Monday, November 29, 2010
I really and truly loathe the winter. With each year that passes I hate it more.
I hate the perma-grey sky in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings. I hate that the few hours of actual bright sun is blinding because it reflects off the snow. I hate waking up in the dark. I hate having to squint if I need to see something the direction from which the snow is blowing. I hate that any weight I carry is twice as heavy. I hate all the compensatory paraphernalia. I hate hats that aren’t warm enough so that I have to pull one or two hoods up. I hate that when it snows it collects all over my body and I have to shake it off whenever I enter a heated building so it doesn’t melt through and soak me. I hate that if I am not going straight from Point A to Point B I have to take off and carry my coat, hat, gloves and scarf. I hate having to carry all that shit, if I am, as I often am, spending a lot of time in a public space. I hate putting a wet scarf back on. I hate having to readjust because the patch in front of my mouth has gotten wet and cold from the moisture in my breath. I hate having to wrap it so that the wet spots don’t press against my skin. I hate sweating under my coat and feeling wet and hot and freezing all at the same time. I hate that my glasses are rendered useless because of the snow and condensation. I hate that my toes, fingers, nose and ears inevitably go numb and painful no matter how well I try to protect them. I hate feeling clumsy all wrapped up in layer upon layer. I hate how public transport is always less reliable during the winter, when I need it most, when it’s so much harder to walk to where I’m going. I hate that it takes longer to get anywhere. I hate slipping on ice and snow. I hate landing on my ass or hands-first into the snow. I hate how wet my pants get. I hate how early it gets dark. I hate the dark. I hate the cold. I hate that once the snow falls, it just stays there and gets added to, neverending and relentless from November to April.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Music, again.
So! My life marches onward. I am so infinitely grateful for a four-day school week, oh my god, I could not handle things if I didn't get Friday off. What a fucking godsend. I don't know how I'll manage next semester - I'll have to take six classes, minimum, if I can manage to do the last three the following summer.
Last Thursday night I went to see Jason Webley play a show in a tiny dive bar called Barfly. He and I have been exchanging the occasional e-mail since the Evelyn Evelyn show here last June. I had recommended him a bunch of music and ended up essentially hooking him up with some of my favorite small-time folk musicians. There's a guy who plays kickass accordion and busks around town a lot during the summer, and he was playing a show in Vancouver at the time but his girlfriend came to see Jason's set.
At the show I met up with an internet friend, and we went for some late-night greasy delicious kosher food after the show with Jason, where we ended up writing a song about poutine (for the noobs out there: it's a famous Quebec fast food dish involving french fries slathered in copious amounts of gravy and cheese curds) with two of the three guys in the opening act.
Here's the final product. We rehearsed it so many times before recording and probably really pissed off the waitress and other patrons, haha.
I ended up walking home from the restaurant in the pouring rain at 2 AM all alone, which didn't really bother me until it was 3 AM and I was freezing and soaked to the skin everywhere except my ass, so I caught a cab and it took ten warm minutes to travel the distance that would have taken at least half an hour more of walking. The fare worked out to exactly what was left in my wallet.
*
In other news, I have been listening to a lot of music lately.
My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na
Mucca Pazza - Plays Well Together (album)
The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea (album)
The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards (album)
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (album), Consolers Of The Lonely (album)
Regina Spektor - Apres Moi
Jason Webley - Dance While The Sky Crashes Down, Last Song, Sad About the Dinosaurs, Eleven Saints, Icarus, Map, Music That Tears Itself Apart
World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red-Eyed Soul (album)
Nicholas Hooper - Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince OST
Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars - Di Shikere Kapelye (album), Carnival Conspiracy (album)
Peaches - Talk To Me
Garbage - Why Do You Love Me, Sex Is Not The Enemy, Bad Boyfriend
Metallica - Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, Battery, Damage Inc
Last Thursday night I went to see Jason Webley play a show in a tiny dive bar called Barfly. He and I have been exchanging the occasional e-mail since the Evelyn Evelyn show here last June. I had recommended him a bunch of music and ended up essentially hooking him up with some of my favorite small-time folk musicians. There's a guy who plays kickass accordion and busks around town a lot during the summer, and he was playing a show in Vancouver at the time but his girlfriend came to see Jason's set.
At the show I met up with an internet friend, and we went for some late-night greasy delicious kosher food after the show with Jason, where we ended up writing a song about poutine (for the noobs out there: it's a famous Quebec fast food dish involving french fries slathered in copious amounts of gravy and cheese curds) with two of the three guys in the opening act.
Here's the final product. We rehearsed it so many times before recording and probably really pissed off the waitress and other patrons, haha.
I ended up walking home from the restaurant in the pouring rain at 2 AM all alone, which didn't really bother me until it was 3 AM and I was freezing and soaked to the skin everywhere except my ass, so I caught a cab and it took ten warm minutes to travel the distance that would have taken at least half an hour more of walking. The fare worked out to exactly what was left in my wallet.
*
In other news, I have been listening to a lot of music lately.
My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na
Mucca Pazza - Plays Well Together (album)
The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea (album)
The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards (album)
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (album), Consolers Of The Lonely (album)
Regina Spektor - Apres Moi
Jason Webley - Dance While The Sky Crashes Down, Last Song, Sad About the Dinosaurs, Eleven Saints, Icarus, Map, Music That Tears Itself Apart
World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red-Eyed Soul (album)
Nicholas Hooper - Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince OST
Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars - Di Shikere Kapelye (album), Carnival Conspiracy (album)
Peaches - Talk To Me
Garbage - Why Do You Love Me, Sex Is Not The Enemy, Bad Boyfriend
Metallica - Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters, Battery, Damage Inc
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Other Europeans concert
Last night I went to a fantastic concert - The Other Europeans, a group of musicians from various places in Europe and North America. Half the band comes from the Jewish klezmer tradition and the other from Roma gypsy lautari music, but both originated in the same area of Eastern Europe before World War II and have a lot of common musical ground. These guys were up at KlezKanada this year, some of them being regulars, and I got to hear them play several times, which was wonderful. Last night was an actual paid concert in a beautiful theatre, and our seats were two rows from the front, right in the centre. I had an amazing view of the musicians, and somehow the experience uncorked my creativity block. I took frantic little notes in the notebook I always carry with me in case of emergencies like this one.
