Kristin, Jenni and I used to take turns keeping the big shirt. I found it with my fabric scraps last night. I don't think we ever realized just how big the shirt really is.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Big Shirt
Kristin, Jenni and I used to take turns keeping the big shirt. I found it with my fabric scraps last night. I don't think we ever realized just how big the shirt really is.
Potluck
Taint!
Jeff has fallen asleep a couple times on our couch. It has that effect on people. He didn't notice the poking.
Serenity Now II
It happened, we got our tickets and we saw Serenity. It was great. I'd only been to one other advance screening before (The Life Aquatic) but it wasn't very "advance" and there weren't any surveys. It was fun to give my opinion on movies. I wish I could do that more often. One time at Westminster Mall Ben and I got to watch a preview of the Man on Fire movie commercial and give our feedback. Not sure we affected much, since the commercial that eventually ran was pretty much the same. But it was fun anyway. Way off track now.
Serenity was awesome. I like it more now that I've had time to think about it. I'll probably like it even more once I see the finished film. This one was poorly printed, Brian said the color timing (?) hadn't been done yet, and the score and special effects were missing. But at least now I know the reason River . . . and that Book . . .
Don't worry Andy, I'll keep it secret until you see it. That's the one thing I felt really bad about, was not getting a seat for Andy. But hurrah! There's going to be another screening! This time I got plenty of extra seats. Looking forward to it, bro.
Browncoats!
Serenity was awesome. I like it more now that I've had time to think about it. I'll probably like it even more once I see the finished film. This one was poorly printed, Brian said the color timing (?) hadn't been done yet, and the score and special effects were missing. But at least now I know the reason River . . . and that Book . . .
Don't worry Andy, I'll keep it secret until you see it. That's the one thing I felt really bad about, was not getting a seat for Andy. But hurrah! There's going to be another screening! This time I got plenty of extra seats. Looking forward to it, bro.
Browncoats!
Games on the Grass
Friday, April 29, 2005
Almost Spring
Hello all! I thought we were done with snow the last time I posted. But we've had another spring snowfall in Colorado. Ben's car locks were frozen this morning!
This ought to be a rather relaxing weekend. I'll have a massage this afternoon before dance class. Tonight I'll see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Serenity trailer is supposed to be attached! Speaking of Serenity, Brian swiftly alerted Ben to purchase tickets for an advance screening!!! The shows (link) were sold out within a few hours. I'm so jazzed to see it next week!
My cat is trying to lick my fingers while I type, so that's all for now.
This ought to be a rather relaxing weekend. I'll have a massage this afternoon before dance class. Tonight I'll see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Serenity trailer is supposed to be attached! Speaking of Serenity, Brian swiftly alerted Ben to purchase tickets for an advance screening!!! The shows (link) were sold out within a few hours. I'm so jazzed to see it next week!
My cat is trying to lick my fingers while I type, so that's all for now.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Friday, April 08, 2005
Oscar Party Pics
Jeff posted pictures from the Oscar party here. Check out the cool projected leader board we used to keep track of the pool.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Dancing
Wow, what a weekend. I sure didn't expect to end up dancing to TMBG's Ana Ng on a stage with Mavi and a pair of drag queens.
Ah, it's not as wild as I make it out to be ;-) Mavi, Jeff, and I went to Lipgloss at La Rumba to dance. Lipgloss is a "Indie, Brit-Pop, Glam, Soul, and Rock" club. It exponentially multiplied the number of men in drag I've ever seen in person. And Hipsters galore. Quite fun actually. A bunch of people dress up in retro clothing to go out. Most of the men were wearing blazers and button-up shirts in pastels, some with ruffles. Some women wore pillbox hats and heels. The dance floor was empty until we started at it, and within 4 songs it was full. The DJs played a pretty good mix at the start: J-pop, french scat, Michael Jackson, Beck. Later in the night the music started to get predictably "80s" with the Clash, Depeche Mode, Rolling Stones, ACDC, still pretty good stuff, but not the great eclectic mix they had in the beginning. Whenever Mavi and I took a break, someone would encourage us to get dancing again (that's how we ended up with Stacey and Kelly on the platform "stage"). Everyone was nice! It was refreshing to go to a dance club where people were there to dance and have a good, self-aware, time. Too often dance clubs are flesh fests, where people go to get stinking drunk or to hook up with a stranger. I'll take La Rumba over Pollyesters any day.
