games ,free online games ,strategy games ,shooting games ,puzzle ,new games ,strategy ,sports ,random games ,play now ,play game ,play free games ,high categories ,fun games ,free game ,free flash games ,flash games ,fighting games ,facebook ,escape ,dress up games ,downloads ,download ,casual games ,casino games
games ,free online games ,strategy games ,shooting games ,puzzle ,new games ,strategy ,sports ,random games ,play now ,play game ,play free games ,high categories ,fun games ,free game ,free flash games ,flash games ,fighting games ,facebook ,escape ,dress up games ,downloads ,download ,casual games ,casino games
So I was working on my list of New Year's Resolutions for 2009 (#1. Have more sex than I did in 2008--HAH!) but then I came across a fun idea in this month's Real Simple magazine. Instead of asking people what they plan to do this year, they asked them to write in with what they are NOT going to do. (examples: I am not going to go on a diet, I am not going to take on more than I can handle, I am not going to stop drinking, etc.)
Which I think sounds like a lot more fun. So I'll be working on that, and would love to hear what some of yours would be.
Because this was my first Christmas as a Smug Married, it was also the first Christmas of Juggling Between Families. I think on the whole everything went fine and we had great times with everyone, but as with any pilot program, we now have an idea of things that will need tweaking in the years to come.
So. Valuable Lessons Which Must Be Remembered and Recorded to Inform Future Planning.
#1. Driving back and forth multiple times between P*** and L*** and SLC during snowstorm week = not good. We probably both need deep-tissue massages after all the white-knuckle driving, and I probably need electroshock therapy to deal with the bit where we drove through the barren wasteland of Tremonton at 1:00am Christmas morning in white-out conditions where we could not even see the road for 20 miles and I kept screaming "Slow down slow down slow down my GOSH is that a ravine? Is that a FLIPPING ravine????? WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!" (Come to think of it, GH may need some therapy to get over that bit as well.)
#2. It is fabulous to be a beloved auntie on both sides, and I'm so very glad that my Precii love GH so much, but next year I'll be wearing some form of sports padding. Nephews and nieces are precious, but deadly. Between all of the climbing and flopping and elbows and knees and feet at both houses, I'm pretty sure both GH and I are now sterile.
#3. Flemings Steak House is most excellent and you could cut their filet mignon with a fork. Le sigh. Also my parents are awesome for taking us there.
#4. Even though Christmas is this romantic thing with the lights and the snow and the presents, a week of house-guesting and air-matressing it is not actually conducive to Sexytime. That is all you need know.
#5. Have forgotten how to eat normal meals like a normal person. Only know how to operate on graze/stuff mode. Feel incredibly bloated and icky and yet cannot stop myself when I see treats. I attack like a rabid forest creature.
#6. It's not fun to clog the toilet at your m-in-law's house. Luckily she's cool though and had this INSANE plunger that I must go buy immediately for myself so that I don't have to keep calling the apartment maintenance staff to come deal with my poop. (I did give them Christmas cookies the last time they were over, though. So that's something.)
#7 Handmade and "experience" gifts are the best, I've decided (except for boots, of course). That was the rule for my sibling gift exchange, and it was so much fun to see what people came up with. Spitfire got me a gift certificate for my favorite hair stylist and a jar of our friends' honey. Coolboy made chocolate-covered pretzels for GH and got him a movie gift card. I knitted a cap for Ed and got him a Polaroid print from Etsy. My sister-in-law Valli made pajama pants for Spitfire. For Savvy and Ethan's present, we're going to take them out on a date (probably to the Dinosaur Museum), and we're doing the same for GH's nephew. GH got me several beautiful, lovely things from Etsy. All kinds o' fun.
#8 How pleasant it is to have one's house to one's self again. What is less pleasant is when said house is trashed because you've only been home in the last week long enough to dump off presents from one family and grab a change of clothes before heading to another family.
#9 GH is easy to shop for in that he has a list of books and DVDs he wants (and will probably cry if he doesn't get, Dark Knight), but I tried to include a few surprises, like PB Twix bars and this t-shirt to go in the bag with his Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog DVD.
Awesome, huh?
