Prostitute? You mean courtesan!

I finally saw "Moulin Rouge", and sort of understood why everyone was (and probably still is) obsessed with it.
Sort of.
The first part of the movie sucks.
It's a blur of crappy camera work, modern music (Nirvana? Really?), and crotch shots.
And John Leguizamo.
After listening to him whine as a semi-retarded sloth and a wannbe drag queen, I never want to see him in another movie ever again.
And yet, there he was, in all his mystical, drug-addicted, midgety glory.
Then Nicole Kidman was rolling around on the floor, pretending to have an orgasm, while Ewan McGregor decided to make the situation better by singing.
But it got a lot better.
Well, after they slogged through a ridiculous performance of "Like A Virgin".
"El Tango de Roxanne" was brilliant, with all the interwoven songs, and Christian's angst, and the Argentinian giving Sting a run for his money. The choreography was great, and the way the Duke shamed Satine was tragic, inevitable, and hard to watch, but also beautiful, in a sick way.
Zidler was hard to figure out. At first, he's sort of a bumbling, stupid pimp, then he's this selfish idiot, but he really cares for Satine and he somewhat selfishly decides not to tell her that she's dying until he needs some really good blackmail, but still loves and wants her happy, even though he knows real life won't let her be.
"The Show Must Go On" killed me. It was really hopeless and all these bohemians, prostitutes, actors, etc., who act as though their jobs and lifestyles are everything, really having nothing to live for and see life as this bleak, pointless thing, but that's how it must be and the show must go on.
One of the other dancers (courtesans, whatever), Chocolat, was my favorite. He saved Satine from being raped, and, throughout the movie, he understood everything she was going through. She fell in love, but of course couldn't afford to; it wasn't part of the job. She became sick with TB; the show must go on. She had to sleep with the Duke in order to finance the show and further her career; it's all part of the job. Through everything, he understood and "The Show Must Go On" also applied to him, because, really, what did he have to live for?
It made me wonder if he was one of the "disgusting" far out of the closet gays back in the day who was so despised that he had to go "underground" to Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge, yet had to sleep with the same people who hated him in order to make a living.
Sad stuff.
My mom compared it a lot to "Rent", because it borrowed themes from "La Boheme", but it also talked about immoral people from "the other side" who take a page from Ecclesiastes and proclaimed everything in life meaningless.
But I felt that "Rent"'s ending had some hope. Mimi had a near-death experience, but survived. She and her group of friends now needed each other more than ever and continued to live in the moment until their last breaths, thankful that they could live just a little bit longer.
"Moulin Rouge" had no hope. Satine dies, leaving the show (and Christian) without a leading lady. Christian chronicles their tale, a year later, and says that their love will last forever, but it doesn't sound as though he believes it, and, seeing as TB was SUPER contagious, he will most likely contract it and die pretty soon anyway. How depressing is that?
But yeah, great movie. Not perfect, but really good.
Emotionally traumatizing, orgasms and all.
Now if only I could figure out which soundtrack to buy.
Surely not both?

WE WANT YOU!