I got tired pretty fast that Friday. 2 1/2 hours of aerobic dancing is tiring enough, but I had already had 1 1/2 hours of ballet that evening. Ballet is going really well. I pulled off a perfect double pirouette last week! I can control a single fairly regularly now. Sure, triples used to be my goal, but these days I'm happy to do a good single. Christina remarked that I was getting my strength back pretty fast:-)
We went to see Les Enfants Terribles at Starz last night. I didn't like it very much. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for absurdist French cinema. Afterwards Ben, Bruce, Brian, Jeff, and I got a late bite at Pete's Kitchen. I love my biscuits and gravy.
Brian and I have hit Scrabble hard since watching Word Wars. We played four games yesterday, and we have plans for more after dinner tonight. (I'm 3-1, though Brian got a bingo on the game he won. I'm insanely jealous).
Ah, it's not as wild as I make it out to be ;-) Mavi, Jeff, and I went to Lipgloss at La Rumba to dance. Lipgloss is a "Indie, Brit-Pop, Glam, Soul, and Rock" club. It exponentially multiplied the number of men in drag I've ever seen in person. And Hipsters galore. Quite fun actually. A bunch of people dress up in retro clothing to go out. Most of the men were wearing blazers and button-up shirts in pastels, some with ruffles. Some women wore pillbox hats and heels. The dance floor was empty until we started at it, and within 4 songs it was full. The DJs played a pretty good mix at the start: J-pop, french scat, Michael Jackson, Beck. Later in the night the music started to get predictably "80s" with the Clash, Depeche Mode, Rolling Stones, ACDC, still pretty good stuff, but not the great eclectic mix they had in the beginning. Whenever Mavi and I took a break, someone would encourage us to get dancing again (that's how we ended up with Stacey and Kelly on the platform "stage"). Everyone was nice! It was refreshing to go to a dance club where people were there to dance and have a good, self-aware, time. Too often dance clubs are flesh fests, where people go to get stinking drunk or to hook up with a stranger. I'll take La Rumba over Pollyesters any day.
I got tired pretty fast that Friday. 2 1/2 hours of aerobic dancing is tiring enough, but I had already had 1 1/2 hours of ballet that evening. Ballet is going really well. I pulled off a perfect double pirouette last week! I can control a single fairly regularly now. Sure, triples used to be my goal, but these days I'm happy to do a good single. Christina remarked that I was getting my strength back pretty fast:-)
We went to see Les Enfants Terribles at Starz last night. I didn't like it very much. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for absurdist French cinema. Afterwards Ben, Bruce, Brian, Jeff, and I got a late bite at Pete's Kitchen. I love my biscuits and gravy.
Brian and I have hit Scrabble hard since watching Word Wars. We played four games yesterday, and we have plans for more after dinner tonight. (I'm 3-1, though Brian got a bingo on the game he won. I'm insanely jealous).
Friday, April 01, 2005
Word Wars
I watched an interesting documentary with Ben and Brian last night. It's called "Word Wars" and it's about the Scrabble championships. If you like Spellbound and Trekkies, you'll like
Word Wars. It's a bit like Spellbound for adults. (Note: one contestant is rather found of foul language, so it's not a movie to watch with kids.) These people are so obsessed with Scrabble, most of them don't have jobs, they just play all day and hope to win money at tournaments. Not only is the subject matter interesting, but the documentary is very well edited and directed. You really get to know the community of Scrabble. You recognize the players. There's clever title cards and informative sequences, like the final match, which is cleverly shown play-by-play. The movie dances along at a nice pace. My favorite player has to be G.I. Joel. Joel has a lot of G.I. problems. It's hilarious.
