"There will come a time you'll see with no more tears. And love will not break your heart but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there - with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."
(or, as subtitled: You had me at 'la da da da da da.....')
It was a really good weekend for music. In all honesty, I sat around and listened to music all weekend. That's what I did. (Okay, I did do a few other things as well, but I was mostly paying attention to the music I was listening to while I was accomplishing them.) While within this past year I've fallen in love with House of Heroes & The Megas (who are both still awesome) other than that it's felt like a really long time since I've found fresh music that I really latch onto.
Over the weekend I discovered my old recording of Sunday in the Park with George that I have (rather ashamedly) never listened to and instantly fell in love with it. Children & Art? One of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard. I actually sat down and just listened to it when it came on. And then replayed it. And then played no music after it for awhile because nothing could have come after it. (You're going to go listen to that song now and probably not have the same reaction. Maybe I was just in the perfect mindset for it at the the right moment and maybe
that's why it was so overwhelming, but it was incredibly lovely. Or maybe it's because nothing good is coming out on Broadway recently and I'm starving for it.)
And Finishing the Hat? Beautiful. Wow. I was reminded why I was so entranced at Dave's place the one time I watched the DVD. The musical is just a gorgeous piece of art in and of itself. I now have two shows on my "Shows-I'd-Like-To-Dramaturg-Just-For-Kicks" list. (Ragtime, of course, being the other.)
Seriously, I've got to listen to more Sondheim.
Now I wouldn't argue that it's a perfect show or necessarily recommend it to everyone - it's certainly slower at times and based more on character development than plot, and the music is minimalistic - so it really depends on what you're looking for. I haven't actually researched if this is true or not, but I read where: "Just as Seurat used only eleven colors, orchestrator Jonathan Tunickonly used eleven instruments in the pit...." and I've got to admit, that's pretty awesome.
"....AND LES MIS RELEASED FIVE NEW CLIPS?"
I have watched them over. And over. And over. And...over.... (Hey, autoplay is on. I can't mess with that.) Oh, Eddie Redmayne.... Oh, Samantha Barks.... I love you both. I could give you my opinions of every clip, but that really seems unfair to shove my thoughts down your thought before you've seen them. (Even tho I usually do that anyway. :) ) So hey, if you watch them I'd love to know what you think first!
And then just when I was completely content surrounding myself with my musical happiness, I came across these guys:
(Man, that keyboardist is awesome.)
Meet Steam Powered Giraffe.
I had actually heard of them a few months ago via EpBot, but I think I ignored them because I was afraid they were going to be steampunk gimmicky and never looked into them. I think steampunk's really fun, but...in music? I figured it was just guys dressing up as robots and performing music and doing it....badly. Eh.
I was so wrong.
When EpBot posted about them again I decided to give them a chance. It took about three videos to really get a solid grasp on how good they were, but now I'm sold.
I love these guys. Their commitment to character through their movement and voice work is perfection and their music is really fun and so well done. And somehow at the same time they're also very silly and I think that's wonderful (see Captain Albert Alexander.) And they're completely family friendly!
This is a favorite of mine. Totally did not expect that music style to kick in by the title Automatonic Electronic Harmonics. :)
Actually, the first video I watched was Honeybee:
Which was almost a mistake (and why I didn't start off with it.) It starts off so slow that I almost turned it off within the first minute. But now it's one of my favorites. The harmonies kicked in and....seriously. The three characters involved are The Spine (silver makeup), Rabbit (glasses on hat) & The Jon (suspender man), although Jon has now been replaced by Hatchworth (not yet featured in their videos.) On their website they include full biographies for each characters as well as their background for their existing world.
"Hello, goodbye, twas nice to know you, how I find myself without you, that I'll never know...."
While they won't be everyone's cup of tea, I think they're absolutely wonderful showmen and musicians. I'm super excited to see what they do next. (And in the meantime, I'll keep replaying their videos on youtube....)
And that, my friends, was my very wonderful, very musical weekend.
I have no idea if these will come across as amusing on paper as they did in person, but I still want to record them for me.
These two hysterical guys come in, probably about 18 & 20 years old.
Guy 1: "I need to buy a rose. Maybe one to put in my teeth."
Me: "Oh, okay, do you have a specific color in mind?"
Guy 1: "I'm not actually going to put it in my mouth."
Me: "Alright, well, do you have a specific color in mind?"
Guy 2: "I'm thinking about buying a rose too! For my ex girlfriend."
G1: "Dude, don't cry on me again."
G2: "I'm not gonna cry! Do you think I should buy a rose? Do you think I should?"
Me: "I have no idea, I have no idea what your relationship was."
G1: "Dude, you're gonna cry. Don't do it man, don't do it!"
G2: "I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna buy her a rose!"
G1: "Fine. I just want a red one."
G2: "Should I do it? Should I buy a rose?"
Me: "Well, if you would like to, again, I'm not sure what happened...."
G2: "Well, see, it was sort of both our faults. Can I just tell you the story?"
Me: "Sure...."
G1: "Dude. Don't cry."
G2: "I'm not gonna cry! Should I get pink or white? What do they mean?"
Me: "Well, traditionally pink will mean like a first love, or that you really like someone. White usually stands for innocence."
G2: "Innocence? What does that mean?"
G1: "Like virginity, man!"
G2: "Do I want that one then?!?!"
Me (trying to keep it all together): "I don't know! I don't know the context of your relationship. It also stands for purity."
G1: "Oh, purity. I'm sorry. That's a much better way of saying it."
Me: "You're safe with pink or white."
(ten minutes later)
G1: "Dude. We have to go. I'm gonna be late! Stop filling out that card!"
G2: "No! I have to get it right!"
G1: "It doesn't even matter! Girls never read the card!"
G2: "Do girls read the card?"
Me: "Yes, actually, that's---"
G2: "Aha! See! Girls read the card!"
G1: "No, they don't, she's lying to you! Get in the car! Finish it in the car!"
Different scenario.
Guy: "So. I need to buy a rose."
Me: "Alright, did you have a specific color in mind?"
Guy: "Um.... I mean, I know there's red, but...which one stands for 'I made a mistake.'"
Me: "Oh, well (listing off several colors.....)"
Guy: "Which one?"
Me: "Well, it sounds like you didn't want red, since it traditionally stands for love--"
Guy: "But I do love her!"
Me: "Oh! Oh, I'm sorry sir, I misunderstood! Red, pink or white. Red, pink or white will be fine.
Aaaand for the finale I would have never believed this following conversation actually happened if it hadn't actually happened to me. This morning.
While calling to congratulate winners from our recent open house. (Names changed to protect the ....innocent?)
Me: "Hi, is this Jason?"
Guy: "No, I'm sorry, you have the wrong number."
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry! I'll -"
Guy: "But I'm glad you called the wrong number."
Me: "Oh, I uh...."
(silence)
Guy: "My name's Michael!"
(silence)
Me: "Oh, uh, hi Michael.... Um...."
(silence)
Me: "Alright, I'm sorry I called the wrong number! Goodbye, have a nice day!"
(And since I've been asked, no, I did not try to redial the phone number. I made someone else call later. Just in case.)
Okay, maybe not beer. (Nor pretzels, they make me thirsty.)
This week has sucked.
I mean. They sent me home from work early on Monday. They sent me home from work. (And actually, even then, they only asked me if I wanted to go. YES. PLEASE.)
No, on a serious note, they did send me home. I practically imploded on Monday. I came down with an awful cold and on top of that suddenly Phyllis' death just overwhelmed my system. Tuesday was pretty much the same. I spent most of Wednesday feeling on the mend, but exhausted. Today was pretty miserable.
But you sounded so chipper at the beginning of this post....
