Category Archives: Entertainment

Fleeting: Disney Bounding

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Not like this is anything new or what not, but I am a huge Disney geek. Granted I don’t show it off… I don’t see the need to, but among some of my more vocal Disney friends… I consider myself up there.

So when talking to a friend about the upcoming trip to Disneyland I was seriously considering if I could Disney Bound there. “Disney Bound? What’s that?” Well Disney bounding is a term coined recently by a blogger that started putting outfits together that were inspired by various Disney characters. Pretty much anything goes. Essentially with all the Disney characters (and others that may tickle her fancy) she puts together outfits that you could either wear everyday, out on the town, while exercising…

Which brings me to the original purpose of this post, “Who or what am I going to Disney Bound?” Well, I don’t know. Right now I have close to full costume-ish ideas for Esmeralda, Briar Rose (when she is living with her three fairy godmothers)… which I could easily tap into for any potential costume related parties down the road…

As for just everyday wear? Well a few ideas that came to mind include:
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Fleeting: Men’s Musical Pants

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While walking towards the Magic Kingdom from our hotel, my friend and I passed by a guy with his little girl… to which my friend said:

Music is coming from his pants…

To which I couldn’t help but reply:

Well if there was a prototype out there for pants that men could wear that would automatically make music, what would be the controls?
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Fleeting: After Les Mis… Now What?

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It was said time and again that if Les Miserables made a killing in the box office then Cameron Mackintosh would focus his attention on bringing Miss Saigon to the silver screen as well. Well with that possibility becoming clearer and clearer everyday, you’d think I would go and update my wish list of what I would like to see happen with Miss Saigon. Well the truth is, not much has changed and as thus instead I’ll simply do another round up of musical productions that people are sniffing around for a big screen treatment.

RUMORED to be in DEVELOPMENT
Wicked
Considering how there is already a Wizard of Oz movie about to be released by Disney in March (Oz the Great and Powerful) that is a kind of prequel to the Wizard of Oz, I am not really entirely sure having another Wizard of Oz prequel would be overkill in the current yeah.

Thankfully out in the wonderful world of IMDB it appears that the currently slated date would be sometime in 2014.

Interesting… very very interesting.

Jersey Boys
Also… that same article mentions that the Jersey Boys appear to be in the development phase for a film adaptation. And yet… according to IMDB there is no real set date for the film to be released… but it does mention that such a film is currently in development.

FUN!
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Endeavors: Corseted Inspired Costumes

So I have been on a kind of corset kick lately… to the point that I have been putting together costume ideas for the next time I go to a convention or maybe even Halloween (shocker!). So why am I on this corset related kick?

Well to start, when I realized that my measurements were fairly proportional to one another (bustline and hips are within an inch of one another and my waist being around four to five inches smaller) the idea that a corset could squeeze that into an almost perfect hourglass shape (nine to ten inch difference between bust/hips to waist), it really emphasized the natural curves that most women seem to lack nowadays.

So now that I know the strength of my figure, the idea of putting together costumes that I know I could pull off well started to seep into my mind… below are just a few ideas…

LULU from FINAL FANTASY X

LuluposterOne of the costume ideas I have been staring at for years was the amazing costume from Final Fantasy X of Lulu. Now there are a lot of well done costumes out there already, but I am a little obsessed with the idea of having a corset as the primary piece and everything else would be rather simple to piece together from everything else.

In fact when Pendragon Costumes recently posted a picture of a new piece – via their Facebook Page – I knew I found my staple not just for Lulu but for a Steampunk costume should I desire it.

The irony of finding my base has led me to find other pieces online that I could use for my costume… most notably all the jewelry / hair pieces, the doll that Lulu uses… and even a YouTube video of someone showing how to use one’s hair to mimic that of Lulu’s without having to get a wig. Which for someone like me with long thick black hair… I prefer using it as much as possible.

