I thought scheduling the ever-loving life out of the next two weeks would snap me out of this funk. It did well enough for the weekend but today is grey, blue, and various shades of ugh.

Friday-- Dinner at Pitfire and four one-act plays by Noel Coward: Well, dinner was kind of the highlight of the evening. The plays were alright, actually kind of reminded me of Roald Dahl's surprisingly dark short stories. Some humor in the dim bits of life, but mostly lots of unhappiness. Yay? The Unintentionally Hilarious award goes to the waltz sung in the last play. Anybody seen All That Jazz? Remember that awful sexy sex airplane sex musical number with the song "Take off with us/ Take off with us...?" The first two lines of the waltz had exactly that beat, tone, count, everything but the words. It was all I could do to not giggle.

Saturday-- SoCal Games Day! Arrived a bit late, but played lots of fun stuff and stuck to my no fried foods pledge despite the delicious onion rings at Everest. Met up with playmayt for the all-star cast of the year: Eddie Izzard, Tim Curry, Billy Connolly, Emily Mortimer, Jane Leeves, Tracey Ullman, Jim Piddock, and Eric Idle in Idle's new play, "What About Dick?" How did all those names fit in one little paragraph, much less on the same stage? It was a staged reading of Idle's "film for radio," presented as a radio program with actors sitting at the back of the stage when quiet and sharing three microphones to speak their parts. It was funny, it was filthy, and Tim Curry's voice is the single most beautiful sound I have ever heard in my life, but the play itself wasn't that good. It felt very disconnected and patched together and the extended EM Forster/Howard's End/films of Emma Thompson & Anthony Hopkins parody just didn't work for me. The people watching was fun, though. Lots of Brits, movers & shakers and stars and such, and I'm pretty certain I saw Jeff Lynne striding up the aisle wearing sunglasses during intermission (really? 9.30pm inside the theatre and really? O... K...) Billy Connolly was the hit of the night with an incomprehensible Scottish detective, and Eddie Izzard was very cute while dropping things and being silly, and, well, everyone was excellent, but. It's no Spamalot.

Sunday-- Din Tai Fung! More Games! Agricola, which is unbelievably amazing. But I was hitting my MustHaveProtein wall so bailed, only to find that I'd left my lights on and my car was dead. Chris was very kind and as he put it, jumped me outside. Made it home safe, toasted up a little dinner and happily watched Torchwood.

Monday, today-- Awful migraine kept me home this morning and I've felt sick all day, but cannot stay home tonight as I have Spoon tickets. Any other band... any less money spent... and it would be me and my jammies and the Doctor Who S2 disc 6 of special features, fer sure. As it is, I will rally. I must. "Anything You Want" demands it.
( Rest of the schedule for this week and next back here: )

My schedule this week.

Monday-- Employee screening of "Something Wicked This Way Comes" with Ray Bradbury in attendance. He spoke before the screening and it was enough to make me want to read every word the man ever wrote, since I've only ever read 451 for high school. Then I watched the creepy scary movie. I curled up into a ball at the tarantulas in the bedroom scene and didn't uncurl til the lights came up. Remember, I am the girl who slept with her lights on for three nights after seeing "The Ring." Maybe I don't need to read every word Ray Bradbury wrote.

Tuesday-- Sleeeeep. Grocery shoppiiiiiiing. Maybe even cooooooooking.

Wednesday-- Games.

Thursday-- Dexter! Watching Dexter every other week with liebewanze. Every other week means two hours of Dexter. Which is a good thing.

Friday-- Halloween party.

Saturday-- Evel Knievel: The Rock Opera with playmayt. Then bed early because...

Sunday-- MyPC Disneyland event! Technically starts at 10am but might be there earlier if beatnikside wants to take full adavantage of his day with the Mouse. I believe the park opens at 8. We're game if you are, my good man.

Sorry. It's a thing that we do out here. Pretty much any number of any things someone says ends up in a fountain. You'd be surprised how long this can stay funny.

