Happy Bill of Rights Day...

Congress: "Oh, yeah, here's the National Defense Authorization Act that gives the executive branch the power to take away basic rights set out in the Bill of Rights. This is all for your safety. You're welcome."

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised 'for the good of its victimes' may be the most oppressive." -C.S. Lewis

......

I've spent quite a bit of time today writing all of my representatives. Every single one of them voted for the travesty. In fact, EVERYONE from my home state other than Ron Paul voted for it which REALLY disappoints me.

I urge you, readers, please see if your representatives voted for it and if they did, send them angry (but hopefully polite) letters and withdraw your support!
~
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."-Edmund Burke

Yes, I Cry During Happy Movies

Lady Brainsample has had three days in a row of being almost completely happy, so she wishes to make a blog post. Not only was yesterday a mostly happy day, but Friday she found out there is a SLIGHT chance she may be able to get an A in the dreaded Business Law class.

But that's not the point of this blog post, so she will switch from third person back to first.

I saw The Muppets. (the movie, not them in general...)

Now, when I found out last June that they were making a new Muppet movie that was going to be a theatrical release, I was skeptical. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Muppets. Always have. But the last thing they made that had to do with the Muppets (I think it was some sort of TV or direct to DVD-type special called Letters to Santa or something like that...) failed to please.
It wasn't that it was BAD bad, but it wasn't the regular caliber of proper Muppet productions. It was a predictable plot with mediocre music that was obviously contrived to squeeze money out of the franchise. Honestly, the last great Muppet movie was probably Muppets From Space.

Even the movie before that (It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas) wasn't that great. There were moments I absolutely LOVED, (see this blog post) but overall, it was just meh.
But anyway, up until it actually came out, I was skeptical. Then one of Mom's old friends saw it and said that if it didn't win Best Picture, the Oscars would be exposed for the sham that they are.

Ok, that's encouraging. Hope slightly restored.
Then I heard the beginning of the latest Overthinking It podcast, in which they were planning to discuss the movie. Before I stopped listening to it, (didn't want to hear spoilers) they said all sorts of stuff about how you MUST see this movie, etc., etc., etc.

Ok, I'm excited.

I was not disappointed. So, I echo others. GO SEE THIS MOVIE.

There are SO many things I loved about this movie. The music was outstanding, the non-Muppet actors did a fine job, the Muppets themselves looked GREAT.
The story was great; reading the synopsis, I thought I would be able to predict where the story was going to go, but I didn't.

But what was really awesome was a feeling I got that was similar to how I felt watching Toy Story 3. When I saw Toy Story 3, it felt really relevant to me because Andy was going to college, he was the same age as I am; so it was like they made the movie not only for all the kids of this generation, but also for the generation that grew up with the Toy Story movies.

Similarly, with the Muppet movie, when we finally meet Kermit again, he talks about how they've waned in popularity, but in spite of that, Walter, the greatest Muppet fan, loves them and eggs them on to put on another show. Whenever Kermit said something about people not knowing who they were or caring anymore, my mental thoughts were, "I still love y'all!!!"

All of the Muppets reuniting again in the story was incredibly awesome, Kermit finally admits that he loved Miss Piggy, and I don't know how to write about other stuff that I loved without sounding so inCREDibly sappy.
Even more sappy than I sound when I tell you readers that I cried. A whole lot. Not just during sad parts! During all the happy angsty parts. When Kermit and Piggy finally started singing Rainbow Connection together, I completely lost it.

Final comments: Jim Parsons was AWESOME as his appearance as the human version of Walter; Chris Cooper makes a great villain; and I loved that Uncle Deadly (one of the less well-known Muppets) got to have a featured role and turned good at the end.

And because I haven't posted anything about my cats recently, I'll show y'all my attempt to get Trillian (our newest) to take a picture with me.
It didn't go as planned, ha ha.

More Truth in Webcomics

Comic credit goes here. I own nothing.

Just Because I'm Paranoid

This is disgusting.

Whether you're Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian, this should make you mad. John McCain has obviously not read the Bill of Rights lately, or he would have encountered some amendments such as this one:

Amendment IV: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, again unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

....or how about this one:

Amendment V: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

...or maybe this one:

Amendment VI: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense."

.........

