Blogtastic!

For Joe's Research

2005-10-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

If you're not a music major who's name is Joe, just ignore this post. THANKS!

*****
Nineteenth-century alterations to the art song resulted in the modern conception of the musical form. Under the influence of the romantic movement, which made its first appearance in literature about 1780, composers turned to the song as a form that provided a greater literary and emotional expressiveness than that of purely instrumental music, and an intimacy impossible in the opera house. The greatest song composer of this period, and perhaps of all time, was Franz Schubert, an Austrian who laid the foundations for and wrote many of the finest examples of the modern concert song. Schubert's songs, more than 600 in number, display all the main characteristics of the developed German and Austrian lied (German for “song”), the major song form of the 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, his songs almost invariably employ a piano accompaniment, often extremely elaborate and containing complex devices of harmony and modulation; they consist in the main of settings of romantic poetry (including, in Schubert's case, the work of such writers as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott); and they exhibit a great variety of melodic techniques, from simple verse-repeating melodies as in folk song to irregular, highly expressive melodic lines, reflecting every nuance of the text.

The best-known German and Austrian songwriters among Schubert's predecessors and immediate successors include Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. Later German songwriting is much influenced by the revolutionary techniques introduced in the operas of Richard Wagner, such as the heightened dramatic effects obtainable through chromatic Wagnerian harmony, and the tendency to subordinate pure melody to an expressive, declamatory rendering of the text. Wagner himself composed few songs, but his influence is exhibited in the work of 19th-century German composer Hugo Wolf and 20th-century German composers Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. In France the modern chanson, corresponding to the lied, was developed most notably by 19th-century composers Henri Duparc and Gabriel Fauré. In the 20th century the French impressionists, as represented by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, made contributions to the literature of the concert song in their characteristic idiom. In other parts of Europe, and in North and South America, songwriters drew more heavily from their national folk traditions. Among the composers illustrating the tendency to appropriate or simulate folk material are Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian; Antonín Dvořák and Leoš Janáček, both Czech; Peter Warlock, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Benjamin Britten, all British; Charles Ives, an American; and Heitor Villa-Lobos, a Brazilian.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576642_2/Song.html

*****

http://www.ffaire.com/Schubert/song-cycle.htm

Might have some good stuff in the first couple of paragraphs - I just skimmed it though.

******
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761551748_2/Western_Music.html

Also encarta, but different than the one above. It had a mention of art songs at least, so hopefully its helpful.

Boredom in Oregon

2005-05-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm sitting here at my sister's computer at school, and I thought I'd post something since I'm insanely bored. I'm waiting for the hordes of relatives to arrive at the hotel before my dad and I head over there. The trips been ok so far - some rain while I was driving through the mountains on I5, but nothing too nasty. I do wish I was was home right now having a drink with all you friend-like people though. Graduation is tomorrow, and then we're packing up immediately and heading for home. We may drive straight through since it turns out I'm better at highway driving than I though I would be (so Dad and I can switch off - we're not letting Shmoopie drive since she hasn't operated a car in about a year.) If we do, then I should be back late on Saturday or really early Sunday morning. YAY! Makes me a happy camper. Well, see you all later!

Movies Part 2: The Forgotten

2005-04-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, I realized that I managed to forget several movies that I'm eagerly looking forward to. This doesn't mean they're any less important, in fact one of them is downright shiny. Well, let's make up for lost time and right get to it!

The Brothers Grimm - Released July 29
A Terry Gilliam movie that it seems like he's been working on forever. Ten thousand people have been slated to appear in this movie at one point or another, including Johnny Depp and Anthony Hopkins, but apparently we ended up with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. The plot follows the Grimm boys as they travel through semi-mystical experiences that serve as the basis for their stories. Can't wait to see how this one turned out, assuming it actually gets released. Something seems fishy when IMDB has it classed as finished since October when its slated for release almost 10 months later. We'll see. At least the boys look fantastic in period dress. ::sigh::

"The human body can be completely drained of blood in 9.8 seconds..."

Serenity - Released September 30
Dear Lord, how did I forget this one!?! My love for Firefly is great, and so, too, will my heart enfold this movie. The incredible looking trailer for the Big Damn Movie was finally released at one this afternoon (and it's linked above). It's is also supposed to play before Hitchhiker's this Friday (I even got an e-mail from Joss about it!), and it promises to be huge and epic and wonderful when huge. Can't wait!

Harry & Ron in his (very unfortunate) dress robes.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Released November 18
The original kids are all still hanging in there! Yay for continuity! It's fun to watch them grow as actors as they gain more and more experience both on and off the set. Emma Watson is getting so pretty too! God, it's like they're my own kids. Anyway, the fourth book is my favorite so far, so hopefully the fourth movie won't disappoint.

Jadis, the White Witch, & Aslan

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - Released December 9
I read most of the books as a kid, and was in a god awful musical version of the first book in high school, so the source material is rather near to my heart. It's being produced by Disney, so it has a 50/50 shot at being worthwhile. The official site is very pretty anyway, even if it does run like molasses on my crap computer.

Ulla!

The Producers: The Movie Musical - Released December 23
Jon pointed out that I missed this one. I never much cared for the original Mel Brooks movie, so it'll be nice to see the superior musical treatment get some screen time. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are staying put as the leads, but the casting of Uma thurman as Ulla is...*ahem!* questionable to me, to say the least. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly suprised.

Browncoats Unite!

2005-04-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Any minute now, with any luck, I'll be watching the trailer for Serenity. I'm watching the quicktime movie trailers page just like Joss told me to in his e-mail, and I'm also watching the official Browncoats page (http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com). The number of people doing the same thing as me is posted proudly at the top of the screen, and every time I hit refresh a few more people have joined in. There's some sort of comfort in group conformity like this, and I can almost feel the geeky anticipation coming from all of them as we hit refresh every five seconds. Hope it's posted soon though...my hand is getting tired.

"And also...I can kill you with my brain." - River to Jayne

Movies! Movies! Movies!

