2013 goals and dreams

2013 // goals and dreams

Open up an Etsy shop.  Something I've been thinking about for a long time!

Read more history and poli-sci books.  I am practically done taking non-computer science classes, so I'll want to start reading all those (gargantuan) biographies and history books on my list.  Also, classics like The Republic and The Federalist Papers. 

Watch more operas, and become generally more opera-savvy.  Going to Un Ballo was a blast.  I've come to the conclusion that good opera is a visual art as well, so I'll try to watch more recordings and/or live productions.

Eat less and exercise more.  Cliche, right?  However, I set a small, reasonable goal for myself and have made a little progress already.

Be a happy, good person.  Well, of course.  :)

What about you - any goals, dreams, or ideas for 2013?

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2012 (introspective) recap

It makes me smile to look back at my New Year 2012 posts.  Overall, it was a great year - better yet, I didn't need my goals and dreams to make it so.

I felt I went into 2012 with reasonable expectations.  What I hadn't factored in was the possibility that the first six months would be some of the happiest of my life.  I had a comfortable, quiet, hobbit-like schedule, and I regained some self-confidence and optimism that had been missing for a long time.  For the first time in eons, the season of summer meant something to me, and I actually spent hours reading outside (helped, indeed, by having grown out of allergies!).  Things seemed more or less perfect, which, not surprisingly, made subsequent attempts to be "content with change" a bit hard, though not nearly so hard as it could have been.  

Somewhat early in fall quarter, depression did find me again, at an unexpected time and for unexpected reasons.  There was a Sunday school song that I learned as a kid - for some reason it came to mind rather recently - and part of it goes "Only a boy named David / But he could pray and sing."  It strikes me now as an incredibly brilliant, simple statement of fact: even if you are utterly powerless, you still have the ability to pray and sing, to God's glory.  And that ability is a blessing in itself.

Everything is fine now - this year has left me with some permanent change for the best.  Though a bit hesitantly, I'm looking forward to 2013, and Bilbo's optimism struck a chord in me: "I do believe the worst is behind us!"  In a sense, he is wrong, because bad things keep happening.  But he is right, in that he can deal with it better now than he could have, prior to his many adventures.

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Merry Christmas Eve!

In a little while, I'll be heading to church for our Lessons and Carols service.  I can hardly believe it's the end of the year already - so much has happened, and yet so quickly!  I'm humbled and grateful to be sitting here typing this post, and able to celebrate Jesus' birth with the people I love.

'Cause love is the fire in your fireplace 

And carefree are the snowflakes that fall on your face 

And although this winter may bring us a storm 

The joy in your heart keeps you warm 

Have a lovely Christmas!

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Digital (a random post)

Few people love the digital world as much as I do.  However, there are times when I feel like converting some of it to "tangible property" ought to be a priority on my to-do list.  Supposing there came a time when we were to lose internet, or all electricity, for an indefinite amount of time (two days can feel indefinite!).  Apart from all the very important things that would be lost - emails, information, essays and stories, etc. - this blog would be gone.  Pictures, quotes, and ideas would be soon forgotten.  A lot of the things I've depended on for studying or entertainment would be lost.  It would be like a year ago, when we had the ice storm, just sitting in the dark and staring at candles.  That gets old quickly.

I've never been one to really worry about this kind of scenario, and I don't think worrying is the solution.  At the same time, I think it would be a great idea to start writing more things down by hand, or printing them up and starting a scrapbook of some kind.  Though I love Project Gutenberg e-books, I should at least own hard copies of books I'd hate to lose (my mom has kept our hardcover encyclopedia for this very reason).  The concept of photo albums seems clever and new again. 

The internet takes knowledge from one location and spreads it to every edge of the globe - if we lost the internet, it would be as if a lot of that information had never set foot out the door.  And that's pretty sad.  I do love digital, but its strength is certainly its weakness.

Thoughts (and ideas)?

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The Hobbit: reaction

At some future date I may try to compose coherent thoughts about An Unexpected Journey.  For now, all I can say is it was AMAZING, and you'd better go see it, and you'd better bring Kleenex in case you get Misty Mountain-eyed (to quote R&L).  Trust me, I'm a book!Hobbit fan.  And trust the other people at my local theater, who applauded it at the end.  :)

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Don't think you're losing the fight

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Fall quarter is OVER

Survived my first classes at uni - imagine that!

