Best. Commercial. Ever.

So, I watched the Super Bowl this year... in it's entirety, actually.

I'm beginning to wonder what is happening to me... but then I remember that I'm so dang busy, that any excuse is a good excuse to just SIT STILL for two hours. And so, the Super Bowl counts as one of said excuses.

It wasn't a total waste of time, however. The food pickings were good, the company was fun to talk to when they weren't glued to the television screen, and then there was this:

My inner child leapt for joy upon seeing this. I hope yours does, too, 'cause it's just AWESOME on so many levels.

And now, I must be off to bed. I've got to be up super early tomorrow (5:30am). Don't ask.

It Has Arrived!!

Oh Joy! Thank the Lord for free express shipping from Barnes & Noble! Seriously, the amount of waiting time saved makes the thirty-some dollar yearly fee worth every penny... never mind that 1-3 day shipping is free for everything!

I've been looking forward to the arrival of this book since I finished Allies over the summer. Honestly, Allies tore me up, and I wasn't able to even re-read the thing, which is my habit to do before embarking upon the newest book in the series, to ensure that I don't forget anything important. Certainly, Allies wasn't a BAD book by any means. It was actually a very GOOD book... and in truth, it was too good, because it ensnared me emotionally right from the first chapter.

I don't think I have been so emotionally involved in a novel since my last re-read of Little Women a few years back. And I'll say that it inspired some of my best writing to date.

Christie Golden writes a good book. What more can be said?

I really hope this is the case with Vortex. I hope Denning successfully picks up where Golden left off and, as much as I hated it, I hope I'm as drawn in by his writing as I was by Golden's. If Denning manages to do half as well as he did with Star by Star (which still makes me cry), then I think I shall be very pleased indeed.

I apologise for the geekiness of this post, but it really can't be helped. *sheepish grin*

I do promise, however, that normal programming will return after Vortex has been read, digested, and commented upon.

Until such time, May the Force be with you! ;)

Of Blogging and Music...

Well, I have an awesome topic upon which to blog, but I must hold it in reserve for now, as I'm waiting to hear back from the person who has inspired the post. I would like their permission to write about said topic, as the intellectual property is theirs and not mine. So, for now, I must wait.

In the meantime, I shall leave you with another recording of our choir, which is quite lovely. It's Palestrina's Sicut Cervus, and again I will note that our full choir was not present for the session and the recording has not been altered at all. Husband and I are both on this recording, I singing the soprano line with our choir director, and Husband singing the bass part with another of the schola members. I will note that the tenor and alto lines are performed by a father and his daughter (who is only 14!!), and I think the similarities in their voices has done wonderful things for the blend of our little choir. As one choir member so aptly said, the recording "sounds like you're floating on a cloud."

Also, for anyone interested, one of the stories I was working on over the summer (another SW fan fiction) has been posted online. This one was tricky because I was inspired to write in 3rd person present tense, which brings with it all sorts of interesting complications when writing. (Oh Muse, why must you be so difficult??) Overall, I must say that I enjoyed the voicing of the piece, and I'm working on finishing the second part in my free time. Let me know what you think either here or in the thread! Permanent- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/31285873/p1/

That's all for now, but hopefully I'll hear back from my contact later today and have the other post up by tomorrow afternoon!

Sicut-Cervus-MP3.mp3

Text to the Sicut Cervus-

Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus.

As a deer longs for springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.

(From Psalm 42)

Ugh!

I can't believe I last posted on TUESDAY!!!

Does the fact that this was tech week for the opera, as well as opening weekend, excuse me even a little bit?

Eh... I doubt it.

I'm not excusing myself, in any case.

*sigh*

Tech week has gone well, however busy it may have been, and opening night was fantastic. We had a very receptive audience- they laughed at all the jokes, appreciated the ballet (which I finally got right... mostly), and loved the singing. It was a nice payoff for all of the hard work we've been doing. Now there's only one performance left tomorrow night, and then life will settle down for two short weeks before school starts again.

It's a good feeling, knowing I'll be to bed at a decent hour for a change. Or at least until Sophomore year begins...

In other news, I finally figured out the ending to the angst-y piece that was driving me crazy. Yahoo!! *does happy dance* I'm so thankful to feel like I've got a bit of my sanity back.

I was a little worried about publishing the piece however, because it is pretty dark and very creepy. Intrinsically, that's not so much a problem, except that the darkness and creepiness centers around a much-loved character and focuses on a recent development that hasn't gone over so well with most of the fan-base.