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."-Ben Franklin
My finding this story today after having watched Red Dawn last night makes for an incredibly brain-loaded day of thinking of contingency plans. But my thoughts on Red Dawn will have to go onto another blog post.

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

-W.B. Yeats

I Am Insanely Happy

I've been really, really happy for no reason for the past few days, and it has come to a climax today.

Why, you ask, is today so special?

Well, anyone who knows me well knows that I can't cook. With few exceptions. Very, very few other than box dinners, rice, pasta, canned chili, and things that you throw on the steamer or into the oven.

Recently, I've been thinking about what I want to make on a regular basis when I go off to college next year. Today, I attempted and succeeded at making one of my favorite things in the world....

.....potato soup.

To be specific, a wonderful creamy potato leek soup.

And so I am insanely happy.

I Wish I Were More of a Ferris Than a Cameron.

That is all.

Well, not really all. How awesome is the new Hunger Games trailer?!

Also, I'm thinking of having a discussion on Jerry Maguire, one of the greatest non-sports sports movies ever made.

In the mean time, enjoy Tom Cruise's genius in the flip out scene. I'm a DANCER, and I don't know how he contorts himself like that, ha ha... If you wish, skip the rest of the clip, but please watch him FLIP OUT!! It will make your day more hilarious.

I feel better already.

Processed

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." -John Cusack as Lloyd Dobbler in Say Anything

Efficiency

Pretty in Pink and Say Anything: A Discussion about Love Transcending Class Lines in Teen Movies of the 1980s

I watched one of my favorite movies yesterday, Pretty in Pink, and while watching it, I was struck with a number of similarities in subject matter and theme to another one of my favorite movies, Say Anything.
If this were a proper literature paper, my thesis statement might be something like "Pretty in Pink and Say Anything are perfect examples of 1980s coming of age movies about romance across class lines."

Just as a tangent, I find it funny that MOST 80s movies I watch instantly become favorite movies. Well, other than Sixteen Candles. I liked it, but not like I like The Princess Bride, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Say Anything, Pretty in Pink, Overboard, The Lost Boys, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing, The Goonies, and Ghostbusters.

Anyway, watching Pretty in Pink again, I'm still among the camp that thinks Andie (the Molly Ringwald character) should've ended up with Duckie. (Jon Cryer) Now, don't get me wrong, to make a movie that will make money, I understand what they mean when they said in the bonus feature, "Ya can't make a movie where she doesn't get the cute guy in the end."
Also, they discussed how if you make a movie about romance across class lines and then have the lower-class heroine end up with the lower-class guy, that doesn't send a good message about love conquering all and stuff like that.

The big problem with that in Pretty in Pink is the lack of character on the part of Blane (Andrew McCarthy), the rich kid Andie falls for. I just don't find him interesting and lovable like I do Duckie. Yes, he at first thinks he can go out with Andie despite backlash for it from his rich friends and possible backlash from his parents, but he loses any respect I had for him by backing out on taking Andie to the prom and making up the excuse that he had "asked someone else earlier and forgot."

Duck, on the other hand, though he acts a bit like a jerk when he finds out Andie is going out with Blane, he only does so in an overreaction. He truly believes that Blane is only going out with her to use her and finds that disgusting when Duckie himself has been devoted to her for so long and loves her so much.

Now turning to Say Anything, I believe this movie also is thematically about love over class lines, but in a much subtler way. In Pretty in Pink, there is very obviously a divide in the town: a literal wrong side of the railroad tracks. Andie at the end of her first date with Blane doesn't want him to take her home because she doesn't want him to see where she lives.

In Say Anything, the "class line" isn't so much about physical address and/or amount of money, but about education and prospects, and this I believe is more likely to be realistic in today's world.
While in Pretty in Pink we have Andie, the "lower class girl" and Blane the "rich guy," in Say Anything we have Diane Court (Ione Sky), the valedictorian and Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack), an intelligent and sweet but underachieving guy. Diane has been accepted to a prestigious study abroad fellowship in England, while Lloyd has no concrete plans for the future and what plans he does have include trying to become a pro in kickboxing "the sport of the future."

