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tori_angeli

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July 10th, 2009

I don't think many people on my f-list, if any, watch So You Think You Can Dance, but I gotta rant and I think you'll understand this anyway.

There's this one dancer who didn't really do anything for me until a couple weeks ago, when she completely blew me away and turned my brain on to her mind-blowing talent.  She seems really nice and never comes across as arrogant.  The judges adore her.  For some reason, America doesn't seem to.  After performing in the best routine of the night, perhaps of the season so far, she ended up in the bottom three couples.  She wasn't cut, fortunately, but it really struck me as odd.  Then I read an article that hit the nail on the head--she's a blonde-haired blue-eyed petite beauty who can do anything she puts her mind to.  Most of America hated this kind of girl in high school, and regardless of her dancing and whether or not they actually know her, are still holding a petty grudge against an attractive girl who doesn't apologize for her gifts.  She's not even being over-hyped--she really is that good.

She wasn't in the bottom three last night, fortunately, so maybe people are getting the idea.  In place of her and her partner were the couple who actually fell at the end of one of their routines (the judges laughed it off, but I think America jumped right on it).  After this, though, when we're voting for her as an individual and not a member of a duo, I fear for how long she'll last.  I wouldn't mind seeing her in the finale, personally.  I mean, look at this addiction-themed routine.
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The title pretty much says it.

Cool icon, though, huh?  Made by Winnychan and based on events that transpired in our massive epic beast of an RPG we've got going on with some friends.  I still can't believe how much I love it. *hugs Mike*

To balance out the emotional...ness of this post, I bring you STAR TREK PARODIES.  Okay, they've been around for a while, but some people must not've seen 'em yet.

How many members of the crew of the Enterprise/DS9/Voyager does it take to change a light bulb?

July 5th, 2009

Le Saigh

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Practicing guitar should be considered a full-body workout.

In unrelated news, I moronically checked out a Craigslist listing for a date and found a guy who seemed really cool, funny, and charming.  After five emails, he told me he had an intense sexual fantasy about me, in spite of the link to my fics that he asked me to provide (whatever that means).  Maybe not everyone feels offended and objectified by a statement like that, but I'm done with the whole affair.

I really want to write TMNT fan fiction again, but I'm not really interested in my current projects anymore.  I'll still finish them, of course, but I want to try writing really new stuff with a fresh perspective not tainted by what I've written before.  I want a fresh start in the fandom.  Breathe in, breathe out, just write what's fun.

I'm gonna watch Touch and Go.

June 29th, 2009

Meme picked up from Ivy

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Byyourwish
Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabblet/ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward! No matter how whacked out your drabble is. :)
4. Do ten of these, then post them.

The fandom is TMNT, predictably enough.  I figured I needed an exercise like this, and it was fun!  Except BNL kept coming up at first.  Weird and challenging.











When in Rome by Nickel Creek )

Fett's 'Vette by MC Chris )







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June 27th, 2009

AHHHHH!

Okay, for someone of limited means, I've been to a lot of operas in my life, especially compared to most. The cast I saw on Thursday night was simply the best I've ever seen live.

Don Carlo is not an opera for the beginner. In fact, it's an opera I rarely listen to all the way through, and when I see it on DVD, I often skip past parts. Verdi looooves to linger in this. Rodrigo takes two arias to die--one before he gets shot, one after. With extreme melodrama (people fainting from great emotion) and constant angst, it's about what people imagine when they think of opera cliches. So why go see it? Here's the thing: although there are parts I'd consistently skip past, the parts I listen to I listen to over and over again, and get chills every single time. Verdi really makes you weep for an old king who is forced by the Grand Inquisitor to live friendless and even loveless, even when said king regally watched people being burned at the stake in the scene before. It's NUTS.

