A Bissextile Day

Bissextile: a leap year in the Julian or Gregorian calendar

Today is the 29th of February – which only comes once every four years. What do you call today? Leap Year Day? You can call it "bissextile day," and everyone will think you're very smart, or a show-off.

Today is a coworker's birthday. It's his 10th birthday. This reminds me of a favorite musical (many things remind me of a musical), The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. Frederick was mistakenly made an apprentice to pirates until he reaches 21. On his 21st birthday he leaves the pirates determined to bring them to justice. His piratical comrades tell him that he cannot kill them because he is still apprenticed to them until his 21st birthday, and because he was born on February 29th, according to his birthday he is only "five, and little bit over."

Please enjoy this number from the movie "The Pirates of Penzance" with Kevin Kline as The Pirate King, Angela Lansbury as Ruth, and Rex Smith as Frederick.

(Sorry about the subtitles, they are little annoying.)



Happy 10th birthday, Mike!

Glee: On My Way

There was so much in this episode. I didn't know whether to be shocked, to cry, to shout out with glee, or just all three.

The common theme of bullying was prominant in this episode, but this time the bullying led to an attempted suicice. The attempted suicide led to the bullying of another bully, who had a change of heart and was apologetic.

The attempted suicide also led Mr. Shue to advise his students to have something to look forward to, which led Rachel and Finn to decide not to wait to get married, which led their parents to be concerned, and also led to a shocking ending.

Oh, and New Directions won regionals and Sue announced she was pregnant.

Whew!

And Glee won't be back until April, so we won't know the outcome of the cliffhanger until then.

Suicide is a tough subject to take on, and if this episode helps someone contemplating suicide, by thinking of something to look forward to, then God bless Glee.

There were some good songs inbetween all of the drama, of course. My favorites were "Stand" (I love acapella) and "Here's to Us."

I like it when the arrangements of the songs aren't straight covers. Afterall, this is about a glee club, not solo artists.

Observations:

They had such fun choreography at regionals, especially The Warblers. I wish the camera would stay still so we could actually enjoy the hard work of the performers and choreographer.

How did a bunch of high school kids get such nice wedding outfits in such a short time?

I loved seeing Rachel's Dad's excitement at seeing her sing. Although it did look like they had never seen her perform before, but you would think they have been to every one of her performances.

Big Bang Theory: Grammar Lesson

This one's for you, Zaissa.

Sheldon gives a lesson on the subjunctive while playing the bongos.

Go to about 1:15, or better still, watch from the begininng because Sheldon's bongo playing is hilarious.



I love it when they teach correct grammar on TV. You know it's a grammar rule the writer is passionate about. And don't we all have a grammar rule we're passionate about?

Stage Review: Emma

I have seen four stage adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. One was a musical. I only enjoyed one, and it wasn't the musical. So (although I was excited to see it, because I love all things theatre, and all things Jane Austen), my expectations were not extremely high when I went to see Pioneer Theatre Company's stage adaptation of another Jane Austen novel, Emma.

I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. The script, adapted by Jon Jory, stayed true to the book, and although some scenes and characters from the book had to be cut due to time limits, for the most part he chose well what and who he cut.

The production was well staged, and the play flowed seamlessly from scene to scene. The set was nice and simple, but the audience was still able to determine where the scenes were set. The costumes were pretty and well researched for the time. Because Emma was in almost every scene, she didn’t have time to change her costume off stage, so she changed onstage with the help of a “maid,” and I think it was a clever way to do her costume changes.

Speaking of Emma, Nisi Sturgis did a wonderful job portraying the character that Jane Austen herself said that no one would like but herself. Michael Sharon played Mr. Knightley (my favorite of all Jane Austen’s heroes). I have seen Sharon in many plays at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and I’ve always enjoyed his performances. This performance, however, was not my favorite in the production. In Act I he didn’t quite seem sure of who his character was. He was stiff and a little boring. But that did change in Act II when he chastises Emma. After that scene, he seemed to loosen up more, and I enjoyed his performance.

The strawberry picking and Box Hill scenes were combined, and were set at Mr. Knightly’s estate, Donwell Abbey. I understand why this was done, and at first I was disappointed, but then I think it was a good choice. This is the scene where Emma makes fun of Miss Bates. I thought that there should have been a bigger reaction from the characters at Emma’s remark to Miss Bates. I wanted the scene to have more of an impact, but it seems it was just glossed over until Mr. Knightley chastised her.

The other characters were well cast. Katie Fabel played a sweet, innocent Harriet Smith, Richard Gallagher was a good-looking Mr. Elton and had the right amount of ego. I especially enjoyed the performance of Paul Kiernan who played Mr. Weston. I liked his interpretation of his character, and he really made the most of small part. Jenny Mercen, who played Mrs. Elton was snobbish and entirely unlikable, which was exactly who her character was.

I was pleased with the performance and I especially enjoyed the evening with a friend whom I haven't done much with lately.

Stephenie Meyer and Non-Twilight Movies

Many people may not know that Stephenie Meyer has published a novel that's not part of her Twilight series. The Host does not have any vampires or werewolves or an unbearable main character.


I was hesitant to read The Host because I didn't like the Twilight series and I didn't like Stephenie's writing style of the books. A friend who loved the Twilight series let me borrow her copy of The Host. I enjoyed it very much. I liked the plot, and I really liked the main characters. I also think her writing was much better.

A movie adaptation of the book has just started filming. I am looking forward to this film. The book is so different from Twilight, and the actors who have been cast are great. This may be Stephenie's chance to have a film adaptation of one of her books that appeals to the mainstream public.

Cast:
Melanie: Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones, Hanna)
The Seeker: Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Inglorious Basterds)
Ian: Jake Abel (Percy Jackson, The Lovely Bones)
Jeb: William Hurt (Syriana, The Village)
Jared: Max Irons (Red Riding Hood, Dorian Gray)
Maggie: Frances Fisher (Titanic)

We have to wait until March 2013. Darn!


Stephenie was also a producer on a film based on a book by her friend, Shannon Hale. The novel, Austenland, is about Jane Hayes, who is obsessed with the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and no man can compare to Mr. Darcy in her eyes. A wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort that caters to women like Jane who dream of living in the world of Regency England, and meeting their own Mr. Darcy. 

The movie was filmed on location in England, and I don't know when it will be released, but I'm excited for this film too. I am a big Jane Austen fan, and I read Austenland when it came out. I also like many of the actors who were cast in the film, especially JJ Feild. Oh, yea.

Cast:
Jane: Kerry Russell (The Waitress, Felicity)
Henry: JJ Feild (Northanger Abbey)
Miss Charming: Jennifer Coolidge (Legally, Blonde, Best in Show)
Martin: Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Concords, The Muppets)
Mrs. Wattlesbrook: Jane Seymour (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman)

I hope these two movies are successful. They are sure to appeal to a variety of people for many reasons. The reason they appeal to me is I liked the books.

Once Upon a Time: What Happened to Frederick

Mary Margaret and David go back and forth from episode to episode, let's be together; no we can't do that to Kathryn; we have to be together; no, we can't. This was another episode of the same theme. Still, it was a good episode.

In Fairy Tale Land, Princess Abigail arrives in the kingdom for her wedding in a beautiful white carriage. But James runs away, and King George sends soldiers to find him. James thinks he has outrun the soldiers, after some fancy horse jumping and hiding behind a tree. But still he's caught.

