Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Stumped

What to post? What to post? I want to leave you with something....

Aha! Got it! Here, have a movie.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

It's the whole movie! And some kind soul uploaded the version with a proper score! I'm not sure how I feel about the tinting yet, but...

Your pal,
Angels

Sunday, December 25, 2011

A Little Holiday Cheer

More nonsense for you, in the form of another batch of videos. Sorry if it's getting old, but my brain is a bit fried at the moment. Check out some updates of my "Broken Pieces" story on FanFiction and I'm sure you'll understand.

Hayley Westenra - Coventry Carol



Jeff Foxworthy - 12 Redneck Days of Christmas
 


Bing Crosby - White Christmas
 


Burl Ives - A Holly Jolly Christmas
 



Merry Christmas, everyone!

Your pal,
Angels

Friday, December 23, 2011

Randomness 4

Merry Christmas!

Jeff Dunham and Achmed the Dead Terrorist - Jingle Bombs


Your pal,
Angels

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Set the Mood! Music and Writing

Time for another little writing tip from A-P's arsenal (assuming, of course, you don't mind taking advice from some weirdo over the internet). I've been doing this for years to help get in the right mind frame for a particular scene. But what exactly am I doing? I'm listening to music.

Let me get specific. I'm listening to music that inspires the same emotion I'm shooting for with whatever I happen to be working on. Think of it as putting together a soundtrack...use a song to enhance the mood of the piece. A reader won't be able to hear the music, of course, but wherever that bit of music takes you can show through in your work. I'm firm in the belief that the right music can take you to another place and call up a particular memory or feeling. Why not use it to your advantage?

At the moment, I'm working on a project I've got a playlist for. I've found a handful of songs that bring on the right emotions, and I listen to them as I write. Odd as it sounds, it really helps. Say your scene is an intense, suspenseful confrontation; try some really angry music. It's not enough for the music to just sound angry, it needs to make you angry as well to put the words you need in your head. Before you pick up a pen, you need to get into character, or in this case, into the emotion. Have you tried writing something sad while you yourself were in a happy mood, or vice versa? It doesn't pan out so well.

You don't really need the music to get in the right mood, of course, but it speeds the process along. For instance, I recently had to write a rather intense scene between my main characters. After years of neglect and abuse, one was finally reaching out to the other. I needed to convey a sense of pain and desperation with a bit of hope mixed in. I put on "Broken" by Seether, as it seemed fitting. After a few minutes, it had brought up enough of my own memories of those very emotions, and it made it easier to find the right words.

Understand, now, the piece has to guide the music, not the other way around. In my experience, when you try to fit the scene to whatever song you feel like listening to, it will come out awkward and won't connect with everything else you've written. As always, the story has to be able to move on its own, and that won't happen if you cram it into a box.

It's a weird practice, but it works for me and it might work for you...

Your pal,
Angels

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Reviews From a Modest Movie Buff (Corpse Bride)

Tim Burton! Johnny Depp! Danny Elfman! Helena Bonham Carter! And stop-motion animation!! SQUEE!

*cough* So...moving on...

 Victor Van Dort (Depp) is getting married in the morning...the trouble is, he's scared to death of matrimony. On a walk in the woods while practicing his vows, he accidentally proposes to Emily (Carter), the Corpse Bride, who takes him downstairs to the Land of the Dead. It's all fun and games, but what about Victoria, his betrothed?

I don't think there's anything about this movie I didn't like. I stand in awe of Tim Burton's special kind of genius...you know, the crazy kind. If I absolutely have to pick a favorite Burton movie, it's either this or Edward Scissorhands. But that's for another review.

The voice talents are, for lack of a better word, adorable. Victor stutters a bit, and who doesn't go all mushy to hear Johnny Depp stutter? HBC has the most beautiful voice, and she does fantastic as Emily, the loveliest cadaver you've ever seen. And Victoria (played by Emily Watson) sounds so sweet and demure, the perfect match for Victor.

If I get started on the music, I'll never stop! Danny Elfman always delivers. Always. As with The Nightmare Before Christmas he provides the singing voice for one of the characters, in this case Bonejangles the lounge singer. Dang! Remember how Jack Skellington sounded? Suave, debonair, and smooth as can be? Bonejangles is raspy and jazzy and...dang! I can't imagine having to keep that up for cut after cut after cut! The songs are very catchy; I still have "Remains of the Day" stuck in my head. But the showstopper is the Piano Duet between Victor and Emily. Holy moly, talk about something that'll stay with you for a good while. The mark of a good composer is being able to create something that touches you in a way that keeps moving you after the music stops, and I never can manage to get that harmony out of my head.

I'm a big fan of stop-motion, did I mention? I just love the way it moves, and once you know how it works it only increases your appreciation for it. It's hard to explain it (and I've tried many times), but it's all in how the movements are smooth and fluid one shot, then jerky and deliberate the next...*shrugs*

The story is just so sweet. Victor is bound by the promise he unintentionally made to Emily, but he still loves Victoria. Emily loves Victor, but there's the whole problem that she's dead and he's not. Victoria loves Victor and is willing to wait for him to return, but her bankrupt parents want to marry her off according to plan as soon as possible. How does it all turn out? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?


"Remains of the Day"



Piano Duet



Your pal,
Angels

Monday, December 12, 2011

Had to Share This 6

I'm kinda pressed for time here, so I'm just going to post another video. I really love this one! It's just so sensual and gorgeous, and it makes me wish I had taken French instead of Spanish.

Notre Dame de Paris - Belle



Isn't that to die for?

Your pal,
Angels

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Had to Share This 5

Got another one for ya! This song has been stuck in my head for weeks on end, but I don't really mind when it's this good...or when it's Lady Antebellum. *wink*

Lady Antebellum - Just A Kiss


Ah, there's that irrepressible romantic in me popping up again...

Your pal,
Angels

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Reviews From an HBN (Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen)

No more procrastinating! It's time to prove those guys at the BBC wrong! The first book on their no-more-than-six list is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and as it happens that one is one of my favorites.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. Renowned literary critic and historian George Saintsbury in 1894 declared it the "most perfect, the most characteristic, the most eminently quintessential of its author's works," and Eudora Welty in the twntieth century described it as "irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."


MY RATING: 5 STARS

I picked this up years ago and haven't really put it down since then. My first taste of dear Aunt Jane was enough to get me hooked! I'm a huge fan of satire/irony/sarcasm (surprise, surprise), and this is packed to bursting with it. The banter between all the characters is witty, entertaining, and really engaging.

What surprised me the most was how accessible the story was. It was first published in the early nineteenth century, and it reads out like anything you'd find on a new release shelf today (minus the slang and with a lot more class). Perhaps it's its accessibility and continued relevance, in my opinion at least, that keeps people coming back to it over two hundred years later. Score for Miss Austen on her timelessness!