Last night...well, okay, I wanted to sit down with the stage director and give her an earful about just having people stand in a line and sing when an opera is a STAGE DRAMA, but everything else was incredible. The conductor caressed the music. It was so obvious that he loved it. The orchestra absolutely sang for him. It was magical. The guy who played the Grand Inquisitor was visibly startled when he walked onstage during the curtain call and slammed with uproarious applause, but I wasn't surprised. He had the biggest, juiciest, most coffee-black voice I've had the privilege to hear live. Continuing up, the lady playing Eboli was the most incredible mezzo--the perfect vocal weight and color for Verdi, but had those devilish high notes like nothing else. The baritone playing Rodrigo was the only lyric (light) voice in the main cast, but he still held his weight with all the heavier voices, even the tenor playing Carlo, who SOUNDED like a baritone but had the range of a tenor (he was mmmmmmmm). James Morris is a rougher bass than I prefer, but it was epically stirring to listen and watch during his ten-minute aria (my personal favorite part of the opera). I was not disappointed. In fact, I was under a spell during the entire time, and keep coming back to it in my imagination. He wasn't Ferruccio Furlanetto, but I still wanted to wrap myself up in that aria, underplayed just perfectly with only the barest sob toward the end, almost more like a hitch in his breath. I tend to prefer the aria to be sung almost like he is sleepwalking, since the music portrays the emotion perfectly and hamming it up only distracts from that (an occurrance that rarely happens in opera), but he was marvelous. It's one of those rare moments in life that I just wish I could carry with me, hold on to, keep it perfectly preserved and unfaded by time so I can revisit it at will. I think I breathed four times throughout the whole ten minutes of that aria.

But it's not just about the bass. Moving on!

Angela Brown was in absolutely perfect form as Elizabeth. She's the only one of the singers I'd heard before, and that was while she was still only a rising star at the Met and not a full-blown star. She has a huge, dark, creamy voice and sang like the part was tailor-made for her. The aria I normally find to be long-winded was so wonderfully sung I was sitting forward in my seat and cherishing each note.

Still, throughout I was thinking about how differently I would direct each scene. For one thing, it irks me when there's action in the music but not on stage. I hate it when people stand in one place during an ensemble and sing to the audience. Also when Elizabeth faints and Philip calls for help, no one actually HELPS her. Eboli sings pitifully about how remorseful she feels, Rodrigo stands there, and Philip just looks nervous. No one even touches the poor unconscious girl. Why not? While Eboli sings about remorse, Rodrigo could be carrying Elizabeth to a chair or a couch, and Philip (being old) could fret a bit more, since he WAS the one who made her faint and Rodrigo's calling him out on it and this has to be very embarrassing. I did love that Elizabeth slammed her hand on the table while arguing with Philip, and only assumed the expected "submissive wife" attitude when he glowered at her--first time she seemed like a real woman in the whole opera. I'd've liked to see a bit more of that, almost, even if it would be inappropriate for the time period and her class for her to be THAT feisty. Since Philip is accusing her of adultery, and this could result in major repercussions, I'd like to see her have a strength more equal to his--lack of propriety can be excused in her mind since the situation is so desperate. What's more, Philip is shown as being so vulnerable in this scene already, so I'd like to see their argument as having more of a back-and-forth quality, but in the end he has a bit more force, since he's already lost a battle with the Grand Inquisitor and he sure as hell won't lose this one--only he loses it and she freaks and passes out. I always like it best when he completely loses all his fight when he sees her faint, and feels like the big jerk he is. I've seen her fall into his arms when she faints, but I actually like it better for her to fall to the floor and for him to stand there stunned, like he's afraid he'll make it worse by touching her. I'd also make Elizabeth's reaction a bit less shocked when Eboli confesses to sleeping with Philip, 'cause seriously--did Elizabeth think Philip was being as chaste as he expects her to be? He's the king. Of course she's shocked at Eboli for being a hypocrite, accusing her of adultery when she's the adulteress herself, but Elizabeth practically doubled over in shock in this production, and that's just not very regal. It was the one thing I liked about Mirella Freni's depiction of this character--her reaction to that revelation is to become a marble statue, frozen like the last friend she thought she had just abandoned her and this was how she could cope--by becoming scary. It's sort of a chain of scariness--Philip loses to the Grand Inquisitor, Elizabeth loses to Philip, Eboli loses to Elizabeth. I'd actually like for Elizabeth to be anticipating this news as Eboli keeps stammering bits and pieces of the confession. This whole scene in the king's study is my absolute favorite in the opera, to the point where I've said it'd be my favorite opera if it were only THAT scene, and I'd like to see it done really well. It was sung perfectly, but the director needed to have more imagination. And so did Schiller, who wrote the original play.