GUILD WARS. Guild Wars 2 has salvaged this week. It is so much fun.
Seriously, pure fun. This is the first game where I haven't felt overwhelmed or like I'm not able to help or like I have to reach such and such level or area, etc. I have just enjoyed it. So I'm running around as a Sylvari Elementalist and I'm shooting electricity and fire at things and finding pretty vista points, and fulfilling quests and having a ball. It seems to be really balanced and very newbie friendly. So I have gotten through my days this week by thinking "In a few hours, I get to play Guild Wars...."
So for everyone that pitched in to buy the game for me, you have my sincere enjoyment of it as well as my thanks for brightening up my awful, no good, very bad week. :)
Also brightening my week was getting to see Holly & Sam at the movies! I would say they put up with me stumbling around and almost falling over, but now that I think about it, that's probably not much different than normal. :)
And while we're speaking of the Dark Knight Rises, this HISHE bonus is hysterical: (Spoilers.)
"I'm startin' to think this guy doesn't have our best interests in mind here!"
So anyway, I'm still here. I still plan on blogging. I'm just working to find my way back into it.
Jeff and I playing Lord of the Rings: War of the North for the first time and trying to figure out the best way to beat a large horde.
Jeff: "Okay, this is working out great! You keep throwing up that protective orb, watch my back and I'll take out the archers on the rooftops with my arrows."
Me: "Got it!"
(ten minutes later.)
Jeff: "Well, I keep getting knocked off the platform. These guys keep attacking my face because someone is facing the wrong direction to kill them."
(silence)
Me: "You told me to watch your back?"
Jeff: "I meant... I... KILL EVERYTHING IN THE CIRCLE! Kill everything that comes in the circle, Sherri!"
Honestly, I'm kind of trying to figure out how to restart this.
The past twelve weeks (or so) have been pretty eventful for my family. It was a terrible emotional roller coaster and ended with an unexpected crash. I never blogged during that time partially because I was gone a lot and partially because I absolutely didn't know what to say. Silly, mindless posts seemed so ridiculousy unimportant and thoughtful posts would've taken way too much... everything?
Now silly posts seem even less important, and yet oddly somehow, important anyway. Maybe important is the wrong word. Maybe a little needed.
This is going to be (eventually) a sillier post.
I would like to filter out some thoughts onto here about some of the past week....I think. Maybe sort some things out. Maybe not. I just don't want to ignore the fact that something heavy has happened. But for right now, I just kind of want to get restarted. Reboot. Take a breather and figure the rest out later. And with that in mind, I present to you:
Batman Maybe
(If you haven't seen the movie and are avoiding spoilers, please avoid them now for the video and rest of the post.)
It's been stuck in my head. I think its pretty hysterical. And the costumes are awesome. (Thanks for showing it to me, Holly!)
My favorite line: "I know you're Batman... so STOP BEING LAZY."
BWAHAHHAHA!
That's all.
My absolute favoriteDark Knight Rises video on the internet right now comes from the Nostalgia Critic himself in his Bum Review:
(You canNOT possibly avoid spoilers in this one. Every spoiler is dropped. Avoid, avoid, avoid if you haven't seen it.)
"Uh, yeah...."
I love it. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it. So funny. If you have time, I recommend watching his Bum Reviews. They're usually four or five minutes (DRK is easily the longest) and incredibly funny. But full spoilers are involved in each one, so just beware that if you're wanting one saved.
Also, supposedly HISHE will have theirs up in a couple weeks as well. We'll see what they decide to do with that.
Ever since I've been at the shop we've noticed the drug house across the street. That's at least six years - so there's probably been at least ten my bosses have caught on.
And it's not hard to notice. So we've called it in several times but was under the impression nothing was being done.
Until TODAY.
Today was my day off, but I showed up for a few minutes after my boss texted me about all the excitement happening.
Apparently FBI agents and police force suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the shop. My boss was outside when he suddenly saw swarms of agents surrounding the building and no one had any idea what was going on. And then boom - the house across the street was busted into it and suddenly five people are being forced to lay down on their yard and everything was crazy.
For those of you who know the area, apparently Gordon Cooper Vo-Tech was the command center for the whole thing. And apparently they were making trips every other day to the city to get the meth from the Mexican drug cartel.
Um....
Also, they've recently started stealing our Sunday morning newspaper. Which is annoying.
Anyway, the shop was featured on two of the local channels on all three evening broadcasts which was pretty funny. I had found video of the newscast, but by the time I had posted it and double-checked the link they had already moved it somewhere else. And I can't find it again. So if I did happen across it later, I'll try again. (EDIT: This video appears to be working currently. The guy with curly hair is my boss, the pretty lady playing with calla lillies is his wife (my other boss) and the other girl interviewed is Bree's wife for those of you from OBU.)
This is now the second time Graves has made the newscast - the first being when the ice storm came and knocked out our power for five days and Channel 5 happened to see our plight on our sign. Which was awesome because they ended the report with "But the electric company has ensured us that this shop will have electricity by the end of the day."
Anyway, it was pretty wild for here. Tomorrow we'll go back to working on wedding work - and I suspect fielding a few calls from people who saw my very beloved bosses on television.
I know I haven't been around for two weeks. Life got CRAZY.
First of all, you've heard me rave about the Megas before and you should know they have a new album out. And not only that but it's on bandcamp, so you can listen to it for free. If you only have time to listen to one, may I recommend my personal favorite "Don't Mess with Magnetman." But if you have time to listen to at least two, may I add "Can't Stop the Top." (Although "History Repeating Pt. 2" is awesome as well, and, well, maybe I haven't sat and listened to the others as much cause I'm stuck on these. I'm sure they all rock.) Seriously, go listen.
I don't know what else has happened. I'm trying to avoid talking about work. Since I feel like that's what I talk about on here all the time.
And musicals.
And links.
And Batman. (Oh my gosh, I should get out more.)
Wanna see a casket piece I made? (I'm hopeless.)
Surely, surely, there is something to discuss somewhere.
.......
..................
Actually, the truth is a lot is going on but I'm just not going to delve into most of it.
But unfortunately outside of that.... um.....
The LA Kings won their first Stanley Cup tonight in their 40+ year history! Which is awesome and I'm excited for them.
Their goalie's daughter decided to show up at the press conference and steal the show. She's pretty cute, so check out the video:
Congrats, guys!! You looked so happy and I'm happy for you!
(If you want more on the Cup or the games, I have no doubt Will will be detailing it out further soon.)
(My favorite tweet of the night came from Wil Wheaton: "Local LA sports media is trying to figure out how the Sacramento Kings
won the Stanley Bowl Trophy for Basketpuck tonight. Good job, guys.")
Pre-Show:
Dang it, Tonys. Somehow - even when its been a bad season and I'm not excited about you....somehow I'm still excited right before you start. DON'T DISAPPOINT ME.
Predications:
I bet this year has been the highest grossing year on record. AGAIN.
Wants:
Please, oh please do some sort of special on the Les Mis movie! I want to see some more!
Oooh.... and I see Book of Mormon will be performing the opening number? I have no problem with celebrating all of theatre - past and present - at the Tony's but I get the distinct feeling we're still showcasing Book of Mormon because we have no other real shows to show off this year. That doesn't bode well.
CAT. IF YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE NOW, I'M NOT LETTING YOU BACK IN. DECIDE.
Aaaaaand.... it's beginning! Opening Number:
Again. So out of all the musicals this year we couldn't come up with one opening number to create from them? Although, if you did do something where last's year Best Musical presented the opening every year - as they mentioned - I guess that could be interesting. Sort of like a hand off from one year to the next.
Neil Patrick Harris:
I like you, but.... Okay, another opening number! What if life were more like theatre?