2005-04-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

There are sooo many promising movies coming out this year! I'm very excited by the prospect of quite a few of them. I thought I'd highlight a few of them since I haven't posted anything in a month or so:

Zaphod, Trillian, Marvin, & Ford with a Very Purple Towel.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Released April 29 I may not agree with everything I've heard about the casting, and I may not agree with what I've heard about the script, but I'll be damned if that'll stop me from seeing this movie. I've waited too long to see this. If it ends up being a huge disappointment, I guess I'll just have to go back and buy that copy of the miniseries on DVD like I've been meaning to do.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Released July 7 I really don't think there's anything sexier on the planet than Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, so no matter how bad the script is, I'll be quite happy with this movie. As long as Orlando just stands there and looks pretty in the background and they don't try to make the movie about him. 'Cause it's not. It's all about the gold teeth and the swagger baby.

Wonka & the Golden Ticket Winners (Minus the Chunker One)

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - Released July 15 Apparently, Johnny Depp as Wonka has been scaring the daylights out of small children at the test screenings. I couldn't be happier about that. The Roald Dahl book was the first chapter book I read as a kid, and it creeped me out, so if I get half the reaction out of the movie that I did from the print version, I'll be happy. Oh, and I'm interested to see what kind of performance that kid from Finding Neverland ends up turning in.

Johnny Depp (And presumably Helena Bonam Carter)

Corpse Bride - Released September 23
Wow! Two Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movies in one year!? How could a girl get so lucky!? I don't know too much about the movie, but the trailer looked fabulous. It's kind of claymation looking, but the motion is really smooth, so I don't know if it's actually CG or something. Other voices include Albert Finney (of Big Fish - another fabulous Burton movie), Joanna Lumley (of AbFab. I was wondering what she was up to these days!), and Christopher Lee (of every other movie known to man).

Ohhhh...Angelina....

Mr. & Mrs. Smith - Released September 30
Husband and Wife. Husband pretty. Wife prettier. Husband spy. Wife finds out. Wife also a spy. Husband also finds out. Chaos ensues. It's Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie together in an action movie - even if it ends up sucking, at least there'll be eye candy for an hour and a half. Oh, and Adam Brody is in is, so Jon should be happy.

The Cast During a Performance

Rent - Released November 11
The Broadway musical is being adapted to movie form! Yay! And the even better news is that most of the original cast are reprising their roles. The original Mark, Roger, Angel (who I adore!! Yummy crossdressing black man!), and Maureen (Idina Menzel, who just won a Tony for the Elphaba in Wicked) will all be back and probably spectacular.

And finally, one that's currently slated for 2007...
Bat Boy
Yes! The stage musical is getting a movie treatment! There are no details as of yet, except the script is being adapted by the original authors and that it will be directed by John Landis (the director of Michael Jackson's Thriller video and An American Werewolf in London). Sounds like an interesting match. We'll see how well this one fares...I hope they don't butcher it too badly.

Spring Break is Here!!

2005-03-24T15:43:00.000-08:00

Well, my last class before spring break has ended, and I am now (mostly) free for an entire week. Those of you lucky, lucky people who don't attend school on a regular basis cannot possible begin to understand how enticing it is to have time to do nothing. While I do have two assignments to complete and an english paper to start over the break, it'll still be nice to be able to work on them in a somewhat leisurely fashion.

I can't wait until summer. Really. I can't. I'll have to look into changing the seasons. BWAHAHA!

Bat Boy: The Musical

2005-03-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Lord I love this show.

I cannot even begin to express my by completely irrational adoration to an off-Broadway musical that has been largely panned by critics. From a technical musical standpoint, the show is terrible. It's campy. It's loud. Worst of all, it's very conscious of the fact that it's campy and loud.

And yet I love Bat Boy. What's wrong with me?

Not from the production I saw - This is Shelly (Dr Parker's daughter) & Edgar (Bat Boy)

from a production in the UK somewhere.

Since I found out my friend Joe (no, not Joseph...) was cast in the production at SDSU, I started looking up info about it on the internet. What I found piqued my curiosity. Apparently, the show is loosely based on this story from the Weekly World News during about a "bat boy" being found in a cave in West Virginia. (Incidentally, it seems the WWN has subsequently published several other articles featuring Bat Boy "sightings" that are an amusing read.) The authors, Keythe Farley & Michael Flemming, took that bizarre piece of 80's nostalgia and ran with it, creating a sort of ugly duckling coming of age story mixed with a rock opera. It ends up coming across as a bizarre mix of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Little Shop of Horrors, with a little Jesus Christ Superstar thrown in just to confuse things further.

I just don't get why it works so well. I bought the script off of Amazon a while ago, because the CD wasn't making much sense without it. I was surprised to find that the script was downright witty, with a couple of clever plot twists toward the end that made me chuckle a bit. All this just made me want to go see the production at San Diego State even more.

I wasn't disappointed. The entire cast was amazingly talented, and they were vocally strong as well as captivating in their roles (well, as "captivating" as musical theatre ever is). I was surprised to find the production taking itself far less seriously than I had pictured in my head while reading the play. Initially, I was a bit taken aback by this, but thinking back on it now I realize that they somehow managed to pull off the silliness without damaging the integrity of the work. I'm amazed they struck the right balance.

Meredith tends to Bat Boy (from the same London production above)

Performance-wise, Dr. Parker, the town veterinarian, and Meredith, his wife, turned in especially strong performances (I'd put in their names, but I've misplaced my program right now...). Dr. Parker is fairly insane for most of the show, and while he played it a bit more Peter Lory and less Anthony Hopkins than I'd imagined, it worked really well and gave the show a lighter tone overall. The woman who played Meredith hit all the right notes, and the eternally optimistic attitude she lent to her role struck just the right contrast with Dr. Parker's darkness.