There's something really important about musicians who don't just stand there and play. I've known a lot of musicians in my experience with classical music to whom music is something you study, learn, and reproduce, and while that experience can be joyful itself, it's nothing compared to the kind of thrill present in folk musicians like these guys, who seem to be some kind of vehicle and vessel for an energy they're both embodying and generating. You have to experience this music with your whole body, not just your ears. This music is about dancing and singing and grinning and watching and interacting.
The clarinets and trumpets play clear, bright and sharp in the higher octaves. The wooden flute trembled the air. The keys and buttons on the accordion were pearlescent and iridescent. These musicians played with personality, grinning at each other and horsing around onstage. Playing this music is a party, at any level. These guys are so insanely talented, they channel the music so effortlessly, and they leave room for such visible joy and energy. The accordionists hands are so fast, his left dancing up and down the keyboard like the fastest teenage typist. His right arm pumps the bellows and the hand jumps quickly from bass button to bass button. The violin plays a tiny, quiet, precise, thin, fast solo. The bassist isn't just playing his instrument, he's dancing with it, swinging and swaying the big wooden form. The tuba players face is so animated that you barely notice how much of him is hidden behind the brass bulk. I imagine what these musicians would look like without their instruments - the trumpet player standing ramrod-straight, chin up, two hands cupping in front of his mouth - the accordionists weaving with his arms and dancing his fingers impossibly fast - the tsimbl player hammering away with invisible sticks against invisible piano-like strings - everyone's bodies would still be dancing. You'd still be able to see the music, even if the instruments weren't there. I'd love to draw that picture, the essence of music.
Each instrument is distinct and audible in addition to blending perfectly with each other. The trumpet is present, powerful, penetrating, full-bodied and rich. The clarinet begins a slow, sweet, solemn, deep solo - a change in tone from the former high, thin, powerful reedy tones. Everyone is relaxed, confident, solid, delighted, cheeky and smug at times. There's no arrogance, just the joy of good-natured egging each other on. They show off to each other, not the audience, but they know we love it, and they just knock each other into higher gears. They pass the role of awe-inspiring, complicated, decisive solo from each other so easily and happily. They all know exactly what they're doing, and have the same confidence in each other's talents.
There's a lot of improvisation and matching up between duet pairs while the rest noodle background support, and then the melody is passed on. The tuba player switches to the upright bass quickly and plays bass with the tuba hanging off his shoulder on a strap. The clarinetist springs up onto his tiptoes as he slides into a high note - his eyebrows jump with the rest of him. We can see him smiling with his whole body since his mouth is busy holding down the reed. Another musician lets go of his alto sax which rests against his chest as he plays the piccolo. The musicians give each other noticeable musical salutes and high-fives, egging each other on from across the stage. The tuba player dancing a shuffle as he plays the bassline. The trumpet player launches into a fantastic solo, with the joy and excitement of a kid going, "Look what I can do!", but with the confidence and skill that comes with talent and time.
The drum solo is fantastic. After playing the most rapid and interesting counter-rhythms with such a casual, passive posture, the drummer rips into the melody - he plays the melody on his percussion and rhythm instrument. I think my joy batteries reached full recharge. When it's quiet again, the violin plays a soft, dull, blunted solo not unlike the wooden flute's tremulous notes. The tempo picks up and the bass isn't just a bass instrument anymore, it's also percussion. The accordion and tsimbl players keep reminding me of frantic typists, with that tiny precise muscle memory. There are so many back-and-forth duets that remind me of the Korean Teeterboard acts in Cirque du Soleil - both performers help each other reach greater heights. The final melody gets passed around the entire band before a raucous, joyous finale and a standing ovation. Everyone leaves the theatre grinning from ear to ear. My musical hands keep tapping.
There's something really important about musicians who don't just stand there and play. I've known a lot of musicians in my experience with classical music to whom music is something you study, learn, and reproduce, and while that experience can be joyful itself, it's nothing compared to the kind of thrill present in folk musicians like these guys, who seem to be some kind of vehicle and vessel for an energy they're both embodying and generating. You have to experience this music with your whole body, not just your ears. This music is about dancing and singing and grinning and watching and interacting.
The clarinets and trumpets play clear, bright and sharp in the higher octaves. The wooden flute trembled the air. The keys and buttons on the accordion were pearlescent and iridescent. These musicians played with personality, grinning at each other and horsing around onstage. Playing this music is a party, at any level. These guys are so insanely talented, they channel the music so effortlessly, and they leave room for such visible joy and energy. The accordionists hands are so fast, his left dancing up and down the keyboard like the fastest teenage typist. His right arm pumps the bellows and the hand jumps quickly from bass button to bass button. The violin plays a tiny, quiet, precise, thin, fast solo. The bassist isn't just playing his instrument, he's dancing with it, swinging and swaying the big wooden form. The tuba players face is so animated that you barely notice how much of him is hidden behind the brass bulk. I imagine what these musicians would look like without their instruments - the trumpet player standing ramrod-straight, chin up, two hands cupping in front of his mouth - the accordionists weaving with his arms and dancing his fingers impossibly fast - the tsimbl player hammering away with invisible sticks against invisible piano-like strings - everyone's bodies would still be dancing. You'd still be able to see the music, even if the instruments weren't there. I'd love to draw that picture, the essence of music.
Each instrument is distinct and audible in addition to blending perfectly with each other. The trumpet is present, powerful, penetrating, full-bodied and rich. The clarinet begins a slow, sweet, solemn, deep solo - a change in tone from the former high, thin, powerful reedy tones. Everyone is relaxed, confident, solid, delighted, cheeky and smug at times. There's no arrogance, just the joy of good-natured egging each other on. They show off to each other, not the audience, but they know we love it, and they just knock each other into higher gears. They pass the role of awe-inspiring, complicated, decisive solo from each other so easily and happily. They all know exactly what they're doing, and have the same confidence in each other's talents.