Okay, while I thought that was going to be really bland (because I'm so tired of songs like this) that actually turned out really fun! I'm shocked! Good job, Tonys! Who wrote that?
(EDIT: Apparently David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger from Cry Baby co-authored it as well as the ending recap song.)
Ahahahaha! Paul Rudd is explaining what a featured actress is. "They will pay to see these actresses who are as sweet as a Tibetan cake." Also very fun. We're off to a fantastic start! Since last year's introductions were really rough, this is awesome!
Um.... I don't know anything about the plays this year guys. I'm sorry I can't comment on any of them. I'm lame like that. Although from what I've heard I think Other Desert Cities is gonna sweep, especially since its kicking off winning the first award.
Whoa! And we're already kicking off the showcases with Newsies.
Gasp! Wasn't this the whole reason for Broadway's Moment in the Sun? Whoa, using that up awful early in the show, aren't we? *sarcasmsnarkysarcasm* Seize the Day. Smart choice, guys.
I wouldn't say the choreography is anything super special, but its really solid and well-handled. Its got a great stylization for it. Not as crazy about the newspaper work, but eh.
Nice showcase. That would make me really excited about seeing it if I was just going off this.
OH MY GOSH. GHOST IS GOING TO PERFORM. I've only seen clips. This should be intriguing.
Once took Best Orchestrations which I can totally get behind. While the movie itself is slow, it's gorgeous musically and I can see how it would be beautifully worked.
Best Choreography goes to Newsies. No surprise there.
Oh...Neil Patrick Harris....
Les Mis movie mention! *kermitflail*
Bernadette Peters! YAAAAAY! Finally. So far we've only had Patti Lupone & you as our broadway babies show up.
Follies showcase is up.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?! Oh my gosh, I don't know this show at all, but this does nothing for me. The number from the 2001 production ("I'm Still Here") was so, so much better. I still remember that performance. This is so...schizophrenic. I'm sure it's great in context, but.... not out of it.
AHHH! STOP! PLEASE STOP!
AHAHA! There's a guy in full Lion King costume just hanging out in the audience behind NPH. That's pretty funny. That will be even funnier if he doesn't feature later in the show.
Seriously, I've always wanted to know Follies better, but if I was going merely off that clip alone I'd run the other direction. ("Buddy's Blues" was performed if anyone knows it.)
Why do we want to see the cruise version of Hairspray again? Why?
Now Ghost.
Yes, that Ghost. Okay.... so they picked "Unchained Melody."
I have really strong ties to that song, so uh... unfortunately it just feels like its being butchered. I'm not sure that's what's actually happening, but I don't like it.
No, no, no, I didn't like these projections before and I don't like them now.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON. IS THAT THE GUY THAT MURDERED HIM!?
Ahhhh! When you pick songs where everyone sings all at once for the one time you're on national television and you can't understand the lyrics, uh....
I have no idea what any of that was about.
Once walks away with Best Direction. No surprise there. I'm calling it, I bet Once will finish us off with production numbers for the evening. The one legit piece up this year. (If, again, a tad boring at times its still pretty beautiful.) I'd go see it.
In the middle of speeches, I'm following Twitter hashtags, broadwayworld.com & Facebook. I feel like I'm watching with people even though I'm not! (I didn't ask anyone else to watch with me. I wasn't putting anyone through this with me.)
Jesus Christ Superstar. In the over ten years I've been watching the Tonys, I've now seen this performed on here three times.
Title song. Yup.
Although, really, I'm not sure what other song you'd showcase from this show. Heaven on Their Minds? Not as exciting. Not as catchy?
Fun fact: This was one of the first shows I ever watched performed on the Tonys, actually. I walked in on it in 2000 and happened to catch their number and Kiss Me, Kate's. The next year I started watching the full broadcast.
I don't like the weird dancing shadow-girls in the background. This feels like something from the 60's. Is this one set in the 60's? Choreography could support that.
Every time this show gets done, everyone is determined to modern the life out of it.
Whoa. Crowd went wild.
Matthew Broderick is in Nice Work if You Can Get It?
Ahaha! Amazing Spiderman commerical during the Tony's.
Hm.... I thought I'd seen it three times, but the Internet Broadway Database is telling me this is the only other time its been revived since 2000. Maybe another case of re-performing? My bad.
Chairman of the American Theatre Wing......but with ANGELA LANSBURY!
They knew they had to bring him out with someone that would keep people's attention. Or, at least she'll keep theatre people's attention.
Oh wow. NPH is hanging via Spiderman style behind them. It's a little silly, but it's at least getting us through this very boring and expected spiel. Very nice. Applause.
Hm... everyone is commenting how this is the worst Tony's ever. Amusement. That's the comment every year. Considering how low my expectations were for this telecast, I'm partially enjoying myself.
Christian Borle for Peter & the Starcatcher. No surprise there. I would really like to see that one. I really wish they'd show clips from plays.
Aww...! He thanked his mom!
Hey, its Matthew Morrison! He has a beard. Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Ooo..... she has a really pretty voice. I wasn't paying attention. Who is she? She looks familiar. KELLI O'HARA. No wonder! (Light in the Piazza.)
Matthew Broderick is Matthew Broderick, but at least I've followed what's going on in this segment!
Well his segment got boring and I'm not crazy about the choreography, but I'd go see it for her! Gorgeous!
Once takes Best Book. That's got to be a tough show to get right, so good job.
I'm noticing a severe lack of Broadway royalty this year so far. That makes me sad. So far we've gotten Lansbury, Bernadette, Lupone & O'Hara. James Earl Jones is there, we just haven't seen him as much yet.
Once takes Best Sound Design.
"The Broadway League is proud to announce another record-breaking season."
Blah blah blah blah......blah blah..... Wait, some shows this year featured unexpected melodies? Did I misunderstand that? Wait.... I think she was talking about plays. Sorry. I can accept that. I was gonna say, did you miss "Unchained Melody" earlier?
Play Segment: Peter & the Starcatcher clip! I would love to see this! Cute!
Okay, the plays are really rocking it tonight. Maybe it was an awesome year for plays this year. If so, that is awesome. One Man, Two Guvner's is freaking hysterical! Look that clip up if you missed it! (I'll try to add in video clips later.)
"STELLA!"
I finally found the One Man, Two Guv'nors bit in the above clip, but you'll have to fast forward to 2:24 to see it. I think its worth it. Also, that clip will feature its segment for A Year in Plays if you're interested in that as well.
Um. Why is Josh Groban going to be on the Tony's?
Judy Kaye had a great awards speech. My favorite so far. Always knew her name, but did not realize she was the original Carlotta or that she was Emma Goldman in Ragtime! Two of my favorites!
Okay, Neil Patrick Harris, you've been great, but can we get someone new next year?
Porgy & Bess is next! AUDRA MCDONALD! NORM LEWIS!
If you don't know Mr. Lewis, you should check out the song "The Devil You Know" from Side Show. He's got a great voice. And if you don't know Mrs. McDonald, well, you should check out anything she's ever done. *love*
Neil Patrick Harris is going to sing again.... In the classic "let's sing songs from every broadway show" segment. I swear they do a segment like this every year. I like hearing all the songs and references but I wish we could find some new way to accomplish this. Am I being picky there?
Oh well. At least it lead into Best Score....Sheryl Crow? Sheryl Crow's presenting? Oh. She wrote for something entitled something Diner. Okay.
Whoa! Bonnie & Clyde was nominated for something? (Wildhorn.)
Goes to Newsies. Eeeh.... I've heard some of the new music. The original music is great, but....
"LOOK MA! A TONY!"
Okay, that was cute.
PORGY & BESS.
Excuse me, I'm gone for a second.