From mondaysabitch:

Random Joy

1. What are your thoughts on sites like Facebook/Myspace/Friendster etc.? I dig 'em. I'm listed on all three, but haven't been to Friendster in months, and have only stayed on Myspace in the hope that even more random schoolmates from the past find me. I'm pretty active on Facebook though. Very fun.

2. What was the last play you saw? As in stage performance? Avenue Q. But if you consider that a musical instead, you nit-picker you, I think the last straight play I saw was Fat Pig at the Geffen. Excellent, highly recommend it.

3. What's your opinion on the vegan lifestyle? An amazing commitment I could never make. Takes a lot of work to do it properly, which many who attempt to follow it do not do. It's not for me to judge. Also, it means more steak for the rest of us, so it's cool with me.

4. If you were to give your current home a name, what would it be? Hmm. Laverne? If you don't open the blinds deliberately there's no light in there, so I always feel a little like I'm in Laverne & Shirley's basement apartment if I get home and my roomie didn't leave the blinds open.

5. How do you like your eggs? Ugh. NOT AT ALL. I hate eggs.

MEME NUMBER TWO, From stepliana:

Post 10 things that recently made you happy. Then tag 10 people and force them to post this meme on their LJs.

Apparently this is a Texas edition of our regularly scheduled meme. Sorry about that. Deal.
1. Finding out our contact on a show went to UT. Investigated this because his email address involves Earl Campbell. Awesome.

2. Fried chicken wings and a Belgian waffle at the Breakfast Klub in Houston Saturday morning.

3. Running into a friend from high school and college at the nail salon in Sugar Land Saturday afternoon. Some of those people were great.

4. Biggio's last game as an Astro at Minute Maid Park. Every time he came up to bat he got a standing ovation and had to wait a minute before he stepped into the box. After the game he ran around the entire field and high-fived every fan he could reach from the field. The man is made of class.

5. At one point at the reunion I and another unmarried classmate were showing each other pictures of other classmates' babies that we carry around with us. This amused me to no end.

6. My Dad getting me a Chick-Fil-A fried chicken biscuit Saturday morning before we went out for breakfast, even though he knew this meant I would not eat much of what I ordered.

7. Spending lots of time with Eleanor, the most darling girl who lives inside the loop.

8. Going shopping with my mom Saturday afternoon before we got our toes done.

9. Knowing that I have a wing and a biscuit from The Breakfast Klub in the fridge for dinner tonight.

10. Knowing that I'll be back in Texas for over a week at Thanksgiving!

I don't tag. Tag, you're it!

It's been a pretty good summer.

I went to eleven shows at the Hollywood Bowl.

I went to San Francisco a couple times.

I met many new babies.

I got to see friends in from all over the world and spend plenty of time with them.

I finally tried the Krispy Kreme chicken sandwich. AND IT WAS GOOD.

This weekend was my last Hollywood Bowl visit of the season. It also marked the arrival of fall in LA and I had a friend come visit me from Houston. We spent the entire weekend eating, driving, or sleeping, and we didn't sleep that much. From Friday night through Sunday evening we managed to hit Pink's, Knott's fried chicken, Dino's lasagna pizza, Din Tai Fung, Porto's, and Beard Papa. Monday morning I swore to eat nothing but salad the rest of the week. So of course I went straight to Bob's Big Boy for breakfast after depositing my friend at the airport. I had an hour to kill before work.

But Sunday. We saw Rufus Wainwright at the Hollywood Bowl. Doing his Judy Garland show. The last of his Judy Garland shows. Other than the obnoxious over-demonstrative of their fabulousness scenester asshats who moved in front of us just before the end of the first half, the show was a pure delight.



For the first encore Rufus came back out in Judy's tights, blazer, and fedora from Summer Stock. He spent the second in a beautiful black and white print silk bathrobe. No pictures of that, though, just a very blurry Lorna Luft back at my Flickr page. Sorry about the blurriness.

Have we talked about the amazing height of my concert-going life last Wednesday night when I saw Dave Brubeck at the Hollywood Bowl? It's sad, really. To peak at 28.