And of course, Joe was just fantastic. My sparkly little disco ball man. =) He's just too damn pretty for his own good up there, and his song in the second act is so vocally right for him it's amazing to listen to. The seeming ease with which he sings never ceases to amaze me, and it was nice to hear him being backed up by a group of people. It made his tone sound ever richer than it usually does, which is impressive as hell. Great job sweetie, I'm proud. It takes a real man to look good in that much glitter. ;-)

So the show is playing Wednesday through Sunday next week - go see it and get tickets early, as it's been selling out apparently. It's open seating, so if you get there by 7:30 or so you can probably still get really good seats. So who cares if it's a bit silly? I haven't had that much fun at the theatre in a long time.

Be in awe...

2005-02-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, my artistic prowess is remarkable. Well, actually no, not at all. But I am very proud of this sketch I did between classes the other day - it doesn't completely suck. You can tell it's a person and everything! Most of the stuff I draw ends up being ugly misshapen blobs.

Amazing, no? I'm too lazy to actually clean up the scan, but I wanted to share my little opus with the world. It may lack completely in shadow, depth, and correct formation of a left arm, but it's infinitely better than anything else I've ever done. At least I don't have to worry about anyone stealing my art and calling it their own. lol

That crazy blogger...

2005-02-09T15:40:00.000-08:00

I'm amused to find that, when looking at my blog on my home computer, it doesn't display correctly (My nice little header background is completely missing). When I look at it on the iMacs in one computer lab at school, the header is there, but it's way skinnier than it should be and it's repeated a couple of times across the page. When I look at it in yet another lab at school, there is a header, displayed perfectly, but it's not the right image (it was one I was thinking about posting, and had tried in my code, but thought I had removed all references of).

I don't get it! Maybe it isn't my programming prowess that's in question at all here. I'm beginning to think that Blogger just hasn't been tested cross platform. Or then again, I could just have a tag in the wrong place that's fucking the whole thing up. ::Sigh:: Oh well. It's just a crappy blog that like 6 people read anyway, and I probably shouldn't care so much.

I'm in book heaven!

2005-02-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

When I went to go visit Shmoopie in Oregon this past summer, we went to this incredible book store in downtown Portland called Powell's. This place was freaking huge - 5 stories of new and used books, all arranged together and separated by topic. Picture the way a tiny little antique book shop looks, with books shoved in every possible nook and cranny so that it looks like there's no possible way the owner could find what you want, and then picture that huge with millions, and I do mean millions, of titles. I've always had a thing for book shops, and I about passed out when I saw this Echer-esque monstrosity of a place.

Unfortunately, they're only located in Oregon (there's a tiny, not nearly as interesting one at the Portland Airport, and three other more specialized locations). However, I just discovered they have a web page that seems to be every bit as inclusive as their physical location! Woo! Finally, a place I can order my obscure stuff when Amazon is out! YAY!

Think a "juice bar" sounds like its for kids? Well, think again...

2005-02-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

I was browising through CNN.com, and I came across an article titled Juice, Movie, and a Lap Dance. Interested but the mention of...um...juice...I read on to discover that there is a strip joint in South Dakota where you can buy fruity beverages and softdrinks while watching black and white art films and attractive women prance about in next to nothing. Apparently, the town they're located in isn't too pleased with the buisness, so they've had their liqour license pulled, hence the juice bar, and forced them to put in movie screens so as to get around some law about strip joints in agricultural zones.

I don't know why the good folks of Salem wouldn't be thrilled about a place as attractive as that. It seems to me that it would do a great deal to liven up their farming community. I guess they're just not ready to drink fresh squeezed OJ out of a stripper's navel.

A whole new look!

2005-01-30T20:08:00.000-08:00

Well, mostly new anyway. I got really tired of how uglified I had made the previous iteration of this blog, so I'm trying a simpler approach. It's far from finished, and some of the stuff that I have working on the preview isn't working here for some reason (like the background of my header - let me know if it shows up for any of you). This may be fairly boring, but at least its not painful to look at.

I think I'm getting the hang of digging through the blogger code. This refurbishment isn't taking nearly as long as the last one. If anybody has any suggestions, please feel free to let me know.

Share your feelings...with a bean?

2005-01-29T16:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I've got to get better about this again. Anyway, onto the point of the post.

In the grand tradition of Chia Pets comes a new Japanese product called "Ma Mail," which apparently is a pun on their word for bean, "ma-me." Included with your purchase is a little tin filled with soil, and a planted bean, which has had phrases such as, "Good luck!" and "I love you!" inscribed on them with a laser. The plant sprouts in about five days, and you read your little fortune cookie style message.

The original article can be found here for those of you who just have to know more, but you won't be able to purchase one until February 24th (when they'll go for 714 Yen, or about $7.00 USD). Oh yes, I'll be expecting one from each of you saying how much you adore me. Show the bint some love.

The Stepford Wives

2005-01-09T01:55:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't manage to make it to Joe's this week for my SNL fix (grrrr...sometimes errands just work out bizzarely...I missed you guys!), I curled up on the couch with a beer and my digital cable instead. I was in the mood for some good, old-fashioned sci-fi fun, so I decided to rent The Stepford Wives.

The plot, for those who, like me, haven't read the book or seen the 1975 original film, is that feminist wife, Joanna Eberheart (Nicole Kidman) has a nervous breakdown, so she and her family move to the idilic town of Stepford, Connecticut so she can rest and recouperate. The town is a little too perfect, as all of the middle aged, slightly balding men of the town are married to georgous, 1950's housewives. The ever-creepy Christopher Walken is in charge of the Stepford Men's Club, which quickly takes Joanna's husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) under their wing. Even though it's the main point of the movie, I really don't think it's spoiling too much to say that the wives have all been turned into robots that are programmed to be the "perfect wife." They give away that much in the trailer. Walter has always felt threatened by his powerful wife's sucess, and he is quickly drawn in to the idea of molding her personality to suit his taste.

Glen Close, Christopher Walken, & Roger Bart (I think...)

