Danielle Blog

Fun shows!

I haven’t really written anything up lately about ALL of the fun performances and shows that I’ve been able to attend this fall. You already know (from my “Summer Summary post”) that this summer included my getting to see productions of Footloose and Hairspray.

Well, I haven’t told you all of the other exciting shows I’ve been to lately, so now is my chance! Unfortunately, I don’t get to take photos at shows, so the only way I really have to “remember” them is the programs, which really fall short when it comes to photos.

Here are some of the shows I’ve been to lately and my thoughts about them!

We kicked off our fall season with “Rain: a tribute to the Beatles.” The show was mostly set up like a tribute concert. It was amazing how much the performers sounded like the Beatles. They really had all of the inflections and emphases down perfectly in the songs. They held the notes and/or breathed during phrases at all the right spots. It was really, really fabulous.
They also had a few songs where they did a sing-along (from memory). I got chills listening to this huge number of people of all ages singing Beatles songs from memory.

So You Think You Can Dance 2011 was the next major event we went to see! It was AMAZING! We had really close seats on the side which were ABOVE the level of the stage. As much as I liked being in the 5th row one year and the 11th-14th row the next year, it was weird being on the ground and being below the level of the stage. I couldn’t see their feet from the knee down when I sat that close. Of course, it was still incredible being that close those years, and as you’ll recall, I got some fun photos!

There were a few instances this year where it would’ve been nice to be a bit less on the side, but only a FEW. Most of the time, it was simply AMAZING being that close!!!!! We could see the muscles on the legs, arms, abdomens (for the guys, this was notable), as they expressed themselves through dance.

I cannot recommend this show enough to anyone who is a fan of the TV show.
Part of what was really amazing about it in this year’s touring production, which was different than years past, is that they clustered dances together (especially ones with couples) that were in a similar theme or that could use some of the same staging. And then the dances just sort of flowed from one into the other. It really made it feel less like a highlight or recap of some of the best dances of the season and instead more of a true stage production.

The winner of this year’s competition, Melanie, and the runner-up, Sasha were truly standouts.
Some of the surprises of the night were just how great Jess is when he performs in person. He really has an amazing stage presence; you can see how his Broadway background gives him an edge in live performances. Also, Tadd’s solo was hilarious. He also really interacted with the crowd in an amazing way. And boy is he ripped! I guess if you have to hold yourself upside down on one arm and bounce up and down (one of his b-boy tricks), you’d have amazing muscle definition too! wow.
Nick is the really tall, blond, tap dancer who wasn’t in the top 10, but was one of people who went on tour. Since Ricky was injured for our show, Nick was filling in for him. Nick did a tap number (with Jess) that was just AMAZING!!! To me, he was so much better than I remember him being on TV. I also think that they way that they had the sound and the floor mic’d really made the tap number that much more outstanding.
Some of the girls have really improved too; especially Caitlynn. She was always a great dancer, but she has gotten even stronger with being on tour.
I’m SO glad that Texas Seestor and Trainwreck and I went to the show together. It was amazing!!!

Texas Seestor and I also went to see Footloose (the movie) in the theater one night while Trainwreck took care of the girls. I loved the remake! It made me want to learn country line dancing too! I’m hoping to find a place to get some country line dancing lessons. I decided that it will never make sense for me to buy a gym membership; I’m much better off spending my money on dance lessons, I think. Dance is actually something I’d enjoy doing to get exercise.

One of the next performances we saw was Spring Awakening! A friend of our family was a lead in the production, so it particularly amazing to see the show. We made a point of getting 2nd row seats. It was INCREDIBLE being that close. My gosh is it amazing to see a theater production where you can see all of their facial expressions.
The friend’s range, pitch, emotion, and timing were spot on. He was playing the role of someone with a very different demeanor than his own. So, it was really amazing to see him stretch himself to take on the demeanor, speech, and overall personality of this very different type of person. It is a really heart wrenching story, and I almost cried a couple of times.

You know they are doing a great job, when it tugs at your emotions.

All of the cast is really talented. They did some amazing group numbers. The guys in particular had some really high energy, rocking songs, which were just incredible. The women tended to do more low-key songs, but they had some really beautiful harmonies and moments too. The full cast version of Purple Summer will always be one of my favorites.

Last weekend, we saw South Pacific (touring production). I had never seen a version of South Pacific, so I didn’t know the story. It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” and “There is Nothin’ Like a Dame.” “Cockeyed Optimist” was really fun too, because I’m a pretty optimistic person, and I identified with parts of that song. It was a little long in parts and “Bali Hai’i” almost put me to sleep (as did Emile’s solo in Act 2 “This Nearly was Mine”), but things like “Honey Bun” made up for it! I clearly was in the mood for high energy numbers and not romantic stuff like “Some Enchanted Evening.”

I’ve been having a LOT of fun seeing all of these live performances!!

Next week, I get to see Casting Crowns (the contemporary Christian band, which is currently my absolute favorite band)!!!!!

And that same weekend, our school is putting on a really fabulous religious Christmas concert which I’m really, really looking forward to! (it is an annual event, but it changes from year to year) Right now, we’ve got a group of 9 people going to that!

Shortly thereafter, I’ll get to see the touring production of Beauty and the Beast!