Man I loved hearing her sing "Summertime" and I looooved all the singing. Lots of awesome energy. So, so sad I can't see that one. I don't know this show that well and I would love for this to be my introduction.
This reminds me of the year the Ragtime revival stole the show.
Rock of Ages commercial. LOL. Um. Yes, I will be going to see this. Probably opening weekend. Even though I'm not entirely sure it won't be terrible. In fact, I think it might be. But man the marketing's been great on it. And I've heard that's supposedly Tom Cruise's actual singing and if so, then that's phenomenal. (You can find clips on amazon.)
Josh Groban is introducing Once? Is there a connection here I'm missing? Once seems fine and pretty, but this song wouldn't make me go see the show if I knew nothing about it.
I'm confused why that girl is standing in the middle of this song and looking confused. I suspect she is the Girl, but.... so far her whole feature is to stand there and look overwhelmed. I did like that bridge section though. Nice build. Wait, didn't they meet over a vacuum cleaner? Is that still in there?
WHY DO WE CARE THAT THIS THE "FIRST TIME EVER FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN"?! I don't care that you're going to reshow Hairspray. They keep reperforming on the Tony's. It's a great show, but pick another one.
Ah. Apparently there was a Josh Groban slam in Once and its an inside joke from the movie. That's pretty cute.
Also, as much as I like "Falling Slowly" I'm impressed they didn't choose that one. Good job.
I always like seeing the Broadway signs on the Tonys. They always make me happy.
Evita is coming up next. With Ricky Martin.
Jim Parsons introducing Best Play! Yay!
Whoa, Tony goes to Clybourne Park? I'm surprised. Is that an upset?
*blinks* It's Ziva from NCIS! Introducing Evita. With Ricky Martin.
That went about as expected. He was okay.
And in the feature for Evita, Eva Peron got to sing I think two lines.
I've never been able to get into this show.
They're really pushing this Hairspray from the High Seas thing. That's really getting old. What was it last year?
They also keep mention---
LES MIS TRAILER! *kermitflail!*
They also keep mentioning Hugh Jackman coming up so I'm crossing my fingers it'll be something awesome with the Les Mis movie. SHOW US RUSSELL CROWE.
Seriously, everytime I wonder if Crowe will be able to sing "Stars" all I hear in the back of my mind is: "Can he sing, can he sing?" "Hear, I have a note--" "LET ME SEE IT."
Godspell was revived? CAN WE PICK OTHER SHOWS TO REVIVE?! Bring Back Birdie. I want to see Bring Back Birdie on the Tonys.
Oh YES. DO A FLOP SEGMENT. OH PLEASE DO A FLOP SEGMENT. Carrie's already back!!
That would be awesome.
Awww! Is that poor guy trying to pick up some of the confetti? Maybe not.
Patti Lupone! Mandy Patinkin! Okay. That segment was great. Introduction for Best Revival of a Musical.
PORGY & BESS! WIN! WIN! WIN!
Happy, happy, happy....
Aaaand right after that.... FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON THE TONYS.... LIVE ..... Hairspray on the HIGH SEAS!
I'm not kidding. They just said that.
Why is this getting so much importance. Seriously. They're on a cruise ship. It's a musical on a cruise ship. This is nothing new, people.
Darn it, Hairspray. I want to hate this and your music is so freaking catchy.
Wait, wait, wait.... Leap of Faith will be our final performer for the evening?
And Hugh Jackman is just getting a special award? I don't care! SHOW US THE MOVIE.
Porgy & Bess is trending on twitter. That's hysterical and awesome.
I love how the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre gets presented earlier, not televised, and given a five second clip of the speech, while Hugh Jackman is about to receive some sort of award for....what exactly? I mean, he's awesome, but uh....
For his "extraordinary contributions to the Broadway community."
I know he's raised a lot of money for the community, and that's really, really wonderful, but.... Lifetime Achievement? LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT?! Nothing?
His speech, though, especially to his wife was really sweet. I'll give him that. He always seems so nice. She apparently surprised him, he didn't know she was going to be the one presenting it to him. Cute.
"I'm sad to announce that that production of Hairspray was just taken over by pirates....of Penzance."
Okay, that was sort of cute NPH. (He's been doing mashups all night.)
The Guy from Once took Best Performance for an Actor in a Musical.
He's thanking the ensemble! Good job, you!
Oh my goodness. Just gave a beautiful speech about his mom who just lost her life to cancer.
What is Candance Bergan wearing exactly? I just looked up.
The guy from One Man, Two Guv'ners won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Play! I'm so excited for him - that performance earlier was so, so funny! YAY!
He seriously just beat out Philip Seymour Huffman, James Earl James and Frank Langella. I would be speechless too.
Awww! Another great speech! Applause, applause.
Oh.... Here we go. Leap of Faith.
I can't pinpoint why I didn't like that.... I did at least understand everything that was going on, which after some of the other performances of the night, is a major plus. But I just didn't really like it. Esparaza looks really out of place in this show. There's a ton of energy here, they're really working hard. Anyone else? What did you think?
YES. Last year's winners of Best Musical (Book of Mormon) will be presenting for Best Musical. I can totally get behind that. Much better than Chris Rock. I was kind of dreading the announcement of who it would be.
Ahahaha! I don't know who this lady is (winner of Best Supporting Actress in a Play) but telling presenter Christopher Plummer "Sir, you were my first crush, When that whistle blew in Sound of Music...." was super cute.
I like her. She's really funny. And genuine. She was from the play Venus in Fur.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN COMPLETE SIGNAL LOSS?!
.....
....
Okay. We're back. Dish, don't do that to me.
AUDRA MCDONALD. AUDRA MCDONALD MUST WIN.
(Best Leading Actress in a Musical)
Hey! Bonnie & Clyde got another nomination!
AUDRA MCDONALD FOR THE WIN! Her first Tony for a Leading Actress. Yes. You rock, Audra.
Ah. Royal Caribbean was one of the Tony's sponsors. That explains a lot.
We're up to Best Musical. Winning Best Musical changes your life. You're transformed from an artist...to an artiste. Tonight, we, who are the Broadway establishment!
That was really funny, guys. Good job.
I wish I could find video of that. I'll keep looking.
So Once or Newsies?
I'm calling Once.
Once!
That introduction was so good, these guys should host next year.
So! Bad to okay productions, a couple great ones, a mostly wearying host and an enjoyable evening mostly because of my low expectations. And, despite it all, because I still love theatre.
I do like this writing-the-end-song-throughout-the-show bit they've done two years now. I really liked the rap last year (mostly because Miranda wrote it.)
Goodnight everybody! If anybody else watched it, I would love to hear your thoughts!
The Wedding Class....
....is mostly why I've been away. It was a wedding intensive class that began this past Sunday through Wednesday (where I graduated to Pomp & Circumstance, ha) and lasted from 8:30 - 5:30 every day in the city. And paranoid me left at 6:30 every morning to ensure I would beat traffic and make it to class on time.
And while I was rather terrified to go through the first hands on experience (since this was my first time around other designers) everything went okay. I learned a lot and it was really kind of nice to have a four-day designing focus, rather than multitasking computer, order taking, satisfying customers, etc. Not that those things are bad. Just that it was nice to strictly soak up some design wisdom and let some of it gel in my head a little better. Especially for wedding work.
I did solidify a few styles (one of which we just used today in the shop) and learned a few crazy things as well. For one, I never thought I'd be able to complete a composite flower which is several flowers put together to form one large bloom. So she showed us how to make a glamela (glad blooms) and we completed one and then she quickly showed us a composite rose. And it looked easier than I expected. So while we had some extra time on our hands this morning I wanted to make one while I could still remember how:
In this picture it kind of looks like one giant bloomed-out rose, but that's kind of the whole point too. That's actually three roses put together. I would love to make more of these, I think they're really beautiful. (And I was so excited to make one.)
