kistha | Entries tagged with social

My life it's been busy here are the quick highlights:

Dance:
I've been working on dance and have accustomed myself to Miss P's leading, and have been making much progress. I have completed the first half of Bronze (receiving an A in both tests) and am now doing what they call "Silver Amalgamation" and have added Cha-cha to my majors. At this point the only thing I'm missing is Rumba and The Meringue - and while I'm OK with learning Rumba (we did that for my wedding) I despise the Meringue. Soon I'll be moving to Silver (two more tests to go) and that will be awesome.

Miss P and I are getting along swimmingly, which is good and I'm trying to come up with a good dance idea for the spring showcase. I have one awesome idea for a Tango, but because they are not having a fall showcase, I won't be able to take the Tango slot until next fall. Total bummer, it's an awesome idea. So if you can think of a song that'd be good for two girls, that fits a ballroom dance that isn't a Tango, Waltz or Samba and isn't objectionable (for example Lady Marmalade was OK, but apparently U + Ur Hand is not) let me know.

Heath/Workout:
Well, I'm still doing about 5 hours a week of Ballroom dance, and most weeks I do Yoga for 20 minutes 5 times a week. I lose weight, I gain it back, I do the twist...

Really it's all up in the air and is still totally random. *sigh*

Social Stuff:
Have managed to see some people, lost touch with others. It comes it goes, but we're probably more social than we've been in a long while. Am working on a new project for a monthly event - and it's going well - but more on that when it solidifies. Have been more crafty thanks to

winifred's awesome craft night - hmmm maybe I should make icons today...

Deaths:
Well, it's me, so of course there's this category. We almost made it a whole year without anyone dying, just short by a month and a half. We lost a moderately distant family member, but the drama around it is out of control and is hurting people close to me, and that totally pisses me off.

Entertainment:
I've seen some movies, most of them were good. Inception wasn't the ground breaker for me that it was for most people - but it was good. Salt was a fun ride, but not deep. Toy Story 3 - which while good, had a whole death section I could have totally done without. Looking forward to HP 7 - although I still can't fathom why they split this book. I'm cautiously looking forward to the next Narnia too.

And a recommendation:
I've never read 9 Chickweed Lane, but they ran a story that was a solid arc which started in Nov of 2009, ending just days ago - and it is so awesome, I can't even tell you. I cried, I wondered, I laughed, I gasped. It is available here and if you like a good story with awesome art you should go read it immediately.

In closing I'm hoping I'll start updating here more regularly. I'm still reading though....

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Kerosene - Big Black - Rich Man's 8 Track

So, we ended up visiting

cheriezel and family to pick up some custom made skirts, and more importantly get to spend a quick hour with the family having "brunch". Talked about movies, cartoons, and how they want to start a game night. It was a nice visit, and all agree we need to do it more.

Then we dashed home, let out the dog, and headed out to the Queen Mary for tea with

trenchwench where we covered the four jobs she has, how she knows she still owes

cheriezel some yard work, future projects, tea cup hunting and more. It was so nice to see her - we never get to see her either. Six rolled around, so fast as usual, and we were left saying our farewells at the sidecar - sadly she was off to a family get together, while we were off to one of her favorite bars (as it turns out) to see Wynne C Blue and her Troublefakers.

Got to the bar super early, and stuffed with tea. Ordered obligatory drinks (ACK! More Liquid!) and settled in. The first band Honeybear was really together and tight for a first time outing. (Seriously.) Sadly the sound guy had the guitar up too high, the base too low - and the vocals were hit and miss in the "ability to hear" department. It got really hot, so I went outside and they sounded great out there.

Then, it was time for

winifred and her band. And man did they COOK. It was a great show, lively, toe-tapping fun and my only regret was that there was nowhere to dance! The sound was good, the songs were great! We picked up the Rock 4 Life International CD that had "Everything" on it. It's on my iPod, and I'm listening (and singing along) constantly. They're going to be playing the Celtic Bayou in Redmond this Saturday at 9 with no cover. I'll be in Vegas, so I can't go. It's a total bummer. I could be eating hushpuppies and dancing the night away to Wynne C Blue and her Troublefakers and Ethan Freckleton

So, the rest of you need to go and eat hushpuppies and take a dance for me. It's a great show!

Current Mood: Singing Along
Current Music: Everything - Wynne C. Blue & The Troublefakers -Rock 4 Life International

The ridiculously fun Viking Game I mentioned (A logic physics game with frozen Vikings. Be sure to read the little posted signs.) It's a free flash game.