#10. GH and I could probably have spent less on each other, considering how generous our parents and brothers and sisters were. Will be trimming that budget next year--don't tell him, though. Shhhhhhh.
As I figured I'd out wasting my time squeezing with other hundred thousands of equally bored people out in the town tomorrow night waiting for 5 minutes worth of fireworks or some form of amusement somehow, I shall post my final blog post now.
So, let's look back in the year 2008 from one aspect to another.
I felt strange in the year 2008, it feels as thought the year is divided into two parts. Before I gotten my A Level Results and after. Before I have acquired my results, I was just spending time working odd jobs and lazing away my time. There wasn't really anything happening, honestly. My emotions ranged from carefree joy to thinking capitalism is an evil concept because I had no travel concession so I had to spend alot on getting around to feeling extremely and intensely alienated due to my excessive lack of human contact. The sense of alienation was so immense that I actually felt misanthropic. Pretty bad it was. It was then that I have watched the most number of movies in the shortest time possible - like a mean number of 2 movies each day. During these first few months of 2008, I had my brush with a long terrible sickness which rendered me incapable to eat comfortably for nearly 2 weeks, which was my experience with insane rate of weight loss. Impressive, say the least.
Then, came the A Levels results, which changed my emotional state for the. worst. The set of grades didn't bring optimism for admission into the mainstream local universities, so I made to settle with a course and school I didn't have initial intention to. A sense of furthur alienation sunk into my consciousness, being unable to move on to university like a normal junior college student would, therefore losing out on the experience of going to a university. Trust me, this doesn't feel good, at all. So, henceforth, I could no longer laugh heartily and I have been ever more misanthropic. This doesn't help at all for my naturally introverted disposition... I just seem to take a deeper plunge into solitude; hoping I'd see nobody that I know on the streets when I am out; hoping nobody would come and shatter my silence; hoping nobody would ask me about my academic life or about anything for that matter. I grew to like isolation and silence. Drawing joy solely from music, movies and things I read. There were times, I felt as if the isolation and misanthropic atmosphere is so thick around me, enclosing me in, suffocating me. Madness.
Enough of wretchedness, you might want to inform me. Alright! Moving on!
I shall not touch on metal music listening, because that has became so routinised in me, I could no longer feel any significiance in happenings in this aspect. It's just a continual listen, numb to the variables of time and space. Haha. I have to give credits to albums like Cradle of Filth's Godspeed on The Devil's Thunder, Pain's Cynic Paradise, Eluveitie's Slainas, which gave some spice into my auditory cauldron though. Those are heavily impressive albums that are worth a hear. I just wish Lamc Productions or any production company would stop bringing in redundant shows *Ting Tings!* *Dream Theatre and A7X for the nth time!* and spend their resources on something worthwhile like *ahem* Opeth or Cradle of Filth or Immortal or Anything-is-better-than-TingTings.
I also shall not touch on card flourishing because I have been doing it for 4 years and counting, nohing is really worth going insane over. Except I finally slain procrastination and went out to film several individual videos which has proved to be comforting to me to see my ideas made flesh. You can witness my visual vicious vendetta below;
Expect for more arty farty videos from me in 2009!
On all things erudite, I must say I have attained a more diverse and comprehensive view of philosophy from my autodidactic endeavour, which has pleased the ravenous depths of my mind extensively. Also, I have watched more movies than ever (still less than the hell-bent Kevin who swore to watch every film in IMBD.com Top 250 and not go blind in the process, I know) this year, amounting to nearly 90 movies, that's close to watching a movie every 3 to 4 days or so on an average. Impressive for my raveous pair of beginner-filmwatching eyes. For the movies released this year, I have enjoyed Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd *Sweet Rickman!*, Tokyo! (Japanese), Forgetting Sarah Marshall *even sweeter Russell Brand!*, Dark Knight, The Banishment (Russian) and Tropic Thunder most. Now, I am awaiting the opening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Valkyrie next in the first quarter of 2009, to see Brad Pitt screw up his biological clock and to see Tom Cruise getting screwed by the Nazis for dissent. Whoo!
Enough of talking about myself!
I would like to take this cyber opportunity to extend my thanks to these people for making 2008 a bearable year.