Anyway, I essentially was coming home, eating dinner with grandma, rewriting my notes and crashing.
But I saw some awesome girls....
.... and had a chance to spend the night with them before my class started. :) I spent the night with the Puckett family and played games and sang karaoke and had a general blast. Maybe I can sneak over there one more time before summer is up. ;)
Did I mention the Tonys are this Sunday?
Oh wait, I haven't.
Um.
I'm just not excited this year. I'll watch them (and blog inner-monologue style) but I'm just not anticipating them this year. I wasn't really last year either and they pleasantly surprised me and gave me lots of hope, but look at this years Best Musical lineup: Once Newsies Leap of Faith Nice Work if You Can Get It
Now. Not that I'm not excited for Newsies to finally be on Broadway (although, honestly, I'm not all that crazy about some of the new music I've heard) and not that I don't think Once can do well there(although, honestly, it is pretty slow in some places.) But the top three are all based off movies and the last one - while it has a new story - is essentially a Gershwin review. Where's the originality? It's nowhere. At all. And it just kind of depresses me a bit.
Okay, so it was a slow season for new stuff. How about the revivals? Evita Jesus Christ Superstar Follies Porgy & Bess
I am VERY excited to see Porgy performed because it features none other than Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis (ahh!) but I've also heard amazing things about the supporting castas well. That one, I'm stoked for. But the others? How many times has JCS been revived recently? Evita? Nothing new. Follies? Great show from what I've heard (my shame, I don't know that one as well), but again, played a lot.
And I'd tell you about the plays, but sadly I know nothing about them. So consider the rest of it strictly referring to musicals, because I'm telling you up front I just haven't kept up with the plays.
This article that was posted today makes me sad: For Broadway Fans, A Moment in the Sun. It mostly discusses how nice it is for Broadway to be mainstream for a little while (and it is) and how shows like Glee, Smash and High School Musical have been the main backbone for that happening.
While I haven't been able to get into those shows, I don't have a problem with them. In fact, I like that Glee does pull a lot of old showtunes and breathes new life into them for a new generation. My problem with the article is not that our "moment in the sun" is because of these television shows. My problem with the article is when you continue reading it gives the impression that Broadway is gleaming right now with success. Newsies is finally on Broadway. This is the highest grossing year ever. We are awesome.
I'm really frustrated with this. This is a terrible year for musicals. We've been in an originality drought for awhile now, but really? Not a single show? I mean, at least in the past we've had Memphis (that's a joke.)
I'm not upset with the television shows that the article claims: "I trace this surge in popularity back to 2006's "High School Musical."
Sure, I despised it (and the endless sequels) with a fervent passion, as
any true musical nerd would. It turned our beloved world into a pop
singer-filled, Disney Channel-style, teenybopper show." but within our own community. Why aren't we encouraging and supporting good, original art and pushing for it to be on the Great White Way where there's a better chance a larger community will see it? Why aren't we calling foul for this? Why aren't we helping promote or demanding a higher quality? Why isn't someone at least trying something instead of just rewriting movies with songs?
Probably for the same reason I haven't raised a fuss this year. Because we have in the past and now we're tired and a bit jaded with the whole thing.
I do realize there is a lot happening in smaller venues now, off-Broadway and way way off-Broadway and that's great. But I also wish we could open back up that larger market where the creative shows could potentially gain more attention and maybe one day create more of a demand for thought provoking and high quality work.
Ah well, a girl can dream.
And let me reiterate - turning a movie into a musical isn't bad in and of itself. I just wish it wasn't seemingly every show right now or that they would do something new with it. Lion King is the perfect example. Its a movie to a musical and while it's not a perfect overall show, it is excellent in so many capacities. Puppetry work? Absolutely worth the hype. The opening number? Outstanding and worth every laud. Scenery? Music? Lovely. This is a great example of breathing new life and making something truly theatrical from something that's been done before. I realize that kind of brilliance can't happen every time - that's why its so special - but its an excellent description of what I hope for in movies turned musicals and why they can be good.
Actually, I think I hate that article. I think its dumb. And seriously, how does an article entitled "Broadway's Moment in the Sun" not include....
....the upcoming Les Mis movie.
TheLes Mis trailer is still gorgeous and I'm still a bit shocked it looks so perfect. This would be such a hard show to get right and I'm so excited by all the pictures! December seems just around the corner.
And yet, there's one nail biter beforehand. The Dark Knight Rises marketing keeps throwing me from one side to other. I thought the Catwoman poster was stupid, yet I love all the tv spots I've seen lately. So I'm hoping its actually awesome and the marketing team has just been confused this whole time. Or if not awesome, at least solid. Please, Nolan, I want a solid ending to a good trilogy. Pleeeeeease.
However, my boss is awesome and when I begged to please, could we please be done with the wedding work by 7:00 so I can go see this movie, please oh please she laughed and said of course. So Dark Knight Rises opening weekend, here I come. Mwee!!
Let's make up for that last article.
I can assure you, this one will do it. This is a story about how a five-year-old boy and his mother got onto the Avengers set, was able to take pictures with some of the cast and how awesome they were treated by all the cast members and crew. I love it. It's super cute, really heartwarming and very "aww" worthy.
The picture of him with Loki alone is worth it. (It's at the top, I won't spoil it.)
Have you heard that saying about the thunderstorms being a good omen for Thunder?
Cause I'm sure sick of it. EVERY. WEATHERMAN. EVERY. FORECAST.
But I am glad they won, I'm thrilled for them and I'll watch the finals. They actually make watching the game fun and intense to watch, which isn't saying I usually say in context with basketball. Ever. I think these are the first full games I've ever watched where a family member wasn't playing in them. So go Thunder! You are awesome. You actually have made me enjoy basketball.
That's the majority of what you've missed. We are launching into wedding season now which will keep me busy, but not like this past week. Hurrah! I should be as back as I ever am.
I've learned.... I talk to myself out loud a lot if I'm gaming by myself. It's like my inner monologue just can't contain itself. And since there's no one around watching me there's no conscious shut-off valve. I've never really noticed it before because it doesn't happen quite as bad with platform games. But ooooh.... my venture into Diablo 3 has made it so much worse.
While I've played Guild Wars & LOTRO before, I never really got past level 12 in either of them, meaning I never played much at all. So this is really the first time I've tried to take on a boss by myself or major quests, etc. It's really fun (and no guilt monkeys because it's Neal's game! hurrah!). But the first time I ventured out by myself into the world of Diablo I was pretty convinced I was going to die around every corner. So phrases like "DON'T DIE! DON'T DIE! DON'T DIE!" and "DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!" were spilling out at almost every.single.enemy.
I think that's pretty much how playing Mega Man must have sounded too.
And then I realized: Hey! I didn't die! Hey! He died really easy! So you would think that would cut down on the chatter. But it hasn't.
So expelling those previous two mentioned (since they actually are the most common, but I've spoiled them), I give you:
Top 5 (Mostly) Most Used Phrases During Diablo 3:
5) "STOP SHOOTING HIM."
Out of a paranoia that something is about to kill me or is not completely dead yet I have a tendency to shoot anything that moves, including fellow party members. Thankfully, it doesn't actually harm friends, but it does make me irritated at myself when I realize I've been shooting the wrong thing. Especially when something actually is attacking me from behind.
4) "NO!"
While it may come out "NO!" I can assure you a couple times its felt more like this:
It usually means I've just died.
Which leads into.....
3) "PLEASE be a checkpoint."
Before I realized that completing a quest was when a checkpoint (essentially: save point) automatically occurred, I kept waiting for them to occur randomly. And I kept hoping for one about every five minutes. There's another popular variation of this that goes "AH! Where was my last checkpoint?!"