And the berry that changes your taste buds:

The Wiki
The NY Times Article

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: Viking Game

It's always interesting to go watch a rehearsal.

It always brings back similarities and differences and memories. Sitting in this gaggle of girls (

twilight2000,

scarlettina,

winifred and myself) who all have a lot of performance experience (acting, lighting, singing, dancing, stage managing, marching band and "rock" band are just the ones I know for sure) it was even more apparent. None of us are Barbershop people, and I have no idea what the requirements are, but these are champions, and so I figured it was a pretty damn good example. But with us all together, we couldn't help but compare and contrast to what *we* had done. Although to be fair, it was mostly me,

twilight2000 and

scarlettina. It made even the repetition of the two songs they were having trouble with easy to go through. I did love the warm up vocalizations, and had a Sister Act 2 flashback.

Of course why you're really there (and what got you in the seat in the first place) is to go support, watch and cheer for a friend.

mischief_wa was quite good (from what I could tell) and although the front needs to jell a bit more, they're doing just fine. One thing I don't know (and am curious about,

mischief_wa) is how uniform they need to be in what they do. If everyone does the same motion, is it like chorus dancing or colorguard where everyone must be absolutely together or is there more personal interpretational leeway?

That group is serious about getting people to join them as well, with a very pushy (in a nice amusing way) recruitment lady. There was lots of fun while we were introduced to the chorus, and occasionally our 4 were very interactive. There was plenty of fun and laughs, and I think they'll do well with a few more screws tightened up. It's never good when people call it in, but if

mischief_wa is right and a lot of people are, they are pretty damn fine calling it in - but I know that the judges will be much harsher than I. Just because it's exhibition doesn't mean you can't get egg on your face.

They ran a wee bit long, and because

scarlettina was exhausted, we headed out right after the rehearsal was over just before ten. Dropping everyone off, I ended up with me and

twilight2000 sitting in the car - this should not happen. Both

twilight2000 and I get going and we just talk and talk and talk. Finally at one thirty we shut up and went our separate ways. I swear. We need an alarm. I feel pretty bad for

twilight2000 since she had to get up this morning and has a long and annoying day ahead of her.

But in the end, it reinforced that I miss some kind of performing, and although I'm pretty sure I'm not a Barbershop candidate, it did put me in the mood to sing. I need practice for sure, and I miss the octave I've lost in the upper register. But then, I think of theater and dance.....

*sigh*

Anyone got ideas?

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Angel of Music - The Phantom of the Opera - Andrew Lloyd Webber

So, we went to Bombay Dreams on tour in Seattle last night with our friend Jer.

After an amusing car ride, a bit of a walk to the theatre, and a good dinner next door at the Rock Bottom Brewery we got in the huge line for will call tickets.

Then we got inside, got our programs and saw that we had the most awesome seats. 5th row back, dead middle.

Perusing the program I realize that only one of the performers had previously done Bombay Dreams in NY (or, for that matter anywhere else other than this tour.) It also looks like (by the song list) it might be the UK version. Which means I'd have seen both versions, which would be a very cool thing.

By the time the first act had closed, I knew that I didn't like it. Akaash is flat two dimensional, and like the rest of his co-starts has very little charisma. Priya, has an OK voice, but keeps drowning out anyone she's singing with. Sweetie was OK, but the guy I saw in NY, was unbelievably cool. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just having comparison issues, but talking it over, Jer isn't very impressed either. He'd been hoping to be blown away, and was hoping it would get better in the next act. It also looked like they shoved pieces of the UK version (mostly pats of songs, and giving the missing character a bit part instead) where ever they could. It made it much less cool. And Rani - the seductress, just wasn't very seductive. She came across as distant and bored. *sigh*

Go to act II - hoping it will get better. The "talk show host" had a much larger role, and I hated her - and then she butchered my favorite song. Lyrics were changed, to be more "Americanized" something that irritates me to no end. The dance numbers were good, but not as sharp as the NY version.

Then came the two things that kept it from being a total bust.

There is a death in the play, and in NY it was a quick argument, followed by a shooting. The only character that was played by the same person from the NY version, was the villain. In this version, the argument was protracted, and very scary. The villain grapples with her, scaring her, demeaning her. Finally Deep Katdare gets to really unleash his character's villainous aspects. When he finally shoots her, it's almost a surprise. In fact the woman behind me actually gasped out "Oh my god!" Then instead of the hero lifting her and passing her off and singing his song about his realization that he's lost who he was - they had a guest singer come out and sing this incredibly moving piece, all in Hindi. (She also sang for Chaiyya Chaiyya and was incredible there, too.) It was spine chilling.

