Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment: Christmas Carole Flash Mob

Over the past few years we have seen videos on YouTube of various Flash Mobs happening all over the world. The major one would the one done for commercial at a train station in Belguim to Julie Andrew’s rendition of Do-Re-Mi from The Sound of Music:

Searching online there have been other flash mobs of all kinds happening all over the place. Here are a few holiday ones:
First the Hallelujah Chorus

And here is a medley of various Christmas carols

So why am I going on about all this?
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Fleeting: Kickstarter Projects Backed

Personally I have backed twenty projects thus far… of the twenty, one got cancelled, another was unsuccessful and a third is currently in progress and will be until mid-January.

Of the seventeen that are left… I have seen the final products of five of them while others are either delayed or still in development. Below is a list of the final products / projects that I have received and how I have felt about them thus far in chronological order from the first project / product backed to the most recent:

MODEST MEDUSA SEASON 1
Modest Medusa is one of those web comics that I was introduced to by a friend and grew to not only love and enjoy but actively keeping up with to see more of. So when a Kickstarter was created so that Season 1 of the Modest Medusa web comic could be released in book form I just HAD to jump on it.

So what did I ended up going for?

A walk on role in an upcoming Modest Medusa strip. You’ll appear in at least one panel (and likely more) sometime during Modest Medusa Season 2. You may get a speaking role, or you may get killed by the Chainsaw Unicorn! You’ll receive the original black and white art for this strip after it’s published. You’ll also receive the previously mentioned rewards.

Damn right! Featured in a couple of panels was nice… quick, sweet and to the point… not to mention it caters to my semi-evil self. But what were the “previously mentioned rewards? Well they include:

  • A special Modest Medusa Season 1 print, created just for this kickstarter! This full color 11 x 17 print features all the characters and events from Season 1
  • A box of tasty Hostess Chocodiles (the Medusa’s favorite snack)
  • A hand colored Modest Medusa panel. Choose your favorite panel from any Modest Medusa strip and I’ll print it in black and white on high quality 5 x 6 bristol board and color it by hand using copic markers. A one of a kind piece of art
  • A copy of the Modest Medusa Season 1 book, signed by myself and my niece Marah. I’ll also do a little Medusa sketch on the title page!
  • A special Modest Medusa sticker set, featuring brand new art created just for this Kickstarter! Additionally your name will appear on the Thank You page in the book

Anyway… more about Modest Medusa in another post down the road… for now… onward!

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Entertainment: The Periodic Table

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Now there have been a lot of images and off shoots, songs and video about the periodic table. But what really brought me to creating this post was the following periodic table:
periodic-table-final-fantasy-characters

Granted there is a whole bunch of these all over the internet like the Harry Potter version:
pejao

And one of various Super Heroes (Heroines):
Periodic_Table_of_Superheroics_by_daerave

And of course the Hunger Games version of the periodic table:
Periodic-times-table-of-The-Hunger-Games-characters-peeta-mellark-30462820-1280-858

I am just a wee obsessed lately. 🙂 Blame the science / fantasy geek in me.

Entertainment: Tiny Houses / Cottages

At the moment I live in a cottage… a small one bedroom home with a great room, kitchen, bath and a little area in the back for the furnace and the washer/dryer. There is an attic and I have a backyard.

For a while I tickled with the idea of having a housewarming party, and in some ways I still am tickling with that idea, but I find I like the solitude and the idea that it is close yet far and away from everyone else I know. I have a little area in front for a small garden and it is close to everything I need to go to as well as walking distance to the train station.

If I was smart I would have bought a bike and just bike to work or to a friends’ place or what not… but that might be something for me to consider come the new year.

So why am I talking about where I live? Because I came across an article on Yahoo! about tiny homes and they featured a blog called Little Yellow Door which featured the creation, development and building of a tiny home by a young lady who at the beginning of her project had never lifted a tool in her life.
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Fleeting: Philosophy Class

The following came around my Facebook feed and I felt it had to be shared:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

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Entertainment: Anna Kendrick as Elphaba in For Good

This came through my RSS Reader and I just had to share.

Earlier this year I wrote a post about Anna Kendrick being in a reading / workshop of a potential film version of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods as well as diving into speculation as to whether she could truly fill the role of Cinderella?

