*Man* this is a long entry.

[sarea]

I bought a monitor this weekend. It ROCKS. It was a little more than I had been planning to spend, but it was a really good deal so I'm forgiving myself. :)) I actually was trying to decide between seven different monitors, and was hoping that you guys would help me narrow down the field. But then LJ was down, so I had to go it on my own, and I don't regret my decision at all (which is not often the case). I ended up going with the Samsung 912N, because it had excellent reviews, a decent price, was a flat-panel LCD, and best of all, has 19 inches to love. *strokes new monitor* Everything looks ginormous! Now I'm really impatient for all the parts to arrive so I can assemble the new machine.

After a lovely lunch with corianderstem, we went to Half Price Books, where I always manage to find something to buy. I got several books and the Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle soundtrack. (I have two words for you: Wilson Phillips.) Then we went to Barnes & Noble, where I got five books from Meg Cabot's Mediator series (I'm a bit less confident of her early teen series than of her newer stuff). The sixth (and final) book is in hardcover, so I can wait for that. I also picked up a copy of Victoria and the Rogue, which is the 2nd Avon True Romance that Meg's written. I didn't like the first one that much, but I figure, it's Meg so at least it'll be fun.

The next place where I did some damage was at CD Warehouse, where I always manage to buy a bunch of CDs (many of them guilty pleasure) for not a whole lot. I walked out with 9 CDs for $48, including the 2-disc Broadway sountrack of "Phantom of the Opera." (I haven't listened to it in years, because I used to listen to it so much I totally got sick of it. I still haven't seen the movie, but had a sudden hankering to listen to the music ... and I'm able to appreciate it again.)

I've been feeling pretty wibbly about all the money I'm spending on my computer (though if you think about it, considering how much time I spend on a computer and how much fun I get from it, it's totally worth it), so I bit the bullet and went to return a bunch of things I was on the fence about. The first to go was the pair of Seven jeans that I got at Nordstrom's. Then I went to return the first Juicy tote that I got, because I've never carried it and the tags were still on. However, when the salesperson rung it up, she said that if they put it out now, it was out of season so it'd be marked down $80. She asked if I wanted to just keep the bag, and she'd credit my account with $80. Hmm, Nordstrom's paying me $80 to keep a bag I already own/wanted? OKAY!

Then I returned a pair of unworn jeans to the Gap, because I went crazy before vacation and bought more pairs of jeans than I really need. However, while I was there ... I found this big, thick coat that was faux light-brown suede in a medium. I told myself that if it cost something reasonable, I'd consider getting it. The price on the coat was originally $128 ... but it had been marked down (for no discernable reason that I could see) to $29.97!! Plus I had a $15 'gift card' to the Gap, so that coat ended up costing me $16. Oh, it was such sweet shopping.

My last stop was Borders, where I bought a bunch of books (including several Calvin & Hobbes collections as a gift for my cousin) ... but my favorite was this coffee table book I got on WWII. Yes, how much of a geek am I?

Also, on Sat. I picked up the last remaining copy of "World of Warcraft" in the Puget Sound area, and possibly the whole wide world. You'd think I'm exaggerating, but ... it might very well be the truth. Hopefully by the time I get around to playing it, all the issues they've been having with their servers will be resolved. :p

It has been miserably snowy, rainy, and dreary here. Blah. Also, my strange dreams continue. It's been over a week now that I've been dreaming every night, and usually they're really bizarre. The fact that I would dream is strange in itself, because I usually don't dream ... or at least, not to where I remember much in the morning. But they've been staying with me.

I've been on a musicals kick lately, and I've noticed that the older I get, my appreciation for it changes. That seems an incredibly obvious thing to have happen, but I don't know, it's kind of odd, especially for musicals I've loved for years and years.

For instance, "Les Miserables." I've been lucky enough to see this one on stage at three venues: in LA, on Broadway, and in London. When I was young, my favorite character was Cosette. I pictured myself as being that poor little girl, so downtrodden but at last saved by Valjean to live the life of a fairy-tale princess.

In college and in my early 20s, my favorite character was Eponine, the poor girl who bore an unrequited love for the oblivious and rather callous Marius, doing the right thing even though she had such base beginnings. Cosette became a shallow, undeserving, bland character.

Now I find that my sympathies lie with Fantene, a woman whose crappy life can be attributed to that most evil of creatures: Man. All her dreams of romance and love are shattered by bitter reality, and she gives up her life and happiness for her daughter (who grows up with a better life, to be sure, but with little character). Eponine becomes a silly girl whose infatuation with the undeserving Marius makes her death even more of a waste.

Also, I used to despise Javert. When I was young he used to seem incredibly villainous ... how could he not see that poor Valjean wasn't a bad person, and that what he'd done hardly constituted what the law demanded? But now Javert is one of my favorite characters (possibly the same way Snape is my fave character in the HPverse), and "Stars" is such a beautiful piece.

My favorite edition of this musical is the 10th Anniversary one, where Lea Salonga sings the role of Eponine. Lea is one of my favorite female vocalists, and her voice is awesome. (Also, the woman (women?) who sings Eponine in the other versions grates on me.)

