myTunes: Vintage by Break of Reality

This post is mostly for Kristen...but it also applies to anyone with awesome taste in music.  Love you, Sis.

An IPA Poem for Kristen

I am in Voice for the Actor 3 with Diane Timmerman right now.  I am so beyond glad for this, because it's been a while since I've had a performance class with Diane (my favorite) and this semester I have two.

(Okay, speaking of Diane, she's the one shooting at Gene Hackman with a machine gun in this clip.  Yeah...you heard me right.)

Ambush in the Woods
The Package at MOVIECLIPS.com

Anyway, first what we're doing is learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).  Then we will use that knowledge that we have acquired in order to master the art of dialects.  My first dialect will be Received Pronunciation (or RP), which is basically proper English.  My second dialect will be Irish.  Then I shall have a third, but I don't know what that one will be yet.

Anyway, in this class, as we are learning our phonemes, we are going through a workbook called Bringing Speech to Life: A Companion Workbook to Louis Colaianni's The Joy of Phonetics and Accents.

This evening, on page 30, I was prompted to:

"Write a short poem using / I / and / i / words."

And so I did.

Ahem...

My  sw/ i /t  b/ I /g  s/ I /ster  and m/ i  /

Ch/ I /t-chat  when  w/ i /  are  fr/ i /

G/ I /v/ I /ng  advice v/ i /a  the  phone

Skype  dates  't/ I /l  w/ i /  don't  f/ i /l  alone

I've  got  Sw/ i /t  S/ I /ster's back

And sh/ i /'s got m/ i /.

Maybe not the most brilliant thing ever written, but it's a step up from my sentence that I wrote on page 29 that had to contain four or five words with / i /:

"One must eat one's peas or one's brain cells will freeze, so pass them to me, if you please."

(Too tired to put that last one in IPA.)

Speaking of being tired...I have Voice with Diane in the morning...at 9:00 AM...which means I have to get up at 6:00 AM to take care of Genevieve...which means I'm wrapping this blog up and going to bed.

Peace Guys,

Stay Classy,

LT

P.S.  I love you, Sis.

Romeo and Juliet (Pop Culture)

A while back I was given the task of staging a 5 shot tableau of Romeo and Juliet using only objects.  I immediately knew what I wanted to do, and ended up doing just that.  This may have been the quickest decision I have ever made in my life.  It was more complicated originally.  The good Friar Lawrence was to be played by Dr. Pepper because, while Brittany from Glee assumed that Dr. Pepper was a dentist, I was going with the possibility that he was a doctor of theology.  However, I could not find anywhere to purchase just a single can of Dr. Pepper, and as Sister will tell you, I do not drink Dr. Pepper because it does not taste like Diet Dr. Pepper.  Also missing from the tableau is the Prince who could have been masterfully played by RC (Royal Crown) Cola, as pointed out by my pal Jacob back home, because I simply didn't have the time to find a can of RC Cola, and because I didn't really have a primo place to put him within the tableau.  Friar Lawrence was to be in Scene iii, marrying the lovers.

Anyway, there it is.  Have a great weekend, everybody.  Stay classy!

Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

Photo from Amanda Grange's website.

¡¡Beware:  There may be spoilers (i.e. there are) for at least the true, original, fantastic Pride and Prejudice in the following post.  so if you haven't read the real P&P, don't read this post.  Here's the summary.  "I didn't like the book."  Go read the original and report back when you've finished!!

So...I am fully aware that because of the title of the book, I will probably get very little pity from any of my readers when I tell you that "this book is a waste of time."  And yes...I do understand...it's kind of an iffy title.

I know, I know.  Now, just hear me out.

Here's at least part of what I was thinking as I was browsing around in the audiobook section of the central branch* of the IMCPL.  I thought at least three things.

1.  Mr. Darcy.  Wow.  Well...I love him!  The classic "not-actually-so-bad-bad-boy."  Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorite books, thanks to the recommendation from my dear friend Annette.

2.  It is not a secret to really anyone who knows me that I'm obsessed with one of the best TV shows ever created, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  So this could quite possible be an amazing book.

3.  Vampyre.  What a fancy way to spell vampire.  I wonder where on earth that spelling comes from (I researched it for this post [WIKIPEDIA!  WOOT WOOT!] of course, and it turns out that it is French).  The author must be really learned and creative.

So I grabbed the audiobook after very little deliberation (which is strange for me) as I thought that I had nothing to lose and went speedily to the check-out station, not wanting to be charged extra for accidentally staying in the garage for 1 hour and 1 minute.

I begrudgingly paid my dollar to leave and put the first disc into my car's CD player.  Initially, it was simply beautiful writing.  Loved it to begin with.  It begins with a prologue, in which Lizzie is writing Jane, fearful for her life, due to some unknown circumstances (though with the title of the book, one can surmise what those circumstances are).  Very interesting.  Chilling.  Got me all excited to hear what was happening, but then chapter one begins right after the double wedding of Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy.  Sorry if I just ruined Pride and Prejudice for anyone.  Um...yeah, never mind.  That doesn't happen at all.  Okay yes it does, there's no hiding that I've messed the book up for anyone who hasn't read it.

I'll go put a spoiler disclaimer at the top of the page right now.

Okay it's up there.  With special punctuation for Kristen.

Now...onward and upward.

The writing is at times fantastic, very lyrical.  But when the words are beautiful...nothing much is happening.  Then, way way way way way way way way into the book, when things actually start happening, the writing begins to lack simultaneously.  If I remember this correctly, The Ancient says to Lizzie at one time, "You're so...bloody."  Seriously.  I laughed out loud when I heard that.  Part of that was probably because of the awkward way that the woman reading the book, Elizabeth Jasicki, said the line.