Also there were rumors flying about her taking the part of Cathy in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years that is also being rumored to be headed to film?

Well… here is a video of her singing “For Good” from Stephen Schwartz’s “Wicked” with none other than the original Glinda: Kristin Chenoweth. Not only that but Anna ended up singing Elphaba’s part…

So she’s got the pipes, but Cinderella is a fairly high vocal part and Anna sounds more in the mezzo-soprano range at most, well based on the videos I have seen thus far… so it remains to be seen / heard if she could hit the high notes, but at least in the above video she is getting closer.

Fleeting: Creating Bios for Playbills

I’m bored… entertain me.

Sound familiar? If you are friends with me then at some point in time I have said these very words either out of jest or actual boredom. Considering this is me the latter is more likely to be true.

When in community theatre, the actors and production team are usually asked to provide a bio for the playbill so that audience members coming to see the production would have an idea as to who has done what in the past, or their thoughts of the show/people, etc.

However… for me… that has become rather dull and boring, and I rather blame a good friend of mine for that. In the very few shows I have either been with him or seen him in he has always provided an entertaining and off the wall bio that is sure to crack a smile on anyone.

Me on the other hand? Bleh… I go the “traditional” route as I would put it.

There is one bio that I am itching to use one day if someone would let me:

[…] is a multi-linguist that has traveled throughout the Eastern hemisphere as a tour guide and is highly knowledgeable in not only the various dialects but a vast variety of cultures as well. She is also well versed in a plethora of martial arts / fighting styles and is skilled with the katana which has scalped many heads of her opponents.

Oh the inside jokes to be had. If you are confused there was a post about ignorance I wrote a few months ago that touches on the above that as now become a running joke that I use to sort of “break the ice” in a way.
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Review: Live Arena Tour’s Jesus Christ Superstar

This cannot be considered a true review because I haven’t seen the production in its entirety, however… what I have seen (which is more than plenty) is enough for me to warrant putting my thoughts down on a post and continue on my merry way.

I’ll be brutally honest… first… if I were to do the last year all over again, I would participate in this show once and that is it. Once is more than I am able to stomach and there has to be a damn good reason as to why I would want to participate in the production a second time and in all honesty it wasn’t worthwhile. So by extension I have been adverse to actually since any kind of production of JCS on stage… unless it is for a damn good reason.

Well is Melanie Chisholm and Tim Minchin good enough reasons? After the following live performance with Mel C as Mary, Tim Minchin as Judas, and Ben Forster as Jesus… For me hell yeah!

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Endeavors: NaNoWriMo Weeks 2 and 3

Ok… so it would appear that it takes me another two weeks before I found a block of time to sit down and just write again.

So for a quick update of Week 3 (since I did squat in Week 2):
Day 15: edited the first ten-minute scripted. Deleted a character and streamlined the script more before sending out to a few friends.

Day 18: edited the first ten-minute again after talking to friends and going back to old comments. Also worked on other ten-minute scripts. Reprinted script that I didn’t have access to originally.

Day 19: I wrapped up all the scenes that were missing in the accidental deletion bring the overall word count to 5,019 (words written / added: 326).

Day 21: Expanding the Sixth Scene in the series of vignettes as well as re-worked a few of the earlier scenes so that the Narrator wouldn’t be talking so much or rather narrating the piece too much by himself. Also added an afterword kind of describing the purpose of the work and the inspiration. Word count: 6,010 (words written / added: 991).

Conclusion: So I did manage to get some decent work in, I am impressed with myself. It only took a week of doing squat before I was able to get back into the groove of writing.

However, there is no way I will be able to hit the 50,000 word goal that is typically set by NaNoWriMo unless by some miracle I pull off an all day marathon writing session… and who knows if that would happen.

What I will say is that for the series of vignettes, now that one scene is completed I am back to going back to the research material to plan out what I would like to do next. So it might be a day or two until I actually get anymore writing done, unless something presents itself.

Ah well… one can hope I suppose.