The characters have the same feel of timelessness as the rest of the book. You get the sense that you've known them for years, and I attribute that to how true-to-life they seem. Well, maybe not true-to-life per se, but they're not cookie-cutter characters either. They have personality and a universal quality to them: Who among us doesn't know someone with a little Lizzy or Darcy in them? That's my favorite part about rereading this; it's always like meeting up with old friends again.

I can't imagine that Miss Austen was too popular in social settings. She defied the typeset for women of her era and *gasp* she was intelligent! Every one of her novels is filled with her observations on society and mankind as a whole. She really grasped what makes us tick and what drives us to do the stupid things we do. She showed us exactly how ridiculous we are and made it fun to make fun of ourselves...by extension of a fictional character, of course.

Now if I could only see the BBC miniseries with Colin Firth...

Your humble book nerd,
Angels

Monday, December 5, 2011

Randomness 3

I told myself I'd start posting book reviews on the first of the week, but that'll have to wait. I've been doing some study of my genealogy and learned that on my mother's side, I'm English, Scottish, Irish, and Norse.

Which explains a lot, really. Like why I'm reserved yet blunt, why I love the sound of bagpipes, why I'm happy-go-lucky and very war-like at the same time, why I just can't freaking resist a Scottish accent...it's all in the genes!

I ended up by forming a picture in my mind of what my great-great-great-great-great grandfather must have looked like, and came up with some guy wearing a kilt and a horned Viking helmet, brandishing a cricket bat and chugging a pint of Guinness.

Cheers!

Your pal,
Angels

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Artist of the Month - Dec 2011

It's that time again! I thought long and hard about this one all week long and tons of good singers came to mind, but eventually I settled on one that's been stuck in my head for several weeks. A-P's second artist of the month is...

*drum roll*

U2

I really was born into the wrong decade. All the good music came from the 80's! U2 consists of Bono (vocals, guitar), the Edge (guitar, keyboards, vocals - I love that stage name, by the way), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums, percussion). Remember last month I mentioned how you can identify some artists by the sound of the guitars? It's the same deal here. I can't really describe it, but it's there. These guys are also involved in all kinds of philanthropy, which I'm sure you've heard several times. Their sound is distinctive and their lyrics are pseudo-political with some spiritual undertones...they remind me a little of Don Henley in that respect. Any way you slice it, they're just awesome.


With or Without You
Easily my favorite from the group as well as one of my all-time favorite songs, period.

 



There they are! Have fun!

Your pal,
Angels
  

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Reviews From a Modest Movie Buff (The Phantom of the Opera - 1925)

The first movie review in the history of this blog had to go to something special, and thanks to YouTube, a newly repaired computer, and some really bad insomnia I got to watch this one at last!

This was the original silent movie, released in 1925 and starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin. I think at this point everyone and his grandmother knows the story of the Phantom, so I won't bore you with an overview.Girl takes singing lessons from masked, disfigured genius; masked, disfigured genius abducts girl and takes her to an underground lair; girl unmasks disfigured genius and it all goes downhill from there.

So, time to get to my review.

Lon Chaney was unbe-LIEVE-able! His performance really did it for me. He could convey more with one simple gesture than most actors can do with an entire script, and even with his face hidden and no dialogue to speak of (pardon the pun), I could really feel his emotions. Also, the man was totally hardcore. He did his own makeup for the disfigurement, using fishhooks and wire to manipulate his features. How many people are willing to go that far for a role, exactly? It makes you wonder how many guys would play the Phantom in the musical if they had to go through that every night! I think he was even creepier with the mask on, to be honest. Without it, I got more of a sense of his humanity and his madness. His emotion in the unmasking scene was incredible.

Mary Philbin as Christine was beautiful, but she overdid it on the acting, going melodramatic as often as she did. Norman Kerry made for a very dapper Raoul de Chagny, but as most Raouls turn out, he didn't seem like more than part of the scenery. Arthur Edmund Carewe as Ledoux was infinitely sinister, despite his being one of the good guys. I think it might have been the Tim-Burton style makeup...all that black eyeliner didn't make him seem too cheery.

This stayed pretty faithful to the book except for the ending, which I hear was re-shot three times to make the test audiences happy. A fan of the musical can also spot all the details that influenced the stage show, like the ballet that opens the movie and the Phantom's Red Death costume. It's black and white, of course, but the masked ball sequence was filmed in color, and it just looked wonderful!

When this was first released, the horror genre was just getting off the ground, making Phantom one of the first scary movies in history. And it was eerie enough I got chills while watching it, so I can believe the stories of people screaming and fainting in the theaters, especially at their first glimpse of Chaney's deformity. This was my first silent movie, so it took some time to get used to the style, but I really enjoyed it.

Quick note: I watched this on YouTube, and I've since learned it's a mistake to do that. It doesn't have a proper score, just the same bits of music playing over and over again. It got repetitive and boring really fast and didn't fit the scenes at all. (Who in the world wants to hear something that merry during the scorpion/grasshopper scene?) I hear the ultimate edition DVD is the way to go, so I'll have to invest in that one of these days.

This version won't replace Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical for me, but it was still a really great movie and a must for phans.

That's it for now, peeps!

Your pal,
Angels

Monday, November 28, 2011

Who Did It Better? ("Fields of Gold")

It's time for another one! And this one goes three ways, how exciting!

All right, down to business. First contender:

Sting - original track


There's something wistful here, wouldn't you agree? A tender sort of yearning for what's gone...While Sting doesn't sing so much as sing-speak (well, he doesn't!), there's still something ambient to those vocals, and I love the pipes! And of course, those brilliant lyrics create some lush, lovely images. Can't you just see those barley fields?


Eva Cassidy cover


It's not quite yearning and wistful here. Eva's rendition has a bit more of a mournful quality, if you ask me. You can just imagine tears in her eyes on the high notes. I still haven't figured out exactly what all the instruments are, but they add to the blue atmosphere (I almost said bluesy, but that's not quite right, is it?). I do miss this verse, though: See the west wind move like a lover so/Upon the fields of barley/Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth/Among the fields of gold. Ah well, it's her version, so I guess she's allowed some license.


Celtic Woman cover



This one combines the best of Sting and Eva, in my opinion. They brought back the pipes! There's still the lushness of the original with the high notes of the cover! But that verse is still missing! Can't have everything, can we? I just love Lisa Kelly's voice; so pure and so expressive. And those lovely backup vocals add a new dimension to the song. If Sting is wistful and Eva is mournful, I think this one has more of a spiritual note to it.


Your turn. You decide.

Your pal,
Angels                                                                                                                                                                   
 

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Randomness 2

I'm just a little ticked that I've missed every single episode of Supernatural thus far this season. Every. Single. Episode!!!

Anyhoo, to cheer myself up I went and looked up some bloopers on YouTube (my new favorite hangout now that I've got the computer fixed!) and found an old favorite. No, strike that! A classic!

Jenson Ackles sings Eye of the Tiger



God bless you, man.