There's a lot of improvisation and matching up between duet pairs while the rest noodle background support, and then the melody is passed on. The tuba player switches to the upright bass quickly and plays bass with the tuba hanging off his shoulder on a strap. The clarinetist springs up onto his tiptoes as he slides into a high note - his eyebrows jump with the rest of him. We can see him smiling with his whole body since his mouth is busy holding down the reed. Another musician lets go of his alto sax which rests against his chest as he plays the piccolo. The musicians give each other noticeable musical salutes and high-fives, egging each other on from across the stage. The tuba player dancing a shuffle as he plays the bassline. The trumpet player launches into a fantastic solo, with the joy and excitement of a kid going, "Look what I can do!", but with the confidence and skill that comes with talent and time.
The drum solo is fantastic. After playing the most rapid and interesting counter-rhythms with such a casual, passive posture, the drummer rips into the melody - he plays the melody on his percussion and rhythm instrument. I think my joy batteries reached full recharge. When it's quiet again, the violin plays a soft, dull, blunted solo not unlike the wooden flute's tremulous notes. The tempo picks up and the bass isn't just a bass instrument anymore, it's also percussion. The accordion and tsimbl players keep reminding me of frantic typists, with that tiny precise muscle memory. There are so many back-and-forth duets that remind me of the Korean Teeterboard acts in Cirque du Soleil - both performers help each other reach greater heights. The final melody gets passed around the entire band before a raucous, joyous finale and a standing ovation. Everyone leaves the theatre grinning from ear to ear. My musical hands keep tapping.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Encounter At Farpoint rewatch & dramatic commentary
- OH SUP LONG SHOT OF THE ENTERPRISE D, WHAT A HOT PIECE OF ASS
- LOL UNIFORMS. LOL TUNIC DRESSES ngl I’d rock one of those tunic dresses in science/medical blue
- lol picard in main engineering
- OH SUP DOROTHY FONTANA
- I think that Indian guy at the conn is the only East Asian I’ve ever seen on Star Trek.
- nice kinky boots, troi
- DATA YOU SO SILLY, HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT SNOOPING
- shup up data
- TROI’S GETTING A ~~HEEEEAADAAAAACHE, RED ALERT MOTHERFUCKERS
- unf why hello there tasha
- lol turtlehead
- Q why are you using shakespearean pronouns
- heehee early special effects
- same freezer effects as in The Naked Now
- COMMIES????
- history lesson from Q, kinda reminding me of Captain Jack Harkness in that military outfit
- tasha you so eager
- why does no one use personal pronouns in reference to themselves? “Captain, recommend hoo hah!” “Captain, sensing bloo blah!” “Captain, inadvisable!”
- PRINT OUT ONLY?
- DRAMATIC WARP TRUMPETS AND SNARE CRASHES!
- troi stop looking so constipated
- tasha’s overacting does not make her any less hot
- troi’s does though
- people still aren’t using “I”
- OH NO, DATA’S USING DRAMATIC PAUSES
- NOW HEAR THIS, SAYS PICARD. PRINT-OUTS
- OH NO! EMERGENCY SAUCER SEPARATION! EVERYONE REACT IN A SUDDEN AND CONCERNED MANNER!
- WHY ARE THERE CHILDREN AND MEN IN SKANTS WALKING THROUGH MAIN ENGINEERING
- omg vulcan science officer with bb vulcan ♥_____♥♥
- HAAAY O’BRIEN HAAAAAAY
- enterprise just farting torpedoes, nothing to see here...
- awwwww yeeah baby, saucer separation, triumphant orchestral theme, they so ~~flyyy
- why is Data wearing a breathless expression? he doesn’t breathe. or express emotion.
- is that the german eagle behind picard?
- uhhhhh fu manchu moustaches?
- lol post-apocalyptic mid-21st century peasants
- Q is looking remarkably RPattz
(“I’m the world’s most dangerous predator, Picard. Every thing about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell. As if I would need any of that... as if you could out run me... as if you could fight me off! I’m designed to kill.”)
- ANGRY SOLDIER IS GOING TO SHOOT AT THE CEILING AND THE GROUND UNTIL YOU OBEY!
- that fu manchu small person is getting a lot of screen-time
- nice job challenging Q there Picard
- first instance of data speaking with other people’s voices
- first instance of picard out-thinking Q
- Picard looks so excited to prove humanity’s awesomeness
- OH HAAAAAY MR. RIKER SEXY VOICE
- GRAPPLER ZORRRRRN :D
- oh haaaaaay beverly
- shut up wesley
- “When I was little, he brought my father’s body home to us.” WAY TO DARKEN THE MOOD WESLEY
- wes, wes. riker will ~see you on board~.
- GEORDI! ♥
- standard parking orbit? does the enterprise drive standard too?
- riker’s watching the cliff(hanger) notes.
- I like that they show it’s difficult to navigate a ship, with the emphasis on the skill Riker would need to dock the saucer with the main ship
- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONES! ♥♥♥♥♥♥
- ilu sassy geordi
- emotional music during bones’ stroll with data... clearly a love song for the enterprise ♥______♥
- worf, why are you aiming a phaser at the viewscreen
- RIKER EXPLANATORY HAND GESTURES
- OH DEAR LORD, TROI AND RIKER. OH DEAR LORD.
- yep, she’s definitely broadcasting nudes into his brain
- you can tell picard is standing in the turbolift because his mic is in a small space
- IMZAAAAAADI
- troi’s getting a heeeeeadaaaaache
- uhhhh the ferengi don’t
- short ensign lady is flirting with riker, hahahahaha
- and the enterprise does internal GPS directions
- and some ~~wondrous exposition of the holodeck
- riker’s whistling is so much more jovial than data’s soulless android whistling
- data why are you smirking, you have no emotion it’s kinda hot though
- and data’s wistful and slightly weary tone when discussing his non-humanity is adoooorable. pinocchio! ♥
- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA WESLEY FALLS INTO THE RIVER HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
- data oh my dear lord I love you always
- PICARD VS CHILD ROUND 1
- captain picard is NOT a pain, wesley
- geordi, tasha, and troi appear to be inside Moya
- nice site-to-site transport, riker. they ought to do that more often instead of running for another seven seasons.
