Les Miserables

Alright, I know.  I'm supposed to write a post about the New Year, since that is kind of what bloggers are obligated to do.  But to me, this year, at least, the New Year was literally another midnight.  I watched the last 20 seconds of the ball drop, because I felt like I should.  I spent my night, alone, in my kitchen, eating cookies, watching Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang again.  All in all, it was another midnight for me.  I've seen more midnights in the past year than in any year leading up to 2012.  So I don't want to think about it.

What I do want to think about is Les Miserables, which I finally saw today.

Two words for you guys.

HOLY. SHIT.

Well, of course I have more.  I am pretty verbose.  But those could sum up my feelings nicely, as they could mean a few things.  Like, HOLY SHIT, beautiful.  Or HOLY SHIT, I can't breathe.  Or HOLY SHIT, tears. Or HOLY SHIT, music.  Or HOLY SHIT, I can't even.

All apply, and more.

First things first, if this movie does not win all of the awards, I will be so sad.  Every single person in this movie needs to win something,  And it itself needs to win everything.  I mean, seriously.  This movie will define a good portion of my life for a few weeks, maybe a month.  Not even a joke.  I am still crying.  Then again, I did find the soundtrack online and am listening to it, like the masochist that I am.  However, in my defense, it is beautiful.  They use the actual singing from the movie, which is nice.  It is also nice to know that none of the actors were lip-syncing.  They were all singing.  And that somehow makes it worse, in a good way.

I have mixed emotions about this whole thing, can you tell?  Not truly mixed, not really. I love this movie more than you all can really grasp.  But it makes me hurt, so I don't know how good it is for me.

First things first: Hugh Jackman.  If that man doesn't win Best Actor, I will personally fly to Hollywood and change that.  The emotion that Jackman put into his version of Valjean was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a long time.  And he apparently, for the first scene, didn't drink water for 36 hours, so all of what he did, all of the emotion, was not acting.  That was him being physically dehydrated and ill.  Can he get an AMEN or something?  Like, four for you, Hugh Jackman.  Four. For. You.  And on top of his amazing acting, dude's got some pipes.  Like, he's singing for most of the movie, and sometimes, when actors sing, it is like they are all pupils at Pierce Brosnan's School of Singing, and you want to tear your hair out, but Jackman was decidedly not a pupil there.  He blew me away with his performance.  Absolutely out of the water.  I was captivated by him.  His entire performance drew me into the movie.

Secondly, Eddie Redmayne, congratulations on your face.  You're just so cute and British, and you have so many freckles, and you did so well singing and UGH.  When he sang Empty Chairs At Empty Tables, I cried.  Bawled like a baby.  I've seen the musical, I have the soundtrack.  While I cried when I saw the musical, I did not cry anything like when I watched this movie.  I had tears pouring down my face.  My friend was making fun of me, I was crying so hard. They just need to change the name of the song from Empty Chairs At Empty Tables to Oh Look, All My Friends Are Dead!  Segueing, and when he sings A Little Fall of Rain with Eponine, I couldn't stop.  That was before, so my continuity is off, but what the hell, I don't even care.  He did a brilliant job, and I have never seen him in anything before or if I did, I didn't remember.  And, I mean, really, I would remember this face -

*cough* I have a thing for freckles.  No one judge me, alright? Alright.  Besides, he did a bang-up job.  Like, BANG UP.  How have I never seen him in anything before?  I could watch him all night, and not just because he is pretty.  Although, after the movie, when my mother and I were discussing it, we referred to him as 'The Pretty One, with the Freckles and the Eyes.'  So what if i'm shallow?  You guys still  love me.  Funnily, because the movie is like the musical in the fact that there is no speaking, minus like two or three lines, I don't know what his speaking voice sounds like.  Weird.  Whatever, I don't care.

On to Anne Hathaway.  She deserves a HOLY SHIT.  Anne Hathaway was in about a third of the movie, and her performance was one of the most stirring.  Her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream, like most of the movie, brought me to tears.  I mean, if you haven't heard it, just go listen to it.  Or listen to the whole album, I don't care.  You can find it on Youtube or Spotify.  If you only listen to one song, listen to I Dreamed a Dream.  If you aren't crying, I suspect you don't have a heart.  Or, you could be normal, and I'm the weird one.  That is a possibility.  But seriously, go listen.  I never knew she could sing, but now I will never doubt the ability of the power that is Anne Hathaway.  It doesn't hurt that she is one of my favorite actresses to begin with, so you know... I could be partial.