"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"


"Take Five"

Watching him play the whole night was beautiful, cause he was really playing. With the piano, with the other musicians, with just the sheer joy he felt. He was like a kid on Christmas morning, a boy with a slingshot. Dave Brubeck had more fun and artistry and talent and speed in those fingers than some pianists I could name in their 20s. Not that I'm rude enough to name names...

It was pretty cool how he worked "Take Five" in, really. He was in the middle of another song, then all of a sudden he started that distinctive piano opening and you shoulda seen that Bowl blow up. Was like he lit a fire under everyone there. Except that little girl in front of me who was hating the whole thing. I get that it's amazing and the clueless woman with her said "You'll remember this when you're older," but no, she won't. She hated it, she was bored the entire time, and kept getting up to complain to her mother. Even the best pieces of the night did not keep her interest or please her, cause she just wasn't into it. I get that it was probably a once in a lifetime chance for her cause let's face it, Mr. Brubeck ain't getting any younger, but really, if your kid's not going to enjoy it, please them and the people sitting near you and just leave them at home.

/soapbox

Very quiet weekend. Hollywood Bowl was fun, post with pics and vid later if I can ever get the media convert site to work again.

Woke up much earlier than I wanted Saturday morning. Tried to roll over and go back to sleep, cause up at 8am on my day to sleep in just not cool, but then I realized hey... I could go to Target... and there wouldn't be a line or crowds... and I need milk, toiletries, and HARRY POTTER... and Target has all three!

So yes. I bought the Harry Potter book. But Liz bought it off me the very next day, so does it really count?

I read the whole thing in one day. I settled into bed with Harry at 10.30 Saturday morning, and despite cooking a big pot of saffron rice with linguica and peas for lunch, chatting with my mom, venturing online, and doing three loads of laundry, I finished the book at half past midnight. It was the only way to stay unspoiled. It was a wonderful send-off to the series. I think now that it's all over I'll start collecting the British editions off ebay or something. I'd like to read those.

Din Tai Fung with playmayt and benhsu Sunday morning, where I ran into my friends Chris and Shannon! LA really is home now, because I also ran into three people I knew at the Hollywood Bowl Friday night: an old regular of mine from the video store in Santa Monica (yes, a man who came into a store where I worked three years ago so often that I recognized him. I became friends with many of my regulars at the big bad evil video store. They kept me as sane as I could be at that time in my life and were probably a big part of how I was able to stay as long as I did,) a friend from MyPC, and a guy who works here in animation who's also an exroommate of a friend of mine. That's it. I'm officially an Angeleno if I'm running into people I know at the Bowl.

Root beer floats party in the park Sunday afternoon seemed to go well and there'll probably be another one soon.

Potter madness continues behind the cut with this week's specially themed mondaysabitch questions and a recipe for butterbeer that I can't wait to try. ( Check it out! )

NO SPOILERS HERE, DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF A CUT. THE CUT IS ONLY FOR LENGTH. NO SPOILERS. NO!

The last few days have been so jam-packed with awesomeness, how do I decide where to begin?

Should I talk about how totally sweet Harry Potter in IMAX 3D was Friday night, and how they managed to turn my least favorite HP book into a movie I love?

Or how John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl Saturday night was so good that I now want to go every year he does this concert, preferably with seats down front? And that I will be bringing a light saber with me from now on?

Video by Ron

Or the really cool retirees I ran into when I got off the red line Sunday night and followed to my new favorite shortcut from the Civic Center stop to the Ahmanson? These people were great. The woman I talked to most was a crack-up. I ran into them again as we were all leaving and she and I chatted the whole way home.

Or maybe last night. When a friend and I saw a panel with Dave Smith and Les Perkins and Tony Baxter hosted by Tim O'Day? And then watched a 1963 short made especially for Radio City Music Hall called "Disney goes East" which featured Walt talking from the screen to a live actor playing Mickey onstage, with Walt doing Mickey's voice. In 1963. Really late. No falsetto left. And then we watched a beautifully restored 1956 entry in the People & Places series of international travelogues called "Disneyland USA" with gorgeous color photography of Disneyland from December 1955 and August 1956. And then I met Kathryn Beaumont and her very sweet husband Al. And then we watched the 42 minute People & Places featurette again. And then about 15 of us sat around and listened to Les Perkins and Tony Baxter talk for about 45 minutes. Cause when guys these interesting and cool and connected and Disneyfied let you listen in on their conversations, you do. And then you say thank you.

