| Ukrainian gold |
[May. 16th, 2008|10:55 am] |
It's been three weeks, but the exhibition is still ongoing, so those currently in Warsaw can still go see the Ukrainian gold from the PLATAR collection on show at the National :) It's an amazing exhibition - perfectly preserved ceramics and jewelry from the least-known cultures that wintered in Ukraine and Poland before the current era began. Scythian motives run to stylised animals, and they traded extensively with Greeks, so the craftmanship is astounding.
More images in my gallery of the exhibition. Forgive the poor framing at times - I only had the Panasonic TZ3, not the best camera for indoor photography, so I concentrated on sharp pictures. |
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| *sporfle* |
[May. 7th, 2008|09:19 pm] |
Apparently on a talent show on ZDF this spring, they had a musicals theme and Uwe Kröger as a judge. This makes for entertaining clips of him making faces as people torture German and English musicals.
But this is something else. They had Villazon as a guest star, because apart from being Caruso Jr, he's also done Man of La Mancha. Which he did admirably - guy's got a siege weapon of a voice on him.
And then he and the host went and did Always look on the bright side of life. Yes, from Spamalot. Monty Python. My brain!
(Video under cut, because I refuse to be the only one traumatised.)
( Bad and wrong and yay ) |
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| *falls over* |
[May. 4th, 2008|08:24 am] |
Got back yesterday near midnight and was so exhausted I fell into bed without even touching the computer. Reviews will be up tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, highlights of my Berlin trip:
- seeing Uwe Kröger, twice. No Pia, but oh, UWE. No more watching certain Hungarians for you, the set'll fall apart!
- Spargel - height of the season, and oh, they were delicious
- lovely Roman-inspired sandals and a jacket that cost far too much
- stuffed alligator O.o |
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| Missing in action |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|08:13 pm] |
I'm off on Thursday morning for Berlin, back on Saturday night. Have decided not to lug the computer around, since it's just two nights and a rather busy schedule of shopping and two shows to catch. If anyone has anything urgent, speak now, or hold your peace for four whole days ;)
Incidentally, this will be the first time in three years or so that I'll be incommunicado from e-mail for over 24 hours - even when I was net-less, I monitored things via mobile phone. Wish me luck! |
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| Sometimes, a voice makes you flail |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|09:17 pm] |
I'm watching the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert (more on which, and the book, later), and after Act 1 I made the mistake of looking up Michael Maguire on Youtube.
His voice in Music of the Night has left me spellbound
There's something about his emotion... oh gods, why doesn't this man act more? |
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| Meta: Live performance fandom versus media fandom |
[Apr. 21st, 2008|02:33 pm] |
I started out in media fandom, where by media I define books, series, films, comics – any creative work that is performed once and communicated via media, a one-to-many single-time-point form of creation. For the past two years, my primary fandoms, the defaults I scribble about in my free moments, have been live performance fandoms. Involvement in the two is a very different experience.
( Media fandom versus live performance fandom: an analysis )
And now, I should probably write another analysis for the fascinating in-between creature that is Takarazuka fandom ;) But at 1,700+ words, this will be enough for now. |
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| I need more Phantom icons |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|07:41 pm] |
Apparently there was a promotional event for the Warsaw Phantom of the Opera recently. This would be the lovely Raoul, with the third Christine (the one I saw the second time).
( All I ask of you ) |
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| Laptop shopping |
[Apr. 14th, 2008|05:23 pm] |
Out of curiosity, has anyone had any experience with a Lenovo ThinkPad R61?
Our office has the T60s, and while I'm on a Dell, the ThinkPad squad like theirs. Since my home computer is hitting the 6 year mark this June, it's time for something new. And June 30 will be the stop-mark for new computers with Windows XP - I can definitely do without Vista for the moment, though the R61 is Vista-ready.
The configuration I'm eyeing would be 2GB of RAM, 2GHz dual Intel, 160GB hard drive. I think this would last me a while - not necessarily another six years, but at least three - considering my main home tasks are done in Firefox, MS Office (2002) and the now elderly Paint Shop Pro 8, plus whatever forays I make into GIMP and Inkscape. I'd miss the smooth Dell curves, but somehow the ThinkPad seems to have more personality to it. I think it looks like a Bob, or possibly a Logan. |
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| LiveJournal support |
[Mar. 30th, 2008|10:18 pm] |
For the past week or so, I've been toying with volunteering on the LiveJournal support board. It's fun, it lets me practice formal business English, and I've already learned a lot about LiveJournal.