2) "HEAL, stupid, HEAL!" I'm currently fighting the Butcher and have so far failed (don't judge me!). Unfortunately, I'm still button mashing at times and it'll accept one button over another and I WON'T HEAL. GAH. HEAL. HEEEEAL. I KNOW YOU'RE HURT. STOP TELLING ME.
1) "MOOOOVE!"
This is a real problem.
My character has a real tendency to stand right next to deadly enemies, which is unfortunate since she's a Wizard and is therefore squishy. Despite the fact that I actually like to battle by standing far away and electrocuting things, I apparently haven't gotten complete understanding of.....something yet. Because somehow I always end up right in the way. Get out of the way. MOVE, Annama, MOVE! Or just....yes, die. Sigh. Checkpoint please.
Honorable Mention:
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"
A variation of "DON'T DIE! DON'T DIE! DON'T DIE!" and therefore not up for top 5, but popular nonetheless.
"So Nick Fury is like 'We need a team of the most brightly colored bullseyes we can find!'"
- Bum Reviews, TGWG (Um, beware some language, if you go looking for it.)
So. This was my first review of Avengers:
OHMYGOSHAVENGERS.
That was it. And honestly, that still pretty much sums it up.
If you don't see this movies in theatres, you're missing out. This is one of the few movies I will tell you go spend your money. Give them your money. (I almost mistyped there and wrote "monkey." I doubt they want your monkey. I doubt you have a monkey.) Seriously, they have done so well with everything and all the movies leading up to this and all the build up, that you should go give them your money and support this. And because it's just that good. Sure, they've already made a billion dollars. But folks, in this case, there's a reason why.
Also you should go see it in theatres because you will be sad if you rent it first. This movie is huge. This movie needs to be experienced on the big screen. (I have now seen it in both 2D and 3D and I can assure you you're not missing out on anything without the 3D action.)
I can't rave about this movie enough. The characters, the action sequences, the dialogue, the story, everything. It is the ultimate superhero movie. Just go see it. I plan to go see it at least one more time in theaters, even if its at the dollar movie, just to get one more experience on the big screen. But if you're going, you should call me because I'll go anyway.
I've had a lot of people ask me if this is family friendly. You're going to run into some language, but other than that, I don't think you'll have any problems - especially with older kids. With younger kids - while there are a lot of very very funny moments that will be right up their alley - there's also a lot of seriousness too and it may not hold their attention as well at the first. I think that just entirely depends on your kid. Outside of one scene where a very sharp object gets implanted on someone's face, there's no action or fighting that's gory. (And really, it reads worse than it actually appears onscreen. No blood or anything shown.) It's very much clean fighting.
This is a great movie. I can't say anything else about it. If we haven't talked about it yet, you should mention your thoughts in the comments because I would love to read them. (Beware: Potential spoilers in the comments.)
Since most of my friends who drink tea also love Alan Rickman (Kelly & Holly, I'm especially looking at you), I thought I'd share in case you hadn't seen this:
And if you want it to be even MORE dramatic, the slow-mo version:
I couldn't make it through the seven-minute version, but I do love the shorter one. There are a ton of them, so if you want to other interpretations just youtube "Epic Tea Time."
My cousin was one of the artists who worked on this game and, quite frankly, I'm super proud of him and all his hard work on it. Visually, it's quite beautiful (especially for a demonic world, heh) so far and I really enjoyed spending the evening running around in it with some of my friends. I'm not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination - while I've enjoyed Guild Wars and LOTRO in the past, I've always ended up feeling guilty dedicating so much time to it and usually end up fizzling out.
(Not that you should feel guilty playing games. But for some reason that's where the guilt monkeys attack me. Notice they don't attack me as much for wasting time surfing the internet. Like I'm doing now instead of sleeping. *flicks away a tiny, wimpy guilt monkey*)
Sadly, though, Diablo's launch has been marred by intense server issues. Which means pretty much since its release at midnight last night, there's been very little time its actually been playable. In fact, the reason we finally stopped playing tonight was due to the entire server/battlenet being shut down. As of now (1:00 AM) it is still offline. Eek.
Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun. Hopefully I'll be able to get through some of it on my own instead of being so dependent on the leading of friends. I made a last minute change to a Wizard class, instead of Demon Hunter. Mostly because I'm a sucker for anything elemental. We'll see how it goes.
Congrats Neal!! May the rage of all the frustrated gamers not deter you from celebrating your artistic success. :)
We found this in grandma's under-the-sink stash a few days ago, labeled from 1976:
Can you see it? Can you see what's NEW about this bottle?
NEW Trigger Sprayer action.
And an EXCLUSIVE Mist Sprayer. EXCLUSIVE.
Hm.... I see now where my packrat nature comes from.
But it's been hanging around our family since 1976. It's practically a member of the family! It should at LEAST get to hit its 40th birthday! It's a keeper.
Okay, so I just thought that was an amusing hashtag, but out of curiosity I did check - and yes, it's on twitter. There's not that many. But still. It's there. That's hysterical.
The funny thing about jobs to me is hearing the stories that happen behind the scenes. The things you never think about happening because all you see is the finished product. Like hearing that house staff clean the seats at an outdoor stadium before every game. Seriously? Someone has to do that? I figured at an outdoor game, I'd just have to take my chances with the dust! That actually gets done?
Likewise, I never thought I'd come home at the end of the day and say "Y'know what? My thumbs feel like they're on fire."
Since I was on corsage work all day long for Mother's Day & the last prom of the season, my thumbs got a lot of repetitive use. And then I stabbed one of the them on a sharp wire and blood gushed out.
I did not know blood could gush out of your thumb. But I can now assure you - it can. It was pretty funny. Sort of.
Also, I have glue stuck under my fingernails. And somehow on my jeans.
But it was all good. I was actually really pleased with my corsage work today (oo, maybe I could snatch a pic or two tomorrow!) which is really the first time I've come off a load of them feeling that way. I'm pleased. I didn't even really do a high quantity of them - at all- but the few I had were very time consuming and specific.
But while Mother's Day has been going on - and I do need to get the final, official count on this - I'm pretty sure we've taken a dozen family pieces this week. Eleven of which were made or will be made before the week is technically up. Crazy. Good crazy.
Or sort of. Wait. I mean. Um. I like making casket pieces? It's good for business? See? This never sounds good. I can never say "I get joy out of making casket pieces" without that sounding terrible.
You guys get it though. You love me. (Right? Right?)
Meanwhile, I've recently discovered a blog (thanks Dave!) entitled The Introverted Church which is pretty great. I'm not really crazy about the introvert-power movement that seems to be trying to happen (and is pretty funny when you think about that) but I do like reading through a lot of their thoughts and opinions on the subject in general. Its amusing to see kindred spirits who can say things like But I like spending hours in total solitude. Also, I do struggle with a lot of this at church, so it's not only nice to see others talk about the issue, but relate to it as well.
Out of curiosity, a few months back I decided to retake the Keirsey Temperament Sorter to see if I had changed any as an adult. I was just wondering if anything had shifted. But nope, I'm still happily an Idealist/Counselor, an INFJ. (Excepting maybe the whole "prophetic seer, psychic" thing. Hm.)
Anyway. Speaking of being an introvert - and one who really does like watching quietly, and not just by how I gain energy - I visited my first charismatic church last Sunday! (No worries, I have no plans to leave my church.) I shall blog about that soon.
1) The Tony Nominations Happened?
Apparently they were announced today.
I just happened to visit Playbill. I guess my body still has some sort
of internal Tony clock that tells me when to check in.