Then at the very end, after the traditional bows, they go into Chaiyya Chaiyya again, but now, it's much better - they are all cutting loose, singing loud. Finally I'm in the mood to dance, and play and Jer got a tiny taste of what the NY version would have been like.

All the way home we hashed (and bashed) it, and decided all-in-all it was a tour that wasn't really worth seeing for full price. Personally I'm glad I got to see the altered death scene, since I thought the character gets slighted with her death, it was nice to see at least a better and more impacting death and mourning scene.

And since the music still makes me want to dance I danced my way out of the theater.

All's well that ends well, or so they tell me.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: fountain - and random songs in my head.

Last night Dr J,

argentyne, and

dthon and I went to see Wicked at the Paramount.

On my Friend List there has been much discussion about the massive changes from book to musical, and up until now I couldn't really join the conversation. What I will say, with no spoilers, is that the ending of the bookfor me was so sudden and abrupt - almost like the author was forced to abandon his story since the original ended there, with the death of the Wicked Witch of the West - that the change in ending didn't disturb me very much at all. Of course I knew in advance that the ending was much changed, and that may have softened the impact.

Much like many TV mini-series or Movies I'd say it's a Musical *based* on the book Wicked, and that it is a beautiful and ingenious thing all on it's own.

Now with the deep debate out of the way: So, Kistha, how was the show?

In a word, Awesome.

The original definition of Awesome, please, as in Awe inspiring.

The voice of the Witch was so deep, rich, and powerful. The voice of Glenda was so versatile, and tricksy, even if occasionally sharp in the upper range. Together they stole the show, but since it was theirs anyway...They both had powerful charisma and physical abilities that just made it all the sweeter. It's touching, deep and funny as hell in places. (We can't all travel by Bubble.) The minimalistic sets and phenomenal lighting work, and work well.

At the end of Act 1 when Elphaba finally decides that she'll have no limits, and defies gravity, I wept. Silly as it seems, I'm not even sure why, except that it was so powerful.

It was a fabulous show, and it was great to finally hear the source for

scarlettina's duet "For Good".

And yes, I cried at the end too. So I'm a softy. Or I'm regretting the path not taken, I'm not sure which. What if I had followed that dance/drama path?

Sunday, we go and see Bombay Dreams with another friend. I hope he likes the American version, since all he's heard is the UK version - and they are VERY different from one another.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Current Mood: hot
Current Music: the endless fountain

So, tonight we continued the birthday trend and went to The Melting Pot and had a wonderful, sinful dinner with

sgoilear and his lovely wife. Much conversation and tons of food. I love that you can sit and talk and spend time at The Melting Pot, and of course the fact that it has fabulous food doesn't hurt. It was great to see them since we haven't seen them in forever. The house has really cut down on our visiting. Soon, though we'll be caught up...I hope. The possibility of a housewarming once again came up and we came up with a good alternative for them since

sgoilear's allergic to our cats. I was really nice getting out and about again. I also got more loot, a lovely candle holder (too hard to describe here it is:)

Complete with water lily scented candles and a couple of ocean candles in little jars. And wax remover for the carpet, just in case! Thanks again guys for a terrific birthday!

A Word On Fairies:
I hate fairies. The whole damn lot of 'em. Always have. I got sent to the principals office when I was in Kindergarten because when they read Peter Pan to us and got to the part where Tink was dying and everyone was supposed to clap, I interrupted with, "Don't clap, then She'll DIE!!!!" My favorite scene in Labyrinth is Hoggle spraying the fairies. I gleefully count along, and cheer every time one of the little *bleeps* dies.

Anyway,

xlana, who knows of this predilection made me a birthday card with a self drawn dead fairy being drug in by the cat. I love it and since I've turned it into an icon, so I thought I'd better explain...

Not that it will stop the Fairy Lovers from howling.

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: Queen - Killer Queen

( Long Update Inside )

I feel very accomplished and very pleased.

Current Mood: accomplished and tired
Current Music: Pink - Just Like A Pill

MIRROR MASK
OPENING 10/07/2005
Varsity Theater
Seattle, WA

So anyone want to try and make this a group outing? Anyone familiar with the Varsity theater and how to get tickets early?

Let me know kids, let me know!

(If you don't know what MirrorMask is - it's the new film that is a collaboration of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Circusy goodness and mystical adventures!)

Current Mood: rushed
Current Music: Got the Time? - Anthrax