- ROMANTIC ORCHESTRATION FOR BEVERLY AND JEAN-LUC’S EPIC REUNION
- don’t ruin it wesley
- hee hee, he looks so terrified and awestruck (appropriate)
- nice unsteady-cam
- picard offering wesley the captain’s chair is probably the root of all the kid’s delusions of grandeur
- and like, “I... I knew your father” is a very unsubtle allusion to the fact that maybe he ~~is wesley’s father
- aaaand you ruined it, wesley
- Q is back, bein’ a douchebag
- Riker’s package is highlighted by the dustiness of his uniform
- more like Groveler Zorn
- first mention of “mon capitaine”!
- sassy beverly♥
- “...you requested this posting?” oh, I do wish picard were romantically flustered wrt beverly more often. “I, uh, hope we can be friends.”
- “sorry, sir... I seem to be commenting on everything.” and so it goes for seven seasons and several movies. ♥
- the groppler zorn torture scene always terrified me when I was little
- worf yells and points!
- picard begging Q to let him help his people ♥♥♥
- “If you had earned the uniform you are wearing you’d know that the unkown is what brings us out here.”
- SPACE JELLYFISH ♥
- IT’S NOT A FUCKING SPACE STATION, IT’S ON A PLANET
- aaaand troi and riker look at each other when picard says “mate”
- A PAIR OF SPACE JELLYFISH
- the violins during the jellyfish reunion is very reminiscent of West Side Story
- “Let’s see what’s out there. Engage!”
- BAH BAH BAAAAAAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAAAAAAAAH AND IT’S OVER
- LOL UNIFORMS. LOL TUNIC DRESSES ngl I’d rock one of those tunic dresses in science/medical blue
- lol picard in main engineering
- OH SUP DOROTHY FONTANA
- I think that Indian guy at the conn is the only East Asian I’ve ever seen on Star Trek.
- nice kinky boots, troi
- DATA YOU SO SILLY, HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT SNOOPING
- shup up data
- TROI’S GETTING A ~~HEEEEAADAAAAACHE, RED ALERT MOTHERFUCKERS
- unf why hello there tasha
- lol turtlehead
- Q why are you using shakespearean pronouns
- heehee early special effects
- same freezer effects as in The Naked Now
- COMMIES????
- history lesson from Q, kinda reminding me of Captain Jack Harkness in that military outfit
- tasha you so eager
- why does no one use personal pronouns in reference to themselves? “Captain, recommend hoo hah!” “Captain, sensing bloo blah!” “Captain, inadvisable!”
- PRINT OUT ONLY?
- DRAMATIC WARP TRUMPETS AND SNARE CRASHES!
- troi stop looking so constipated
- tasha’s overacting does not make her any less hot
- troi’s does though
- people still aren’t using “I”
- OH NO, DATA’S USING DRAMATIC PAUSES
- NOW HEAR THIS, SAYS PICARD. PRINT-OUTS
- OH NO! EMERGENCY SAUCER SEPARATION! EVERYONE REACT IN A SUDDEN AND CONCERNED MANNER!
- WHY ARE THERE CHILDREN AND MEN IN SKANTS WALKING THROUGH MAIN ENGINEERING
- omg vulcan science officer with bb vulcan ♥_____♥♥
- HAAAY O’BRIEN HAAAAAAY
- enterprise just farting torpedoes, nothing to see here...
- awwwww yeeah baby, saucer separation, triumphant orchestral theme, they so ~~flyyy
- why is Data wearing a breathless expression? he doesn’t breathe. or express emotion.
- is that the german eagle behind picard?
- uhhhhh fu manchu moustaches?
- lol post-apocalyptic mid-21st century peasants
- Q is looking remarkably RPattz
(“I’m the world’s most dangerous predator, Picard. Every thing about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell. As if I would need any of that... as if you could out run me... as if you could fight me off! I’m designed to kill.”)
- ANGRY SOLDIER IS GOING TO SHOOT AT THE CEILING AND THE GROUND UNTIL YOU OBEY!
- that fu manchu small person is getting a lot of screen-time
- nice job challenging Q there Picard
- first instance of data speaking with other people’s voices
- first instance of picard out-thinking Q
- Picard looks so excited to prove humanity’s awesomeness
- OH HAAAAAY MR. RIKER SEXY VOICE
- GRAPPLER ZORRRRRN :D
- oh haaaaaay beverly
- shut up wesley
- “When I was little, he brought my father’s body home to us.” WAY TO DARKEN THE MOOD WESLEY
- wes, wes. riker will ~see you on board~.
- GEORDI! ♥
- standard parking orbit? does the enterprise drive standard too?
- riker’s watching the cliff(hanger) notes.
- I like that they show it’s difficult to navigate a ship, with the emphasis on the skill Riker would need to dock the saucer with the main ship
- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONES! ♥♥♥♥♥♥
- ilu sassy geordi
- emotional music during bones’ stroll with data... clearly a love song for the enterprise ♥______♥
- worf, why are you aiming a phaser at the viewscreen
- RIKER EXPLANATORY HAND GESTURES
- OH DEAR LORD, TROI AND RIKER. OH DEAR LORD.
- yep, she’s definitely broadcasting nudes into his brain
- you can tell picard is standing in the turbolift because his mic is in a small space
- IMZAAAAAADI
- troi’s getting a heeeeeadaaaaache
- uhhhh the ferengi don’t
- short ensign lady is flirting with riker, hahahahaha
- and the enterprise does internal GPS directions
- and some ~~wondrous exposition of the holodeck
- riker’s whistling is so much more jovial than data’s soulless android whistling
- data why are you smirking, you have no emotion it’s kinda hot though
- and data’s wistful and slightly weary tone when discussing his non-humanity is adoooorable. pinocchio! ♥
- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA WESLEY FALLS INTO THE RIVER HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
- data oh my dear lord I love you always
- PICARD VS CHILD ROUND 1
- captain picard is NOT a pain, wesley
- geordi, tasha, and troi appear to be inside Moya
- nice site-to-site transport, riker. they ought to do that more often instead of running for another seven seasons.