Anyway...when it was just beautiful writing, it was beautiful, but when the supernatural got introduced, it became clear that there was really not a single solitary original thought within the pages of this book (or the CDs, in my case).  Now I'm not going to tell you how all of these things tie in, just incase anyone still wants to read the book after all of the high praise that I've given it, but here's pretty much the ingredients to Mr. Darcy, Vampyre.

1.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2.  Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
3.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by the incomparable Joss Whedon
4.  Harry Potter by J.K Rowling
5.  Indiana Jones created by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg

All of these things, save the second one in the list (which is at least very catchy and enjoyable, I will give you that), are friggin amazing pieces of art/literature that rock my world.  But the way that Grange has combined them is somewhat akin to a preschooler cutting the faces out of old antique pictures in your family album and then making them into a messy collage.  It's kind of sweet...you want to tell her "Good job, Honey.  That's beautiful.  You've put everyone we love into one big picture."  But at the same time...she totally ruined all of the original pictures.  Know what I mean?  If you're going to make a collage, you either need to be reallllllly good with scissors and glue, or know Photoshop like the back of your hand.

Grange is unfortunately a preschooler with safety scissors and Elmer's glue.

Now, that's not to say that there weren't good parts to the book.  There were some really good parts.  But it was not put together well and had enough bad parts that, in the end, it just wasn't an enjoyable experience.  I listened to the entire thing, not wanting my maiden voyage (kinda) into the world of audiobooks to begin with a shipwreck that never made it back to shore.  I am now listening to another book.  Which I will probably write about when I'm finished.  I can already tell the mood of that blog post will be a lot more positive.

Please keep in mind, that these are just my opinions.  If you have the spare time and want to read the book, by all means, do it!  I salute you.  This is just what I think about it.  And also, Ms. Grange, if you are reading this (though surely you are not), I'm sure you are a lovely person and maybe your book just wasn't my cup of tea.  Keep on keepin' on, Girlfriend.

Stay Classy Guys!
LT


* Incidentally, the rules of the parking garage for the central branch have changed.  No more can I, a poor college student, park in the garage for free so long as I am in and out in under thirty minutes.  Oh no.  Now, if I enter the garage and that yellow and black automated gate lowers itself behind me in my trusty Honda CRV (lovingly referred to by most as Clark), I cannot leave the garage without paying at least $1.00, no matter how quickly I check my items out and leave.  They of course informed me of this, by way of a new sign, after I had already entered and unwittingly kissed one of my hard-earned dollar bills good-bye.  Now surely, this change is due to governmental cut-backs or something devastating like that.  I could be understanding of this, and support my library, which I love so much, but that costs money now.  I support them with my smiling face, do I not?  Suffice it to say that I have changed my routine and now go to the Nora branch which, as it is not downtown, has no need for a parking garage.  Just a free and friendly parking lot.  Now...aesthetically, it's not the same as the central branch.  I don't feel like I'm walking into some fantastic hybrid of the awesomest airport and the coolest children's museum...but...I guess that is just the price that I have to pay to not pay the price to park.  (Oh, I slay myself!  Ha-Ha!  Good Lord...how apropos considering the book that I just finished.  I didn't even plan that.  I swear!)

Movin' on Up!

Hey Everybody!

Hope all is well in everyone else's worlds.  Mine's pretty good right now.  We just moved furniture and stuff into our apartment on Friday.  Makes the whole move up to apartment living seem like more of a reality.  Melissa and I are both really thrilled.

Myself and Melissa on Friday night after moving in.

She's been out of campus housing for a couple years now but this is my first year...so one of the things I'm MOST excited about is being able to cook for myself!

I know...I know...it's a lot more work.  I'll get tired of it.  Soon I'll wish that I'm back in a hall of Freshman (no offense guys, you know I love you) with a meal plan that provides me with frightening faux food.  Yeah...I think not.

I do realize that it will be more work.  But it's real work that I'm really glad to take on.  It's like my mom keeps saying to me:

"Lauren...you're like...a real person now!"

Those of you who know me, know that I like to be in control of things.  Those of you who don't know me probably know that too, haha.  I wouldn't say that I'm a control freak (surely others might disagree), I would say that rather than needing to be in control of everything...I need things not to be out of control.  So if something is under control and safe, healthy, and of course to my liking...but in the control of someone else...I'm totally cool with it.

Food is a big thing for me.  I can't handle anything be questionable about food.  I also have a really hard time handling raw meat...but I'd rather brave through the terror of working with raw meat than have somebody that I don't know or trust preparing my meat for me.  Makes sense, right?  At least a little bit?

Anyway, this weekend marks the time when I will actually be moving in...not just moving in furniture.

Audience participation time...okay?

Please, please, please send me a favorite recipe...or two...or four...so that I can try it out!  I'm going to Facebook this request too, but I'm planning on doing this stuff from my blog mostly.  Here's the deal.  I'm thinking about trying to chronicle my new apartment experiences or whatever in the blog.  Kinda like Julie & Julia with the cooking thing.  So send me a recipe...AND YOU COULD SEE IT ON THE BLOG!

Exciting, right?  Well...I think so.

A little note about recipes:  Healthy recipes are preferable...just because that's part of why I'm so excited about cooking for myself...but if the're super awesome and not the healthiest...I might be able to make an exception.  Also, not a huge fish person.  But again...if you can convince me it's super awesome...I'll probably try it out.

Let's see some recipes people!!!!

Peace Out,
LT

P.S.  Sister...wet burritos?  Pretty please?

Blog Post

It has recently been brought to my attention that I haven't posted a blog in a while.  (Though...this person...who for privacy reasons I shall refer to as Shmristen, admitted that she didn't read the last one.)

Anyway...here it is.

blog

This concludes today's blog post.

P.S.  I love you Kristen!  Oh shoot...I mean...uh...Shmristen....