I took lots of pictures of the pictures they had up onscreen before it all got started. I'll post some every day til they're gone. My pics aren't great, cause each shot was only there for a few seconds before it was whisked away and replaced with something equally awesome, so it was more a matter of getting the darn thing than making sure it was framed well and from a good angle. Sorry.

Tonight: MyPC meeting at casketgirl's. Thank goodness it's close to home. I have some hope of making it there. And being in bed afterwards before midnight.

Tommorow, Tuesday, JULY 17TH!: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISNEYLAND! 52 YEARS YOUNG! Sadly, I will not be calling in *cough*sick*cough* and going to The Park to celebrate. I will tough out my day here in the mouse's house and attend the festivites at the studio theatre on Dopey Drive instead. Remastered 1956 "People & Places" featurette screening at 6.30pm with mystery panel of film and Disney historians afterwards. Ooh-wee-ooh.

Wednesday: 9am-- Executive Coffee thing with a speech from Bob Iger that I was randomly emailed about a couple weeks ago. There will be pastries I'll do my best to avoid, he'll give a pep talk, and I will get to come into work a little late. Happiness all around.

Probably games with LCG that night.

Thursday: Outfest Dreamgirls sing-along and picnic at the Ford Ampitheatre. I still haven't seen the movie, and surrounded by happy gay men singing their hearts out seems like the best way to see it as far as I'm concerned.

Friday: Cool Britannia show at the Hollywood Bowl with jdekay, ubbercatta, and Ron for FREEEE courtesy of clndestyn! Thanks, babe!

Saturday: Scavenger Hunt on the West Side with many cool MyPC peeps. Then NOTHING. I will spend Saturday night AT HOME like a good little spinster. YESSSSS.

Sunday: 10am Din Tai Fung with benhsu and playmayt. Will finally meet benhsu. And must stock up on green tea cookies.

Hosting a root beer float party with the great The Jen at 2pm Sunday afternoon. Will probably sneak some orange soda in there because I have mad love for 50/50 bars.

This time, next Monday I really do have nothing planned. No meetings that can sneak up on me. No screenings, no movies, no games, no parties, no dinners. Please, no one think of anything fun to do Monday night. I just can't take it.

Just received surprise care package from my parents. Among the random goodies:

*Puerto Rico shirt from the recent Serie Del Caribe. Score!
*Burnt orange UT themed personal fan. WHICH LIGHTS UP READING HOOK 'EM HORNS WHEN YOU TURN IT ON. LOL.
*Assortment of candied pecans from Berdoll's.
*Shiner beer company water bottle.
*Brown Paper Chocolates: Espresso, Kahlua, & Cocoa Nibs. These were actually requested after I spotted them on Dallas Daily Candy.
*Two packets of Jimmy Dean Country Gravy Mix. Probably cause she knew they'd make me ROFLMAO.
*Travel pack of pink kleenex with a bunny on them.
*Round Rock Express pressed penny.
*Playbill for Spamalot.
*Recipe for Chocolate Madeleines.
*Cut-out My Cage comic from the Houston Chron.
*Another comic from the Chron: The Flying McCoys.

This afternoon has been pretty hectic and work/life drama filled. This box made me smile. Thanks Mom & Dad! Y'all rock!

So, today is a good day! Why is today a good day? Because I'm going to have company for a whole weekend in September. Awesome company. I cannot wait!

Also, this weekend will be chock-full of hectic fun and goodness.

Today: The Dateline Disneyland broadcast from opening day is on the bill as the Minnie Movies presentation of the week. I'll be there at 12.30 to watch the famous opening speech, then have lunch on the sunny Commissary patio. Too beautiful outside to waste a whole day under fluorescent lighting.

