From the "I hate my choir director" files...

We did one of my favorite works today: If Ye Love Me by Thomas Tallis. We practiced and practiced and had sung it well in rehearsal...but when it came time to sing in church, something went wrong. The director insisted on doing it without organ, and he directed from a spot where many of us couldn't see him. We started off wrong (his fault, totally), and he tried to get us to stop! None of us stopped...we kept on going. I think it would have been far worse to stop and start over. We did finally get it together, but he was not pleased. What the hell did he expect from us? If we can't see him, and we don't have the notes, we're not going to be able to sing. He insulted us by trying to make us stop. I never want to sing this work again. :( I'm dreading practice on Wednesday. He's going to chew us out for things that were his doing! I have a feeling that people are going to quit. I know that once Pentecost has come and gone, I'm going to take a long break.

It really was awful. I had to leave before the last hymn because I thought I might cry.

The bell choir rang this morning, too. We didn't do as well as we did in practice. The youth bells were much better than we were!

Other stuff- I read  You Suck by Christopher Moore, which was hilarious. I didn't know that it was a sequel! I'll have to read the first book, Bloodsucking Fiends, later. Also, I'm going to start reading M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series. My mom and I loved watching the T.V. series (though the episodes really didn't resemble the books much!), so now I want to read the books! The library has a bunch of them on audio cassette/CD/MP3. 

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was leaving town tonight, so my mom and I went to see it. I'm still amazed it actually played here...It was a very good movie. I think I already have a favorite for 2008! I need to find the book now (library doesn't own it, dammit). Amy Adams is so adorable. And there were cute boys in it, too! I'll have a longer review in my movie blog tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight.

Argh! I wanted to spend my Borders gift card on the new Torchwood novels, but they don't have them in stock yet. My store is always a week behind. Oh, well, I did find a nice new cross stitching book. And I have The Wings of the Dove and Mansfield Park to read first, anyway...

Speaking of cross stitching, I gave up on The Bride, and selected a simpler piece for my cousin's wedding. I really bit off more than I could chew with that one...I'm disappointed in myself. :(

My latest update to my reading blog:

http://kirareads.blogspot.com/

A review of a great book for those of us who take part in book clubs.

*does happy dance*

I'm cleaning my closet today, and getting my spring stuff out. It's been very warm...though tomorrow will be sort of chilly. But still warm enough to wear a spring dress for Palm Sunday!

The choir is not ready for Palm Sunday. I'm worried about the music. We're missing a bunch of people, too. And the Easter music isn't ready, either. What happened to the organized choir director we had a month ago? He's gone back to his old ways...:(

I finished reading Nights at the Circus, and I loved it! I'll post a bit of a review at my reading blog later...it's hard to describe the book in a few words. I'm about halfway through A Room With a View, and I love it.

The lunar eclipse was beautiful but a bit spooky. It was bright red! I watched from about 9:30 to 10:15, right up to the point of total eclipse. Glad I got to see it- the next one is in 2010!

Choir was exceptionally good last night. We got through seven anthems and one hymn. We're almost ready for Palm Sunday and Easter already! I'm stunned. Usually our director doesn't give us music until two or three weeks before Holy Week! I think going to that choir event helped us a lot.

My dad signed me up (against my will, ) for the Lenten book discussion- we're going through The Purpose Driven Life. I usually think that kind of stuff is a lot of hooey, but I'm keeping an open mind as I read through it. So far, it's not so bad. The discussions have been interesting, at least.

Speaking of books, I've read two more this month, bringing my total to eight (not counting Purpose, which I haven't finished). I read Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which was very amusing, and Another Life, a Torchwood novel. I've read all three of the Torchwood books now, and can't wait for the new ones to be released! I'll put my thoughts on the books on my reading blog later this week. Next up is The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen (see a pattern here? ) and North and South. Both are due back at the library next week, so I need to get cracking!

Saturday is the big Oscar movie marathon at Potomac Mills. It's going to be fun, but I'll be very tired when I get home. I'll probably spend most of Sunday in bed (until the Oscars are on!). It will be nice to watch the ceremony after actually seeing all five Best Picture nominees.

I'm reading Another Life right now...and last night I got to a line that had me on the floor laughing. Owen's former girlfriend mentions "a girl named Esther you were obsessed with." Obviously, the author saw Burn Gorman in Bleak House! Bwhaaaaa! Mr. Guppy lives!


That's my random thought of the day...