In Pretty in Pink, we have pressure placed on the couple from their social groups and on Blane's side, his parents if they knew about what was going on, but Andie's father encourages her that if they love each other, they should forget about their friends.
In Say Anything, most of the action takes place after graduation. At the party Lloyd and Diane go to as their first date, Lloyd's friends all like Diane (though they all wish they could have known her before graduation. It is explained that she took classes at the college in their town as well, so wasn't involved heavily in the student body.) After graduation and the final party, social groups aren't much of a force over the summer, so pressure on the couple in this movie comes in the form of Diane's overprotective loving father. (John Mahoney)

Diane's father doesn't object to him based on money; (Lloyd at the time is living with his grown sister and his parents are working in Europe.) he objects to her dating him because of his lack of prospects, saying to him, "You're not a permanent part of her life. You're a distraction."


In both of these movies, we have an absent mother and a father who wants to take care of his baby girl the best he can. In Pretty in Pink, the father is still bereaved from his wife leaving, so he's more...how do I say this?...sympathetic to his daughter's happiness in the way of love. 
In Say Anything, the father also wants his daughter to be happy, but he sees that goal as being accomplished by urging her to get the best possible education and preparing for the future. He sees anything (or anyone) that takes even a little away from that as a distraction and a waste of time.


And so, you ask, what is to be gleaned from all this? 


I'm not sure. In Pretty in Pink, the ending is left hazy. Andie obviously chooses Blane, the rich kid, and we're left to hope that things worked out for them in the end despite potential criticism from his parents and being ostracized by his friends. We know that Duckie gains respect for Blane for coming alone to the prom and tells Andie to go after him so that they can be happy. Her father wasn't much of an issue. And so we have a fairy tale type ending.


In Say Anything, we also have a happy ending, but this one is a bit more bittersweet. Diane's dad is conveniently convicted of embezzling money from tenants of his nursing home, and so put away into prison and not much of a driving force in his daughter's life. She forgives him and visits him before she leaves for England, but decides to be with Lloyd even though from prison, her Dad still disapproves of him.
I'm left to wonder what happened when (or if) they came back from England. I'm sure they were happy together and Lloyd got his act together to take care of and eventually marry Diane, but assuming they ever went back to America and Diane's dad ever got out of prison, what kind of family dynamics would they have?
Would he still be angry for her choosing to be with Lloyd or would he see that he was unreasonable and accept them? And would they care if he did or not? We know that she forgave him for what he did with the money, but would she still want to have a major relationship with a man who stole most of what they had and caused so much unhappiness for her and Lloyd over the summer before they got back together?


Who knows.

A Visual Representation of Lady Brainsample's Life Right Now

Photo Credit.

How's everyone else's Monday going?

Why Exactly Is Calculus Required for Business Majors Again??

Thank the Lord for take home calculus tests. Thanks also abound for calculus teachers who will understand my motivation for this blog post.
My motivation? The solution my teacher himself gave us to fix the problem we're having trouble with isn't working. I've tried it three times and checked my work each time, but the stupid integral won't cooperate and give me the x bar for the center of mass.
Long story short, ("Too late!") I've given up on that problem, so that frustration is going to be channeled into a blog post.

The problem?

Whatever shall I write about?!?!

And so, in perfect irony, the frustration of not being able to think of anything to write is simply being added to the frustration of calculus.

[Insert Pithy Title about Angst and/or Disney Pictures Here]

So, I was going to favor y'all with a post yesterday about how I had post show depression, but that it was going to be all right and I had positive/humorous ways to deal with it, but then I got a terrible grade on an online test which made my mood plummet.

Today, I'm not so depressed, so I will attempt to blog again.
I'm very pleased with coincidental timing that really helped me yesterday. I got a book from the library a few weeks ago about...I guess the way to describe it is how to deal with being a first born. (whether you're first born because of actual birth order or by being functionally first born.) At some point after the debacle of that business law test, I picked up reading where I had left off a couple weeks ago and was barraged with admonitions that you DON'T NEED TO BE PERFECT. It's NOT the end of the world. So that was good.

Today, I wish to share with y'all some really cool pictures I found on the internet today.
This graphic design student for fun decided to manipulate Disney animated characters to where they looked like real people. The results (I think) are absolutely stunning. I especially love the Jasmine and Esmerelda pictures. And there are more on his website.

I'm Not Normally a Huge Fan of Music Videos...

....but this one is awesome.

Truth in Webcomics

Wherever you'd put actor/spy, I'd still be in that stage.

