My Favorite Musicals: A Chronology

I went to see Les Miserables in theatres on Sunday. Besides the fact that the audience was atrocious, the movie itself was rather good. I don't really know what people are upset about, but then again this was only my second experience with Les Mis so what the hell do I know?

That being said, I have been thinking about my favorite musicals, and how they have changed over the years and I decided to do a chronology of sorts, tracking what my favorite musicals have been throughout my lifetime. Here we go!

When did "Sexy" Become a Prerequisite for "Enjoyable"?

I saw The Hobbit last night. I really really really liked it. To be fair, it is a movie based on one of my absolute favorite books in the universe, but I did go into it very apprehensive. I came out mostly converted, with very little to complain about save a few aesthetic choices and some obnoxiously cliche dialogue. Additionally, I saw it in IMAX 3D, without the 48fps, so I can't comment on the higher frame rate. I can, however, comment on how I thought the movie adapted the book, whether three movies is a mistake or not, and how much I loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo (spoiler alert: alot.)

But the reason I'm writing a blog post today is largely in response to the Negative Kotaku review of The Hobbit, which made me extra mad because it was written by a journalist I typically love and respect.
Here's the review, for your own reading pleasure (or displeasure, as the case may be): The Hobbit Feels Like a Video Game and That's Not a Good Thing

Moving past the frame rate argument, which is probably legit since I hate motion blur, my problems lie within the second half of the article, which responds to problems with The Hobbit's story line.
Kirk states: "There are almost no women in the movie, and it's all so unsexy it makes Fellowship of the Ring seem like the Downton Abbey Christmas special."

First of all, I don't know when movies started needing to be sexy in order to be enjoyable. By that logic, there are a lot of very well-respected, highly celebrated and award-laden films that shouldn't have ever been made, let alone enjoyed by international audiences. In fact, after spending a few weeks trying to get on the Game of Thrones bandwagon, a fantasy world entirely unmarred by overt sexuality was refreshing.

Second, who says the movie WASN'T sexy, just because it didn't have women in it? Do you mean it's unsexy to you, as a male viewer who is into ladies? I think that's what you meant. Because personally, I found Richard Armitage as Thorin to be sexy in the same way Christopher Eccleston's Doctor was...enriching.  Additionally, I rather enjoyed staring at Martin Freeman. And Elijah Wood. Oooohhh did I enjoy staring at Elijah Wood, as I did in all three LoTR movies. This point doesn't contradict my first, as there is still no PATENT sexuality, either plot-wise or thematically. All I'm saying here is that "No Women" does not an unsexy film make.

Finally, there's a distinct lack of women in the movie BECAUSE THERE'S A DISTINCT LACK OF WOMEN IN THE BOOK UPON WHICH IT IS BASED. If there were random female characters thrown into the mix, it would only be for the sake of Hollywood and the adoring fans. In fact, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Galadriel an addition from the world of the book? I don't seem to remember her in the text, but that could be my faulty memory at work. Imagine what would happen if Peter Jackson just started throwing ladies around for the sake of a sexy film. Suddenly "An Unexpected Journey" would have an entirely different connotation all together, and that's a different movie for a different day.

I had several other problems with Kirk's review, not the least of which being his disparaging remarks towards the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy, but the sexy argument really grinds my gears. Ultimately, the story of The Hobbit is about just that: A Hobbit, on a quest. There are dragons. There is gold. There's a lot of stomach grumbling and lost ponies and such, and by the end, there's a happy ending. Tonally, the book is much MUCH lighter than the Lord of the Rings, so it makes sense that the respective film would also lay the humor on with a heavy hand. Why shouldn't there be singing, specifically when the songs come straight from the original text? Why shouldn't there be troll bogies? Why shouldn't the goblin king have such a chin that I've nicknamed him "fatty beard"?

You explain that to me, and that will be the day I stop wishing I was a hobbit.

Books: A Reference List

Books I have read multiple times (since middle school), and approximately how many times I have read them:

• The Hobbit (2-3 times. At least twice in seventh grade.)
• Dangerous Angels (4-6 times. Picked up while volunteering at the Ferguson Library. Haven't put down since. My favorite book.)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (2 times. Once for school, once because of reasons.)
• The Princess Diaries (2 times. Also picked up at the library.)
• A Wrinkle in Time (3 times. Once all at once, while sitting in Standsted Airport overnight, waiting to fly to Italy to see Sarah.)
• Beowulf (2-3 times, at least twice for different classes.)
• The Canterbury Tales (2 times, some stories more than that. At least part of it was read while IN Canterbury.)
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (3-6 times. The first book I read that taught me one could simultaneously function within the rules of AND satirize a genre. Douglas Adams is one of my heroes.)
• Harry Potter (anywhere between 2 and 6 times, depending on the book.)
• Twilight (3-5 times, depending on the book.)
• The Great Gatsby (2 times in completion, though I took a crit course in college that made us apply all the different types of criticism TO Gatsby, so... more than 2).
• Peter Pan (millions. I was obsessed in 8th grade.)

