A long time coming....

Sorry if I had been conspicuously absent from my blog.  Let me break down the highlights of the past 3-4 months:

Opera time!

 I saw two operas at the San Diego Opera; one being the West Coast premier of a new opera, Moby Dick, by Jake Heggie and the libretto written by Gene Sheer.  Having read the book years ago as a teenager, I had a general idea of what went on during the opera.  It's obvious that the creators of the opera took some liberties (e.g. Ishmael was known as "Greenhorn" throughout most of the performance).  Going to the opera was part of my Christmas present from my mom so we both went to see it and we loved every minute.  It was a real treat to see this.  For those living in Northern California, Moby Dick will be at the San Francisco Opera in the 2012-2013 season and I encourage you to go see it!

The second opera my mom and I saw was one of Gioachino Rossini's most famous operas (and most pop-culturally referenced), The Barber of Seville.  I truly liked this one better than the previous opera that we saw.  This opera was based on a play and it is considered the "prequel" to The Marriage of Figaro opera by Wolfgang A. Mozart, which is also based on a play (I had seen Marriage of Figaro five years earlier).  Barber of Seville is notorious for the Largo al Factotum aria sung by Figaro, a barber and jack-of-all-trades, including veterinarian, beautician, and matchmaker.  Here's a clip of the aria and some might recognize the music:

Yes, it's that piece with "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro" in it.  In Largo al Factotum, Figaro sings about how important his job is (Largo al Factotum translates to "make way for the factotum" or "make way for the servant").  This piece is generally a tough one for baritones to sing.  The opera itself is about a barber named Figaro in 17th century Seville, Spain.  He plays Cupid for Count Almaviva who is smitten with the lovely Rosina who is held captive by her aging guardian, Don Bartolo, who is intent on marrying her solely for her dowry.  Hilarity and mistaken identity ensue. If your local opera house is presenting this, I highly encourage you to see it; it's funny and family friendly (well, somewhat).

Next season, Mom and I will go see The Daughter of the Regiment by Gaetano Donizetti, Samson and Delilah by Camille Sant-Saens, Murder in the Cathedral by Ildebrando Pizzetti, and possibly Aida by Giuseppe Verdi (I had already seen a production of it in 2008 but this one has set designs by Zandra Rhodes).

Video games!

I got a Wii a year and a half ago and still didn't do much with it until I finally bought Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  I'm not too much of a gamer but I do like playing video games and two of my favorites are the game series(s): Call of Duty and Sid Meier's Civilization.

I have played a game or two from the Legend of Zelda series, which I have a basic understanding (the game series is now 26 years old), but I've pretty much immersed myself into Twilight Princess.  It's been out on the market for six years now but I didn't get around to buying it because I didn't have a Wii six years ago.  It's a fantastic game with awesome graphics and a great storyline.  It's a little dark for the kiddos but it's a great boredom killer on a rainy day or a sick day or a rainy-sick day.  Here's the trailer:

Disneyland!

Yep, I went to the "Happiest Place On Earth" with my mom and a friend of mine who lived nearby (I live in the San Diego, CA area, which is approximately 90 minutes south of Anaheim, where Disneyland is).  It was the first time my mom and I ever rode Amtrak (Mom refuses to drive the 90 minutes for fear of getting lost).  The trip was supposed to take 2 hours but took almost 3 hours for some apparently weird reason (Mom and I were frustrated about the delay so I sent an email to Amtrak, which probably won't be answered for another several weeks according to a "response" email I got).  So we were late getting to the park as was my friend (parking and waiting in line).

We went on almost every ride we could get our hands on.  The Matterhorn was closed for repairs, the Tiki Room show wasn't showing and the Monorail was also not working but we went on Splash Mountain twice, rode the Thunder Mountain railroad, enjoyed classic rides such as the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, and "drove" cars in Autopia.  Since that was a day trip, Mom and I decided to make it a vacation the next time around and stay for a few days to go see Disney's California Adventure.

That's all I've got for today.  Till then, stay happy everyone!

Opera, BBC movies, and other misc.

