Before watching Disney Pixar’s Brave, they hit another home with this short:
Since this is a short film, what can I say about it except this is their interpretation of how the moon becomes a crescent moon.
I couldn’t help but smile when watching this and quite honestly I am still smiling because it was so sweet to watch.
Not long ago a friend of mine and I finally got around to watching Brave at a theatre close by. We both loved Disney Pixar films in general and we were both intrigued with this latest project. So after reworking through two very busy schedules we both finally found an opening and made a trip. Below is the trailer that has been going through the advertising circuits lately:
Essentially the story is about a young lady whose destiny as dictated by tradition is to marry someone and be a wife. But she is adverse to this fate and destiny and will do what she can to not only counter it but change it completely.
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Title: Lover Awakened
Author: J R Ward
Series: Book Three
Format: Audiobook
The third book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series focuses on the darkest Brother of group: Zsadist. With a past that others could never conjure up in a million years and a devil may care attitude on his life and future, Zsadist appears to be the Brother for whom everyone seemed to believe redemption doesn’t exist.
A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.
Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…
When I listened to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series for the first time, Zsadist’s story was the one that I couldn’t listen to all the way through. There was just so much going on that I simply couldn’t stomach it. It wasn’t until I was listening to the series the second way through that I was able to listen through the book all the way through and I was glad that I did.
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Earlier in the summer, Theatre-on-the-Hill put on a production of Back to the 80s. In every production that I have seen thus far there has been some adjustments and changes between the original song list and the final song list that was listed in the program. Below is a table of all the songs that were in the original production versus what was listed in the program.
If there are no changes to the song then there will be no notes 😉
| Show: ASSASSINS Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: John Weidman |
Location: Geneva Underground Playhouse Director: Craig Gustafson Music Director: Kathleen Dooley |
Not long ago I went with a friend to see Geneva Underground Playhouse’s latest foray into musical theatre: Stephan Sondheim’s Assassins.
Set up as a revue-style show placed in a carnival style game of “Shoot a President”, this musical goes through the motivations of a fraction of the men and women how have either successfully or attempted to assassinate a President of the United States.
The musical being written in the 1980s/1990s, the most recent of the assassination attempts in the musical would be that of Gerald Ford, while the first would be that of Abraham Lincoln. Below is a list of the assassins whose motivations are explored in the show:
Successful Assassins
– John Wilkes Booth: assassin of President Abraham Lincoln
– Charles Guiteau: assassin of President James Garfield
– Leon Czolgosz: assassin of President William McKinley
– Lee Harvey Oswald: assassin of President John F. Kennedy
Failed Assassination Attempts
– Giuseppe Zangara: attempted assassin of President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt
– Samuel Byck: attempted assassin of President Richard Nixon
– John Hinckley: attempted assassin of President Ronald Reagan
– Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme: attempted assassin of President Gerald Ford
– Sara Jane Moore: attempted assassin of President Gerald Ford
Anyway… enough of the history-ish lesson. Let’s get to the show…
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Title: Lover Eternal
Author: J R Ward
Series: Book Two
Format: Audiobook
The one thing I enjoy about the series – even though this is just the second book – is that you get a quick recap / cut to the chase with what happened in the previous book. Also, if the first book was used to introduce the mythology and background to the reader then the second book onwards lays the ground work for future books in the series for ever as long as needed. The relationship between the hero and heroine was a fairly cookie cut two people meet and eventually fall in love this particular book the hero worked hard to win over the heroine.
Available summary:
Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover—for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Possessed by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.
Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. Her faith in miracles was lost years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves…
After a book that had quite a bit of action, this particular book was fairly low key in comparison. Sure there were a couple of action sequences here and there, but it focused more on the couple and their budding relationship as well as filling out some of the other characters in preparation of future books. Here you start to see the seeds of characters like John Matthew, Tohrment and Wellsie, Bella, Zsadist and Phury just being planted and nurtured for the future. This book also delves a bit more into the Lessening Society and the Lessers moving back and forth between the two societies. If anything, even though the primary story is between Rhage and Mary Luce it wasn’t the only storyline that was given special treatment here.
Rhage’s background and story can be found in more detail at Book Thingo’s Cheat Sheet below.