Books I wouldn't read again if you paid me:

• The Red Badge of Courage (it gave me nightmares)
• The Scarlet Letter 
• Ethan Fromme
• Pride and Prejudice (still gives me nightmares)
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Lord of the Flies (which I have read twice and hated both times.)
• Most of what I was supposed to read in 11th grade.
• Most of what I was supposed to read in any English survey course in college.

Books I will never stop recommending

• See List #1 (Save, perhaps, for Twilight.)
• The Princess Bride
• Zen in the Art of Writing
• For that matter, anything by Ray Bradbury, especially Dandelion Wine.
• A Series of Unfortunate Events
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• John Green's entire body of work
• The Courtship of Princess Leia (for the rancors!)
• Seriously, Peter Pan.

Daily Thought: Just Keep Swimming

Trying to keep things positive, focusing on the "achieved" list rather than the "to-do" list. Remembering I have an awesome support team, that I'm good at what I do and I'm just going to keep getting better. Cutting out the clutter, focusing on what's really important...


This is all well and good in theory, but very hard to put into practice. I guess that's why it's called practice.
In other news, today marks the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo. Should I try and complete a novel this month? Or at the very least, daily drabbles? I guess if I'm going to blog every day, I'm off to a good start. Lets see what happens. I just have to keep remembering Wayne Gretzky (via Michael Scott) and Finding Nemo (the musical) and Bowling for Soup, and other random inspirational things.

Without them, I would be lost.

These aren't the droids you're looking for.

I have a lot of thoughts about things. Some are left over from CTcon, some are from an article I read in EW this morning. The article is here: http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/07/26/why-does-pop-culture-inspire-murder/
The title explains the article, for the most part, but what I'm trying to wrap my head around is whether our popular culture has really become less empathetic, which I'm starting to think maybe it has. I'm not sure though, so look for those thoughts later tonight.

We're trying to look for a new place, and then to move to said new place. I also interviewed for an internship at a theatre today. A very specific theatre where I really want to work, even though the pay is pretty low and it's full-time work. For now, I'm just watching Spongebob, but I'm leaving in...twenty minutes.

I've also been selling a bunch of my movies and books online and at FYE. I'm trying to get rid of things I don't need, declutter my life and what-not...but I have so much crap I've barely made a dent. At my parents' house, however, I've been throwing things away like a fiend. I threw away boxes of crap and donated boxes of other crap. I just have to keep throwing away, selling and donating my stuff and eventually I won't have so much of it. Hmmm.

I've been trying to work on my Stu series today, but I'm in a funk. A writing funk. Maybe I need to sit in front of a notebook with a pen and lock myself in a room until I've written. I have to email a few people back that I met while I was at CTcon. It really was a spectacular convention, and the fact that it's so well attended on the same weekend as SDCC (even though they're on opposite coasts and whatnot) speaks to its success. I really like my time there and meeting so many awesome people. Now I just have to follow up with the ones I haven't emailed yet. Onward!

I also read a bunch of The Last Policeman today, which I will eventually review. I want to review Water for Elephants, considering I read it a while back and really enjoyed it for dramaturgical reasons.  I really need to get back to the whole reason I created this blog--to organize my projects and take things one project at a time. BUT in the mean time, I've got to go look at a house and decide if I want to live there.
Move along.

I'm a Failure Because I Haven't Got a Brain

I haven't been writing 1,000 words a day. Jer's b-day was on Friday, so we had guests all weekend. Plus also, I've started at my new job selling shoes like a fiend. Alternately, if you're in the Northern Jersey area and need shoes, hit me up.

Tomorrow I don't go into work until 6:00 (well okay I'll be leaving around 5). I've been called in on a special day when Corporate is coming to check out the store. Apparently I'm good at my job, and they scheduled me during the important visit on purpose. I suppose that's good news, though it makes me kind of nervous that I have to make people buy ALL THE SHOES.  Which, apparently, I'm already doing anyways, but perhaps that's beside the point.

Before my nerve-wracking evening shift, I have the whole day to write and write and write, since I flushed today down the toilet and did basically nothing except act like a sloth and feel bad for myself. In the mean time, I'm rewatching the end of season four of Doctor Who. God I wish I could create universes like this.

I'm going to Connecticon this weekend, and covering it for IHoGeek. Also Amy's wedding shower is Saturday, and then her and Joey's wedding is next Saturday. I barely have time to catch my breath, let alone get anything done. I have to start looking for career jobs. Soon. And emailing people, and cleaning out my inbox and organizing my desk space and......

phew. One step at a time, like my blog says. One project at a time, or I'll never get anything done.
Anyhow. Back to work.

ErmahGerd It's been too long

Happy July!

I am challenging myself this month.
1,000 words per day.
One blog post a week (at least).
And finally, trying new things with my writing. I might actually post some of my fanfics on ff.net. I might write more than once I week. I might actually finish the things I've started.


We'll see. I don't want to get ahead of myself. BUT here's to July, the month of getting back to challenges, writing on a regular basis, and general good things. Happy July!