Wow. It has been an insane week.
The teachers decided to bombard us with random projects and essays, so I've been really busy.
And I got sick. Again.
The second my teacher mentioned a virus going around the school, I started sneezing my brains out.
Thanks, Mr. Hurd.
Wow. No wonder the "Rent" movie flopped. I saw a recording of the last performance last night and...wow. Coarse, yeah. My parents were flinching at every F-word and put their foot down on watching the "sex scene". (I watched it later and it's a little offensive, but there is no nudity, just sexual dialogue. And I got what Jonathan Larson was trying to show. These three couples' relationships have been strained recently and a night of bad sex is the last straw for all of them. And I'm still the same no-sex-before-marriage person I was before, so while I don't condone that, I understand it. My mom thought it was showing how all the relationships were based only on sex, but I disagree.) And it was so much more powerful, open, and raw than the movie ever could have been (no offense, Chris Columbus. Nice try.). Mark was an actual, 3-dimensional character, not just a background image. Benny seemed like a worthwhile person who'd bought in the system, but still loved his friends more than anything and would have done anything for them. And Roger, my least favorite character from the movie, was less of an arrogant, angsty jerk and more of a human being. You could see that he had trouble opening up, was scared of what the future would bring, and your heart broke when you saw him lose the one thing (or person) that made him so happy.
And, since it was the last performance, the original cast came up on the stage afterward and everyone was bawling through a rendition of "Seasons of Love". That's when I lost it.
And as much as Jonathan Larson hated Christians, the church, and religion, his parents were some of the nicest, most open, and loving "religious" people ever. It was great to see them with all the cast members, regardless of sexuality or whatnot. And they were so proud of their son and it sucks to think he never got to see how many people he reached with his musical.
Dustin Lance Black's acceptance speech for "Milk" last night reminded me of the musical, because he was gay, and had always hoped that he would one day fall in love and get married. But the part that hit me the most was when he gave a shout out to all the gay and lesbian teens and told them that they were beautiful and that God did, in fact, love them. And I just started crying, because it's true, but a lot of Christians don't think that, and even those that do have a hard time showing it, because the media assumes that if we hold our stance on gay marriage, we somehow hate gays, but it's not true.
And, just like it's possible for Christians to love non-Christians, it's possible for Christians (or regular people) to be gay. It's not right, I do think it's a sin, but they're not faking their love.
Just saying.
Phew. Now to rant about something else.
Ugh, like "Twice Upon a Marigold". "Once Upon a Marigold" has been my favorite book for 6 years, and when I saw the sequel at Borders, I just about had a stroke. Then I read it, and while it was okay, it seemed a little pointless. Jean Farris only wrote the book because fans wanted to know what happened next, and I felt like she didn't really answer that question, which was irritating. I never wanted "Once Upon a Marigold" to end; I couldn't wait for "Twice Upon a Marigold" to end.
Oh, and I am in love with Peter Abrahams. His Echo Falls series is the bomb. It's hard for me to put down his books.
Laaaaame two of my best friends started dating. They're a good fit for each other, and they seem really happy, but it is SO awkward to hang out with them as a couple. It was even more awkward when I was the third wheel at a sort-of date. It was like they were more comfortable with me there, but they didn't actually want me there. They didn't want me to leave, but they weren't going to make it easy. So I just left.
And I've noticed a bunch of my girlfriend's think is totally okay behavior, to invite friends along on their dates. WHAT THE HECK?? One of my friends kept avoiding dates with her boyfriend, stating, "It would be too awkward if it was just us."
??????
SO?????? Isn't that the point? "I'd be more comfortable if you were there."
??????
I'M NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND.
Yeah, fun weekend. "Rent" was so worth it, though. Why did it have to close???

Bestiality abounds

"Barbie and the Magic of the Pegasus": NOT okay.
That and "The Island Princess" were in the dollar bin at the rummage sale, so I bought both.
Aaaah. That movie was not kid appropriate.
The villain was a crazy polygamist!!
He'd been married three times!!
And he was an abusive husband!!
And he was so insecure that he made his wives ugly so he could boss them around and prey on their insecurities.
Great message for little girls, right?
And the little polar bear kept randomly dry-humping people, and it was supposed to be "cute".
NOT OKAY.
And the morals of the story: Take everything literally. Your parents will always love you. Abusive husbands are really insecure, balding men. Never trust a British accent. If a horse claims to be your sister, don't fight it; go with the flow.
Ugh, so frustrated with Barnes&Noble.
I had $30 worth of Barnes&Noble gift cards to spend, so my mom and I went over to check it out.
And, believe it or not, they were having a sale on DVDs! Buy 2, get 1 free! It seemed too good to be true!
Right.
They failed to mention that their DVDs are ridiculously overpriced, so you actually buying not only 1, but 2 DVDs would be pretty much impossible.
"As You Like it"? $26!!!!!
!!!!!!!!
I could find the exact same movie at Walmart for $15!!!!
"Enchanted"?? $20!!!!!
"Rent"? Not in stock.
AAaaaaaaaaaaaargh.
The final straw was accidentally setting off the alarm by carrying unbought books into the music section.
I just about started crying, but I opted for a screaming fit instead.
Right. A screaming fit. In the middle of Barnes & Noble.
I think I freaked the guy out. He kept saying, "It's okay! Chill out! Don't worry! It's going to be okay!"
But I bought 2 books I'm actually pretty excited about, so all's well that ends well?
The snooty book customers think otherwise.
Whatever. Get back to your overpriced lattes, suckers.