EBOLI: Remorse! I slept with the king your husband!

ELIZABETH: ...WHY? He's like eighty!

EBOLI: Um...remorse?

ELIZABETH: Well, you're fired, yeah, but EW. Even I don't sleep with the king when I don't have to. Anyways, exile or convent, your choice, but sleeping with him might've been its own punishment. Ick.

EBOLI: In history, he was only like thirty when he married you.

ELIZABETH: What does history have to do with this opera?

EBOLI: ...Remorse.

I'd've liked to see Elizabeth and Eboli both played as real women instead of The Virtuous Heroine and The Smoldering Temptress. But it's a romantic opera, so that's hard to do. I've seen it done, but it's hard to pull off. I also prefer Carlo to be poisonously sarcastic when Rodrigo comes to visit him in prison. I mean, he believes Rodrigo, his best friend, betrayed him, and suddenly he's going on about how great it is for Rod to visit him in prison. This being the most WTF of Verdi's major operas, it's not the weirdest thing to happen onstage, but STILL.

June 15th, 2009

I love my cat.

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I really do.  But I just found out she could be a "special needs" kitty.  She started sneezing like crazy again, and the vet said she might have a virus that flares up every once in a while and gives her these upper respiratory infections.  For now, we're just giving her the ten-day antibiotics, but if it happens again, she'll be put on an anti-viral for the rest of her life.

It's not that I'm second-guessing a single thing.  I knew when I adopted Sumi that I was agreeing to pay for all her medical care right then, not at the time she actually needed it.  But it's stressful.  I hate putting her on meds.  Last time, she stopped using the litter box.  I hope the anti-viral isn't too expensive.

June 10th, 2009

Whaaaaat?

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Okay, so much glee and relief and happiness yay, but what the heck?  Everyone forgot to tell me my brother and his girlfriend are getting married.  I really love this woman, and I'm ecstatic to find out she'll be a permanent part of our family, but how did I miss the memo?  I had to find out by accident.

However...HAHA YES THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED!

May 31st, 2009

Re: Star Trek

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I hear some arguments against the new Star Trek movie, almost exclusively from Trekkies, that character development and Gene Roddenberry’s vision were sold in favor of lots of action and explosions and fight scenes and cool special effects.  These are my thoughts on that.

 

I’m a Trekkie myself (I use the term in the non-derogatory fashion, since the show’s creators came up with the term).  Nevertheless, I felt more empathy for Kirk and Spock in slightly over two hours of this movie than I have in over forty years’ worth of movies and syndicated TV episodes.  Maybe it’s because this Kirk isn’t merely altruistic—he actually goes through a process in the movie to become so.  Spock I can relate to as a human being now, instead of seeing him as a kinda cool dude who can knock people out by pinching their necks.  Having an occasional struggle with vivid emotion as a plot device is okay, but for that struggle to be constant, everyday—that is something I can empathize with.  That, to me, is exciting.

 

As far as actual character development goes, I watched Kirk go from being a thoroughly unlikable person to a grown-up who doesn’t give a thought about putting his life in danger for the greater good.  To achieve that in a single movie without making it seem contrived is miraculous, and they did it by implying that this aspect of Kirk was always there, dormant, and merely came out when he had the chance to be what he needed, in the most basic part of his character, to be.  All this happened, and they never sacrificed his flaws.  I watched Spock begin to accept that emotions do not always respond to logic, and that there are ways to find peace with them without forcibly suppressing or denying them.  I can feel for him.  I watched a few lines of thoroughly organic dialogue turn some guy who climbed aboard a shuttle into Leonard McCoy, an irascible doctor who is terrified of space travel but has nowhere else to go because his ex-wife took everything from him in the divorce.  I watched Sulu go from being a nervous, somewhat shy young helmsman who makes basic mistakes to a bold swordsman and then to a confident pilot—and he was one of the least developed characters.  In her first scene, Uhura was shown as a confident, intelligent young woman who, while openly uninterested in the idiot hitting on her in a bar, isn’t too good to be flattered by his advances or laugh at his jokes without compromising her original answer.  She’s entirely disgusted with the twerps trying to ‘defend’ her, as much as she would be with anyone participating in a senseless bar fight.  She takes crap from no one, but like the original Uhura, she’s neither a fighter nor a leader.  She’s simply and comfortably herself.

