Monthly Archives: May 2012

Review: NBC’s Awake

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When I first heard about Awake, I was equally one part thrilled and one part apprehensive. Awake appeared to me to be a series that would require a lot of thinking, a lot of analysis, and a lot of patience. Precisely my cup of tea…

ABC’s Lost was much in the same vein… except after the first episode I lost interest, whileas with Awake, I actually wanted to know more. Unfortunately time was not on my side as me free time started to dry up considerably, so I stopped watching with the intent of reading up on the episodes online.

What I dislike about television is that when a show is just getting good, they cancel it due to the overall slide in ratings. A lot of time a show needs more than just one season to find it’s legs, a big example of this would be Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Unfortunately, cancellation is exactly where Awake is headed. *sighs* Depending on how the first season ends will decide on whether I could handle simply owning one season of a television series that I enjoyed, no matter how minor.

If you haven’t heard of the show the premise is this: A detective is a survivor of a car accident that claimed the life of either his wife, or his son. Neither the detective nor the audience knows who had passed, because he is living two totally separate worlds now. The detective could be living in a world where his wife is alive and his son has passed away, but then when he goes to sleep in that world he’ll wake up in another reality where his son is alive while his wife had passed.

Which reality is real? Well, we as the audience don’t know for sure, and part of the joy of the series is discovering bits and pieces of the story as it is told between the two realities.

Jason Issacs portrays the detective, and if anyone is a Harry Potter fan and has seen the movie adaptations… well you should recognize him as the patriarch of the Malfoy family: Lucius.

Personally if this show makes it to DVD, I may actually purchase it just to enjoy the storytelling. In some ways the concept of two parallel realities colliding reminds me a lot of a favorite movie of mine: Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow. But that’s another post for another time.

I sincerely hope this show does make it to DVD with a lot of extras explaining what would have happened in future seasons, or even still have an additional episode that helps tie every up in a neat little package. Hell even if a book series would make me happy… but anyway, I’m crying over spilled milk. C’est la vie.

Visual Art Commission: The “Expanded” Genres by Tony Akins

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Disney has ruined fairy tales for me, well for all of us really. I mean we grow up thinking that there is a happily ever after, except when we start reading the original fairy tales that the Disney versions are based off of, we end up with a rude awakening. Namely that the fairy tales don’t really have a ‘happily ever after’ in fact they usually have a warning label or a lessons learned disclaimer on the back.

Interestingly enough, I started to really enjoy the original fairy tales and soon started to look for other tales from various other cultures to satiate my thirst. That was when I was introduced to “Fables”.

You see, Fables is a comic series from Vertigo that takes all the beloved fairy tale characters and sends them to live in New York City, far from their Homelands where a singular enemy has turned all these beloved characters into refugees on the Earth or Mundy as they like to all it. Not only is this a witty conglomeration of every beloved fairy tale that you can possibly think of, but the creator of the series: Bill Willingham, has quite intelligently combined fairy tales and nursery rhymes together when necessary.
– Take the Big Bad Wolf for example (also known as Bigby Wolf in the series), he is a singular character in the Fables universe, but he is the same major wolf character in a variety of stories.
– Snow White is widely known as the beloved princess of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but she is also the sister to Rose Red in the fairy tale of Snow White and Rose Red. In the Fables universe she is also introduced as the uptight, strict deputy mayor of Fabletown.
– Little Boy Blue isn’t quite so “little”, rather he is not only Snow White’s right hand man in the mayor’s office, he also has a hell of a military back story from back in the Homelands
What Bill has done is very creatively and realistically tied together stories to create a richer back story to these beloved characters in such a realistic and natural way that you can’t help but love them even more.

Then Bill did something new, he expanded upon the universe and created a world of Literals beings who were essentially the personification of literary themes and terms. The Editor became Mr Revise, Deus Ex Machina became Dex, and the various fictional categories became The Genres. All of these characters found in the spin-off series: Jack of Fables.

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Reflections: 25 Things…

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This was posted as a note on my Facebook page probably a few years ago. I’m thinking about 2009-ish. So a lot of people haven’t really seen this from what I can recall.

The “25 Things” is suppose to represent twenty-five things about you that most people wouldn’t know about right off the bat and that you wouldn’t mind letting people know about. So the first time I did it, the list turned out to be very depressing so I deleted it and decided not to do it. Then I tried again and was a little bit happier with what I came up with… so I took it off of my Facebook page and brought here instead.

Ironically, looking at this now, there were some things that were meant for the year of 2009, but in the end also works for 2012. So for those of you that have seen this already, I apologize, but for those that haven’t, well enjoy!