- ROMANTIC ORCHESTRATION FOR BEVERLY AND JEAN-LUC’S EPIC REUNION
- don’t ruin it wesley
- hee hee, he looks so terrified and awestruck (appropriate)
- nice unsteady-cam
- picard offering wesley the captain’s chair is probably the root of all the kid’s delusions of grandeur
- and like, “I... I knew your father” is a very unsubtle allusion to the fact that maybe he ~~is wesley’s father
- aaaand you ruined it, wesley
- Q is back, bein’ a douchebag
- Riker’s package is highlighted by the dustiness of his uniform
- more like Groveler Zorn
- first mention of “mon capitaine”!
- sassy beverly♥
- “...you requested this posting?” oh, I do wish picard were romantically flustered wrt beverly more often. “I, uh, hope we can be friends.”
- “sorry, sir... I seem to be commenting on everything.” and so it goes for seven seasons and several movies. ♥
- the groppler zorn torture scene always terrified me when I was little
- worf yells and points!
- picard begging Q to let him help his people ♥♥♥
- “If you had earned the uniform you are wearing you’d know that the unkown is what brings us out here.”
- SPACE JELLYFISH ♥
- IT’S NOT A FUCKING SPACE STATION, IT’S ON A PLANET
- aaaand troi and riker look at each other when picard says “mate”
- A PAIR OF SPACE JELLYFISH
- the violins during the jellyfish reunion is very reminiscent of West Side Story
- “Let’s see what’s out there. Engage!”
- BAH BAH BAAAAAAH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAAAAAAAAH AND IT’S OVER
Friday, August 6, 2010
I feel like I ought to be blogging here more, but between most of my thoughts not being interesting enough to put here for the few people who read it or being too personal to put in my public blog, I haven't really had much to say here.
I think maybe soon I'll write something about music. It's always easy to write about music. I've rededicated myself to art and music lately. I want to produce things I am proud of instead of the usual blahs that never really go anywhere. I'll keep trying to record the piano cover I've been working on for some time now. I'm trying to teach myself piano theory after three years of playing piano by ear and sheet music. Now I'm trying to embed the chords and general building blocks of theory in my musical memory so I can be like Amanda Palmer one day.
I think maybe soon I'll write something about music. It's always easy to write about music. I've rededicated myself to art and music lately. I want to produce things I am proud of instead of the usual blahs that never really go anywhere. I'll keep trying to record the piano cover I've been working on for some time now. I'm trying to teach myself piano theory after three years of playing piano by ear and sheet music. Now I'm trying to embed the chords and general building blocks of theory in my musical memory so I can be like Amanda Palmer one day.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Star Trek XI: A re-re-re-reviewing.
I'm watching Star Trek XI for the first time since I became acquainted with TOS. I hope I see more references.
- I have such a boner for the tech in this movie, omg
- Ugh, I really have such a huge problem with Nero as a villain, it makes his parts of the movie so uncomfortable to watch.
- On the bright side, Daddy Kirk!
- And the music never ever gets old. The shuttles leaving the Kelvin while George Kirk pilots and Winona Kirk gives birth and the gentle music and the explosions, aaahhhh, gorgeous filmmaking.
- Winona Kirk your roots are showing
- Oh wow I never realized until now that Kirk's mom is whatsername from House, huh. That explains why the bad blonde dye job was so irritatingly familiar.
- Ajxdfhdushfda the theme music and the big Star Trek logo rotating slowly in a lens flare aushdfuhsfla I fucking love this music
- k it's a boy in a car now I really don't care about boys in cars
- Canned angry step-dad sounds canned.
- This rock music and high speed chase makes it seem like I'm watching Iron Man or something.
- BABY VULCANS DOING SCHOOL EXAMS IN LITTLE HALF-SPHERES, D'AWWWW
- Baby Spoooooock <3333333 ALL THE HEARTS
- Baby Spock kind of has trouble with big words
- The main Vulcan bully is kinda hot though
- HI THERE ZACHARY QUINTO
- Stupid Momma Spock's dress is stupid
- Ahahahah I love you, Bitchplz!Spock
- OH HEEEEEEEY THERE ZOE SALDANA, WASSSUUUUP
- Haaahahahah and the bitchy banter with Kirk, oh I love this
- "There are four of us and one of you" So Cupcake is only counting cadets who can ~handle Kirk? i.e. not Uhura.
- Deus Ex Pike
- "You like being the only genius-level repeat offender in the midwest?"
- Adsuhfsfdla the shipyard is so gorgeous and the music is so gorgeous and CPine is so gorgeous
- Ahahaha I love that background "...Niiice." when Kirk bonks his head on the beam.
- KARL URRRRBAAAAAAAN <3! I will always love grumpy McCoy.
- More cheesy Nero lines, blaaarrg
- Ahahaha Spock's weebly ship
- "Study my ass", hahahaha.
- MORE KIRK/UHURA BICKERING <3
- Man, the Kobiyashi Maru scene always makes me sealclap with glee.
- Nice multi-racial simulation crew
- SPOOOOOCK! (I think I might all-caps every time Zachary Quinto ever does anything.)
- Unfff the tech in the shuttle hangar
- Uhura bitching out Spock :D
- SPOOOOOOOOOCK (I did warn you)
- That epic spacedock never fails to impress me with how epic it is. Also: MUSIC
- Requisite Enterprise spacedock porn
- "I don't feel right? I feel like I'm leaking!"
- Asiduhfsffla the briiiiiidge! Spoooock! Sulu! Chekov! Piiiike!
- I think this "review" is going to be 99% flailsquee, really.
- WICTOR WICTOR!!!