Maureen Johnson: bisexual performance artist or best-selling novelist?

When I saw books by "Maureen Johnson" at the library, I started screaming, because that's the name of Idina Menzel's character in "Rent".
I thought it was either a STRANGE coincidence or some rabid Renthead had gone a little too far in the search for a good pen name.
But no, it was just a strange coincidence.
How is it that she writes a meaningful true-to-life book like "The Bermudez Triangle" one day and shovels out crap like "Suite Scarlett", "13 Little Blue Envelopes", and "Girl At Sea" the next?
"The Key to the Golden Firebird" was all right.
I've never read "Devilish". Must be new.
She also had a new book come out where she cowrites with John Green (author of "Looking for Alaska" and "An Abundance of Katherines", which was pure genius) and Lauren Myracle (author of "Kissing Kate" and "TTYL", who isn't fantastic but isn't bad either). I was so tempted NOT to buy it.
But, for John Green, I might.
Truman Capote. "A Christmas Memory" was beautiful. And I'm not saying that from a stuffy, artsy, "I go to CK and am in Extra-AP English" point of view.
But this is the first story of his I've read and he managed to break my heart in 6 pages.
Oh no. It's about the devil.
I'm already reading "The Host".
I don't think I can handle any more talk about souls and devils and love and crap.
Jesse L. Martin is fantastic.
"Momma's Boys" was entertaining at first, but ultimately disheartening. Jojo's mom, Mrs. B, ended up being REALLY racist and all the non-white girls started crying, and their estrogen traveled through the TV and made me and my mom start crying.

Stop sending me cocky e-mails, John McCain

We'll never get bored cuz we can go boarding.
Let's let the sunshine take us there.
As much as I despise this band, this is a pretty catchy song.
Ugh, John McCain is being obnoxious. He keeps sending us e-mails like, "Good debate last night", and, "2 Weeks to Victory!"
I bet Barack Obama is sending similar e-mails to his friends, but really?
I DON'T think you're going to win, John, and I think you know that.
Mmm, corn chips.
It's hard to type when a dog is LYING ON YOUR ARM.
Thank you, Tie.
Monday??
Flexible??
No complaining??

You Are Monday

Like this day of the week, you are ruled by the moon. More than anything, you are flexible. You are moody and impressionable. You are easily influenced by the world around you. And while you can be temperamental, you eventually adjust. While Mondays tend to be the hardest day for people, you don't mind getting back to regular life. You're the one waking up early and making the coffee while everyone else complains.

What Day of the Week Are You?

"La Boheme" and "Rent" are so similar, it's crazy. You can see things in "La Boheme" that Jonathan Larson took and added to each character from "Rent": Colline's coat, Schuanard's musical abilities, etc.
And Marcello is Mark and Joanne mixed into one character.
Alcindoro also reminded me a lot of both of them.
English was sort of a bummer.
As much as I love my teacher, we do NOT share the same views: morally, ethically, OR politically.
He was going on and on about moral absolutism vs. moral relativism and how moral relativism is how it SHOULD be, or rather, how it IS, and I got really bummed out, because he was completely dissing all my opinions (unwittingly, but still) and I didn't really get a chance to speak up.
It was just like...agh.
Ryan needs to eat.
Hurray for double chocolate Ho-Hos.
The best part is unrolling them and seeing the chocolate syrup. It's great.
But they're a little sticky.
Pajamajams. Pretty comfortable.
It seems like Jonathan Larson related to Mark the most, which is cool, because that's how I feel, especially regarding the song "Halloween".
Emma's little Pekinese attacked me.
But it wasn't very scary.
Don't you hate waking up early and thinking you're on time??
For example, when your alarm is set to 5:30, but you wake up at 1:30?
Sucks, doesn't it?

