I shoveled some snow this week. Five inches on Sunday morning, and three more today. My back doesn't like shoveling snow, and I usually take an over-the-counter something to ease my pain. Its not often I have to do that. God has blessed me with some mostly-pain-free years lately, and I am very grateful for that.
I sat down to blog, with no direction in mind. Something would come to mind. I read back over the titles of my recent blogs, and realized I've been a little critical in my writings lately. With good reason, of course, but not every moment needs to be spent criticizing. So I thought about life lately, and what I could be positive about.
Thanksgiving is done with, and we are headed full-bore into Christmas, but as I sit here, I am thankful. Thankful that I have pain relievers in the medicine cabinet. Thankful that I am still able to handle the shoveling. Thankful that I have a small driveway. And I felt like it was still Thanksgiving. Make a list of things to be thankful for. The people in my life to be thankful for. God, always watching over me, to be thankful for. And now I don't want Thanksgiving to be over.
The same will happen with Christmas. I like the holiday. I like most of what goes with it. It, like every other holiday, can get a little commercially, but through most of it are those things I enjoy about the season. And when its done, its done for a whole year. And I'll miss it, too.
But when I look at what I celebrate, why I celebrate, I know it never has to be over. I am thankful to God for his undeserved blessings in my life. I am thankful that He sent Jesus to be born. I am thankful that He sent Jesus to die, and rise again. I am thankful for the love of my wife. I am thankful for this great independence that my country has. I am thankful for those that have given their lives for this great country. I am thankful for birthdays, not just mine and those I love, but the great men that championed our greatness.
A holiday is, after all, a holy day. A day set aside for remembering, for gathering, for celebrating. The reason for the holiday, the deep meaning, is one that can be celebrated at any time. It all depends on where we focus our hearts. By keeping the holidays holy in our hearts, and not drowning in the trappings of societal constructs, we refuse to simply participate, but continue to breathe life into these special times.
So this holiday season, be grateful for what you have, thank a veteran, love the one who has captured your heart, and for every day that isn't your birthday, be thankful you still have a chance to see the next one. And as far as Christmas goes, look to the baby who spent his first night in a food dish. Love has come, and his name is Jesus.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
A Critique of Carrie Underwood and "The Sound of Music"
Last night was the much-heralded production of "The Sound of Music", starring Carrie Underwood. I watched it, and was not kind when updating my facebook status. I used words like "puke", and associated the forth-coming DVD with skeet-shooting. I have had time to mull things over in my little brain, and feel the need to clarify. Its an apology of sorts to my sister, who was shocked to read my status updates. No poetry or free-flowing narratives, I'm feeling bullet points on this one. Get ready...!!
1. Carrie Underwood:
Let's just start here, and get it overwith. I love Carrie Underwood. I have this thing about watching first auditions from the talent shows, and although Kelly Clarkson wins in that category (Score!), Carrie is great. An absolute unknown goes on to win her season, and like only a few winners, a superstar is born. Besides Carrie and Kelly, my other favorite superstar winner is Pentatonix, but I digress. Carrie has had an amazing career since that day. Her voice is a powerhouse, and her performances are fantastic. Unfortunately, this doesn't automatically translate to a successful acting career.
With little experience, she takes on the role of Fraulein Maria, and fails miserably. As I watched, I kept hoping that the well-known Carrie would fade, and Maria would emerge. It never happened for me. I wasn't necessarily looking for Julie Andrews' Maria, just someone other than Carrie. She's sweet, she's gorgeous, and that's all I saw. As a nun, as a governess, and as a woman, only Carrie. I believe this is attributed greatly to her lack of experience as an actor. I was terribly afraid that I would be constantly comparing her to Ms. Andrews. The production never even reached that point, because first I would have to believe she was Maria before I could compare her to another's Maria. Her sweetness never became vulnerable, her powerful voice intruded into tender moments, and her character never developed the depth necessary to make Maria real.
Carrie is a country superstar, and one of the best out there. To have such a lack of experience, and take on one of the most well-known and best-loved classics was a mistake. I'm not saying she doesn't have the potential, or couldn't do it in the future. It was simply a rookie blunder. On the up side, I applaud her for the attempt. Taking risks should be a part of everyone's life, for without them, life becomes stagnant. If only we were so brave.
