

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Craziness!!!!!


101 update-19 completed

In Process:
99: Fighting the urge to make a new graphic....
70: I'm at Tom Bombadil!
30: I have weak arms!! Weak, weak, weak!!!!
20: I have so many half read books....
15: See Ghost of the Past
12: Numbers....oy.....
7, 3, 2: these'll continue to go

Completed: 19! I saw Highlander last night. As Dad said, yes it was an adolescent boy's movie, but it had some interesting story to it. Actually, come to think of it, it partially resembled a story that Princess Geo and I used for a pretend game one time...not the "there shall be only one" but the sword fighting in a modern city. I did love all of the kilts... I'll probably rate this one a three on Netflix.

Ghost of the Past

I wasn't going to put this on my blog, but Mom read it last night and said it was good.

As I step into the house, I feel a sense of loss.
Though no one seems to see it, they don’t even know the cause.
They go about their business as if you never left,
They go about their business as I try to forget.

As the time wears on, the feeling seems to come back.
Vainly I try to ignore it; I try to keep it back.
But a voice nags at me and says, “Why are you here?
You say you’re trying to forget, but this place brings him near.”

I realize that the voice is right, and as I look around
Images of the past seem to appear and flutter down.
I numbly watch as scenes of our most joyful times unwind,
I watch the scenes as madness seems to creep into my mind.

At first, weak and resigned to my fate,
I let it in thinking it’s too late.
But then I close my eyes in prayer,
A prayer for my unleashed despair.

God sees and hears, and soon I know,
Though it may be long, though time seems slow,
I can trust in God’s perfect plan.
I know someday I’ll see you again.

~by Lady Brainsample

Monday, August 18, 2008

Character Interaction exercise

Write down the first ten book characters who come to mind. Try not to use more than one character from any given book.

Character 1: Bonnie Silver from Dragons in Our Midst
Character 2: Faramir from Lord of the Rings
Character 3: Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre
Character 4: Ford Prefect from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Character 5: Cor from Horse and His Boy
Character 6: Philip Lombard from And Then There Were None
Character 7: Katherine Moreland from Northanger Abbey
Character 8: Westly from the Princess Bride
Character 9: Jason Bourne from the Bourne Identity
Character 10: Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility

Now answer the following questions, based on the characters you wrote down above. Absolutely no going back to change the characters you've chosen!

Characters 4 through 10 are on Survivor. Who gets voted off the island first? Katherine Moreland because she has no useful survival skills and she spends all of her time reading the gothic novel she has as her luxury item.
What are the chances of characters 1 and 8 falling in love with each other? No chance. Bonnie is prophesized to marry Billy Bannister, and Westly is taken by Buttercup
Character 2 and character 3 get into a cat fight. Who wins and why? NO! I can't imagine why my beloved Faramir and beloved Mr. Rochester would get into a fight!
Of the other nine characters, who is character 7 most likely to have a crush on? Probably Colonel Brandon, at least before she meets Henry Tilney
What would happen if character 4 got turned into a vampire? Ford Prefect would thirst after Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters all day
Two of the characters are twins separated at birth. Which two are they? Mr. Rochester and Colonel Brandon
Characters 1, 2, 3, and 9 are stuck in an elevator. What do they do to pass the time? They wouldn't pass the time. Jason Bourne would get them out of the elevator
What would happen if character 8 and character 5 were roommates? They practice their sword fighting skills. Westly would be the better and teach Cor.
What do character 10 and character 6 have in common? they're from England...other than that....they're each gentlemen but in different ways

I encourage y'all to do this one too; it was alot of fun.

Time....

I have only just a minute
Just sixty seconds in it;
Forced upon me-can't refuse it,
Didn't seek it, didn't choose it,
I must suffer if I lose it,
Give account if I abuse it;
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it!
-Author Unknown

Saturday, August 16, 2008

101 in 1001

EDIT 12/28/08: I can't make up my mind ever what my goals are, so don't be surprised if you see one that wasn't previously there.