Book Thingo: Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet Part 2
– Black Dagger Brotherhood: Rhage, son of Tohrture
– Reproduction and the Needing
– Tohrture
It is no secret that Theatre-on-the-Hill’s latest summer endeavor was the jukebox musical: Back to the 80s. Originally created in 2004 in Sydney, Australia written by Neil Gooding with original musical adaptation by Scott Copeman, Back to the 80s features pop songs and music from the 80s. Knowing this, I decided to take the time to breakdown all the songs as listed on the original website and provide a U.S. release date with additional notes (if necessary). Also where available I have included music videos of the songs from YouTube:
| Song Title | Original Artist | Year Released | Notes | |
| ACT ONE | ||||
| Wake Me Up Before You Go Go | Wham! | 1984 | Recorded 1984 | |
| Kids In America | Kim Wilde | 1982 | Recorded 1980 | |
| Girls Just Want To Have Fun | Cyndi Lauper | 1983 | Recorded 1983 | |
| Footloose | Kenny Loggins | 1984 | Recorded 1983 | |
| Mickey | Toni Basil | 1982 | Recorded 1981 | |
| ** Note: Mickey was originally a cover for Kitty by Racey that was released in 1979. | ||||
| Video Killed the Radio Star | The Buggles | 1979 | Recorded 1979 | |
| ** Note: Video Killed the Radio Star was widely known as the first music video to premiere on MTV in the U.S. in 1981 despite the video having been released in the U.K. in 1979. | ||||
| Believe It or Not | Peter Cetera | 1981 | Theme Song: The Greatest American Hero | |
| Let’s Hear It For The Boy | Deniece Williams | 1984 | Recorded 1984 | |
| I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) | The Proclaimers | 1993 | Recorded 1988; Released 1988 in U.K. | |
| ** Note: Since it was released in the U.K. in 1988 it fit the 80s fold, however it was not officially released in the U.S. until 1993. | ||||
| You Give Love A Bad Name | Bon Jovi | 1986 | Recorded 1986 | |
| Man In The Mirror | Michael Jackson | 1988 | Recorded 1987 | |
| ACT TWO | ||||
| Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now | Starship | 1987 | Recorded 1986 | |
| Love Shack | The B-52s | 1989 | ||
| Total Eclipse of the Heart | Bonnie Tyler | 1983 | Recorded 1982 | |
| Walking On Sunshine | Katrina and the Waves | 1985 | Recorded 1983 / 1985 | |
| Get Outta My Dreams (Get Into My Car) |
Billy Ocean | 1988 | Recorded 1987 | |
| Centerfold | J. Geils Band | 1981 | Recorded 1981 | |
| Lost in Your Eyes | Debbie Gibson | 1989 | Recorded 1988; Released 1988 in the U.K. | |
| Never Gonna Give You Up | Rick Astley | 1987 | Recorded 1987 | |
| Material Girl | Madonna | 1985 | Recorded 1984 | |
| Don’t Worry, Be Happy | Bobby McFerrin | 1988 | Recorded 1988 | |
| Come on Eileen | Dexy’s Midnight Runners | 1982 | Recorded 1981 / 1982 | |
| (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life | Bill Medley / Jennifer Warnes |
1987 | ||
About a month and a half ago I was approached to review a website and corresponding app for iPhone. Interesting proposition to be sure, but something I don’t usually do… I can be harsh with my reviews, blunt and to the point. I have no qualms in exposing what I do not like about something, but at the same time I will acknowledge when something is done right.
This is no different, there are some aspects of either the website or the app that I dislike, but there are also some aspects of the website or app that I truly liked…
So beyond the break I will provide my impressions in regards to the app and the website. After my impressions there will be a quick line or two for the positives, negatives and the bottom line for both the app and the website. At the end of this post will be my final thoughts and what I would love to see down the road… preferably sooner than later.
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| Show: INTO THE WOODS Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: James Lapine |
Location: Natural Talent Productions Director: Raegan Kotz Music Director: Harrison Ashley |
Straight from Music Theatre International:
An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Ridinghood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch…who raps? They’re all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale. When a Baker and his Wife learn they’ve been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk). Everyone’s wish is granted at the end of Act One, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later, with disastrous results. What begins a lively irreverent fantasy in the style of The Princess Bride becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility and the stories we tell our children.
Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods was Natural Talent Productions third show at the Arcada Theatre (the first two being Little Shop of Horrors and Jesus Christ SuperStar). With the intent of having a Junior version of the show in the mornings and the original production on afternoons and evenings over the course of the weekends… a bit overkill in my opinion but I can understand the intent for the most part. Me and my friends that went with me all kind of agreed that a more effective way of using both the original production and the junior version would be to have the junior version be the matinee shows and the original production be the evening shows all over the course of the weekend. Would seem to make the most sense, but I digress.
Let’s start with the set, I was pleasantly surprised with what they decided to do for set pieces when introducing the characters… rather ingenious in a way. I really liked seeing the curtains open and you see three life-sized books there that actually open up to reveal the actors in their individual scenes, very well done. When the books closed and were moved off to the side I was a bit put off kilter when I saw the set for the actual “woods”. Though using a video backdrop of the woods was one thing, and it flowed well with the individual trees in the foreground… two massive trees on either side of the stage seemed rather out of place until you realize their primary uses. The tree on stage right was where Milky White the Cow was primarily placed against while the tree on stage left was used to cover up the tower that Rapunzel stayed and later Jack and the Baker would perch while waiting for the giant.
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| Show: BACK TO THE 80s Music and Lyrics: Neil Gooding Original Musical Adaption: Scott Copeman |
Location: Theatre-on-the-Hill Director: Michael Fudala Vocal Director: Sharon Hand |
Theatre-on-the-Hill‘s latest summer foray is the family friendly musical Back to the 80s. At first glance one would say that Back to the 80s is Grease set to the 80s and using popular 80s music. With a storyline revolving around various cliques that would be familiar to any audience member:
Set in the USA, Back To The 80’s tells the story of the senior class of William Ocean High School that graduated in the 1980’s, as remembered and seen through the eyes of middle-aged Corey Palmer (Scott Bovaird).
The then 17-year-old Corey (Caleb Hand) is madly in love with his next-door neighbour, Tiffany Houston (Kristina Parro), one of the coolest girls in the school. However, she barely notices this, as she is too busy mooning over Michael Feldman (Victor Rachal), the hottest guy around. Michael and his friends (Jon Worlton, Jonathan O’Brien, Kayaun Pierce) are athletic and good-looking – the kind of guys that Corey and his two best friends (Jon Slowik and Troy Schaeflein) dream of being. However, while they may not be the coolest guys in school, they are still one up on Feargal McFerrin III (Kevin Nepomuceno), whose best friend is his computer, and who believes the crazy notion that one day CD’s will replace cassette tapes.
Several new students arrive at the school – Mel and Kim Easton (the all-singing, all-dancing twin cheerleaders played by Rachel Slowik and Teri Karl respectively) and Eileen Reagan (Deana Vazquez), who tries desperately to fit in.
Meanwhile the teachers are having issues of their own: Mr Cocker (Scott Boland), after being in a relationship for a year with the apparently conservative English teacher, Miss Sheena Brannigan (Guinevere McGahan), confiscates an old edition of Penthouse from a student, only to discover a wedge that could drive them apart.
Throw in a Star Wars dream sequence complete with Yoda (Joseph Bovaird), high-energy dance routines, the obligatory 80’s party scene, copious amounts of blue eye-shadow, twenty cans of hairspray, as well as some of the most popular songs ever written, and the result is a musical that will not only delight and amuse an audience of any age, but will also inspire any young cast.
Scott Bovaird, the narrator going through his memories of his senior year probably had the one of, if not the most, difficult part in the whole show. Being a narrator is one thing, the fact that what he says or does pretty much cues everyone else in the cast, well that’s a different thing entirely. Scott has been strong and consistent through every viewing of the production. Though he didn’t have much to do as an actor, he does some measure of singing that was not just respectable, but well-done. Singing songs like “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” made famous by Wham!, “Shot Through the Heart” aka “You Give Love A Bad Name” by Bon Jovi, and “Love Stinks” from the J Geils Band.
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Yes I am a geek… I am a full fledged geek. I LOVE the Final Fantasy series, but not for the gaming aspect of it, but for the graphics and the music. Oh. Em. Gee. the music… I am so in love with the music. In fact I am such a lover of music that I have been to almost every Final Fantasy Concert that have come through Chicago. Now that there is a 25th Anniversary Concert of the Final Fantasy Concert Series coming to Chicago in December…? Let’s just say I was so excited that I got my ticket already.