Tonight: Dinner at CityWalk, Harry Potter in IMAX 3D, and possibly Howl at the Moon afterwards. Texas peeps-- Howl = Dueling Pete's, sorta.

Tomorrow: Game-testing during the day by the sea.

John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl with avarill in the evening. I'll be rushing back from the Westside, so I probably won't have time to put together an ultra-yummy picnic like last time with ubbercatta, so I'll just have to make do with Hollywood + Highland offerings. Hmm, Beard Papa and CPK? I think I can suffer through that.

Sunday: Brunch with jenn_ness at Toast!

Then we rock Felt Club like a hurricane, leaving crafters, buttons, and needles scattered all over Hollywood in our wake.

Jersey Boys that night at the Ahmanson with playmayt.

To illustrate my morning and most of the afternoon:

But why did you change the font?

I didn't change the font.

This isn't our font. This is completely different.

No, this is the same. It's just not in bold.

But it looks completely different.

Oh, it's in 12. We use 11. It's just bigger.

Why did you make it bigger?

I didn't. It came from NY that way. They must use 12. And they bold things. We don't.

I was eventually believed. But my mind. It was still beaten. No one is allowed to talk about General Hospital to me. EVER. Bane of my existance.

But then I got this battered little package from UPS. With a birthday present and letter from some cool people inside. One of those cool people was silly enough to write the letter on stationary from work. Which has his ultraprofessional direct line on it. So of course I called him. And had the fun, gossipy, giggly conversation I needed to snap out of my bad mood morning. Which was even better than getting a present at work.

Neil LaBute play tonight in Westwood! And I might try for Cat Club later cause I totally blew off my rock and roll lifestyle plans last night and stayed home to watch Regency House Party. It's this weird British thing narrated by Richard E. Grant that's half dating game, half social experiment. Fun!

So wonderful that I wish you could have all been there to experience it with me. Since that's not possible, I broke all sorts of rules and used the handy dandy (extremely shaky) video record function on my camera to snag this, this, and this, as well as the piece below. Enjoy! ( Many pictures back here. )

I know next to nothing about opera and even less about contemporary opera stars and performers, so even had I been told that Sumi Jo was appearing as The Queen of the Night, it would not have meant anything to me. But wow, was she good, even though she was ill and almost didn't sing in the second act. There was a family of horrible opera snobs behind us who had the deplorable taste to boo her during her curtain call because apparently her singing was not up to their standards. I loved her rendition of the second act aria, and am impressed that she's still singing it twenty years into her career. I found a more complete performance of the piece by Sumi Jo as well and enjoyed that at work today. All I know is that it was better then I or they could ever do, therefore un-damn well-booable. They were so horrible and insistant that I finally turned around and said "You do remember that they said she's ill and almost didn't sing the second act?" to which the obnoxious teenage son replied "I've heard people who claimed illness do it much better than that. She was awful." Um, no. Judge for yourself:

I completely suck as a movie fan. So much so that I couldn't think of a dozen quotes to steal stepliana's movie meme. Dude.

Exhausted for no good reason. The beach was extremely mellow yesterday and the marine layer never completely burnt off. It was grey all day and we were in sweaters and lap blankets, bundled up like a couple of auld ladies at the English seaside from noon on. The sun peeked through a couple times around 6pm, but there's no reason I should feel so baked and sun-drained and useless today. Uh. Tired.

But salt-water soaked corn on the cob, boiled potato, pineapple slices, and cheddarwurst make for excellent grilled beach food. And I would have the pictures to prove it if I hadn't been so fuzzyheaded and left my camera at home. See above paragraph.

I've been super-duper smart and overscheduled again. Yay sleepiness!

Tonight: LCG, cannot cancel because I need to deliver games. Must try not to fall asleep on top of someone's new game. Drool on Caylus Magna Carta = HEIGHT OF UNCOOL.

Tomorrow: Apparently they screen cartoons and whatnot at the Archives every Friday at lunchtime. "Patriotic Shorts" on the bill at 12.30. Sounds fun.