- I love Kirk and McCoy's frantic stressed-out faces
- "You got numbtongue? I can fix that!"
- Nero's ship is orbiting upside-down, whee!
- Asdfjdlada they all look so amazing in their uniforms
- One of the Romulans is from cockney London?
- Nero speaks casually to Pike and uses words like "Hi". He sounds like Christian Bale doing an American accent, not an alien in the future. It's really irritating.
- Nero says he does not speak for the Romulan Empire and that he stands apart, and yet he takes it upon himself to angrily avenge the death of the Romulan planet that hasn't actually happened yet in this timeline. It fucking irritates me. He's such a bad villain. I miss Shinzon. Mmmm, Tom Hardy.
- I still don't understand why Spock's wibbly ship had so much red matter on it.
- Spock eyebrow quirk!
- Screwed redshirt is screwed
- Sulu kicking ass with a twenty-third century extendable sword
- La la archaic Vulcan historical/religious site la la
- Chekov's little chagrined "Oyey" at being left with the conn, haha.
- I wonder how ridiculous these extras felt practicing their one lines to themselves about the Enterprise's impending doom
- Haaahahahaha clearly Chekov's video game skillz put to use using the transporter targeting system
- "Ahh! Yamayu!" his little Russian exclamation of joy
- Shut UP Nero
- No seriously, Nero, SHUT UP. Stop monologuing. I don't CARE.
- SHUT UP ROMULUS STILL FUCKING EXISTS
- Centaurian slugs... hurr hurr shoutout to Wrath of Khan
- "Dammit man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!"
- "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Aaand a shoutout to Star Trek IV, which was a shoutout to Sherlock Holmes. Uh, if I remember correctly, didn't Spock, in Star Trek IV, cite an "ancestor" of his? Does he know Sherlock Holmes is fictional? Or does he descend from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
- I still think it's fucking stupid for Spock to maroon Kirk. He ought to have thrown him in the brig like anyone with a brain.
- And Kirk is making a cranky voicepost to his Livejournal while he wanders Planet Hoth
- Blah blah Kirk's fighting a monster, blah
- SPOOOOOOCCCKKK! SPOCK PRIME!
- "I... am Spock." "Bullshit."
- Oh hey, Spock Prime and Kirk arrived at the snow base from Inception.
- SIMON PEEEEEGGGG! I'd actually forgotten he was going to turn up. SIMON PEGGGGG!
- Admiral Archer's prize beagle, heehee.
- Spock Prime fucking around with the timeline, heehee.
- That big bladed thing in the middle of Enterprise engineering is there purely as a plot device
- Cupcake!
- Uh oh, Sylar's gonna get a lecture from Daddy
- Simon Pegggggg
- "I'll be monitoring your frequency."
- "I have no comment on the manner."
- And of course they're not in the cargo bay
- "Wow, that's weird!"
- "It appears you have been keeping important information from me."
- I CANNOT WATCH THIS SCENE IN SPOCK'S SHIP WITHOUT THINKING OF THE BLOOPER SCENE WITH THE ACCENTS
- And Kirk is wandering around in that pipe from the snow base in Inception
- And Nero's been posing in front of that window waiting for Kirk so he can deliver his cheesy line
- Batman Nero ROAR! Batman Nero Hulk SMASH! WAH WAH I WANT SPOCK DEAD NOOOW!
- Wil Wheaton cameo hee hee
- Unnfff images and music
- Another stupid nonsensical Nero line about preferring to lose Romulus a thousand times than be helped by the guys who he blames for the loss of Romulus even though they didn't do it...
- WHEEEEE KIRK IS RELIEVING PIKE AS CAPTAIN OF THE ENTERPRISE.
- Pike doesn't really ~stand relieved. He sits relieved.
- And the Enterprise is at rights with its proper crew!
- Man, this movie makes me go, "WEEEEEEE!" a lot.
- I can't fucking wait for the sequel
- AHHHHH THE MUSIC AND VOICEOVER IN THE CLOSING CREDITS ADUHFSFDFJDALA I GET SHIVERS EVERY TIME
- I have such a boner for the tech in this movie, omg
- Ugh, I really have such a huge problem with Nero as a villain, it makes his parts of the movie so uncomfortable to watch.
- On the bright side, Daddy Kirk!
- And the music never ever gets old. The shuttles leaving the Kelvin while George Kirk pilots and Winona Kirk gives birth and the gentle music and the explosions, aaahhhh, gorgeous filmmaking.
- Winona Kirk your roots are showing
- Oh wow I never realized until now that Kirk's mom is whatsername from House, huh. That explains why the bad blonde dye job was so irritatingly familiar.
- Ajxdfhdushfda the theme music and the big Star Trek logo rotating slowly in a lens flare aushdfuhsfla I fucking love this music
- k it's a boy in a car now I really don't care about boys in cars
- Canned angry step-dad sounds canned.
- This rock music and high speed chase makes it seem like I'm watching Iron Man or something.
- BABY VULCANS DOING SCHOOL EXAMS IN LITTLE HALF-SPHERES, D'AWWWW
- Baby Spoooooock <3333333 ALL THE HEARTS
- Baby Spock kind of has trouble with big words
- The main Vulcan bully is kinda hot though
- HI THERE ZACHARY QUINTO
- Stupid Momma Spock's dress is stupid
- Ahahahah I love you, Bitchplz!Spock
- OH HEEEEEEEY THERE ZOE SALDANA, WASSSUUUUP
- Haaahahahah and the bitchy banter with Kirk, oh I love this
- "There are four of us and one of you" So Cupcake is only counting cadets who can ~handle Kirk? i.e. not Uhura.
- Deus Ex Pike
- "You like being the only genius-level repeat offender in the midwest?"
- Adsuhfsfdla the shipyard is so gorgeous and the music is so gorgeous and CPine is so gorgeous
- Ahahaha I love that background "...Niiice." when Kirk bonks his head on the beam.
- KARL URRRRBAAAAAAAN <3! I will always love grumpy McCoy.
- More cheesy Nero lines, blaaarrg
- Ahahaha Spock's weebly ship
- "Study my ass", hahahaha.
