A Little Rambling

I was thrilled last night to meet up with my friend Jenny and attend The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring "In Concert," where the movie was screened as the Munich Symphony played the score, along with the Pacific Chorale, Phoenix Boys Choir, and soloist Kaitlyn Lusk. Oh my goodness! It may have been 9 years since the first time I saw the movie, and I may have seen it a hundred times in that span, but it still grabs my attention. Both halves of my inner nerd self were satisfied - the fantasy story/literary self and the music major self. Watching the conductor was fascinating. He had a screen of his own, showing the movie, but with different colored scrolling bars to warn him of entrances and cut-offs, and it flashed on the downbeat of every measure to keep him in sync with the film. Though the sound balance was all off with the movie, it was great to really hear some of the intricacy and detail that I miss in the original score because things are too quiet. ...

I'm sitting here watching the final hour of The Fellowship of the Ring with my darling sister. She moves back to the dorms tomorrow, and so we are enjoying our last summer evening of bonding. It involved a few hours of grudging productivity in packing and cleaning, a trip to the grocery store for copious amounts of ice cream, and watching this beloved movie. Well, I've been mostly watching and half grilling chicken and making pasta salad and folding laundry, preparing for my upcoming week of housesitting. She's been guilt-tripping me every time I step out of the room...I love her. We've had several moments in the last week of laughing till our faces hurt, breath stops, and bladders threaten embarrassment. It's not like she's going far away, but school is a lot further than the next bedroom - although even then I have a bad habit of texting her instead of getting up (or even shouting), to which she replies via facebook. We're tight like that. "...

Two things before I get to the picture. 1) OVERJOYED NERD MOMENT! Filming for the Hobbit has begun!!!!!! My first two thoughts when watching this were "12 years ago?!?!?" and "Wow, Peter Jackson is almost unrecognizable." BUT I'M SO EXCITED!! 2) I feel like I have an entourage. Every time I come home, Fiyero and Dallas ( my two of the four felines that live in my house) are waiting outside my car door by the time I'm ready to open it, and they walk with me inside. If I open the door again about 30 seconds later, Eli will be there - he's always a little bit slow. Alright, original picture of my city. As usual, I had several different choices to cycle through. Should I do a cool aerial view from one of my flights? Or a panoramic view from the top of North Mountain, or a deserty view with the city in the distance from the Sonoran Reserve? As I was clicking through them all, I liked most of them, and then I found this one and went "ooooooooh!...

At last, an easy blog, which requires very little actual input from me. On a side note, this weekend is gonna be SO busy, but fun! Going to see Taryn and Sam tonight, first time I've been over there since they got married way back when. Excited to see the new puppy! Anyhoo, the iTunes shuffle... 1. "The Dangling Conversation" by Simon & Garfunkel 2. "Remember" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Lost Christmas Eve 3. "Sing Me to Heaven" by Phoenix Children's Chorus Encore Choir 4. "Your Daddy's Son" by Audra McDonald from Ragtime 5. "Ash and Smoke" by Howard Shore from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 6. "Symphony No. 9 (scherzo)" by Ludwig van Beethoven 7. "Save the Last Dance for Me" by Michael Buble 8. "Unicornis Captivature" by Ola Gjeilo , performed by Oslo Filharmoniske Kor 9. "Gagliarda" by Mannheim Steamroller 10. "Nemo" by Nightwish I feel thi...

Most challenging post to date? I think so. How am I supposed to complete this without a) totally overwhelming you all with my bibliophilia or b) completely selling all the other fabulous books out there too short? I think I will arbitrarily limit myself to 10 slots, and allow authors to count as "books." If you ever need something to read, come ask me. I can't lend you mine, as they are all currently in storage. Major boo! But I can give you a great many recommendations and talk about them endlessly! And I'm sorry that I didn't just list 10 books, I can't limit myself that way. If you've been reading this far, you know how indecisive I am. And the size of my library. I can't pare that much away. If you want titles, ask me. :) Also, the Bible is first. 1. Anne McCaffrey She gets the first slot by simple virtue of - I own more of her books than any other author. They are marvelous! The Dragonriders of Pern was my first love of hers, and then ...

I should be doing theory homework, but staying up a little later to do it won't hurt because - I can sleep in tomorrow! Not only is my first class canceled, but I do NOT have to report for jury duty! That means I don't have to wake up extra early, don't have to miss my voice lesson, (don't get to miss class), and don't have to miss work. YAY. Although I should still go in early to get my Mac literacy classwork done...sigh. But still, no ear training! So...favorite movies. There are several, I believe. And they are in no particular order. The Lord of the Rings - all three of them. I am horribly embarrassed to admit how long it has been since I've managed to watch them all without falling asleep. But I own all three extended versions and have seen every second of extra material available. The music is enthralling. The images are breath-taking. The adaptation, while occasionally frustrating to a Tolkien purist, is still fairly phenomenal. Down Periscope...