You can also substitute likelihood to speak with proper grammar and how much your mother/teacher made you diagram sentences with this same graph.

Hee hee...

Thank you, calculus. I now sufficiently know what most of that means. Well, other than the heart variables of course. I'd love to be able to take the square root of love.

"Who is more foolish? The dork or the person who marries the dork?"

This one's for my AD.

I need to get myself a Spinal Tap shirt...

This one goes to my mother. Thanks for passing that gene down to me, not only for the student's angst dreams, but also the director's, actor's, and stage manager's.

Credit goes here and here.

Things Lady Brainsample Is Pondering Over These Days Based On Her Current Reading Material

"As physicians, psychiatrists have the right to prescribe drugs or electroshock, to hospitalize patients, and to treat people against their will. They are the only mental health professionals who routinely exercise these powers." -from Toxic Psychiatry, by Dr. Peter Breggin

"It is remarkable, Hardin, how the religion of science has grabbed hold." -from Foundation, by Isaac Asimov

"There is indeed a peculiar charm both in friendship and in eros, about those moment when Appreciative love lies, as it were, curled up asleep, and the mere ease and ordinariness of the relationship (free as solitude, yet neither is alone) wraps us round. No need to talk. No need to make love. No needs at all except perhaps to stir the fire." -from The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis

"The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, 'What? You too? I thought I was the only one.'" -from The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis

"For it is the very mark of Eros [Lewis' classification of romantic love] that when he is in us we had rather share unhappiness with the Beloved than be happy on any other terms...Eros never hesitates to say, 'Better this than parting. Better to be miserable with her than happy without her. Let our hearts break provided they break together.' If the voice within us does not say this it is not the voice of Eros." -from The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis

"Maybe we are not such fools as we look. But though we be, we are well content, so long as we may be two fools together." -from Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore

Two of My Favorite Things Rolled Into One

In my angst about whether the new Muppet movie coming out in November will be good or not, I remembered this little beauty from one of the tv specials that came out some years ago.
My favorite part is probably when Miss Piggy yells something to the effect of, "Can everyone stop singing different songs?!" Oh, Baz...

What Really Irritates Me/Things that Make Me Happy (Current List)

*Those who do not pay attention when a stop light turns green.

*Getting up at 6 in the morning to get ready for class.

*Almost falling asleep in class because of above statement.

*Mitt Romney.

*Accounting homework that won't balance. (It balanced eventually, but it took me five sessions of checking it to find my mistake.)

*Classrooms that are too cold.

And finally, last (DEFINITELY not least) *THAT ONE PERSON WHO KEEPS STEALING MY SPOT IN ECONOMICS CLASS!!!!

Now, the positive side.

*Driving my stick shift.

*Seeing the fog in the morning.

*Feeling the not-quite-as-hot weather in the morning.

*Ron Paul.

*Accounting homework that balances on the first try.

*Remembering to get/wear my Battlestar sweater at later classrooms that are also cold.

And that's it, because I can't find a positive side to that PERSON WHO KEEPS STEALING MY SPOT IN ECONOMICS CLASS....

That is all.

Why is it...

...that when I need new music, the library catalog is being updated, ergo I can't put anything I want on hold?! Well....for consolation, I'm going to go to the bookstore today. So there.

In other news, the first rehearsal for my show is tonight...I'm very excited. After much rigamarole, we have a cast again. In order to get a replacement for someone who had other commitments, I had to brush up the phone voice again. I called...what was it?...four people before I got someone who could do it that actually had an interest.

Lesson learned: Don't count your cast members before the first rehearsal.

And so this post isn't completely lame, I leave y'all with a song I'm really loving right now from a musical called Curtains.



To make up for the angst of that song, and because I told myself I was going to be HAPPY today, I'll also leave y'all with links for Muppet Show songs I'm also loving right now.

Old Fashioned Love Song

She Loves You

"There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met."-Gonzo

"We're alike, me and cat."

"You know those days when you get the mean reds?"
"The mean reds, you mean like the blues?"  
"No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?"
"Sure."
"Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!"

"We're alike, me and cat. A couple of poor nameless slobs."


"I'll tell you one thing, Fred, darling... I'd marry you for your money in a minute. Would you marry me for my money?"
"In a minute."
"I guess it's pretty lucky neither of us is rich, huh?"