 

Gene Roddenberry’s vision was of a future in which we are a better society, and where compassion and humanitarianism are more important than pride or greed.  J.J. Abrams admitted that, while he’s not a Trek fan, Roddenberry’s notes were moving and inspiring to him.  I don’t think there’s anything in this movie that compromises that vision, besides the fact that there appears to be money or at least some sort of credit system in this future, and that is only implied and not a basic motivator of mankind (which was the point in not having money in canon Trek).  It remains an optimistic future, which is always marvelously refreshing and one of the best things about Star Trek.  Remember how Chekov was a sign of Roddenberry’s hope that the Cold War would end peacefully?  Remember how the Cold War ended peacefully?  Yeah.

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May 17th, 2009



Your result for The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?)...

The Librarian (QTBF)

Quirky Traditional Beta Female

You know the story--The quiet, smart girl who emerges from her shell to become the new queen bee. Nothing wrong with nerdy girls, in fact there aren't enough of you. Your best match is The Late Bloomer, as he once was the male version of you.


You are more QUIRKY than NORMAL.


You are more TRADITIONAL than LIBERAL.


You are more PASSIVE than DOMINANT.


When picking a date, consider: The Late Bloomer (QTAM), The Lord of the Misfits (QLAM), The Snowball's Chance in Hell (QTBM), The Suit (NTAM), or The Altar Boy (NTBM).


Avoid: The Frat Boy (NLAM)


(Image from theblackspiderman.com)


Take The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?)
at HelloQuizzy

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No surprise here

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I think it's a bit unfortunate that they only include characters from the first two series.  I'd like to see what my results would be with DS9 and Voyager added in.  Nevertheless, this was the character I thought I'd get.


Your results:
You are Deanna Troi
Deanna Troi
65%
Uhura
60%
James T. Kirk (Captain)
50%
Chekov
45%
Jean-Luc Picard
45%
Beverly Crusher
45%
Geordi LaForge
35%
Will Riker
35%
Data
30%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)
30%
Spock
27%
Mr. Scott
25%
Mr. Sulu
20%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)
15%
Worf
10%
You are a caring and loving individual.
You understand people's emotions and
you are able to comfort and counsel them.
Click here to take the "Which startrek character are you?" quiz...

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May 15th, 2009

FANGASM

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SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

That is all I have to say about the new Star Trek movie.  For now.

That, and I think I have a crush on Karl Urban now.  Or at least on his McCoy.

May 5th, 2009

Smilies!

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After all this crap going on, I had a great couple of days, and plan to let the marvelousness of these days propel me into a few straight days of good moods.  At least.  Saturday and Sunday were spent recuperating from The Dread Crud (which I'll probably have to go to a clinic about).  Sunday night, the RP group I'm with had the Best Session Ever.  Well, at least the Best Session Since Like September Or Something.  It was fun, we got a ton done, and I even got to RP a Raph-Splinter interaction scene (one of my absolute favorite kinds of scenes) with Kameterra, our Raph.  Yesterday I had an early shift, meaning  I got off work at 4:00.  I normally get off work four hours later, when the day is pretty much over and there's nothing to do.  So I decided to get some summer tops from a hip second-hand store.  It's the first time I've bought new clothes in some time, and I was really happy with what I got.  Then it was games with Winny and friends until it was time to crash.  I can finally say I've played Talisman.  Watched the first half of Evita with Winny.  Went to bed, and the cat didn't try to get me up at 6AM.  Sumi (the cat) and I are really becoming friends.  I love having her around, and she's such a cuddler and great to sleep with.

Also, a co-worker loaned me her "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" books--the ones I haven't read.  I'm so psyched.  What a fantastic couple of days.

