Archive for April, 2007
It’s funny: years ago I came up with the thought that if one day I finally became the person I always wanted to be, I probably wouldn’t recognize it, and to this day I still believe this.
Lately, I’ve had to think a lot about who I want to become because of upcoming applications for grad school.
I think I have settled on a goal and a passion. But I pray that I am not striving for a horizon I cannot reach.
Perhaps my thoughts are overglamourized. Especially because I just discovered the Eminence Orchestra of Australia and completely fell in love with their performance videos. More specifically, I fell in love with the videos of them performing and recording in small ensembles, and that is what I want to do. In a fit of exhilaration, I sent a query in their “Contact Us” section asking what they would advise for me in order to end up on that career path.
I feel like an idiot fangirl. I guess I am. Now if only I could guarantee that this sorta-reckless behavior would amount in success, be it dreams or financial or personal or all of the above.
*goes into the corner to feel stupid*
April 25 2007 | games and music and musings | 2 Comments »
I haven’t written about music, or really long posts, or music posts, for a while now thanks to an overwhelming number of rehearsals and papers as it IS nearing the end of the term.
However, since I’m working on a paper right now, it’s only right that I procrastinate a bit and blog on the music that is distracting me.
Not too long ago, there was this week or two of my life where a large number of references to the film Moulin Rouge! came up. For one, the university opera is performing La Traviata this Saturday night, and of course I’m in the pit for it. (In case you aren’t aware, La Traviata and Moulin Rouge! are essentially the same story.) A friend of mine was also driving me to rehearsals for another orchestra and she had the soundtrack for the film playing as we drove. Thus, I was reminded of how brilliant some of the adaptations, especially that for “Roxanne,” are. Hearing the music made me want to see the film again.
However, it wasn’t until the same friend and I were listening to NPR and heard a short, familiar, but unidentifiable hook, that I was inspired to investigate further. Over the course of the night, while errand-running, I remembered bits and pieces of lyrics, but nothing truly helpful. Somehow, with the help of wikipedia and a friend, I managed to deduce that the tune was “Nature Boy,” by eden ahbez. And then I remembered that it was the opening cover tune for Moulin Rouge!, as sung by David Bowie.
So I went and dug up a whole bunch of different covers of the song, and finally got around to watching Moulin Rouge! in its entirety as was (Actually, ended up just purchasing the film because I couldn’t resist the gorgeous formula of prettily-filmed spectacle and equally complimenting music). “Nature Boy” is a truly haunting and beautiful composition.
I speak of the song because it refused to leave my head all day, and I since have decided it’s one of my all time favourites right next to “Feeling Good,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” and “Can’t Take That Away from Me.” I’m also rather deliriously in love with “The Man That Got Away” (no puns intended) and “The Home Fire” but neither of those songs really have multiple amazing versions. It’s pretty much the Judy Garland version for the former and the Louis Armstrong version for the latter for me…
In other news, I have found myself addicted to the stringwork in “What Goes Around…” by Justin Timberlake. The lyrics are admittedly unoriginal and boring, and I’m none too fond of his singing either. But again, Timbaland has done a wonderful job with the production. Sadly the appeal of the song will probably fade with time, but it’ll be a useful archive entry.
April 19 2007 | films and music | No Comments »
Here’s the thing about relationships: they’re about looking for something. But what? Glamour? Acceptance? Complete happiness? Or something so all-encompassing that it feels like nothing is impossible?
Is that what they call ‘love’?
I was in love once, and it was good. A blissful sort of blank time. If I ever fall in love again, I wonder if it will be the same.
Wouldn’t life be so much easier without emotions? Is life possible to live without emotions? Is life worth living without emotions?
Thanks, chemicals. Thanks a ton.
April 16 2007 | relationships | 2 Comments »
- There is no such thing as “sun-drenched” as an adjective.
- Perhaps the most rampant disease on college campuses is that of the verbal crutch. Everywhere you go, there are students saying sentences resembling this: “And I guarantee that they, like, like it, you know?”
- Everything’s in the packaging.
- In this day and age, the older we get and are still looking for “the one” mean that there are all the more chances that by the time you do find him/her, s/he has an STD/I or the like. Depressing.
April 06 2007 | semi-facts | 5 Comments »
Congratulations to the University of Florida for winning a second NCAA basketball championship in a row….and against Ohio State University, no less.
I do feel somewhat bad for Ohio State…Someone from my school will probably hurt me for my sympathy.
Watching the UF basketball team play was quite something. There is such an air of cohesiveness about them. My roommate commented that when you win a championship the first time, it’s probably good athletics mixed with a lot of luck. But when you win two times in a row, you know that those guys are some real athletes and a darn good team.
So here’s to you, boys of the University of Florida basketball team. You really earned this one.
April 03 2007 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