The first concert to come through Chicago was aptly named: Dear Friends – Music from Final Fantasy. In fact it was the second Final Fantasy related concert to grace North America, and it was a big deal… the biggest ticket in town for those of us who were major fans of the series. So in 2005 on February 19th, out in the Rosemont Theatre (now the Akoo Theatre) the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra perform the following pieces from the Final Fantasy repetoire:
| SET ORDER | SONG TITLE | FINAL FANTASY GAME |
| 1. | “Liberi Fatali” | Final Fantasy VIII |
| 2. | “At Zanarkand” | Final Fantasy X |
| 3. | “Terra” | Final Fantasy VI |
| 4. | “Theme of Love” | Final Fantasy IV |
| 5. | “Dear Friends” | Final Fantasy V |
| 6. | “Vamo’ Alla Flamenco” | Final Fantasy IX |
| 7. | “Love Grows” | Final Fantasy VIII |
| INTERMISSION | ||
| 8. | “Aerith’s Theme” | Final Fantasy VII |
| 9. | “You are not Alone” | Final Fantasy IX |
| 10. | “Ronfaure” | Final Fantasy XI |
| 11. | “Medley” | Final Fantasy I, II, III |
| 12. | “Cloud Smiles” | Final Fantasy VII Advent Children |
| 13. | “Final Fantasy Theme” | Final Fantasy series |
| ENCORE | ||
| 14. | “One-Winged Angel” | Final Fantasy VII |
Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this. I love the original comic/manga series from Japan, was glad that as bad the original English translation was it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as how the Americanized translation treated the Japanese animation. Ugh.
In fact it was so bad that I don’t think I ever really watched many of the individual episodes, however, I really liked the films/movies that came out of the series… to the point that I actually have the original VHS/DVDs somewhere.
So is it with some amount of cautious optimism that I will look at this theoretical Sailor Moon Anime series. I mean, the updated Sailor Moon manga series I am very glad to see… so yeah, we’ll see.
Note: I actually listened to all the books in the series straight through and will be re-listening to them in order in another week or two. Since I didn’t review all the books from the beginning, a lot of these will be out of order but eventually I will get to all of them.
Title: Lover Avenged
Author: J R Ward
Series: Book Seven
Format: Audiobook
Rehvenge was slowly gaining steam in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series as more than just a passing mention. Even though we’ve had glimpses of him in the first two books (Dark Lover and Lover Eternal) we didn’t really know how he is connected to the Brotherhood if at all until Book Three: Lover Awakened. Since then we’ve learned the following
– owner of the club ZeroSum a regular hunting ground of the Brotherhood
– major drug supplier in the Caldwell area
– brother of Bella shellan (wife) of the Brother Zsadist
– lover of the Symphath princess
As of the end of Lover Enshrined, Rehvenge was also tapped to be the “Princeps Leahdyre” the leader of the council run by the aristocrats of the vampire society… similar to the “House of Lords” in Britain. Even though we know bits and pieces of the kind of front that Rehvenge presents to the world we don’t really know him as a person except from heresay (Xhex and Bella) so he appears to have a kind of dichotomy surrounding him.
In fact, Lassiter the fallen angel describes him best:
The righteous do not always right, but their souls remain pure.
Available summary:
Now, as the vampire warriors defend their race against their slayers, one male’s loyalty to the Brotherhood will be tested – and his dangerous mixed blood revealed.
Caldwell, NY, has long been the battleground for the battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the Lessening Society. It’s also where Rehvenge has staked out his turf as a drug lord and notorious nightclub that caters to the rich and heavily armed. His shadowy reputation is exactly why he’s approached to kill Wrath, the Blind King, and leader of the Brotherhood. Rehvenge has always kept his distance from the Brotherhood, even though his sister is married to a member. Because he’s a sympath, his identity is a deadly secret- the revelation of which will result in his banishment to a colony for sociopaths. And as plots within and outside the Brotherhood take their toll against Rehvenge, he turns to the only source of light in a darkening world – Elhena, a vampire untouched by the corruption that has its hold on him – and the only thing standing between him and eternal destruction.
Just as a fair warning the below is just a quick post about Michael Phelps’ individual events in the Olympics thus far, there will be another post that would focus on the relays that he has participated in the past as well as which he is expected to participate in the upcoming Olympics.
