Signs

I meant to post this video yesterday, and I forgot. Then I remembered.

 

Simple, direct communication (plus a few guts) - it's the way to go. Shakespeare's all very well and good, but when it comes to relationships let's just SAY IT, okay? (And have fun!)

(Linked via my new 'obsessing-over' blog: A Blog About Love. One of these days - ooh, Spring Break! - I'm going to sit down and go back through the entire blog - there are lots of posts, but they've actually only been writing since September - and take notes. AND APPLY THEM TO MY LIFE. Amen.)

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Books and Blogs and (A and) B-Movies

I've been hearing and thinking about this quote quite a bit lately: 'Write the book you want to read.' And I think I have a related corollary: 'Read the books you wish you'd written.' There are so many books and so little time (relatively speaking) that we just can't afford to read things that are lazy, or stupid, or derivative, or just bad for us. I remember also hearing sometime ago that you should never read a book that's less than a year old - and while there are still some authors that I like and trust and whose work I'll buy the minute it's released, in general I think that waiting is a good strategy. That way there's time for hype to settle, and for something to pick up Amazon reviews (I'm also trying not to read things that have less than 50 generally positive Amazon reviews, as I do a whole lot of my reading through my Kindle these days - ooh, and if a novel that's only a couple of years old is free for the Kindle, there's generally a very good reason for that, with a few exceptions... TANGENT) and you can really make an informed decision about something you're about to commit a good chunk of your time too!

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So I have this former student (well, she's not really my student, she's one of Phaid's students that I briefly taught and think is fabulous) who used to take a lot of teasing (PATRICK) for not believing in 'love'. It was really great, therefore, to see her post a link to A BLOG ABOUT LOVE: A Love Story with the preface: 'THIS. It's real, it happens, and I want my own.' She happens to be gorgeous, smart, talented, funny (obviously, we have a lot in common) and we have a similar taste in websites (particularly fashion commentary) so I figured this would be something extraordinary... AND IT IS. And she's absolutely right. That's what I want, too. (Kristen, if I stumble across any potential British candidates I will certainly send them your way - and if you run across any applicable older men let me know, -K-?)

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I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which was charming and delightful, with my friend Gemma last night, who is also charming and delightful. I'm fairly sure we were the two youngest people in the audience. (Also, The Decoy Bride, starring Kelly Macdonald and David Tennant, is not nearly as terrible as the critics made it out to be. It's not particularly good, but it's not horrific, either. And there are some good one-liners. And the scenery's great. And David Tennant.)

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I wouldn't mind a good sheep-stealing raid every now and then, myself. (Sorry. You'll just have to watch the film.)

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Ghent Over Here

Okay, I'm tired. That's my only excuse for such a terribly punny post title. Sorry. (I'm not changing it.)

It really is awesome to be able to say: 'Oh, I'm sorry I missed it. I was at a conference in Belgium.' BOOM. The academic community is a very funny place - the organizers were thrilled that around 200 people signed up for the dramaturgy conference, and many of those were intelligentsia who had actually published books on dramaturgy and theatre. The rest of  us plebes in attendance were the ones who had purchased their books. (I think I may have made two of the speaker's months - maybe years - when I asked them to sign the book they had written. It was pretty funny, actually, how flattered they were. Now I just have to actually read the book!) The relative sense of things gets all out of whack in academics, as well - one of the speakers (the opening speaker, actually) is a noted long-standing expert on theatre theory, and all the other speakers clearly held him in awe - nodding to him when they referenced one of his works in their presentations, making weak jokes in his direction, generally gushing with big eyes and straight faces. The flip side is that he's actually one of my lecturers here in my program(me) at Kent, and He. Makes. Me. Crazy. SO MAD, every seminar. Such a big-wig 'expert', and such a lousy teacher! I'll just say it. I don't care if his teaching style is 'very French'; contradicting yourself regularly, asking a question and then not allowing students to answer it, forgetting to listen to actual contributions while supposedly 'encouraging' discussion - none of these are effective methods for running a stimulating classroom. The Germans have got it going on - Hans-Thies Lehmann, author of 'Postdramatic Theatre' and another recognized Very Big Theatre Deal, is ALSO a phenomenal lecturer/seminar leader. The French (name withheld, since he is in fact a very nice person) need to Step. It. Up.

Oh, wow, that was a nice little solar flare of a tangent - in other news, today was the last seminar of my program(me). It's all research and performance projects from here on out!

Anway, Ghent. Apparently it's 'Gent' in Belgium - I have no idea where the extra 'h' (or 'haitch', if  you're British) came from. Possibly the same place as the extra 'i' in aluminium and the 'ta' in disorientated. Gent is a charming little city on a river with a castle, several cathedrals, a couple of universities, and a remarkable disinclination to feel claustrophobic even though the buildings are all piled on top of each other. It might have something to do with the fact that every house and shop is a painted a different color/uses completely separate decorating materials - the British have a tendency to make things look the same, but the Flemish seem to be pretty defiant about changing it all up.

Lots of houseboats on the canals, and it was interesting to think about living on one. For about five minutes, anyway.