2. The Venue:
I wasn't sure what I was watching. It was a live stage production movie adaptation tv special. Basically, it didn't translate well. I might have different thoughts and feelings had I seen the same production live on stage. A lot of what is on tv is simply crap, and this was a brave attempt to raise the standard. It almost worked.
3. The Script:
No, its not the movie. Yes, it is a stage adaptation of a classic musical. What really bugs me, and this is by no means limited to this production, is when modern writers think they can augment dialogue and lyrics with their own interpretations of what they believe the original authors would have, or should have, written to either fill in gaps or societize (I just made that up, its a combination of revisionist history and politcal correctness) a script. Any song that was added was far, far from deserving a place on the same stage as the originals, and inspired my use of the word "Puke!" in my status update. To restate, because it needs to be restated, anything that was added was puke, and leaving anything original out decimated the soul of the production, leaving a vapid nightmare.
4. The Other Characters:
Stephen Moyer can sing. I've heard he plays a vampire on tv. I'm not a fan of that genre so I'm not familiar with him. Had I held him in the same regard as Carrie, I might have been as critical. Having seen Christopher Plummer, I somewhat believed Mr. Moyer as an austrian Captain, but never a man in love. Here, he falls flat. He has quite the acting resume, so maybe this is attributable to the aforementioned script and venue? That's a call I am not able to make, only that I didn't feel his character drew me in at all.
Laura Benanti can also sing. She has a number of tv credits, as well as broadway experience and a Tony award. She oozes stage experience, and I easily saw that. But in the role of a pre-WWII wealthy european baroness? No. Good grief, no. Her character takes a lot of the credit for my earlier remark of societizing. She portrayed the quintessential modern woman. Powerful, vocal, and strong. I didn't feel an ounce of elegance from her, especially when she was wearing pants. It may be a modern-day adaptation, but its still about a baroness. Her character worked for me none.
Christian Borle doesn't have the acting resume of the previous two, but his character was more believeable than the others, maybe most of all. Out of the four main characters, his was the least important and the only one that didn't suffer a transition. He was able to play Herr Detweiler as a single, shallow character throughout. As much as his character was annoying, he was enjoyable to watch.
The children did a great job. The only one that I thought was sub-par was... (waiting for the beating to commence) ...Gretl. Honestly, my first thought was, "I wonder who she is related to". According to her website, www.peytonella.com, it was, in fact, an open-call audition, so she did compete for the role. I simply didn't think she measured up vocally. She's terribly cute, and did well dancing and acting. I may be the only one out there who criticizes the singing voice of a seven-year-old. Well, so be it. I'm sure she'll improve and become one of her generation's greatest stars. I'm just not sure if I'll recover from the flak I take for being honest with my thoughts.
5. The Hype:
Wow. How many commercials did I see for this? Every. Single. Night. How great it would be. Amazing. Spectacular. Ok, I'll give them that. They have the right to hype an event like this. They should hype an event like this. Its different. It has the potential to be big. No, huge! What really bothered me about the hype was their incessant reminders that this would be a "live" event. Its gonna be "live"! Oh no!! "LIVE!!!!" Snooze. I'm almost on the older side of life. I can remember when tv shows began with a voice-over that stated, "This show was filmed in front of a live studio audience." I also remember a few that stated, "IN COLOR!" Yikes. Anyways, the resumes of these people show that they have experience performing live. A lot of stage experience. Even I have a little experience performing on stage. And it was LIVE! Its hard. Nerve-wracking. But these are professionals. Sure, things can go wrong, but I would expect that nothing does. Did I say "highly-paid" professionals? I meant to. And don't even get me started on the "Behind-the Scenes" special that aired BEFORE the actual show. NO! I didn't watch it. I was afraid that watching it would make me not want to watch the show. If I'm that impressed by a performance, I'll go back and watch the bonus material.
6. Incidentals:
Costumes: Pants? On a baroness?? Give back your paycheck and promise to never consider fashion again. Ever. Men's jeans, a burlap top, no makeup, and unkempt hair for life, and that's just the beginning of your punishment. Yes, punishment. You deserve to be punished for making me look at that. Or how about the pseudo powersuit and large white headband that Maria is wearing when she returns? I'm part ape, and even I could tell someone fell asleep while driving the fashion bus. I'm guessing you drove to a pot-legal state so you all could sit in the back of the bus and toke on a fatty while trying to decide how to make Maria as un-Maria-ish as possible. "I know! Let's take a old-fashioned, humble, rural woman and make her look like some cute and gorgeous american, like, maybe, oh, Carrie Underwood!" Some things, Carrie, just weren't your fault.
