that umbrella, we employed it
First off: Happy Birthday to queeniefox!! :D
I'm sorry it's a little late. I hope you had a fabulous day. Make a week of it. <3
And belated Happy Birthday to fyrdrakken!
I hope you had a very splendid day as well, and a delightful rest of the week. Treat yourself. <3
Thanks to a little personal Black Adder marathon, I am now officially in love with Hugh Laurie. His comedic brilliance in the series alone is enough reason to adore him. But the final episode of season four sealed the deal. I'm not even particularly fond of WWI as a subject, and much prefer the previous two seasons' settings (especially Elizabethan season two). However, in that episode, he transcended comedy, transcended tragedy, and demonstrated how integral those two (seeming) extremes are to one another. Actually, he and Tim McInnerny both stole the show there. But Hugh...! *awestruck* He has a face made for this medium (err, media, considering film & theatre). I cannot wait for new House next week. :)
I would also like to declare my adoration for Aimee Bender, who is--without a doubt--one of the best contemporary writers. Who else could move me with a story about a family of people with pumpkin heads who have an iron-headed son? Then again, who else would write a story like that? hee. I can't wait to see where her writing goes through the years. Willful Creatures proves her continued grace, wit and astute interpretation of the beautiful human beast.
Btw, themoononastick, I finally finished Cock & Bull. Self's style is rather pedantic as well as pretentious at times, as you'd mentioned. Overall, though, I really enjoyed it. Very interesting commentary on gender in relation to sex (re: mutated biology). I haven't really formed any solid thoughts yet, perhaps because, well... OMD, mpreg! Bwa! And. *cringes* ;P Thank you again, luv!
In today's WTF files: The last dream I had before waking up this morning featured my dad smoking a spliff which was on fire (yes) at both ends, and he was trying to make my cat Willow smoke it too. o_O
Alan Lee was in Philly on Monday. Why do all the LOTR kids keep coming here on Mondays? Sean did, Elijah did, now beautiful Alan. *hates evil work and its restrictive Monday-ness* Well, at least I met Alan already. :)
The thought of Dom being stuck all day in a portable loo cracks my shit up. Poor boy. But it's still funny. I can just imagine Billy, et. al. taking the piss out of him for that (no pun intended). And I'm still short-circuited from those "new" old pictures.
Is it weird that I'm not at all upset that Lost is a repeat this Wednesday and the following one? I loved "... And Found," especially as I love Sun and Jin (they could not possibly be featured too much in the series, IMHO, whereas certain others could use a tiny hiatus). Yet I think the break is a good thing. And it's not as though there's an option anyway. ;)
I'm going to do this a little differently than usual since I'm not sure if there's any interest in this. Anyway, here is a little Halloween playlist I've put together. If you're interested in any of the songs, comment and I'll post the mp3 for you. :)
1. Andrew Bird - "Fatal Flower Garden" - A creepy tale of a child being lured into an old gypsy's home, never to be seen again. Folk, rock, gypsy. Ish.
2. Faith and the Muse - "Hollow Hills" - A slightly more ethereal/Celtic rendering of the Bauhaus song, with Monica Richards doing warm yet spooky vocals. Still dark & a bit goth, as Faith and the Muse are both those things.
3. Helium - "Skeleton" - Haunted indie rock with a punk sneer from Mary Timony's old band. "I like pretty baby candy / 'cause it goes right to my head / It makes my lips as red as rubies / I'll eat it till I'm dead."
4. David Bowie - "Underground" from Labyrinth - Okay, not terribly spooky, but it's sung by the Goblin King! In his tight, tight, err, tights!
5. Mary Lou Lord - "Salem '76" - Sweet, folky indie rock about growing up in Salem, Massachusetts. "I won't become Sarah Goode again." Witchy.
6. Kirsty MacColl - "Halloween" - Obvious, innit? All hail Kirsty.
7. Loreena McKennitt - "All Soul's Night" - Mysterious and haunting with ancient, earthy atmosphere.
8. The Pogues - "The Wake of the Medusa" - Arrr, ghost ship of drunken pirates. Oh no, that's just Shane. Never mind the drunken part then. Or the pirate part, perhaps. *scratches head* Ghost ship, though!
9. Quix*o*tic - "Make All the Ghoul Girls Cry" - Eeerie, minimalist indie.
10. Rhea's Obsession - "Hymn to Pan" - Hypnotic, escalating Celtic/goth/Middle-eastern interpretation of the Crowley poem. More chanted than sung, a perfect incantation.
11. Nina Simone - "Pirate Jenny" - Well, it gives me chills! Wicked jazz from the goddess herself.
12. Franz Schubert - "Erkönig" - Probably my favorite piece of German lieder. Simple piano with baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskan singing both parts of an ill boy (riding home with his father) and the Elfking who tries to seduce him to his death.
13. Henry Cowell - "The Banshee" - This is an early 20th century avant garde piece played entirely on the strings of the piano (while another musician holds down the damper pedal). The effect is unnerving, evocative of the title.
14. "This is Halloween" from The Nightmare Before Christmas - Obligatory! Danny Elfman's tongue-in-cheek brilliance per usual.
15. And, finally, anything from Closed On Account of Rabies, a cd of Edgar Allan Poe's tales and poems read by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Marianne Faithful, Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Walken and more. (See full tracklisting here.)
And no Halloween playlist would be complete without:
- "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath
- "Witch Hunt" by The Church
Unfortunately, I don't have either of these on cd (I know--I don't mean to tease). But if anyone does happen to have them.... *bats eyelashes*
I'm sorry it's a little late. I hope you had a fabulous day. Make a week of it. <3
And belated Happy Birthday to fyrdrakken!