"It's useful being top banana in the shock department."

Things Learned from the Second Audition Session/Casting Process

1. For as many gut reactions for casting certain people that were right (four) there are going to be at least two that will blow your original perceptions out of the water.

2. There are going to be certain people you really want to cast in a certain role, but if they just don't have enough intuition or maturity or whatever to be able to handle it, it's disappointing.

3. Alpha-numeric system for distributing scenes = better than system used on Sunday. Yelling out "Who has B-3?" is much easier than "Who has the Kennedy-Sally-Russell-Schultz scene?"

4. Easy, "this is your person" casting decisions are incredibly awesome. I had one of those.

5. Learning that someone you cast in your show in a part that they were great for can't actually be in your show is frustrating. No hard feelings toward the person, of course, but they were going to be PERFECT and UGH!! Anyway...

6. Directors shouldn't be surprised when they have to alter the schedule...again...

7. Good mentors are absolutely wonderful.

It's really strange coming to a show from this angle. I'm used to waiting for the cast list with bated breath, wondering who's going to play which character and stuff like that.
This time I've released the cast list; I know who's playing who; and now I'm wondering what kind of flack (if any) I'm getting behind my back for the decisions I've made. Not that I should get any argument; I followed all of my impartial casting person's advice, but still.

I'm glad that casting is over. I think that's probably the thing I was most worried about.

Things Learned from the First Audition Session

1. Just because you're super organized with scenes and lists and things like that doesn't mean it all won't fall apart when everything gets going.

2. You can learn more about directing in one two-hour session with a mentor than by reading ten books on the subject.

3. For those who don't like talking on the phone to those they don't know well, a good phone voice = A. A shield when talking to said people they don't know well and
B. Entertainment for those they do.

4. When conducting scene readings, directors should not be afraid to stop a scene in the middle to ask for the auditionees to try something different.

5. Having a casting advisor much more experienced than yourself is a BIG BIG BIG advantage. He can see things about people you've known for years that you never thought of.

6. Comfortable (yet still eccentric) director's outfit + green eye shadow + favorite perfume = happy director.

7. It's good to have an abundance of pens and pencils but only have one on the director's desk at a time because otherwise, they'll get in the way.

And finally,
8. Being in charge is pretty awesome.

Philosophical Thoughts for the Day

All credit goes here.

I'm Really Loving The Smiths Right Now

Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
Who are young and alive
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one anymore

Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people
And I want to see life
Driving in your car
Oh please don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their home
And I'm welcome no more

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
But then a strange fear gripped me
And I just couldn't ask

Take me out tonight
Oh take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
No, I haven't got one

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes in to us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

There is a light that never goes out
There is a light that never goes out
There is a light that never goes out
There is a light that never goes out

Gone

Everybody loved Chick Lorimer in our town.
                       Far off
                Everybody loved her.
So we all love a wild girl keeping a hold
                 On a dream she wants.
Nobody knows where Chick Lorimer went.
Nobody knows why she packed her trunk...a few
        old things
And is gone,
                     Gone with her little chin
                     Thrust ahead of her
                     And her soft hair blowing careless
                     From under a wide hat,
Dancer, singer, a laughing passionate lover.

Were there ten men or a hundred hunting Chick?
Were there five men or fifty with aching hearts?
        Everybody loved Chick Lorimer.
                 Nobody knows where she's gone.

-Carl Sandburg

Photo credit.

The Beginning of My Directorial Journey

The title of this post isn't completely accurate, because the journey probably technically began when I was approved to be a director for the season, but I didn't really feel like a director 'till this past Sunday.

Plus, "The Beginning of My Directorial Journey" sounds better than "Starting in the Middle of My Directorial Journey." So, for the purposes of making the name both cool and accurate, I'll start with the amusing story of the night I was approved to direct.

I was on the play-selection committee last year. I had inquired about directing sometime then, but the response I got was that while I was technically more qualified than most of the people that directed, because I was only 17, people might not respond well to my direction.
I was perfectly content with that and continued on. During last season, while in It's a Wonderful Life, I not only acted in it, but also gained more experience stage managing and assistant directing it.
When January and with it the beginning of the play selection process rolled around, I had high hopes of being considered old enough to be able to direct.

