Archive for the 'Arts and Entertainment' Category

The Short List

Published by
jessi
at July 20, 2010 in Arts and Entertainment. 0 Comments

I have been incredibly remiss about uploading pictures to my flickr account. Part of that had to do with no longer having Flickr Pro. However, thanks to VoW, that is no longer the case. I’m still well remiss about it, but I did finally put up some pictures from last year.

Randomly, I went to check something on my flickr and noticed I had a new message. I thought it was spam, but it looked to be like an actual message. It turns out, one of the pictures I took from my trip to Northern England made it onto a short-list for something called Schmap.

How funny is that?

I am not very Glee-ful

Published by
jessi
at January 05, 2010 in Arts and Entertainment. 2 Comments

As mentioned previously, I gave Glee a go. A lot of people have said to me that I would like it, and the premise seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately for me, I had missed the premiere and didn’t know how long it would take for me to catch up, if at all.

That’s where Chris and Mark come in; they’d had it saved on their DVR for quite some time. Whilst I was waiting for Rich to get back from his family dinner last week, I decided to get my Glee on. The first episode delighted me enough to declare it watch-worthy. Although, I admit, there were a few moment that threw me off.

And then I lost it. I struggle with the show in many of the same ways I struggled with Ugly Betty at first; it seems to me that the show doesn’t know if it’s meant to be a comedy or a drama, and it doesn’t quite pull of dramady well enough for me, nor does it seem very comedic with dramatic moments. It’s something in-between. I also find the characters incredibly two-dimensional and mostly stupid, at least, most of the character that I have seen. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music! But I find the show lacking so far; admittedly, I’m only about three episodes in; however, I can’t imagine it’s a good sign when I’m already fast-fowarding through the majority of what I have seen.

I wonder vaguely if I don’t like it as much because everyone else I know has hyped it up to me. This notion is not outside the realm of possibility. I absolutely adore that many of the cast members are Broadway babies. The incredibly cute Matthew Morrison has done such shows as The Light at the Piazza opposite the amazing Kelli O’Hara, as well as playing the role of Sir Harry opposite Zooey Deschenel’s Lady Larkin in ABC’s production of Once Upon a Mattress (I knew he looked familiar!). Also, Lea Michele, who was in the Original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening — I find her absolutely amazing. The show has featured people like Kristen Chenowith and Victor Garber, two names I know mostly from Broadway, and of course, Jane Lynch.

So why am I not a gleek? I think I’ll give it a few more episodes before I completely give up; especially since one of the episodes features “Defying Gravity” with Michele singing, and I’m amused that she kind of resembles the ever-amazing Idina Menzel.

“I can’t say hard R’s”

Published by
jessi
at January 05, 2010 in Arts and Entertainment. 2 Comments

If my dammed “Now Reading” was functioning correctly, you would see that I am now reading Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, best known for her debut novel The Time Traveler’s Wife. I have not read her first book, but for reasons beyond my ken, her second book’s blurb piqued mine interest. (I think it had to do with it taking place in the Chicago-land area and London.) Also, for whatever reason, I struggle to say the title of the book, hence the title of this post.

I had VoW magic it from the library for me since Schaumburg Public Library had it not at the time. Yes, I’m sure I can suss out how to do this process myself, but I think it’s far more interesting to have my librarian friend magic it for me. Then, like the crazy, crazy person I am, I don’t have to deal with new people. That and the last time I put a hold on something from the library, a teenager called me to let me know that “some CD was in” — it was Anne-Sophie Mutter “Carmen-Fantasies”, which may or may not have been too difficult to say for the lad. (Yes, I realize that sounds pretentious and jack ass-y.)

Anyway, so I’m reading this book, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. It is a thousand times better than that damn book I bought whilst in England, and I’m only just reaching the 150-page mark. It is a book a little outside my reading-zone, though. There are no swords or magic, although it is still not considered “average fiction” as there is something of a ghost story to it. It doesn’t anger me the same way Dan Brown does, and I’m interested in it enough to want to go to Caribou and spend an afternoon reading it.

I was saying to Al that part of what makes this book appealing for me is that it takes place in the Chicago-land area and London. For some reason, I feel connected to the story more when Lake Forest, Lake Michigan, and the Water Tower are mentioned. I can absolutely envision what the twins’ house looks like in winter because it’s probably not unlike what’s outside my front door right now. And much like Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island, I’m delighted in the things and places I recognize when London is described: the football scores on the radio that sound like code, Tesco Express, Sainsbury, Hampstead, transferring from the Northern Line to the District Line at Embankment, etc. Reading so much about the parts of London I missed, like Highgate Cemetery, makes me want to return. I’m intrigued that Niffenegger is an American author and yet she manages to use English terminology and spelling in such a way that made me think she was actually British. (I’m sure there are lots of authors who can do this, but again, I point out I don’t usually read fiction where there are no swords or magic.)