I still have a few pieces to put together, namely the belted underskirt, the sleeves and the top fur trim, but I think for the most part I can get those done on my own as soon as the dress comes in. 🙂

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Entertainment: Invisible Driver Prank

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This has got to be one of the most entertaining things I have seen in a long time:

Did you watch? Did you?

Well… come on… did you?

Go ahead… watch… I’ll wait…

Done? Good… now jump past the break.
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Fleeting: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (Supposition)

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DISCLAIMER: I am not in any way affiliated with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries… I am just a fan that recently came across the YouTube online series and fell in love with the storytelling… who is providing her own supposition on what could happen down the road.

From yesterday’s post I did fall down a hell of a rabbit hole… but there was something that was nagging at me.

When looking at the various YouTube accounts for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries… during the time that Lydia was separated from Jane and Lizzie she created the YouTube Account: The Lydia Bennet. So when Jane and Lizzie are off on their real world adventures, Lydia kept up her own account which have now been featuring… you guessed it: George Wickham…

Interesting how something that would appear to be so small before would mean so much now…

Well while scouring the internet I came across this little gem: The Gigi Darcy YouTube Channel.

Yup apparently the little sister of William Darcy has her own YouTube Channel… granted there haven’t been any videos uploaded at the moment… but if you have caught up with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries AND know Pride and Prejudice like that back of your hand like I do (well almost do)… then you should know where exactly in the story this is all coming about.

If you are unfamiliar with the Pride and Prejudice story and do not wish to **potentially** be spoiled do not read any further and just move on your merry way through the internet.

If you ARE FAMILIAR but are still confused and do not wish to **potentially** be spoiled then again… do not read any further and just move on your merry way through the internet.

If you are familiar with Pride and Prejudice and you enjoy the story like myself so much that you can’t help but put clues together and living with the characters then you probably should have figured out by now like I have that…

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Review: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (aka LBD)

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I fell down a rabbit hole… a major rabbit hole. It was a rabbit hole so deep that I haven’t really taken any time to get out of it because it is so much fun in this rabbit hole.

So what am I going on about?

Well.. as I was lurking at the Pemberley Discussion Boards, I noticed via the Austenations board the acronym LBD with a vast number of episodes. I got curious… when looking at a few posts and how it would appear to be Pride and Prejudice related and how certain characters were emulated other characters I can’t help but be intrigued with this conundrum.

Thank goodness for Google… kind of.

A quick Google look up for LBD revealed a long list of various companies and groups with the initials LBD… but nothing Jane Austen related… which is what hit me.

Another quick Google look up for LBD and “Jane Austen” revealed the website The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: An Online Adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice which led to the online web series of the same name… And OH. EM. GEE.

According to the website it is…

The home of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries an online modernized adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Developed by Hank Green and Bernie Su

And they went all out… a fair number of the characters have twitter accounts, there is a tumblr, there is even an online presence for the companies featured on the show (Collins and Collins, Pemberley Digital) outside of the actual Lizzie Bennet Diaries series…

First a quick round up… here is how the characters have been changed / adapted from the original Jane Austen novel:

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Fleeting: Writing a Cover Letter or Essay for College Application

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Recently one of my cousins was studying for the SATs and ACTs in hopes to scoring well so that he may be able to attend the university of his choice. During a conversation with him and another relative it came out that said cousin had yet (at that time) to figure out what to write for his college essay application and didn’t know where to start.

As those that have been through where he was five to fifteen years ago we naturally gave some advice to what and where he could start. But there was something else I told him… that in the end it isn’t what you have done that matters but what you can bring to the table.

Most students / kids / young adults would argue that by saying that it means what their GPA, standardized test scores, accolades, etc have to show for them. But in all reality they don’t always tell the whole story.
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Endeavors: Chef’s Table “Masterpiece” Inspiration

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Over the weekend a set of friends of mine and I continued the bi-monthly tradition of a Chef’s Table where every meet up is a theme and everyone create a dish that is a part of that theme. The theme of this past weekend was “Masterpieces” in which every dish was inspired by some known piece of art.