And, as Elizabeth said, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is being released in the U.S. TONIGHT!!!  I've been following the production of The Hobbit before Warner Bros. even gave Peter Jackson the "green light" - it's almost hard to believe it is actually here, at long last.  And three films.  And Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Armitage - no less!  I can't wait to see it this weekend!  :)

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Un Ballo in Maschera

Opera review: Un Ballo in Maschera (2012)

Giuseppe Verdi (ca. 1859)
The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD
In Italian with English subtitles 

Not gonna lie . . . I went to see this at the movie theater just for this baritone, and this aria ("Eri tu" / "It was you who stained this soul"):

(I figured I'd never get to see my favorite opera singer in "real life," so this was my birthday present to self . . . well worth it!)

Un Ballo in Maschera ("A Masked Ball") is your typical melodramatic opera - tortured, lovesick hero, swoony heroine, and heroine's jealous husband, all bawling their eyes out until a very dramatic and tragic ending finishes them off.  Still a better love story than Twilight.  ;)  No, really . . . I had cynical expectations for the plot, but it is much better than it first appears.  King Gustavo (played by Marcelo Álvarez) is in love with Amelia (Sondra Radvanovsky), who is already married to Gustavo's best friend, Anckarström (Dmitri Hvorostovsky).  At the same time, there is a group of citizens planning the king's assassination.  Anckarström is devoted to the king and literally prepared to take a bullet for him, when he is betrayed by (guess who!) the man he is trying to save.  Amelia, being a weak-willed woman, attempts to distance herself from the king, only to be pursued and won over by him.  When Anckarström finds them alone together, he suspects the worse and promises vengeance.

There are no heroes here, only gray characters that make you think (if not altogether sympathize).  In the end, it seemed to me that, overall, Anckarström was the more "sympathizable" of the two.  Yes, Gustavo is a sensitive, loving guy, but he's still a selfish jerk.  He takes advantage of his friend's loyalty and his friend's wife - and when he finally decides to make amends, it is only with the idea of packing Anckarström and Amelia off to a different country (seriously).  On top of that, if we are to believe the conspirators, Gustavo is responsible for deaths and other ills that have befallen his subjects.

Anckarström is also horrible, in a different way.  He's a calculating perfectionist - a cautious, uptight guy who's met all the responsibilities and duties required of him, and then some.  When he finds out he's been rewarded with infidelity, he goes crazy.  I'm incredibly biased, but Hvorostovsky stole the show . . . he played his part to perfection, without falling into the trap of overacting.  His singing had (and always has) this understated intensity nobody else really matched, and "Eri tu" was even better than the YouTube clip. 

The ending was my least favorite part - political correctness in the nineteenth century!  Verdi had to portray the ruler in a more or less positive light, so you have Gustavo getting all forgiving and benevolent all of a sudden, and Anckarström , too, repents of his actions.  That would have been great, if it had been more convincing and less rushed.  

As for this particular, new production - the director David Alden chose a 1920s (30s, 40s?) setting, which highlighted the political side of the story and was actually pretty cool.  Some of the choreography and costumes were a bit weird (too many wings), but overall it was more interesting than I expected.  Even the minimalist sets worked well on the big screen, much better than on YouTube.  The Fall of Icarus painting, which has been talked about a great deal, was perhaps overdone, but not as annoying as some reviewers have thought it.

Finally, with the Live in HD showing, you get cast interviews, opera previews, and behind-the-scenes clips during intermissions, which was nice.  I would totally go to another Met Opera "movie"! 

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Ask me anything!

As you might have noticed, I'm really bad at writing "about me" blurbs.  So here's your opportunity to literally "ask me anything" - and maybe I'll incorporate some of the answers into future "about me"'s.  Of course, I reserve the right not to answer a question (or evade it like a seasoned politician).  But you can still ask it - just comment below with your question(s)! 

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'This is not going to be a school story...'

But it always is, isn't it?

I finished my research paper and gave my presentation.  I turned in my research proposal and annotated bibliography for the other class.  I can't wait for the Java final next Thursday; it can't come soon enough.  College is making me feel sooo cliche right now...

On the bright side.  While listening to presentations today, I found out one of the other history students is also an Age of Sail enthusiast and Hornblower fan - is that not randomly awesome?  Then this evening I was able to finish reading The House of the Seven Gables.  Not as good as Blithedale Romance or Marble Faun, but the concept was good and I love Hawthorne's style.  I actually got to see the outside of said house in Salem, on our East Coast vacation:

And this is more or less how I pictured it (under much gloomier skies, of course).

By the by, did you watch the six new Hobbit clips yet, preciousss???!!!  I was not going to, for fear of spoilers, but today I broke down and watched all of them.  I am really curious as to what they mean by "Who did you tell about your quest?" - hinting at the Necromancer, maybe?

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