Well, I did watch the 1973 BBC version of Jane Eyre and I enjoyed it.  It's quite dated and lacks some production values, but it's a great watch overall.  I'd suggest renting it through Blockbuster or Netflix.  A friend of mine suggested the 2006 TV version which I will rent in the near future.  I saw the clips of Toby Stephens as Edward Rochester and he looks fantabulous :)  I just need to watch a few films on my list this week before I get to renting the movie: Crazy Heart, The Hangover II, True Grit (the version with John Wayne), and The Mechanic. 

I haven't gotten around to it but I will eventually read George Eliot's Middlemarch.  It sounds like a terrific read, despite the fact that it's 800 pages long.  I'm not a big fan of such books as it takes forever to read, depending on how it's paced.  I usually read 100-200 pages a day, which takes longer but the book is eventually read.

I love writing fanfiction and I have an account over at Fanfiction.net.  This helps me to improve my writing style and such.  I gave thought to writing a mashup of Jane Eyre with a dinosaur (more specifically, a velociraptor) in Rochester's attic rather than a mad wife.  Then, I gave thought to writing a sequel series featuring the married Rochesters, Jane and Edward, as zombie hunters.  I might pursue both since they sound interesting and something I would read.  And yes, I've read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters; I am a firm believer that both books should be required reading in all American high schools.  Not sure if I want to read the mashup novel,  Jane Slayre. 

For those who know me really well, I enjoy doing crossword puzzles (from reading this far, you now know that I'm a geek of sorts, but that's a different story).  I managed to finish yesterday's New York Times puzzle in about 10 minutes.  It took me about the same time to do today's puzzle but I didn't finish it.  The New York Times crossword puzzle increases in difficulty each day with Monday being the easiest and Saturday being the most difficult; Sunday doesn't count as the answers to Sunday's puzzle are printed with the puzzle itself.  Sometimes I am able to solve Wednesday's puzzle completely, but not in 10 minutes.  I was thinking about doing the annual crossword contest put on by the NY Times puzzle editor, Will Shortz, but unfortunately, it's in New York City and I'm in San Diego.  Too bad they can't do satellite contests in other cities. 

Last Sunday after church, Mom and I saw the last opera on the last day of the 2011 season at the San Diego Opera.  Both of us saw a production of George Bizet's Carmen, an opera about a seductive gypsy woman who, apparently, likes to change boyfriends a lot.  It has to do with love, lust, bullfighting, and men who can't get the hint that their exes don't want them around any more.  I had trouble staying awake in the first act because I didn't have my daily dose of caffeine, but I enjoyed the rest of the opera.  This opera was Mom's first and it was my twelfth (I've seen eight live performances and four performances on DVD).  However, this was my first time seeing Carmen.  I've heard the infamous La Habanera aria sung by Carmen herself many times, as depicted in this commercial for Doritos:

For those who can understand the dynamics behind the aria can understand how it connects with the commercial.  Next season, Mom and I have decided to see Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville and I am hoping to score a ticket to see opera soprano Renee Fleming in concert at the San Diego Opera on March 24, 2012 once they go on sale. 

That is all for now.  I must get ready for bed.  Fin.

CHOCOLATE. COVERED. BACON.

It's official: I'm spoiled.  Not just because I'm an only child with no siblings (well, yeah, I guess I am spoiled), but I signed up with a $17 a month plan to rent DVDs and Wii games from Blockbuster.  I can rent 2 DVDs or games (or a combination of both) at a time and I can just drop them off at Blockbuster instead of mailing them in.  It feels weird and awesome at the same time.  According to Blockbuster, I'd be getting the latest movies 28 days before Netflix and all those other guys.  The first movie I rented is a two parter from the kind folks at the BBC.  There was a 1973 TV film version of Jane Eyre that I had wanted to see and none of the nearby libraries had it in circulation.  I saw some clips of it on YouTube and it sounds like a cool movie.  Here's a clip of the infamous proposal scene:

Looking forward to seeing it after watching the 1944 version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine and the recent 2011 one with Michael Fassbender (sigh, he's so dreamy) and Mia Wasikowska.

I had just started on the short story version of my novel.  For some reason, it's painful to write as my ideas and thoughts come out stiff and sloppy.  Maybe I should do some writing exercises to keep my abilities in check so they don't atrophy. 