In other news, I think I'm going to do the 101 in 1001 days, I got this from my friend Tricia, who got it from another friend, so I'm guessing it's one of those internet things that gets passed around. Basically, one thinks of 101 goals whether big or small to fulfill within the next 1001 days, which is around 2.75 years. Some may happen, some may not, but it also gives material for blog posts. By my calculations, I have until May 14, 2011.
So...here I go to try to make a list. Completed tasks are in purple, in process tasks are in italics.
1. Make the list
2. Memorize the elvish beginning of Lothlorien
3. stretch every day to keep my splits
4. Write more EJC scripts
5. Go to the Renasseince (not looking it up right now....) festival
6. Audition for at least 2 theater productions (2/2)
7. Spend MORE time in prayer than I do now every day
8. Watch the old (good!) Original Series Star Trek movies. (Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, Voyage Home.)
9. See Phantom of the Opera live
10. See Spamalot again (whether it be on Broadway or on tour here)
11. Wear my wig
12. Read all of the books of the Bible I've never read
13. Go camping again
14. When camping, if with Princess Geo recreate the pic of our moms camping
15. Start writing more poetry16. Do more hair experimentation
17. Read something by G.K. Chesterton
18. See Les Miserables
19. See Highlander (there shoulda been only one!)
20. Finish all of the books on my unread shelf that have been sitting there for ages

Ok, this is hard! I'm going to come back to it later.....

**a few hours later**

21. Watch 25 classic movies (25/25)
22. Hold off dyeing my hair again till after summer
23. Film some Monty Python sketches (our versions of course...)
24. Work tech on at least one play
25. Apply to junior college
26. Run a half marathon
27. Have the Official EJC convention
28. Get Season 5 of Lost when it's out
29. Find a suitable event for wearing my five dollar dress
30. Finish Ender's Game series
31. Start side business with friend32. Wear funky socks more often
33. Wear my cape more often
34. Memorize ten useful things to say in Elvish (3/10)
35. Give a gift to someone for no particular reason
36. Read something by George MacDonald
37. Donate to a Pregnancy Resource center
38. Read the books I'm borrowing from Erustan (they're piling up....)
39. Update my resume
40. Ask Mimi to take a new headshot of me


I'm taking another break......

***still hours later***

41. Attempt to dye the tips of my hair
42. Have a Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate factory marathon
43. Get through Level 1 of German on Rosetta Stone
44. Have the official EJC convention
45. Visit each of my friends up north (if not up there, then get them to come down here) (1/2)
46. Watch past seasons of NCIS
47. Get up on a slalom at the Lake (waterskiing)
48. Watch all of Animaniacs in order
49. Re-read Jane Eyre
50. Visit my friend in San Antonio
51. Get a good score on the PSAT
52. Get a good score on the SAT
53. Get good scores on whatever other tests Dad wants me to take
54. Get my driver's license
Gee, this is hard! I'm coming back to it tomorrow......

****the next day****

55. See Hamlet
56. Read Much Ado About Nothing
57. See the movie Much Ado About Nothing
58. Read A Midsummer Night's Dream
59. Watch Chariots of Fire
60. Start voice lessons
61. Eat some Baked Lays
62. Memorize to-be-determined passage of the Bible
63. Memorize to-be-determined passage of the Bible
64. Memorize to-be-determined Psalm
65. Memorize to-be-determined Psalm
66. Get my family to play Clue with me
67. Play competitive solitaire with Grandpa
68. Look for better audio editing software for short films
69. Pay my library fine

70. Finish LotR on audiobook
71. Make some good short films
72. Pay off my computer
73. Make my five dollar dress wearable
74. Come up with a new alias that I like (I've never been able to beat Lady Natasha E. Brainsample of the planet Skyron....ever)
75. Transfer all EJC Productions videos to digital
76. When I get a laptop, transfer everything
77. Read Mere Christianity
78. Buy some new geeky t-shirts
79. Finish memorizing the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
80. Visit the Geopalooza exhibit at the museum
81. Get a solo part in a musical
82. Improve my precision with Mom's Glock
83. Write a short story that I think is worthwhile
84. Watch Annie/My Fair Lady to prepare for the auditions

Stupid list!!! It's going to take me 1001 days just to make the list!!! ARG!!!!

