I'm back, sorta?
Hi. Yes. Well, I think I was last on LJ sometime in April, and have only been checking the news (actual news, not fandom news) comms sporadically. Some of it was work being hellaceous, some of it was travel, and some of it was "I'm going to teach myself to knit and ignore technology as much as possible." However, I did miss some birthdays, particularly 
nakeisha, and for that, I'm quite sorry. Happy Belated Birthday!
So, some random pop culture thoughts.
I've been seeing some grumbling around that Michael Jackson wasn't important enough for the kind of coverage he'd been getting. First off, I don't know that anyone is really important enough for the kind of tedious, round-the-clock coverage we get for famous people's deaths recently, but to say that Michael Jackson on a global scale wasn't important is just flat-out wrong. I know things have been seriously weird in the last couple of decades (FWIW, I think he may have been effectively asexual, although that doesn't necessarily mean what he did was okay), but he was prodigiously talented, broke significant barriers in the music business, and was the first real global superstar. Without him, we wouldn't have Madonna, and who would Justin Timberlake keep pretending to be? Wait a minute…
It's been over a year, I think, but I went to see a movie. Star Trek, of course, and I was pretty happy. It's not a great movie, but it's fun, and I thought they had a very good, and yet unfussy, way of dealing with the reboot. It was almost as good as the "whoa!" when we found out how we got a Romulan Yar on ST:TNG. (SPOILERISH BUT ONLY FOR TREK NERDS WHO PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT: it's actually the same trick when you get down to it, so not as breathtaking the second time.) Still loathe Kirk and his whole wornout "rebel without a cause" schtick, but was impressed with Quinto as Spock (not a great fan of his Sylar, so this was a pleasant surprise), and Uhura stole the show for me. It just reminded me that I've always liked Zoë Saldana in everything I've ever seen her in. I liked how she was able to wear the miniskirt, the go-go boots, and the ponytail and still come off as kick-ass and "don't mess with me".
Watched the PBS broadcast of Chess in Concert and was reminded just how strong this is as a musical. It's definitely in the top five musicals of the past thirty years, IMO. Assassins is a clear leader, both in terms of concept and musical quality, and Wicked has some great tunes and an obviously resonant story, though it also has some longueurs. But even though it was "just" a concert version and not all the performers were very good, I was riveted for two and a half hours. This is the thing - maybe it works better as an oratorio. Everything is in the music, since so much of the action is internal. And it is a period piece. It has to be taken that way. I do wish the performers had been better - Adam Pascal as Freddy was the best, though he wasn't quite Murray Head (he'd clearly been listening, though). Head has more anguish in his voice, but I'm not sure today's stage training actually allows that. Josh Groban actually surprised me as Anatoly - he can sing the part well, and for someone essentially inexperienced on stage, he wasn't awful. Alas, I was not so enamored of Idina Menzel as Florence (she really can only belt, and her tuning was often out), and Marti Pellow was a disaster as the Arbiter. The Arbiter needs to be a sexy, powerful cold beast, and Pellow's voice is waaaaay too weak. The Molokov was very good, though, David Bedelia.
Still, "Nobody's Side"? Absolutely the best song to belt at the top of your lungs when the bastards are grinding you down. The very act is cathartic.
I know that The Daily Show is where one expects the funny news captions, but frankly, most of my favourites in the past six months or so have come from Countdown - Everlasting GOP Stoppers for the "Party of No" and Tainted Guv for Blagojevich are two of the best, but for a historical overview of the West's, and particularly the US's, intervention in Persia/Iran and why the Iranians might not be so pleased about us putting our oar in? "Meddle Fatigue".
In other news, I have about 3/4 of the next chapter of "Relict" written and hope to finish today or tomorrow. Oh, and the trailer for Amelia looks very good - Mira Nair has a fantastic eye for colour, she really does.
nakeisha, and for that, I'm quite sorry. Happy Belated Birthday!
So, some random pop culture thoughts.
I've been seeing some grumbling around that Michael Jackson wasn't important enough for the kind of coverage he'd been getting. First off, I don't know that anyone is really important enough for the kind of tedious, round-the-clock coverage we get for famous people's deaths recently, but to say that Michael Jackson on a global scale wasn't important is just flat-out wrong. I know things have been seriously weird in the last couple of decades (FWIW, I think he may have been effectively asexual, although that doesn't necessarily mean what he did was okay), but he was prodigiously talented, broke significant barriers in the music business, and was the first real global superstar. Without him, we wouldn't have Madonna, and who would Justin Timberlake keep pretending to be? Wait a minute…
It's been over a year, I think, but I went to see a movie. Star Trek, of course, and I was pretty happy. It's not a great movie, but it's fun, and I thought they had a very good, and yet unfussy, way of dealing with the reboot. It was almost as good as the "whoa!" when we found out how we got a Romulan Yar on ST:TNG. (SPOILERISH BUT ONLY FOR TREK NERDS WHO PROBABLY HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT: it's actually the same trick when you get down to it, so not as breathtaking the second time.) Still loathe Kirk and his whole wornout "rebel without a cause" schtick, but was impressed with Quinto as Spock (not a great fan of his Sylar, so this was a pleasant surprise), and Uhura stole the show for me. It just reminded me that I've always liked Zoë Saldana in everything I've ever seen her in. I liked how she was able to wear the miniskirt, the go-go boots, and the ponytail and still come off as kick-ass and "don't mess with me".
Watched the PBS broadcast of Chess in Concert and was reminded just how strong this is as a musical. It's definitely in the top five musicals of the past thirty years, IMO. Assassins is a clear leader, both in terms of concept and musical quality, and Wicked has some great tunes and an obviously resonant story, though it also has some longueurs. But even though it was "just" a concert version and not all the performers were very good, I was riveted for two and a half hours. This is the thing - maybe it works better as an oratorio. Everything is in the music, since so much of the action is internal. And it is a period piece. It has to be taken that way. I do wish the performers had been better - Adam Pascal as Freddy was the best, though he wasn't quite Murray Head (he'd clearly been listening, though). Head has more anguish in his voice, but I'm not sure today's stage training actually allows that. Josh Groban actually surprised me as Anatoly - he can sing the part well, and for someone essentially inexperienced on stage, he wasn't awful. Alas, I was not so enamored of Idina Menzel as Florence (she really can only belt, and her tuning was often out), and Marti Pellow was a disaster as the Arbiter. The Arbiter needs to be a sexy, powerful cold beast, and Pellow's voice is waaaaay too weak. The Molokov was very good, though, David Bedelia.
Still, "Nobody's Side"? Absolutely the best song to belt at the top of your lungs when the bastards are grinding you down. The very act is cathartic.
I know that The Daily Show is where one expects the funny news captions, but frankly, most of my favourites in the past six months or so have come from Countdown - Everlasting GOP Stoppers for the "Party of No" and Tainted Guv for Blagojevich are two of the best, but for a historical overview of the West's, and particularly the US's, intervention in Persia/Iran and why the Iranians might not be so pleased about us putting our oar in? "Meddle Fatigue".
In other news, I have about 3/4 of the next chapter of "Relict" written and hope to finish today or tomorrow. Oh, and the trailer for Amelia looks very good - Mira Nair has a fantastic eye for colour, she really does.