In Storybrooke, David and Kathryn are eating dinner, and Kathryn tells David that she applied to a law school in Boston, and was accepted. She wants them to move together so they can make new memories. I wonder where Kathryn went to college for her undergrad. Does Storybrooke have a university? This curse is quite... what word can I use? Smart? To be able to give these fairy tale characters backgrounds that include transcripts that can get one of them into a Boston law school. I also wonder about all of this contact from the outside world. They are all contained physically in Storybrooke, but why can they have contact with the outside world?

Fairy Tale Land: David is caught by Abigail's soldiers. Abigail actually wants to help him escape because she knows he doesn't want to marry her. She knows all about his love for Snow White. She doesn't want to marry him either because she is in love with someone else. James is happy to hear this, and so are we.

Storybrooke: David goes for a walk, and surprise, he runs into Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret tells David that he needs to choose between her and Kathryn. He tells her that he chooses Mary Margaret. MM tells him it's time to tell Kathryn about them.

Emma runs into the stranger, who asks her to get a drink with him. She says she can't go out with a man if she doesn't know his name. He tells her his name: August W. Booth. I love that he tells her, "W is for Wayne."

David tells Kathryn that he can't go to Boston with her because there's something preventing him from connecting to her. He doesn't tell her about Mary Margaret. In Fairy Tale Land, Abigail knows so much. In Storybrooke she doesn't even suspect the relationship.

Fairy Tale Land: James and Abigail ride to her father's "realm." This must be the realm where the characters based on myths live. Here she introduces James to the man she loves, Frederick. Frederick was turned into gold trying to protect her father, King Midas. James asks if she tried true love's kiss to break the curse. "Until my lips bled," she said. So, it must be common knowledge that "true love's kiss" can break curses. That must be why James tries it when Snow eventually eats the poisoned apple. I guess you gotta know these thing beforehand.

Abigail tells James there is a legend that the water of a lake not far away can replace what has been lost. But there is a creature that guards Lake Nostos (Nostos is Greek for "homecoming. That is pretty apropos.). She asks James to go to the lake and fetch some of the water to see if it can break the curse, and James agrees, because where other men failed, "None have my fearless bravery." James is quite sure if himself. But I guess you have to have that cockiness to go up against a creature that has killed everyone else.

Storybrooke: August has Henry's story book, and it looks like he's putting new stories into the book, or copying the pages. I'm not sure what he's doing. Who is August Wayne Booth? Hmmmm.

Kathryn tells Regina that David is leaving her, and Regina tells Kathryn that David and Mary Margaret are having an affair, and shows her pictures to prove it. An angry Kathryn confronts Mary Margaret at the school right after David tells Mary Margaret that he told Kathryn about them - right after he lies! As Kathryn storms into the school, she accidentally bumps into the gym teacher. It's a significant "almost meeting," as we'll find out later. Kathryn slaps Mary Margaret on the face right in the middle of the hall at the school. The rumor mill is about to start rolling.

It seems like both David and Mary Margaret have lost the courage they had in Fairy Tale Land. They've become the opposite of what they were before.

Fairy Tale Land: James goes to the lake and calls for the beast to show itself. It's the Lady of the Lake! Nope. That's from the Arthur legend. We haven't gotten to that one yet. If we're in mythological land, it has to be a siren. Yep, it's a siren. This doesn't bode well for James.

Storybrooke: August gets Emma to hop on his motorcycle and takes her for a drink - at a well. He says that there is a legend that if you drink the water, something lost will be returned to you. How does a stranger know about a legend in Storybrooke? He read the plaque, of course. So, a legend from Fairy Tale Land found its way into Storybrooke. Hmmm. Emma drinks, and later she finds Henry's story book. So, I guess the water worked, or August made sure that Emma believes it worked.

Mary Margaret walks down the street, and people avoid her and whisper about her. Then Granny tells her she should be ashamed of herself. Poor Mary Margaret. She wanted to be upfront and honest, but James couldn't do it.

Fairy Tale Land: At the lake, the siren turns into Snow White to tempt James into the lake so she can drown him. James gives in to the temptation and drops his sword as he kisses her. He falls into the lake and he sees the skeletons of other men who gave into the temptation and were drown. He tries to get away, but he is caught by seaweed (the plant, not the character from Hairspray). He finally grabs a knife and stabs and kills the siren.

Storybrooke: Someone has sprayed the word "Tramp" on Mary Margaret's car, and when Mary Margaret gets to her car, David is trying to wash it off. Mary Margaret is very upset that David lied to her, and didn't tell Kathryn about them. She says that what they have isn't love. She says, "what we have is destructive, and it has to stop." She tells them they shouldn't be together. Like I said, back and forth and back and forth. It's exhausting.

Kathryn tells Regina that she knows her marriage was an illusion, that it's not real. This is why the girl was accepted into law school - brains. She says that David has never looked at her the way he looks at Mary Margaret. Kathryn has decided to go to Law school in Boston by herself, and tell David that he should be with Mary Margaret. Of course we already know that she can't leave Storybrooke. Regina is not happy. She's losing her control.

Fairy Tale Land: James brings water from the lake to Abigail. She pours it over the "statue" of Frederick. He is freed from the golden curse. We discover that it's the gym teacher Kathryn ran into at the school. Ahhh. Abigail and Frederick have a sweet reunion. James is going to look for Snow, and he's hoping a bird can help him track her down. Those birds are pretty helpful.

Storybrooke: Regina uses one of her big skeleton keys to get into David and Kathryn's house. She takes the letter that Kathryn wrote to David telling him she's leaving for law school and that he and Mary Margaret should be together.

Emma sees Henry as he waits for Regina to pick him up from school, and she gives him his story book back. That's good. He really should read, and not play those games.

Fairy Tale Land: James goes to find Snow, and we see the scene with Red that we saw in an earlier episode where she tells him that Snow never came back. And then... King George and his soldiers finally catch up with James.

Storybrooke: Mary Margaret is lying in bed, distraught by everything that happened. Emma comes in and asks if she wants to talk. Mary Margaret says nope. Emma asks her if she wants to be alone. Mary Margaret says nope. Emma lies down next to Mary Margaret on the bed to be there for her. It's a sweet scene between "mother and daughter."

Regina burns Kathryn's letter, so David will never know that Kathryn gives him and MM her blessing to be together. And Kathryn drives away, off to law school. To find her "happy ever after." But then the gym teacher (Frederick) finds her car at the town border. It's empty. What happened to Abigail? Another mystery. I wonder where the gym teacher was going. He would have wrecked his car if he had tried to go any farther too. There must be a lot of wrecked cars in Storybrooke.

Quotes:

Abigail: You're prepared to lay down you life. How charming.

Mary Margaret: You have to make a choice.
James: I choose you.

Mary Margaret: Nothing with you means something, because if it were nothing we wouldn't be talking about it.

Emma: I'm not your mother.
Mary Margaret: According to Henry I'm yours.

Siren: Sometimes illusions are better than truth.

Kathryn: I've always had this irrational fear of leaving Storybrooke, like something's just holding me back.

Smash: The Callback

I'm a week late on this Smash review. I actually watched the rebroadcast of it on Saturday because I watched Castle on Monday instead of Smash. I know I can watch it online, but I had the slowest Internet at home. But Monday I got faster Internet.

Callbacks are nerve-racking. The most nerve-racking callback is when they ask you to come back for more callbacks. It happens. You feel happy because you know they're still considering you, but you just want to know, did I get it? You want someone to call you to tell you that you got the part.

So, this episode of Smash felt very familiar to me. Well, some of it.

