Performing on autopilot

Performing on autopilot is both elating and disconcerting.  I mean, the whole point of rehearsing is to completely know the lines or the music.  One of the phrases that one of my favorite conductors used to say was that, "You should practice your music until you know it backwards, forwards, and upside-down while standing on your head in the corner."  I know I've put in considerable practice hours when I don't have to look at the music and and it all becomes muscle memory so my fingers just go where they have to without my having to think too much about it.  That's what it means to know something by heart.

But then that runs the danger of becoming perfunctory, a nearly mindless activity, a reflex incited by a single small but decisive whack in the right place.  It runs the danger of not being music but notes-- ones that follow an aurally pleasing pattern, but notes nonetheless.  My mind might start to wander to other, unrelated topics, then snap back to the music when I wonder whether or not I missed a repeat.  Or I'll get cocky and randomly try a new fingering, which will mess up the whole rest of the sequence.

Bottom line: autopilot is dangerous? Or: Success can be dangerous because it can lead to smugness, cockiness, laziness...

What Han Solo says:

Scarred my childhood

These are some of the movies that terrified me as a child:

ANACONDA

the whole thing.  Now it seems absurd.  Owen Wilson was in it?! And first time seeing J.Lo.  Jon Voight is a much better actor thant to have to be in that movies, but has to make a living.  It was so terrifying to me, yet I couldn’t look away.  I remember sweating while watching the movie and my cousins sort of teasing me for it, that I had gotten so into it.  Shortly afterwards, when talking about it with a friend it became less frightening and more of an interesting anecdote, esp. the part where the snake swims past the camera and skeleton bulges out of the body, the view accompanied by dramatic music.

The Empire Strikes Back

Luke gets his hand cut off; also blends in my mind with Darth Vader getting his mask taken off.  When I first heard of the phrase “back of the mind” that hand slicing scene comes to mind; it was years before I realized that right after that came the famous (and misquoted) line “No, I am your father” because that scene was so traumatizing and when I thought of the scaries thing I had ever seen it came to mind.  Now Star Wars V is easily one of my fav. movies.

Nightmare before Christmas

Don’t remember much except that I was terrified.  Yes, it is a much beloved movie but to this day I still have a kneejerk queasiness.  I should see it again, I know.  I just couldn’t handle the humorous-macabre style of the animation and songs and visual effects.

ET

A little bit.  I remember eating rice krispie treats while watching this movie for some reason.  I cried at the end, but some scenes are really terrifying—i.e. when ET has technically died and is mummified and chalky?!

Raiders of the Lost ark

End scene when everyone melts except Indiana Jones and Marion.  Temple of Doom not as much because I saw it when older and could stomach it better.

That's show biz for you

Every few shows there's a man who sits near close to the stage and laughs a booming laugh.  Like Jabba the Hutt but genuine and not menacing.  Whatever's happening on stage might not be funny, but just hearing that genuine big-bellied laugh makes me laugh reflexively.  Even when I've heard the same joke told for the 27th time.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the magic of show biz for you.

The hairdryer you never knew you needed

The Darth Hairdryer: perfect for the Star Wars fan who's always craving the perfect blowout.  So... anyone with a Slave Leia costume.

I kid!  Sort of.  My reactions to finding out about this product where as follows:
1.  Ah, so cool-- a hairdryer shaped like the mouth part of Darth Vader's mask!
2.  I want one!
3.  No I don't, I never use a hairdryer.
4.  Who on Earth (or in a galaxy far, far away) would want to buy this?  In a Venn diagram with one circle representing "People who use a hairdryer on a regular basis" and "People who collect Star Wars-inspired products", there would be, like, four people in the intersecting section.
5. ...well, except for Star Wars cosplayers, particularly women since they are more likely than men to use such a hair care product.
6. ... well, just because it's inspired by Darth Vader doesn't mean that non-Star Wars fans won't buy it.  No need to be so cynical about a hairdryer.

Speechless with joy

I've mentioned before how I'd like to buy and learn to play a trombone, right?  Because it's a brass instrument and looks fun to play.  Well now I REALLY want a trombone, and I'm determined to get one by the end of this summer; yes, I'm adding it to my to-do list for the summer.

Why, you ask?  I'll show you why:

Xena

image source

I was eight or nine when I regularly watched Xena: Warrior Princess on TV.  This was, of course, back when Saturday meant watching TV all day long, even if it was nice out and I wasn't particularly interested in anything that was on air.  That's probably how I started watching this show in the first place; I watched what was then called kidsWB! from whenever I woke up until about noon or 1pm, which was when they stopped running cartoons and kids shows.  Then I switched to what was then UPN to watch this show.

And I can't believe that I watched this when I was eight or nine! This show had some hard PG-13 stuff going on-- no bad language but a lot of violence and adult situations.  And I can't believe that my dad (Happy Father's day!) was okay with the fact that I watched this show. Three theories:
1) He didn't realize what kind of show I was watching and assumed it was a very battle-oriented cartoon
2) He realized what kind of show it was but didn't care that it had a lot of, uh...action
3) He realized what kind of show it was but thought that it was okay for me to see someone involved in that much action because it was done by a princess

I haven't seen an entire episode since I was a kid, but I remember how I felt and reacted to certain scenes; I'm sure I'd find them much less scary and much more campy in nature, just as present-day me can handle the scene in Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where Luke gets his hand cut off.  If I have time and remember to do so I'd like to go back and see a few of those special episodes.