I hope you had a very splendid day as well, and a delightful rest of the week. Treat yourself. <3
Thanks to a little personal Black Adder marathon, I am now officially in love with Hugh Laurie. His comedic brilliance in the series alone is enough reason to adore him. But the final episode of season four sealed the deal. I'm not even particularly fond of WWI as a subject, and much prefer the previous two seasons' settings (especially Elizabethan season two). However, in that episode, he transcended comedy, transcended tragedy, and demonstrated how integral those two (seeming) extremes are to one another. Actually, he and Tim McInnerny both stole the show there. But Hugh...! *awestruck* He has a face made for this medium (err, media, considering film & theatre). I cannot wait for new House next week. :)
I would also like to declare my adoration for Aimee Bender, who is--without a doubt--one of the best contemporary writers. Who else could move me with a story about a family of people with pumpkin heads who have an iron-headed son? Then again, who else would write a story like that? hee. I can't wait to see where her writing goes through the years. Willful Creatures proves her continued grace, wit and astute interpretation of the beautiful human beast.
Btw, themoononastick, I finally finished Cock & Bull. Self's style is rather pedantic as well as pretentious at times, as you'd mentioned. Overall, though, I really enjoyed it. Very interesting commentary on gender in relation to sex (re: mutated biology). I haven't really formed any solid thoughts yet, perhaps because, well... OMD, mpreg! Bwa! And. *cringes* ;P Thank you again, luv!
In today's WTF files: The last dream I had before waking up this morning featured my dad smoking a spliff which was on fire (yes) at both ends, and he was trying to make my cat Willow smoke it too. o_O
Alan Lee was in Philly on Monday. Why do all the LOTR kids keep coming here on Mondays? Sean did, Elijah did, now beautiful Alan. *hates evil work and its restrictive Monday-ness* Well, at least I met Alan already. :)
The thought of Dom being stuck all day in a portable loo cracks my shit up. Poor boy. But it's still funny. I can just imagine Billy, et. al. taking the piss out of him for that (no pun intended). And I'm still short-circuited from those "new" old pictures.
Is it weird that I'm not at all upset that Lost is a repeat this Wednesday and the following one? I loved "... And Found," especially as I love Sun and Jin (they could not possibly be featured too much in the series, IMHO, whereas certain others could use a tiny hiatus). Yet I think the break is a good thing. And it's not as though there's an option anyway. ;)
I'm going to do this a little differently than usual since I'm not sure if there's any interest in this. Anyway, here is a little Halloween playlist I've put together. If you're interested in any of the songs, comment and I'll post the mp3 for you. :)
1. Andrew Bird - "Fatal Flower Garden" - A creepy tale of a child being lured into an old gypsy's home, never to be seen again. Folk, rock, gypsy. Ish.
2. Faith and the Muse - "Hollow Hills" - A slightly more ethereal/Celtic rendering of the Bauhaus song, with Monica Richards doing warm yet spooky vocals. Still dark & a bit goth, as Faith and the Muse are both those things.
3. Helium - "Skeleton" - Haunted indie rock with a punk sneer from Mary Timony's old band. "I like pretty baby candy / 'cause it goes right to my head / It makes my lips as red as rubies / I'll eat it till I'm dead."
4. David Bowie - "Underground" from Labyrinth - Okay, not terribly spooky, but it's sung by the Goblin King! In his tight, tight, err, tights!
5. Mary Lou Lord - "Salem '76" - Sweet, folky indie rock about growing up in Salem, Massachusetts. "I won't become Sarah Goode again." Witchy.
6. Kirsty MacColl - "Halloween" - Obvious, innit? All hail Kirsty.
7. Loreena McKennitt - "All Soul's Night" - Mysterious and haunting with ancient, earthy atmosphere.
8. The Pogues - "The Wake of the Medusa" - Arrr, ghost ship of drunken pirates. Oh no, that's just Shane. Never mind the drunken part then. Or the pirate part, perhaps. *scratches head* Ghost ship, though!
9. Quix*o*tic - "Make All the Ghoul Girls Cry" - Eeerie, minimalist indie.
10. Rhea's Obsession - "Hymn to Pan" - Hypnotic, escalating Celtic/goth/Middle-eastern interpretation of the Crowley poem. More chanted than sung, a perfect incantation.
11. Nina Simone - "Pirate Jenny" - Well, it gives me chills! Wicked jazz from the goddess herself.
12. Franz Schubert - "Erkönig" - Probably my favorite piece of German lieder. Simple piano with baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskan singing both parts of an ill boy (riding home with his father) and the Elfking who tries to seduce him to his death.
13. Henry Cowell - "The Banshee" - This is an early 20th century avant garde piece played entirely on the strings of the piano (while another musician holds down the damper pedal). The effect is unnerving, evocative of the title.
14. "This is Halloween" from The Nightmare Before Christmas - Obligatory! Danny Elfman's tongue-in-cheek brilliance per usual.
15. And, finally, anything from Closed On Account of Rabies, a cd of Edgar Allan Poe's tales and poems read by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Marianne Faithful, Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Walken and more. (See full tracklisting here.)
And no Halloween playlist would be complete without:
- "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath
- "Witch Hunt" by The Church
Unfortunately, I don't have either of these on cd (I know--I don't mean to tease). But if anyone does happen to have them.... *bats eyelashes*