Rewrites: Rolf doesn't turn them in? He lets them go? Why, because Liesl steps in front of her father and Rolf becomes the love-stricken boy again? Revisionist whoremongers! Hitler did a true (the only word I can think of here is very bad) on the youth of his country. They were entirely loyal to him, to the point of purposely turning in the closest of family and friends. He became their god, and they sacrificed their all to him. Whoever rewrote that part should be permanently exiled to Auschwitz. Some things are so atrocious, they should never be forgotten. Or rewritten. Not for any reason. Never.
Sigh. I'm tired. I'm sure there's other stuff, I just can't think anymore. Overall, it was a bad experience, and that disappoints me. Those I've talked to today echo my sentiments. Most were highly underwhelmed, and turned it off early. "Boring" was a common descriptor.
Like I said at the top, I love Carrie Underwood. I hope she pursues acting, and becomes good at it. I think she has to fight this somehow. Don't walk away, turn it around. Please. I don't want to remember you this way. And perhaps contradictorily, thanks for trying. Our standards need to be raised.
1. Carrie Underwood:
Let's just start here, and get it overwith. I love Carrie Underwood. I have this thing about watching first auditions from the talent shows, and although Kelly Clarkson wins in that category (Score!), Carrie is great. An absolute unknown goes on to win her season, and like only a few winners, a superstar is born. Besides Carrie and Kelly, my other favorite superstar winner is Pentatonix, but I digress. Carrie has had an amazing career since that day. Her voice is a powerhouse, and her performances are fantastic. Unfortunately, this doesn't automatically translate to a successful acting career.
With little experience, she takes on the role of Fraulein Maria, and fails miserably. As I watched, I kept hoping that the well-known Carrie would fade, and Maria would emerge. It never happened for me. I wasn't necessarily looking for Julie Andrews' Maria, just someone other than Carrie. She's sweet, she's gorgeous, and that's all I saw. As a nun, as a governess, and as a woman, only Carrie. I believe this is attributed greatly to her lack of experience as an actor. I was terribly afraid that I would be constantly comparing her to Ms. Andrews. The production never even reached that point, because first I would have to believe she was Maria before I could compare her to another's Maria. Her sweetness never became vulnerable, her powerful voice intruded into tender moments, and her character never developed the depth necessary to make Maria real.
Carrie is a country superstar, and one of the best out there. To have such a lack of experience, and take on one of the most well-known and best-loved classics was a mistake. I'm not saying she doesn't have the potential, or couldn't do it in the future. It was simply a rookie blunder. On the up side, I applaud her for the attempt. Taking risks should be a part of everyone's life, for without them, life becomes stagnant. If only we were so brave.
2. The Venue:
I wasn't sure what I was watching. It was a live stage production movie adaptation tv special. Basically, it didn't translate well. I might have different thoughts and feelings had I seen the same production live on stage. A lot of what is on tv is simply crap, and this was a brave attempt to raise the standard. It almost worked.
3. The Script:
No, its not the movie. Yes, it is a stage adaptation of a classic musical. What really bugs me, and this is by no means limited to this production, is when modern writers think they can augment dialogue and lyrics with their own interpretations of what they believe the original authors would have, or should have, written to either fill in gaps or societize (I just made that up, its a combination of revisionist history and politcal correctness) a script. Any song that was added was far, far from deserving a place on the same stage as the originals, and inspired my use of the word "Puke!" in my status update. To restate, because it needs to be restated, anything that was added was puke, and leaving anything original out decimated the soul of the production, leaving a vapid nightmare.
4. The Other Characters:
Stephen Moyer can sing. I've heard he plays a vampire on tv. I'm not a fan of that genre so I'm not familiar with him. Had I held him in the same regard as Carrie, I might have been as critical. Having seen Christopher Plummer, I somewhat believed Mr. Moyer as an austrian Captain, but never a man in love. Here, he falls flat. He has quite the acting resume, so maybe this is attributable to the aforementioned script and venue? That's a call I am not able to make, only that I didn't feel his character drew me in at all.