May 2nd, 2009

Between Grandma dying and me adjusting to a new "roommate," I kinda thought my life was full.  Now it's fuller.  I'm feverish, headachy, lethargic, and coughing.  I have no thermometer, but I'm pretty sure the fever's not too bad.  Before, it was acting exactly like a case of viral bronchitis I had a while back.  The headache is new, but it might just be from being tired.  I ran around half the day today.  I took off from work yesterday, and now I'm all stressed because that's a hit against me even though I didn't have much of a choice.  I hate missing work.  No matter what, you look bad.  If you hang around and expose everyone else to illness, that's bad.  If you take off, that's bad.

I'm not the only one with upper respiratory issues.  The cat has a mild infection, but she took the antibiotics fine this morning.  I'm a little worried, having no roommate, about what should happen if I start to feel too sick to really take care of myself.  I have an early shift on Monday and I HAVE to go, but by the time I get off work then, the clinic will be closed, so I can't see a doctor until Tuesday.  Hopefully this will get better by then.

I think I might crash early.  I was going to go to church and buy tires tomorrow, but both of those are probably canceled.  Maybe I'll feel well enough to write tomorrow.

April 27th, 2009

Endgame chapter 7

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fanficwriter

Kitty again

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It looks like her name is going to be Sumi.  She's already responding to it.  She prefers that I pet her instead of type, so she rubs and rubs against my hands while I'm on the computer.  She spent most of last evening on my lap, and most of last night in my bed.  I'm realizing she's still part-kitten, barely an adult and therefore still a bit rambunctious.  But boy, can she purr and cuddle, and it is kinda cute when she pounces on my hair when I turn over in bed, even if it wakes me up more.

April 26th, 2009

Kitty!

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She's mostly white with black splotches that remind me of ink blots on white paper, so I'm thinking of naming her Sumi.  She might also be a Keiko.  She saw me when I was looking at all the cages and became very anxious, to the point where I dismissed her as being psychotic.  But when I let her out and picked her up, she started to purr, and within minutes she was on my lap, extremely affectionate, all over me.  She has loads of personality, loves to play, and has spent most of the evening on my lap.  Her face is incredibly sweet, and her eyes are amber with green.  She weighs a mere 8.5 pounds, big enough that you feel that comforting weight in your lap, but small enough that she's light when you pick her up.  At the shelter, she always came to me when I called or patted my leg, no matter where she was or who was petting her.  When I was spending time with other cats, she kept watching me.  Now that she's home, she seems more balanced, but still very cuddly and somewhat talkative.  I was blown away by the immediate chemistry she and I had.  Now I know what people are talking about when they say their pets chose them.  It totally happened that way.  She's everything I was looking for, and yet she chose me.  It's like in a Pern book when someone Impresses a dragon, or something.

April 16th, 2009

I am not ready for this

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Last September, I lost one of my grandmothers.  The year before, I lost my grandfather.  Now I'm on the brink of losing my other grandmother, the one I'm closest to.

I know what I can do, and that's one of the toughest things.  One of my favorite authors said that all one can do in times like these is continue.  Eventually, you find your life again.  It's not a promise, but an inevitability.

She still won't be at my wedding, if I ever have one.  My kids will never know her.

April 9th, 2009

What Big Cat Are You?

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You Are a Black Panther
You see through people. You understand others' motives and plans.
You have a knack for predicting the future. You just know what people are going to do.

People are attracted to you. You are naturally able to influence other people's thoughts.
You have the charisma to be a beloved guru or dictator. It's all about how you handle it.
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March 28th, 2009

Big huge thanks

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For the sake of modesty, I wasn't going to make a big deal out of the TMNT Fanfic Awards, but then it occurred to me that the people who voted for me might feel like I was ungrateful if I didn't at least mention it.  So.

*GLOMPS*

Thank you guys!  I try to be as stoic as possible about awards like these, because I know there's a ton of good stuff that never even gets nominated, but this was an honor.  I feel a bit ashamed of myself because Counterplay got three awards, two of which were first-place, and here I am with it on the back burner indefinitely.  Either way, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Huge congrats go out to those who won.  You guys rock.

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