Your pal,
Angels

Friday, November 25, 2011

A Heaping Helping of Randomness

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow turkey-day celebrators! Instead of a serious post (or what passes for a serious post around here), I thought I'd share a few treats I found on YouTube last night. Lots of goodies! Plenty to go around!


Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog
Poor dear. Reminds me of my own dog. 




Craig Ferguson - Istanbul
There are few people who can pull off this kind of weirdness...with puppets! It always gives me a chuckle.




Celtic Woman - Granuaile's Dance
More fiddles! I just love watching this woman play. She always makes me smile and wish I could play half so well.




Phantom of the Opera (2004) Cast Interview
A little something for the phans...Fast forward to about 4:30 and get a load of that (censored) AWESOME Cape Twirl of Doom! And if you happened to hear that loud, muffled thud, that was me falling out of my chair in a fit of joy.



Enjoy, and again, Happy Thanksgiving! If you don't happen to celebrate that one, then have a great Thursday! (And I just noticed it's after midnight...*facepalm*) Have a great Friday, at any rate!

Your pal,
Angels

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Aaand...A Little More Poetry

"Shadows"
Shadows
Playmates and lovers here for the night
Prancing about at the edge of my sight
Silently leading me from the light
Dancing with shadows

Shadows
Slipping away as sweet dreams unwind
Racing ahead as I'm left behind
Off to a world that I'll never find
Chasing the shadows

Shadows
Watching and waiting, a menace unknown
Turning fro dreams into nightmares of stone
I cry out for help, but I'm all alone
Running from shadows

Shadows
Hidden from sight as the daylight dawns
Lovely and fearsome to gaze upon
Fleeing from light and yet never gone
Enigmatic shadows


"My Prayer"
Hear me
Heed my cry of lamentation
When the sound of my sorrow reaches you,
Chase it away and sing to me
I need you

Find me
Come to me in my darkest hour
When the night is weighing down,
Make the sun come up for me
I need you

Touch me
Reach out to me as I weep
Dry my eyes with gentle hands,
And when I tremble comfort me
I need you

Save me
Deliver me from my despair
Break the chains that bind me,
Give me wings and free me
I need you

Listen as I whisper softly
I need you


Your pal,
Angels

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Reviews From a Humble Book Nerd (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

I'm always leery of books that get this much attention, but I was still intrigued by this particular one. So here goes!

Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch—and there's always a catch—is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

MY RATING: 5 STARS

Here is my review as posted on GoodReads:

I have the sneaking suspicion I might have gotten through this one faster if I hadn't been trying to read it the same time as my sister...

No, strike that, I know I would have gotten through this one faster. I could sum this up in a few words, but they're impolite and unprintable, so I'll go with a detailed review.

First off: The pace was something like a train pulling uphill right out of the station. The first hundred pages moved slowly, bogged down as they were with the setup of financial conspiracy, corporate corruption, and family ghosts, but it built momentum as it went along and then it just wouldn't stop. I couldn't put it down if I tried, and after a few late nights staying up reading I was trying my darnedest just to finish it so I could get some sleep!

Second: It's a good thing the narrative holds your attention, because the plot demands that you pay rapt attention. I have to give Mr. Larsson lots of points for the intricacy of the story, which seems simple enough at first glance but gets more complex than a Shakespearean tragedy the further along it goes.

Now onto the main players in the drama.

Mikael Blomkvist is a financial journalist convicted of libel against a powerful, well-known Swedish executive. He catches the attention of Henrik Vanger, an eighty-something former CEO of Vanger Corporation, who hires him to investigate the disappearance of his niece over forty years ago. Blomkvist is easy to like, and even easier to respect with his strict moral code (at least, when it comes to his profession). He's backed into a corner and in over his head with a puzzle that looks impossible to put together, but he still manages to dog his way out.

Lisbeth Salander is a freelance investigator who comes to aid Blomkvist in his endeavors. She's at first really hard to pity, simply because you can tell she doesn't need anyone's pity despite her situation. She's not someone to cross, but she's definitely the one you want on your side when there's some dirty secret to expose. She's tough, enigmatic, amoral, asocial, and somehow still ended up being my favorite character by the end of the book.

The language isn't too over-the-top, but it's not what you'd use in church. The violence isn't pervasive and it's mostly off-camera, but it's on the graphic, sadistic side of things. It's not for everyone, trust me.

I started this out of curiosity, thinking there was just no way it could be as good as it's hyped up to be, but I'm sold on it. Now onto the next book in the series!



Long story short, I am definitely getting my own copy of this, I will make it a point to see the original movie (the one that did so well in Sweden they released the second one before Dragon Tattoo was even available on DVD), and I plan on seeing the US remake as well. Heck, I might have found a new favorite here!

Your pal,
Angels

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Had To Share This 4

It's a double dose this time!

Evanescence - Going Under


I've been thinking a lot about this song the past few days. It must have something to do with the weird, infuriating, bipolar-esque mood I've been in. Anyway, another awesome video and an even better song. Can't you hear all that angst beneath those killer vocals? Ouch!


John Owen-Jones - The Music of the Night


Favorite video, hands down! First, John Owen-Jones is amazing! So powerful and seductive, yet tender and soothing... *swoon* Second, Gina Beck isn't even singing, yet she is in no way just part of the scenery here. For once, I feel like Christine isn't merely hypnotized by the music, but actually feels it. Wow.

Enjoy!

Your pal,
Angels

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Jumping In!

I got an update on my reading list to this fascinating post:

That's What YOU Think! Reading Challenge

Can you believe that? Apparently, the average Joe has only read six out of that list of one hundred books. Six! Six! *eyes jump out of skull*

So, in the spirit of the game, I'm going to be "jumping in," and posting the reviews for the books I have read off this list, and doing my darndest to read some more. It takes a special kind of nerd to out-booknerd me, and if I don't make good on that statement, you have my permission to tattoo the words "loudmouth pretender" across my forehead.

I can't wait to get started!

Your pal,
Angels

Monday, November 14, 2011

Who Did It Better? ("Footloose")

There's been a debate going on around here since the new movie came out and they released Blake Shelton's cover of that kick-a** theme song. So I thought I'd make it the subject of my next post! Clever, right? Or maybe I was just bored, who knows?

Anyway, onto the breakdown.

Original theme as performed by Kenny Loggins


God, that's awesome! I only have to hear those first few bars before I go nuts! There's something in that rollicking rhythm that's utterly irresistible, and I for one start dancing like a fool no matter where I am when I hear it. I'm partial to Kenny Loggins anyway, but this is some good stuff. Who here knows how to jive?


Remake as performed by Blake Shelton


Now that's a party, right there. I love Blake, too; he looks so much better now that he's cut his hair and "Honey Bee" is about the cutest song ever, but...(I guess you know where I stand on this issue) To be fair, there's some nice shreddage going on with that guitar and there's something a little more down-and-dirty with it, but it's just not quite as high-octane to me. As far as remakes go, however, this is still pretty awesome. Props for Mr. Shelton on that one! *applauds*

Now here comes the part where I let you decide for yourself.