Saturday: Dim Sum in the morning with clndestyn & playmayt in Chinatown! Yummy! Then might look at a Prius being sold by a Cast Member in Anaheim in the afternoon. Need to check out early Prius battery lifespans. "Pirates of Penzance" in the evening with playmayt & honore in Long Beach! Haven't seen either in a while, so should be fun.

Sunday: Monthly Din Tai Fung feast in the morning. Tea at the Tudor House with clndestyn in the afternoon. First Hollywood Bowl event of the season in the evening! "The Magic Flute" with ubbercatta. Will begin perfecting my HB picnic, which I hope to have down pat by the third show.

Monday: Games with friends.

Tuesday: Games with SFVG.

Wednesday: 7.30pm- Woody Woodpecker DVD premiere event & screening at Grauman's Chinese. 12 cartoons on the big screen and then panel on Walter Lanz's career and life with Leonard Maltin, June Foray, Billy Martin, Maurice LaMarche, and Phil Roman. I requested two tickets, so if anyone wants to come along to this, let me know.

Thursday: Fat Pig (Neil LaBute! Scott Wolf! Diddy Riese!) at the Geffen in Westwood with Liz.

Friday: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in IMAX 3D. Sometimes it's not so bad living right by a major tourist destination.

Saturday: Grandma's birthday! Also John Williams at the Hollywood Bowl with avarill, picnic attempt #2.

Sunday: Felt Club in the morning, possibly. Anyone who wants to go to that (I'm looking at you, jenn_ness, sinca, and princess_jennx,and anyone else crafty and up for it) give me a shout. Jersey Boys with playmayt at the Ahmanson that evening.

Must not put head on desk and take nap. Eyes need to be open. More caffeine laden tea. That will help.

Rainbow

1. Have you ever been to a Pride Parade? Nope. But it sounds like fun. The Gay Days at Disneyland are a blast.

2. What's your favourite Skittles flavour? Red. Definitely. Purple is a close second. I refuse to eat the yellow and green, as I think an important part of candy is actually enjoying it. So if you're with me on the rare occasion that I get a bag of Skittles, expect half the bag to be dumped in your palm.

3. Did you ever watch "Rainbow Brite"? If so, who was your favourite Color Kid? Heck yeah! I had a Rainbow Brite doll who went everywhere with me for a while, and always loved these two.



4. Have you ever seen "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat"? Nope. Is that Webber? I either love him or hate him, so haven't chanced this one yet.

5. What's at the end of your rainbow? (Assume a pot of gold is already taken because that's just not creative). A happy family and a great job with Disney!

7.8: 7.30pm-- Mozart's The Magic Flute in concert. Other seat unclaimed, yours for $10.

9.6: 8pm-- Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky in concert. Other seat unclaimed, yours for $7.

9.10: 8pm-- Spoon at the Henry Fonda Music Box. Other seat unclaimed, possibility in the works, but could be yours for $32. Taken!

I've been in a foul mood most of the afternoon. When I get tired and hungry, I get fussy and snappy and cranky. When I spent most of the drive home yelling at everyone else on the road and ended by cussing out a schoolbus driver, I knew that I was not fit to be around people. I called and cancelled my plans for tonight, because I would not be pleasant to be with. I'm on self-imposed time-out.

Remaining plans for the week:

Tuesday: My last free night. I must do laundry and sleep. And write. Remember the writing?

Wednesday: Big Love watching and BBQ with molly_drew! Yay!

Thusday: Dinner at Pitfire (yum) and Wicked with Ron! Yay!

Friday: Poker and birthday celebrations with roommate Liz! Yay!

Saturday: SoCal Games Day and Glamnation at the Cat Club with playmayt! Yay!

Sunday: Tea at the Huntington with lots of wonderful girls! Yay!

And I INSIST upon it being a much slower and calmer weekend. Hmph.

Seeing a baseball game in LA can be interesting. Dodger Stadium is one big semantic argument people can actually sit in. It can be called decrepit or distinguished, out-dated or old-fashioned, uncomfortable or historic. I just call it enemy territory and refuse to set foot in it unless a decent team is playing, such as the Giants, Astros, Cubbies or Padres.

