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More linkies...

I swear to God that the next time my father tells me one more time that working a 60 hour week isn't a real job because I don't earn a real salary I will slit my fucking wrists. Nothing is worth this shit.

In more positive news, I'm up to 'J' in my quest to get scores on every song in DDR 8th Mix with only a few skipped, in Light mode. I'm hoping I'll get a few more of them before bed tonight. ETA: 'K', with only two skipped and eight scored 'C' or lower to improve upon.

Since I finally made it through the rest of the draft posts waiting for me in blogger, have the last of the great stack of things I needed to blog about:

• The Hyped Panic Over 'War of the Worlds' - This is somewhat disappointing, but also fascinating. In short form: the panic we were all told about was faked up by the media.
• Dispatches from Planet Zog - A discussion on aliens in New Who and why RTD sucks as a writer.
• Why We Deserve Better Villains — And How To Get Them - All the flaws of modern villain writing, and how to make them bad guys again. Every writer needs to read this, or something like it (I don't even like io9, but occasionally something good is linked to me).
• ALW's pick for playing Phantom II. Actually, while I'm linking to Cleo, everyone should read the The Phantom of the Fiction Workshop, which makes me laugh out loud each time I read it.
• Pink go-go boots and matching rocket-launcher - I can't even remember the first time I read this, but it's been in my to-post list forever. I love everything2.
• Kermit Bale - A rather large collection of images of Christian Bale and Kermit the Frog, showing just how much they have in common
• Yet another story about John Titor - I always wanted to spend more time reading up on this plucky time traveller. One of these days I will.
• Fragmentary Knowledge - A fascinating article about the Antikythera Mechanism.
• 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do - yet another TED talk, but a short one by Gever Tulley, and I agree with most everything in it. Note the parental supervision part.
• This Johnny Wander comic makes me happy. I can relate.
• Park Hall Poesy - the story of a hand truck, lost in an English department, told through poetry.

Further Yuletide recommendations:

• Gunnerkrigg Court: Possession by Person - Zimmy is crazy for Gamma. But we love her anyway.
• M*A*S*H: Dear Trapper by Rinkle - both funny and poignant and horrible. I love this story.
• Wall.E: All There Is And More by silksieve - After the movie, the robots build a new life on earth.
• William Gibson - Neuromancer: Mercury Scatters by Northland - a lovely short piece about Molly.
• Winnie the Pooh / Discworld: In Which Worlds Collide and Eeyore Investigates a Terrible Crime by torch - A crossover of awesome. With footnotes. *swoons*

One last thing before I leave you, just because I love you.

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Not my idea or coding, sadly. And I know marquees are evil, but that's not the point.

Labels: dangerous things, DDR, doctor who, family, muppets, science fiction, the Phantom of the Opera, time and space, writing, yuletide

The closing of tabs and other fun links I've been sitting on for a while...

The plot for Act I of the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera. I keep wishing it is a parody, but something tells me it's not. I'm going to see Phantom again on the 2nd of September with D'Arth Mathias and her fiance, and it's going to be awesome. Hoping for Anthony Warlow again.

Neil Gaiman interviews Terry Pratchett - these guys are two of my favourite writers, and it makes me happy that they're such good friends.

The breeding properties of M&Ms - I love this story, and will happily join in this behaviour.

Newspaper Blackout Poems by Austin Kleon.

These two Cat and Girl comics bring warm feelings to my heart.

And I want to buy this book based solely on its cover art. Actually, having browsed the galleries, I want to read any book with a cover by Dan Dos Santos. Because it's all amazing. And if the books turn out to be crap I would want to write new books based on his images. I love them.

I think that's it for the moment. *grins* Have a nice weekend, all.

Labels: art, death by chocolate, it's about singing and dancing and making people happy, linking all over the place, Neil is our god, not-emo poetry, the Phantom of the Opera, webcomics

I may just be the luckiest girl in the world...

I got to see the Phantom of the Opera again today. That makes three times for this production: last tuesday night, last saturday's matinée, and then today's matinée. I was only expecting to attend two of them, but K's sister was ill this morning and didn't want her ticket to go to waste.

As a result, I've gotten to see all three of the Phantoms we have performing in Sydney (okay, I missed the "understudy" (as opposed to the "alternates"), but given that he was playing Raoul in all three performances, I don't feel like I missed out on watching him perform a sexy part. :) ). There was no competition as to who was the best: every word that Anthony Warlow sung sent shivers down my spine and I wanted him and Christine to end up together all the way until he flipped out in the end, and even then I felt sorry for the poor man. He was amazing, and sexy and he was the Phantom. I'm so glad I got to see him.

Saturday, the Phantom was sung by Simon Pryce, who was okay, but he was a very different Phantom, not as strong, a bit more pathetic. He sang it fine, but he didn't have the depth of character, and you never really cheered for him. He was more of a madman, and I wondered why Christine was ever really entranced by him. That said, he was performing with Sarah Bakker (the understudy for Christine) and she played a more self-aware Christine, a little stronger of voice and personality, and somehow giving her more spirit was a good foil to making the Phantom a whispering madman. Now if only they'd been able to keep his headpiece stuck down at the edges, I might have believed in his deformity.

The third, Roy Weissensteiner, was a very Michael Crawford-like Phantom. I've not seen Crawford perform, but his is the canonical version we've all heard so many times on all our cds and compilations, and Weissensteiner's voice was very similar. Dramatic, spine tinglingly creepy, and I was crying at the end when she abandoned him. Sarah Bakker has amazing charisma and is able to play her role so well that at the end, when she's hesitant to leave him, you really believe that she's torn between the two men, that she doesn't want to leave the Phantom alone there in the dark.

Hmm, I'm not sure what to add now... I think my favourite costume of all is Carlotta's from Masquerade (she was wearing the spider one, with the beadwork and the little wings) and I'd love to have the time and energy to make it for myself. Not sure what that says about me. Anyway, I've been having fun, I'm sorry I've not been blogging much, it's just been a very emotional (and busy few weeks for me).

Oh, and in case anyone is interested, this and this are what's been preventing me from sleeping for the last few weeks (the second are the test pages, don't tell the boss I linked you to them).

Labels: he's here, the Phantom of the Opera, web stuff