When is a book more than a book?

I have just finished re-reading the Harry Potter series.
*curtsies to cheering crowd*
It was an experience I thoroughly enjoyed and cannot wait to begin again.

During the course of finishing Book 7, an incident occured which got me thinking...

I was reading during my lunch break at work and pushed right up until the last minute because I did NOT want to put it down.
As I was walking out of the lobby, I thought, 'Dang it! I had to leave right before the battle of Hogwarts!'
I stopped.
The phrasing struck me as strange.
'I had to leave'.

Where did I leave?
The lobby?
No....I wasn't talking about the lobby.
The table?
Nope.

I was thinking of Hogwarts.
I was thinking about the book as though I had been in it.

Was this something specific to Harry Potter?
No.......
When I thought about it, this was something all my favourite books had in common.

When I read them, I don't just read them.
I'm not just a casual observer.
The best books are ones that allow us to be part of the story.
Books where we find ourselves worrying over the characters, even missing them (not gonna lie. I miss me some Dumbledore).
Books where we find ourselves thinking things like, "I had to leave-"

Which leads me to my point:
When is a book more than a book?
In my humble opinion, the answer is:
When it makes us more than ourselves.

Now go read a book!
Cheers.

Convictions

While I stare at Blake's letter to the editor, which my parents cut out of the QC Times and put on the fridge, I would just like to state how incredibly proud I am of my boys.

They're so smart.

Better than that?

They stand up for what they believe in; and they stand for it in an intelligent, reasonable manner.

Their opinion isn't always popular, but they don't care.
They're going to profess their beliefs, and those beliefs are going to be well researched, and well thought out.
Don't agree? Be as well researched as they are, and speak in a reasonable manner, and you both will probably learn something.

I am proud of them.
I am proud of their voices, which are loud and proud.
I am proud of their intelligence, which is undeniable.
and I am proud of their reason and willingness to discuss and learn.

Cheers.

I'm goin' to my bunk...

There is something indefinably sad about the last few nights of break.

Reviewing, Reviewing, Yes I am Reviewing!

Promises, Promises: OBC
Music & Lyrics: Burt Bacharach & Hal David
Starring: Jerry Orbach, Jill O'Hara
Synopsis: Chuck (Orbach) is an up-and-comer in a non descript business firm who loans his apartment to executives for their trysts. Hijinks and surprisingly serious consequences ensue when Chuck falls for Fran, one of the girls being...well...'trysted' in his apartment.
Review: The score that one finds on this CD is nothing if not infectious. Burt Bacharach, a veritable pop king in the music world ('Say a Little Prayer', 'Always something there to remind me', 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head') infuses these songs with the groovin' 70s vibe one would expect, and won a Tony award for his efforts. The tunes in this hit parade roll on by heavy on the trumpets and the bossanova beat (and what is that? An egg-shaker I hear? Yes indeed!)
As one progresses through the CD new gems keep presenting themselves to the listener; I've been listening to this CD for 4 months and every few weeks I find a new favourite.
Part of the reason the score is so versatile is the emotional variance that one finds.
Feeling cheery? How about an adorably awkward love duet?
Cynical? We have that here.
Contemplative? Ambitious? Determined? Betrayed? Elated?
All are available for you right from the comfort of your ipod!
The performances here are also nothing to turn up your nose at. Jerry Orbach is at the height of his leading man prowess and putting on the charm as never before in a performance that would earn him a Tony Award. The vocals from him are strong and pleasing, but occasionally the songs extend beyond his range and he ends up going a bit flat...Noticably flat. ...Ok. Very flat indeed. One wonders why the people in the recording booth didn't notice (Friends don't let friends be preserved for postarity singing underpitch).
Jill O'Hara (Tony nominated here) has a decidedly 70s timbre (trembly, vulnerable, a bit nasal), but it fits the score beautifully. All of her songs are pitch perfect (literally), and she often surprises the listener with the extent of her range. 'Knowing When to Leave' is quite a dark moment in the show and provides her with a spotlight in which to belt, emote, and shine.
Now, I don't want to rave too much. I must warn you that there are a few 'turkeys' (no one will ever make me like 'Turkey Lurkey Time') in a otherwise perfectly enjoyable score ('Our Little Secret' never ceases to grate my nerves with its' plodding, self-congradulatory tone and major tuning issues. Seriously! Did anyone even listen to track before putting it on a cd?!), but you can easily skip past them and the positives greatly outweigh the negatives.
The CD as a whole is a groovy, feel-good trip back in time that will leave you humming for months on end. Promise. =D
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Listen to: 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again', 'You'll Think of Someone', 'She Likes Basketball'
Interesting Facts: The show is soon to be revived on Broadway (March 2010) in a production to be directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall. Mr. Marshall is an experienced theatre and film director with six Tony nominations to his name (all of them for choreography) as well as an Oscar nom. for his direction of the film 'Chicago'. I think you will all agree that we are in pretty good hands here.
The production will star Sean Hayes (Is anyone else profoundly confused by this casting decision?) and Kristen Chenoweth.