The night we had the first meeting I could attend, was I cool, collected and on time?
...Nope! I was coming from my Sensei's mother's funeral viewing, so I was disheveled and late. Despite my stress, I waltzed into the meeting, plopped myself down at the table, and was promptly asked by our technical director, "Now, are you available to direct any slot of the year?"
Though taken aback, I answered (somewhat) calmly, "I'm available all year, but I would prefer the fall slot."
"We needed a fall director. What do you want to direct?"

Wait a sec...what?!?!?! Really?!?!?

So it began!! I still find it amusing how I simply waltzed in there and was told I got to direct.
Over the next couple months, I narrowed down my choices (I considered doing Reserve Two for Murder, And Then There Were None, Angel Street, The Importance of Being Earnest, and You Can't Take It With You.) eventually choosing Reserve Two for Murder because A: I thought it was better for its intended audience than most of the other choices I had considered, B: It was a relatively simple production; I didn't want to do anything too complex or incredibly hard for my first directing stint, and C: I've acted in it before, so I'm incredibly familiar with it already.

Once chosen, it was eventually approved by the board, so the pre-production work began. I've enlisted an old acting teacher as my impartial casting advisor, started to tweak changes we need to make to the script, and gotten most of my audition materials ready. I only need to print up my character descriptions and rehearsal schedules on that front.
I've also decided to re-set the play in the 1980s, so I've also done research on script changes pertaining to that issue.

And that brings us to Sunday. Sunday was the end of our last show, so I was explained the process for opening and locking up the theater and then given the key.

That key is what made me finally almost feel like a real director. Thus I count that the beginning.
I hope that as this journey continues, my thoughts and musings on directing will continue to entertain you.

Until then, my (probably few) readers, remember Ford Prefect. I hope that you and I will continue be hoopy froods that know where our towels are.

Current Oddities of My Life (Round 2)

Not being able to stop singing Dentist! from Little Shop of Horrors and Lemming of the BDA from Flying Circus in my head while under the knife (not really) at the dentist today.

The paradox of being utterly and completely exhausted but not being able to sleep.

The ridiculousness of my hair dye job yet my still liking it. I had planned to go ahead with Phase 2 this week, (which would be putting the more natural-looking color over this uber-light one) but I'm eccentric enough that I think I'm going to keep the insane-looking color for awhile.
Maybe I'll streak it with one of my unnatural colors. Hmm...

Seeing the awesome-est thing yesterday: a huge wrecker truck with a smaller wrecker truck on top of it and a crashed car on top of that one. It was wonderful...

Being driven INSANE by the Entr'acte from Singin' in the Rain running through my head as I type. UGH! Why can't it at least be one of the good songs?!
That's it...maybe if I listen to Love Autopsy over and over it'll go away...
..
...
....
.....
......
.......
........
.............


Nope.

....Drat.

Thank You, Mr. Wilde

"One should always be a little improbable."

"Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!"

"Over the piano was printed a notice: Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best."

"The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death."

"Be happy, be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. All that I ask of you in return is that you will be a true lover, for Love is wiser than Philosophy, though she is wise, and mightier than Power, though he is mighty."

"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

"The only way to atone for being occasionally a little over-dressed is by being always absolutely over-educated."

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

I still love Oscar Wilde.

I Found What I Want to Do With the Rest of My Life

I want to be a part of the Seasteading Movement.

The Seasteading Institute wants to create floating cities away from any waters that are governed and create libertarian societies for those sick and tired of oppressive and out-of-control governments. From their website:

"The vision of seasteading is an urgent one. We can already see that existing political systems are straining to cope with the realities of the 21st century. We need to create the next generation of governance: banking systems to better handle the inevitable financial crises, medical regulations that protect people without retarding innovation, and democracies that ensure our representatives truly represent us.Seasteaders believe that government shouldn't be like the cell phone carrier industry, with few choices and high customer-lock-in. Instead, we envision a vibrant startup sector for government, with many small groups experimenting with innovative ideas as they compete to serve their citizens' needs better.Currently, it is very difficult to experiment with alternative social systems on a small scale; countries are so enormous that it is hard for an individual to make much difference. The world needs a place where those who wish to experiment with building new societies can go to test out their ideas. All land is already claimed -- which makes the oceans humanity's next frontier."

Sounds like a great idea, right?