However, the fact that the Support v-gift of choice is PINK PONIES is driving me absolutely bonkers :P I've got two of them now!
Note to self: add a profile note along the lines of "Hate Pink Rar". (Appreciate the sentiment, but still.) |
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| Meringues |
[Mar. 22nd, 2008|09:47 pm] |
For some reason, I've always regarded meringues as something fiendishly difficult; consequently, I rarely bought them and hunted without much success for something that was not 90% sugar.
We had 4 egg whites left over from other baking. The whole thing took 15 minutes, and half of that was sifting the caster sugar because I'm an obsessive perfectionist sometimes.
*crunch*
:D |
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| The wonder of creativity |
[Mar. 21st, 2008|05:51 pm] |
Half the fun of visual design, for me, is getting sidetracked in all the little things. After a whole day devoted to layout (conclusion: width fixed in ems, single-column, sidebar widgets in a horizontal container between the banner and the main layout), now it's colour choices and colour theory. For the LJ redesign I'm considering, I've promised ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) fyrie that I'll have a Maki Ichiro layout to match her Saki Asaji one. To match the picture, I'll need colours a little more varied than my current black and white. Cue way too much fun with online Pantone swatches.
Below, a quick mockup of the current top-runners. Saturation may still get put down, and I think I might opt for a grey background with the deep purple used for flourishes on it.
( Read more... )
Now to come up with matching colours for visited, hovered-over and active links. Then I can actually open a graphics program ;)
This has been your Content Nonstrike post for the day. And boy, is my f-list rocking. |
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| CSS Nostalgia |
[Mar. 14th, 2008|02:11 pm] |
I've been reading A List Apart, because at some point, I do have to do something about my website. The fanfic portion is fine, but the code could use a cleanup. The Discworld site will stay up as-is, for non-link-breaking, but I should add a disclaimer that it's no longer updated. Main index, of course, needs updating. Additions
And while my Greymatter installation broke ages ago, maybe I could use another blog. This "Wordpress" thing sounds interesting, even if learning another structure and language to play with its layout will be daunting. Does anyone have a Wordpress blog and can tell me how difficult it is to design it properly as opposed to designing a non-dynamic HTML/CSS site?
And as I read about things that changed in the last four years, since I last seriously took an interest in webdesign (no 4.x browsers, hallelujah), I find myself thinking about my LJ. Style systems are a bitch and a half, but Expressive *is* CSS-compatible.
I designed my first site in 1997. I've never dabbled in anything but the simplest Javascript, but otherwise I've gone through all the phases, tables, rollovers, image maps, you name it. CSS, once the browsers are halfway compatible, has a logic and beauty to it.
My fingers itch to code something. |
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| Travel plans |
[Feb. 29th, 2008|10:24 am] |
Two weeks ago, I had no plans for the summer at all. Now it turns out I'll be out of the country two, possibly three times between May and June:
- May 1-3 in Berlin (Shopping and Elisabeth. Mostly shopping.)
- May 23-26 in Edinburgh (fyrie's birthday party and uh, more shopping?)
- Tentatively, June 21-25 in Budapest. Again. For the same purposes as last time.
Since the only other plans I have are for Vienna in the autumn, I need to find some new countries to travel to. Spain, possibly? Or Mallorca, I adored selenak's photos of her trip there. |
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| Elisabeth in Berlin |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|10:22 am] |
So, cast for Elisabeth in Berlin is all but set. It's less dreadful than what I was fearing, but again they went for people who know the musical by heart.
Death: Uwe (who's looking and sounding very good on the promo clip) will be later replaced by Felix Martin, with Oliver Arno as understudy to both. Tried and true, but I like them both enough.
Elisabeth: Pia in the beginning, later to be replaced by Annemieke van Dam. I have to admit I'm in two minds about Annemieke - I've seen her in clips of 3 Musketiere, and while she's got great acting skills and a sweet voice, voice control could use work, and I'm not sure she's up to being first cast for such a demanding role.
Franz-Joseph: Markus Pol - he was FJ in last year's Japanese tour. Decent, though not one of my favourites. Cover's Peter Stassen, Louis and Richelieu in Stuttgart.
Rudolf: Oliver Arno - looks like a high point of the cast, judging by previous performances. I wouldn't mind seeing him as Death, either! Cover Rudolf is Martin Markert, cover on the Japan tour - looks decent, can't find any clips.