Your pal,
Angels

Monday, November 7, 2011

How's This For Random: Numerology

I got into this (even though numbers make me vomit) a few years ago just for the heck of it. I know some of you New Agers -- if I even get any of those here -- will tell me that there's some sort of mystical significance to numerology and that I shouldn't poke around with it in jest, but I just end up using it to flesh out the characters of whatever story I happen to be working on. How does it work? Here's a tutorial.

Every letter is assigned a numerical value, and every number has certain traits and qualities attached to it. Here's what you're working with:

1        2        3       4       5        6       7       8        9              
A       B        C       D       E        F       G       H        I
J        K        L       M       N        O       P       Q        R
S       T        U       V       W       X       Y       Z  
 
Got that? It's really simple, or I wouldn't bother with it. You break down the whole name (first, middle, and last), then tally up the numbers. For instance, let's try...Louisa May Alcott, as that's the first name that popped into my head. First letter, L, with a numerical value of 3; second letter, O, with a value of 6; and so on. When we've got all the numbers for the first name (L/3, O/6, U/3, I/9, S/1, A/1), we add them up, so 3+6+3+9+1+1=23. Next step, breaking down the digits of the sum to get a single digit. Just add those two together (2+3) and you get your final number, 5. Do the next two names the same way until you've got the three digits you'll be fiddling with. In this case, it's 5 (Louisa), 3 (May), 8 (Alcott). Now we proceed to learn just what those numbers mean.

1) Ones are usually independent, focused, single-minded, and determined; often leaders. They set goals and stick to them. They don't like to take orders or work with others. They can be self-centered, egotistical, and domineering.

2) Two represents interaction, cooperation, and balance. Twos are often imaginative, creative, and sweet-natured. Peace, harmony, commitment, loyalty, and fairness are characteristic. Two also introduces the idea of conflict, opposing forces, and the contrasting sides of things. Twos can be withdrawn, moody, self-conscious, and indecisive.

3) Three represents the idea of completeness (coming from the concept that 3 is a "complete" number, having a beginning, a middle, and an end). It indicates talent, energy, an artistic nature, and social ease. Threes are often lucky, easygoing, and successful. They can also be unfocused, easily offended, and superficial.

4) Four indicates stability and firmness. Fours enjoy hard work, and are typically practical, reliable, and down-to-earth. They prefer logic and reason to flights of fancy. They are good at organizing and getting things done, and are usually predictable people. They can be stubborn, suspicious, overly practical, and prone to angry outbursts.

5) Five indicates change and uncertainty. Fives are drawn to many things at once but often commit to none. They are adventurous, energetic, and willing to take risks, and they often enjoy travel. They may not stay in one place very long. They can be conceited, irresponsible, quick-tempered, and impatient.

6) Six represents harmony, friendship, and family life. Sixes are loyal, reliable, and loving. They adapt easily, do well in teaching and in the arts, and are often unsuccessful in business. They are sometimes prone to gossip and complacency. (6 is also considered a "perfect" number. This stems from the belief in the completeness of 3; 6 is just two 3s put together, so it must be twice as complete.)

7) Sevens enjoy hard work and challenges. They are perceptive, understanding, and bright. They are often serious, scholarly, and interested in mysterious things. Originality and imagination are important to them. They can be sarcastic, pessimistic, and insecure. (7 is thought to be a mystical number...I refuse to elaborate on this one.)

8) Eight indicates the possibility of success in business, finance, and politics. Eights are practical, ambitious, committed, and hard-working. They can be jealous, greedy, domineering, and power-hungry.

9) Nine represents completion and achievement to the fullest degree (it's 3 three times over! How much better can it get?). Nines often dedicate themselves to the service of others. They are determined and hard-working, and are often an inspiration to the people around them. They can be arrogant and conceited.


So what conclusions can we reach as to Miss Alcott's personality? Her numbers were 5, 3, and 8, so we can infer that she had lots of energy and wanderlust, was a little short-tempered, quite the risk-taker, talented, artistic, and thin-skinned. She was certainly hard-working and committed, and practical-minded.

Now, before I hear any skepticism from any of you, let me just say that I read a very well-researched biography on this very lady some time ago, and from the extracts from her own journals and her life story, this is pretty much a spot-on analysis. I'm telling you, this is an awesome hobby! Grab a pad of paper and a calculator, and have at it!

Your pal,
Angels


Fanfic Spotlight: MapleRock

So here's my new feature. I'm going to boast a bit about some of the work I've been seeing on fanfiction.net and call attention to these writers' efforts...with their permission, of course. Sound good? Great. Let's get started. First up, a lovely young lady who goes by the nom de plume MapleRock.

Would you be surprised if I told you she's a phangirl? Her style is at once playful and pensive, and occasionally irreverent. If you need something to read, take a look at her work!

MapleRock's fanfiction profile

My personal favorite of her stories so far has to be "Fleeting Hope," a Leroux-based phic in which everyone's favorite Phantom has just moved into the lair beneath the Opera House when he gets an unexpected...and rather unusual...house guest. It's humorous and heartwarming! Her most recent story is a Phantom-Frankenstein crossover called "The Corpses," and that one's worth the time too.

Fleeting Hope
The Corpses

Happy reading!

Your pal,
Angels

Reviews From a Humble Book Nerd (Opera Macabre - Michelle Rodriguez)

Here's another review for those of you who actually look at this little blog! Please, lend me your ears (or rather, your eyes) for this one!

Count Aiden de Lazarus has grown apathetic to the world around him and the monotony of immortal life. Determined to regain his zest for vampiric pursuits, he chooses a mortal girl and bites her with the intent to drain her. Instead, her intoxicating taste and enchanting beauty stirs feelings he has long buried. Scared by such mortal feelings, he gives her to another vampire as payment for a debt.

After eight long years, Bianca is still living a cursed life--singing on stage in Alexi's profitable opera and enduring the bites of the undead as part of his undercover auction when the stage lights dim. Doomed to become Alexi's vampire bride, her future is bleak.

Aiden is horrified to find Bianca still alive and Alexi's prized possession. Her image has continued to haunt him. Now he must find a way to free her from the life he unwittingly condemned her to and prove that he, unlike the vampires she has known, can be a man worth loving.


MY RATING: 5 STARS

Again, here's my review as follows on Goodreads:

I've been a fan of Ms. Rodriguez's Phantom of the Opera short stories for some time now, and I'm always amazed at her knack for putting the reader right in the action, tugging on the heartstrings, and adding her own little spin. Imagine how blown away I was when I saw what she can do with an original story and her own characters!

This book took me on a roller coaster ride from one emotion to the next, and I was hooked from the very first page. It was torture every time I had to step away from it! Her characters were so vividly drawn I felt as though they might materialize spontaneously as I read, and you honestly feel for them. Bianca was such a strong, spirited heroine, and the despair and pain she had to endure really did bring tears to my eyes. Rufus, her demon guardian, was as engaging as his suits were eye-catching, and his relationship with Bianca was truly moving. As for Count Aiden de Lazarus...when you have heroes like him, who needs Edward Cullen? (No offense meant to the Twi-hards.)