Nice time for me to get a cold and sore throat. I can't go to choir tonight. I must get better before Saturday. That's when I'm going to the National Cathedral to sing! We're singing very hard music. I don't think most of the choir members can do it. Fortunately, we're singing with about 400 other people...Anyone in the D.C. area is welcome to come to the service- I think it's at 3:00. It should be lovely.

I think I will go to the meet up next Saturday. It should be a lot of fun. I've only been to D.C. once since the last meet (for Spamalot). I love going to D.C., and I've been planning to visit the Spy Museum anyway.

To those who read my locked entry- I think everything is said and done now, so I'll nuke it in case it gets in the wrong hands. :p Thanks for the kind words, I'm going to be staying put for now. The Meet-up forum is a good place to mod, and I'd hate to leave the BR.

Lost is back tomorrow night! Yay! Happy dance! Running commentary at TrekBBS! (I knew there was a reason for me to stick around!) Eight whole episodes...then that's it because of the writer's strike. House only gets two more new episodes this season (last night's was pretty good). Thank God for Torchwood- eleven more new episodes..

Speaking of Torchwood, I'm really looking forward to next week's episode, To the Last Man. (Of course, I'll probably see it tomorrow ) It's Tosh-centric, yay. We don't get enough of her. And the guest star is Anthony Lewis, older brother of Matthew from the Harry Potter films. He's just as cute, and I think he might even be a better actor. We'll see after this episode. All those good looks and talent in one family, it's not fair! :p

I think I will make my goal of reading 50 books in 2008 with no problem. I'm about to finish Wide Sargasso Sea. That brings my January total to five: The others were Atonement, Kite Runner, Border Princes (a Torchwood novel, and it was so-so), and 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Next up is Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter- someone recommended it years ago and I'm finally getting to it! My cross stitching has been suffering a bit. I'm really getting frustrated with The Bride. And I can't finish Ivy until I get the missing threads and beads...I'm going to pick a couple of one-nighters to do to clear my head. I always feel better about the big projects after I've finished something small.

For the next few weeks, at least. I get to spend an hour or two each week with my new T.V. boyfriends, Ianto and Owen! Hee hee. Can't keep a good fangirl down. I can't wait to pick up the DVD set. And even though I'll be able to see the shows early, I'll still be watching on BBC America. I need some good  icons now.

This is all I need, a new obsession!

I've been very lazy about cross stitching lately. I only did about two hours of work this week. Shame on me! On the other hand, I did manage to read a lot. I'm almost done reading Kite Runner (which is wonderful, and I hope I get to see the movie!). Next up, The Wide Sargasso Sea, Nights at the Circus, and The Black Dahlia.

Tomorrow, the new worship center is being dedicated at my church. I'm not thrilled about it. The service is all about the contemporary worship, and even though it's supposed to be a blended program, they'll drown us out like we don't matter at all. At least the music we're doing is nice. Maybe we can win over some new choir members and show people that there's more to music than rock and roll.

Next weekend, I'm going to Williamsburg for a day trip. I haven't been in years. I'll probably go to The Trelis restaurant for dinner with Mom and Dad. Weekend after that, I'm going with the choir for an event at the National Cathedral. I'm really looking forward to that. We're singing with about 400 other people, and the music is wonderful.  And the week after that, there's a Trek BBS meet-up at the Spy Museum! (are you listening, shatna?) That will be a blast. I haven't been there yet. And I think it's time to go back to the Air and Space Museum (either site).

...I bawled all the way through the last pages of Atonement. God, what a sad ending...and what a great book. I need to read some more of Ian McEwan's stuff now! I was supposed to go see the movie today, but my mom was sick and couldn't go. I don't like going to movies by myself, especially sad ones.

I have a whole bunch of books checked out from the library, and even more on hold. My goal is to read fifty books this year.

Speaking of sad stuff, I started taking down Christmas decorations. God, I hate the end of the season. I'm doing it as slowly as possible. I'm helping Mom with a big project- we're cataloging all of her Christmas ornaments. I'm going to group them by theme or type (glass balls, toys, Santas, etc.), take photos, and write up a bit of history about them. Not every single ornament, because she and Dad have well over 400, but just a general idea of what they have and the stories behind them. I've already done my own tree. Not a lot of history, but I realized that I have nearly 30 Star Trek ornaments!
More stuff behind the cut... ( Read more... )

http://kirareads.blogspot.com/

I have a blog for just about everything else, why not books? There's not much there yet, but there will be. I plan to read a lot in 2008. That's my main New Year's Resolution!