The episode opens with Karen singing "Call Me" in a night club. It's a dream sequence, of course. She is waiting for a call regarding the part. I like the musical numbers, but this one was so literal, and felt a little too much like Glee. I like the original songs so much in Smash, and I felt disappointed that they used a pop song from the 80s. I did like that she imagines Julia, Tom, Eileen, and Derek in the audience, totally enjoying her performance. And of course cute Dev, her boyfriend, is there. But I don't know why Ellis would be there. Does she know him? 

So, what is the episode about? Well, the production team can't decide between Karen and Ivy for the role of Marilyn, so they ask Karen to come back for a dance audition, and both of them to come back for scene work. Karen goes to her dance rehearsal. Ivy's friend, Dennis, is one of the dancers helping out with the audition, and he tells Ivy all about her competition.

Julia describes to Tom her vision of the opening of the musical. She says, "I can see it in my head." I loved seeing Julia's vision come to life, and hearing "Let Me be Your Star" again. And I loved seeing the lead change from Karen to Ivy. Having written a musical, I did the same thing. I imagined how I wanted the musical to start. I don't know if any writer of plays or musicals doesn't imagine what their work will look like on stage. Oh, and I have to say that I love Christian Borle as Tom.

Ivy has been reading many books about Marilyn, and has watched all of her movies. I don't think Karen has been doing any research on the character. Ivy and Karen finally meet, and Ivy patronizes her. Then Derek shuts the door in Karen's face. The writers are trying really hard to make us not like Ivy, especially when Ivy ends up sleeping with Derek. The question is, is Derek using Ivy, or is Ivy using Derek? 

Julia and Frank find out that it may take more than two years to adopt a child from China. Frank becomes discouraged because he feels too old to start raising another child, and doesn't know if he wants a teenager when he's in his 60s. Julia and their son become very upset by this. 

Eileen and her soon-to-be-ex, Jerry, are still duking it out. Eileen runs into Jerry at a restaurant, and Jerry scoffs at Eileen's desire to back a musical about Marilyn Monroe. He tells her, "We were good partners because I knew the business, which allowed you to be the romantic." Slam! He says more, and ends with, "You're making a fool of yourself." Eileen throws her drink in Jerry's face and leaves the restuarant with Derek. Eileen now wants to speed up the process to get the musical quickly through the workshop, into out-of-town tryouts and onto Broadway so she can prove to Jerry that she can back a hit. Derek isn't so sure about speeding up the process. But this is television, they could put it on Broadway next week if they wanted. Everything else is going so quickly.

Karen is supposed to meet Dev for an important dinner meeting, and when Derek tells her he wants her to work a little late on a scene, she forgets to call or text Dev that she'll be late. Dev gets very upset, as he should. We're getting the cliched plot line where the girlfriend is spending too much time pursuing her dream (or overtime at her job, like The Devil Wears Prada), and the boyfriend feels abandoned. I agreed with Dev. She should have called or texted.

It was sad to see Karen and Ivy waiting outside of the rehearsal hall. Karen looks so nervous. As Dennis walks in, Karen says hi to him, he says a quick hi and whips over to his good friend, Ivy, and hugs her. Then Tom walks past Karen and gives Ivy a hug. At least Julia notices Karen sitting by herself and talks to her. 

It's finally time for Karen's dance auditions. She does a great number called "The 20th Century Mambo." Did I already say how much I love these original songs? Well, I do. The number is very cute. The choreography was original and clever. In the middle of the number, the lighting changes, and the chorus members are suddenly fully costumed. Then Karen is suddenly revealed, decked out in full Marilyn-garb. I liked that the number was still in the rehearsal hall when the "dream part" of the number is done, and not on a stage. 

After all of the discussing by the production team, they give the part of Marilyn to Ivy. It's a great scene when Tom tells Ivy she got the part. I'm glad they gave the part to Ivy. It really would have been unrealistic if they hadn't given it to her. 

Derek tells Eileen that Jerry picked up the option on the revival of My Fair Lady , and he asked Derek to come back and direct it. Eileen is visibly upset, but Derek tells her that he turned him down. He wants to stick with the Marilyn project. Eileen is happy that Jerry has lost that battle.

Julia goes to a prospective-adoptees support group by herself. The couples were asked to write a letter to the mother of their future child. Julia reads her letter, and it is very moving. Frank arrives just in time to hear it, and sits down by Julia. His face tells her silently that he's back on board with the adoption. This plot line seems out of place in the show, but I'm glad that they are showing that theatre people do have lives outside of the theatre. Shocking, I know!

Ivy goes to a bar with her friends, and they announce to everyone there that Ivy got the part. They ask her to sing, and she sings a great song called "Crazy Dreams." As I listened to the words, I was reminded that usually in order for someone's dreams to come true, someone else's dreams won't come true. When someone gets the part or job they've dreamed of, many other people are told "no." I've been on both sides, and of course I like it better when I get what I've worked hard for, but it's nice when other people get it too.

Observations:

I loved the sound of the orchestra tuning and conductor's baton on the music stand over the title.

Tom is singing the demo of 20th Century Mambo that Karen does her dance rehearsal to. Great for him to have a chance to sing.

Loved seeing Tom and Julia storyboarding their show, but I feel like there should have been more index cards. Maybe they were just using it for songs and not plot points.

When Julia tells Ellis, "you're Tom's assistant," she says the word "assistant like its a disease. Is her abhorrence for assistants in general, or only for Ellis? I'm thinking it's for Ellis.

When Karen sings "20th century Fox Mambo," Julia mouths the lyrics.

Quotes:

Julia: It takes longer to adopt a baby than it did to write West Side Story.

Julia: There are lots of people who should be stopped from writing musicals.

Tom: You can't build a musical by just writing songs.

Ivy: It's Marilyn. I didn't expect it to be simple.

Frank: You have your writing. All I have is the waiting.

Eileen: Most of what I see on Broadway is overworked.  

Julia: Everything feels so important the first time.
Karen: Doesn't it feel that way every time?
Julia: Yes, it feels that was every time. You're just a little more used to it driving you crazy.

Writing Again

I have been in a writing drought lately. There are times when it's been hard to feel like I can write anything good. Ah, the joys of being a writer.

I have many ideas for novels and plays, but I haven't been working on any of them. As I've started writing this blog, I've felt guilty that I was writing every day for the blog but I wasn't working on any of my other writing projects.

So, I started working on one of my novels. It's pretty rough right now, and I'm not writing the novel in any kind of order. I'll work on one chapter, and then I'll move four chapters away from that. I'm excited about what I've done so far, and I know I have a lot of rewriting to do, but the good thing is, I'm writing!

Stage Review: The 39 Steps

The stage version of The 39 Steps is based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 film of the same name, which is based on a book by John Buchan, also of the same name.

The stage production follows Hitchcock's film faithfully, except it has only four actors playing all the parts, and whereas the film and book are thrillers, the play is a comedy, a comedy in the vein of Monty Python. It spoofs the movie, while honoring it at the same time.

The play opens with the main character, Richard Hannay, home in the evening with nothing to do. He decides to do something "pointless and mindless," so he goes to the theatre. At the music hall he meets a strange German woman, Annabella, who is afraid because she thinks two men are after her. She talks Hannay into taking her back to his flat.

In the middle of the night Annabella is murdered. Soon Hannay is on the run, wanted for the murder of the woman. He must get to Scotland to find the man Annabella told him about, and find out the truth of the 39 steps.

The production of The 39 Steps at the Hale Centre Theatre - Orem was very well done. The actors did a good job playing multiple characters, and it was well staged, for the most part.

The staging is very clever, using minimal props to recreate scenes from the movie. There is a great scene when two of the actors go from a man on a train, to a porter, to the conducter, to a newspaper boy, to a policeman with just a change of hats. The two actors did a great job. After that scene, there is a chase on the train, and you had to see it to appreciate its creative staging.