Still no news of Sophie or Max. Guess I should get around to reserving tickets... |
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| Sell-out (but for silky hair, wouldn't you?) |
[Feb. 14th, 2008|09:51 am] |
For the past few years, I've heard people praising a singular hair product. There were tales of how hard it is to obtain, how expensive, and how you must use Just A Single Drop to make your hair absolutely fabulous.
Yesterday, I gave in and tried a sample Mother brought back from her new hairdresser's.
Farouk Systems' Biosilk Silk Therapy Serum is, indeed, magic.
The amount of oil that covered the tip of my index finger when I poured it was enough to make my hair a waterfall of silk. For the record, my hair is waistlong, thick and very fine, wavy to the point of rebeliousness, 6 months without a trim, and recently dyed with a commercial non-permanent colour. Just making it fall down without major frizz usually requires heavy-duty conditioner, mousse and hair wax. With just the tiny bit of serum, it's now down, still wavy, and utterly controlled.
I think I have a new addiction. |
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| Books: Diana Gabaldon |
[Feb. 13th, 2008|11:35 am] |
One of the things that helped me last through the week in bed I had to undergo recently was the fact I had just received a stack of books. To wit, almost the entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, plus the two Lord John spinoffs.
I first read Outlander/Cross-stitch (depending on the US versus UK edition) when I got it from he library, in Polish. I do read silly romance novels on occasion, but the plot - a time-travelling woman from the 20th century ending up in the 18th century and marrying a Scottish rebel - sounded far-fetched even for those standards. If not a recipe for Mary Sue disaster flavoured with faux-Scots. It was only because I'd already read and adored Lord John and the Private Matter that I decided to give it a try.
Not only are the books readable, they're addictive. The mix of romance and adventure tilts heavily towards the latter, with political plotting added in Dragonfly in Amber. Then just as that formula threatens to tire, the series becomes a Caribbean adventure, then one of the American frontier. I'm missing The Fiery Cross, and I can't wait to read it and the last book. And then wait impatiently for the next volume in the series.
The one thing I appreciate about Outlander is that the usual romance tropes are either ignored or subverted. Rape is one (non-graphic, though chilling); LGBT themes are another. At first I was rather miffed by a certain gay villain, but the way he was developed was so non-stereotypical that I have to applaud. And then there is Lord John Grey.
Lord John, I gather, was supposed to be a brief cameo in Dragonfly in Amber that reappears in Voyager to explain Jamie's survival. The plot device turned out to be a lovely, sarcastic and elegant blade who incidentally is also gay (and this fact is a facet, not the entire definition of his character). As a slash writer, it's amusing to see the signs: "Look, I've got a nice plot device." "Look, there he is again." "You know, I should add him here, too." "I know, I should write a short story where he solves a mystery." "That was fun. I'll write another." "And it's 400 pages long.... ooops?" "And he wants another one. With smut. Quick, who can beta-read a gay sex scene for me????"
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, in particular, is a delightful tapestry of emotions and adventure. It catches on so many themes, and manages to define the emotional web that supports high-class eighteenth-century males, from family to love to duty. It's a book I will read and re-read, and not only because the dachshund is perfectly characterised. It's a jewel.
(And for the record, I ship Lord John/Stephan von Namtzen. I really, really want to write a story where they're beautifully broken together, but it'd kill me.)
If you're interested in more:
Diana Gabaldon site
Excerpts from the Lord John series |
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| Tanz der Vampire / Vampirok Balja: 50th show |
[Jan. 7th, 2008|08:45 am] |
You have to be special to randomly stumble on a 50th show of a musical, and one with a signing to boot. Fortunately, we are special.
( Show )
Before the show, I wandered over to buy the new shiny programme and live CD (even though I accidentally recorded the same show that's on the CD while I was over the last time). I managed to keep my feet when the teller told me that after the show, there would be a signing upstairs.
( Signing ) |
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| Tanz der Vampire #28 |
[Jan. 7th, 2008|12:07 am] |
I think I managed to break Von Krolock's brain.
SCORE. |
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| Elisabeth-related incoherence |
[Jan. 5th, 2008|07:38 pm] |
I think fyrie called dibs on the post title of "Warning: Low-Flying Lucheni", so this one is going to be much less coherent ;)
I didn't get to see Máté Kamarás, because the git went and got a cold. Hopefully he'll be on tomorrow, so if the stagedoor people are as friendly as they were today, we can get them to haul him in by the ear. But still, not all was lost.