85. Find a new plaid skirt
86. Find a new black skirt
87. Get Season 4 of Lost when it's out

88. Apply for a real job
89. Trim down my Netflix list
90. Watch some old animated movies I haven't seen in ages
91. Learn something on the piano I can accompany myself with
92. Listen to Phantom of the Opera on audiobook
93. Read Three Men in a Boat
94. Listen to the Screwtape Letters on audiobook
95. Find some new audition monologues
96. Finish watching my Flying Circus dvds
97. Read something by Ted Dekker
98. Finish my Ideal Husband document
99. Go for a week without changing my header graphic (sorry, couldn't think of anything else)
100. Whack off hair
101. Blog about the interesting stuff on the list

PS Mom and I ate some Baked Lays while we were trying to come up with stuff, so I get to cross that off!!! YAY.
PPS Classic Movies watched:
1. And Then There Were None~1945
2. Chinatown
3. Around the World in 80 Days
4. Thomas Crown Affair, The
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. 42nd Street
7. Fiddler on the Roof
8. Breakfast At Tiffany's
9. Singin' In the Rain
10. Footlight Parade
11. Casablanca
12. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
13. The Pink Panther
14. Rear Window
15. To Catch a Thief
16. The Great Race
17. My Fair Lady
18. The Sound of Music
19. The Princess Bride (I don't care what anyone else says, it's a classic)
20. Psycho
21. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
22. The Breakfast Club
23. Star Wars
24. Empire Strikes Back
25. Return of the Jedi

Thoughts....

Last night I went to a community theater production of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was very good, however they used the same script I did from about a year ago, so I knew all the lines!
That's not the point....their production was excellent, but what caught my eye was their listings of next season's shows and under each show they had dates for auditions! The first plays of the season I wouldn't be able to do because of dance scheduling, but in the summer, they have open auditions for Annie and My Fair Lady. The wheels were turning in my head as well as my grandma's, so I found someone to talk to after the performance. They welcome all performers, not just the ones from the surrounding town. In addition, this community theater happens to be closer to home than the company I've been doing classes with in the city. Another thing is that I would have a better chance at getting good parts because this theater isn't in the middle of a large city!
I talked to Mom about it, and she liked the idea! I'm thinking about reducing the amount of ballet I do next year as well because A. It'll be less stressful and B. I'll have more time free for shows I may audition for. By no means would I quit ballet entirely, but I would probably not take at my current school because they require lots of classes for the level I'm at.
Soo, those are my thoughts. I have time to think over them because the next audition my schedule would allow will be next May. Who knows? I might make Mrs Hannigan! That would be fun!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

My Newly Discovered Obsession...

If y'all hadn't already noticed, I changed my header to a graphic I made of my recently realized obsession: Phantom of the Opera. The first time I watched this movie (2004 version), my mind kind of went into culture shock A. because it was stunningly beautiful visually and B. because I loved it so much!

The movie takes place at the Opera Polulaire in Paris in the late eighteen hundreds. The opera house has been sold to two new managers who find that there resides the Opera Ghost, who makes certain demands such as permanent use of Box 5 and a salary. When a set piece "somehow" falls and almost hits the opera house's diva singer Carlotta, she storms out and refuses to sing for the performance. Christine Daae is volunteered for the role, and she impresses the managers with her singing. The story that ensues is dark, but incredibly good.
Of course, it being an Andrew Lloyd Webber (otherwise known as Alfred Floyd Webster around here) the music is FANTASTIC. At first I only bought the title song off of iTunes, but then I completed the album because it's just that good. Even if one doesn't see the movie, they would probably love the soundtrack by itself. (must buy favorites include Overture, Think of Me, Phantom of the Opera, and All I Ask of You) The singing is phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. Emmy Rossum has the clear voice perfect for Christine, Patrick Wilson perfectly soothing for Raoul, and Gerard Butler deep and mesmerizing for the Phantom.
Minnie Driver is of course hilarious as Carlotta the diva, lending facial expressions and attitude one would normally expect from Minnie Driver. However, Minnie Driver is not a soprano opera singer, so her part was voiced by a professional singer whose name I cannot recall.
Another thing I loved was the Phantom's style. He has the coolest sense of style EVER. He's got the underground kingdom, the candles that light when they rise from being underwater, the white mask, the black cape, everything! Plus, he has awesome habits such as sending a red rose with a black ribbon to people he is pleased with.
To close, I say this: see the movie or see the musical!!!
10/4/08 EDIT: See also my review of the book.

At first I only saw this movie to see Jack.....