As for another other posts? I am not exactly dry on the posting front I have just been focused on getting some legitimate writing done this month since that was the commitment I made. Eventually I’ll start posting again… but until then I will work on the writing projects and maybe if things work out I’ll post a few tidbits, but somehow I am doubt that I would even do that.

Reflection: Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart

In late September, the production of Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart wrapped at Hale Park nearby Summit, IL. The production that I was a part of, that was so incredibly emotionally and mentally draining for me (but was ultimately worthwhile) had its last show with an avenue opening for a reprise / revival to occur sometime down the road.

However, very early on in the rehearsal process I originally wanted to read the book “A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of Twenty-Six American Women Who Served in Vietnam” Put together by Keith Walker. In the end I decided not to due to the possibility of having twenty-six different voices in my head versus just one voice that is a conglomeration of a few of the stories. Granted there are pros and cons in reading the original stories… But in the end I was glad I made that decision of not reading any of the original stories prior to the run of the production.

However, now that the run is over, I was tempted to go and read the book that inspired the play:
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Endeavors: NaNoWriMo Week 1 Update

So… I finally decided to follow through with NaNoWriMo and chose to work on a script that not only has been on back burner but I made the mistake of deleting the original composition last month. Looking at the original hard copy, I had a lot of revisions regardless… so I felt this was a good project to work on first and see how far I could take it.

Most of the research and breaking down of the scenes were done months (if not years) ago, and now is just the matter of putting thought to paper… and already I was beginning to see changes on screen and improvements that I could add into the piece… which I did as I typed.

What is it exactly that I am working on? Can’t say… or rather, won’t say… considering that I still have to finish it. Granted I may actually make mention of it on my writing blog: Beyond the Abyss, but I won’t inundate you with details here.

So how did I do from day to day?

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Fleeting: Costume Inspirations

Earlier I mentioned an article that gave inspirations of female icons to dress up as for Halloween… after a bit of web surfing I found myself down the rabbit hole of Take Back Halloween: A Costume Guide for Women With Imagination.

Really now?

To say that I was intrigued is an understatement. Nevertheless I was curious enough to look through the various female icons that were shown.

One of the first that I looked at was for Zenobia (since I posted a bit about an original musical coming next year). The ancient Syrian garb of the time tends to have a decidedly Hellenistic feel (lots of layers, draped tunics, and scarves for good measure), but I have yet to see a production on stage or in movies that show off that ancient garb in a flattering and historically accurate light.

Though I digress.

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Conventions: What to Wear for the Renaissance Faire

Earlier in the summer I was introduced to the Bristol Renaissance Faire by close friends of mine and instead of going once… I went multiple times. Why? Because I was trying to put together a costume for an upcoming convention in Rochester, Minnesota called FablesCon.

After much deliberation, timeline, feasibility, etc… I have finally figured out who I am going as… and considering most of the piece are almost done all I have left are a couple of essential accessories… W00t! Let’s hope I get this done in time for March.

However… I digress. After the plans for the aforementioned costume were put in motion, my friends and I helped another friend in deciding what to do for his costume which in time turned over to “so when you go to the Ren Faire next year what are you going to dress up as?”

Well… I don’t know, I never really thought about it. Darn them for planting seeds so that I have to think about it now… grr.
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Review: The Voice of Việt Nam (Live Rounds – Hồ Ngọc Hà Edition)

Finally we have the fourth and final team for whom we will look at the breakdown of the seven vocalists as they are whittle down to five.

Taking a look at the official posted results we can easily figure out at least two of the final five that will be moving forward.

First off let us get the runaway favorite out of the way for this team who happens to be Bùi Anh Tuấn who sang Hoang Mang (Bewildered). He received 47.2% of the total team vote.

The second place public vote recipient went to Đinh Thị Thanh Hương (13.81%) who sang Forever And One

So who were the lucky vocalists to be given a free pass by the judge to move on to the next round?
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Entertainment: Lego does The Justice League

Ok seriously nerds everywhere have been looking for a decent Justice League movie to come out of the Hollywood house and nothing? The Avengers have a string of movies coming out and sequels up the wazoo… so who has a good movie down the pipeline?

LEGO!

Now seriously… why is this not in theaters? I mean really.

Gotta love my nerd blogs for gems like this (in this case from the Gamma Squad).
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