Mine’s was Jan Steen’s “Family Concert” and as one could imagine I was having a hell of a time with figuring out what to do… let alone where to begin.

If you are unfamiliar with the painting:
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At first glance one would think that this was something of a scene of a fun family affair… and to an extent I would agree until one were to really look upon the painting. In fact according to the Art Institute of Chicago:

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Reflections: Participating in Cattle Call Auditions

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This past weekend was the cattle call auditions for NBC’s The Voice… Season 4. Now technically I did this back in Season 2 as a favor for a friend that wanted to go for her own personal reasons and at that time I didn’t really prepare anything worth while. This time around I did, kind of… well not really considering I didn’t really decide to go until the Friday before the weekend.

So why do I do it? For the experience primarily, because even though I audition for community theatre productions the one arena that has always tripped me up was singing, I get so nervous that I don’t sing anywhere near my best. So I end up screwing myself over.

What I find with cattle call auditions is that they give me the chance to work through my nerves on a grander scale and really just bring me back down to reality. This is in the sense that an audition is just that “an audition” and it is not the end of the world if you don’t move forward.
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Review: The Brydge

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Earlier I wrote a post about various Kickstarter campaigns that I had backed and was very happily able to see the fruits of those projects to the end. Of these completed projects the one that I was looking forward to was “The Brydge”.

For a quick idea of “The Brydge“, the website gives a fairly thorough overview of what it is, what it involves and what it can do. But you are not here for me to given a marketing overview of the product… you want my honest opinion don’t you?

Well…
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Reflection: An Actor’s Life For Me (Part Time Anyway)

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It has been almost a year and a half since I step back onto the stage (in the matter of speaking) and decided to see if I could continue to be on stage as much as possible and for as long as I am able until I burn out.

As one would notice via my Thespian Page, I have been extremely busy in the second half of 2011 and throughout 2012. I have met plenty of new friends and acquaintances, found myself reanalyzing my beliefs and perspective with several groups and manage to integrate myself into others. All in all I do not have any regrets and in fact 2013 looks to be as busy if not busier on many levels.

Earlier in the year I posted a short list of musicals that I wanted to be a part of… it doesn’t matter the part. In that same post I mentioned that I don’t usually have a wish list of plays that I must be a part of, and that still stands true to an extent.
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Comparison: Les Miserables Complete Song List

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Since we were only given “Highlights Soundtrack“, most of the below is heavily borrowed from the Wikipedia articles of the film as well as the stage versions as a basis… notes are from memory.

Earlier I have posted a comparison article using strictly the Highlights Soundtrack… so the below is the expanded song list and any changes based from memory… which is getting flaky by the day. So do not take this as a total list, but it is close to complete as I am able to recall off-hand… at least until they release a complete film soundtrack (which I sincerely hope they do).

NOTE: Songs marked with an asterisk (*) have already been posted in my Comparison: Les Miserables Soundtrack post.

So below is a table of the breakdown and comparison of the song list between the stage and film versions of the Les Miserables musical… For a quick cheat sheet of the below list, go beyond the break (at the end of the table):