After I saw this on the Blaze, someone from my church posted the Yahoo version of the article on the church facebook group with the comment, "What would a society look like with no laws or moral code?"

....another case of libertarians being misrepresented. UGH!!!

My response was "I think the Yahoo article misrepresented the Institute. I saw this on the Blaze and then went to their actual website. Nowhere do they say that they are opposed to laws; just overregulation and over-sized government. They even say, "We need to create the next generation of governance: banking systems to better handle the inevitable financial crises, medical regulations that protect people without retarding innovation, and democracies that ensure our representatives truly represent us."
Libertarians aren't opposed to laws; we're opposed to big and out-of-control government. The Seasteading Institute wants to be able to try small government from the ground up. I applaud them for that."

I really want to live on one of these things someday...

The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn...

...is just to love and be loved in return.

This movie makes me so happy.

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sights?
Nay, let them only see us, while
    We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
     We wear the mask!

-Paul Laurence Dunbar

This is Why I Should Not Be Trusted With a Curling Iron

Music That Currently Makes Me Happy (Part 4)-Miscellaneous

Before we get to the final post in the "Music That Currently Makes Me Happy" series, did anyone see the GOP debate last night? I was unable to, though I was encouraged by an article that said that Ron Paul "was the crowd favorite."
Oh, the joys of being able to vote in the next election!! I can't wait.

We wrap up with miscellaneous music: two alternative songs and a soundtrack song.

First, Under the Milky Way by the Church. This guy's voice....oh...my...gosh. I love it. Just the title of the song makes me happy thinking about it. These Aussies are pretty awesome.




Next, Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge. This song is SO BRILLIANT on so many levels. Baz Luhrmann took what on their own are sappy love pop songs and combined them into the medley, which is PERFECT for Christian and Satine in the movie. I hadn't even liked most of these songs on their own, but combined, they rock.



On a side note, this is a very cool video that someone made of the original songs in the medley against pictures of Satine and Christian.


Finally, Wonderwall by Oasis. You'll remember I've been obsessed with this song for quite a long time.
Still love it.




Honorable Mentions: Where the Streets Have No Name, (Pet Shop Boys version) Nara, (E.S. Posthumous) Test Drive, (How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack) Lucky, (Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat) In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel) and Come What May and Your Song. (from Moulin Rouge)

Music That Currently Makes Me Happy (Part 3)-Celtic Woman

I could include most of the songs from their album Songs from the Heart, particularly Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears; Galway Bay; You'll Be In My Heart; and Amazing Grace; but my current favorite is their version of Fields of Gold, originally by Sting.



Another song that I was until recently unaware of that I love is Newgrange. It's about, well, Newgrange, which is actually the oldest surviving man-made structure in the world. It's older than the pyramids and Stonehenge. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Orla's voice in this song.



Finally, I'm so irritated because they don't have a recording of this song. It's such a wonderful song, but there is NO RECORDING OF IT!!!!

At the Ceili



Honorable Mentions of Celtic Woman songs that make me happy other than aforementioned songs: Orinoco Flow; the Sky, the Dawn, and the Sun; Chloe's Starry, Starry Night; Walking in the Air; Siull A Run; Dulaman; and the Soft Goodbye.

I must remember to post about the (somewhat) recent discovery of my love for my (what little I have) Irish heritage...

Current Oddities of My Life

*My little brother teaching me how to tie a hangman's noose today.

*Getting sugar ants...in my BATHROOM???

*Sleeping in our library last night because of the smell of ant poison leaking into my room...it's not a BAD scent per se, (it's a natural swill type spray) but it is very...pungent.

*Washing out crusty hairspray still in my hair from this past weekend of shows. Oh, the joys of doing 20s hair and having to schlack it solid.

*Recovery from tech/hell week last week? 12 consecutive hours spent in my bed. (Including sleeping and reading time.)

*Good recovery, but then being hit with insomnia two nights in a row....urg...

*My favorite: After finally getting to sleep last night, having a dream that I was planning to go to a college that was run by Disney. I was on the computer planning to buy "school pride" swill which was all Disney characters. And I was probably an arts major.

*Bruises on my shins and ankles from having to fight in the line at tae kwon do class yesterday.

*Finishing my online English Comp. 2 course and managing to get through with some sanity despite hating most of the short stories we were forced to read and write papers over.