I also feel strangely “grown up” reading this book. I have no worldly idea why I feel this way, but there it is. I imagine I’ll be able to finish the book soon, then it will be back to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, where I have yet to encounter swords but there is certainly a lot of interesting magic abound.

A night at the theatre

Published by
jessi
at December 12, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment and In Good Company. 0 Comments

A few weeks ago, Toni proposed going to Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. She had been wanting to go for quite a while and so we picked a date and went with it.

The show we went to was at 11:30 pm. (This gave us a perfect opportunity to eat at Lou Malnati’s before hand.) According to the website, it was recommended that people arrive early in order to get seats, so that’s what we did. We trooped it out there at 10:00 — we were pretty keen on getting into the show! It was quite a cold night, but somehow we braved the winter winds. I couldn’t tell you when it was they let us into the building, but we were pretty grateful for it.

Once we made it up the stairs, we were conducted into what we later discovered was the foyer (it was more like an anteroom). When we initially got into the room, we thought perhaps that was it; so we took seats along the wall. Of course, it didn’t seem quite right since it looked like there would be nowhere for the troupe to perform. It didn’t take us long to make the connection that there would be one more chamber to pass into. Unfortunately for us, we thought perhaps this would mean we would be split up. (Luckily for us, this was not the case.)

Before we entered the performance area, two of the Neo-futurists came out to tell us about the process. One of the fun things about TMLMTBGB is that the price of the ticket is $9 and the roll of a die; so the most you pay is $15, but you might only have to pay $10. Also, once your ticket is purchased, you receive a name tag which bears absolutely no resemblance to your name despite being asked for it in the beginning. I was hoping for Inigo Montoya, but alas, my name, according to them, is Feelings.

Our group managed to find seats in the back of the theatre, house left, right by the booth. It was a thrust stage, but we were still able to get a good view of the performance space. Once everyone was in, the Neo-futurists explained how the show worked; they would perform 30 play in 60 minutes; along the top of the stage ran a string with numbers attached; the troupe would perform each play at the prompt of “Go” and it would end when someone said “curtains”. Once we heard that, we were to shout out the number of the next play we wanted to see. It seemed like a fairly simple process.

For me to go through every single play would be kinda crazy. I enjoyed pretty much every play they performed. Admittedly, some were a bit more curious than others, like the musical chairs one; but for the most part, they were enjoyable. Some of the ones I really liked that I actually do have the names for were: “Taiko P-B-n-J”; “pissing contest” (although incredibly disturbing for me, I couldn’t help but think “Dude, good for you!”); “Back Home We Used to Camp A Lot”; “Insult. Dance. Repeat”; “Sham(e)”; “Death Play with Kites”; “Neo-Hypnotic”; and the one that ended the show “Hate Yourself!”.

So yeah, I would totally go again and for my friends who live abroad (or at least, aren’t from around here), if ever you are in Chicago and someone says, “Hey, you wanna go to this show I heard about called ‘Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind’?” You should do it. (In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I would be the one to suggest it.)

Good times had by all.

So true

Published by
jessi
at September 09, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment. 1 Comment

It’s official. “Now Reading” and I are in some kind of disagreement. It’s not as bad as the Great Condiment War of the Summer of ’05, but it is annoying.

I finished reading Harm’s Way. The last time I read a breeze read book like this was, strangely enough, during the Fall of 2005 whilst on my way to the Philippines. It wasn’t particularly amazing, but it didn’t suck. I bought the book as a “Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price” deal so technically, I only paid £3.99 for it.

Now I’m onto the “Buy 1″ of the two books: Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson. He’s been recommended to me before by several different people. The part that entertains me is the fact that I picked up this book as my “any book” so that I could make good on the Half Price thing.

I’m on Chapter 2 and I’ve already laughed out loud quite a few times. I can actually relate to a lot of what Bryson is saying. One in particular being, “The trouble with English towns is that they are so indistinguishable from one another. They all have a Boots and W.H. Smith and Marks & Spencers. You could be anywhere really (42).” Laughing to myself, I also wanted to add that now you can find a T.K. Maxx, Primark, and an abandoned Woolworth’s storefront. I think that’s why I’m not particularly bothered about seeing the High Streets anymore.

I think I’m also getting a kick out of the book because there are several places he mentions that I’ve actually been to, and not just places like the White Cliffs of Dover but also landmarks like Severn Bridge.

I’m glad that I’m reading this now instead of a year ago; I just don’t think it would have had the same meaning as it does now. I have the feeling I’m really going to enjoy this book. :-)

I have got to stop being a jerk…

Published by
jessi
at September 07, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment. 0 Comments

First of all, I finished reading 1984. I’m still not smart enough to understand the novel completely without aid, but I’m proud of myself for finishing the it and understanding the basic plot. That’s yet another classic off the list of “books I should have read in high school”.