The emotions were so deliciously intense: passionate, sorrowful, tragic, hopeful, terrifying, and so unbelievably romantic! This was a wonderful, and much-needed escape I can already tell I'll be coming back to time and again. It made me cry, for Pete's sake! Any book that can do that deserves some recognition by my reckoning! I can't wait to see what she decides to share with us next!



My jaw dropped when I saw this has only three reviews on Amazon.com and not much more on Goodreads! It's a travesty! Michelle really deserves all the accolades she can get for this one, and a handful of reviews just don't cut it for me! I hope she doesn't mind my promoting her here, so here we go!

Her website:
http://michellegliottonirodriguez.webs.com/

Her FanFiction account (calling all phans, she's got the most amazing work posted here!):
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2299904/

She's one of the most wonderful writers I've ever come across, peeps! No joke and no crossed fingers! She's got one heck of a gift!

Your pal, 
Angels

Had To Share This 3

I've got a passion for violins and Phantom of the Opera, so just imagine the coronary I had when I found this little jewel. It literally brought tears to my eyes!

David Garrett - Music of the Night

Again, the darn video didn't want to load directly onto the page. Curses!

Your pal,
Angels

Sunday, November 6, 2011

More Poetry

My apologies if you're getting tired of my rhyming, but I was stumped on a good post for today.

"The Stillness"
My heart beats softly when you're gone
It comes alive when you're close
I feel you underneath my skin
Always near me like a ghost

I've lost myself inside of you
Sinking into your very soul
We were only two lost hearts
Now two have made one whole

The stillness of the night reflects
The peace of mind we've found
So don't intrude upon it, love
And do not make a sound

We don't need to say a word
To say just how we feel
A message carried on a kiss
Is far more lucid and real

Don't break the silence here, my love
The night has just begun
The stillness plays a melody
As two souls become one


"Love At First Sight"
See the sun shine on her face
And the light that's caught in her curls
See flowers in her hair and her smiling eyes
And just know that you're her whole world

She'll stay by your side all through the winter
She'll never leave you when summer comes 'round
She'll be faithful forever, eternally true
To you, this new love that she's found

Though you've only known her a minute or two
For you she would lay down her life
She'll lead you to all of the joys to be found
And she'll follow through all of the strife

Up until now she's never known love
She's never known feelings so true
But now that she's found you, she'll never let go
'Til now, she's never known you


"Tigress"
Master of illusion
Hiding the truth that lies in your soul
Expert in deception
Pretending your broken heart is whole

Your stripes are your disguise
A painted pelt that helps you to hide
Secrets lurk in your eyes
The mask you wear veils the tears you've cried

You try to hide your pain
And the darkness in your troubled mind
Nothing to lose or gain
Searching for peace that you'll never find

One last thread nearly torn
You're not as strong as you think you are
Fragile as a newborn
You're not the titan you say to are

Don't let fear control you
Don't give in to your hidden distress
I'm here now to hold you
You're not alone, my lovely tigress

Your pal,
Angels

Friday, November 4, 2011

Has This Ever Happened To You?

It's odd...

I woke up this morning after the best night's sleep I've had in a good long while, made it through breakfast feeling chipper as can be, and then I had a musical urge. It occurred to me "You know what I feel like listening to right now? Bob Dylan!"

My brother wasn't at all happy, I can tell you that. Between Dylan and multiple Phantom of the Opera soundtracks, no one at my house is too pleased with my choice in tunes. (Condemned for just two faves? Heinous! Good thing I'm not the only one at my place who appreciates the Saturday night broadcast of Thistle and Shamrock!) Anyway, I fired up the stereo, popped in my copy of Before the Flood and just listened. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" was all good, nice and up-tempo as compared to the original release with some kick-a** improv on the harmonica. "Just Like a Woman" had a little more bluesy vibe and a lot more wail on Bob's part. And then we get around to "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and what happens?

Let me put it this way.


Why oh why do I insist on listening to this song when I know its angsty pessimism only leaves a bitter taste in my mouth? Am I just a masochist when it comes to a good song?

I started thinking (big shocker there, I know) and wondered how it is that music can affect our moods so much. They have music therapy programs in hospitals to aid patient recovery, those with various anxiety disorders often use music to find release, and heck, who among us hasn't felt better after listening to a favorite song?

My conclusion: We use music to give voice to the things we can't just say. That's an angle I've been exploring the past few months. Music somehow hits us right where it hurts, where ordinary speech just can't touch, where there are no words at all. It heals and destroys at the same time.

So what was I to do to improve my mood? Well, my logic said if a song put me in a funk to start with, another should pull me out of it. I shut off Bobby and put on "We Weren't Born to Follow" by Bon Jovi. It's all aces now.

 Bob Dylan - "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" from Bringing It All Back Home


Bon Jovi - "We Weren't Born to Follow" from The Circle

 

Happy listening!

Your pal,
Angels

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Had To Share This 2

One of my favorites when I was in third grade or something like that. And one of my favorite artists, period!

Sherrié Austin - Never Been Kissed


Don't you just love the whole fairy tale, Snow White aspect? It's adorable, and rather creative for a country video! For some reason, it was always the glass-and-gold coffin that stayed with me.

Your pal,
Angels

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

War of the Word Wall

In light of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, if you were wondering) and prompted by my own struggles this past week, I've decided to talk about every scribbler's worst nightmare: writer's block, or as I like to call it in the tradition of Adam Richman, the Word Wall.

It's your enemy. It lurks in the corner of your mind and waits until you're in the flow of creativity before it swoops down out of nowhere and snuffs out all those good ideas, leaving you frustrated, at a complete loss, and ten seconds away from ripping your hair out and throwing that stupid stupid manuscript in the trash where it belongs.

But there is hope. The wall of Jericho fell, and so will the Word Wall. I'm going to share with you a few battle tactics to employ when waging your war against this adversary. For the duration of this post, I am no longer your pal Angels. I am General A-P, and I'm sending you on a recon mission to take your story back under control!

Tactic #1: Get Your Mind in the Fight
Quit stressing over not being able to write, and instead think about why you're having this trouble writing in the first place. It could be stress, it could be you've got more on your plate than just writing, or it could be you're just bored with your own story. These are all just the outer defenses set up around the Word Wall, and they must be taken out first. Figure out why you're stuck, then plan a strategy to combat the problem. If it's stress, employ some of your own trusty relaxation techniques. I find a hot shower, some coffee, and my favorite music does it for me. If you're worried about more than just writing (here's where it gets harsh), you have to set it aside the instant you sit down to your writing desk. Here's my motto: Yes, it's hard, but suck it up anyway. You can't be thinking about anything but writing when you're trying to write. You might as well start laying bricks on the Word Wall yourself. If you think you're just bored, move on to my next tactic.