SO MUCH FUN! You can’t tell that I’m really loving living here in TX where I get to go see show after show, can you??
I love that Texas Seestor, another friend, and I got tickets to the Broadway series this year together. And that Texas Seestor and Trainwreck are often willing to go see other shows (like SYTYCD). It has been a terrific part of my life here!

Updated my “best shots” set on Flickr

Hello!

As the title says, I was inspired to update my “some of my best shots” set on Flickr yesterday and today.

I hadn’t really updated it much for the last 3 years. It was interesting for me to look at my older flower photos and compare them with my more recent photos. My photography skillz have been slowly getting better with time, I think.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Dad gave me a lens and tripod to do really close-up photography, and I’m slowly but surely getting better at using it too. I still love my Kenko extension tubes that allow me to do the closest of the close photos.

Spring break is a week away and I’m hoping to do some more intentional photography of flowers, animals, and maybe even landscapes. Looking at my photos made me realize that I haven’t done much close-up work lately, and I’ve missed it.

Anyway, take a look at the set in slideshow form when you have a few minutes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

That is the playdough representation of animals from all walks of life coming together to share a Thanksgiving meal. Even the short animals like the ducks, the turtle and the snake (courtesy of older niece) who get to have platforms to allow them to reach the food.

I realized the other week that this is the 2nd time in 14 years (I think), that I am spending Thanksgiving with extended family. Since HB always had to work the day after Thanksgiving, most years, our Thanksgiving meal was the two of us. There was one memorable year where we traveled back to IN to have Thanksgiving with his family; I remember it so well, because it was the first time that I got to have a deep-fried turkey courtesy of his brother. It was really interesting to see how it worked, and tasted great too! It was also the first time that I ever had brussel sprouts and they were yuuuuuuuuuuummy. HB’s mom cooks up a mean brussel sprout dish!

This year, we are all converging on Trainwreck’s parents’ place. This is in part, so that Trainwreck and Texas Seestor (and nieces) do not have to choose who to spend Thanksgiving with. It is also fantastic for Mom, Dad, and me, because otherwise the three of us would likely be having our meal with just the three of us.
We are all pitching in by bringing various dishes. I’m excited about all of it!

I don’t know who is still out there reading (in general), because my semester has been really crazy busy and I haven’t blogged much at all. And I know that a lack of blogging is a sure-fire way for family and friends to stop checking.

In general, while busy, it has been really rewarding for the most part. I’ve had students go from earning F’s to earning A’s after sitting down with me and having a heart-to-heart talk about studying, study tips, and what it takes to do well in college. Those success stories are what keeps me excited when I grade exams and quizzes, which are, honestly, a real pain to design and then sometimes rather sad to grade.

As for life outside of work, I’ve been able to spend at least a few hours every weekend with family! Most weekends, I end up taking all of Saturday off of work to keep the rest of my life (i.e. errands, shopping, cleaning) and then seeing them. I’ve got lots and lots of photos on Flickr of the kinds of things that we’ve been up to. Mom and Dad are now officially here. Dad is retired and Mom is on the verge. We’ve already had a couple of Saturdays where all of us have converged on their new home. It is really special for me to get to see them more than just a week (or so) at Christmas and a week (or so) in the summer.

Well, I think that is as good a point to stop as any. Older niece will likely be up soon, and I’ll play with her to give Trainwreck a chance to sleep in. Texas Seestor is being an inspiration to all of us couch potatoes by going to the gym this morning!
Aside: She has some friends who are super-committed athletes outside of work that run a 5k in the morning and host an orphan Thanksgiving whose motto for the day is “run like a dog, eat like a hog, sleep like a log.” They have some sort of point system for the day to see who wins – more points for more plates of food, etc.
too funny, I thought.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving! And here’s to a great kick-off for Advent!

Crayon colors

One of the things that J and I were talking about at supper was colors (of all things). We started discussing how we remembered colors getting retired when cerulean came out. I looked up some stuff on wikipedia and found some interesting info! Of course, I have artistic leanings, so I love colors.

Here is the link to the following info.

One of the things I told my friend, of which she was unaware, was how they used to have a color called “flesh” that was basically the skin tone of Caucasians. Here are some of the more interesting renaming of colors:

- flesh became peach
- indian red became chestnut – it was originally named for a color used in India, but school teachers reported that children thought it referred to the skin tones of Native Americans
- Prussian blue became midnight blue

They actually give you the RGB values if you want to choose them in photoshop (I think that you can type in the values, anyway!). Coolio!

Here is the retirement party that I am probably remembering that I found at this link:

1990: Eight Crayola crayon colors– Maize, Raw Umber, Lemon Yellow, Blue Gray, Orange Yellow, Orange Red, Green Blue and Violet Blue– are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame in Easton, Pennsylvania. Emerson Moser, then Crayola’s most senior crayon moulder, also retired after 37 years. After moulding approximately 1.4 billion crayons, he revealed that he is actually color blind.

color blind???? How is that possible???
What a cool factoid to share with my Bio students when I talk about genetics and vision!

I think that I liked violet blue and green blue and was sad to see them go. But otherwise, I hadn’t used the colors they retired all that much.

I also really like these new names:

2003: Four more Crayola crayon colors– Blizzard Blue, Magic Mint, Mulberry and Teal Blue– are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame, but are replaced by four new colors– Inch Worm, Jazzberry Jam, Mango Tango and Wild Blue Yonder.

Makes you want to go buy a box of 64 doesn’t it?