I honestly didn't expect much from the movie Vantage Point...I expected it to be a regular B-grade thriller, maybe with some good acting from Matthew Fox (referred to as Jack) and Dennis Quaid (the dad in Parent Trap) but beyond that, I thought it wouldn't catch my interest. I was dead wrong.
Just to get them out of the way, the movie has some cons.....bad language is one. But the other had to do with the music. Not that I didn't like it; on the contrary. But I am a Bourne fan before I am a Vantage Point fan, so it seemed to me that some of the music was copy and pasted from the Bourne movies. The final con was that the story seemed to end too quickly. They could have tied up the loose ends in a little more drawn out fashion.
The movie follows an assasination attempt on the president during at a world summit in Spain, but from different points of view. I have to say that the first point of view is misleading (in amusement value), but that's probably because Sigourney Weaver doesn't impress me as an actress that much. (I'll give her the Village, but that's about it) Once it started jumping around to different points of view, it REALLY started going. About every five minutes, Princess Geo, Mom or I would mutter, "I'm so confused...." but then to balance that out, we'd also yell, "DUDE!!!" or "NO WAY!!!!" or "THAT'S WHY SUCH AND SUCH DID THIS OR THAT!!!!!"
Overall, this was a very good movie, and I'll probably rate it 4 out of 5 on Netflix.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Middle Earth geeks~edited!

From our photo shoot a while ago......edited finally.


Tuesday, August 12, 2008

If I were.....

1. If I were a food, I would be...potato soup
2. If I were a book, I would be...the Princess Bride
3. If I were a TV character, I would be...Sabrina from Charlie's Angels
4. If I were a flavor of ice cream, I would be...vanilla
5. If I were a word, I would be...sequipidelian (look it up, it's a real word)
6. If I were a number, I would be...5
7. If I were an animal, I would be...a racoon
8. If I were one of the seven dwarves, I would be...Sleepy
9. If I were one of the seven deadly sins, I would be...sloth
10. If I were a Hollywood starlet, I would be...Audrey Hepburn
11. If I were a drink, I would be...English tea

Side note: I'm finding most of these fun questionaire things here. I encourage y'all to go there and fill out one you like on your blog.

A very important message...

No Letter?

Ain't you got no paper?
Ain't you got no pen?
Ain't you got no envelope
To put my letter in?

Is you lost my address?
And my letter, too?
Don't you know I'm 'bout to die
From lack of word from you?

Is you got writer's cramp?
Is you broke your arm?
Is you got rheumatism?
Or is you come to harm?

Ain't you got no thought of me
Feeling kinda blue.
Don't you know it's ages
Since I last heard from you?

-author unknown

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Dream questions...

Ok, I know I just did one of these recently, but I found this one on dreams. Since I have MANY weird dreams, it seemed appropriate for me.

Do you remember your dreams? most of the time. some of the details get fuzzy, but I usually remember the gist of it

What's the best dream you've ever had? All of my secret agent/running away from being captured by bad guys with friends dreams. also, the time I dreamed I jumped from a Titanic ship and felt the tingly sensation one gets from falling. Also the times I've dreamed that I was a mutant. (think X-Men)

What's the worst nightmare you've ever had? I don't write down my nightmares unless they're interesting, so I don't remember. Except for the dream about running away from a scary director of a play. I do remember dreaming about Rasputin from Anastasia when I was a kid though. That was the first dream I ever had that I can remember.

What's the absolute WEIRDEST dream you've ever had? too many to count...

Can you control your dreams? not really. I dream about stuff I'd rather not dream about sometimes, but other times I dream about people I've been doing stuff with recently

Do you have any recurring dreams? dreams of my being a secret agent with two of my friends

Have you ever had a flying dream? I've had a dream that I was flying in the Blackbird from X-Men and we jumped out of the plane and landed safely in a shopping mall

How about one of those dreams where you go to school/work and realize that you're naked? unfortunately.....yes

Have you ever had a dream that featured characters from a book, movie, or television show? OHHHHH yeah....I've had Lotr, X-Men, Narnia, the Breakfast club...the list goes on. I've also had a dream where I WAS ROGUE!!!!! That was awesome.......Gambit was even there..

Have you ever had a dream where your teeth fall out? no......