Another of my favorite mainstream musicals is "Miss Saigon." I cried buckets when I first saw it (in LA twice, though I would later also see it on Broadway and in London, and I cried every time). I was all about the poor star-crossed lovers, and despite how easily Chris seemed to have moved on with his life, I was convinced that he truly loved Kim.

Now I'm thinking that's just so much malarkey. Possibly it's because Chris now has the unenviable position of being like Vaughn from Alias, who did basically the same thing. They both claimed to love a girl, and then at the first sign of trouble, abandoned them and married someone else, all in the space of two years -- which is nothing at all. In this, Vaughn might even have the upper hand -- at least he thought Sydney was dead. And the climax of the piece is so painful, with poor Kim realizing that her hopes and dreams were the silly fantasies of a naive young girl (or like those of the whores she worked with). Whether or not Chris realizes that he actually does love Kim when he sees her at the end and is confronted by what she's done is debatable. It doesn't even really matter -- his behavior up to this point has been totally contemptible. The worst of his sins, imho, is his cowardly, cold-hearted assessment that Kim and Tam will have to stay in Bangkok, and he'll support them. Though not present to hear this decision, it's clear that Kim already knows it's the choice he'll make ... so she does the only thing she can; she removes the obstacle that keeps her son from living a good, decent life: herself.

Now, Kim's life sucks, so it's easy for her to have romanticized her time with Chris, and also keep 'faithful' to him and his promises of a better life. It could be argued that it was easier for her to stay true to their romance, because it was something for her to hold on to during dark times. But despite that, I can give her the benefit of the doubt. With Chris, that's a lot harder, if not impossible, to do, considering his actions during the time they've been separated, and then when he learns of Kim being alive and Tam's existence.

Still, I'm a sucker for this musical.

Another one I love, but I keep alternating between which characters I feel the most for, is "Jekyll & Hyde." This one I've only seen once, and while it was on Broadway, the cast was nowhere near as good as on the original Broadway recording (I love Linda Eder).

As for "Phantom" ... the first performance I ever saw remains the best. I'm not a big Michael Crawford/Sarah Brightman fan, though the Broadway recording is definitely decent. The thing about the Broadway recording is ... even though Raoul is such a bland character, the voice of the guy who does it on that recording sounds hot. So I like Raoul a lot more than I probably should. <g> But there was something about Davis Gaines and Dale Kristien as the Phantom and Christine that was just amazingly beautiful. Anyway ... I started to watch that old miniseries they did with Charles Dance as the Phantom and Teri Polo as Christine (Adam Stork as Raoul), but I actually missed Andrew Lloyd Webber's music. Does anyone know if Teri actually sang? It looks like she doesn't, but maybe it's just really bad dubbing...

I could go on and on, but those are the ones I've had swirling around in my thoughts lately.

Also, I saw In Good Company this weekend. If you've seen Little Black Book, you'll know why I compare the two. IGC was a better *movie* than I had expected it to be, but because of that, it leaves me with more of a bittersweet feeling than one of cotton-candy happiness. And you know, that's okay. Lord knows I despise typical romcoms, so mostly, I'm glad. The only part of me that wishes it might have been different is the part that wants to be able to watch this movie over and over as feel-good fluff. And I could probably do that, until about 25 min. from the end, where I'd have to turn it off. <g>

Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace gave really fine performances, and where the movie made you laugh, it was *genuinely* funny. The relationships between the characters -- particularly between Dennis and Topher (can't remember their character names at the moment) -- were the best part. The woman who played the mother freaked me out a bit because her features are so sharp and angular, and she was always made up in such a freakish way, but I liked the touch that she was a redhead and so was the younger daughter. A small detail to be sure, but too often movies throw together a bunch of people who obviously couldn't possibly be related, and sometimes it distracts me. I can take or leave Scarlet Johansson, but she's starting to grow on me, and I liked her in this role. (I should have known things wouldn't turn out completely hunky dory with her in it. She doesn't choose those kinds of movies.)

The weakest part of the movie was the climax ... it seemed really hastily thrown together, contrived, too quick, etc. But since the strength of the piece didn't center around the plot but the characters, it's easily forgiven. How everything turned out was right for the movie. I can appreciate that (just as for Little Black Book), but I can't help but hope that everything works out for everyone down the road. They definitely give you that hope, and end it on a nice note.

So, I'd recommend this movie if you're just looking for a nice, relaxing time out. Don't expect fabulosity ... but it just might surprise you.

Some of you have been wondering about when you'll get to read all the entries for the_feast -- well, it should be in the coming week. A few of the judges are still scoring, but we hope to have a winner announced by Saturday. After that, all the stories will begin to post to the_feast, probably three of them a day. We ended up getting 20 entries, so there are many great stories to look forward to! :D

Many, MANY *hugs* for silverbookworm.

Comments

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Hard to believe but true. Since your dulcet tones aren't available at all times, I must talk to others. Painful but necessary.

Nube makes me think of either nubile or pubes. Neither is good.

Too bad I never saw The Matrix. We can sing "Sunglass at Night" too.

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Too bad I never saw The Matrix.

[akscully.livejournal.com]

Are you shocked?

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

This has stunned me. First Friends and now The Matrix ... it's like you're deliberately sabotaging our relationship.

I must now take to my bed to ponder these new developments.