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TV Show Review: The Voice Season 2

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Typically for new shows that have come on the air, I watch for a season and then I lose interest. This happens more often with reality competition shows. Which is odd since I blog for a bunch of them as well, but that’s a different story. Ever since American Idol, there hasn’t really been much competition in the reality singing competition, and even then American Idol had the distinct feel of being very manipulative behind the scenes, which didn’t help me in wanting to like it any more. So I stopped watching after the first season.

So when the premise of The Voice came about, I was skeptical and intrigued. In the end I decided to give it a shot and see what happens. Next thing you know, one show continued to another episode and then another. Then I started downloading some of the music, and eventually I ended up watching the entire first season and anticipating the second season.

Needless to say I did the same with the second season, watching everything from day one and continued onward til the end.

What I really love is that the coaches don’t really bring addition drama, they are all very supportive and they are invested in the vocalists that come onto the show. So let’s look at the track record of the coaches from the only two completed seasons thus far:

Christina Aguilera has had an artist that has placed last in both seasons thus far. Whether that is just the nature of the beast or the artists on her team is anyone’s guess. I really love opera voices – being a huge fan of Il Divo, Josh Groban and Vittorio Grigolo – so to me Chris Mann is just right up my alley. However, I would have loved to have seen him sing a piece that is more out of his comfort zone and really make it his own as opposed to something that is typically tried and true. Still, I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

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Reflections: Facing the Inevitable

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Since this has been a subject that has popped up on occasion between myself and a few friends from various quarters, I figured I might as well write about it here… Or rather at least some of my thoughts on the matter. But first a story:

Growing up I knew quite a few people that decided to go down the medical path, after several years in medical school, one such acquaintance talked about their experiences. Originally when they entered medical school they did so with the desire to work with babies and children, but as time went on they started changing their tune and decided that they wanted to work with the elderly.

When pressed upon why the change of heart, they said: “Well doctors are humans too, and they make mistakes. So if I am diagnosing a baby or a child and it’s wrong it becomes a very complicated and messy situation, but if I work with the elderly and I am wrong, it wouldn’t matter as much because they are old and will die soon anyway.”

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Literary Review: Soulless by Gail Carriger

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Title: Soulless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Book One
Format: Audiobook

A friend of mine has been recommending this series (Parasol Protectorate) to me for months now. I finally checked the book out from my local library, only for life to get in the way and I never touched the book that was in my possession for almost a month and a half. So I sent the book back to the library and continued onward, meanwhile my friend recommended getting the audio book instead and listening to it while I worked.

Well, considering that I have borrowed audio lectures from The Teaching Company via the local library, one would have thought that I could have made the leap myself. Unfortunately, I did not… primarily due to my desire and love to sitting down and curling to a good book. However, as my time is fairly limited nowadays it became increasingly clear that I am better off listening to lectures and audiobooks as opposed to trying to find time to just sit down and read. *sighs*

In any case, I decided to begin listening to audiobooks by going for the series that has been recommended by my friend: The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger… and the first of the series, Soulless.

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Entertainment News: Backstreet Boys… the Musical?

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Recently Broadway.com had a poll asking their readers to decide which boy band should get their own jukebox musical? Number One: N’Sync, Number Two: Backstreet Boys. Since I am more likely to listen to the Backstreet Boys over N’Sync this post is going to be about BSB… well that and the fact that it was recently announced that Kevin Richardson will be rejoining the group for their upcoming studio album. Thank goodness for that, because Kevin was the bass in the group and I personally felt that when he chose to leave the group, it just didn’t feel just right.

In any case… so a jukebox musical featuring the music of the Backstreet Boys? I don’t know… looking at some of the songs that they have over the years, they all have a similar theme… some kind of love song about heartbreak, loneliness, deception, etc. There isn’t much variety beyond that.

Some of the more known jukebox musicals that have graced the Great White Way over the years include:
– Mamma Mia!
– The Boy From Oz
– Jersey Boys
– Million Dollar Quartet
– American Idiot
– Rock of Ages

Thinking about this further, some of their music videos did have somewhat simplistic storylines within them, some of my personal favorites include (in my opinion):
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Entertaining Email: The Power of Mathematics

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Mathematics is in my blood… so I happen to enjoy things like the following…

This just proves the Beauty of Mathematics.

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 + 10 = 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn’t it? And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Mind Boggling. Now, take a look at this…

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint: What Equals 100%?