Have you ever dreamed something that later came true? YES...I dreamed someone from church died her brown hair golden blonde, and about a year later she came home from college and it was that EXACT COLOR......sCaRy............

Again, I tag Tricia, Princess Geo, Mom, and any other volunteers.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Christians Under Trial

I have a friend who has recently been under verbal attack from an anonymous commenter, so just as a refresher course, and since I have alot of Bible verses related to this handy, I'd like to discuss something that isn't often taught in churches these days.

We will suffer. Our faith is an offensive, politically incorrect, getting-to-the-core-of-things faith. It's not a faith that sits in the shadows. Our faith is something that we are going to be hated for.
Jesus doesn't ignore this; "If the world hates you, know it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world and I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. If they persecute me, they will persecute you," (John 15:18-20a) In Matthew 16, Jesus says, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Matthew 24:9b says, "You will be hated by all nations because of my name."

But there is hope. God doesn't just leave us alone in the world to fend for ourselves. He gives us the privilege of prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, and He gives us His promises in the Word.
In John 16, Jesus comforts the disciples by promising them the Helper (the Holy Spirit) who will guide us. We also have hope because later in the chapter, Jesus tells us, "in the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

In Matthew 5, Jesus says "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." We will be blessed when we suffer for Him! Our reward in heaven is worth it.

Finally, as one of my old youth pastors liked to say, "I feel GREAT because of Romans 8:28!"
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His pupose."

And in verses 35-39 of the same chapter, Paul tells us, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

A tag!/questionaire thingie

Miss Erin's from a LONG time ago...

1. What's the book you've cried hardest in? probably Little Women
2. What's the movie you've cried hardest in? Overboard or Lord of the Rings
3. What's the worst movie you've watched? Harriet the Spy (they RUINED a great book) or Watership Down (hippies using bunny gore!! ugh!!!!!)
4. What's the most ridiculous movie you've watched? Lady in the Water (ridiculous in a goes on too long with no point way....the only Shyamalan so far I don't like) or a Walk to Remember
5. What's the most disappointing book you've read? almost every extended universe Star Wars book I've read
6. What's the funniest movie you've watched? Monty Python and the Holy Grail
7. What's the silliest book you've ever read? silly in a good way: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or the Princess Bride
8. What are a couple of books you're dying to read? Bones of Makaidos and Eternity's Edge by Bryan Davis (not out yet, darn!)
9. What are a couple of movies you're dying to watch? Adaptation to And Then There Were None, Inkheart next year (hopefully it'll be good!)

I tag Tricia, Princess Geo, Mom and any volunteers.

Meet Joe Black

This is ANOTHER underappreciated movie. When Meet Joe Black came out, it had a disappointing run at the box office. Critics varied completely. I believe personally that the reason it didn't do well is that when people go to the movies these days, they don't want to think. They want to be mindlessly entertained. This movie does not do that.

First of all, the acting in this movie is AMAZING. Yes, Brad Pitt is a scumbag in many ways, but he's a darn good actor! When he plays two different characters, you KNOW they're different. When he does an accent, it's not subtle, you KNOW he's doing an accent because it's so flawless and smooth. Anthony Hopkins is also amazing. Whenever he speaks as Bill Parrish, you immediately want to listen. In the minor characters, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Jeffery Tambor as Quince, partially because he was in Muppets from Space..hee hee....
Every single one of these characters are REAL. You see their weaknesses, strengths, hopes, all in their eyes or behavior. You see the straightfowardness of the man in the coffee shop. You see the hidden motives of Drew. You see the longing in Allison. You see a husband who loves his wife in Quince.

Next, the writing of the story and script are amazing. Every single one of Bill Parrish's speeches is full of wit and wisdom. The story is engaging, full of character development. The premise of the movie in a nutshell is that Bill Parrish is approached by Death, who wants to take a vacation. Death takes on the name Joe Black and wants to be shown the world through the eyes of Bill Parrish. In exchange, Bill gets more time. (Just as a disclaimer, this movie does have one "romantic scene" that was not needed.. ) The movie is full of bits of humor as Joe goes from one experience to another. And, of course the end leaves Mom and me sobbing.