About a week ago, I got my San Diego County Fair "best pass ever" in the mail.  Basically, I get in free for all 22 days of the fair and the pass cost me $22 (literally, a buck a day).  I can go see the concerts, visit the exhibits, eat the artery-clogging food, and watch 4H livestock shows.  If you live in San Diego or San Diego County, you can buy it on the fair's website.  I've bought my pass two years in a row and I love it!  I can't get enough of the Mackinac Island Fudge they sell in the exhibition halls or the Australian Battered Potatoes or the chocolate covered bacon - yes, you heard me.  CHOCOLATE. COVERED. BACON.

Right now, all I can hear in my head is the "Habanera" song from Georges Bizet's opera, Carmen.  I will be seeing the opera on Sunday.  It will be the second time I will be seeing tenor Richard Leech on stage (he will be playing the part of Don Jose); the first time I saw him was four years ago when he played Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.  Although I will be equipped with binoculars in the nosebleeds, I am still looking forward to enjoying myself.  My mom will accompany me as this is her first opera.  Next year, we will be seeing The Barber of Seville together.  I hope to get a chance to hear soprano Renee Fleming in concert in March of 2012 at the San Diego Opera. 

That's all for now.  Fin.

Opera and The Gospel....and a quick blurb about a smart phone app

First of all, I'd like to talk about a smart phone app that I really find to be underrated.  It's kinda like Foursquare, the "places" feature on Facebook mobile, and Yelp.  I am hopelessly addicted to this app called GetGlue that I have on my Android.  It's really cool.  Unlike Foursquare and FB mobile, you don't check into places but you check into stuff you're doing at the moment; e.g. reading a book or watching a cool movie.  It's free and you earn stickers while checking into things, like Foursquare.

Now that I've got that off my chest, here's a topic I've wanted to share for awhile now.  For those who know me really, really well, I'm into opera.  No, not the software, the OTHER opera, y'know, the art form where singing is the only form of dialogue?  I saw my first opera as a senior in high school but truly didn't get into it until about 4 years ago.  Anyhoo, the specific opera I want to talk about is Richard Wagner's Tannhaüser  (pronounced TANN-HOIZHER).  I have a DVD of a 1980s performance of it.  I even had a ticket to see the closing performance of it at my local opera house but I decided not to go because it was on Super Bowl Sunday (God forbid I miss the Super Bowl; I didn't even know about DVR at the time).

The opera itself takes place in 13th century Germany (well, in a principality, since Germany was not united at the time) and based upon the legend of a minnesänger (kind of like a roving troubador, if you will) named Tannhaüser who is torn between lust and Godly purity.  He lusts after the goddess Venus and loves his on-again-off-again virginal (and seemingly perfect) girlfriend Elisabeth.  The story deals with how Tannhaüser deals with his sins and desires and in one part of the opera, he goes off with a group of pilgrims to Rome to see the pope for absolution of his sins.  Unfortunately the pope says his chances of salvation are slim because of his blasphemous actions (worship of Venus rather than God) and that leaves will sprout from his papal staff before Tannhaüser gets admitted into Heaven.  Eventually, his sins are absolved, but only after the death of someone he loves.

The reason why I bring this up is because I see parallels with this opera and the Gospel.  In my opinion (and this is how I "interpret" art, if you will), Tannhaüser represents every man and woman's struggle to remain pure, sinless, etc. etc.  He tries to fight off his desires but they keep coming back.  He tries to atone for his sins by hanging out with pilgrims going to Rome probably wearing sackcloth and/or rags and doing the self-flaegellation thing.  Once Tannhaüser goes to Rome, the pope tells him that he cannot obtain salvation because of the sins he committed.  First of all, no man, not even the pope, has ANY say in who gets to go to Heaven with God.  That's God's judgement call, but the pope is right in that our sins keep us apart from God. 

Unfortunately, someone Tannhaüser loves has passed away and he prays for that person to pray for his salvation and he is finally forgiven of his sins.  Some people might dismiss this as Medieval Catholic doctrine and it is, in a way.  However, I see it in another way: the person who died represents a Christ figure, someone who is perfect and pure to carry on the transgressions of a sinner in death.  In a way, the opera represents mankind's struggle against sin toward perfection and that we, as a sinful human species, cannot obtain perfection and that salvation is through Jesus Christ, God's only Son, Who is perfect.  I don't think that this was Richard Wagner's interpretation but, then again, art is objective and people can see different sides to it.

If this is confusing, I can totally understand.

Off to bed.  Gotta get up early for work.  Fin.