Tactic #2: Remember Why You're Fighting
Why did you decide to embark on this insane quest of novel writing to begin with? Was it for the fun of it? Did you just want to be able to say "I wrote a novel" to all your buddies? Do you really love to write, and couldn't do anything but choose to write a novel? Answer that big question: WHY? When you have that answer, you stir up the old blood lust in the troops. If it's for fun, then find a way to put the fun back in it! If it's to show up everyone else, then think about how they'll react when you tell them you finished (though if that's really the only reason you're writing, then you might want to reexamine your motives, IMO. Why would you put yourself through this just for bragging rights?)! If writing is what you love, that's the most iron-clad reason to keep writing in the first place.

Tactic #3: Reconsider Your Field of Battle
If you've been working in a noisy room, at a cluttered desk, or even in a room you're not at home in under normal circumstances, it's no wonder the Word Wall appeared on the horizon in the first place. It's the three L's of real estate and a key factor in battle: location, location, location. Remove the distractions, clear the debris out of the field, and set up base camp in an ideal place for your muse to drop in. For my part, I work best in a room by myself, either completely silent or with some plain instrumental music in the background (I get sidetracked when there's lyrics). Make sure you're comfortable, because you can't take cover in a vermin-infested fox hole and expect to keep your mind on the skirmish, now can you? If the Avon lady is banging on the door, send her packing fast. It's critical to avoid developing Jack Torrance Syndrome--a terrifying sickness caused by distracted scribbling and characterized by a snappish temper, a tendency to stare out the nearest window, and in some extreme cases violent outbursts. It's the Word War version of dysentery. When you find a favorable position on the battle field, hold it no matter what. It's your turf now!

Tactic #4: Implement a Schedule
Show up on the battle field at the same time, every day (at the very least five days a week so you have some down time). Decide on a set amount that you will write before you sound the retreat. I work on at least two pages or for at least an hour, whichever happens to be longer. You don't have to be too much of a task master here. The idea is to get used to writing every day. It goes a long way towards making it easier to write down the road, trust me. When you get into the habit of writing every day, it gets hard to break it. Consider it as undermining the Word Wall, digging beneath the foundations and burrowing out tunnels which you will later fill with dynamite. Light the fuse, and the wall will come down in a cloud of dust.

Tactic #5: Set Deadlines, Then Keep Them
Don't do anything too crazy! Five hundred pages in a week is a little overboard! All you participating in NaNoWriMo have one month to write a whole novel, and that is possible (especially when the whole shebang is for fun anyhow!), but don't set any deadlines you can't meet. That's like trying to eliminate an entire legion with a handful of platoons. You can put up a brave fight and go down in a blaze of glory, but you'll inevitably be overwhelmed and annihilated. Your writing schedule has to coincide with whatever other schedules you have (work, school, etc.). I just finished a novel of my own, and the most I could handle at once was a 15-20 page chapter a week with Sundays off. It ran smoothly sometimes, and at others even that was about all I could take, but I managed to pull it off and finish right on time. It kept me motivated even when I wanted to throw down my weapons and surrender. It's the little victory of keeping minor deadlines that will maintain morale until you reach the end!

Tactic #6: Keep Your Inner Drill Sergeant At the Ready
That little voice in your head that tells you when to keep moving and when to take cover? That's your drill sergeant, and he's your number one ally. Put another way, he's your common sense. He's the one who knows when the Word Wall is about to fall and keeps you pushing forward to finally bring it down and he's the one who can tell when you need to pull back and regroup, 'cause the wall ain't budging just yet. Sometimes you want it to be perfect on the first draft (which often serves as the building blocks for the Word Wall), and that's just not going to happen. Sometimes you're not really trying at all and what you're coming up with is sub-par even for a first draft--which happens every now and then. Fortunately, the drill sergeant is there to smack some sense into you! Look into a mirror and give yourself a pep talk when you think you're overworking yourself or slacking off. You can't beat the Word Wall without the drill sergeant!

Tactic #7: Think Of It As a Chess Match
It's you versus the Word Wall. Did you know boys training to be knights were taught chess to learn battle strategies? The main objective is to capture the king, or in this case, to finish that novel. Before you can take the king, you have to outmaneuver all the other pieces in the way. All those other pieces represent the sentences, paragraphs and chapters you have to beat into submission. They are the pawns, rooks and queens of the Word Wall. Which pieces do you go after first? The pawns, also known as the sentences! Instead of focusing on the big idea of writing the whole novel, zero in on writing that next sentence. You have to start somewhere, and it's best to start small. When you've got a few sentences down, evaluate the battle field and formulate a strategy for capturing the next biggest pieces: the paragraphs. Continue on down the list, removing all the obstacles a little at a time, until finally you take the king and finish the book. Checkmate!

Tactic #8: Allow For Recovery Time
Once you've destroyed the Word Wall, taken the field, and finished the novel, you need to step out of the campaign for awhile. Give yourself the chance to breathe at last. Bind up your wounds, repair your damaged weaponry, and bask in your victory! If you just jump in and man an attack on the next novel without taking time to rest and recuperate, you'll set yourself on the road to Waterloo faster than you can say "I surrender!" This in fact is what sparked my recent battle with the Word Wall. I finished my novel, and instead of taking some hard-earned down time, I continued on and came nose-to-nose with burn out. It's not pleasant.


You know the enemy. You now have a few tricks up your sleeve. So fall out, men! Go forth and conquer! Never give up, and never surrender! Ooh-rah! (I feel like I swallowed R. Lee Ermy for this post!)

Best of luck to those participating in NaNoWriMo! Hope I helped out!

Your pal,
General A-P Angels

Artist of the Month - Nov 2011

I've decided that for the heck of it I'm going to feature a particular singer/band every month. At least I'll be guaranteed to come up with one post a month!

Anyhoodles, I had to do some thinking to decide who was going to be first. There are plenty of artists I admire, and plenty that have caught my eye lately, so narrowing it down wasn't easy (like it really matters anyway, right?). A-P's featured Artist of the Month for November 2011 is...

*drum roll*

The Band Perry

A fairly recent addition to the country music scene (and one of the very few country groups I'll listen to nowadays), the Band Perry is a trio of siblings: Kimberly, lead vocals, guitar, piano; Reid, bass guitar, background vocals; Neil, mandolin, drums, accordion, background vocals. They first captured my attention with the ballad "If I Die Young," written by Kimberly herself, the clever girl. I've since enjoyed all the so-far released singles. There's a distinct sound to them already, something in the strings that just says "This is the Band Perry." If you talk to me enough, you'll know I love to go on about how you can just tell one artist from another by listening to the guitar and how it's played. For this group's git-fiddle ID to already be thus established is quite something. Here's to you guys, and may you have a great career!

If I Die Young (I love the video! The whole Lady of Shalott concept is just beautiful!)



Hip To My Heart
You Lie  
All Your Life 

Hope you enjoyed the videos! I tried to post the videos themselves, but the links didn't take. Oh well.