I did post it yesterday all the same, and so far the reception has been pretty good. *crosses fingers*

Those who like Star Wars and/or are interested in perusing my vignette can find it here: What the Heart Longs For- http://boards.theforce.net/beyond_the_saga/b10477/31169687/p1/?9

In Which Soaring Soprano Has Been...

... moody.

I can't really explain why I've been moody... or rather, I can't fully explain why, partially because I don't think it's something that can be articulated... or at least, not by me. But, I suppose that since this is a blog, and therefore a space in which to write random thoughts and try to hash out how my psyche works, I should probably make an attempt.

Honestly, it all has to do with writing... or at least, the way I write.

I'm an... emotional writer. This may sound crazy, but when I'm writing a character, I almost become the character. I see what they see, think what they think, feel what they feel. It's to the point that my poor Husband never knows what to find when he walks into our study. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks I've lost my mind, what with all the times he's found me weeping over the keyboard, or shouting unintelligible things at no one in particular, or bursting out laughing at a conversation taking place in my head. Really, I'm surprised he hasn't committed me yet...

But anyway, to get back on track...

I hardly ever think of my stories in terms of 'scenes.' Rather, a certain character will get me emoting, and the emotions simmer and build up pressure until I sit down to write. During the simmering process I may try to sound the depths of the emotion, seek out an image or a line of dialogue that seems to fit in with what I'm feeling. Sometimes I uncover a lot of information, sometimes I get almost nothing at all.

For instance, I just wrote a short vignette about Han Solo dying. I didn't intend on it being a piece about Han dying. To start out I only had a feeling- melancholy, in this instance- and the image of Jaina Solo standing out on a porch watching the sunset, her hands wrapped around a mug of hot coffee. In my mind's eye, her posture is upright but there's a slope to her shoulders that suggests sorrow. And her hands are gripping the steaming mug like it's her only lifeline. "Ah," I say. "Something huge is troubling her, but it's not her emotion I'm feeling. It's not quite that poignant. And I can see her as if I'm watching her."

At that point, I put my fingers to the keyboard and took a deep breath. I didn't know what was going to happen or  even who I was, but I knew I was going to find out. And so, I began to write.

He found her out on the balcony, away from the bustle inside, a cup of caf cradled in her hands as she stared out at the sunset. He didn't say anything as he approached, knowing that she wouldn't want him to.

Okay, so I realised I'm a guy, and there's a crowd of people around that she's trying to get away from... why?  A few lines later I find out the people are there to offer condolences on Han's death, which is why my character is there. But he's also a good friend of the family, which is why he's taking the trouble to see if Jaina's okay, which she's not:

"Sometimes I still expect him to be there... bickering with Mom in the kitchen, playing with Amelia, sitting in the cockpit of the Falcon... Sometimes I think that if I just listen heard enough, I'll still be able to hear his voice." She shivered, and more tears slipped from beneath her eyelids.

"He wasn't supposed to die. The famous Solo luck was supposed to make him invincible," she rambled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Kriff those blasted Imperials!" she sobbed, her knuckles white as she gripped the mug tightly.

And it's not until a few lines later that I find out who I even am.

"Shh," he said, pulling the mug from her grasp and setting it down. He wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her face in his robes, crying quietly. He rubbed her back gently and she sighed.

"I'm going to miss him, Kyp," she whispered.

Yay! Score! I have a name! And then I write a few more paragraphs and the piece is complete!

Easy, right?

Nope. Not when the images don't come, and all you've got is this very displaced, very strong emotion, and you know who it belongs to, and you don't know why it belongs to them. Then the words and images finally start coming, but they come in drips and drabs and things don't line up just so, so it gets annoying and frustrating on top of the emotional storm you're already feeling.

And that's what has been making me moody... my inability to get these feelings out of my head properly. The story is nearly finished, but the ending is just evading me. Ugh. But it'll come, and I've got to try to keep working on other things... it's too tempting to just focus on one piece when stuff like this happens, which is just bad because then I get so fed up and grouchy.

Yeah, not good.

But I'm working on it. The fact that I'm blogging instead of banging my head against a wall is proof of my efforts. ;)

And that's all for today!

---
For those who are interested, the full version of the Han Solo piece can be found here: Random Drabbles. It's on the second page, about half way down. It's marked 'Week Seven.'