Ha ha, I'm an it!

Your Surfing Habits are 40% Male, 60% Female

There's no way we can tell whether you're a man or woman. Of all the internet users, you are the most broad based in your habits. You use the internet for research and your career. But you also use the internet to keep in close touch with your loved ones.

Do You Use the Internet Like a Man or a Woman?

This always happens.
Have you ever, shall we say, lost something. You can't find it and you're really mad because you KNOW you didn't touch it and you always keep it in a certain place and it's supposed to be RIGHT THERE all the time!
So you keep trying to find it, but after a while you forget about it.
And then it turns out it was right where it was supposed to be. You're just stupid.
Why am I not a very nick-name-y person?
WHOA. Blogthings has this AMAZING site for requests and such. I just went on and it's BEAUTIFUL.
Like a true nerd, I requested "Rent" quizzes.
Agh. One person likes this idea.
Please help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.
We have a bunch of tests all in a row. :P
Ow ow ow ow ow.

Thank God this moment's not the last

I saw Alexis in the window. It was pretty funny. I was just walking Tie and she appears in the attic.
Apparently she's switching rooms. She said I could help her paint. :D
But if she's switching rooms, does this mean Texas isn't official?
Because last time I checked, Texas was on. :(
I forgot to ask.
Aaargh, I was reading about the upcoming "Princess Diaries" book, and the blurbs basically told me that Mia will end up with Michael.
NOOOOOOOOOO!
I almost started crying when I read that.
Argh. I hate Michael.
But Meg Cabot is being Meg Cabot.
I just realized that she isn't that great a writer.
And not just because I'm bitter about J.P.
But all of her books are sort of the same.
The characters, the plot...everything.
Princess Diaries is the only series of hers that I truly enjoyed.
I reread "Pants on Fire" and it reeked of predictability and not-so-subtle women's rights messages.
Ugh.
Michele Jaffe is always hilarious and amazing, but I have yet to read "Kitty Kitty".
There's a new Peaches book coming out! Yay!
The last book in the "Dairy Queen" series is not coming out till Fall 2009. XP
Like Mimi, I want to put on a tight skirt and flirt with a stranger.
Okay, not really.
But dancing on some random guy's stoop at night sounds fun.

Being an Anthony Rapp spaz

MWAHAHAHA the "Rent" soundtrack is MINE!!!!!
The DELUXE version, too, with all the songs, for $27 dollars at Barnes & Noble!!!
Overpriced, yeah, but SO worth it.
Ha. Incendiary wit.
My dad is so jealous.
WHY ARE MY DREAMS SO WEIRD???
Maybe it's because of what I eat.
Maybe there are copious amounts of hallucinogens are being fed me by my parents.
I don't know.
But the Michael Phelps dreams have to stop.
Especially the ones where I somehow end up married to him.
It probably wouldn't be very fun to be married to Michael Phelps.
I couldn't handle the fame...or the ego.
Michael: Yeah. I won 8 gold medals last Olympics. More than anyone ever! I'm the greatest Olympics champion that ever lived!
Lauren: That's nice, honey.
Michael: Feel my arms. Feel them. FEEL THEM!!
Lauren: *half-heartedly pokes a bicep* Yeah. Nice.
Michael: I won 8 gold medals with these babies. Did I say that already?
Lauren: Yes, honey.
Michael: Well, that's what happens when you swim 18 hours a day.
Lauren: I know. That's all you did on our honeymoon.
Michael: Yeah. Good times, good times.
Seattle is pretty much the cooliest.
"What You Own" made my mom spit up laughing.
Lisa and I have vowed to finish the "Twilight" series, no matter how awful it is.
And as melodramatic and boring as "New Moon" is, I can't NOT finish it.
Vampires are overrated.