Your pal,
Angels

Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween Special: Favorite Movies

Happy Halloween!

In honor of the occasion, I'd like to share some of my favorite Halloween movies. They're not all scary, as I don't typically watch horror flicks and end up laughing hysterically at the ones I get stuck with. Anyway, here we go!

Gothika (Halle Berry, Robert Downey, Jr., Penelope Cruz)
 Halle Berry is Dr. Miranda Grey, a criminal psychologist employed in the psychiatric ward of a local prison. Driving home one night, she sees a mysterious girl who vanishes in a flash of fire, then wakes to find herself in a prison cell, accused of murder. Was she framed? Did she actually commit the crime? Or was it something else entirely, like say, a ghost? Miranda is being haunted by a vengeful spirit, but people don't exactly take you seriously when they think you're a deranged murderer, poor gal. There's a few good chills in this one, but nothing too frightening, and the interaction between the stars is intense and emotionally charged. It's more of a psychological thriller than a horror movie, and that's all right with me. I've watched it dozens of times, and I still love it! It's not technically a Halloween movie, but...




The Nightmare Before Christmas (Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara)
 You're talking to a Tim Burton maniac here, so this should come as no surprise. This was my favorite movie as a kid, so it's probably responsible for my twisted insanity. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, is bored with the whole entire holiday. He goes walking in the woods and discovers a portal to another world, the snow-covered, tree-trimmed Christmas Town. He decides that he will take over Christmas, and it's all history from there. This movie has developed quite the following (though as any real fan will tell you, finding decent fan fiction is a pain in the backside!), but the charm for me lies in the animation, the kooky characters, and the purity of it...which does come as a surprise, considering the material. Danny Elfman's music is delightful as always, and Sally has long been a favorite of mine. Zero the ghost dog might have taken a back seat to Scraps the skeleton dog (Corpse Bride), but nothing beats Jack himself. He's an idealist and an artist, misguided by his ambition. Hey, aren't we all?


Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale)
 So I understand this wasn't exactly everyone's favorite adaptation (it was classified as "rotten" on Rotten Tomatoes with 23% positive reviews), but Stephen Sommers's style is a tribute to classic Hollywood horror and something of a parody of action/adventure movies. Gabriel Van Helsing hunts monsters, and he's been doing it for the past few centuries. He is sent to Transylvania to aid one Anna Valerious in her mission to kill the infamous Count Dracula. In the tradition of monster-meets-monster movies, there are encounters with not only vampires, but werewolves, Frankenstein's monster, and a brief showdown with Mr. Hyde. It's like what would happen if you threw all those horror classics in a blender with James Bond, the Matrix and Indiana Jones and turned it on high. It was low budget, which seems rather impressive when you think about all the work that went into the graphics, some of them hybrid motion-capture. If I want an awesome action scene that was put together on a computer, I'm ditching Transformers and watching this instead. And shucks, folks, Hugh Jackman's a dish in leather and a fedora!


Saw (Cary Elwes, Danny Glover)
 Didn't I already tell you I was twisted? This one was the best of the franchise, which got ridiculous after the third movie. It's simple: two men wake up chained in a bathroom and given instructions how to escape. The trouble is, one of them has to die. This is the best of the series for one key reason. It had minimal gore, but a heck of a lot of mental torture. Serial killer Jigsaw is one sick puppy! Targeting people he feels are wasting their lives, he puts them in sadistic situations forcing them to endure some pretty horrific stuff, to say the least, or die in the most brutal way possible. But like I said, there's not much gore in this one. You will however bite your nails off in a state of high anxiety. It's Hannibal Lector on a budget...or should that be diet? It's low-budget, independent, and shot in only eighteen days! Considering the intensity of the script, not to mention the convoluted plot, I'm surprised no one dropped dead of sheer exhaustion when it was all over! It was shockingly original and just plain shocking. It's a shame they ruined it with crappy sequels.


I'm sure if I think about it, I could come up with a few more, but the laundry needs folding, the dishes need put away, and that fan fiction update isn't going to write itself! Happy haunting!

Your pal,
Angels

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Reviews From a Humble Book Nerd (The Shining - Stephen King)

I read this a few months ago, and decided to talk about it here for Halloween. I saw the movie and was sufficiently creeped out by Jack Nicholson, but apart from that I almost fell asleep through it. After hearing people complain that the book was SO much better, I thought I'd see for myself.

Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr Halloran he was a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of an the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control.

As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive?

Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel - and that too had begun to shine...


MY RATING: 4 STARS

Here follows my review as posted on Goodreads:

I confess myself to be disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, now. If I didn't like this book I wouldn't have given it four stars. But I thought this was supposed to be scary! Through part one I was breathless with anticipation in a hit-me-hard-I-don't-feel-like-sleeping-anyway kind of way. Towards the middle, I felt distinctly duped. When things started getting serious, I found myself thinking, "At this point I'd settle for reasonably unnerved." Come on, now, moving hedges ("What the heck is this?"), regenerating wasps' nests ("All right, that's a little better."), a dead woman floating in a bath tub ("Haven't I seen this before?"), a sinister masked ball ("Yep, I've definitely seen this before."), and a highly questionable fire hose ("Oh, for crying out loud!")...I've seen worse. And while murderous rampages are no doubt suspenseful, and Mr. King handles his like a pro, they don't exactly chill the blood.

I was also surprised to find that the iconic lines from the movie, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" and "Here's Johnny!" weren't actually in the book. Go figure.

On a positive note, Mr. King's description of Jack Torrance continually impressed me. Jack's got issues, to put it mildly, and his struggle back from his past mistakes to start fresh endeared me to him. That's probably why it really hurt to watch him fall apart under the Overlook's influence. Even when the roque mallet came into play, I was still sympathetic towards him; after all, the hotel had virtually destroyed him and he's lost his mind. His shining moment of redemption, no pun intended, nearly brought a tear to my eye.

Wendy started out as bland and forgettable for me, but caught between a husband she barely trusts and a son she doesn't understand, she really came into her own. She concocted an escape plan, never mind that it didn't work, she confronted Jack with a butcher knife, and when it came to protecting Danny, it was do or die. Brava, madame!

And then there's Danny, precocious, somber, and forced to bear witness to things no five-year-old boy should have to cope with. There are words to describe Danny Torrance, but they escape me at the moment.

The style was snarky, there was more emotional depth than I expected, and I was surprised and delighted at a reference to The Phantom of the Opera. I would have loved to give this book five stars, but I picked it up expecting a downright terrifying horror novel, and it didn't deliver.

Sorry, Mr. King. Better luck next time.


So, in summary, I liked the book, but it was in no way whatsoever scary to me. I enjoyed it more as a character study than a horror classic, which is something of a no-no in regards to Stephen King. Still, though, I have read worse!

Your pal,
Angels

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Had To Share This

I just rediscovered this video, and felt the need to post it.