The plot was predictable enough, and I wasn't really suprized by the way it ended. The guy who adapted the screenplay, Paul Rudnick (who has written such opuses as Adams Family Values and In and Out), left all kinds of fun clues throught the movie that pretty much telegraphed what was going to happen. He took the foreshadowing a bit too far. Even though I mostly knew how the film would end before it did, it still felt kind of wrong. I was looking for something far more distopian and sinister than the capraesque medicority they ended up with. It makes me wonder if they changed the ending from what it was originally.

It was a very pretty movie though, and while it didn't touch nearly enough on the bits that got me interested in the story in the first place (the actual woman/robot sci-fi transformation process), it was still fun to watch. Any movie that manages to work in an anti-AOL joke is ok in my book. Watch it if it comes on tv sometime, but I get the feeling that the original version is probably a better bet.

::Angry Chicken Noise::

2005-01-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

I was reading through a list of bizzare news stories from 2004, and came across this:

A Zambian man hanged himself in shame after his wife rushed into their house to investigate a noise and found him having sex with a chicken. The chicken was
slaughtered afterwards.

Dear Lord! Is it actually possible for someone to screw a chicken!?!? I wouldn't think it was anatomically possible. Little tiny bird, big assed dude.

Anyone commenting who directs me to pictures of this will be shot and/or arrested.

Black Poetry for a Black Mood

2005-01-03T01:13:00.000-08:00

Spindly finger of chill move to consume my being
Frigid tongues that lap
viciously
at all extremities
Heartfelt pleadings of apology
do nothing but
slide
down infinitely
The warmth momentarily melting a path but quickly freezing back over.

A scream is stuck in my throat -
Chilly fingers that have latched on and will not let it be expelled
The cold slows my brain, making it unpleasantly numb.
My inability to thaw drives me in circles
Spiraling counterclockwise toward...what?

More ice? More cold?

More of the frigid limbo I live in here?

In that case, it is welcome and may come and go as it pleases.

Let it have it's way with me

God knows I could do with some change

Perhaps I'll thaw and be washed away with the melting spring

At least I won't be cold anymore.

Women Allegedly Assault Man With Tongs

2004-12-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

I can't really paraphrase much better than the article puts it, so here:

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Police are looking for two women they say sexually assaulted a man with a pair of cooking tongs in a drug-related attack.

Chatham Metropolitan police say the victim, a 25-year-old man, awoke Saturday morning with a metal object protruding from his body.

The victim, who police say was using cocaine at the time, told police he does not remember much of what happened.

The article goes on to say that the man couldn't give a description of his attackers. Hmmm...says to me that he did it to himself.

Yikes!

I'm Speechless

2004-12-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Yes friends, it's a lap pillow. Those cooky Japanese have devised this ingenious invention to keep lonely men company when they're too lame to go get a bint for themselves. According to the folks at MSNBC, "Care was taken with details such as the softness of the thighs, panty lines on the pillows 'backside' and wrinkles in the lap of the skirt so as to make the pillow look and feel as real as possible."

Come on! Is it really that difficult to go pick up a woman!?! It might take a little effort, yes, but it's not exactly brain surgery!! For God's sake, even hiring an escort for the night is less sad than this. Someone male explain this to me...I just don't get it.

Gollum's not evil...he's just crazy!

2004-12-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

Or so says a report from the British Medical Journal. According to them, Gollum "was paranoid and had a split personality but this was because he probably suffered from vitamin deficiency, anaemia, hyperthyroidism and a metabolic disease called porphyria."

My Only Wish...To Catch a Fish...So Juicy SWWEEEEET!!!

The full article is hillarious. They blame most of his problems on his diet of only raw fish and a lack of sleep. They also describe him as "a single, 587-year-old hobbit-like male of no fixed abode." I love it when doctors find a sense of humor.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2004-12-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

You know, it's amazing how really great movies can sometimes start off like really bad movies.

Okay, well maybe not Attack of the Killer Tomatoes bad, but the first 15 minutes or so of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind played like a student film. The lighting was bizzare, some shots were slightly out of focus, and the plot wasn't really all that clear. I knew from the trailers that the movie was about a doctor who erases painful memories from people's heads, but the first bit of the film just seemed to be about a lovable looser type guy, played by Jim Carey.

Then, in a sudden blinding epiphany I realized that all the confusion was a fairly brilliant narrative tool employed by the director, and that I should tell my brain to shut up and just enjoy the film.

Joel & Clementine

The story suckered me in completley as it progressed and I came to know the two sets of characters; the first being Joel & Clementine (Carey and Kate Winslet), a couple whose relationship has deteriorated to the point that they want to erase each other from their minds, and the other being Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson) and his staff at Lacuna, Inc. The staff includes the receptionist Mary (Kirsten Dunst) and the technicians that perform the memory erasures Patrick (Elijah Wood) and Frank (Mark Ruffalo). The performances put forth by everyone in the movie were incredibly good, and all of the actors showed greater depth in their portrayals than I have seen from any of them before.

Highlights include a chase through Joel's mind in the second half of the movie, and Mary & Frank getting stoned and jumping up and down on Joel's bed while Joel is still in it. Good stuff.

I highly reccomend the movie. Excellent, excellent, excellent.

Mean Girls

2004-12-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Wow...it's been ages since I've had time to post. I've got a couple of movie reviews I scribbled down though, so I think I'll start editing and posting those.

Shmoopie sat me down and made me watch Mean Girls last night. It was pretty good. It's about a girl (Lindsay Lohan) who was home schooled in Africa her whole life. Her mother (Ana Gastyer) gets a teaching job in the States, so she moves back and the crazy parents decide it would be fun to send her to a public high school. Poor, sheltered Ms. Lohan makes friends with a few of the outcasts, who promptly note that she's a "certified hottie." After the group of hot girls, dubbed "The Plastics" by their peers, notice her in the lunchroom and invite her to join their clique, Lindsay decides to go undercover and spy on The Plastics for her new geek friends. Hilarity ensues. Well...sort of.