The play has some hilarious allusions to other Hitchcock movies, including Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window, and The Birds.

One problem with the staging of the play occurred because the theatre is in the round. Some funny "bits" we're missed by many members of the audience because they couldn't see them.

There were moments in the play when the characters interacted with members of the audience, and those moments were very funny. However, there was one moment during the second act when the actors acknowledged one of the actor's mother in the audience. That bit just fell flat for me because it was the actors interacting with the audience, not the characters interacting. I found it very unprofessional.

The 39 Steps played many years in London, and also had a brief run on Broadway. I saw it a few years ago at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and I enjoyed that production more than the latest production I saw, not necessarily because the actors were better, but because it was on a proscenium stage, and I think it's better staged on that type of stage than in the round.

The 39 Steps is good fun, and if it were still playing in London, I would say let's go see it.

A Little about the Weather

As much as I don't like the cold, you need snow in the winter when you live in Utah.

It's almost the end of February, and we hadn't had a good snowstorm yet; no snow has stuck.

At our last "snow storm," this is how much snow I had in my backyard.

On Sunday we had another "snow storm," and this is how much snow I had in my backyard.


That's so much better.

Grammar Myth: Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

Myth: Do not end a sentence with a preposition.

Truth: It’s okay to end a sentence with a preposition.

Origin of myth: Many people thought that English should follow the grammar rules of Latin, but English is based on German, not Latin, so most Latin grammar rules don't apply to English. One of those rules is not ending a sentence with a preposition.

The real rule to remember is don’t end a sentence with a preposition that doesn’t need to be there.

Incorrect:
That's where I'm at.

Correct:
That's where I am.

Incorrect:
Where are you going to?

Correct:
Where are you going?

Incorrect:
Where does the property end at?

Correct:
Where does the property end?

So, let's talk about when it's all right to end sentences with a preposition. Most of the time. If you try not to end all sentences with prepositions, you just sound stuffy.

You wouldn’t say “To what are you up?” It's okay to say "What are you up to?"

It’s fine to say, "Who are you going to the store with?" You don’t have to say, "With whom are you going to the store?"

Even when you write, you can end sentences with a preposition. Again, just don't end them with prepositions that don’t need to be there, and you’ll be fine.

Or, as my friend joked,” I’m going to end all of my sentences with a preposition on.”

My Cute Purse

I love purses. Or handbags or pocketbooks, whatever you prefer to call them. I love them in all colors, except brown or black, the brighter the better. And I have many.

I like them with three separate sections inside, with designated pockets for my cell phone and my billfold (yes, I have a billfold, not a wallet). I like them to be able to stand on their own and not get saggy when I put them down. I like my books to lie on their spines in the purse, not lie flat (I know, picky, picky). I don't like them too deep, so I don't have to dig for items. As I joked to a friend once, "I like purses that aren't deeper than I am."

Because of my strict list of requirements, I don't buy new purses often. However, there are rare times that I will find a purse that doesn't meet all of my requirements, but I have to buy it simple because it's too cute to resist.

My current purse is a case in point. It only has one section, and it gets saggy when I put it down. It's deeper than it is wide, I have to dig for items, and my books always lie flat in the bottom of it. It does, however, have designated pockets for my cell phone and billfold (I think all purses do nowadays). But it is so cute. I have never had as many compliments on a purse as I have with this one. Complete strangers have commented on it and have continued to talk to me for minutes afterwards. I don't blame them; I would tell me how cute it is too. Because it is.

Just see for yourself.

Once Upon a Time: Skin Deep

It's Once Upon a Time's take on the story of Beauty and the Beast, and it's all about a cup with a chip.

Belle's father is a nobleman who asks Rumplestiltskin to save his town from the ogres. Rumple, of course, doesn't do anything for free. He wants Belle - to be his caretaker, for the rest of her life. His real motive is never explained. He doesn't do it to try to break a curse, and I'm sure he doesn't do it to fall in love. Maybe he really does just want a housekeeper. She agrees to go to save everyone and be a hero, or to get away from Gaston, I don't know which.

So Belle goes to live with Rumple, and quicker than you can say " long stem rose," Rumple has fallen in love with Belle, and strangely enough, Belle has fallen in love with Rumple. She tells Rumple, "love is layered," but they really don't have enough time for any kind of layers to "lay." And if Belle wants him to change back into an ordinary man, how much can she really love him?

Regina realizes that she could bring Rumplestiltskin down through Belle, and when Rumple sends Belle to town for more straw, Regina runs into her on the road. Belle tells Regina that something evil has taken root in Rumple. "Sounds like a curse to me and all curses can be broken. A kiss borne of true love will do it." (My question is, if a kiss borne of true love can break a curse, why didn't Mary Margaret and David's kiss in Storybrooke break the curse the town is under?)

Belle goes back with the straw and with a plan. Rumple is so happy that she came back, but not so happy when she kisses him and he starts to lose his power (and his gold skin). He loves his power more than he loves Belle. So, he throws her in the dungeon and starts to break everything. Even the tea set (poor Mrs. Potts). But he stops at breaking a cup Belle chipped when she dropped it (so now we know what happened to Chip. *hehe*). Ah, Rumple is sentimental. He sends her away, but not before Belle tells him, "All you'll have is an empty heart and a chipped cup." They really want to make sure we understand that it's all going to be about that chipped cup in Storybrooke.

Later, Regina comes and tells him that no one would want Belle after her association with him. So her father cut her off, put her in a tower (does that mean we won't meet Repunzel?), and after sending clerics to cleanse her soul with scourges and flames, she threw herself out of the tower. Rumple's reaction is truly heart-wrenching.

Meanwhile, in Storybrooke, Mr. Gold is making sure that Mo French, who is Belle's father, suffers for what he did to Belle in Fairy Tale Land all those years ago. Mr. Gold repossesses Mo's flower delivery van, the day before his busiest day - Valentine's Day. Then Mo robs Mr. Gold, but Emma recovers everything except the most important item, the chipped cup. Mr. Gold kidnaps Mo, and beats the crap out of him, but luckily for Mo, Emma comes in time to arrest Gold for assault and battery.

Regina goes to the jail to have a little talk with Gold while he can't run away, and we find out that Regina suspects that Mr. Gold knows who he really is, and she bribes him into telling her his name, "Rumplestiltskin." And what does she bribe him with? Chip.

Oh, but that's not the end. There's the twist. We don't see the Storybrooke version of Belle through the whole episode, but it isn't because she's dead. No, that wouldn't be true to the power that Regina holds over everyone in Storybrooke. Regina goes to the hospital, and there being held in the bowels of the building is none other than Belle. Dun dun dun.

Oh yes, and there were some Storybrooke subplots as well.

Mary Margaret, Ruby (when are we going to get her Fairy Tale Story?), and Ashley (Cinderella, remember her?) go to a bar on Valentine's Day night. Ashley was complaining that she never sees Shawn anymore because he's always working. He shows up at the bar during his break with flowers, a ring, and a proposal of marriage. Now she'll be a married woman who never sees her husband because he's always working. Mary Margaret breaks it off with David - again, when he gives her the valentine card meant for Kathryn that says, "I love you."

All, in all, I liked the episode, but I feel that it tried too hard to deconstruct the story of Beauty and the Beast; well, the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. It assumes that we all know the story so well that we'll just believe the love between Belle and Rumple. Well, the love story didn't ring true for me. I didn't believe the actress as Belle, and I didn't see any reason for the two to fall in love. They laugh over a spinning wheel joke, he catches her when she falls off the ladder, he gives her a rose. And suddenly, eternal love?