Evanescence - Lithium
 
Isn't it just gorgeous to look at? The snow, and the pond, and all? I haven't found an Evanescence video I didn't like!

Salute to Characters!

I got to thinking last night about what makes a movie really memorable. Sure, you can go on about cinematography, special effects, story lines and dialogue. Those are extremely important, after all. But what I usually remember the most are the characters that populate the stories. They guide us through their little worlds. We love them and we hate them. We cheer them on and we burn them in effigy. They make us laugh, cry, think, and inevitably applaud. Sometimes they let us down and we just don't connect with or believe in them, but this isn't about those disappointing ones. I've got here a list of some of the characters that have really left their mark on me and the actors who brought them to life in all my years as a dedicated movie buff.

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow (The Pirates of the Caribbean)
 You gotta love Captain Jack! He's weird and he's out for himself, but he's oddly lovable for all that. Maybe that's because he's a refreshing break from the usual pirate templates: on one hand the bloodthirsty buccaneers who'd run you through as soon as look at you, on the other the romanticized "gentleman pirates" who are more like the high seas versions of Robin Hood. There's no love for one, no grit to the other, and no substance in either. Here we have the best of both worlds! Jack is nobody's fool. He uses his sharp yet skewed wit and a whole lot of BS to get out of a pinch, but don't think he won't fight if it comes to that. In his continuing search for rum and between battles with Hector Barbossa, Davy Jones, the East India Trading Company, and what seems like half the world, I for one have come to appreciate the character and quirky personality of dear Captain Jack as more than another inspired performance by Mr. Depp. He struggles with moral issues and the idea of being ethical, and in a world dominated by politics and intrigue he always comes out on top, just by being Jack. If you do your research, the character becomes even more impressive. Depp's approach initially raised some eyebrows and caused a few executives to question the decision to cast him, but lucky for us they didn't stand in his way! And of course, about everybody has heard the inspiration for this character was guitar player Keith Richards, but even the costumes were influenced by the rock star! It's significant to me that the reprisals in Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, and On Stranger Tides were the first sequels Depp ever made in his career. Not one sequel, THREE! Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

Heath Ledger as the Joker (The Dark Knight)
 This one really gave me chills. Heath Ledger, may he rest in peace, more than deserved the Academy Award he got for this role. It's hard to take up the mantle of such a well-known character (forget about the psychotic villain part), and if we trot on over to Wikipedia we can learn a little something about how he developed his character. "To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice, and personality, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker's thoughts and feelings." That is dedication for you. Jack Nicholson's Joker, while plenty crazy, was just too comical for me, but there was nothing funny about Heath Ledger. That insane giggle made the hair on the back of my neck stand up! I was enthralled even as I was repelled! When you're hired to portray the number one villain of all time, you have to deliver, and I don't think there's a word that can be said against Ledger here. He was eerily inconsistent (in a darn good way), and the only constant was the chaos. Bravo, monsieur!

Matthew McConaughey as Tip Tucker (Larger Than Life)
  You won't find much on this movie, but this character earns his place on my list. Highly caffeinated, extremely high-strung, and with a mouth that runs a mile a minute, Tip Tucker the trucker is a Character with a capital C. When you stack this movie up against some of McConaughey's other work, the movie itself falls flat, but when you remind yourself that this man has done action flicks like Reign of Fire, dramas such as A Time to Kill and We Are Marshall, and romantic comedies out the ears, Tip kind of stands out. The film is forgettable (unless you grew up watching it *wink*), but Tip is not. He's a lunatic with a tire iron and odd theories about school lunch programs. He's over the top. He's vengeful. He's sleep-deprived. He'll get on your nerves, but you won't forget him in a hurry. And by the time the movie's over, you will learn not to mess with Tip Tucker and his Tip Top Trucking.



Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
 Ah, yes, how can we leave her out of this? She's gorgeous, glamorous, and endearing. And I'm not sure if I'm talking about Holly or Audrey herself. Sabrina may be my favorite Hepburn movie, but you can't deny her appeal in her most memorable, iconic role. Holly is eccentric and naive (but then, that's what everybody and his grandmother has to say about her). What strikes me the most is her determination not to belong to anybody, which is off-set by her need to belong to somebody. Hepburn considered this her most challenging role ever, an introvert portraying an extrovert, but we can all agree that she did it beautifully. If I could only get my hands on Truman Capote's novella! The movie is a trip into a modern-day fairy tale of a girl with high ambitions and astoundingly low expectations setting her heart on what's not for her only to find everything she needs is just next door, and let's not forget "Moon River." Holly Golightly. The Southern gal turned uptown (almost) lady. The last word in chic. Every glamor girl's idol and ideal. Often imitated, never duplicated, least of all by Mary Tyler Moore!

Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmatians)
Another of my favorite villains! What kind of psycho, twisted, heartless witch wants to kill adorable little puppies for their coats? Why, Cruella, of course! I'm convinced that Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada might have found her origins in this skunk-haired fashionista. She's glamorous, too, albeit in an extreme, edgy, Bride of Frankenstein kind of way. She's also deliciously nasty, and the sworn enemy of the SPCA. I most admire Close's physical comedy throughout the movie and its sequel. She gets kicked by a horse, dropped in a vat of molasses, pinned under a sow (as in female pig), thrown into a pile of  manure, sprayed by a skunk, and baked into a cake. And all in high heels! The woman is a trooper! A huge departure from her role in Sarah, Plain and Tall, though maybe not such a far cry from Alex Forrest, with the obsession and insanity and all that. I have the sudden urge to dig out the old VCR and watch this movie again...What is left to say? Oh, yes! "Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil, if she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will, to see her is to take a sudden chill, Cruella, Cruella De Vil!"

Scarlett Johansson as Purslane Hominy Will (A Love Song For Bobby Long)
 Isn't she just so pretty? The movie is more introspective than fast-paced, and really gives you time to take in the performance Johansson puts in. Pursy hasn't caught a break since her mother ditched her to pursue a career in jazz, and since moving in with a washed-up literature professor and his former teaching assistant and would-be biographer, it doesn't get much better. Pursy is insecure yet still has that spark of independence in her that makes you want to cheer her on, and the way she handles life with Bobby and Lawson is something of a carnival ride. Johansson was opposite John Travolta for this one, but for once I wasn't paying him any attention (no offense, John, I still love ya). There was magnetism in the vulnerability and a lot of literate intelligence. That's in reference to literature, of course. This movie began my girl-crush on Scarlett, and I've since enjoyed her work in A Good Woman, Scoop, and The Other Boleyn Girl, particularly that last one, but this one holds its place as my favorite of her films. Now my only issue is my jealousy that she got to work with Hugh Jackman in TWO separate movies, and kiss him in both! You lucky girl!

Well, there you have it, my list. You can disagree with me if you like, as it all comes down to opinion, but when I think "memorable characters" it's always these six that come to mind first. Do you have any favorites? I'm open to comments, and I'd love to hear from you!

Your pal,
Angels