Laura Benanti can also sing. She has a number of tv credits, as well as broadway experience and a Tony award. She oozes stage experience, and I easily saw that. But in the role of a pre-WWII wealthy european baroness? No. Good grief, no. Her character takes a lot of the credit for my earlier remark of societizing. She portrayed the quintessential modern woman. Powerful, vocal, and strong. I didn't feel an ounce of elegance from her, especially when she was wearing pants. It may be a modern-day adaptation, but its still about a baroness. Her character worked for me none.
Christian Borle doesn't have the acting resume of the previous two, but his character was more believeable than the others, maybe most of all. Out of the four main characters, his was the least important and the only one that didn't suffer a transition. He was able to play Herr Detweiler as a single, shallow character throughout. As much as his character was annoying, he was enjoyable to watch.
The children did a great job. The only one that I thought was sub-par was... (waiting for the beating to commence) ...Gretl. Honestly, my first thought was, "I wonder who she is related to". According to her website, www.peytonella.com, it was, in fact, an open-call audition, so she did compete for the role. I simply didn't think she measured up vocally. She's terribly cute, and did well dancing and acting. I may be the only one out there who criticizes the singing voice of a seven-year-old. Well, so be it. I'm sure she'll improve and become one of her generation's greatest stars. I'm just not sure if I'll recover from the flak I take for being honest with my thoughts.
5. The Hype:
Wow. How many commercials did I see for this? Every. Single. Night. How great it would be. Amazing. Spectacular. Ok, I'll give them that. They have the right to hype an event like this. They should hype an event like this. Its different. It has the potential to be big. No, huge! What really bothered me about the hype was their incessant reminders that this would be a "live" event. Its gonna be "live"! Oh no!! "LIVE!!!!" Snooze. I'm almost on the older side of life. I can remember when tv shows began with a voice-over that stated, "This show was filmed in front of a live studio audience." I also remember a few that stated, "IN COLOR!" Yikes. Anyways, the resumes of these people show that they have experience performing live. A lot of stage experience. Even I have a little experience performing on stage. And it was LIVE! Its hard. Nerve-wracking. But these are professionals. Sure, things can go wrong, but I would expect that nothing does. Did I say "highly-paid" professionals? I meant to. And don't even get me started on the "Behind-the Scenes" special that aired BEFORE the actual show. NO! I didn't watch it. I was afraid that watching it would make me not want to watch the show. If I'm that impressed by a performance, I'll go back and watch the bonus material.
6. Incidentals:
Costumes: Pants? On a baroness?? Give back your paycheck and promise to never consider fashion again. Ever. Men's jeans, a burlap top, no makeup, and unkempt hair for life, and that's just the beginning of your punishment. Yes, punishment. You deserve to be punished for making me look at that. Or how about the pseudo powersuit and large white headband that Maria is wearing when she returns? I'm part ape, and even I could tell someone fell asleep while driving the fashion bus. I'm guessing you drove to a pot-legal state so you all could sit in the back of the bus and toke on a fatty while trying to decide how to make Maria as un-Maria-ish as possible. "I know! Let's take a old-fashioned, humble, rural woman and make her look like some cute and gorgeous american, like, maybe, oh, Carrie Underwood!" Some things, Carrie, just weren't your fault.
Rewrites: Rolf doesn't turn them in? He lets them go? Why, because Liesl steps in front of her father and Rolf becomes the love-stricken boy again? Revisionist whoremongers! Hitler did a true (the only word I can think of here is very bad) on the youth of his country. They were entirely loyal to him, to the point of purposely turning in the closest of family and friends. He became their god, and they sacrificed their all to him. Whoever rewrote that part should be permanently exiled to Auschwitz. Some things are so atrocious, they should never be forgotten. Or rewritten. Not for any reason. Never.
Sigh. I'm tired. I'm sure there's other stuff, I just can't think anymore. Overall, it was a bad experience, and that disappoints me. Those I've talked to today echo my sentiments. Most were highly underwhelmed, and turned it off early. "Boring" was a common descriptor.
Like I said at the top, I love Carrie Underwood. I hope she pursues acting, and becomes good at it. I think she has to fight this somehow. Don't walk away, turn it around. Please. I don't want to remember you this way. And perhaps contradictorily, thanks for trying. Our standards need to be raised.
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