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Reflections: Blink vs. Think (Part One of Three)

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Otherwise known as: Gut Instinct / Intuition vs. Logic / Reasoning

Most people that either know me or are acquainted with me would know that most of my decision making is typically borne thorough analysis. I spent a fair amount of my life using logic and reasoning as a basis towards decision making, that no matter what my instinct said about certain paths, my mind told me to give things a chance, wait things out, etc. What ended up happening was that I saw myself taking the high road quite a bit and by waiting things out I was unhappy… I wasn’t taking risks so I lost the spontaneity of my life. So I started listening my gut instinct and intuition more.

What became immediately apparent by changing this mentality was that a lot of life’s dramas – socially – seemed to have melted away. The stress that came with the internal war between my head and my heart disappeared. I became much more content with life and with the people in it, so I started finding ways to balance when to use logic and reasoning in my decision making versus using gut instinct and intuition.

Somehow, over the course of the past decade, I have learned how and when to use logic/reasoning and how and when to use gut instinct/intuition. In fact it has gotten to the point where a friend of mine have said: “You are the most compelling devil’s advocate: you are presenting a reasoned logical argument as to why I should go with gut instinct and rather than logic and reason.” I can be very persuasive when I want to be… apparently.

Before I continue with this post… let me explain what I am planning to do. This first post of three will be something of my own thoughts of logic/reasoning vs gut instinct/intuition and how I have come to use it in everyday life.

Then the next two posts will be my thoughts of two literary pieces that I have read in my lifetime and how they reflect or change my life and way of thinking:
Part Two – Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Part Three – Think!: Why Crucial Decisions Can’t be Made in the Blink of an Eye by Michael LeGault

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SPOILERS: Disney’s the Newsies the Musical

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There have been a lot of questions swirling about in regards to the changes between the original Disney film the Newsies and the stage musical production of the same name.

In my original review I made a point of glossing over any major plot / character changes that may reveal too much of what is going to happen in the stage production. However, I am sure that there are people out there that are curious about what changes were made in the musical and how was the storyline changed.

Well I am posting that for you… mind you this is a SPOILER and all bits about the changes in the show will be just beyond the break. You enter at your own risk and as thus you cannot blame me for spoiling the musical for you.

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Visual Art Commission: Carla Wyzgala’s “Sailor Neptune”

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Earlier this year (2012) I went to the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo aka C2E2. Once in a while I would go to the Artist Alley and just walk up and down the aisles and stop at tables that catch my attention for a split second (think of “ooooo shiny”) and if there is something at a table that I rather like I would walk away and wait a few hours or a day and I’ll either go back to the table or contact the artist directly for a personal commission.

Such a thing happened this year when I passed by a table and saw a watercolor painting of Sailor Moon. Yes, I am a Moonie, I was introduced to the anime by a couple of girls I used to be babysit for back in high school / college. I was drawn more into the mythology that the author created for her characters to live in, and that really struck me as something worthwhile. The most I read about the background of the manga series, the more I realized just how much of it related to Greco-Roman mythology and Western Astrology, two realms that I have been interested in for quite some time.

Now that I was sold on the watercolor painting… I sifted through to see what I could be interested in purchasing. Being a lover of art since I am unable to paint, watercolor, etc (I much prefer sculpturing and crafts and knitting/crocheting but that’s a different story) I’ve been collecting artworks for the past decade. Seeing nothing that caught my attention entirely the artist and I agree to swap emails in hopes to find something I would be more interested in.

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Literary Review: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

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Title: The Illustrated Man
Author: Ray Bradbury
Format: Audiobook

Over the last weekend I listened to the audiobook version of The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. This was given to me as a recommendation mainly because I was asked to provide ideas of a scripted series with a bit of a science-fiction touch in the vein of Serenity/Firefly and the Illustrated Man and Metamorpheses were recommended as a basis for what the creator was looking for the stage.

I didn’t know what to expect from this series when I sat down to listen to it while I worked. Whatever I was expecting, what I ended up getting definitely wasn’t it. The best way to describe this series of works is that every short story dives into a different aspect of the human psyche while setting it in a more science-fiction, futuristic environment. So in all honesty a lot of these short stories do not necessarily have a need for a science-fiction, fantasy component, but it does help to drive the purpose of the story across.

Because there were so many short stories, I’ll go through a handful that actually caught my attention:
– “The Veldt”: This short story seems to be Mary Poppins meets Star Trek’s the Holodeck. Parents with very busy lives have a high tech nursery built into their home to keep their children happy. If I were to take this to the present time, I would say substitute the high tech nursery with video games, computers, television, etc. This story (to me) is more of a cautionary tale for parents in regards to parenting their children or letting technology to become the parents. I understand that we all live such busy lives that it becomes very easy to just let the children sit in front of the television and have them watch cartoons or let them play video games, but sometimes kids just needs to get out and be with other people or spend time together with the parents. Nothing beats true parenting than the parents themselves.