I am more convinced than ever that Máté's bounciness is due to a special drug, because it looked like Szilveszter Szabó drank it by mistake. I mean, I've seen this guy on video at least three times, and he's always been nice, but very muted and aloof. This time... not so much. Crackling energy, emotional spill-over and an actual dynamic with Rudolf. Either he was on crack or someone took him over telepathically ;)
And then there was the Amazing Bouncing Lucheni. Honestly, the guy should have a circus act. And it didn't hurt that he's handsome, has a great voice and a charisma that means you look at him exclusively. (Unless Death is onstage, in which case their interaction is - let's just say I have bunnies with very sharp teeth.) But hey, don't take my word for it:
( Youtube: Tamás Száraz in Milch )
Bernadett Vago was a lovely Elisabeth (and her voice is gorgeous!), Ádám Balint was the best-acting Franz-Joseph I have ever seen, and Dávid Szabó presented a Rudolf with believable power, which is a first.
More impressions later, I think. Once I have a comparison ;) Not like I'm seeing the show tomorrow again... oops. |
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| It's alive! |
[Jan. 4th, 2008|09:45 pm] |
Just a note that I'm safely tucked away in Budapest, in a gorgeous (and grandiose) apartment with fyrie :) Tomorrow, the Wacky Musical Adventures start. |
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| New Year 2008 |
[Jan. 1st, 2008|09:00 pm] |
Not a bad party, surprisingly :) Now, two days of work to get through before I'm off to Budapest.
And now that Yuletide authors have been revealed, I can tell you which one I wrote. It's an utterly obscure fandom, but I've tried my best to make it outsider-accessible in a way that might make the story enjoyable also for someone unfamiliar with it.
Chasing Titania - based on Boris Akunin's Fandorin novels (in particular the first one, Azazel/Winter Queen).
(And incidentally, I feel utterly inferior. That brilliant Neverwhere story I recced was written by calliope85, my recipient. I am significantly unworthy.) |
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| Recommended reading |
[Dec. 30th, 2007|02:17 pm] |
At the seaside, I was purposefully out of my usual reading material, and thus raiding the grandparents' collection of Important Works of Literature. Isaac Singer's The Estate is a very nice insight into Belle Epoque Jews if only one can look past the characters, which are the whiniest bunch I've seen since Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Godfather would be a perfect read if at least three characters in my head weren't ogling Michael Corleone with illicit purposes. Mann's Buddenbrooks faltered a bit in the middle, but the teenage slash at the end redeemed them (okay, the other bits were interesting, too). Doctor Zhivago caused me to facepalm over my Russian ancestry.
All in all, it was a relief to come back to an open ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) yuletide archive.
This year I've been damnably lucky with my gifts - I received two full-length stories and a vignette. No idea yet who they're from, but all are gorgeous:
Ourobos - Tanz der Vampire behind the scenes; a different interpretation than my own, but I can imagine Thomas Borchert and Jakub Wocial in these roles far too easily.
Conversations with the Dead - Elisabeth, the deaths of Sophie, Rudolf and Franz-Joseph: the amount of historical detail is delightful.
And Black And Black And Blacker Still - Elisabeth, a heartbreaking Rudolf moment that reaches to the core of his character.
And from other stories that I've skimmed, four so far had me glued to the screen and exclaiming with delight:
The Invisible City - a sequel to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere that should damn well be official. It's like turning a page and finding a lost epilogue to the story. This could be Neil writing.
By No Miracle or Majestic Means - for all that I avoid Vorkosigan fanfiction like the plague, this story of a young Miles's caper is perfectly in tune. It suffers a little from rush - I know well the lack of time to balance the plot at the end - but the language is Ivan's, the characters are vividly themselves.
The Sixth Heaven - the Beauty and the Beast TV series has always remained with me, and this AU with Catherine and Vincent meeting as children captures the magic perfectly.
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down - You've probably seen this Who Framed Roger Rabbit story recced by others. All I'm saying is, hold on to your hats. |
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| Happy day-off-work, everyone |
[Dec. 21st, 2007|01:43 pm] |
Tomorrow morning, I'm on the train to the seaside; I'll be back on Thursday evening, and while I'll check my mail on my mobile, I won't have connectivity otherwise. I'm hoping some kind soul will mail me my Yuletide story.