The Outcast Friends

The movie was funny, but it ended up feeling like a really long SNL sketch. Which makes sense, since Tina Fey wrote it. And since just about every recent SNL cast member made a cameo in this thing. I was really hoping that Tina might be able to come up with a teen movie that feels more like real high school than an 80's brat pack movie. It made me laugh a lot, but it was at a sight gag or a one liner instead of at a running joke or a clever plot point, which to me is what makes a great movie.

The Plastics

So it's worth a watch, but I would wait until its on TV. I don't think anything would really be censored out of it except some odd language here and there. I hope Tina Fey keeps writing, 'cause with a little practice I think her movie writing could turn into something really good.

At least it wasn't all in vain...

2004-12-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

I got a thing in the mail the other day that said I passed the uber-painful writing assessment test. Yay! That means I don't have to take an extra writing class. I'm very excited. Apparently something like 80% of the people who take the test don't pass it, but you'd have to be pretty lame. I gave it a half-assed effort and passed, so they must not even be able to construct a proper sentence. One step closer to graduation...

Hoorah!

2004-12-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

I just finished turning in my fourth (and final) programming project for Assembly. Please note the time - 11:59 p.m. It was due at midnight, so I just scraped by without taking a 5% penalty. Yay! This one went much better than the last, and it only took me so long to finish because I had written down a new command wrong in class, and the wrong version turned out to do something completely different. Oy. But after several hours of struggle and a timely answer to a question from my teacher at around 10, I have finished!!

I'm also excited because my professor isn't happy with our grades, so he's multiplying whatever we get on this project by 1.75 and making that our score. So that should help make up for my crappy performance on the last one.

Life is good. Only two more weeks then I get some freedom. I must go to Vegas...

Finding Neverland

2004-11-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

As a huge Johnny Depp fan, I've been excited about seeing Finding Neverland ever since I saw the first trailer about eight months ago. Any movie that gets Mr. Depp in period dress is alright by me. Since I was looking forward to the movie so much, I think that my expectations for it were a bit high, but I still managed to find many things to like about it.

The movie is a loose bio-pic about the life of J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan. James Barrie (Depp) is a playwright who has not yet been able to tap into his creative potential, as he is being held back to a certain extent by his social climbing wife, Mary (Radha Mitchell). While writing in the park one afternoon, he discovers Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four sons, Michael, George, Jack, and Peter (Freddie Highmore). Through playing make-believe with the boys, Barrie is able to tap into his own repressed creativity and to form a strong bond with a family he wishes was his own.

Excellent performances were turned in by the entire cast. Depp sported a spot-on brogue that had me drooling, and his performance was as completely natural and believable as I have come to expect from him. Kate Winslet's performance was also excellent, and she showed more subtlety than I knew she was capable of. Every time I think of her, I can't help but think of Titanic and cringe, but she was excellent here. All four of the children were incredibly talented as well, and I know that they'll be popping up in major movies for a while to come.

This is especially true of Freddie Highmore, who has landed the title role in Depp's next film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (see a previous blog entry for my ranting on that topic). He never ceased to amaze me with the depth of emotions he was able to show. He seemed ancient for a 12 year old, and you could see the unexpressed grief over the death of his father in every scene, even when it wasn't the issue being dealt with directly.

My only complaint about the movie was the lack of pacing. While it was never allowed to drag completely, I felt like I kind of floated through the whole movie. I generally knew where it was headed, and the journey was enjoyable, but it seemed to take a bit longer than it needed to get there. Other than that, the movie was fantastic, and I recommend it for all those who enjoy boys who never grow up and attractive sexy men.

Attack of the Terrible Names

2004-11-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

Julia Roberts had twins on Sunday, a boy and a girl. Yay for Julia. But I can't say much for the names she picked out - Hazel and Phinneaus. Egads, those be mightily old-fashioned names. Methinks some grammar school taunting will be afoot in a few years.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2004-11-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

There are so many things that I'm thankful for in life; My friends, my family, the fact that I'm allowed to better myself by going to college, and just the fact that I'm alive. They're all great gifts, and I truly feel blessed.

And most importantly, I'm grateful I'm not a turkey.

Ah, the beauty...

2004-11-23T21:56:00.000-08:00

Dear Lord that man is beautiful.

I have a break in my homework load for a couple of days, so I'm rather relieved. I'm trying to let my brain wind down a bit before things start picking up again for finals. I keep trying to remind myself that there's only three more weeks to go (give or take a few days), and that seems to make it all a bit more bearable. Only two programming projects and four finals to go...

::Sigh::

2004-11-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

I turned in my assembly project last night at about 9:30. Yay, right? Unfortunately, it's not correct. I spent four hours trying to track down that last computational error, and I couldn't find it. It makes me so unexpressably sad. I've never failed at anything that I've put so much of myself into before, and it just makes me hurt inside. I don't know if I'm going to be able to pass the class now - I guess it just depends on how much pitty he takes on me. I know it's wrong that I'm letting schoolwork effect me like this, but its hard not to since school takes up 95% of my time right now. I guess I'm just tired. I need to just leave and go away somewhere and not come back for a very long time.

"A meteor is coming and we're all going to die."

2004-11-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

Apparently, some whack job teacher at a Catholic school in London was speaking at an assembly, and told the 250-some odd students that she had some bad news, and that a meteor was hurtling towards the earth and would hit it in 10 days. She then told them that they should all go home and "say their final goodbyes to their parent." For some reason that I can't seem to figure out, the teacher thought that this would be a good way to demonstrate carpe diem to her students. Most of these poor little kids thought she was serious, and got so freaked out they started crying. She quickly took back her statement once she noticed that there were weeping munchkins present, but come on! How insane do you have to be to say something like that to a kid in the first place?! Oy. Here's a link to the article if you want it.

On a happier note, I'm about 95% done with my assembly project! Yay! It's spitting out about half right answers, so I must have a loop control wrong somewhere. I'm off to hunt its ass down now, so wish me luck!