Word Wars. It's a bit like Spellbound for adults. (Note: one contestant is rather found of foul language, so it's not a movie to watch with kids.) These people are so obsessed with Scrabble, most of them don't have jobs, they just play all day and hope to win money at tournaments. Not only is the subject matter interesting, but the documentary is very well edited and directed. You really get to know the community of Scrabble. You recognize the players. There's clever title cards and informative sequences, like the final match, which is cleverly shown play-by-play. The movie dances along at a nice pace. My favorite player has to be G.I. Joel. Joel has a lot of G.I. problems. It's hilarious.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Doing the job of a stick
Why are there so many street corner sign-holders in Arvada? At first it seemed like only the lowbrow independent shops paid people to wave signs at passing cars. Usually mattress sales and rent-to-own specials. But lately there have been larger businesses, like Kmart, hiring the stick people. Recently I spotted both Safeway and Quiznos stooping too. How tacky.
Monday, March 28, 2005
3/28/05
What a relief! My office finally has a new suite where we can move. We can finally stop worrying about where we will be working this summer--and start worrying about actually moving ;-)
Amanda, Mom and Dad came up last weekend and we had a pretty good time touring Old Town. I had Indian, English, and Moroccan food within 24 hours. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share.
This morning there was no hot water. Now, there have been times when the pipes are running with other people showering, and I can barely get lukewarm water when I turn the faucet all the way. Usually if I wait for the other pipes to quiet I can have a decent shower. But this morning there was only icy cold water on all the taps in the apartment. I checked every ten minutes for 45 minutes, and even when the pipes weren't running there was nothing but ice! Needless to say, I had a grumpy Monday.
Ben sweetened my day by taking me out to eat, buying a special cheese (Ski Queen) along with our groceries, and then we watched Tampopo together. Tampopo (meaning dandelion, and in this case, a woman's name) is about a woman who wants to run a better noodle shop. More than that, the movie is a series of vignettes, showing how the Japanese love and savor their food. Very weird but very good. I came across the movie on IMDB's movie of the day, here. I wouldn't recommend it if watching a lot of loud noodle slurping sounds annoying to you. Or if you don't find Japanese culture completely bizarre and fascinating, like I do.
Amanda, Mom and Dad came up last weekend and we had a pretty good time touring Old Town. I had Indian, English, and Moroccan food within 24 hours. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share.
This morning there was no hot water. Now, there have been times when the pipes are running with other people showering, and I can barely get lukewarm water when I turn the faucet all the way. Usually if I wait for the other pipes to quiet I can have a decent shower. But this morning there was only icy cold water on all the taps in the apartment. I checked every ten minutes for 45 minutes, and even when the pipes weren't running there was nothing but ice! Needless to say, I had a grumpy Monday.
Ben sweetened my day by taking me out to eat, buying a special cheese (Ski Queen) along with our groceries, and then we watched Tampopo together. Tampopo (meaning dandelion, and in this case, a woman's name) is about a woman who wants to run a better noodle shop. More than that, the movie is a series of vignettes, showing how the Japanese love and savor their food. Very weird but very good. I came across the movie on IMDB's movie of the day, here. I wouldn't recommend it if watching a lot of loud noodle slurping sounds annoying to you. Or if you don't find Japanese culture completely bizarre and fascinating, like I do.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Salt Lake City trip
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Truly Outrageous
The great thing about Netflix is that it encourages you to rent DVDs you wouldn't normally pay money for. Recently Ben rented Jem, a show I remember from long ago. Watching it again brought on a flood of nostalgia. It's so weird that hot pink and assymmetrical clothing makes me think of my childhood.