My family. They are the best, no questions. I mean, come on, you have a sister who is an uprising singer and has a CD released and whom you can talk anything (ranging from movies to intellectual stuff) to, you have a brother who shares the humour and fun with, parents who make you laugh and appreciate. That is enough.
Rasul whose constant sessions of soul exposure, or more like him probing me into talking and me hearing his lewd and sardonic discourses about life and lunacy and people and his quatrains, brought much joy and distraction from life and living itself. His company has proven to be indispensible. Although he has always adovcated about leading life without any tender emotional endearments. I would like to give him one massive Platonic thank you. I hope I have made his 2008 interesting, say the least.
Alden - a friend that I have known for 8 years and counting. A person whom I can talk casually with, a person whom I can share my joys and sorrows and nonsense with. A person to whom I can let my guard down and admit "Yes, I am a sucker!". A true friend to me in more than 1 way, our shared interest in cards, metal music, The Face of Melinda, occult, nonsense, and most of all - misan behaviour. I can't imagine life without him. One amazing person despite his self-negating tendencies. Thank you, Alden! Let's have more misan in 2009!
Valerie whose shared conversations made me felt ever comfortable and less tense. It's really amazing to have you by my side, soothing out my nerves. Thank you, Valerie. Have a great 2009 ahead, whatever your endeavours be!
The Flourishers/Card Wielders - Jaspas, Leon, Jordan (later part of 2008), Ambrose, Stuart, Ben You, Kenneth (later part of 2008), Kevin (for the front part of 2008 when he is still in Singapore), for their continual meetups that made my Saturdays less dull and made me continously motivated to fiddle with my paper rectangles and to come up with new material. You guys are amazing friends to have; always there to inspire, to motivate, to make me laugh, to make me be interested in card flourishing continously, to spend time with, to push the art of cards together. I am very grateful for all of your presences. Let's make 2009 an even better year for the pasteboards! Viva la Flourishing!
Vika Korosec "Dust Puppy" for those nifty online chats, you have injected life into my life greatly and I appreciate the friendship and your temptations for me to head to MetalCamp endlessly. I would really wish to meet you in real 3 dimensional life someday, one day! Then we can go geek around, metal around, whatever. =)
To the rest of the humanity, thank you for making me realise you have too many flaws and superificial qualities and that I most probably hate you. ^^ You just made my socialising easier, I do not have to spend time doing trial and error work. Amazing.
Now, for 2009, I wish for normalcy for I innately know irony will come back in a catapult in your face and whatever you wish for will backfire somehow. Just give me normalcy, I will do the miracles myself. Wahahaha.
The Christmas Post is coming, but first I have to address the steaming pit of filth that is my apartment, now that I'm actually back to living in it after all the Christmas travel. Am currently trying this recipe to unclog the bathtub drain because the experience of dry-heaving at the sight of all the backed-up body hair has become wearing unto me.
So here's a little something to hold you over:
A coworker and I were talking this morning about all the unattended children we were seeing run around. One 5-year-old's mom was over the the computer area (which does not offer visual access to the rest of the library) and the little girl kept roaming over to the Children's desk to ask for coloring pages (okay), crayons (okay), scissors (not okay), and princess books (fine).
Me: You know, we should make some sort of bib or smock to stick on kids when we find them wandering around by themselves. Then when their parents bother to catch back up with them they'll find their kids wearing a smock with "Perv Bait" written in big letters across it.
Coworker: Or "I Was Just Touched by a Stranger."
I think I like hers best. We're thinking of getting shirts printed.
School begins again tomorrow for me, it is weird. People around are having some sort of closure for the year, while I am faced with the mindset of a new term, another start. It sort of screws up my sense of time and space, half of me will be recalling the past year and half of me will be trying to adapt to the new term once again and to get the momentum going again. The timetable is terrible that way, to screw up my sense of time and space, making my mind go topsy trying to register events on the timeline. The inability to register the events made me melancholic. It's like facing a big morass of emotional entanglement, losing the capability to explain it, lost. One big mess. I lack the words to describe it succinctly. The only phrase I think I can use is "I can feel the abyss staring back at me."
