Storage Room: Rene's Date

Poor Rene has no idea what to do when a friendly girl asks him to eat lunch with her.

Poor guy.

The Count of Monte Cristo [1844] Video Review!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, TOUT LE MONDE!!!
Ahem. On December 30th, I finished The Count of Monte Cristo, and the following day I somehow managed to film the video and post it! Usually there's at least a week's delay between filming and posting, but this time I did it quickly and efficiently. :D

Favorite Books of 2014!

I just wanted to do a quick little post on (obviously!) my favorite books of this year. :)

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

This is the first Dickens novel I've read, and I'm so glad I read it! I had always liked the story, because I as very familiar with the story from the miniseries. Dicken's writing is very witty and entertaining, and very biting at times. My favorite character was Mr. Jarndyce, and I was quite surprised by Sir Lester at the end. A very good read, if you've got the patience for 800 pages. :)

 

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I read this one because I liked Bleak House so much, it is now one of my favorite books. A Tale of Two Cities is different from the usual Dickens style, the names of the characters are less goofy, it's much shorter, and the plot is a whole lot simpler. This book has a strong, likeable cast of characters and some plot twists that genuinely did surprise me. In short, it's a lovely story of redemption with one of my favorite fictional heroes. Ever.

 

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I read two Michael Crichton book this year, Jurassic Park and the Andromeda Strain, and dang does that man know how to write sciency-stuff and make it engaging and interesting. Usually when a book gets into technobabble I just groan and turn the pages until I find something good happening, but here it was so cool! This book gives you a lot to think about, which is always good. Plus, it was pretty dang scary at times! I stayed up until 4 am reading this one night, that's how suspenseful it was.

 

Emma by Jane Austen

This here is my favorite Jane Austen novel. I found it quite a wonderful read. Emma is sort of an anti-heroine at first, in that she is meddlesome and maybe a little bit spoiled. She gets better of course, but that's half the fun of the book. All the supporting cast is memorable and delightful, especially Emma's hypochondriac father. Jane Austen's writing is witty in a rather dry, snarky way, and it was an absolute joy to read.

 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Like Jurassic Park, this book provides a lot of things to think about. Ender's Game is one of those books that doesn't have a strict 'ending' where everything is 100% wrapped up. Rather, it ends when things are emotionally finished. I really like that kind of ending, and I almost cried at the end of this book. I'm so glad I gave it a chance, since Sci-Fi isn't a genre I really go nuts for usually. :)

 

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

So. Dang. Good. This book is suspenseful, creepy, and like a lot of books on this list, gives you something to think about! A lot of the characters don't really go in the direction you expect them to, and this is one of the book's best strengths. I like the atmosphere throughout the book, and I absolutely loved the ending, even though it wasn't the most complete or happy ending, I still think it was perfect.

 

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Okay, I haven't finished this one yet. I've been working on it for a while though, and I only have 200 pages left. This book is AWESOME. I love it so much! It does require a bit more suspension of disbelief than normal for a book set in real-life France, but it is so amazing. There are prison escapes, poisoners, hidden fortunes, people in disguise, people faking their deaths, it's got everything that makes my heart go all aflutter. Not that it's all fun and games though. A lot of The Count's actions have repercussions that he wasn't prepared for, and he has to think about what he's done and if it was actually the right thing to do. So yeah. Awesome!

 

Momo by Michael Ende

This is such a lovely little book. The characters are terrific, and the plot is so original, I honestly haven't read anything like it! Even though it was written as a children's book, I think this is a book that everyone can read and enjoy. It has some deep themes, too, and one of the reasons it's a great children's book is because it doesn't think that kids are too stupid to catch onto the themes and such.