For those who never knew Jem (or have forgotten), it's a Hasbro cartoon (the same universe as GI Joe and Transformers) which debuted in 1985. Jerrica Benton's father died and left her Synergy (below) a super computer which projects audio and visual holograms, so Jerrica and her friends (Aja, Shana, and Kimber) can become rock superstars.
Jerrica takes on the alterego Jem, causing much trouble for her boyfriend Rio, because he naturally falls for Jem as well. Meanwhile, The Misfits, a rival band, stop at nothing to try to ruin Jem and the Holograms' sucess. Each episode has three music videos. If you're lucky, it will have a chorus AND a verse.
I'm enjoying this show far too much for my age. I'm also realizing where I developed a warped sense of the world as a preteen. I didn't know universities were schools until I was in high school. I thought it was just a place where you lived after you graduated. Where would I get such a simplistic definition? Well, let's look at how Jem describes adult issues:
Episode 1: Jerrica and her friends live in a charity home she inherited from her father--but it's falling apart. "We need money to fix this place up" says a girl. "But where will we get money?" asks another. Jerrica replies "when my dad needed money, he would get it from Starlight Music." Cut to Jerrica walking past security into Starlight Music, the company she recently inherited. Eric (who owns the other half of Starlight) says "Jerrica, what are you doing here?" Jerrica replies " We need money." Eric says "I can't just give you the money." Jerrica says "But I own half this company." Eric replies "We'll see about that."
No wonder I had many strange ideas about how the world works.
Sing with me now the song Ben and I have been haunted by for the past week:
Jem! Jem is excitement. Ooo Jem! Jem is adventure!
Ooo, glamour and glitter, fashion and fame.
Jem, Jem is outrageous, truly truly truly outrageous!
Ooo Jem! The music's contageous, Outrageous!
Jem is my name, no one else is the same, Jem is my name!
Jem!
For those who never knew Jem (or have forgotten), it's a Hasbro cartoon (the same universe as GI Joe and Transformers) which debuted in 1985. Jerrica Benton's father died and left her Synergy (below) a super computer which projects audio and visual holograms, so Jerrica and her friends (Aja, Shana, and Kimber) can become rock superstars.
Jerrica takes on the alterego Jem, causing much trouble for her boyfriend Rio, because he naturally falls for Jem as well. Meanwhile, The Misfits, a rival band, stop at nothing to try to ruin Jem and the Holograms' sucess. Each episode has three music videos. If you're lucky, it will have a chorus AND a verse.
I'm enjoying this show far too much for my age. I'm also realizing where I developed a warped sense of the world as a preteen. I didn't know universities were schools until I was in high school. I thought it was just a place where you lived after you graduated. Where would I get such a simplistic definition? Well, let's look at how Jem describes adult issues:
Episode 1: Jerrica and her friends live in a charity home she inherited from her father--but it's falling apart. "We need money to fix this place up" says a girl. "But where will we get money?" asks another. Jerrica replies "when my dad needed money, he would get it from Starlight Music." Cut to Jerrica walking past security into Starlight Music, the company she recently inherited. Eric (who owns the other half of Starlight) says "Jerrica, what are you doing here?" Jerrica replies " We need money." Eric says "I can't just give you the money." Jerrica says "But I own half this company." Eric replies "We'll see about that."
No wonder I had many strange ideas about how the world works.
Sing with me now the song Ben and I have been haunted by for the past week:
Jem! Jem is excitement. Ooo Jem! Jem is adventure!
Ooo, glamour and glitter, fashion and fame.
Jem, Jem is outrageous, truly truly truly outrageous!
Ooo Jem! The music's contageous, Outrageous!
Jem is my name, no one else is the same, Jem is my name!
Jem!
Friday, March 04, 2005
If I were to teach a unit on musicals. . .
Amanda e-mailed, asking for suggestions for musicals to teach. I came up with this:
When I think of musicals, they tend to fall into 4 categories:
1) Musicals which most Americans know (or at least have heard of) or would recognize a song from it. Nevertheless, these shows deserve to be called "classics."