Also, the Rumple/Belle relationship was too creepy to me. He's too old for her. It was an original idea, I'll give it that, and I like how it answered some questions about Rumple/Mr. Gold and Regina, but I didn't believe the love story, and the age difference just creeped me out.

Observations:

Belle starts in her pretty yellow gown and ends up in the cute little blue peasant dress

Mr. French's flower business is called "Game of Thorns"

Mr. French has an Australian accent in Maine

Rumple's castle is in snow capped mountains, but the road and forest have no snow

Where's the library?

Rumple tells Belle that Gaston was just an old woman selling flowers

We may be seeing Ariel the mermaid's story eventually

Regina asks the nurse in the hospital if anyone has been in to visit Belle. Who does she expect would visit her?

Quotes:

Belle: No one decides my fate but me.

Rumple: Bad things happen to bad people.
Emma: Is that a threat?
Rumple: Observation.

Rumple: I like to watch the wheel, it helps me forget
Belle: Forget what?
Rumple: I guess it worked.

Shawn: Your carriage awaits.

Pic of the Week: Old North Bridge Monument

Grimm: Tarantella

This was a sad episode. We already know that not all Wesen are bad in the Grimm mythology, but this was a closer look at how being a Wesen is not always easy. I like that they aren't making the episodes back and white. It makes the show more interesting and unpredictable.

The Wesen in this episode is a spinatod, a death spider that sucks out her victims’ internal organs, which kills and mummifies them at the same time. Nick finds information about her kind on old Japanese documents, but I wonder if they were around in ancient Egypt?

Monroe introduces Nick to Charlotte, a spinatod who turned her back on who she was, to get some information on what they're dealing with. She looks like she's about 70 years old. She tells them that her kind has to suck out the organs of three men every five years or they will age instantly. She decided she couldn't do it anymore, so she’s accepted her fate. Then she reveals her own age. She's 26.

Lena, the organ-sucking spinatod that Nick and Hank are looking for, is actually a soccer mom with an ordinary-looking husband, and a teenage daughter. After her first kill, she shows remorse and disgust at what she did. I’m glad that they are showing the “humanity” of a Wesen, and that not all of them are happy with what they are.

Lena meets her last victim on a boat at the marina. I love that Monroe said previously that when he finds spiders inside the house he drowns them, and spider-woman tells victim #3 that she hates water. Hank saves victim #3 while Nick goes looking for the spinatod. He finds her and catches her in a web (net). The look on her face is heart-wrenching. She didn't want to kill, but she didn't want to grow old before her time either, who would?

Nick picks up Sally to take her to her grandmother's, and Nick sees that she is a spinatod, just like her mother. What does the future hold in store for her?

Also, in this episode, we find out that the Wesen who was fixing Nick and Juliette’s fridge in an earlier episode and ran away after discovering Nick was a Grimm, has been telling other Wesen about Nick and they are getting bolder. Some of their kids even egged Nick and Juliette’s house. Juliette, of course doesn’t know the real reason and just chucks it up to mischievous boys. Nick confronts the Wesen and warns them to leave him and his girlfriend alone or they will be sorry. We’ll see if that really sticks.

I wonder why Monroe knows about every kind of Wesen. You'd think they have weekly Wesen meetings where they all get to know each other. "Hi, I'm Monroe, I'm a Blutbladen. I like toy trains, gourmet cooking, and playing the cello." "I'm Jennie, a Geier. I'm an herbalist, and I like to climb trees." "Beware of Grimms, they are bad people and will kill you in your sleep."

Even though this episode wasn’t based on a standard fairy tale, I think it’s one of my favorites. It had an interesting central character who was not totally good or totally bad. It showed how the Wesen live in the world of humans, but are still not human.

Quippy Quotes:

Monroe: You're the monster under the bed.

Monroe: Join the misunderstood.

Hank: Do you want to pick it up again, or do you want me to give you the finger?

Hank: Anybody look at our pension funds lately? There's motive for homicide right there.

Wesen: You have a very lovely wife.
Nick: We're not married.
Wesen: Even better.

Monroe: "I'm going to stay home tonight and play a little cello."

To a Great Love

On this Valentine's Day I want to honor a great love. My parents were married 65 years ago, and though there were ups and downs, they loved each other through it all.

My father passed away in July, but their love lives on, and will forever.

To my parents: Happy Valentine's Day!

Movie Review: Assassin in Love

I have a confession. I have a thing for British actors. Maybe it's because I watch so much TV and film from Britain. Yea, that has to be it.

One of my favorite British actors is Damian Lewis. American viewers would probably know him best from Band of Brothers on HBO; the short-lived TV series, Life; and most recently, Showtime's drama, Homeland. Although I watched Life, I was first introduced to him as Benedick in BBC's Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Re-Told). He was the perfect Benedick for me, in a clever modern-day retelling of the Shakespeare classic. And when I saw him in the Forsythe Saga, I was surprised I could loathe his character so much. He's a great actor.

Then searching through Netflix, I found a quirky English film he did about five years ago, and it just solidified my thing for Damian. 

In Assassin in Love (aka The Baker) he plays, Milo, a hit man who hides out in a little Welsh village from a fellow hit man, Bjorn (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who wants him dead. When he gets to the village, Milo is mistaken for the new baker. He's never baked before, but with the help of some cookbooks, he gives it a try.

In one of the opening sequences, Milo gets a call from Leo (the wonderful Michael Gambon), and they have a little conversation while Milo and Bjorn are in the middle of a shoot out. So hilarious.

A local young man, Eggs (yes, his name is Eggs), discovers Milo's secret, and soon, pretty much the whole village knows what he really is (unbeknownst to Milo). There are funny sequences when the villagers think they are hiring Milo to bump off other villagers by asking him to "bake [the villager] a cake," and Milo thinks they really do just want him to bake them cakes.

All this time, Bjorn is going from one tiny Welsh village to another, searching for Milo, and leaving carnage along the way. There's a scene where Bjorn swallows a picked egg whole, and it just makes you hope he did it in just one take.

Kate Ashfield plays Rhiannon, Milo's prospective love interest, and their meet cute is quite unique.  I'll just say that it has to do with a sheep head. When Milo finally asks Rhiannon out, it's in one of the cutest ways I've seen in a film. And there's a great fight at the end that has you laughing and cheering at the same time.

Rated PG-13 for some crude humor, and a tame, messy "love" scene, Assassin in Love is a fun romp with a few crazy hit men and a lot of crazier Welshmen.

Quippy Quotes:

-Do you ever stop asking questions?
-Once they're all answered.

Sharp as a spoon and half as useful.

-You call this normal?
-It's as close as I'm likely to get.

Book Review: The Future of Us

What would you do if you saw your future self living a life that you didn't want? Would you try to change it? Would you know how?

The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, tries to answer those questions.

When Emma, a high school student, downloads a free version of AOL in the mid nineties, a strange website called Facebook pops up on her screen. She reads posts from a woman, and eventually becomes convinced the woman to be her future self. She gets a glimpse of herself as an adult, and she doesn't like what she reads so she takes steps to change her future.

I found the premise of this book very interesting and the book is well written. However, I did find it hard to believe that anyone could actually believe that a website was predicting her future. But, it is fiction. 

The chapters went back and forth from Emma's point of view to her friend, Josh's, point of view. I think it was a good way to move the story forward in a clever way. Emma and Josh's relationship is written well, and is very believable. I think the writers did a great job with a premise that could have been predictable. 

The authors recreated the 1990s very well, without hitting you over the head with it. It takes you back to those early days of the Internet, AOL, and dial-up. You can even hear in your mind that distinctive sound of the Internet connecting.