Somehow, I have always felt I do not belong to the human race... It's like I think I will be better off being part of nature or an element or cosmic energy. Very queer inclination, yes. But at least, I believe I will like that much better than being a human. Anything is better than being a human trying to fit into the world of superficial shallowness, irrationality, the absurd, and the burden of living and pseudo responsibilities of work and social roles.
The abyss is staring back at everyone, without their knowledge.
Happy Christmas Eve Eve to everybody! When I was a kid today was the hardest day because you were just so dang close to the candy and presents and yet it still wasn't an official sort of day.
Am well into my Christmas preparations and activities, as evidenced by the following:
Finished decorating tree, which was an exercise in blending of family traditions. I insisted on white lights, which are the only true lights. The compromise we made was that if the lights couldn't be colored (racist) then they would at least sparkle. So we found a pack of white lights with 16 different sparkle settings. Twelve of these are seizure-inducing. I also let GH get the tree topper that he wanted. The box says it's a Moravian star but I'm pretty sure it's actually an alien satellite. It's growing on me though, probably because of the soothing messages it transmits from the mother ship while I sleep.
Successfully staving off a cold through sheer force of WILL.
Digging out the flute so I can play a few songs on Christmas Eve for Savvy and Ethan (stated purpose). Real purpose: so we can have a Very Special Christmas Meltdown when I won't let the kids have a turn spitting into the thing and smacking it into walls.
Purchased duct tape to hold my broken camera together so that I may take photographs of me and others looking bleary-eyed and snarly-haired. Unwrapped duct tape to learn that freshly unwrapped duct tape smells remarkably like rotting skunk. Spent the next 3 minutes dry-heaving.
Driving white-knuckled through snow in an effort to visit friends and family. My favorite.
Trying to work out enough time over the holidays for both families and possibly some for self without disappointing anyone. To see how this is going, watch the final bit of Braveheart where he's stretched out on that rack being yanked in 4 directions as people carve out his intestines and whisper things in his ear.
Welcome to the new blog design! This was whipped up in, like, a day by the marvelous and talented Jeri of Jerilyn Photography. The best part is that the idea I gave her for a header was completely different and probably sort of lame. She gave it a go, and then said, "Hey, just in case you're interested here's this OTHER idea I had which you are absolutely free to hate." And of course it was perfect so I just shut up and let her work her awesomeness. So much, much, much props and love and thanks to Jeri--if anyone is craving a new look you should definitely get in touch with her.
Now I will speak of ward choirs, which is what I'm sure you were really waiting for. My sweet ward choir performed today in church. I need to say here that I went to most of the rehearsals and the typical body count ranged from about 15 people on a good day to 5 on a poor one. I turned up at the start of sacrament meeting today and the choir seats were packed. No idea where all these people came from. They must've just turned up that morning, picked up the music and thought, "Huh. I bet I can sing that. Or not, whichever. But this way I get to be cool and in the choir but didn't actually have to waste any time, you know, rehearsing." And of course because I was that over-achieving high-strung anal student in school (and college, and life) that just blows my mind and makes my eye twitch.
Thing is, though, we really needed the extra voices, whether they could sing or not. And I've decided that for the average LDS choir director in an average ward, keeping your sanity is probably all about lowering your expectations and just dealing with what you get.
After a long hard intense year of yearning for some more Goth Detective action at this year's Big Fat Quiz of the Year show, I am disappointed at what the show has to offer this year. Just look at this.This is heretical. This shall not be condoned.
Watch this. How can this be topped, ever?
"You ruined Christmas, you're the Nazi Grinch! Might as well save it when you ruined everyone's nights."
I just hope the new unheard of lineup will provide some decent joy nonetheless.
So, yesterday, I finally got something nice to go to. I accompanied my sister and her boyfriend, Ian to her EP promotional event at a really nifty backpacker hostel and bar called Prince of Wales at Little India, since I am rotting at home, with nothing better to expend my time on except being hell bent to up my score at this Facebook game which I highly suspect has marijuana added in.