[EDIT: I forgot to mention that Anne Hathaway is flawless.  That is all.]

Shout out to Aaron Tveit as Enjolras.  I have the biggest voice crush on this guy.  He was in the Original Broadway Cast of Next To Normal, which is one of my favorite musicals of all time.  And he did a fantastic job as Enjolras.  His hair was curly, and it made me laugh.  But seriously, the voice on this guy.  Check out Next To Normal if you like musicals.  Or if you like crying, which, you know, is basically the same thing.

You know how I mentioned the Pierce Brosnan School of Singing?  Well, if you've seen Mamma Mia, then you know what I'm talking about.  And if you haven't, go see it, and then come back, and you will understand.  Well, Russell Crowe took a few lessons there.  Not enough to make him Pierce's best student, but enough so that you could tell he was out of his element in a few instances.  Other than that, props be had to the man.  Javert's Suicide made me crouch in my seat and hide because I couldn't watch it.  Success, I guess.  It was pretty graphic, so... Take caution, I guess.

Alright, I think that this is enough rambling.  Suffice it to say, this movie has set the bar very high for every other movie I see this year.  Yes, it is January 1st.  2013, you better have some pretty damn good movies, because this movie has set the level.

Overall, 10 out of 10.  Seriously.  I can't complain about this movie.  My complaints are minuscule compared to how much I loved it.  I can forget the things I didn't like.  I can put them out of my mind and literally just enjoy it.  I can't often do that with movies.

Alright, I need to wrap this up, I just finished listening to the album, so it seems fitting.  I am crying again, shock of the century.

I have one thing for you to do, guys.

Just go see it.

Just do it.

You will not be disappointed.

Love and kisses,
Jen

P.S. I am doing much better than I was in my last post.  Thank you all so much for your kind words and your expressions of hope.  It means more than you all know, and I am forever grateful for your support.  Seriously.  I don't know what I'd do without you guys.  Here's to a happy, healthy, new year, yeah?

See you all soon!
XOXO

April 20: Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I Know What Date It Is

And here is the thing, I have no desire to do drugs.  Ever.

I live in a very small town.  A town so small, in fact, that the only things to do are smoke pot or wish you weren't here.  Or both.  Or neither.  I spend most of my time doing the latter and none of my time doing the former.

And it isn't for lack of opportunity.  I know tons of people who smoke.  A good percent of my friends do.  My close friends don't, but a lot of my 'friend' friends do.  And it isn't like people haven't asked me to.  One time, during one of the productions of my school's musical, I was hanging out in the back with the crew because I wasn't needed onstage, and when I said that I've never smoked before, everyone laughed at me.  And then when I told them that it was the truth, they all laughed harder.  No one believed me. True story.

My mom actually told me that people told her to watch out for me, because I would be the kid to try stuff.  And I'm probably the most morally-opposed-to-drugs person ever.  I just see no point in using drugs for recreational purposes.  Coming from someone who has to take 12 pills a day to just act like a human, and sometimes that doesn't help, I can't see the point of putting something into your body that shouldn't be going in there.

Now, a vegan could say that that includes animals, and to that I say:

Bacon Roses.  Shut up, Vegan-face*

*no insults to vegans, but I mean, COME ON.

So anyways, 4/20.  Not a huge deal to me.  Just another day, in fact.

And to all those who participated, I wish a surprise drug test on you tomorrow.

Nah, I'm not that mean.  I hope you get the munchies and eat cat food.  THAT is worse.

MUAHAHAHA!!!

Love and kisses,

Jen

P.S.  I don't really wish those things, I just wish people didn't do drugs.  I've seen what they can do to a person and how they ruin relationships.  I want nothing to do with drugs, unless they are saving my life.  So far, so good.

IF YOU CLICK THE LINK IN THIS POST, I WILL GIVE YOU A POSITION OF POWER IN MY GOVERNMENT WHEN I TAKE OVER THE WORLD WITH MIND CONTROLLING PORPOISES!!!!

CLICK THIS!!!!
My school is entered in the Glee Give a Note Contest, and we need, and I need, you guys' help!!!
Go to this link once a day, from multiple IP addresses if you could, and vote up my school! 

I know that I'm foisting this on you guys, but I really need your help to get money for my music program. 

Music is really important to me, and I would love it if you guys would help. 

Seriously, I would be forever in your debt. 