Facebook has become such a huge part of a lot of people's lives, and I think it's hard for some people to remember that there was a time when there was no Facebook, and people still had friends, and lives. I guess I don't have to say that I'm not a huge fan of Facebook.

The Future of Us brings up a lot of questions, and they're not easy to answer. How much are we in control of our own future? Does every choice we make change our future, or does each choice make our future?

A Nun on Roller Skates

A couple of years ago I was in an original musical, which was written by a friend, called Hands Up! It is based on a book by Paul Magrs, and is a comedy about a puppeteer and his Bat puppet that kills other puppets.

There is a "dream ballet" in the middle of the musical, and in the middle of that dream ballet I glided across the stage on roller skates, dressed as a nun.

It was very random.

Just like I am.

That is all.

My Favorite Movies: This Could be the Night

I used to go to Media Play (do you remember Media Play?) years ago and just browse through their VHSs (do you remember VHSs?). I loved finding obscure old movies, buying them, and finding out if I'd purchased a dud or a gem. One of my best finds was a 1950s black and white film called This Could Be The Night.

Jean Simmons plays Anne, a young woman from Massachusetts whose first job out of college is teaching elementary school in New York City. She realizes that she won't be able to make ends meet with just the one salary, and she finds an evening job as the secretary for Rocco (Paul Douglas), a nightclub owner. She gets off on the wrong foot with everyone working at the club from her first night working there, except for Rocco, who is happy to have someone with class and tact answering the phone for him. She especially clashes with Rocco's partner, Tony (Anthony Franciosa), who thinks she is just a goody-goody snob who knows nothing of the real world. Soon she becomes so involved in the lives of the nightclub staff that they don't know what they would do without her, except Tony, who does all he can to not fall for the "nice" girl.

Simmons' "good girl," character is similar to her role as Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls. Paul Douglas plays the older father-type figure who wants to keep Anne protected from the roughness of the nightclub scene. However, judging the characters by our culture's modern standards, there really isn't any one you would think could corrupt Anne.

There's Patsy, the nightclub's stripper (who really never does), who just wants to cook. There's Crystal (played by the wonderful Joan Blondell), Patsy's mother who is the typical stage mother, who doesn't want to accept the fact that her daughter is an adult and doesn't need her anymore. There's Hussein, the busboy, who is teased about his name, and whose father says he can change it if he passes algebra.  There's Ivy  Corlane, the world-wise torch singer, who has a couple of great songs, including  "I'm Gonna Live 'Til I Die."

This Could be the Night is an interesting look at how movies that were made when the Hays Code was enforced portrayed the "seedy" side of New York in the late 1950s. If this movie were ever remade, it would be a very different film. It alludes to Anne being a virgin, but can never say the word. The way they do say it is much more creative than saying the actually word. Ivy tells Tony, "It's a good thing you didn't take that bet, Tony baby. That's right - no hits, no runs, no errors."

This was just a little film directed by Robert Wise who later went on to direct West Side Story and The Sound Music.

Quotes:

Ivy: Friends and neighbors, the time is right. This could be the night.

Anne: My name is Anne Leeds, you can call me Anne, Miss Leeds or hey you, anything but Baby.

Patsy: Oh boy, four burners, two ovens and a spit. The way other people want diamonds, that's how I want that stove.

Smash: Pilot

Finally, a show for me and mine. I've been looking forward to this show for so long, and I was afraid I would be disappointed. I am happy to say I was not.
 
Smash takes an inside look at the making of a Broadway musical. I've created a musical that has been produced. It hasn't gone to Broadway. Yet. I've auditioned for musicals (and plays). I've cast musicals as a director. I feel like I know so much about this world. I just haven't done it in New York City. Yet.
 
Smash is what Glee wants to be when it grows up. The baseball production number is what some Glee numbers have been in the past, but they seem to miss the mark lately. The number was fun, and well written. The dancers were great, as was the choreography. And Megan Hilty's performance as Ivy playing Marilyn was a home run.
 
Speaking of Megan, for as much publicity that Katherine McPhee (Karen) is getting, I would say that, although she is likable, and there's no doubt she can sing, this is entirely Megan Hilty's show.
 
The rest of the cast is great too. Debra Messing plays Julia, the second half of a composer/lyricist team. She still has a little of her manic personality like she did in Will and Grace, it's just a bit more controlled, and focused toward writing musicals - my kind of manic. Jack Davenport as Derek, the director, is great at being a bit likable, and then turning on the sleaze. When Karen goes to his apartment and makes a move on her, and it looks like she’s walking out, I thought, “Good for you, you're leaving!”  When she didn’t leave, but came out of the bathroom wearing almost nothing but his shirt I wanted to yell at her and say, "Don't stoop to that!" But then, when she told him, “Not gonna happen,” I thought, "Good for you!" You just didn’t need to do it in that skimpy shirt showing your bra.

The Broadway actors are great. Brian d'Arcy James plays Julia’s husband and Christian Borle plays Tom, the other half of the composer/lyricist team. Brian has been in many Broadway productions, most recently playing the title role in Shrek. He was also in Titanic (the musical, not James Cameron's tear-fest). He has a wonderful singing voice and I hope we'll hear him sing in future episodes. Christian was in Legally Blonde and Spamalot. I also have a new favorite actor: Raza Jaffrey (playing Karen’s boyfriend, Dev). He was in MI-5 (aka, Spooks, in England), and he’s done a lot of theatre in London. I want to see more of him! When Karen imagined she was singing to him in her audition for the Marilyn role, I thought, that will get you through, girl.

Angelica Huston plays Eileen, the producer. She didn’t have much to do this episode other than fight with her soon-to-be ex-husband over what she’ll get in the divorce, and then try to convince Julia and Tom to look at Derek to direct the workshop of the musical. I like Angelica, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her.

Judging by the musical numbers, the show is taking a lot from Rob Marshall’s Chicago-style of musical. Most of the numbers will be in the characters’ imaginations. I like that because it can lead to more over-the-top production numbers. And I am so looking forward to all of the original songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman (Hairspray).

I’m so glad they are filming the show in New York City. I’m sure it will be a nice boost for NYC tourism. Watching Derek and Eileen walking in Times Square, the city seemed to say, “Don’t you want to be here?” They could have called the show, Theatre and the City.

 Observations:

The opening with the audition was great, and took us into the world of the theatre immediately. However, no director should ever, and I repeat EVER, have their cell phone on when they are in auditions! I feel very strongly about that. It’s so disrespectful.

I love Julia and Frank's Brownstone. I want it.

I didn’t particularly like Karen’s observation that you can’t be sexy and fat. Did these writers even look at Marilyn Monroe? She was not a size 2, or 4, or even 6. As sexy as she was, in today’s world she would not have been considered skinny.

It’s so cliché that every wanna-be actor has parents who don’t support them in their dream. For every non-supportive parent I’ll bet there are 10 supportive parents.

Watching the first wanna-be Marilyn auditioning, hearing the director's response, “Thank you. That’s great, uh, Lisa,” and seeing the auditioner leaving the room upset, brought to mind every insecurity I’ve ever had at an audition.

After hearing Katherine McPhee sing “Beautiful” at her Marilyn audition, and seeing the response of the production team, I can’t believe that Karen got the response she did at the audition at the top of the episode. With her voice, she would have at least gotten a callback, I would think. Or maybe she just sang the wrong song? .

Everything happens so quickly. They get the idea, and the next thing you know, they have a rough draft of the script, the first song is written, a demo is made, a producer wants in, a big production number is written, a director has choreographed that number to audition to direct the workshop, and auditions AND callbacks are held. How do I get in on that timeline?

