(no subject)

i just sorted my inbox... oy. i'm so behind on responses it makes me want to puke. bleh. whew, just trying to keep up.

my new voice teacher and my beloved old voice teacher are soloists in a performance of the messiah this weekend. meep. i want to go, but it's far away and the tickets are pricey and i have enough to do already. pooh. it would be so nice to see them sing together. i <3 them both.

this morning, i was lying in bed with the reject of an alarm clock i use when i'm here... it's big and it doesn't work very well. i had it set to 'buzz' but instead it was playing the radio which barely came in. but i had set it to npr once. so, right. i'm lying there, mostly still asleep and all of a sudden, i'm in middle earth. the shire, in fact. i'm singing along with the lovely music in my head. and then there's a moment of confusion and then i realize they were playing lotr soundtrack on the radio. but by the time i've figured this out, it's over and morning edition is coming on. why was npr playing lotr?!?! damnit.

ok, time for me to get back on the road. i haven't heard anything about traffic issues today but it was everyone's favorite topic yesterday. we just love hardship, don't we? love to tell the tales. did you know? it was the worst traffic in massachusetts history! there were 50 accidents in two hours in western mass! the pike was backed up for hours! it took me 3 hours to drive to work instead of the usual 30 minutes! and i lived to tell the tale! ok, maybe that last bit isn't funny as i heard at least one person was killed in an accident.

cold mountain

here it comes. another one of my all time favorite books being made into a movie. ok, phin, adjust expectations pronto.

i know i can't expect a movie that is very faithful to the book. because the book is loaded with gorgeous detail. and the movie is not 14 hours long, hence that will be different. most of what happens to ada and ruby - the things ruby teaches ada etc - would be rather boring on film, i would think. personal growth and learning how to run a farm... perhaps not gripping enough for the modern audience. (sad, because that's one of my favorite things about the book and i would love to see someone really try to show that on film, but it would have to be independent and smaller etc.) and i expect the violence will be played up. which is not entirely wrong, it's just not what i like best.

what i hope is just that there's something of the essence retained. that the characters are recognizable. i'm not overly excited about the casting choices for the women, but maybe they'll do a good job. jude law? i just don't know. i never pictured inman that pretty. but he'll probably do a good job. i hope the soundtrack isn't too overwhelming. i hope there's something of the quiet, matter-of-fact, slightly dismal feeling the book creates.

and that's about all i dare hope for. especially after the recent slaughter of possession. at least that came ahead to warn me about just how bad movies made from excellent books can be.

all that said, what i want for christmas is some ruby/ada. i mean, finally, some truly slashable female characters. ones with history and depth and character too. who will write this? anyone? meep?

merphle

i've had a tension headache for about 4 days now. ow. i think of it as a tension headache because it feels like it starts at my shoulders and neck. but the dull ache then spreads all through my head. meep. i don't want to take pain killers if i can help it because they dehydrate me and this is a big week for singing. so what do i do? yesterday a shoulder massage from rach and 30 minutes of yoga helped for a while. but that's an awful lot of time to give to a headache.

(no subject)

polenta with stufado this evening. mmm. and too much red wine. i am feeling homey and antisocial. and stressed. i hate that i do this to myself. the upcoming music service at church is chewing on my nerves. i blame the choir. or, certain members. every time we have a music service (this is my 5th), there are some members who doubt my choice of music. they doubt their own abilities, they doubt the beauty and appropriateness of the music etc etc. they've always been wrong. but every time i get scared all over again. it would suck if they were right. and i feel more insecure about this one. usually the winter music is christmas-themed. this year, i decided to go with chanukah music for something new and different. there's a lot of great music for chanukah. and i threw in some other great jewish music for good measure. some people aren't pleased. they can fuck off. i've had too much wine. and i'm stressed.