Apart from the fact that I'm done with most of this year's Christmas presents (which is amazing - I've usually not even started until mid-December), I am also soon done with Christmas lunch. Well--it just so happened that the turkey I bought was a couple of inches too large for my puny freezer, so I have to prepare it tomorrow. Basically I'm going to convert it into a dress rehearsal (skipping the tech rehearsal entirely, due to unforeseen circumstances) and simply try my way around this one before messing up Christmas lunch completely. I've never made a roast dinner, so this is a new experience for me and I'm going to do my best and make all the mistakes (or just emerge as a master chef on the first try) before the 25th.

Yes, I am going to celebrate the 25th this year (all of my non-English heritage friends are aghast). When in Rome...or in my case, London...Londinium? Perhaps it's ok to say "When in Londinium, do as the Romans?" But then again, the Romans didn't celebrate Christmas. Hmm...

We just finished this season's most controversial episode of Morgan Spurlock's 30 Days, the one about pro-life contra pro-choice. Boy, were we mad by the end of it. I am still fuming. But I'm not going to comment upon it. I'll stay up all night if I do.

And yes, if you actually were wondering, I am definitely pro-choice. As in "abortion should be the last resort and not a decision taken lightly, but should still be an option". Btw, what are all those men doing there campaigning against abortion clinics and what-not? How can they pretend to even begin to understand what it's like?

Must. Stop. Commenting.

Labels: Christmas, current affairs, food

I would like to write a bit about music today. I have recently been listening a lot to my old favourites Jean Michel Jarre and Erasure. Looking back, I probably have to admit that even though I listen to all sorts of music, synthesizer music has always been closest to my heart and also remains there today. After all, among my top favourites you'll find the above-mentioned artists as well as Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and recent discovery Apoptygma Berzerk. You probably could not get more synthesised.

I remember discovering the Pet Shop Boys first, although I didn't realise it to begin with, but I have been a fan of theirs since Always on My Mind back in 1987. It's still the best version of the song; the Elvis version is rather dull. Then, in 1989, I discovered Jean Michel Jarre because someone I had a crush on liked him. I did not actually have a crush on him, but this was during the summer holiday and everyone on the course I was attending (in this country, actually) was in love with someone else on the course, and he was the only one left. How sad. Anyway, I bought a cassette of Jarre's music and haven't looked back since, to tell you the truth. At the moment, however, I am listening to some of his pre-Oxygéne stuff and it is about the same level as my own computerised music back in the nineties (i.e. mostly crap). Does that mean there's hope for me as well? Could it be that I will be able to make great music in the future? No?

Now, Erasure were lucky in that they had a couple of big hits during the summer of 1992, when I discovered music for real and actually started spending my own money on buying records. So I went to the shop to buy some singles for my brand new CD player and ABBA-esque happened to be top on my list. The next day I went back to buy some of their albums; luckily the previous year's Chorus was one of them, which reminded me that I had in fact liked them in 1991 as well, when their Love to Hate You came out. So that cemented my fandom and they are still my number one group. I'm one of those who buy every version of their singles (they tend to release three or more versions). Call me crazy.

I then listened through some of my old cassettes during the last part of 1992/beginning of 1993, and heard a song (these were all recorded from the radio) by Depeche Mode that I thought was brilliant. Knowing that they had a link to Erasure (Vince Clarke, basically), I thought I'd give them a go and bought four or six albums at once (I honestly don't remember any more, but I could probably check the covers as their price tags are still on there and I recognise my favourite record store's tags). I was hooked, of course.

Now, Depeche Mode is probably the group who have changed their style the most since they began, but the others have tried as well. Jarre's Metamorphoses from 2000 was his first all-vocal album in his more than thirty years of making music. It's average, I think. And Erasure, bless'em, have released an acoustic album recently. I shudder when I think about it and it may very well become the only album of theirs that I will buy only as a last resort. Pet Shop Boys seem to be stuck in their usual style, but it's always a hit and very poppy, so who cares?

Labels: erasure, music, personal

Yep, still haven't written one single word today. But I'm very proud that I managed to waste someone else's time as well.

My flatmate came into my room with one of the handsets.

"It's for you, I don't know who it is."

So I grabbed the phone and the guy at the other end started talking. It became obvious, seconds before reaching for the handset, that he was going to sell me something. And this guy had done it before, I could tell. He didn't give you the chance to say no at an early stage (I bet the company has worked out the perfect introduction to prevent this from happening - you can't really say no until you know what it's about, can you? Well, I usually do anyway) - so I decided I'd just let him do his routine and get to know me better and try to be my mate. He had the right comments for any reply I gave him, so I played along, laughed in all the right places and all that. When I told him I have experience in his line of work, he thought it would be easy to just reel me in, and I could tell he was very happy.