Anything of interest? Um... Newsies is up for Best Musical along with Once, but honestly other than that not much catches my eye. Peter & the Starcatcher is up for Best Play. Porgy & Bess
is up for Best Revival. Yeah, I'll still check in at Tony time, but
there's nothing here that really makes me want to keep up outside of
those. Once received the most nom's this year clocking in at 11. Which doesn't surprise me either.
Sigh. In the Heights, I miss you. Miranda, come back. (Or Ahrens & Flaherty. Or Guettel. Someone, come back!)
2) It is May. And I hate May. May, can we let bygones be bygones? You mostly don't like me. I mostly don't like you. You've set me into stressful fits of rage the last two years in a row. It's true, that was more related to work issues. The computer & whatnot. But let's just chill this year. Truce? Truce?
3) So you're preparing for Mother's Day, huh?
Actually, right now we're in a flurry of activity revamping our (entire) wedding process. It's becoming a huge investment all across the board and due to a sudden deadline we have to have part of it done by the end of this week. And then I need to update & revamp our portfolio. And then comb back over all our social media to see if it's a solid representation of us. And then make it through my wedding class in June - which I'm super excited about - but its still a touch intimidating.
Though I did learn that apparently all these classes are done only through the OKC center. Which means people fly from all over the nation to attend these classes. Cool!
And yes, Mothers Day is next week so that'll take precedence very soon. We're very busy for currently not having any daily work to do.
4) But I do get to see Holly tomorrow! Holly and I are having a Trigun day. Season 1! The happy season! And then Phoenix Diner! It's a plan. I'm excited.
5) Again. My Kids are Freaking Cute.
And just in case there was some part of you that doubted my kids are indeed the cutest. ever.
Pic shamelessly stolen from Amy.Great shot, Amy!
LOOK AT THAT FACE.
Seriously. Happiest face ever. I love this little now-somehow-five birthday baby. :)
6) The Moose is Back.
There is a theatre in NY called The Beautiful Soup who is reviving Moose Murders. Moose Murders, which opened in 1983, is the Carrie of plays. The big flop. The original of flop-dom. The show that played 13 previews, and opened and closed on the same night. 1 performance.
Personally, I love that they're doing this. Maybe it's just because I want to see Bring Back Birdie. But I've often thought I'd love to be near a theatre that once a season revived a major flop (or terrible show.) And whether they play it for laughs or try to attempt it legit, their intent could change depending on the show. Just giving it one more life.
They even made a trailer for it. I love it.
7) Oh, and speaking of "The Flop...." There will be a cast recording of the recent Off-Broadway revival of Carrie! YAY! I'll get to hear Marin Mazzie tackle "And Eve Was Weak" which is very exciting. Sadly, the song list does not include "Out for Blood." Somehow the song about hacking a pig got cut. Oh, Carrie. You make me smile.
8) But Once Upon a Time doesn't.
This is actually the first time I've discussed Once on here I think. I almost hate to now.
Look.
..... Look.
I've been watching this show all season. Because it's bad.
I'm sorry if you like this show.
But....it is bad. Laughably. However, this weeks episode was not necessarily laughably bad. It was just downright painful.
And despite the fact that I've been watching this show because its bad, this episode was sobad that I don't even know that I'm willing to finish out the series. Even though we're only two episodes away.
Because it was THAT BAD.
Can you even comprehend that level of terrible? Because I sure couldn't
I love how - especially since they're coming out in the same summer - this is a very different film from Avengers. Both hopefully awesome, but in very different ways.
On Saturday I spent the day as Parking Lot Enforcer since there was a garage sale next door to the shop and every.single.parking space was taken by shoppers. Considering it was also prom and we had lots of corsages for pickup we had to encourage them to park elsewhere. But after they continued to ignore our signs and fill our lot we finally started taking turns chasing them down and telling them to park elsewhere. Sometimes even chasing them down all the way until they were already at the garage sale.
On Monday morning we drove up to find a lady throwing all of our trash out of our dumpster and going through it looking for petals to make potpourri out of. Her pupils were incredibly tiny, and she stayed out there an hour despite our warnings to leave and she left her car running the entire time she was out there.
On Tuesday a man came in without his shirt in. Which I guess might have been slightly less weird except he brought in in with him and decided to put it on ....at the cash register?
On Wednesday in the middle of a man's explaining very excitedly about his upcoming date, he also decided to throw out there how long it had been since he had "been with a woman."
....
THIS IS NOT RELEVANT TO YOUR FLOWER ORDER, SIR. I PROMISE YOU. I DON'T NEED TO KNOW.
Today I arrived, feeling pretty good on a few hours of sleep, and then suddenly realized my shirt was inside out. In my defense, at least I only had it on that way for an hour? Eh? Eh?
It's okay. It's Friday tomorrow. It'll all be over soon. :)
(Although I do work this Saturday too....eek.....)
For awhile now I've been looking for a (new to me) band that had a great sound, had a lot of drive to it, was lots of fun to listen to while still maintaining some meat to it and be musically interesting.Since that's a pretty tall order, I haven't had too much luck finding one that just hit the spot in a couple years now. Really, FIF was pretty perfect. And while they are back to making music again it's still not going to be out for awhile plus I still wanted something fresh and new.
I had actually heard about House of Heroes for several years now and had noticed that the only things I heard were incredibly positive. Buuut I was stupid and assumed no band could really be that good and never paid attention. Then Reese mentioned how good they were which piqued my interest again and suddenly Will is sending me "If" and "Baby's A Red" to listen to.
They were stuck in my head for days.
Not only are they just incredibly catchy, but I loved their lyrics and the funky beats they pulled in.
Then there was "Code Name: Raven" which is still one of my favorites for the way they managed to make it sound so epic and work out that great bridge section. (I'm a sucker for epic. 80's rock ballads for the win.)
And it continued their World War II theme on the album "The End is Not the End" which was brilliant. (I'm also a sucker for themed albums. Musicals for the win.)
But I have this really bad habit of not listening to other songs by bands I like until I get bored with the ones I've latched onto. When I first got Phantom of the Opera in high school I listened to the first act for months and one day suddenly realized I had never listened to the second.
I had no idea how it ended.
Then I listened to the second act for months before remembering how awesome the first was. And finally I put the two together.
So finally tonight I started playing around listening to other House of Heroes songs. I re-listened to "In the Valley of the Dying Sun" which is beautiful, was fascinated by the opening of "Independence Day for a Petty Thief," bounced around to "Love is For the Middle Class" and then found.... "God Save the Foolish Kings."
I'm not sure why I really attached to this song tonight, but it really sold me out on House of Heroes. It's just so FUN. I really love the second verse where they launch back into "Midnight at school, behind the bleachers..." with that great use of claps & background vocals.
Again, epic sounding. Lots of drive.
Maybe I've finally found that band to fill in that void.
Why yes, I do think I need to pick up these albums....
Okay, so this time I have an actual reason for not posting for awhile. I was not here.
I was in HOUSTON!
The landscape: Not the same as it was before.
Due to the drought for all of last year, I never realized that there could be anything but dry grass from here to Texas. However that is simply not true. With all the wonderful rain we've been receiving the drive from Southern Oklahoma to Houston is simply gorgeous. Thousands of wildflowers along the banks of the road in all sorts of colors. Long, tall grasses. Huge, leafy trees. And on the drive down this wispy fog all throughout the Arbuckle Mountains in the early morning hours. So incredibly pretty. So many times I wanted pictures.
Hit that ball, what a game...
In order to travel with Will to his job at the Astros Stadium, I had to pick up the pace on 45 to make it to Houston by 3:30. (I was close: 3:40. But we still made it to the Stadium, thanks to Will who navigated me through all the chaotic traffic and suddenly clogged highways.)
