Friday, May 30, 2008

MUSIC!

OK everyone, this may sound like an advertisement but I just had to let everyone know of my great joy in a simple pleasure. This is the music that you now see on the right-hand side of my blog. I am so excited about it. I actually first saw it on a dear friend's blog and thought "I must have this!"

Basically you can create your own playlist of any music they can find in their database that is linked to other sites. You can't download it, but can listen whenever on-line. I'm sure half of you already knew about this eons ago, and are laughing at my ineptness. Well...FINE, I don't care. I would like to point out some of my favorite discoveries currently on my list:

1. En Vouge: If you never discovered this group in your middle-school years, (or later if you're a young whipper-snapper) I highly recommend adding a few of their songs to your playlist. I currently have my favorite "Never Gonna Get It," and need to add the classic "Free Your Mind." Lots of sass and tight harmonies. They truly are funky divas.

2. Mozart: Specifically speaking, the Queen of the Night's aria from The Magic Flute. It's like listening to vocal acrobatics and it's soooo purdy! It also brings back memories of 2nd grade when I'd make my friends listen to it with me when they'd come over. Early signs that I was a nerdy intellectual were already emerging.

3. Eva Cassidy: Amazing blues/folkish/jazz singer. If you like any of those genres, you'll LOVE her. I especially love her renditions of "Blues in the Night," "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and "Fields of Gold" in addition to about every other song she's ever done. AMAZING voice.

4. MC Solaar: French rap artist.Seriously, hearing someone rap in French, and rap well in French is incredible. I don't know much about him except that he's highly respected as an artist in France for his amazing handle on the language. Also, he's not a frog, though he is French.





Well those are the highlights so far. So go ahead, create your own playlist! Go wild!!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

A day in the life of Gentlemen Broncos

So, for the last 2 weeks my husband has been working on the set of Gentlemen Broncos and invited me to come visit him one of the last days of filming. So, I decided to visit Studio 5 that night to see what could be seen and meet who could be met.

As I approached the rear of the studio, I saw a deer (stuffed) go by with rockets attached to its side and loaded into a truck. Once inside the studio (I made sure the red light was off when I entered), an actor wearing a beard that Moses would envy, was being held above the ground by a rope attached to a crane. Most of the almost 40-foot high studio was covered in green-screen. I realized how much I had underestimated the color green when I felt like I was being swallowed by it. Turning away from the plethora of bright green before me, I saw another deer, but this poor fellow had only his front half and his eyes had been replaced with little telescopes. It was a little eerie.

Finding that the deer had little to say, I found my husband-who said they were just setting up for the next shot, so it was great timing. One of the crew came up to us, and I thought "This guy sort of looks like a lost character form Napolean Dynamite." This is how the conversation ensued:

Man: Hey Nathan, is this your wife?

Hubby: Yah, this is Laurel. Laurel this is Jared.

Me: Hey! Nice to meet you (Jared....I know there's a Jared working on this film...but it's not-)

Man who is Jared Hess: Did she get a hamburger?

Hubby: Oh, she can't actually eat them so-

Jared Hess: Oh, well I ate yours then.

Me: Ha! (OK, show off how witty and charming you are) yah...well....at least it didn't go to waste! Ha, ha!

Jared: Yah, well nice to meet you.

Hubby: Wow, that was really nice, you don't always get to meet the director.

Me: Wait-that was Jared Hess? (Damn, I'm clever!)

Following that monumental conversation, my husband introduced me to the crew. Several of them seemed surprised.

Hubby: Yah, I like bringing you on set so people know I'm old enough to be married.

I then watched them film the actor being held a few feet above the green ground with his beard blowing in the fan-wind. He wasn't actually doing anything except hanging kind of limply and occasionally saying "oh yah." in an odd, relaxed sort of way. Logically, my first thought was-
"If all of civilization was destroyed and they could only find the film footage from this take-a man hanging in the wind surrounded by green-what would they think of us?"

Seriously though, what do you think it would be interpreted as?

Thursday, May 8, 2008

No internet....

For all 5 of you who read this, I just wanted to say that I have not been posting of late due to a lack of internet connection at our new apartment. But fear not! I am amassing oodles of wisdom (which is the standard unit of measurement for wisdom if you didn't know) and will impart useless, but interesting, meanderings soon enough-after we and our allies (next door neighbors) actually call Comcast to set up internet. YEAH!!