Music That Currently Makes Me Happy (Part 2)-Rebellious and/or Irish Sounding Songs

Insomnia strikes again, so here we go with Part 2!!

First, the main theme from Firefly. I could listen to this song over and over and over without getting sick of it.

"Take my love, take my land. Take me where I cannot stand.
I don't care; I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me.
Take me out to the black. Tell them I ain't coming back.
Burn the land and boil the sea. You can't take the sky from me."




Next, Bonnie Blue Flag. This is the 2nd South Carolina String Band performing in the movie Gods and Generals.



Finally, A Prayer for Me In Silence by Flogging Molly. I wish this song was LONGER because it's so awesome. And I couldn't find a version of them actually performing it, just the audio.

Music That Currently Makes Me Happy (Part 1)-Musical Theatre Songs

Despite my griping and complaining that this musical even existed, I really love this one song. Someone in my vocal studio sang it during our recital, and I fell in love with it.
Which makes it really irritating that I don't have the vocal type or range to sing this song, ha ha.

The Title Song from Love Never Dies




Next, another piece that was performed at my vocal recital, though again not by me. This song is from the musical Side Show, which is about a set of conjoined twins. In my recital, it was performed by non-identical twin sisters, so it was very appropriate for them.

I actually liked our vocal recital staging better, but this video works. Just skip the jabbering at the beginning.

Who Will Love Me As I Am from Side Show

Directorial Thoughts

I am attempting (yet again) to return to the blogger world.
News that probably has not been discussed on Cease Repining: I am directing a show at my theater in fall!!! Despite my being incredibly young compared to all of our directors (I'm a college student!) I get to direct a murder mystery.
Now, this summer I was/am in Singin' in the Rain, (the run isn't over yet) and in my opinion, the direction left a bit to be desired. So, to prepare for my own show, I have come up with a list of things I will NOT do when I direct.

I will NOT...set rehearsal time to be 6:00 then spend half an hour talking and waiting for people to get there to start. I will try to be prompt and not waste anyone's time.
I will NOT...put off rehearsing and setting major technical things until a week before the show starts.
I will NOT...make a long director's speech before every show. Mine will be short and sweet.
I will NOT...be closed minded at auditions. In fact, I will most likely let my casting advisor do all of the casting.
I will NOT...ever, ever, ever block a scene where all the actors do is stand in a line the whole time.
I will NOT...be unprepared in my rehearsal schedule. I will have a plan for every rehearsal and stick to that plan.
I will NOT...put off running the show until three rehearsals before we open. We will have at LEAST three or four run-throughs before tech rehearsal.

I will NOT...be without a plan.
I will NOT...ever take anyone who assists with my show for granted.


So, yeah. That's the general plan.
In other news, other than Calculus 2, all I'm taking in fall is business courses! Joy...

Unbelievable

Group Arrested for Dancing at the Jefferson Memorial

First, it's incredibly ridiculous that this court decision even exists. Dancing considered the same as picketing, marching and public speaking??!?
Second, people actually being ARRESTED for it?


Then, there's this: Jefferson's Love of Dance Himself.


I am shocked.

2 (or 4) down, 1 to go/Miniature Book Review

Yet again, I have neglected my blog. I've pretty much just skipped out on blogging this whole semester, but I have only 1 final left to go tomorrow (in historical geology) so I thought I'd try to get back to writing on here again.
~
A few months ago, I finally read Battle Royale. I read it because on Goodreads, people kept saying that the Hunger Games ripped it off and that Suzanne Collins was unoriginal. I tend to disagree.
The starting idea may have been similar (kids being forced to fight to the death in a "game") but the execution was completely different.
The author of Battle Royale took a much much darker approach to it and made it...how do I put it...much more gory and violent than Suzanne Collins did. Also in Royale, it was a grade of school, so the competitors knew each other. The author of Royale also made the story much more complex by focusing on every single one of the competitors, whereas Collins took a much more personal approach with Katniss' first person narrative.

Which do I like better? Probably Hunger Games. I liked the characters much better and the writing much better. (though I am convinced that some of the triteness of the writing of Battle Royale came from being translated into English from Japanese.) The ending was also much more positive in the Hunger Games.

So, does anyone have any thoughts on the casting of Hunger Games so far?