Grrr

2004-11-20T16:05:00.001-08:00

I'm really tired. I've been working on my project for assembly language all day today (yes, it's still the same one. But it's due tomorrow, so I'm praying I'm able to finally finish it). I wish I could just write it in a higher level language. If I never have to touch this stuff again after this course, I'll be thrilled.

I went and saw Joe's opera the last two nights, and it was pretty good. The singing in general is better this time around. It's interesting to watch the voice majors improve every semester. Also, Joe was looking very pretty, but then again maybe I'm just a sucker for period costumes. Mmm...frilly man shirts. Oh, and his singing (what little of it there was) is beautimous as always. I'm going again tonight with Jon. Should be fun.

On a different note, apparently someone stole some naked garden gnomes from a "peep show" in Germany. God I wish there would have been pictures!! Here's the article I found on Yahoo:

Thieves have stolen scantily clad garden gnomes from a gnome peepshow in an eastern German amusement park, park manager Frank Ullrich said on Thursday.
"The gnomes display naked body parts -- the same ones you'd expect to see in a human peep show," Ullrich said of his missing stars.The adults-only attraction at Dwarf-Park Trusetal, where visitors peep through keyholes to see the saucy German miniatures in compromising poses, was smashed open early on Thursday morning.
Ullrich said he feared the gnomes would not be traced. "I doubt they're standing in someone's garden, they'll have to have been hidden inside."

Joke of the Day

2004-11-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

What do men have in common with linoleum? Once they are properly laid, you can walk over them for years!

Heh, heh. I have a nagging feeling that someone is going to smack the crap out of me for that, considering about 95% of my friends are male.

Anyway, not much going on with me. Just trying to slog through my programming project for Assemby (still!!!) which is due Sunday at midnight. Gotta love those bizzare deadlines. I have two tests today that I should be studying for right now, but I feel fairly confident about them, so I think I'll just go in and see what happens.

Oh, I almost forgot. Joe's opera is playing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week, and I'll probably be there most nights since I like watching him perform so much. But if anyone/everyone wants to come with me, I'd be glad of the company. Joe tells me he doesn't have a huge part this semester, but knowing SDSU's operas, he's probably on stage a lot so we can all stare at him. Call me or leave me a comment if you wanna go.

Except you Shmoopie. You can't come.

I've got a crush on you...

2004-11-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

I found this infinitely amusing, and it made me laugh. Don't leave right away - it may look like it's a dead link, but its not. I promise. ::Sigh:: I think I'm in love.

Writing Proficiency Assessment

2004-11-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

Just fucking kill me now.

As some of you know, I went and took a test today to fulfill a graduation requirement. It was the most disorganized, worthless piece of crap test ever. They had all 1,000-ish students file into this gigantic lecture hall, then had us all file out and take a piece of paper with a room on it. Then we had to file in there, and wait while they checked all of our photo ID's like six times before we even got the damn test. Then there was the bubbling in of names and addresses and the like before we were allowed to open the book. The prompt was stupid, and of the "Write a letter to a future employer about the worst job you've ever had." variety. Lots of examples there, so I wrote 3 pages in about 20 minutes and thought, "Great, now I get to leave!" But no!! I had to sit there while the other 60 people in the room used the full hour to write their page and a half of crap. And then they checked ID's AGAIN!!! So almost two and a half hours later I sit here writing this. I HATE SDSU!

::Catches her breath after the lengthy, unnecessary rant:: I'm done now, I swear. I need to go watch a Johnny Depp movie now. Oh, and Shmoo, leave me a comment. I miss your cheeky comments!

The Un-lost City of Atlantis?

2004-11-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

It's been found! And for only 8 Million US Dollars Mr. Jerry D. Querrard will show it to you!

"FOR THIS YOU GET T O SEE THE ONCE LOSTCITY WITH ALL
OF IT'S GLORY AND IT'S TEMPLE. THIS IS THE SAME ATLANTIS THAT PLATOTHE GREEK PHILOSOPHER SPOKE OF IN 400 B.C. OVER 24,000 BOOKS HAVE BEEN WRITTENON THE SUBJECT, SCHOLARS HAVE ARGUED ABOUT THIS TOPIC EVER SINCE,MANY HAVE SEARCHED AND NOW I OFFER TO YOU A SITE NOT SEEN BY ANYMODERN DAY MAN, EXCEPT ME. ; RESEARCHER, EXPLORER,AND DISCOVERER OF THE ONCE "LOST CITY OF ATLANTIS,"

A site that truly must be seen to be believed. I only wish that I was able to come up with the money. Anyone have 8 Million I can borrow?

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

2004-11-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about this move its ridiculous. Don't get me wrong - I love the Gene Wilder Version, but my love of Johnny Depp combined with the source material has me downright gleeful. The teaser poster is gorgeous, as it monsieur Depp. I was excited to find the first publicity photos posted on a site the other day, but they were promptly taken down. After 30 minutes of searching, I managed to locate them again on another site. A feast for the eyes I tell you, though I'm not sure about the hair.

Perfection. What more can I say?

"Something Funny in My Blog Now"

2004-11-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

Heh, heh. That was just for you Jon. ;-)

Anyway, most of the last two days has been spent in a haze of pain, which is just now starting to lift. I'm so tired of having cramps, and I really don't have time to be completely incapacitated for two days a month. They just keep getting worse, and it's starting to freak me out a bit. It makes me really wish I had a better medical option than Student Health at school, as I don't trust them as far as I could throw them, and that's not that far at the moment.

On an unrelated note, the folks at Jones Soda have now gone legally insane. They have a new "holiday Pack" of soda flavors: turkey & gravy, green beans and casserole, mashed potatoes, fruitcake, and cranberry. (See this article on Yahoo for the whole revolting story.) Now, I like green beans just as much as the next guy (as long as that next guy isn't Jon), but when they're in liquid form!?! Ew.