2) Musicals which are lesser known, but surely any thespian worth their spit can sing two or three songs from each.
3) Musicals that are already too well known (and may or may not live up to that reputation) and shouldn't be bothered with.
4) Delicious treasures which may not have any historical significance, but are gems to those who know them.
With that said, here is how I would categorize most of the musicals out there. I will includ in () significant notes and sometimes a song suggestion for each of the first two categories. Hmm, and since I'm putting so much effort into this, I'll post this on my blog as well (hey, I just did!). I love not working on Fridays!
1) Well known - every American should know these:
Oklahoma (Americana, Rogers and Hammerstein's first smash, first use of dance as a narrative tool rather than entertainment)
"People Will Say We're in Love"
South Pacific (Interracial relationships, nature vs. nurture)
My Fair Lady (Julie Andrews debut, good example of an adapted book musical)
Fiddler on the Roof (psychological musical about modernization)
"Miracle of Miracles" or "Do You Love Me?"
Guys and Dolls (clever use of vernacular in lyrics, costuming was contemporary in its time, yet now it's done as a period piece)
"Sue Me"
King and I (Racial tension, big skirts)
Man of La Mancha (another good example of an adapted book musical)
West Side Story (More choreography as narrative, another contemporary turned period piece, Bernstein and Sondheim)
"Tonight" or "America"
A Chorus Line (innovative narrative, first use of workshops)
"God I Hope I Get It" or "What I did for Love"--which is NOT about a person, it's about dance
Les Miserables (Best of the big budget Mackintosh)
"Do You Hear the People Sing"
2) Lesser known - every thespian should know these:
On the Town (Gotta get some Comden and Green, empowerment of women during WWII) "Let's Go to My Place"
The Music Man (Comforting Americana)
"Trouble"
Caberet (Dark, sexuality, innovative format)
"Wilkommen"
Chicago (Fosse, plays on the Caberet format, explores the cult of celebrity)
"We Both Reached for the Gun"
Company (innovative storytelling, dark musical about the people who probably go to see musicals [upper middle class])
"Company" or "Another Hundred People"
Hair (Rock musical, last time musicals intertwined popular music, great period piece)
"Hair" or "Aquarius"
Into the Woods (Sondheim's lyrics, so hard to choose one song!)
Rent (Updated opera-turned-musical, AIDS crisis)
"Would you light my Candle?" or "One Song Glory"
Ragtime (Great period piece, example of the modern coporate musical)
Lion King (Best of Disney's adapted movies, Taymor's direction)
"He Lives in You"
Already too well known - don't even bother including:
Cats
Phantom of the Opera
Grease
Sound of Music
Hello Dolly
Annie
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
Delicious, but not necessary:
Sunset Boulevard
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Bye Bye Birdie
Kiss Me Kate
Damn Yankees
Victor/Victoria
Evita
Sweeney Todd
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Little Shop of Horrors
City of Angels
Once upon a Mattress
Ain't Misbehavin'
Tommy
Forever Plaid
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
The Last Starfighter (Ben made me include it)
Key People
Musicians:
Richard Rogers
Oscar Hammerstein
Irving Berlin
Cole Porter
John Kander
Fred Ebb
Stephen Sondheim
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Actors:
Ethel Merman
Mary Martin
Julie Andrews
Joel Grey
George M. Cohen
Zero Mostel
Chita Rivera
Gwen Verdon
Choreographers:
Agnes DeMille
Jerome Robbins
Bob Fosse
Producers:
Cameron Mackintosh
Hal Prince
When I think of musicals, they tend to fall into 4 categories:
1) Musicals which most Americans know (or at least have heard of) or would recognize a song from it. Nevertheless, these shows deserve to be called "classics."
2) Musicals which are lesser known, but surely any thespian worth their spit can sing two or three songs from each.
3) Musicals that are already too well known (and may or may not live up to that reputation) and shouldn't be bothered with.