So, we set off to the bar in a real indie style, in Ian's car, with my sister writing her music url by hand on the gig flyers painstakingly one by one in the bumpy car. I like Ian's driving style, because it's has the Tokyo drift feel to it, haha! Really quite haphazard, which was refreshing from my dad's way of tame driving. We went to an Indian restuarant for dinner which was a nice experience to have, since my prior brushes with Indian food was eating roti prataa and the usual fare at Jalan Kayu or foodcourts, which wasn't exactly the real deal.
Thereafter, I hung around the bar whilst my sister went on to prepare for her performance with her band mates, and I actually watched a football match seriously (it was a match between some Japanese team and Manchester United, ManU obviously won), I was that bored. Haha. Ian got me a drink, my first in over a year, actually.
So the gig went on, smoothly, nothing to talk about the gig since I have heard her sing for 193736329734829 times, to be exact. Heh.
After the gig, Ian taught me how to play darts, which I thought was mathematically tedious. Just bloody hit the bull's eye, for fuck's sake. Ignoring that aspect, I generally sucked at that game being a first timer at it, I owned Ian once though when I hit the bull's eye, that was kickass. Haha! Listened to my sister and her JC friends and Ian talked for awhile, which topics ranged from synonymous words for the word - vagina to ways to have the final and the most satisfying jerk offs to Twilight (of which my sister and Ian passionately expounded to her friends how badly it sucked, of which I share their viewpoints entirely, because I know, with overwhelming confidence that Anne Rice's vampires reign).
And, today, I went to meet the flourishers for dineer and a card session at Vivo City, went to saunter around a new shop - National Geographic, which was a really neat place where they placed photographs of theirs from different eras of National Geographic's history and selled some momentos. One thing that made me so very amazed by that shop is that there is a special chamber for customers to try out their thermal jackets where the temperatures were set to below freezing temperatures. Always wanted to try feel that sort of temperature, I enthusiastically went in with that oversized jacket (which I thought made me look a complete fool >_>). At first I stepped into the chamber, it felt completely alright, I thought, "Hey, this isn't that bad!" Until the door completely shutted itself and the fan was switched on at full speed, those grim winds were blowing at me so fiercely that I could hardly breathe properly. It was indeed cold. *Correction* Very frostbitten cold as Immortal could have put it, haha! There was a counter where you can see your body temperature. I saw mine plummeting to the range of 25 degree celcius within that minute or so. It was INSANE. Now, I have a vague idea of how David Blaine must have felt during his Frozen In Time endurance stunt. And, 60 hours. That is madness. *This is Sparta!* I could feel my blood slowing down and freezing inside myself. From that minute or so of grimness, I must say I have developed a liking for that sensation of freezing from inside out. It's just strangly alluring... Then I exited the chamber, took off the jacket and immediately, that is when my hypothalamus went bat fuck insane and started to shiver like I never shivered before. It was kickass, in a weird way.
Ling has a new goal in life - to experience the lowest temperature ever. =D Hail to the frostbitten cold winds of Blashryk, Mighty Ravendark!
(I kind of wished I didn't have the thermal jacket on though, that will be even more intense, =P)
The other day at work I noticed the newest offering in the Pride & Prejudice Retelling genre. This one is called Impulse & Initiative and I turned it over to read the back cover.
Ahem.
What if . . . Instead of disappearing from Elizabeth Bennet's life after she refused his offer of marriage, Mr. Darcy had stayed and tried to change her mind?
What if . . . Lizzy, as she gets to know Darcy, finds him undeniably attractive and her impulses win out over her sense of propriety?
What if . . . Madly in love and mutually on fire, their passion anticipates their wedding?
Yeah.
Say, I've got a "what if" for you. What if . . . P&P already has one set of skanky whores, and their names are Lydia and Wickham. Seriously people, are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?
This story, to me, sounds like someone is just waving a book and shouting, "Hey, it's Lizzy/Darcy sex and it is HOT! Come and get it!"
And really, if that's all you're after, it's called fan fiction and can be found on the Internet at no cost (well, unless you count the cost to your self-respect and dignity as a human). I'll bet you that's how this book got started.