- MORE KIRK/UHURA BICKERING <3
- Man, the Kobiyashi Maru scene always makes me sealclap with glee.
- Nice multi-racial simulation crew
- SPOOOOOCK! (I think I might all-caps every time Zachary Quinto ever does anything.)
- Unfff the tech in the shuttle hangar
- Uhura bitching out Spock :D
- SPOOOOOOOOOCK (I did warn you)
- That epic spacedock never fails to impress me with how epic it is. Also: MUSIC
- Requisite Enterprise spacedock porn
- "I don't feel right? I feel like I'm leaking!"
- Asiduhfsffla the briiiiiidge! Spoooock! Sulu! Chekov! Piiiike!
- I think this "review" is going to be 99% flailsquee, really.
- WICTOR WICTOR!!!
- I love Kirk and McCoy's frantic stressed-out faces
- "You got numbtongue? I can fix that!"
- Nero's ship is orbiting upside-down, whee!
- Asdfjdlada they all look so amazing in their uniforms
- One of the Romulans is from cockney London?
- Nero speaks casually to Pike and uses words like "Hi". He sounds like Christian Bale doing an American accent, not an alien in the future. It's really irritating.
- Nero says he does not speak for the Romulan Empire and that he stands apart, and yet he takes it upon himself to angrily avenge the death of the Romulan planet that hasn't actually happened yet in this timeline. It fucking irritates me. He's such a bad villain. I miss Shinzon. Mmmm, Tom Hardy.
- I still don't understand why Spock's wibbly ship had so much red matter on it.
- Spock eyebrow quirk!
- Screwed redshirt is screwed
- Sulu kicking ass with a twenty-third century extendable sword
- La la archaic Vulcan historical/religious site la la
- Chekov's little chagrined "Oyey" at being left with the conn, haha.
- I wonder how ridiculous these extras felt practicing their one lines to themselves about the Enterprise's impending doom
- Haaahahahaha clearly Chekov's video game skillz put to use using the transporter targeting system
- "Ahh! Yamayu!" his little Russian exclamation of joy
- Shut UP Nero
- No seriously, Nero, SHUT UP. Stop monologuing. I don't CARE.
- SHUT UP ROMULUS STILL FUCKING EXISTS
- Centaurian slugs... hurr hurr shoutout to Wrath of Khan
- "Dammit man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!"
- "If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Aaand a shoutout to Star Trek IV, which was a shoutout to Sherlock Holmes. Uh, if I remember correctly, didn't Spock, in Star Trek IV, cite an "ancestor" of his? Does he know Sherlock Holmes is fictional? Or does he descend from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
- I still think it's fucking stupid for Spock to maroon Kirk. He ought to have thrown him in the brig like anyone with a brain.
- And Kirk is making a cranky voicepost to his Livejournal while he wanders Planet Hoth
- Blah blah Kirk's fighting a monster, blah
- SPOOOOOOCCCKKK! SPOCK PRIME!
- "I... am Spock." "Bullshit."
- Oh hey, Spock Prime and Kirk arrived at the snow base from Inception.
- SIMON PEEEEEGGGG! I'd actually forgotten he was going to turn up. SIMON PEGGGGG!
- Admiral Archer's prize beagle, heehee.
- Spock Prime fucking around with the timeline, heehee.
- That big bladed thing in the middle of Enterprise engineering is there purely as a plot device
- Cupcake!
- Uh oh, Sylar's gonna get a lecture from Daddy
- Simon Pegggggg
- "I'll be monitoring your frequency."
- "I have no comment on the manner."
- And of course they're not in the cargo bay
- "Wow, that's weird!"
- "It appears you have been keeping important information from me."
- I CANNOT WATCH THIS SCENE IN SPOCK'S SHIP WITHOUT THINKING OF THE BLOOPER SCENE WITH THE ACCENTS
- And Kirk is wandering around in that pipe from the snow base in Inception
- And Nero's been posing in front of that window waiting for Kirk so he can deliver his cheesy line
- Batman Nero ROAR! Batman Nero Hulk SMASH! WAH WAH I WANT SPOCK DEAD NOOOW!
- Wil Wheaton cameo hee hee
- Unnfff images and music
- Another stupid nonsensical Nero line about preferring to lose Romulus a thousand times than be helped by the guys who he blames for the loss of Romulus even though they didn't do it...
- WHEEEEE KIRK IS RELIEVING PIKE AS CAPTAIN OF THE ENTERPRISE.
- Pike doesn't really ~stand relieved. He sits relieved.
- And the Enterprise is at rights with its proper crew!
- Man, this movie makes me go, "WEEEEEEE!" a lot.
- I can't fucking wait for the sequel
- AHHHHH THE MUSIC AND VOICEOVER IN THE CLOSING CREDITS ADUHFSFDFJDALA I GET SHIVERS EVERY TIME
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
And to conclude my first viewing of the Original Series Star Trek movies, here we go with Star Trek VI
- And Sulu has just been cataloguing gaseous anomalies for three years on the Excelsior??
- Valeris, what is with the bitchface?
- Valeris is doing Shatnerspeak.
- Chancellor Gorkon looks like he belongs in the Fire Nation.
- Man, everything with the Klingons is so awkward. Their introduction, Kirk and Chang sizing each other up, Valeris and the transporter crewmen, the formal dinner...
- This is literally so awkward I don’t want to watch it. I know I ~hafta, but I have some serious second-hand embarrassment going on.
- "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."
- All these toasts! Awkward.
- "‘Human’ rights, by very name, is racist."
- Ooh, Chang and Kirk just invoked Godwin’s Law.
- Hahahaha, Chang’s tiny mohawk
- Ani-grav blood
- Massacre on the Klingon ship. This is really irritating.
- This movie is giving me such a huge no feeling, oh my god.
- Lots of the Klingons have very Fire Nation facial hair.
- I enjoy the meeting between the Federation President with the Romulan, Vulcan and Klingon ambassadors. It seems very realistic.
- I love how the Starfleet leaders have prepared a paper presentation.