Bored Again

2004-11-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

You know, school wouldn't be half so bad if I didn't have to get here so bleeing early, only to sit for three hours before my first class. My current homework has to be done at home (with my computer) so I can't even loose myself in that for a while. And I have a migrane, so my vision is all fun and blurry. Class should be amusing today. ::Looks about for something to impale herself on.::

The Incredibles

2004-11-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

I went to see The Incredibles last night with Joe, Joe, Jon, & Eric. I had read a few reviews going in, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie exceeded even my fondest expectations. It was a long movie (over two hours) but it didn't feel like it was even half that long. The pacing was great, and the plot was more present than it is in most live action spy movies. I don't want to say anything else about it, because I'm afraid I'll give away something important. But let me just say that I want to be Elastigirl. She's too damn cool for her own good, and any woman that can rangle a family of young super heroes is fabulous beyond words.

The next movie I'm really looking forward to seeing is Finding Neverland. ::Begins salivating wildly:: It's gotten really good reviews, plus, Johnny Depp with a very realistic (read: sexy) Scottish brogue. Grrrooowwww. I can't wait.

Programing Question for Those in the Know

2004-11-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to adapt some java code into assembly language, and I ran into a symbol in the java that I hadn't seen before. The line of code is:

inBuf[i] &= 0xDF;

InBuf is an array, i is a counter variable, and the 0xDF has something to do with the hexidecimal values of keyboard input (not quite sure there either). But the &= I'm puzzled on. Wouldn't that normally be found in a conditional statement of some sort? If anybody's seen something like this before in any language, please leave me a comment. I've looked for a site on the internet to help, but I can't seem to find the appropriate keyword.

Oh, and here's a picture of Shmoopie in a bat hat. Enjoy!

Somebody's Stealing my Letters!

2004-11-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

Dear lord, this thing is way more entertaining than it should be. It's a big internet refrigerator, with lots of those little letter magnets on it. And everyone can drag them around! There's 72 people spelling out lots of naughty things right now, and one guy who keeps trying to steal all the letters and drag them into the corner. Fun!

The other notable web type thing I'd like to point out today is Ghosts of Albion, which is a wonderful tv show on the internet. It's flash animation (I think...), but it's also got a great radio show-like flavor to it. It was written by Amber Benson (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame), and it deals with Magical siblings William and Tamara Swift who battle the forces of evil. I'm not sure if the first set of episodes are still available to watch (they were quite good) but the new series, "Embers," has the first episode posted, with new ones to follow every Monday. I highly recommend taking a look, as it's an impressive effort.

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

2004-11-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

Last night was fun! Hung out with Joe, Joe, and Jon (and Matt for a while). My costume turned out pretty well, although it would have been much more fun with the wings. We went to a party at a co-worker of Matt's house, and then Matt took off and the rest of us went Downtown and got some food at TGI Fridays. It turned out to be an incredibly good spot for people watching. All kinds off crazy ass women were running around dressed like hookers. Made me glad I was nice and warm in my floor-length dress, let me tell you. Even with my duct-tape corset, it still had to have been more comfortable than having my fleshy bits hanging out for all the world to see.

Joe did his Johnny Depp thing again, and got even more comments from total strangers than last year. Lots of skanky drunk girls getting all drooly over him from a distance (thankfully, because the drool would have ruined his makeup!). Anyway, it was a very nice evening. I'll post some pictures from the evening as soon as I can get them from Jon. (My camera battery died almost immediately).

Oh, and Jon...your camera is still in my car. I'll give it back next time I see you. Nice camera, btw.

Oh, if I but had wings to fly...

2004-10-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm quite frustrated. I've been looking for a couple of days for this really nifty set of wings that they had at Party City's website. Two Party Citys and lots of phone calls later, I'm still wingless. And now they've even removed them from the website! It makes me really sad, as they were nice and would have worked well with the old costume bits I've thrown together for this year. I'll post a picture of what I end up with sometime next week.

Shopping List of Things Left to Buy:
*Glittery Eyeshadow
*Black Liquid Eyeliner
*Duct Tape
*WINGS! GRRRR!

It's Cold.

2004-10-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

God it's freezing outside. I've sequestered myself in the library with Joe while it's pouring outside. Soaked and cold just don't seem to go together all that well.

I'm looking forward to Halloween, although I'm still not sure what I'm doing yet. So if you've got a raucous party you'd like to invite me to, please, let me know. I'd hate to end up looking all spectacular and end up with no where to go.

A Hard Day's Night

2004-10-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long day. My boss was this close to quitting, and it just made my job that much. I'm trying to take as much of the strain off of her as I can, but it almost seems like she's making it hard on me on purpose. I actually had to take a nap when I got home today. Can't believe I was that exhausted. As tough as things get with my boss though, I really hope she doesn't quit. It'd be really inconvenient for me to have to quit right now too, but breaking someone else in would be hell. I'd end up doing everything myself, and 12 hours a week just isn't enough to run a church. I really love a lot of the people there, but even if I was a Methodist and did go to that church, there's way I could keep up that pace.

But the boss lady has survived to work another day in our now carpetless office (we recently had a whole bunch of flooding and had to rip is all out). Hopefully we'll get it all replaced soon.

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

2004-10-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I still haven't quite managed to unlock everything yet (like nude mode), but I've finished enough of the girls...uh, I mean game, to be able to talk about it.

I bought the game (with Jon's help - thanks again. Game is coming to you soon.) expecting it to be at least vaguely similar to the previous installments of the series, and that's about all it was. Vaguely similar. While you still play a guy named Larry who's slouching about trying to get laid, you're not the same Larry. This time around you play Larry Lovage, nephew of our semi-beloved Larry Laffer. He's a lovable sort in his own right, but I couldn't help but stop by and visit Uncle Larry a few times just to listen to his cameo one liners (voiced by Jan Rabson, the same guy who did Larry's voice in games 6 & 7). He's also around to help you through the first part of the game, but there I wish he would have just left me alone. I could have figured out all the stuff he told me by myself.