So, thus my last portion of my year 1 hospital attachment aka free toilings have came to an end, and I am bestowed with a 2 weeks worth of holidays, which I thought was a little measly. But anyhow! It is still good to be relieved of the drudgery of an boring regimen of sleeping and awaking at incredibly early timings and mingling with people I hardly know and all that jazz. Haha.
So, a card-flourishing friend of mine called Bowen whom took on an interest in Tarot readings, something which I had meddled with extensively in my mid-teens, which in turn successfully ruined my secondary 3 academics because those readings have proved to be mentally draining. Henceforth, I swore not to give another reading ever again. However, sigh, deary sigh, Bowen was desperate for someone to give him a reading, so I very much reluctantly gave one. >_< It took like 3 to 4 years of hiatus from it to regain a good level of mental stability, and I just broke it. Absolute bleah. Gah.
On other news, it's really been awhile since I have went to heal myself properly by heading to the Esplanade library, settling myself down on one of those comfy sofas and enjoy a good solid read. I should do it one day. The procrastination again. Haha.
Exactly 2 more weeks to 2009. 14 days. Time is too fast. It's making me panic unceasingly. The cruelties of time. Nonetheless, I still await the coming of 2012. =P You'll know why.
So I've been spending a lot of time in the kids books this fall, and I'd like to share some of what I've learned with the world to better enhance the world's library experience. If this doesn't apply to you, just log it away until you are at the point when you are taking your small children to the library, or taking other people's small children to the library, or maybe just lurking in the library to watch small children, in which case I will totally call the police on you, freakshow.
So. Here they are, insider tips courtesy of your favorite librarian! (Or, you know, just some librarian whose blog you read, or don't.) And these are actually meant for the right-thinking people out there. I've addressed the crazies already many times and will surely do so again, some more, for all the good it'll do me. But that's not for today.
Ahem.
1. Buy a box of cleaning wipes. Consider using them to wipe down the covers of the picture books you bring home before you give them to your kids to read. This goes triple for board books. Not only will your kids' immune system thank you, but you'll be helping to keep the library books looking new and shiny. Unconvinced that this is necessary? Head over to the Eric Carle section and pull out a book or two. Those black streaks all around the edges are not part of the design, friends, and you have NO idea how long they've been there. Also? Two words: Flu. Season. Don't let your family be the victim, here.
2. Teach your children to be darling to the librarians. This will likely get them stickers. Or stamps. Or candy. Or even better things that you can't even fathom yet, because that's just what happens when a librarian loves your kid.
3. Please don't chat with the other parents if you're sitting in a storytime, even if you're whispering. It's like the butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil. You risk spinning the world into anarchy, I promise you.
4. This may seem like a silly one, but in a lot of UT libraries the pictures books about kids who are not white don't get checked out very much (Dora the Explorer notwithstanding), even the books that are really good (not you, Dora). Seriously, I don't know what the story is there but I'm guessing it's not a conscious thing. Do any of you know? And is there anything to be done about that?
5. Get to know your library's website (if your library is the kind that has one of those and not just some random homepage that lists which holidays you'll be closed for in 2006, not that I'm bitter) and see what kinds of free electronic sources are available. Instead of slogging into the library looking for the last remaining book about [sdflkjasdflkj] for your kid's report, you could very possibly be able to get the best, most current information through the electronic journals, encyclopedias, countrygrams, and I know not what. For instance, check out the kid page at the Salt Lake County library system. Or the Preschool Pioneer page by the State Library. Hours of fun right there, y'all. Or maybe you could just sit your kids down in front of safe educational games while you try to poop alone, in the bathroom by yourself. Whatever your needs are.
6. Check out the juvenile nonfiction section. For lo, it is awesome and kind of the best-kept secret in the kids section. A lot of these books would be just fine mixed in with the picture book, they're that gorgeous and cool. Plus, depending on how your library does things, that may be where you'll find a lot of holiday books, fairy tales, poetry, and all kinds of good stuff.
Also they have a whole award now for nonfiction kids books. Here are some of the favorites I've read in the last couple of weeks that are potential Sibert Medal nominees. And some will likely be considered for both the Sibert and the Caldecott, they're just that pretty.