- "We can clean their chronometers", hahaha.
- Valeris, stop citing human history and wipe that everpresent smug look off your face.
- Lawyer Worf Michael Dorn! <3
- QCTV – Qo'noS Court TV
- This movie gives me the same no feeling as tv shows and movies that spend a lot of time framing innocent people very obviously
- Why is a Klingon prison referred to by a Russian word?
- Sexy helpful lady prisoner is sexy, helpful and smart
- Also has a cigarette
- Also has an exotic accent like ~all sexy black ladies.
- Except Uhura.
- Bones and Kirk ought to snuggle for warmth.
- That’s not a kiss, that’s horse lip rubbing.
- "What is it with you, anyway?" I love you, Bones.
- Chekov, that close zoom makes your makeup very obvious.
- I wonder who sleeps in those very tiny, very many bunkbeds.
- Dax?
- "They don’t take girls"? So what are you doing at a mining penal colony, lady?
- "Perhaps you know Russian epic of Cinderella. If shoe fits, wear it."
- Oh my god Kim Catrall, shut your face.
- Sexy is trustworthy, duh.
- I love how their leg-irons are so not a barrier to their escape
- Aaaand the Enterprise is using books to speak Klingon. Lots of books! Lots of books make Klingon-speak.
- Kirk vs Kirk!
- I love how the shapeshifter spoke with her ~sexy lady voice in every form except Kirk’s.
- And we know Kirk is real because he’s still wearing his shackles
- Unstealthy hiding place in the vent is unstealthy
- That Klingon is called Timon? Really??
- Kirk and Spock are standing kissy-close
- Mindmeld that traitor, Spock!
- Oh yeah, he’s gonna.
- OH NO HE’S GOING FOR THE DOUBLE-HANDED MINDMELD! NOT THE DOUBLE-HANDED MINDMELD!
- Someone needs to write an AU about Kamp Khitomer summer camp.
- EXCELSIOR IS DRIVING SO FAST IT’S RATTLING MAN
- All secret weapons must be carried in briefcases, because they are invisible to weapons scanners. Hurr hurr.
- "Well the thing’s gotta have a tailpipe."
- Why does Spock ask McCoy, not Scotty, to help him modify a torpedo?
- ...and Chang continues to wax poetic quoting Earth historic writing
- Colonel Worf’s Klingon forehead is rather... tall...
- "If I were human, I believe my response would be... ‘Go to hell.’"
- SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT AND STRAIGHT ON TIL MORNING
- And Sulu has just been cataloguing gaseous anomalies for three years on the Excelsior??
- Valeris, what is with the bitchface?
- Valeris is doing Shatnerspeak.
- Chancellor Gorkon looks like he belongs in the Fire Nation.
- Man, everything with the Klingons is so awkward. Their introduction, Kirk and Chang sizing each other up, Valeris and the transporter crewmen, the formal dinner...
- This is literally so awkward I don’t want to watch it. I know I ~hafta, but I have some serious second-hand embarrassment going on.
- "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon."
- All these toasts! Awkward.
- "‘Human’ rights, by very name, is racist."
- Ooh, Chang and Kirk just invoked Godwin’s Law.
- Hahahaha, Chang’s tiny mohawk
- Ani-grav blood
- Massacre on the Klingon ship. This is really irritating.
- This movie is giving me such a huge no feeling, oh my god.
- Lots of the Klingons have very Fire Nation facial hair.
- I enjoy the meeting between the Federation President with the Romulan, Vulcan and Klingon ambassadors. It seems very realistic.
- I love how the Starfleet leaders have prepared a paper presentation.
- "We can clean their chronometers", hahaha.
- Valeris, stop citing human history and wipe that everpresent smug look off your face.
- Lawyer Worf Michael Dorn! <3
- QCTV – Qo'noS Court TV
- This movie gives me the same no feeling as tv shows and movies that spend a lot of time framing innocent people very obviously
- Why is a Klingon prison referred to by a Russian word?
- Sexy helpful lady prisoner is sexy, helpful and smart
- Also has a cigarette
- Also has an exotic accent like ~all sexy black ladies.
- Except Uhura.
- Bones and Kirk ought to snuggle for warmth.
- That’s not a kiss, that’s horse lip rubbing.
- "What is it with you, anyway?" I love you, Bones.
- Chekov, that close zoom makes your makeup very obvious.
- I wonder who sleeps in those very tiny, very many bunkbeds.
- Dax?
- "They don’t take girls"? So what are you doing at a mining penal colony, lady?
- "Perhaps you know Russian epic of Cinderella. If shoe fits, wear it."
- Oh my god Kim Catrall, shut your face.
- Sexy is trustworthy, duh.
- I love how their leg-irons are so not a barrier to their escape
- Aaaand the Enterprise is using books to speak Klingon. Lots of books! Lots of books make Klingon-speak.
- Kirk vs Kirk!
- I love how the shapeshifter spoke with her ~sexy lady voice in every form except Kirk’s.
- And we know Kirk is real because he’s still wearing his shackles
- Unstealthy hiding place in the vent is unstealthy
- That Klingon is called Timon? Really??
- Kirk and Spock are standing kissy-close
- Mindmeld that traitor, Spock!
- Oh yeah, he’s gonna.
- OH NO HE’S GOING FOR THE DOUBLE-HANDED MINDMELD! NOT THE DOUBLE-HANDED MINDMELD!
- Someone needs to write an AU about Kamp Khitomer summer camp.
- EXCELSIOR IS DRIVING SO FAST IT’S RATTLING MAN
- All secret weapons must be carried in briefcases, because they are invisible to weapons scanners. Hurr hurr.
- "Well the thing’s gotta have a tailpipe."
- Why does Spock ask McCoy, not Scotty, to help him modify a torpedo?
- ...and Chang continues to wax poetic quoting Earth historic writing
- Colonel Worf’s Klingon forehead is rather... tall...
- "If I were human, I believe my response would be... ‘Go to hell.’"
- SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT AND STRAIGHT ON TIL MORNING
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