4) Delicious treasures which may not have any historical significance, but are gems to those who know them.
With that said, here is how I would categorize most of the musicals out there. I will includ in () significant notes and sometimes a song suggestion for each of the first two categories. Hmm, and since I'm putting so much effort into this, I'll post this on my blog as well (hey, I just did!). I love not working on Fridays!
1) Well known - every American should know these:
Oklahoma (Americana, Rogers and Hammerstein's first smash, first use of dance as a narrative tool rather than entertainment)
"People Will Say We're in Love"
South Pacific (Interracial relationships, nature vs. nurture)
My Fair Lady (Julie Andrews debut, good example of an adapted book musical)
Fiddler on the Roof (psychological musical about modernization)
"Miracle of Miracles" or "Do You Love Me?"
Guys and Dolls (clever use of vernacular in lyrics, costuming was contemporary in its time, yet now it's done as a period piece)
"Sue Me"
King and I (Racial tension, big skirts)
Man of La Mancha (another good example of an adapted book musical)
West Side Story (More choreography as narrative, another contemporary turned period piece, Bernstein and Sondheim)
"Tonight" or "America"
A Chorus Line (innovative narrative, first use of workshops)
"God I Hope I Get It" or "What I did for Love"--which is NOT about a person, it's about dance
Les Miserables (Best of the big budget Mackintosh)
"Do You Hear the People Sing"
2) Lesser known - every thespian should know these:
On the Town (Gotta get some Comden and Green, empowerment of women during WWII) "Let's Go to My Place"
The Music Man (Comforting Americana)
"Trouble"
Caberet (Dark, sexuality, innovative format)
"Wilkommen"
Chicago (Fosse, plays on the Caberet format, explores the cult of celebrity)
"We Both Reached for the Gun"
Company (innovative storytelling, dark musical about the people who probably go to see musicals [upper middle class])
"Company" or "Another Hundred People"
Hair (Rock musical, last time musicals intertwined popular music, great period piece)
"Hair" or "Aquarius"
Into the Woods (Sondheim's lyrics, so hard to choose one song!)
Rent (Updated opera-turned-musical, AIDS crisis)
"Would you light my Candle?" or "One Song Glory"
Ragtime (Great period piece, example of the modern coporate musical)
Lion King (Best of Disney's adapted movies, Taymor's direction)
"He Lives in You"
Already too well known - don't even bother including:
Cats
Phantom of the Opera
Grease
Sound of Music
Hello Dolly
Annie
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
Delicious, but not necessary:
Sunset Boulevard
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Bye Bye Birdie
Kiss Me Kate
Damn Yankees
Victor/Victoria
Evita
Sweeney Todd
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Little Shop of Horrors
City of Angels
Once upon a Mattress
Ain't Misbehavin'
Tommy
Forever Plaid
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
The Last Starfighter (Ben made me include it)
Key People
Musicians:
Richard Rogers
Oscar Hammerstein
Irving Berlin
Cole Porter
John Kander
Fred Ebb
Stephen Sondheim
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Actors:
Ethel Merman
Mary Martin
Julie Andrews
Joel Grey
George M. Cohen
Zero Mostel
Chita Rivera
Gwen Verdon
Choreographers:
Agnes DeMille
Jerome Robbins
Bob Fosse
Producers:
Cameron Mackintosh
Hal Prince
Friday, February 25, 2005
Pouncing
Molly does this weird pose when she hunts. I finally got it on film, er, pixels. She splays her arms out really flat. And she doesn't look directly at the object she's hunting. We had a lot of fun with this mouse today.
Birthday trip to San Diego
Yea, I'm 23! I hate prime number years...
Southern California was so richly green from all the rain.
Colorado looked downright dull when I got home.
Southern California was so richly green from all the rain.
Colorado looked downright dull when I got home.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Oscar update
You can submit your bid on the oscars electronically at Jeff's website: http://jeffc.zapto.org/oscars/.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)