I just might see that many. I saw The Golden Compass yesterday, and Enchanted today. Loved them both. Tomorrow, I'll either see Sweeney Todd, or go out of town and see both Atonement and Kite Runner (depending on how I feel- was sick as a dog today). Then New Year's Eve I'm going to see either Walk Hard or Charlie Wilson's War. I haven't been to the movies in over a month, so I'm catching up!

Some other stuff and a quickie fangirl moment behind the cut...

Six months after picking it up, I decided to buckle down and finish The Old Curiosity Shop. Now that I'm getting into it, I'm starting to like it. Maybe the next time I try Trollope's He Knew He Was Right, I'll get through it. I just need to focus on my reading. Busy as my mom is, she managed to read about 100 books this year (that includes audio books). I'm ashamed of myself- I've read half that.

Next on my list: Atonement by Ian McEwan. I so want to see the movie. It's not playing here. Dammit.

Mom's Rotary Club may have an important guest next week- someone she and I really don't like much, but would still be interesting to see in person. Can't say who he is, but let's just say there will be a lot of security!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is out on DVD Tuesday! I'm getting the special 2-disc edition.

The death of Luciano Pavarotti yesterday wasn't enough, was it? Now Madeleine L'Engle is gone. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/07cnd-lengle.html?_r=4&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

I loved A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet when I was a kid. I liked Meet the Austins, too, but I only read the first book of the series.

I finally finished The Road. I had to check the actual book out, because the last CD was damaged. I ended up re-reading the whole thing. Oh, man, I have never gotten so depressed while reading!  I need to read something happy now. It was a great book, though- very deserving of the Pulitzer Prize.

And Luciano Pavarotti died today. What a loss for the opera world.  Damn, it hasn't been a good year for opera- first Beverly Sills, and now Pavarotti.

What are you reading right now?
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (and I haven't so depressed by a book since I read On the Beach...) and Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. I keep meaning to read it, but other stuff keeps popping up! I also have a collection of Ruth Rendell stories on hold at the library.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now?
None.

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read?
Manhatten Transfer by John Dos Passos. I just couldn't get into it.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone?
Any book from Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series! To pick just one- HMS Surprise.

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they?
Yeah...because my mom is the branch manager, I used to work there, I still volunteer. They all know me by now!

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?
Anything by Dickens. A lot of my friends and family just aren't interested in his works. Bleak House is one of my favorite novels of all time, and just about everyone I know who has read it thought it was boring!

Do you read books while you eat? While you bathe? While you watch movies or TV? While you listen to music? While you’re on the computer? While you’re having sex? While you’re driving?
Yes, no, no, yes, yes (if you count ebooks), no, no.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits?
A bit. I enjoyed reading outside of school, and other kids thought that was weird!

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
Like a lot of  people on my f-list, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

I got this through obasc  :

"The Dreadful Day of Judgement"

http://community.livejournal.com/obasc/222697.html

It's an interesting little radio play based on a Ruth Rendell short story. It was a little confusing, so I've checked out the book it came from to read later. Bryan Dick is in it- I sure love his voice. 

I was able to convert it to play on my Zen. I'm going to listen to it again.

It was sunny today for the first time all week! Hot, too. But we got great rain...Mom's garden LOVED it.

More stuff, sort of long, so under the cut...

( Read more... )

Here:

http://kirastitch.blogspot.com/

Just my rambling thoughts about it. I loved it despite the changes and the cuts. And I love this poster:



I like that it includes Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Cho. Still in shock about how much all the kids have grown.  Didn't Neville used to be short and chubby? Where did this tall, slender (in the movie he wears a bit of padding), good looking young man come from? Yikes. Time flies. Poor Harry is still pretty short . But he's cute.

That's all! I have put The Deathly Hallows away for a while. I plan to read it again in a week or so.

I'm home from pet sitting. Thank God! I love those animals, but it can be so tiring. I can't imagine living with them full time. I'm just happy that Ike is feeling a bit better. It's going to feel good to be back in my own bed, too. The sleeper sofa hurt my back this time. I'm glad the week is over. It really was a disaster this time. Let's see: Dog gets sick, day spent at the vet, vet thinks it's time for him to be let go. Dog recovers (for now).  Big storm knocks out power for two days, destroys trees in the yard, and the power lines set fire to one of the trees. Another dog gets a bit depressed. Cat is the attention whore from hell.  I think I've had enough excitement for the week!