As long I can get Gordon Biersch garlic fries and my traditional third inning malted, all will be well. And LA's got a few unique additions to the baseball fun that I like. Watching movie trailers between almost every inning on the jumboscreen is a plus.

Then there's the music. LA's got a great classic organ and a lady who's been playing during the games for years. She's a real treat. I was lucky enough to see the Cubbies play on Sunday. I couldn't quite believe it when "L'Chaim" started playing. What did they follow it up with? Not "Hava Nagila," not right away, at least. No, next up was "Far From the Home I Love." Really? Is it showtunes day? Nope, just Jewish Community League Day. I didn't know it, but a bunch of the temples and synagogues all over LA have softball teams and play in a league. Representatives threw out the first pitch, sang "God Bless America," and a cantor sang the most beautiful rendition of the national anthem I think I've ever heard at a ballgame. And for the rest of the day the organ piped "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "Tradition," and "Wonder of Wonders."

I love this town.






*To everyone and everything except the Dodger post-season, that is. May their season end in August and their boys never know what it is to play in an American league park!

Reposting Hollywood Bowl tickets that are still available. Rufus is once again up for grabs. You can thank Def Leppard. :)

7.8 7.30pm-- Mozart's The Magic Flute in concert. Other seat unclaimed, yours for $10. Yay! playmayt's going!

8.30 8pm-- Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and The Firebird by Stravinsky. Other seat unclaimed, yours for $7. Yay! ubbercatta's going!

9.6 8pm-- Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky in concert. Other seat unclaimed, yours for $7.

9.23 7pm-- Rufus Wainwright sings Judy Garland. You read that right. Rufus. Singing Judy. All night. Whatever will he wear for the occasion? Other seat unclaimed, yours for $10. Yay! ubbercatta's going!

Or sad or disappointed or in love or scared or confused. Y'know what it's like when people sing about being confused for ten minutes in Italian? CONFUSING.

Opera last night was good, pretty singing, and I've found my first opera love: Peter Mattei-- check this out and try not to act like a fangirl yourself. He was amazing. I liked him much more than the Almaviva.

But Rossini. Dude. What's with all the repeating yourself? Every song from the 3 hour behemoth that is The Barber of Seville went something like this:

I am so happy
My head could explode!
I am so happy
so happy, so happy, so happy
I am so happy
so happy, so happy, so happy
I am so happy
My head could explode!
My head, my head, my head
My head could explode!
My head, my head, my head
My head could explode!
I am so happy
so happy, so happy, so happy
My head could explode!
My head, my head, my head
My head could explode!
My head could explode!
My head could explode!
I am so happy
so happy, so happy, so happy
Explode, explode, explode!
I am so happy
My head could explode!
I am so happy
My head could explode!
I am so happy
My head could explode!
Happy, happy, happy
Head, head, head
Explode, explode, explode!
HHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYYYY!
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDD!
EEEEEEEEEXXXXXXXXXXPPPPPPLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDE!

And that would be the condensed version. Dude. Too many notes. Stop repeating yourself. But I really liked the music and will probably get a recording of it. I think I'd much prefer listening to it while doing something else to sitting and watching it.

Terror has a face. It's this doll.



"Tattooed Love Boys" just started on Pandora! Hah! GH2 has conquered my brain.

Hollywood Bowl tickets for the summer finally arrived Saturday! Yippee Skippee!

Disneyland was great, and once we resolved to stay out of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, not too crowded. Great day for people watching. Oh, the personal appearance decicions we saw judged. We found great cotton candy though! Best grape flavor ever!

I had the weirdest dream this morning. playmayt and I were cousins in a large Italian-American family involved in the mob. Our aunt was on trial for selling and hiding drugs and playmayt swore to me that our aunt was innocent and she would know if anything was wrong, but in the trial it was proven that playmayt and our aunt were in on it together and had hidden the drugs in a pie playmayt baked. And then I went home and put away a blue and white apron playmayt had made me. I kept hitting the snooze button so I could go back to the dream and find out what happened nezt.

Pilot excitement post to come later this afternoon. I've already talked about it on Snackie TeeVee though. :)