To close, here is a sample of a Bill Parrish speech:
Joe Black: I don't care Bill. I love her.
William Parrish: How perfect for you - to take whatever you want because it pleases you. That's not love.
Joe: Then what is it?
Bill: Some aimless infatuation which, for the moment, you feel like indulging - it's missing everything that matters.
Joe: Which is what?
Bill: Trust, responsibility, taking the weight for your choices and feelings, and spending the rest of your life living up to them. And above all, not hurting the object of your love.
Joe: So that's what love is according to William Parrish?
Bill: Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I'm talking about.
Joe: Those were my words.
Bill: They're mine now.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Seussical pictures!!!!

They are here!!! Except for the few that I am about to post below...





Sunday, August 3, 2008

The End of Seussical......

Just to get this out of the way, fun withdrawals stink.....every year this happens to me. I get home from our last show, and I get so depressed cause it's all over...I'd have pics for y'all already, but I'm not done editing them. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to take good pictures without red eye in that theater...and to make things worse, our microwave just kicked the bucket, so I can't make popcorn....ugh!!! Where was I.....Seussical! yes...
All of our shows went really well. None of us had any major misshaps. I only wish we could do more performances at the end. That of course brings up the question of what are we doing next year? We know it won't be a musical, so that narrows things down a bit...but only a bit...
Picture, for fun if you will: Spamalot Jr.!!!! No? How bout Sweeny Todd Jr.!!! No? I can't picture it either.....
Until next time,
Lady Brainsample
P.S. Pics tomorrow I promise!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Interesting Voices and Accents!

Ok, I stole this from Miss Erin's blog, and I thought it was amazing. Unfortunately, I'm having issues with embedding a youtube video properly, so here it is, 21 Accents!

For someone who doesn't have the knack for it, learning accents is HARD. I got a cd to learn a standard British accent, and it hasn't been easy at all. I'm probably just too southern to sound refined, ha ha.


Isn't it amazing what people can do with their voices??? Consider such cartoon star voices such as Jess Harnell. He is most notably known (in this family) for Wakko Warner on Animaniacs, but he's been voices in SOOOO many notable movies it's absurd! Also, he was the voice of Wooten on Adventures in Odyssey. If you listen to his interview on the Adventures in Odyssey podcast, you'll hear him do the voices of each of the Beatles which was fascinating. (by the way, I do NOT love the Beatles, just to clear that up. I know just enough about them to laugh at the parody of them on Pinky and the Brain)
Then consider Joaquin Phoenix....he sounded almost exactly like Johnny Cash in Walk the Line it was scary...yet in the Village or Signs he sounds completely different.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Grr...a Rant....

Ok, so ever since I got home I've had a terrible urge for A: junk food or B: something crunchy. Well, at first I was able to repress the urge by eating some of my favorite boxed dinner pasta, but then it came back....
The worst part is that we have nothing! No chips, no cookies, nothing. Then I thought popcorn....BUT the only kind we have right now is the butter-less mini bags. Scratch that.
Then, I think toast. It's crunchy, so it'll help and it's not unhealthy. Guess what...
Currently, we have two kinds of bread, but it just so happens that all that's left is the crusty ends that no one ever wants to eat!!!! So now here I am ranting.....at least Mom is amused. She's been watching this whole thing and listening to my frustration.
Well, I'm done now cause I need to go butter my crusty ends of toast. After that, I'm off to watch DS9 with Mom. Yay!!!!

Wacky as always,
Lady Brainsample (with her toast)

No More Rehearsal!!!!

We had our final dress rehearsal for Seussical today, and I think it went really well. In addition, it wasn't just our director and assistants watching, some of the members of the AD Players company came and watched including one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Jeff. He took pictures of us during the dress rehearsal which he'll probably post on either his or the AD Players flickr album. His pictures are amazing!!! He took pictures of our Shakespeare class last fall found here when my friend Sam and I played Lord and Lady Macbeth.
But anyway, back to rehearsals....I think we're ready. We just need to be louder and smile more at appropriate times. I'm so excited!!! Another plus is that our costumes are really fun. We each have a solid color t-shirt with our part written on them, but that's only the beginning. We also get to add all sorts of Seussian wacky stuff like striped socks, scarves, sparkly hair pieces, and feathers to name a few.
So anyway, break a leg to everyone, and anyone who's coming, I hope y'all enjoy it!