Therefore I made it to my very first (professional) baseball game! The Houston Astros vs. the Atlanta Braves. Which I thought was pretty funny, since as a kid I loved the Braves. Or at least, as much as I ever loved a sports team as a kid. All that pretty much means is that I loved them one particular year they went to the World Series and my dad and I had this huge game about who would win. And he wanted the other team and I picked the Braves (they lost.) So that's it. Anyway, I was still amused I got to see the Braves. (Although, yes, in real life their fans seem to be pretty annoying.)
Root. Root. Root. This is the Astros slogan for the year. They take this very seriously, as you can see all over this pic.
The Astros lost, but I did get to hear the home run cannon go off, and I did enjoy the extreme classic/nostalgia feeling that seems to come over you while wandering through a ballpark and the first few innings of the game. Plus, the evening was perfect. Seriously, I kept looking up, seeing cityscape, and realizing I had forgotten I was outside. Absolutely beautiful, perfect for a game.
All I could hear was bits & pieces of "What a Game" from Ragtime.
The Boys
I had a lot of great chances to play with the kiddos, especially Robbie. Who is four and can build things like this out of K'Nex:
Robbie's Robot. No instructions here, folks. Just his thoughts and K'nex prowess.Man, I wish had a picture when he had wings on it.
At one point Robbie actually convinced me to try and build an airplane for him out of K'nex from the instruction manual.
Oh, guys. Me with K'nex. Can you already see the utter failure?
But I was pretty pleased with how I had finally managed to get over halfway done and looking pretty good when he slid down beside me and stated "Um.... this part is upside down."
Which prompted me to ask the dumbest question I could have possibly asked at that moment.
"Are you sure, Robbie?"
"Yes. This is upside down." And before I could blubber out something about "being sure before we changed it" he had taken it from my hands, made quick eight snaps and handed it back to me before running off on his way. He had fixed it. (For you curious, the plane eventually did get finished with Robbie's help.)
Death to Dust Man
I really, really love The Mega's album featuring music from Mega Man 2. But I've never touched a Mega Man game and I was wondering what they were like and Will said we could play through them together.
Um.
That sounded great until I realized how hard some of the levels were to jump into for the first three games, and I pretty much just handed off the controller to him (once with one hit point left and no lives at the boss gate.) I did however play more of Mega Man 4, right up until Dust Man who stressed me out so much I couldn't even watch him beat the level.
And then time ran out and no more Mega Man.
But I did get to meet Rush!
The Zooooooo!
And we went to the Zoo!
Robbie & Will spying on the...gorillas? Was it gorillas?
The Houston Zoo has a lot of cool animals, many different ones from OKC which was a nice change. My favorite part was actually at the very end where we came across red pandas running around in their exhibit, being incredibly cute. While OKC does have one, she's usually sleeping or hidden. To see them so active was lovely. (No pictures there because they were in a dark tunnel behind glass.)
Also, there were otters, sprawled on top of each other, sleeping on their backs. Also very cute.
The giraffes were feeling up close & personal. Love the tongue sticking out.
Again, great weather, great company, great Zoo.
Bouncing (on heads) here and there and everywhere....
Tarvis!
One evening (I can no longer remember what happened what day) I was able to run over to Travis' to catch up with him which was nice. And then I watched Will & Travis play Super Mario Wii which was hysterical. Seriously, bouncing off each others heads, falling into pits, crashing around in bubble form... there's a reason I love to watch people play video games.
The Return of the Confetti Eggs
If for any bizarre reason I wasn't sure before, I've now decided I absolutelylove confetti eggs.
Shamelessly stealing these pics from Will.
Kim sweetly thought of and bought some confetti eggs for us to play with, but unfortunately the timing never quite worked out! So the day I left we managed to sneak them in after church.
Isaac seemed less concerned. Pic also stolen.
I tried to smash one on Robbie's head - instantly was afraid I was going to hurt him more than expected - and began breaking them
open instead which worked just as well. But don't worry, he took great
pleasure in busting them over mine, so there was definitely
egg-head-smashing going on. :)
Stolen! Stolen!
I love the confetti! I don't know why. (Though maybe it harkins back to the days of the Fantasticks when I had great joy in playing with it after every performance to Philip's dismay.) I think it's all the colors. It makes everything look so cheery & bright. It's great stuff. Next year I need to buy several packs and stock up!
One more since confetti pictures rock. Don't worry, we cleaned up the mess.
Thanks again, Kim! :)
Seven and a half hours to home.
It was a total blessing that I didn't hit any major traffic on the drive home since I left later than I originally intended. I guess Saturday night suddenly everything caught up with me and I was worn out by Sunday morning. So after the confetti eggs, I tried to lay down (and failed at sleeping.) But a fantastic lunch from Kim was enough and I was quite awake the rest of the drive home. After sailing five minutes through construction that caused me two hours of grief last spring, I was thrilled.
All in all....
It was an absolutely lovely trip. Friends, kiddos, a Zoo, games...how can you go wrong? It was perfect.
While I did wish this year that we would've done something a little extra for Easter at church, simply to help me remember the true celebration behind the season, it was a very lovely Easter.
(Not that Hilltop didn't have a nice Easter morning service and not that they didn't focus on Christ. Just that I was a little hungry for a little more....weightiness. Does that even make sense? Something to snap me into the reality of what we were celebrating.)
But we did take the Lords Supper, which is a bit rarer for us and therefore brought to mind more of the occasion, and I was certainly much more aware of The Reason this year than I have been in years past.
I'm in Numbers right now, working my way through the Old Testament, and I really loved seeing the sermons leading up to Easter we've been receiving side by side with the stories of the Old Testament. This year when Gary read the phrase: "We have no king but Caesar" it suddenly reeled in my mind how truly awful (and really blasphemous) that was since I'm also concurrently reading about how God is their Head & their King in the Old. It was shocking - as it should have been - and seeing moments like this lined up beside each other continue to help me have a better grasp of the bigger picture at the cross. Anyone else have specific memories of moments like that?
Anyway. Easter has this way of bringing out joy in another fashion: super cute kiddos.
Unfortunately, I failed miserably at getting photos of the Plumb celebration (Shannon, I'm looking at you. I saw that camera flashing. ;) ) But I did manage to get quite a few when the Kime's & McBride's came down on Easter Sunday.
I know most of them feature *ahem* me, but I was so thrilled to have updated photos with these kiddos, that I'm certainly putting them in anyway. :)
Awwww..... look at that face. My darling Lexie Lou!
I haven't had as many pics of Brighton to feature in general, so she shows up often here. :) Plus, it was her very first Easter!
Gorgeous see-sters... (this was the "two cookie" bribe picture.)
I adore these faces. Can you believe they're so grown up? I can't.
Oh, I adore Lexie's face too. :)
(Please note the confetti in my hair. Story forthcoming.)
And of course, baby Bright's as well. :)
Picture perfect. :)
Seriously, how precious are these kids? The amount of cuteness here is staggering.
Ooooooh..... the confetti. Jeff & Brittany brought these eggs down called Confetti Eggs and they were awesome. You crack the egg open (preferably by smashing them over someone's head, which appeared to be our method) and all this beautiful confetti comes flying out. But not the sticky kind, just pretty small bits of colorful paper. They brought a dozen. Next year I'm convinced they need to bring a dozen for the adults and then another dozen for the kids. :)
You see, by the end of it I was the only one that hadn't been confetti'd and all the eggs were gone. But then they found one that had still been hidden in the backyard. So while I avoided Jeff like the plague (who was whistling innocently nearby), unbeknownst to me he had swapped with my oldest kiddo and she NAILED me on the back of the head. There was a traitor in my midst! :)
Anyway, moral of story: go buy confetti eggs. They're fun. They're colorful. Buy plenty for each age group to play. :)
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