I was disappointed to find that all of the typical witty Al Lowe style puzzles had vanished, and had been replaced by a never ending string of mini-games. For someone who all but completely lacks coordination like me, it was incredibly painful at times. They did include a nice feature that would ask you if you'd like to make a game easier after loosing it 3 times, and asking you if you want to "wimp out and stop the pain" after 6 tries. I'm rather ashamed to say that I had to use that option more than once, and especially toward the end where the difficulty on some of them became ridiculous.

I would have hated the game completely, except for the incredibly good voice acting by every single person in the game. Usually there's one or two voices that suck even in the best of games, but here they found an abundance of talented people. All of the 15 or 20 girls had completely distinct voices and personalities, and while they sometimes bordered on cliché, there was always some twist that made them memorable. I especially enjoyed Luba, the drunk horny girl, whose major is Animal Husbandry.

Turn-ons include blow job shots, gravity bongs, and Charlie Daniels. Turn-offs include seeds and stems, AA, and traffic cops. And yes, those are her tits. As good as the voice acting was, the conversation system was still a pain, as you have to guide a cute little sperm through green "conversation points" while avoiding the red ones, but sometimes the red ones proved to be much more entertaining than that correct ones. The major downside to this system is that you can't spend time watching the great animations of the girls, as you have to stay focused on the mini-game.

Plot-wise, there's not really much here. You spend the game trying to get on a reality dating show called Swingles, and once you do you screw your bint and the game ends. It was all rather anti-climatic. There's lots of special features to unlock throughout the game, mostly involving making the girls more naked than they were previously, but they were kind of underwhelming too. Some of the extra loading screens were nice, but they even got old after a while as it took 30 or so seconds to load each section of the map.

So this is a decent game, but probably one I won't play through again. I'd give it about a 3.5/5. I just wish it had an inventory...

Where's Waldo?

2004-10-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

I just about died when I found this.

A text only version of "Where's Waldo?"

Genious, I tell you. Genious!

Naked Yoga

2004-10-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Found in AOL's City Guide (used to be Digital City I think):

"Naked yoga is a trend that can be found in most major cities across the United States. In Dallas, it is a members-only group of adult men interested in practicing the art of yoga without the restriction of clothing. Although predominantly gay, Naked Yoga is open to all adult men (over 21), body types and sexual orientations. The class schedule and style are determined by the instructor, but those new to yoga are encouraged to attend. The teachings are rooted in breathing and posture, focusing on yoga as an ancient tradition handed down over thousands of years. Naked yoga is not designed to be sexual in nature, but rather focuses on building core strength and stability, while celebrating the human body.

Wonder if there's a group in this area I can go sneak a peak at? It sounds far too entertaining for its own good.

The joys of assembly language

2004-10-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

Dear mother of God, I'm starting to hate that class. Everytime I think I have my program up and running and bug free, I find another damn data set that fucks everything up. It's so frustrating. I can't turn it in until its bug free - last time I must not have gotten them all worked out, because somehow my instructor broke it, and I ended up getting a 63/100 on it. 63! For 14 hours work!!!! I wish he'd give us some sample data sets so we could test this better, or at least give us some sort of list of situations that commonly break programs like this. I feel like I haven't been putting enough effort into this, and yet I'm 20+ hours in on this program. If I get less than a 70 on this one, I may as well not even finish the class because I'll have to take it again. Has me scared, let me tell you. God I wish I was just done with school.

Oh, and on a slightly different note, I read something in the Daily Aztec the other day that said only 7.4% of SDSU students graduate in 4 years. Makes me feel a bit better that I've been at this for 6 now. (Only 38.1% have graduated from State in 6 years...so I'm right on track there too.) The national number is 37% in 4 years though, so that just shows what a crappy school I go to. But I already knew that.

Stupid Template

2004-10-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I've made some progress editing my loverly blog, as you can see. However, I seem to have made the nice box for the sidebar disapppear! I have no idea how that happened either, since I wasn't editing it at the time. It would really help is I could figure out the code instead of just randomly changing a line then seeing which bits changed on the preview. Anyone who knows CSS willing to give me a mini tutorial sometime? Help!!

Attack of the Smurfs

2004-10-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

Or maybe I did the attacking of the Smurfs. My right hand is covered in blue ink (technically cyan but it looks more like Smurf blue to me). I was replacing the ink on a Cannon printer at work, and they're the cheap skinny ones with the reservoir at the end. While trying to remove the orange plastic bit that protects the nozzle, I must have squeezed the cartridge a bit harder than it wanted me too, because ink went freakin' everywhere. God, I really hope this comes off at some point. It looks really ugly. Oy.

Prepare for ugliness

2004-10-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of trying to change my template around. Colors are likely to clash and some corners will be ugly and pointy until I can fix everything up. Between this, my project for Assembly Language, and Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (more details on that to come later), I'm going to be a busy girl this weekend.

Zzzzzz....

2004-10-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at school right now, in the portion of the library that's not closed due to a sewage spill a few days ago. I have another hour & 20 minutes before my next class. Normally I'd go sit out on the grass somewhere with a book, but I have a feeling it would get kind of damp today. Besides, I nearly got blown off my feet walking here from my car, so I think I'll stay put for a while. I should be studying or something I'm sure, but I just can't seem to bring myself to do anything right now. I must need coffee.

I was going to make this a huge post, but I've already run out of things to write. Oh well, I guess. I'll just have to sit here bored for a while.

It's Raining! Yay!!

2004-10-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love the rain? Maybe it's just because we hardly ever get any, but there's just something comforting about sitting around in a big fuzzy bath robe while you watch water fall from the sky. It's not so nice to have to drive around in it and walk all the way across campus only to arrive at my class soaked to the bone, but its almost worth it just for the veg-out time once I get home. Almost.

Let the blogging begin!

2004-10-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

I finally managed to find a few minutes to set one of these up. It's probably going to be pretty darn boring for a while, but at least its something, right? I have no idea what I'm going to use it for either - it'll probably just end up a big confusing pile of stuff. But who knows? Productiveness could possibly follow. All I have to do now is remember how to edit html tags so I can make this place presentable.