Quick reaction to "X-Men: First Class"



image source

 I saw X-Men: First Class more than a week ago. Overall I liked this movie.  I wouldn't mind seeing it in theaters again but I'm not terribly passionate about this film.  Some lingering thoughts:

Raiders anniversary

image source

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark (12 June 1981).  This is my favorite film in the trilogy series, which is why I think it is the best.  So many classic scenes and characters: Harrison Ford as Dr. Indiana Freaking Jones! Melting Nazis! Asps! (Very dangerous--you go first).

Digression: I think somewhere in the black hole that is my family's VHS collection lies this film.  I'm not sure why I don't have a DVD of it even though I count it as one of my all-time favorite films.  Five or six summers ago I went through a George Lucas/Harrison Ford binge by watching the (original) Star Wars trilogy and the (originally a trilogy) Indiana Jones movies at least twice.  I was struck by how Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl borrowed from Raiders scenes.  When it comes to the female lead:
1) Both are damsels in distress, but not so completely and utterly useless.  Marion Ravenwood wields a mighty frying pan, and Elizabeth Swann at least attempts to get that sword off its mounting when the pirates are pursuing her in her mansion.
2) Both are forced by their respective captors to wear dresses...  Marion a white (wedding?) dress, Elizabeth a dark ruby-black dress ("it matches your heart!" she spatters.)
3) ...then allowed to eat with their respective captors...
4) ...then conceal a dinner knife and distract their captors by acting against their true feelings... Marion pretends to get drunk (cuz, you know, them women dunno how to hold their liquor); Elizabeth acts the lady
5) ...then seize what seems like the opportune moment to take the knife and threaten the man with it, but it doesn't help in the end.
6) Both their fathers had an big influence in shaping the future and character of their love interests/the male lead and protagonist.

I didn't know this until I came across this article, but Dr. Jones' seems to be based at least in part by a real life archaeologist.  Aside from Sherlock Holmes, who was loosely based on the real Dr. Joseph Bell,  I cannot readily come up with a hero who is equal parts brain and brawn, scholar and adventurer.  (I'm sure there are other fictional men and women out there but my brain is just too much in a fog and I feel like shoehorning a reference to the illustrious detective).  Both even have iconic hats!  Although that has more to do with actor Basil Rathbone than the original book description.

I know I'm on thin ice if I even suggest that I enjoyed Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; but I think that, even after that, adventure's name is "Indiana Jones".  And yes, if when the fifth film comes out, which was once rumoured to be set in/around the Bermuda Triangle, you can bet your bullwhip that I'll go see it in theaters and still keep Raiders on my favorites list.

May the 4th be with YOU

"No--try not. Do or do not, there is no try."
- Yoda, Episode V
image source








Happy Star Wars day everyone!  Above is my favorite quote from the movies.  I was going to list a bunch of my favorite lines but really that one is the one that sticks with me the most.  It's not just that it's from my favorite Star Wars film or that it's spoken by Yoda, though.  I found this quote as the number one line in a list of Jedi/Star Wars sayings that can be applied to violinists.  Of course, that line could apply to anyone facing a challenge or seemingly insurmountable obstacle.  Whenever I find myself getting frustrated while practising I think back to this quote, take a deep breath and start over.  Help, it does.

I watched the original trilogy as a kid but it didn't really make a big impression on me in general.  Yes, I had nightmares about getting my arm sliced off with by a black-garbed lightsaber wielder, but otherwise I wasn't really affected by it, never dressed up as any of the characters for Halloween.  It wasn't until after high school that I went back and saw the films (again, the original trilogy) and that was when I was struck by it all: the special effects, the archetypes in the story, the themes, and especially the impact they had on cinema and filmmaking thereafter.  I have yet to dress up as any of the characters for Halloween or any other costume event, but for a different reason: I don't want to wear some pre-fab outfit, but don't have the time or energy to make a really authentic looking one. Le sigh.

Voices in my head

Thanks to being sick, my voice is lower and less nasal, throaty and froggy.  It's probably been like this for the past few days but I only noticed it this morning.  I sound like a different person, maybe someone who is nocturnal and used to have a pack-a-day cigarette habit which has been reduced to avid secondhand smoking by deeply inhaling the tobacco-scented exhale of others.  If I were someone else I'd be surprised by the voice that's been coming out of me.  Which got me thinking about...

Voldemort Cat, et al.

I saw a picture of this Voldemort Cat, which got me thinking about other Harry Potter-related thoughts that flit about in my head from time to time:

If I had to face a boggart, what would it turn into?

I'm not exactly sure what it would become right now, but had I been faced with one when I was a kid it'd probably turn into Luke Skywalker's severed hand. That scene when (spoiler alert?) Darth Vader faces Luke and cuts of his lightsaber hand, the one which is famously misquoted? Yeah, I had nightmares about getting my hand cut off after watching that film, that image so completely eclipsed the whole Darth-Vader-is-actually-Luke's-dad part. I got it into my head that Luke's "nooooooooo!" was in response to the pain of losing his dominant hand. Although I'd be really put off if my right hand were cut off I don't think it qualifies as The Thing That I Fear The Most.


What other clubs are there at Hogwarts?

Okay, so there's the Quidditch team and Charms club and Gobstones club. Those are the only Hogwarts extracurricular activities that pop into my head. Hermione formed SPEW but that barely even got a start, although if I attended Hogwarts (ha!) I probably would join.


Where is the Hufflepuff common room?

I think in book 4 it's mentioned that it's near the Great Hall, by the kitchens? But I don't think it's well described, at least not in the same level of detail as given to the other House common rooms.


What happened with Teddy (Tonks and Lupin's son)?

He definitely inherited his mother's shape-shifting abilities, but did he inherit those of his father as well?