oh fine...

Pisces

By Rick Levine

The hardworking Virgo Moon won't let us relax too much today as she forms an uncomfortable sesquisquare with the Sun. Meanwhile, three planets in sensual Taurus encourage us to take it easy. Fortunately we're able to overcome the temptation to forget about our chores when Venus creates a well-balanced trine with responsible Saturn. It may actually feel good to put in that extra effort, especially later when we have the satisfaction of a job well done.

I guess I will be picking up all the squirrel stuffins.

Finally, a Contes d'Hoffman that made sense to me

I think I had a vague notion that this was one of those operas with several versions, but I've only seen and listened to one and though it's pretty, I totally didn't get the ending.

Fortunately, I managed to watch the Met broadcast before the DVR ran out of space. (it deleted Turandot earlier this week) Anyhoo, I liked how they used Nicklausse/The Muse to give the whole thing a reason/motivation other than "Hoffman just wants to entertain his friends". During one of the intermission interviews they asked Kate Lindsey about what she thought Nicklausse's role was, because in this version he's, as usual, Hoffman's friend, but there's also a bit of a darker side where you're not sure if he's really helping or not. She described his part as (paraphrasing) "sometimes you're on the edge of a cliff and you need a really good friend to push you off". and the final chorus drove that home saying that Hoffman should use the ashes of his broken heart to create his art, oh and being drunk all the time doesn't hurt either. ;D

We can't have nice things....

found this cool plushy goose for Sophie. (She hasn't shown any interest in fetching the rope or the squeaky fire hose.) I figured, retrievers retrieve birds and such and she's always very interested in the ducks in the pond. so, back to the goose... it said it had a squeaker in it, but actually it honked. She loved it, I could throw it and she'd go after it. but in only a few hours she's managed to tear the honker out and she also tore the face off the squirrel I gave Roxie.

then the icing on the cake... I picked the honker up off the floor and made it honk and Sophie stared at me and next thing I know, the dogs are a big growling, toothy ball and just like the other time they did that, Carlos tried to join in.

I do not understand the animals.

so, um, I've been busy.... I think....

got the show opened this weekend and finally have some evenings off. but then my laptop has been out of commission since Saturday. Thankfully, RTO's brother managed to fix it, and I just picked it up this evening.

Just in time to get home, print my resume and head out for an audition. except that the printer was being stupid, so I was a little late. no big deal. felt good about the singing part, and amused that I couldn't handle a grapevine to the left. seriously, a two eight count routine that consisted of grapevine right, pivot, pivot, jazz square, grapevine left and I tripped all over myself at the end. but didn't fall over, which the director noted was a plus for me. ;D (I've worked with him a few times now, and he's doing the music part of Funny Girl so he's seen my most recent "dancing" issues and shared them with his partner who talked to me about it on my way out.) Let's just say me and Eiffel Tower headdress do not mix with stairs, that's probably why I never became a show girl in Vegas. har.

So, I'm still trying to catch up with things here while at the same time trying to get the dogs to respect my authoriteh.

also, I'm bruising a lot. currently have a big one covering most of the top of my left foot a smaller one on top of my right foot, one or two on each knee and the weirdest one is on the back of my left hand starting at the middle finger knuckle and going about half way down my hand. no idea what I did. maybe dogs and kitties are beating me in my sleep. Thank goodness RTO isn't here or he might have some splainin to do.

It was masking tape or...

"You stink and I have a headache by the end of the night and I'm trying to read so shut up and move away from me."

I'm hoping the tape works without any fanfare.

update: not so much. but now I've decided that anything that comes over the line is going to disappear. I'm very adult, I know...

treasure finding bragging time....

went to the Half Price Books "mother ship" after work yesterday. sold the last of the CD's I'm willing to part with at the moment. found Last Watch. A recording of Frauenliebe und Leben along with many other lieder sung by Christa Ludwig. and I think that was all that I found from my loosely organized/remembered search list. Now looking for, um, Caballe singing Nel cor piu non mi sento, maybe, I'm told it has some nice embellishments.

oh, and also found Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Millan, cause RTO keeps harping on me about be "calm and assertive" with the terrible two. we'll see, I only managed to get a few pages into it at rehearsal today.

according to Cesar Millan....

I am not the pack leader, Sophie is. However, I did get them to sit and stay in the hallway when I fed them last night.

*headdesk*

Right now, if you're on salary, you get your salary from Celgard or any of the companies around here, you're paying your Medicare tax on all of that, right? You see it on your -- it's part of your FICA.*

um, not so much. It's like he's never seen a pay stub.


*

RTO's gone again for a few weeks, so I'm extra cranky. maybe all 2 of you left should just skip it.

h/t Oh_meOhMy

this seemed relevent to current debates...

...They fought it thanks to a piece of paper which along with the need of the soul, the need for a Patria, concretized the sublime idea of Liberty married to Equality: the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident... That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights... That among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness... That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men..." And this paper that from the French Revolution on the whole West has copied, from which each of us has drawn inspiration, still constitutes the backbone of America. Her vital lymph. Know why? Because it transforms the subjects into citizens. Because it turns the plebes into people. Because it invites, no, it orders the plebes turned into citizens to rebel against tyranny and to govern themselves. To express their individualities, to search for their own happiness. (Something that for the poor, for the plebes, means to get rich).

Oriana Fallaci - The Rage and The Pride

been watching RTO debate health care with a German guy today who just doesn't understand what the big deal is. He also had some interesting misconceptions about how things work over here. (He seemed to think that ERs here could turn people away for not being able to pay).

Anyhoo, probably gonna see if I can finish this thing tonight.

caught up on the magazines again!!!

started reading The Rage and the Pride by Oriana Fallaci. It's kinda like stepping into a time machine. which I enjoy every once and a while, cause I forget so much.