SONG TITLE STAGE SEQUENCE FILM SEQUENCE CHANGES NOTES
* Work Song 1 1 lyric changes Combined with “On Parole” and called “Look Down” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* On Parole 2 2 lyric changes Combined with “Work Song” and called “Look Down” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven 3 3 none Called “The Bishop” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* What Have I Done 4 4 none Called “Valjean’s Soliloquy” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* At the End of the Day 5 5 none
* I Dreamed a Dream 6 8 none
Lovely Ladies 7 7 minor lyric changes
Fantine’s Arrest 8 9 none
The Runaway Cart 9 6 none
Who Am I? / The Trial 10 10 minor lyric changes
Come to Me (Fantine’s Death) 11 11 minor lyric changes
* The Confrontation 12 12 missing lyrics Valjean’s final overlapping lyrics with Javert and the lyrics that Valjean is singing to Fantine at the end are cut
* Castle on a Cloud 13 13 none
* Master of the House 14 14 lyric changes Introduction completely revised
The Bargain / The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery 15 15 minor lyric changes
* Suddenly — 16 New Song
Look Down 16 18 added lyrics Gavroche gets an additional verse
The Robbery 17 19 missing lyrics only the opening line, and Thenardier and Eponine’s lines were used
Javert’s Intervention 18 20 minor lyric change
* Stars 19 17 none
Eponine’s Errand 20 21 minor lyric change
* ABC Cafe / Red and Black 21 22 minor lyric change
Do You Hear the People Sing? 22 28 none
* Rue Plumet – In My Life 23 23 none Combined with “A Heart Full of Love” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
A Heart Full of Love 24 24 none Combined with “Rue Plumet – In My Life” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
The Attack on the Rue Plumet 25 25 minor lyric changes
* One Day More 26 27 none
Building the Barricade (Upon These Stones) 27 29 minor lyric changes
* On My Own 28 26 none
At the Barricade (Upon These Stones) 29 30 minor lyric changes
Javert’s Arrival 30 31 minor lyric changes and missing lyrics there were some lines that were cut and others changed
Little People 31 32 none
A Little Fall of Rain 32 34 none
Night of Anguish 33 35 none?
The First Attack 34 33 none?
* Drink with Me 35 36 none
* Bring Him Home 36 37 none
Dawn of Anguish 37 38 none?
The Second Attack (Death of Gavroche) 38 39 none
* The Final Battle 39 40 none
Dog Eats Dog (The Sewers) 40 — Cut Song
* Javert’s Suicide 41 41 none
Turning 42 42 missing lyrics only first verse used in the film
* Empty Chairs at Empty Tables 43 43 none
Every Day 44 44 added vocal part when song ends with the trio between Cosette, Marius and Valjean, in the film there is an added vocal part for Marius’ grandfather who is welcoming Marius home
Valjean’s Confession 45 45 none
Wedding Chorale 46 46 none
Beggars at the Feast 47 47 minor lyric changes
* Valjean’s Death 48 48 minor lyric changes Combined with “Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) [Finale]” and called “Epilogue” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) [Finale] 49 49 none Combined with “Valjean’s Death” and called “Epilogue” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”

Alright are you as confused as I was? Well how about a quick cheat sheet of the major changes from the above list?
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Comparison: Les Miserables Highlights Soundtrack

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So there was a lot of speculation as to you which songs got cut, added, adjusted, revised, etc… So I figured that I would provide a quick and simple table to help you understand where the changes were made (if any)…

Keep in mind that I using the “Highlights Soundtrack” for comparison purposes that was released on the 21st of December… and all notes in regards to what was in the film is based off of what was from memory… since I saw this film on Christmas Day.

Later this week I will post a more complete list using the song list as shown on the Wikipedia page (once information can be confirmed)
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Reflection: Christmas Truce 1914

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Typically I try not to preach, there are far too many of my friends, acquaintances, etc… and since I claim to be Switzerland more often than not, I keep out of most discussions dealing with politics and religion. But like all things there is typically an exception and this is one of those exceptions.

My family decided to go to a rather late evening mass for Christmas and I went with them, during the priest’s homily he talked about how was a bit of a history buff and proceeded to talk about the Christmas “truce” of 1914 that occurred in the trenches of World War I. You know the one where throughout most of Europe in the trenches of the war, the British and German troops (around Christmas Day) fraternized with one another to the point that there were a few groups that were playing football in “No Man’s Land”.

Being the curious skeptic that I was the moment that I went home I did some research online wondering if this could be true and wouldn’t you know it… it was… There are many articles and websites online like History.com that have given short summaries of what had happened in the trenches.

Some pages claim that this form of chivalry and fraternization is one of the last moments in history to have occurred on such a grand scale. Other sites have claimed that this occurred for week leading up to Christmas Day and quite possibly for a week there after leading into the New Year.

There have been reported cases of the swapping of gifts, singing Christmas caroles, and just some good natured camaraderie. So what happened?
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