I'll steeeeeeeal you, Johanna!

I think I'm in love. I'm planning on proposing any time now.
Seriously. These jeans are amazing.
Aaargh, this quiz was pretty inaccurate, but this one was closer out of the two answers I got.

You Are an Eyebrow Piercing

You are unique, quirky, and more than a little eccentric. You cultivate the weirder sides of your personality, and you don't mind sharing them. Ever since you were a kid, you've had strong opinions. You've never been like everyone else, and you're okay with that. And you've always been able to tell people exactly what you think - even when they don't want to hear it. You love to create, dream, imagine, and communicate. You live in your own universe. And unlike most people who live in their own little world, you're happy to invite anyone in!

What Piercing Are You?

Aaagh. Eyebrow piercing. That seems like it would be uber-painful.
But not as painful as a lip piercing.
A nose piercing still seems the coolest and least painful, even though it would be in cartilage, not just skin.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH there was an article on Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the paper today and it made me SO MAD.
Not because of what the article itself, but because of the subheading.
"Democrats hope the veteran Delaware senator will attract voters who have been alluding Barack Obama - white, blue-collar workers."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And it's not what the subheading SAYS that bugs me, because that's probably true, but they used the wrong word!!!
"Alluding" means to reference or mention.
If the white, blue-collar workers have been "alluding" to Barack Obama, why does he need Joe Biden to attract them?
The proper word would have been "elude", which means to avoid or escape.
AARGH it was another proud American moment.
Cuz we're living in America
At the end of the millenium
We're living in America
Leave your consience at the tone.
That song is too great. I might be able to buy that soundtrack on Tuesday - finally!
I listened to the original cast Broadway recording and that was pretty spectacular.
Tie chased Luke around the yard yesterday and Luke almost had a heart attack, but he was okay and tried to bite me when I refilled his food bowl, so he's fine.
Tie's obsessed with him now and races to his cage when I let her outside.
Little psycho.

Wouldn't you like to know?

Sean Kingston. Stuck in my head.
Who knew scoop neck T-shirts were so hard to wear?
I obviously didn't.
Rather than feeling cute and trendy, I feel naked and slutty.
And it's plum, which doesn't look that great on me.
I'm really thinking about destroying my Madison Finn Sims (that was never going to go anywhere) and creating Rent Sims.
Because I can.
And I really want to make a weak-chinned Roger.
I've decided to buy "The Silver Cord" this month with my meager funds because I listened to it online and it sounds pretty cool, and so far it has very positive reviews.
Lol, I spent at least 4 hours reading stuff on Cracked.com and the articles on superheroes cracked me up.
Tie slept with me for about an hour this morning, barked at every little noise coming from outside, and was very annoyed when I decided to get dressed rather than immediately take her on a walk.
In other words, she's back to normal.

What if the "average" Christian, conservative family was a rarity?

It seems like white Christian conservative families aren't the norm, though people sometimes make it seem like it is. Or maybe they don't. It's very possible I don't know what I'm talking about.
I still think they should add more races to the standardized test, though.
Ha, my family fits that stereotype.
Which is scarier, driving places with your mom, or driving around a miniscule town with your driving instructor?
Surprisingly, driving with Ed scares the living daylights out of me. I always make stupid mistakes when I'm driving with him. And he wonders why I'm nervous.
But I drove to and from Driver's Ed last night. It was only sort of scary. Some chick kept tailgating me, though, over speed bumps.
And then I drove too slow up a hill and there was a LONG line of cars behind me.
But it was fun, so that's cool.
Next stop: Wal-mart!
I can't decide whether I want to buy the Rent (movie) soundtrack or the new Classic Crime album.
I can get The Silver Cord off iTunes for $10, and the Rent soundtrack is $17 or so, but I really want to put all the Rent stuff on my ipod and listen to it nonstop. Plus, I haven't listened to The Silver Cord yet and I know what I'm getting if I buy the Rent soundtrack.
Decisions, decisions.
Perceivers suck.