At the point where he wanted to take down my bank details to set up Direct Debit, and he asked "would you give me your six-digit-sort code, please?", I answered "no, I wouldn't, actually. Do you have a website instead, where I can read more about this?" He went on to give me the address and try to assure me that giving them my details would be perfectly safe. My clincher was "I know, but I never give my details on the phone." He could only say "fair enough", as it is impossible to try to reason with an illogically-inclined person. So after fifteen minutes of wasting his precious time (I did say "sorry if this does not give you any commission"), we were done. For the record, I will not visit their website.

My other favourite illogical clincher is when one of the infamously annoying phone companies ring me and the operator says:

"Can I interest you in a good deal?"
"No."
"Well, what do you spend on your phone right now?"
"None of your business."
"I can give you a deal where you not only pay less than now, but also get a brand new phone and cashback every time you use the phone."
"Well, I don't want it."
(Annoyed, thinking the next argument will make me reconsider) "So you do NOT want to pay less, have a new phone and even get money from us?"
"Nope. Thanks for your time. Good bye."
"..."

You just cannot argue with a stupid person. :-)

Labels: humour, time wasting

I am currently enjoying three weeks off from work. I mean thoroughly enjoying them. I'm spending the days writing (it's National Novel Writing Month after all) and so far, even though I'm three chapters into the book, I haven't killed off any characters yet. This is a miracle to anyone who's read all my previous work. Still, that could change with subsequent rewrites...yes, another miracle to those who've read my previous work. I am going to rewrite sections of my book? But isn't that sacrilegious? Well, one has to conform to some degree--and also realise that perhaps one isn't such a big genius one can just churn out one perfect first draft after another.

Who am I kidding--of course I am that genius, just pulling your leg. ;-)

So The Sound of Music has opened to raving reviews (and they're raving in a very positive way), which is very nice. I saw one excerpt on last Friday's Children in Need and it looked like they may get it together soon. There was also an excerpt from Evita; luckily my favourite sequence from the show, because absolutely none of my favourites were present (they were probably at home, sleeping, because they're all so bloody old), so watching the excruciatingly ridiculous show for six hours paid off to a certain degree. Luckily my flatmate decided to join me this year as well, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. So we were sitting there, or rather lying there, commenting upon everything that happened on the screen. I don't know how they do it, honestly. I mean, they've been doing the charity show for 26 years (I think it is) and still haven't put together a good routine for the live transmission. And of course what they call "celebrities" are usually wannabe-celebs from so far down the wish list the hosts could as well have done all the stunts themselves. That would have been more entertaining. Or perhaps the programme is meant only for those who read the tabloids and watch the soaps? Still, some good music (the usual six bands who turn up for every UK charity event) and I finally got to see bits of both Avenue Q and Wicked, two of my favourite Broadway shows from recent years, based solely on their original recording albums.

Speaking of musicals...for a change...it has occured to me that I may have a thing for Javert (seriously, if you don't know who Javert is, there really is no point in your reading my blog). I discovered two of my favourites* when they performed as Javert, and then three of my other favourites** turn out to have played Javert at some point. So basically I should stay away from any performance or film of Les Misérables in the future, otherwise I'm sure the list will grow. :-)

We discovered a lovely Indian restaurant down the road from us last week. Very nice. Low prices. Good food. Fine atmosphere. And my flatmate was delighted to see it was possible to smoke at the table. We will most probably go back soon.

But right now I've had enough procrastination for one day, I think. I have a few characters to kill off before lunch, after all, so I'd better start writing. Need to be a good girl today, or I won't be allowed (by myself) to go to the cinema or play the newly released Neverwinter Nights 2 (woo-hoo, a whole new world for my beloved Timon Siger to play in).

*) (drum roll) Philip Quast and Michael McCarthy (shock)
**) Geoffrey Rush, Roger Allam, Tim Morgan

Labels: evita, food, gaming, geoffrey rush, holiday, Javert, Michael McCarthy, musicals, philip quast, roger allam, theatre, tim morgan, TV, writing

Seriously; if you're Norwegian and you actually listen to what the rubbish tabloid show Absolutt Underholdning tells you about this show, please bear in mind that 1) you must be a complete fool to begin with, and 2) they generally think Vin Diesel and Britney Spears are great fun, so they would not know anything about musicals, and 3) they haven't actually seen this show!

The Chess version that lands in Oslo this week is worth visiting just because of Michael McCarthy, so there.

Labels: Michael McCarthy, musicals

OK, so I won't have to go see The Sound of Music anyway, it seems. Simon Shepherd has pulled out of the show, so I am once again free to go see other shows. Which is good, because the tickets would have cost me a fortune. Apparently, the producers did not think he was a good enough singer.

Right, and as one of his biggest fans, I'm not particularly surprised, I'm afraid.

Labels: Lloyd-Webber, musicals, simon shepherd, theatre

What a twat.

Labels: current affairs