If you want some reading ideas for the Christmas break, check out the potential runners up for the 2009 Caldecott, Newbery, Sibert, and Geisel awards. Some of these books are fabulous, others I really think have no business being on any list that is not called "Books You Don't Need to Bother Reading." And one of the Newbery buzz books is called Savvy, which I think is sign enough that it needs to win.
And now enough of me. Has anyone else picked up any tips to share with the group about how to make the best of your library?
So this last weekend was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's annual Christmas concert and after pretty much committing mail fraud I scored some tickets (thanks Mom and Dad!!!). I went on Friday night with GH, Spitfire, and a coworker of GH's who just moved to UT this fall and has never seen the choir perform.
And here's the thing: this year the guest singer was Brian Stokes Mitchell. I was going to kill and eat people if I didn't get in to this one, because I have loved that man's voice for years, ever since I first heard him in Kiss Me, Kate. And then in Ragtime. And then some more in Man of La Mancha. I tell you, his voice is so pure and deep and righteous that when Savvy was a screetching baby she would quiet down upon hearing it. Because she gets it.
So here are some jotted highlights/impressions from the evening:
Sat in the balcony (so about 8 miles up) and watched as standby people were ushered in to the nice cushy front-section seats behind President Monson and within range of the tractor beam of Brian Stokes Mitchell's grin. Maybe should look into standby next year instead of mail fraud.
BMS, I must say it, was kind of a Broadway geek, but I'm going to insist that it was an a charming and lovely way. He seemed very, very excited to be singing with the choir. And several of the Motab women seemed to be very, very excited to be sitting behind him, if you know what I'm saying. I think I saw one lady lick her lips.
Brian Stokes Mitchell arranged some of the songs they sang. Yeah he did.
And at one point he walked over to a piano and started playing it and singing at the same time. I half expected him to look straight up to me, raise an eyebrow, and intone, "Oh yeah. That just happened."
Now for a lesserlight: You remember how I've discussed the people of UT with their dogged devotion to giving standing ovations to absolutely anything that even remotely resembles a cultural offering. Well, they've learned a new trick. They now give standing ovations at the end of every song. I shall call this The Jack-in-the-Box, and it will probably send me to an early grave.
BSM sang "Through Heaven's Eyes" from the Prince of Egypt soundtrack (yeah, that bit was him and not so much Danny Glover) and as soon as it was over this balding gentleman in front of us shot up out of his seat and started clapping furiously. I nudged GH and gestured to the guy with a WTH? expression. GH whispered, "He really liked that cartoon."
I saw that several people chose to ignore the age requirement of 8 years old and instead bring their 5 year olds who were bored to tears. Nice one, cheaterpantsess.
Also, I may be struck by lightening for this but I have to tell you about the costumes. Oh my WORD, the costumes. In the beginning they always do this big processional where dancers and singers and little kids and things come out. Like one year little kids came out to "Light a Torch" and they were all carrying little torches and lighting each other's torches and generally looking precious enough to eat with a side of Nutella. And usually the costumes have something to do with the song, or where the song is from, or what the theme of the concert is.
This time the theme was "Ring Christmas Bells" and the processional song was "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and the costumes were From Hell. The boy dancers were wearing some sort of gold tunic-with-sash-over-Aladdin-pants thing, and the girls had these big long flowy white dresses with ruffly necklines and scary-trash ribbon bustiers. I have no idea where they were supposed to be from, but I'm guessing something Eastern Europterrasianish. There was no clue in the program or anywhere else.
The only truly, truly sad part of the evening--sadder even than the costumes and the part where the people around me stood up for everything (except the "Hallelujah Chorus," go figure)--was that my sister Jenny got sick and couldn't come. We had been so excited to see this together. We were going to squeal and smacked each other on the legs and stuff when The Voice came out. Spitfire was an excellent seat partner but did not seem to appreciate being smacked when BSM began singing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (arranged by him, btw) just before I passed out cold and landed on the 4-yr-old in front of me.
But yeah, it was a great night, and afterwards we walked around and looked at the lights on Temple Square and came back to my place for banana pudding.
To understand what I was getting so hyped up about, check out this clip from when Brian Stokes Mitchell sang with the choir back in October. Have a paper bag handy.