I’m not sure that Marilyn: The Musical is such an original idea. I’ll bet there’s a writer (or writers) out there who has started (or has written) a Marilyn musical thinking, “No! That’s my idea!”

Given that Marilyn Monroe was not a good singer (especially not a musical theatre singer), I’d rather that songs sung by “Marilyn,” the character, be sung more like the actress herself, not by the actress pretending to sing like Marilyn. Case in point: did you hear Ivy belt the first song they were going to demo? I liked that so much better than the breathy “Marilyn” singing she did in the actually demo.

Did I say I love Julia and Frank's Brownstone? Well, I do.

Quote:

Ivy: I'm not complaining.
Tom: Just dreaming.
Ivy: Like everybody.

Grimm: Organ Grinder

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this episode of Grimm. It was just so-so for me, although it did have some good moments, mostly with Monroe, of course.
 
The episode opens with two older boys running through the woods being pursued by, well, we don't know yet. One boy gets away and immediately falls into the river. The other boy is caught by their pursuers. The bad guys take the boy back to the bad place, and we discover that they throw bodies into a pit of fire. Now, I'd call that a pit of despair (random Princess Bride reference). The other boy's escape really wasn't much of an escape. The next we see of him, he's floating down the river belly-up, and a crow is picking out his eyes.
 
Nick and Hank are called to investigate that same body when it washes up on the river bank. Later, the coroner tells them he has had an extreme loss of blood, and he has two puncture marks on the side of his neck. What? Is this going to be Hansel and Gretel meet Dracula?

No, it is the story of Hansen and Gracie meet the Geiers.
 
Nick finds out from the "Book of Shadows" (I mean the book Nick's aunt gave him) that Geiers are some of the vilest creatures. They remove human organs while the victim is still alive and harvest the organs to sell them to other creatures for medicinal purposes. Not someone you’d want to run into in a dark alley, or a white van.
 
Eventually the Geiers get Hansen and Gracie (siblings who have no parents and are living on the streets selling puka shell necklaces), and take them to their compound. Hansen breaks one of the puka shell necklaces, leaving a trail of “breadcrumbs,” which eventually leads Nick and Hank to the right place just as Gracie is about to be sawed open - alive. I wish that the writers would have thought of a more clever way for the kids to lead them to the compound, but they probably believed it was clever when they thought about it.

There are two great bonding moments between Nick and our favorite Blutbaden, Monroe. The first bonding moment is over coffee. Nick wants Monroe's advice on whether or not he should tell Juliette about his "family secret." Monroe doesn't think it's a good idea. I don't think it is either. It isn't close enough to the season finale yet. The second bonding moment is over dinner. Nick wants to get information about Geiers, and Monroe just wants to have a normal conversation. Monroe truly wants to be Nick's friend, and he's already proven his loyalty by not ratting Nick out to the other creatures. It's sad that all Nick wants is for Monroe to be his informant to catch the bad creatures. Come on, Nick, don't you know what a great friend you have in Monroe?

I expected more from Grimm, and I was really looking forward to this episode, maybe that's because I enjoyed Once Upon a Time’s Hansel and Gretel episode so much.

I am, however, looking forward to next week’s episode. As much as I hate spiders, this episode looks great.

Pic of the Week: Sail Boats

A Matter of Plagiarism

I have been robbed. Someone has stolen my joke; a joke I made up over 10 years ago.

I started writing a play many years ago ( that I never finished - go figure). In the play the main character tells her friend that she has been dating a new guy. Her friend's response is "Seriously?" Her daughter responds, "Yes, we're pretty serious."

I thought it was a great comic line. I told my friend the line to see what she thought of it, and she didn't think it was funny. Her mother, however, thought it was funny.

So, there it's sat - in my notebook, never being spoken by an actor - my great joke.

Fast forward to a few months ago.

I was watching an eSurance commercial. A member of the Support team tells a customer on the phone that the customer can thank the Tech team for being able to see eSurance rates compared with other insurance companies. When the call ends, a member of the Tech team rolls his chair over to the Support guy and asks, "Anything you wanna share with the Tech Team?"

First guy, "I'm dating that girl in accounting."

Second guy, "Seriously?"

First guy, "Yea, we're pretty serious."

That was my joke! More than 10 years later, and someone steals my joke!

Well, at least someone else thought it was funny.



Side note: Actually the joke in the commercial isn't exactly like mine, because the mother in my play would have said, "Seriously," as if saying, "I can't believe you're dating someone." The way the Tech Team guy in the commerical says "Seriously" is like "you're seeing someone seriously?" So, the Support guy is really answering his question. It's all in the delivery.

Doctor Who: Goodbye Amy and Rory

Amy and Rory will not be traveling with the Doctor in season 7 of Doctor Who. I am sad to see them go, especially Rory, but I think they need time away from the Doctor to build their life together as a newlywed couple (look at me, writing about them as if they are real people. Well, that's how fans are.). I am looking forward to a new companion for the Doctor, and for new adventures. I'm excited to see what is in store for us for the 50th anniversary of the series.

I hope the new season will have more stand-alone episodes than they had in season 6. I enjoyed season 6, however, I enjoy the stand-alone episodes better where the Doctor takes his companion to a new planet, or to the past or future, or where the Tardis leads them to a specific place. I don't feel like Doctor Who should be so complicated. I know many people enjoy the seasons that generate lots of questions throughout the season, but I'm not one of them.

I read that Amy will be in a few episodes in Season 7, so we'll (the Doctor and you and I) be able to say goodbye. I hope we'll get to say goodbye to Rory too. I will miss them.

More News about Les Miserables, the Movie Musical

According to Internet Database (and this could be wrong) the original Jean Valjean and Eponine will have cameos in the new film. The former as the Bishop of Digne (a pretty important part), and the latter as a whore (in Pretty Ladies, I'm sure).

This news will make the die-hard fans very happy, I'm sure. I think it's great news. Now that the major roles have been cast, they can fill the rest of the movie with great singers, hopefully stage performers, to help make filming the singing live more rich sounding and make a great film.

Can't wait for December!

Grammar Gaffe: I and Me

One of the grammar gaffes committed most often is the incorrect use of the first-person pronouns: “I” and “me” when used with another pronoun or a proper noun. (e.g., you and I, Frank and me, etc.)

My mother taught me the easiest way to remember which pronoun to use. Just remove the other pronoun so you’re left with either “I” or “me,” and you will usually know which sounds correct.

For example, is it “Me and you went to the store,” or “You and I went to the store”? Just take out “you,” and you know that “I went to the store” is correct, not “Me went to the store.” So, “You and I went to the store is correct.”

What about “He gave the money to you and I,” or “He gave the money to you and me”? Of course it’s “He gave the money to you and me,” because you wouldn’t say, “He gave the money to I.”

Other easy ways to remember which is correct (there are always exceptions to these first two rules):

• If the pronoun comes before a verb, it's usually "I" (Sallie and I went to the theatre, he and I cooked dinner, she and I are siblings)
  
• If the pronoun comes after a preposition, it's usually "me" (e.g., between you and me, with Lance and me, to him and me, from her and me, about Sallie and me, etc.
  
• If you can replace the pronouns with "us," it's "me" (e.g., It's about us – It's about you and me)
  
• If you can replace the pronouns (or pronoun and noun) with “we,” it’s “I” (e.g., We went to the store – You and I went to the store)

If you start to use these rules when you’re using the first person pronouns, then after a while the correct usage will sound right to your ear.

