about Harry Friggin' Potter

I went to my first midnight showing last night. There's something so comforting and communal about being one of a few hundred crazy, weird, totally nerdy Harry Potter fans all waiting for what will hopefully be a stellar adaptation of one of the final installments of our favorite wizard and friends' tale. I'll be the first to admit that the last couple of movies, while capturing the right feel, failed to do justice to the books. They added unnecessary plot points while leaving out some absolutely needed ones and leave me entertained, but unsatisfied. Not so with this one. It was a gift to true fans: 2 1/2 hours, ample time to adequately and effectively get through a significant portion of the book, while getting through enough of it to assure us that the final moments will get their dues in the final installment. With a quick wrap-up of some of said left out necessaries, we were off on a terrifying, funny, and all around thrilling adventure. Clearly, everyone in the theatre knew exactly what was coming (as they should....books should never be cast aside for movie adaptations) so the collective gasps all came as we entered the scene, knowing what would lie in store, all the while hoping, praying it didn't- wanting to warn our brave bespectacled hero of the wrong turns and shrieking with fear when the inevitable occurred. In short, I loved it. If you aren't a Harry fan (A of all, GET WITH IT!), you'll be confused, but it's still a quality movie. No, I take it back. Just sit down and start from square one. You're depriving yourself of a beautiful story of friendship, good vs. evil, and the absolute triumph of love.

Here's to the boy who lived.

about remembering why.... (warning: cheesy and somewhat dramatic)

I went to see The Music Man at The Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre last night. As the lights dimmed, and that train began to chug with the classic "Whaddya talk whaddya talk whaddya talk, etc." it suddenly hit me how important this show is to me. I vaguely remember it as the first show I ever saw at the age of 4 at Roosevelt High School with my mom. (I know she took me to see Kathy Rigby in Peter Pan at the Civic Center a year earlier, but I honestly don't remember it, I was so little). I had been watching movie musicals and singing along for a while, and I remember sitting there, watching these kids perform and thinking "I want to do THAT!" So it was entirely fitting that it was the show in which I made my theatrical debut at the age of 8 at the Des Moines Community Playhouse. I'll never forget sitting at those auditions with my mom, clutching my 32 bars of "Tomorrow" from Annie (ty-pi-cal), terrified, but so excited to get to sing on a real stage. Ever the theatrical mother, she encouraged me with a whispered "Sing out, Louise!" as I got up to do my thang. I got cast as Gracie Shinn and spoke my first line ever, "I know who did it, Tommy Djilas did it, Tommy Djilas!!" in that summer of '94. Thus began my love affair (complete with alllllllll sorts of ups and downs) with theatre.

I laughed. I cried. I wanted to sing along with them. And most importantly, I remembered why, in spite of all of the difficulty and rejection and waiting that goes along with this career, I want to do it. The sharing of yourself with an ensemble and an audience is a rush that can't be adequately described or ever replaced. So when I get down on myself and want to quit when I think nothing can possibly come of this routine, I will buck up, remind myself that in the grand scheme of things, I'm pretty friggin' green. Then I will get tickets to a show, watch some amazing talent, and commit to pounding the pavement another day. Because I love it so much. And because, despite what people say about the divas and the dramatics, there's nothing better than a community full of love and trust and sharing.

about human responsibility...

I finished reading the book Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn yesterday. In short, it's about a philosophizing gorilla, (yes, gorilla) who teaches his conclusions about the earth and the human species to a willing and eager student. To be perfectly honest, none of the theories or ideas in the book came as a great shock or revelation, but it still had an impact on me.

We as humans, I should say Westernly Civilized humans, have this completely arrogant idea that the world and all it's fauna and flora "belong" to us. We pat ourselves on the backs for being advanced enough to discover that we are a link in a billion-year evolutionary chain, yet we ignorantly live as though the chain was supposed to end with us. The world's resources are depleting and wars are waged in all parts of the globe. People carry a small amount of worry for an "apocalypse," but disregard the idea that we may be the cause of our own destruction.

Bigger Better Faster Stronger Fatter Smarter etc etc etc

We have progressed at a staggering rate in the last 50 years compared to the last couple of centuries of progress. VCRs were sufficient for a couple of decades before DVD players, but Blue-Ray was a mere three years on DVD's tail. But there are people in the world who live happily and comfortably without any of the conveniences we so take for granted.