Sophie's Choice

OK.
Soo.....I would like to thank Twitter for letting me in on the craziest/most awesome thing I've ever been seen in the tweet world.

That's right; I am speaking of the ludicrous battle between Neil Patrick Harris (aka Dr. Horrible) and John Barrowman (aka Captain Jack Harkness) for 'Gay of the Decade'.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAA!!!!!!!

This is hilarious.
I can't give you the full details here, but I will provide a summary.

One of those 'Gay men news' websites was having a little vote for 'Gay man of the decade' and quietly fading into obscurity when one of their bloggers casually mentioned that it was pretty close between NPH and John Barrowman.

NPH mentioned this in his twitter and asked for votes; thus igniting a fire that would burn with the heat of a thousand tweets.

JB gets wind of this and starts campaigning for votes.

Pretty soon both candidates and pulling every celebrity friend they have to tweet their support, and it is now steamrolling into a giant Twitter battle for the ages.

The votes are still really close I guess and it's Brits vs. USA for the Gay of the Decade, with both countries waging war while the other sleeps.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!

I'm sorry.
This is just hilarious.
Like......ridiculous and flippin' hilarious.

I personally threw in my vote for JB.
It hurts my heart to make a decision between two of my favourite people, but Captain Jack did come into my life before Dr. Horrible or 'How I Met Your Mother'.

Sorry NPH.
I still love you.

Here's a link where you can read a play-by-play of this insanity.
I suggest reading the blog post which starts 'What a Difference a Day Makes', it's the most hilarious.

http://www.afterelton.com/blog/2810

Cheers everyone.
*walks off still laughing*

Back in action!

Hola everyone!

Sorry it's been so long, end of the semester panic set in and sort of cut off my communication with all but God and my ear training text book for a good month and a half. lol.

The good news is that I magically, wonderfully, passed 'Review of Ear-Training III'.

I know, I know, MIRACLE!!!

*angel voices*

In other news, I am completely terrified of next semester.

This ear-training stuff is only going to get harder, and I'm only going ot get nuttier so....watch out!

The year has come to a quiet end and I have managed to survive my first semester of Grad School.

*whew*

There's a new Doctor on 'Doctor Who' (don't even get me started...I'll start crying again), and a new batch of challenges on their way.
Not much to say for now, but I'm sure things will come in the future.

Goodbye Ten...
"He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever... He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe... And... he's wonderful. "

Clickity Click Click!

You may wonder why you haven't heard from me in a while.
Well, let me tell you why; and why you probably won't hear from me much this month...

The month of November is National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo!

The challenge: Write 50,000 words of a story in one month.

I have taken on this challenge, along with several other people I know, and a good portion of the Nerdfighting community. (Go Nerdfighters!)

It's a really cool challenge, and even though I might not finish, I think I will come pretty close, and just having done that will be quite an accomplishment and a thing to be proud of.

Please visit the NaNoWriMo website and check it out. www.nanowrimo.com
You can create a profile and have your own page, have writing buddies, be part of a region (so you are notified if there are going to be any events in your area), and get pep talks throughout the month from famous writers (Niel Gaiman anyone?).

If anything, check out the 'just for fun' section and read some of the archived pep talks. They're awesome.

I've got a little over 3,000 words at this point...Not much I know, but I'm working on it! Slowly, but diligently.
You can check out my profile on the nanowrimo, it's under dame_rachel.
But don't judge me when you do!
NaNoWriMo isn't about writing a staggering work of genius, it isn't about editing and spelling, or even well written sentences. It's about getting the words on paper.
As they say, edit in December. Write in November.

Happy writing everyone!
And let the clicks of your keyboard be the only sound you hear for 30days!
Cheers.