The conference was fine - lots of very smart people talking about theatre, so that's always fun. Had a great time with the crew:


Helen, part of our original Kent gang before she moved away for a semester in Gent; Phil the Sage;
and the lovely Phoebe (just ask her about the 40 Belgian truckers and chips on the ferry. I dare you).



Thursday was just beautiful, so we went to the main 'square' to hang out with a few friends.


So. Many. People. Evidently they don't see the sun in Belgium much more than they do in England!


The food was a trip (and an intercultural experience, if you will):

This Italian pizza place specialized in Indian food with an extensive buffet.
I didn't know that was an option. (At least the pizza was tasty!)

I forgot to get myself some Belgian chocolates, but I managed the Belgian chocolate mousse!

The smallest bar in Ghent - yes, that's the whole thing. FYI.
(I had some really salad-y mint tea.)

And there was the castle: Gravensteen, the Castle of the Counts. (Dun, dun dunnnnnnn!)

Welcome. Come on in. So homey.



'Well, we got the place for the view...' Towers and roofs and more towers, oh my!


And in an effort to be really cultural, instead of just touristy-cultural, I stopped by the Fine Arts Museum before getting on my train to London. Lovely, imposing, bristling with art and culture...

... and all I really saw was the TARDIS in tile on the floor of the front entryway. Honestly, how was anything inside supposed to top THAT?!?

I am, symbolically, stepping inside. The TARDIS, not the art museum.

As you can clearly see, we love Ghent/Gent. (I will NOT forget the chocolate next time.)

Sing With Me

Ever wondered what it's like to sing in the Canterbury Cathedral? Well, wonder no more! I provide you with video-on-the-spot snippets from our concert on March 10!

First up is the orchestra, warming the room, bringing order out of chaos (or so says Haydn. Go with it).

The next one is the most dramatic moment in musical literature EVER WRITTEN, which is awesome, and you can hear me pretty well (for which I apologize).

Okay, so as it turns out you can't hear me at all, because blogger wouldn't let me upload the actual video. But this is just like what you would have heard and seen, except that our conductor is female and we were singing in English and it was the Cathedral and not a rehearsal room. Also, all the altos were behind me, so the balance was a little strange. But other than that - just the same!

Let's see if you can hear a little of the soprano...

I don't actually know what that clicking sound was. My pacemaker, maybe.

Okay, here's some friends (orchestra types) hanging out in the green room (otherwise known as 'The Crypt' because it's, well, a crypt) before the performance:

Gemma on basson, Chris on viola(? I think?), and me being very hard on the vocal cords.

I kept a close eye on the basses - we were standing on what seemed like a very rickety structure, and from that high up you definitely wanted to know who to aim for landing on should the choir take a tumble.


Right there in the corner? That's called 'context'.


Seriously, Haydn's Creation is about as much fun as you can have with classical choral music. And if you can arrange to sing it in an 800-year-plus-old building (I took the tour, I forgot already), so much the better.

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Sunday Snippet(s)

Last week (a week ago yesterday) was Ward Conference, and there were some good thoughts I wanted to share:

From the Stake President - The difference between being 'good' and being 'excellent' is in the ability to interpret the promptings of the Spirit, and to follow the guidance the Lord sends. We can generally be good and do good things, but when we really tune in and pay close attention to the direction the Lord sends, we can be excellent and do excellent things.

BE EXCELLENT.

(Like I was going to miss a chance to post this. Please.)

From the Stake President 2 - We must live now as they do in the Celestial Kingdom so that we will fit in when the time comes. Serve others not to get into the Kingdom, but to stay happily once you arrive.

We had a good day yesterday, as well (except for the outbreak of gangrene in my Sunday School class, but we got through it.) (Don't ask.) In Sacrament Meeting (I played - at least I was ready!) I waited for the 'push' to go up and bear my testimony... and then it occurred to me that I really didn't need to wait. I could bear my testimony whether driven to it or not, and it might be even better if I didn't wait. So I went.

The girl who spoke after me had a great way of putting things: she quoted Doctrine and Covenants 78:19 (“And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.”) and then added, 'Psst... I want to be glorious. Thanks, God!' She went on to say that while she was thankful for all her blessings, she was also thankful for the things that aren't so good because those are indications that the Lord trusts her to change and improve the not-so-good parts, to endure with faith, and to see it all through to something better.

And also to do Family History.

(I've got to get on that.)

And then I went home and watched Doctor Who, read my lesson for next week, and worked on my presentation for this week's seminar. Not bad.

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Downton Abbey Rap

I couldn't think of a clever post title, and really, what it is says it all. I never thought I'd be linking a rap song here!



From the artist's website:

'Downton Abbey is the kind of thing that you hear about, and you’re all like, “That sounds terrible.” And then even one of your best friends won’t shut up about it, and then you have to fly to Seattle and see that the first season is only $9.99 on iTunes (God bless you PBS), and you watch it on the plane, and get completely obsessed with it. And then you’re calling your friend and saying things like “I’m at the part where Matthew Crawley is investigating the entail for Lord Grantham, and the Dowager Countess finds out about it,” and you realize you’re whispering because honestly, what the HELL are you even saying? Anyway, enjoy it.'


Good times.