God(de)(s) gave us this incredible gift, and we, in turn, took it for our own. Played with fire. Played God. And we are suffering the consequences. I sit here, at my computer, with my Starbucks, in my Banana Republic, thinking about my next meal (which, no matter how poor I think I am, is ALWAYS available), knowing full well that I have the ability to make a small difference. It's not about giving up all of our modern conveniences and living like the Bushmen of Africa. Small changes can make a world of difference. A mere consideration about how my choices affect everything around me will make a difference. Will I change? I talk a helluva game, but do I have the ability to live a simpler, more giving, loving life? Have I become so accustomed to all of these things I think I need that there's no way I can change the way I live so drastically? Like the vast majority of people, will I stand idly by, knowing the damage, feeling badly about it, worrying about the end of days, yet DOING absolutely nothing?

I hope I don't.

I want to be an agent of change.

about having regrets

No, not huge ones. I work really hard to not have those. I'm talking about those little things that seem so silly, so inconsequential, it's almost an additional regret that you spent any time regretting them. Here are a few of mine:

#1: Not buying this really beautiful (but completely expensive) sweater vesty thing at Banana Republic a couple of weeks ago. It was this luxurious cashmere, subtle peach colored, long vest thingy with a flower detail on the left shoulder. I loved it. I wanted it. Bad. But it was $88. Yeesh. (On the flip-side, because of this self-control, I don't have a regret of spending an obscene amount of money on one clothing item... high five, Anna)

#2 (the regret that inspired this post): Never practicing (and eventually quitting) piano. I really hated it at the time, but I wish I had stuck with it. I absolutely adore Sara Bareilles (who is currently playing on my itunes, thus inspiring said regret), and I would like to think that, had I continued on, I would have developed a nuanced and beautiful composing style to rival hers. And I'd also be a poet. Yeah. That's exactly how my life would be if I hadn't quit.

#3: Not playing enough sports as a child. I'm a total girly-girl, so it makes sense that I quit soccer and basketball after one dramatically tearful attempt each, only to retire to my room with my Barbies and showtunes and 20-piece Chicken McNugget Value Meals. I took dance lessons.... that's a sport, right? All the same, had I continued with real sports, I may have put the McNuggets down and avoided the "Pretty Plus" section for "heftier girls" at Sears for the majority of the already painful adolescent years.

#4: Killing that fish my Freshman year roommate and I had for a couple of months. Regrettably (again), I don't even remember his name....I wonder if Colleen does... (note to self: Facebook her and find out... which leads me to....)

#5: All the hours of my life wasted on Facebook. It's so bad, I will get on the internet with a specific search in mind, but my fingers are trained to go to Facebook, and soon enough, I'm stalking away, forgetting my original internet intent. Inevitably, I will be posting this blog post on Facebook, which is likely where you, one of 7 readers, found it.

I'm going to stop at 5 regrets because it's a nice number, and I have some time I need to waste on facebook while pining over Sara Bareilles' mad skill.

about taking steps back.

I think it's stupid. And infuriating. And ridiculous. Mostly? I think it's sad. I am all for checks and balances, don't get me wrong. That's what makes democracy and America great. You know what else makes America great? Freedom. Not the kind that Sarah Palin talks about, that kind of hateful, suppressing intolerance that's ripping a burning hole in the country right now. I mean real, honest-to-GOD, Founding-Father-INTENDED freedom. The freedom to pursue a dream. The freedom to be truly who you are without fear. The freedom to practice the religion you choose. The freedom to marry whomever you choose. We can flaunt our rights as long as they do not impede on someone else's. So, NO, Iowa and the majority of the country. You do NOT get to say it's your "right" to get rid of a judge for upholding someone else's rights. That is IMPEDING on someone else's right to be a FREE AMERICAN.

Yesterday, the ignorant people of Iowa voted "no" to retaining three judges who upheld the constitution. They were fired for what? DOING THEIR JOBS. The common sense people of the state were, sadly, the minority. Apparently, ignorance is rampant in the United States. Case in point: last night's election results. Country-wide.

I'm trying not to cry at work. But I'm crying for a loss of intelligence and tolerance across the country. And I'm crying for Iowa. And I'm praying for hope and deliverance from evil disguised as "common sense conservativism." And I'm trying really hard to be positive, but it's really fucking hard right now.