You can have my first born child!!!!

I'll name the kid after you, and then give it to you!  It can be your slave and feed you grapes or other shit!!!

Just clicky the linky and make me a very happy person!!!

Plus, I'm in the video.  Yes, I am.  Near the end, and it is awesome.  I'm lip-synching to Don't Stop Believing.  I'm the one with short hair who is being awesome. You will know me when you see me.  I exude awesome.  For realzies, you guys. [Update:  you see me for like one second.  It is near the very end; I'm singing and I have a flute.  I'm wearing a dark, long sleeved t-shirt.  Just so you know that I exist and I'm not just some hologram of awesome all of you have simultaneously hallucinated about.]

Please help.  It would be awesome.  And I would love you for it.

I will write a proper, non-foisty post later this week.  K?  K.

LOVE AND KISSES AND CLICK THE LINK!!!! :D

Jen

Random Thoughts From My Random Mind...Enjoy Sparingly With Cheese

None of this is real.  Not your shoes.  Not your face.  Not your fake IQ.  We are all in the dream of some great strange sneeze beast somewhere in the universe.  So go be absolutely crazy.

Ball sack is becoming my swearword of choice.  I don't know why.  I say balls when I'm in the company of others, but when I'm alone.  It's just all about the ball sack.  Why, I'll never really know.

I love the word orugulous.  It means prideful.  It was my word of the day today.  And I just spell checked it, and apparently orugulous is too awesome for blogger.  I've beaten the Internets.  Can I get a what what?  (off in the distance)  WHAT WHAT?!

I find out what musical my high school is doing this year tomorrow.  I'm quite excited, but at the same time I'm a bit, I don't know, eh.  I know what part I'll be getting.  Ensemble.  Again.  Just like last year.  And the year before that.  And the year before that.  But I'm totally okay with that, because I get to hang out with cool people and do just about nothing two days after school until February, and then suddenly it all comes together in a pillar of awesome and it is really good.  Just a dead good job, you know what I mean?

I got an 84 on my latest Algebra II test!  I feel like I beat the system.  My friend got a one hundred.  How she did, I've no idea.  I'm just pleased I passed.  I basically failed the first test.  It was a 65, which is a D.  But it is still a D, and a D is unacceptable.  Neither is an 84, really, in my mind, but that is going to change.  I'm getting As in math this year, you guys.  It is going to happen.  My grandfather was a freaking mathematician and an engineer.  Some of that smartness must have trickled down, right?!  RIGHT?!!!!!

This whole post is a lie.  Your face is a lie.  Your dog is a lie.  Your non-existent dog is a lie.  Your pet rock is a lie.  THE CAKE IS A LIE.

My head is doing loads better, for any of you who care.  The headaches are getting super manageable, which is dead brilliant, and I'm really excited to be able to say that I'm normal.  Two days ago, though, I went to the dentist to get a filling (my first one, ever.  I'm such a fail at dental hygiene.) and they stabbed me twice with needles and I didn't enjoy that.  My face hurt so much that I had to take ibuprofen.  And if that wasn't the stupidest thing I've ever done, ever.  Yesterday, I had a headache for twelve hours.  TWELVE HOURS.  I HAD A HEADACHE FOR HALF A DAY.  I'm feeling a lot better today, but now I know how my body reacts to ibuprofen (e.g. BADLY) so I'm never going to take any, ever again.  And I should be all the better for it.

I am currently obsessed with hats.  I'm growing my hair out, since it is really short and I miss doing it and stuff, but it is getting into that awkward stage where I always have to where a hat because it is just really weird looking.  So I'm knitting a hat and I have all of these cool ones and I'm very excited.

Fun fact of the day:  Whenever I type a blog to you's guys, when I'm hearing the words in my head, I hear them in an English/Scottish/Irish accent (it all depends on my mood.).  The voice in my head speaks with a British accent.  I'm just that cool.  Or mad.  I guess it depends on your view of things.

This blog was a lot longer than I intended it to be.  So, I guess that's good, yeah?

Brilliant!

Parting joke:

Why does Cinderella suck at sports?

Because she's always running away from the ball!

HAHAHA GOOD CLEAN HUMOR!!!!

Love and kisses,

L.

P.S. Guess who has twenty followers?  I HAVE TWENTY FOLLOWERS!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!! I LOVE ALL OF YOU TO PIECES, I REALLY DO!!!!

Extra-special love and kisses

L.