The book I’m currently reading, which is not yet uploaded to “Now Reading” since “Now Reading” and I seem to be in arguing, is called Harm’s Way. It was a book I picked up on a whim. I’m not usually one for “summer reading”; I don’t think I’ve ever actually read a true chick-lit book. But for some reason, I thought this book would be all right.

See, here’s where I’m a jerk again. I’m thirty pages in and I’ve had at least three conniptions. Talk about pulp fiction. (And not in the cool, trendy way.) It’s one of those books that causes me to speak out loud like a crazy person. (Wait…) This is what I get for trying to read outside my genre comfort zone. It’s also in first-person, which I’ve been struggling with for the past year or so for some reason. Yeah, not the best book to try and overcome my strange affliction of not wanting to read fiction written in first-person.

Oh, I’ll finish it. I paid £7.99 for it, so you better believe I’ll finish it. I’ll probably be very disparaging of it all the way through, but it will be read. And to be fair, it might improve. (For the record, it’s not so much the plot that’s driving me up the wall so much as the writing.)

And again, on the bright side, it’s not a kitchen table.

Four years later and I’m still in love

Published by
jessi
at September 05, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment. 1 Comment

I’m still in love with her. I’m still so very in love with her and I still don’t know why. I mean, I have strong feelings about other shows but none of ‘em compare to my love for Firefly.

Phil bought a copy of the series and the film; we started watching it today and I fell in love all over again.

There’s no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
You can’t take the sky from me

August must be Felicia Day Month

Published by
jessi
at August 12, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment. 1 Comment

Something about the month of August must scream “Declare your heartness for Felicia Day” or something because once again, I would like to point out that I heart Felicia Day. (I made a similar declaration last August it seems.)

I just watched the “un-aired” Dollhouse episode Link SPOILER ALERT Epitaph One and couldn’t help but grin. (I’m amused by the fact that it aired here in England but not in the States.) I mean, I knew Felicia Day was going to guest in the episode, but it was still cool to watch.

Seriously, if I could hang out with anyone from the Jossverse, I would totally pick Felicia Day. I know y’all thought it would be Eliza Dushku, but Felicia Day scores way high on my list because she’s a geek. (And we all know how I’m not very good at socializing with non-geek folk.)

Yup. I officially declare August “Felicia Day Month”. Now I’m gonna go watch The Guild Season 2.

“He’s a real American hero”

Published by
jessi
at August 06, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment. 0 Comments

SPOILER WARNING:the contents of this post may contain SPOILERS for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

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Dude. I just saw G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. And I’m not ripping my hair out. Then again, I was always a fan and it did take me back to my childhood in some ways. :-)

I can’t really complain too much. There were your typical “change this part of the story to fit what we want to accomplish as a movie” moments, and usually those moments result in wild gesticulating and inarticulate vocalisations. But strangely enough, I wasn’t spazzing as much as say X-Men 2.

The biggest issue I had was the Scottish accent. And yes, I realize that there are Brits who can’t pull off American accents (for the record, the actor who plays Destro is British) and what have you, and I acknowledge that accents are difficult…but the accent wasn’t essential to the character. In fact, if the only reason I knew Destro had Scottish descent was because of the comic books. So really, they could have done without it.

If I had seen the film having no knowledge or appreciation for G.I. Joe, I still would have enjoyed it. Even with the cheesy moments unrelated to the nods to fans.

What’d everyone else think?

“She also has asthma.”

Published by
jessi
at February 14, 2009 in Arts and Entertainment. 3 Comments

Has anyone else noticed that I’ve been posting a lot in Arts and Entertainment lately? Could it be because Jon Snow is my only way of accessing the outside world these days? Man, first year teaching sucks…

Incidentally, I do have two posts about social things that I’ve done lately. This post, however, was just way too important for me to pass up.

SPOILER WARNING: The following post may contain SPOILERS for episode one of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.

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:-D

No, that’s not all I’ll write about it. But that’s kinda how it was for like the whole first twenty minutes. Was it as sucks-you-in as “Have good sex!”? No. But really, will there ever be anything as sucks-you-in as a line like “Have good sex!”?

Am I still super psyched about this show? YES! Is it because Eliza Dushku is on TV again? I’m not gonna lie. That is a GINORMOUS factor in this. However, I would like to point out that I saw the first episode of Nurses and my reaction to it wasn’t overly favorable. (Then again, it never aired…so, it wasn’t overly favorable to a lot of people.)

I trust Joss Whedon. He hasn’t given me any reason to not like his stuff…even if he did get rid of my all-time favorite comic book character. And has this bad habit of killing people instead of giving them happy endings.

Was it the greatest pilot in the world? No. It really wasn’t. But I definitely want to know what the hell was up with the end! I also want to know if that was Toa from American Gladiators that Paul Ballard was kickboxing.