With Michael Phelps choosing to drop the 200m freestyle from his swimming card for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, I thought it would be interesting to go back in time and watch his progression from the first Olympic Trials that he participated in: the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia:
During the 2000 US Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, Michael competed in three events and how he fared:
| EVENT | PRELIM | SEMIS | FINALS |
| 200 Meter Butterfly | 1:58.61 (Q) | 1:58.24 (Q) | 1:57.48 (Q) |
| 200 Meter Individual Medley | 2:06.91 | ||
| 400 Meter Individual Medley | 4:25.97 |
So way back when, Michael only qualified for one events in the Olympics, but considering he was only 15 at the time… well what would you expect? He was making his mark on the scene and the world wasn’t going to forget Michael in the years to come.
Since then Michael has expanded his swimming dance card to the point that he was able to compete up to eight events per Olympics. Below is a table of all the events (individual only) he has competed in during the past three Olympic Trials (2000, 2004 and 2008) broken down by event.
Late last night the final places for the Gymnastics Team has been assigned as well as the alternates should something happened to the members of the US Mens and Womens Gymnastics Olympic Team.
A couple of nights ago (after the US Men’s Gymnastics Olympics Final) I attempted to figure out who would inevitably be chosen for the Mens and Womens Gymnastics Teams for the US. Well, when it came to the actual Olympic teams I would able to figure out who would be placed onto the team as well as what would have happened should Jonathan Horton be chosen over Chris Brooks.
As for the alternates, I didn’t really do as well… I was better with the women as opposed to the men, but still that was a crapshoot in comparison to the actual team. Well now that we know who is a part of the Olympic team let’s see how they might be used during the Olympics in London.
US MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM
Below is the break down of the members of the US Mens Gymnastics Olympic Team and alternates as well as their overall placements during the Olympic Trials.
– FE: Floor Exercise; PH: Pommel Horse; SR: Still Rings; V: Vault; PB: Parallel Bars; HB: High Bars; FINAL: All Around
| NAME | FE | PH | SR | V | PB | HB | FINAL |
| MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM | |||||||
| Danell Leyva | 8th | 2nd | 7th | 6th | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| John Orozco | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Jonathan Horton | 7th | 8th | 1st | 8th | 2nd | 5th | 3rd |
| Jake Dalton | 1st | 13th | 6th | 1st | 4th | 8th | 4th |
| Sam Mikulak | *7th | 5th | *9th | *2nd | *2nd | *5th | *3rd |
| * Sam Mikulak was injured towards the end of Prelims, so he opted to only compete on Pommel Horse, placements indicated were where he was placed at the end of Prelims. | |||||||
| MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC ALTERNATES | |||||||
| Chris Brooks | 5th | 9th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 4th |
| Steven Legendre | 2nd | 7th | 9th | 3rd | 12th | 13th | 8th |
| Alexander Naddour | 11th | 1st | 8th | 14th | 13th | 12th | 11th |
US WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM
Below is the break down of the members of the US Womens Gymnastics Olympic Team and alternates as well as their overall placements during the Olympic Trials.
– V: Vault; UB: Uneven Bars; BB: Balance Beam; FE: Floor Exercise; FINAL: All Around
| NAME | V | UB | BB | FE | FINAL |
| WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM | |||||
| Gabrielle Douglas | 2nd | 1st | 6th | 3rd | 1st |
| Jordyn Wieber | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Alexandra Raisman | 6th | 8th | 1st | 1st | 3rd |
| Kyla Ross | 8th | 1st | 3rd | 9th | 5th |
| McKayla Maroney | 1st | 11th | 10th | 5th | 7th |
| WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC ALTERNATES | |||||
| Sarah Finnegan | 7th | 6th | 5th | 6th | 6th |
| Anna Li | 3rd | 12th | |||
| Elizabeth Price | 3rd | 5th | 9th | 4th | 4th |
Before we move on, below is a schedule of the Artistic Gymnastics in London:
– Saturday July 28th: Mens Qualifying
– Sunday July 29th: Womens Qualifying
– Monday July 30th: Mens Team Final
– Tuesday July 31st: Womens Team Final
– Wednesday August 1st: Mens Individual All-Around
– Thursday August 2nd: Womens Individual All-Around
– Sunday August 5th: Mens Floor Exercise, Mens Pommel Horse, Womens Vault
– Monday August 6th: Mens Vault, Mens Rings, Womens Uneven Bars
– Tuesday August 7th: Mens Parallel Bars, Mens Horizontal/High Bar, Womens Floor Exercise, Womens Balance Beam