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Conventions: Calgary Expo feat TNG EXPOsed

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First off, let’s get one thing out of the way. I’m a Trekkie. I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I believe that Patrick Stewart is the best thing brought to this world since sliced bread, for he is the hottest guy ever to me, bar none. He has the kind of screen and stage presence that can fill up a football field even if he was the only one there. He is a proper actor, having done Shakespeare prior and after his time on TNG… but in my youth, I didn’t appreciate him nearly as much as I crushed on little Wesley Crusher. Apparently I have a thing for mis-understood geniuses and is probably why the majority of the guys I have been in relationships with were intelligent and socially awkward.

I read the novels related to the Star Trek Universe, I have four of the five Star Trek series – in their entirety – on DVD. I have a few of the series’ bibles for reading amusement, and I keep up with most anything Star Trek related. I have a general knowledge of the life of many of the Star Trek main characters, and am interested more in the cultures, academia, etc of the Star Trek Universe over the technology, starships, etc that most conventional Trekkies know.

I became an engineer because I wanted to do what Geordi LaForge, Reginald Barclay, B’Elanna Torres and, yes, even Wesley Crusher did and became an engineer (well they were some of the reason). I got into robotics because of Data and Lal, and loved studying astronomy because of Star Trek. I became interested more and more in the human psyche and the personalities of people and what drives them because of Data’s constant interest in humanity… I guess in a lot of ways I saw myself more like Data than anyone else.

But one thing that I loved about these characters of the Star Trek universe… is that they weren’t all just techie-nerds, they weren’t all just brilliant minds, they had hobbies that were outside of the box. Data did some acting and singing (although he was an android by all accounts), Beverly Crusher danced, Jean-Luc Picard sang and showed off his Shakespearean chops.

So when word got around that the entire first season cast of Star Trek The Next Generation were going to be at the Calgary Expo in late April, I about nearly bought my tix to fly out to Canada just to see this happen live… and then convinced myself out of it. *sighs* Damn reasoning getting in the way of everything else. Instead I did the right thing and stayed in the states and waited til videos of the one hour plus discussion with the first season cast of ST: TNG. Oh, Em, Gee it was worth the wait.

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Review: Cats the Musical on Tour – Chicago Stop

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In the first week of May, the touring production of Cats the Musical opened for its week long stint in Chicago. For a little bit of history, Cats the Musical is based off a collection of poems from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, the musical itself was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with Lyrics by Trevor Nunn. On the Great White Way, Cats is currently the second longest running musical, surpassed only by Phantom of the Opera (another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical).

When Cats was on Broadway, I never got a chance to see it live, and I don’t believe I ever saw it live on stage. When the video of a stage production came out in 1998, I was more than content with that version that I could watch on my leisure, that is until I realized that there was a scene/song cut from the original production that was not in the film production. If you are a huge fan of Cats then you would know that I am referring to: Growltiger’s Last Stand, incorporating either ‘The Ballad Of Billy M’Caw’ or the Italian aria ‘In Una Tepida Notte’.

My understanding is that Cats is such a long show that most groups that even attempt to put this production together are likely to cut and carve and snip away to make it easier for either their cast, or the audience wouldn’t think that this was such a long show to bear through. This is such an intensive dancing and singing production that it requires a very strong cast that can do both efficiently and brilliantly. This touring production did just that.

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Review: Once the Musical – Original Broadway Production

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I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant about this particular musical. I have never really been a huge fan of musicals that were based off of straight movies (Catch Me If You Can, Legally Blonde, Ghost, Shrek, Footloose), moreso if the movie never really had songs in them except for background. However, once in a while there would be a musical that is based off a movie that I may be willing enough to see (State Fair, The Bodyguard, Newsies) mainly because in a way those movies were seemingly made for musical theatre. Once on the other hand teetered at a knife’s edge for me. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it or how it would be staged, so when a co-blogger of mine from PureSYTYCD.com got tix to see Once the Musical, I went… with reservations.

Walking into the theater, you automatically realize that this particular show is not going to be like anything you’ve seen before. Think of it this way, when you’re first walking into the Jacobs Theatre the atmosphere is festive, joyous and at first you think it’s music playing in the house. However, it’s not coming from the speakers and it’s not a record, instead you to the stage and realize that the cast is actually doing a kind of pre-show for the audience… a warm-up act if you will. Not only that, but those audience members sitting up in front or even if they have time to run to the stage are allowed to come on stage and join the cast! I haven’t seen or heard anything like it.

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