 

Storage Room: That's Not Encouraging

The art class I took when I was 9 traumatized me for life. Now I'll never appreciate fine art or try to improve my skills. See what a monster you've created, Missus Favoritism Teacher lady?!
Ahem. As you can see, I have issues with letting stuff go. ;)

Stop telling people this when they're down about their art. Seriously. Never. Think of something else, but for the love of all that is good and sacred, don't say this. :P

Les Miserables: Paris Revival Cast Recording [1991]

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas. :)
So, to celebrate the end of my semester of French, I figured why not review a Les Miserables recording that is in French! I mean, it was recorded in flippin' Paris, what could be better? XD
Ahem. I like to start by rambling about the instrumentals.
Being from the 90's, the instrumentals are spiced up with those syntho instrumentals, so they're relatively the same as the English 3-Disc recording that we have. They don't bug me (they might bug some people, but they remind me of the early 2000's when I was a little kid :D), though sometimes they make me laugh because it sounds like Video Poker music! XD
Now the cast! Jean Valjean is always cool (I've never met a Jean Valjean I didn't like, haha!), and this guy was neato! He has a nice voice, and so far as I can tell his acting was good. His version of Bring Him Home ('Commme Un Homme') is lovely, his acting is just right here. That song doesn't usually elicit a huge reaction from me, but this one... really good. He was also really good in the Epilogue. :)
I liked Javert, he has a very dramatic, almost operatic voice at times. Cosette is usually the most hit and miss character in the whole shebang, but she was a very good singer! She has a sweet, clear voice that is really nice to listen to. All the talk of Cosette makes me think of 'Une Poupee dans la Vitrine', the French equivalent of Castle on a cloud. The French version of this song is so sad, it almost made me cry! The last verse is about how she wishes she knew how to write, because then she could write to Father Christmas for the doll she wishes for. And the middle verse is actually very interesting. Cosette talks about how when she has her doll (her 'daughter') she will dress her in the prettiest dresses, and how she wants her doll to be very proud of her as a mother. Sounds kind of like what Fantine wanted for Cosette, huh? It's such a tearjerker. :(
Ahem. This cast has a good Gavroche, he's got sass, but not in a forced or annoying way. This kid pulls off the role quite effortlessly. I also liked Enjolras on this recording. He's a little petulant, but that's fine by me, so long as it's not excessive. When I was reading the book, I got the impression that due to his privileged childhood he was still a little used to getting his way. XD
Aside from the really good Jean Valjean, my other favorite performer on this CD was Eponine. Her actress has a very normal-girl sounding voice, by which I mean she doesn't have an overly pop-ish sound to her vocals. I like her take on the character, too. She's got a bit of an edge to the character, and pulls off the sad bits without coming off as maudlin and pouty. I really like her On My Own ('Mon Histoire') and Attack on Rue Plumet.
Oh yeah, Mon Histoire. I love On My Own, but Mon Histoire (My Story) is really something. It's harder to adapt into a generic teenage girl 'I'm in the friendzone!' song, because there is more about Eponine's feelings about her situation in life as well as her feelings for Marius. She begins by thinking about how her childhood seemed so pleasant and fairy-tale like, which is pretty different from the English one. I really like the lyrics, I almost translated all of them, so huzzah for French class!

The Verdict: A+
Weee, this font is pretty big and makes the review look super big. Ahem.
I really enjoyed listening to this and being able to understand almost half of it. It's a cool experience to have any kind of automatic understanding of a foreign language. I like the lyrics that I understood, they are so good ("Marius, get off your cloud!") the cast was really solid! I know I didn't talk about everybody, but there was nobody who was weak, or bad. The acting was good, the singing was good, an all-around great cast.
Favorite Song: Mon Histoire
Runners Up: Sous Les Etoiles, Le Grand Jour, Souviens-Toi Les Jours Passes?

Storage Room: Another Ruined Christmas Party

Ah, the week before Christmas. The last Advent Candle is lit, all the presents are stuffed in the closet and wrapped, and all your friends are inviting you to Christmas parties!

Merry Christmas, tout le monde!!

Christmas and Such

Yeah, today is normally the day where I would post the 55 Songs from Musicals dealio, but it's Christmas week, so I wanted to take a break from our normal programming and wish you all a Merry Christmas in advance. Just in case I don't have time on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. :)

Unto us a Child is born

Unto us a Son is given

And the government shall be upon His shoulder

And His name shall be called

Wonderful Councilor

All mighty God

The Ever-Lasting Father

The Prince of Peace