Books, Taylor Swift, and other hyperfixations
For round 1, I picked: Daine Sarrasri from the Tortall Universe and Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton Background Daine Sarrasri, the lame follow-up protagonist to Alanna of Trebond, almost made me swear off fantasy. Daine represents everything I hate in female characters: she has the power to talk to animals, but is too incompetent to be of much use.… Continue reading R.I.P. It or Ship It: Round 1
It's time to ship some characters. I love stupid ships. When writing with friends, my go-to prompt is always, "Write the most unlikely couple you can think of." I find this exercise fascinating even if they hate doing it. Some of my favorite ships have started as a joke; the more I laugh, the more sense… Continue reading R.I.P. It or Ship It
Others wouldn't find these movie soothing, but I love them all. This I what I watch after coming home to disaster.
When my mom told me she'd scored "primo" tickets to a musical version of Persuasion, I should have been suspicious. Instead, I turned off my bad theater radar. I had theater, Austen, and one of my favorite people on my side. Nothing could go wrong.
I have hazy memories of exactly when I read each of the Harry Potter books, but I remember Order of the Phoenix clearly: In sixth grade, I was finishing the last few chapters of OOTP in my room before my mom drove me to school. In chapter 37, following Sirius' death, Harry meets with Dumbledore to discuss the prophecy and ends up tearing apart Dumbledore's office. I started sobbing on the floor of my bedroom. My mom knew I was upset when I got in the car, but she made me go to school anyway.
Every line in this song kills me--it's about leaving great things behind, but looking forward to even better.
Many of my friends don't like "Into the Woods" because after Act 1, it stops being fun. The musical transitions from a lighthearted send-up of fairy tale tropes into a dark examination of heavy themes, such as death, betrayal, and infidelity. Oh, and throw in an absentee father because Stephen Sondheim had issues with his… Continue reading MAKE-YOU-CRY MONDAY: No More
Oy. Here we go. Rolling up my sleeves for some strong personal feelings. These are tears of rage. I'm not Jewish, for the record. I can't claim that as part of my ancestry. Today's scene is from Fiddler on the Roof, and the basic premise is this: Tevye's daughter Chava marries a man who isn't… Continue reading MAKE-YOU-CRY MONDAY: Chava rejected
Sondheim, Sondheim, Sondheim. Astonishingly bitter and wickedly funny. Better flow and rhymes than most mainstream rappers. I became a Sondheim fan after stumbling across "Company" on Netflix a couple years ago. The only downside to liking Sondheim is he's not what you would call an optimist. I've never seen "Assassins", but I've listened to its soundtrack many times.… Continue reading MAKE-YOU-CRY MONDAY: The Ballad of Booth
A lot of times I cry not out of sadness, but confusion. I have trouble watching today's music video. It hurts my brain to hear that voice coming from that body. It makes no sense. This a phenomenon called vocal dissonance, where the voice one would expect a person--say, a beautiful film star-- to have… Continue reading MAKE-YOU-CRY MONDAY: Vocal dissonance
Narrative Paradise 