The following are examples of "I" and "me" used incorrectly and correctly (see if you can recognize why they are wrong or right):

Incorrect:

Will me and my brothers get to go to foster care? (Radio - girl interviewed in NPR story)

He’s joining Mercedes and Sam and I to go to prom. (TV - Glee)

I want Hannah and I to be at the end of this. (Overheard)

It means a new start for my husband and I. (Overheard)

It’s fine for your father and I to disagree (Movie – Midnight in Paris)

It’s about the connection between Ashley and I. (TV - The Bachelorette)

Correct:

They’re owned by my sister and me (TV - Antiques Roadshow)

It’s so nice to spend time – just you and me. (commercial)

I hope you’re not doing this because of you and me. (TV - Big Bang Theory)

This isn’t between you and me. (Grimm)

I hope that this post is helpful to those of you who struggle with knowing when to use “I” and when to use “me.”

Just between you and me, I know you and I are on the same page.

Glee: Michael

First of all, I have to say that I'm with Rachel. I never really got Michael Jackson. I have never been a big fan, even though I do like some of his songs. So, I wasn't as excited as a lot of people that Glee was doing a Michael Jackson tribute episode. But then I wasn't too excited about their Britney Spears tribute episode or Madonna, or Lady Gaga. I like some of the songs, but doing a whole episode highlighting their music, *yawn.*

So, once again, Kurt is getting bullied. But this time it's not because he's gay, but because he's dating the boy the bully likes. However, Blaine is seriously injured instead of Kurt. I am getting a little tired (okay, a lot tired) of every episode being about bullying.

I also wish that they would use Damian McGinty. It's sad to me that we just see glimpses of him. He's just so cute and likable, and he has a beautiful voice. I wonder if he's thinking, "Okay, I won the Glee Project, but what did I win?"

There were, however some highlights for me:

It was great that Artie got the chance to dance, especially with Mike. I feel bad that Kevin McHale's character is in the wheelchair because he's a great dancer and he can only show that off in dream sequences, which they don't have very often.

I like it when Mercedes is given the chance to show off her great voice, and Mercedes and Sam's duet of "Human Nature" was a big highlight. I'm glad Mercedes is getting more air time, and Sam ain't bad to listen to either (I apologize to all grammar geeks out there, but there are times when no other word cuts it but "ain't").

I really didn’t understand why Santana was wearing that particular outfit during her duel/duet, “Smooth Criminal,” with Sebastian, but the wonderful cello performances by 2Cellos was the best part of the whole episode for me. Being a cellist myself I go crazy for music that highlights the cello. I am so glad I watched the show if just for that. Get a load of their actual music video of the song.



Black or White really was a fun number. I enjoyed the energy. That is one thing I can say about most of Michael's songs, they certainly have energy. I especially loved the morphing of the characters at the end of the song.

Now, if they had only performed my favorite Michael Jackson song, "The Way You Make Me Feel," I could have forgiven the parts of the episode I didn't really care for.

The Woman in Black

The Woman in Black is a ghost story written by Susan Hill. A new film adaptation starring Daniel Radcliffe opened today. I'm not sure if I'm going to see it. We'll see. I don't see many scary movies because it doesn't take much to freak me out. However, I've seen the play and I am curious about it. This is a ghost story, not a slasher, or flesh-eating zombie movie.

The plot is simple. Arthur Kipps, a young solicitor, has been given the job to go to the home of an old woman who has recently died to go through her papers and settle her affairs. The house is at the end of a causeway, and at high tide there is no way to leave or get to the house.

At the old woman's funeral he sees a mysterious woman in black. Then he senses the woman's presence and sees her again while he is alone in the house and cut off from everyone. He also hears terrifying noises out on the causeway. I won't give more of the story away, but suffice it to say, the rest is terrifying.

I've actually seen the play twice. The first time I saw it was at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. My friend saw the play in London and she told me it really scared her, so I was trepidatious before I saw it. I enjoyed the play at the Shakespeare Festival, but I didn't get as frightened as I could have because there were a bunch of high school students in the audience, and they were very vocal during the play. It kept taking me out of the story, making me annoyed every time they said, "there she is!" and "when is she going to appear?" As much as I didn't want to be freaked out, I did want to enjoy the scary elements, and I couldn't do it with the constant commentary.

Then, a little more than a year ago I saw the play in London. The production was in an small, old theatre that had the perfect atmosphere for a ghost story (the theatre is also said to be haunted, but I didn't learn that until after I saw the play). My friend and I couldn't get seats together, so I sat by myself. Even though I had seen the play before and knew what was going to happen, the play was directed differently, so there was still an element of the unknown. The second time was much scarier. I enjoyed it very much.

If I decide to see the movie I'll post about. If I don't see the movie, you probably won't hear anymore about it from me unless it's a huge hit or unless I see the play again.

If you see it, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

The Decoy Bride

Thanks to Ruth from Booktalk & More for great news about a new David Tennant movie, The Decoy Bride.

I can't think of a better way to spend an evening than with David Tennant as a "tweedy English author" who is torn between two brides.

Can't wait! I just don't know how long I'll have to.

More Casting News for Les Miserables, the Movie Musical

There were rumors going around that Taylor Swift was cast as Eponine in the movie version of Les Miserables, the musical. There were also many people upset about that rumor. Scratch that, there were people downright angry. I thought, don't judge until you see it.

However, that's all it turned out to be - a rumor. It's been announced that the part of Eponine will be played by Samantha Barks. She has played Eponine in London, and played her in the 25th anniversary concert. 

It's a great choice. She's good. Take a listen.



I'm so glad they are casting stage actors. It will make a big difference.

And if they do cast a country singer in one of the roles, I won't judge until I see it.

Pic of the Week: Prince Albert Hall

Holmes, Sherlock Holmes

I am going to argue that the best thing on television today is an import from across the pond. It's a small show (only three episodes each in the first and second seasons) called Sherlock.

The premise is very simple: take Sherlock Holmes and John Watson out of 19th century London and drop them into 21st century London with cell phones (or as they call them "mobiles"), texting, and blogs. Sherlock has nicotine patches instead of smoking a pipe. He is not an action hero. Sherlock is an socially awkward genius who itches to find a good mystery and solve it. There may have been one explosion, but this version of Sherlock Holmes is all about solving the mystery. And he still plays the violin.

I've never been a big Sherlock Holmes fan. I've seen a few movies with Basil Rathbone, I saw the first Guy Ritchie movie with Robert Downey, Jr as Sherlock, and I've seen a few plays based on Doyle's books. However, I still haven't read any of the books or short stories (they are in my queue of books to read, but there are so many more ahead of them). 

But then I saw Sherlock. Benedick Cumberbatch's Sherlock is more detached from the world than most Sherlocks I've seen. He seems to only be interested in the case he is trying to solve at the moment, and is the definition of cerebral. Martin Freeman is a wonderful Watson, and plays off of Cumberbatch's Sherlock so well and so seamlessly.

The acting is wonderful. It's subtle, understated, not in-your-face. Each episode is based on one or more of Doyle's books or stories. The direction is clever and imaginative, the cinematography is exquisite, and the scripts are almost flawless.

I have to thank Blogtor Who for making me aware of the series before the first season even aired in Britain. The series was co-created by the head writer of Doctor Who, and, even though I am a big Doctor Who fan, script-wise think Sherlock is better than Doctor Who; and for me, that's saying a lot. Please don't tell anyone.

If you haven't checked out the first season yet, I would recommend that you do. If you're a Sherlock Holmes fan, I'm sure you'll be hooked. And if you're not a Holmes fan, and you just like smart television, you will be a fan of Sherlock very quickly.