Due to December health issues, I haven't completed my personal Yuletide yet, but it's definitely a project for my upcoming offline period. We'll do Russian-style New Year's gifts ;)
It's funny: due to work and health, it doesn't feel like Christmas yet. Still, happy holidays to everyone. Even if you don't celebrate, isn't it fun to have time off? Especially since my next day of work will be Wednesday after next. Long live Evil Corporate Empires. |
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| About LJ alternatives |
[Dec. 9th, 2007|10:25 am] |
GreatestJournal has just cut userpics down to 10.
InsaneJournal has been down for the past hour.
I think I'll be staying with our Russian overlords for the time being. |
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| STORY (and other comments) |
[Dec. 4th, 2007|07:25 am] |
Now that I've caught up on matters LJ, I have to say I'm not too offended by the flags - it is something present on just about any other site. And the Russian buyout might actually mean people who want to develop LJ, on top of less chances of running into the kind of over-compliance with US morals that led to Strikethrough and similar.
And lookit! imaginarybeasts has a new issue out. I broke and wrote a story for this one, an exercise in folktale.
Borrowed Skin |
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| Edinburgh yay |
[Nov. 28th, 2007|06:23 pm] |
At fyrie's. Her internet's dodgy, so I might be not around much, but I live. Until Sunday, when I go back. Yay :D |
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| Beowulf: 3D headache |
[Nov. 26th, 2007|08:45 am] |
I guess I may have been expecting too much from Beowulf, with a Gaiman script and actors like that. They do a decent job, though without the magic; I liked some motives (Queen Wealthow could have used expansion, for example) and generally I think it could use a rewrite as a female story. Graphically, it's gorgeous, though it suffers from the usual animators' penchant for "look what we can do with slime!" Best dragon since Dragonheart, that's for sure.
And all of this would have made for a more than satisfying outing if not for the fact that despite not watching it in 3D - on account of fearing just that effect - my head started hurting during the final fight. I managed to stumble home while opening my eyes for a blink every thirty seconds, then lay in a dark room for hours just to get the pounding to stop.
Note to self: 3D movies are to be watched on the small screen. |
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| Plans of the musical variety |
[Nov. 23rd, 2007|09:02 am] |
Ohdear. They'll be playing Elisabeth in Berlin from April onwards, so I kind of think I'll be there with bells on sometime in May :> Depending on the cast, I guess - my favourite would be Jan Ammann for Death and Jakub Wocial for Rudolf and second Death, but generally, I like most of the possibles. Except Haldor Laegreid.
So that'll be thrice I'll be seeing Elisabeth next year - got two sets of tickets for Budapest already. (And possible plans for... more far-off regions in the autumn, but those are nowhere near being finalised.) And Tanz der Vampire at least once, Budapest again.
Phantom of the Opera in Warsaw, I'm sorry to say, fizzled out completely. My firm favourites were cut down - one for being unable to attend an audition, fair enough, but the other for "lack of acting ability". Which he does have, on top of an operatic baritone that leaves everyone in the dust.
On the other hand, that does leave him free for Beauty and the Beast in Gdynia (also in the spring), which has the potential for being gorgeous if they finally get their act together - they're a decent theatre, but no magic to it so far. I hope it'll end up being something interesting.
And on top of it all I should probably finally drag my carcass to London for Phantom, Les Mis and anything else that happens to be on. And I still haven't seen some of my must-see people live - currently Stanley Burleson tops that list, followed closely by Pia Douwes and Ethan Freeman.
Say what you want about this hobby, you're never out of places to travel to. |
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| Perfume angst |
[Nov. 18th, 2007|05:53 pm] |
I've recently decided on my next signature fragrance - it was pure chance, but I tried out L'Instant Magic de Guerlain and it was almond love at first right. I adore oriental fragrances, always have - Samsara is still my standby for when I want to knock people dead - and as my bottle of Poème by Lancôme wore out, I wanted something different, less floral. I've been getting by with various pure-rose things, but they're really not cutting it, and with L'Instant Magic, I keep sniffing my own wrist obsessively.
And this is the pefectly wrong time for me to notice that there's another fragrance that I'd love, love to have. And it's bloody Mitsouko. I mean, it's Mitsouko - almost 90 years old, freaking chypre, the fragrance every ten-bucks bottle of "Parisian" perfume imitates.
Currently I have L'Instant Magic on my right wrist, Mitsouko on my fingers on the right hand, and possible RSI from turning my hand all the time to sniff them both.
(I also have Vol de Nuit on my left wrist, but buying three bottles of Guerlain perfume to alternate would be madness.) |
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depressed
happy