next_to_normal: (Heidi thinky)
I'm back from my brief sojourn to Vermont. (TOO brief - if you're going to be in a car for 18 hours, you really need more than a 3-day weekend.) But I got to see Heidi in Next to Normal, and she was just as wonderful in it as I imagined she'd be. The funny thing about Next to Normal, though, is that my theater buddy Christi and I both use it as a barometer of our mental health, and we don't listen to it as obsessively as we used to - which should be a good thing (when you find yourself listening to N2N and nothing else, it's time to up the depression meds, lol), but seeing the show reminded me of how much I loved it and missed it..

Anyway, the rest of the cast was good, too, especially the girl who played Natalie. We chatted with Heidi afterwards (she's such a sweetie), and then went back into the theater for a bonus cabaret thing, which was weird but silly and fun.

And of course by the time we came out, there was a crazy thunderstorm and the power was out at our hotel. Christi and I were like, "THIS IS HOW HORROR MOVIES START. WE ARE SO GOING TO DIE." I mean, we're in the mountains in this little middle-of-nowhere town and literally there is NOTHING BUT WOODS outside our window and I'm just sitting there expecting the lightning to flash and light up some strange face peering in the window or something creepy. Fortunately, the power came back on around midnight, and no one tried to murder us, so yay!

The longest linkspam in the history of the internet is coming up, with all the news from Comic-Con, once I get through it all. Until then, how was your weekend? Did I miss anything exciting?

Linkspam

May. 15th, 2013 08:52 pm
next_to_normal: (Heidi thinky)
* Here's a preview of SMG's new show The Crazy Ones. Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that James Wolk is now in two different shows about advertising agencies? It is my new headcanon that this character is the son of Mad Men's mysteriously chipper Bob Benson.

* You know, I was actually feeling naively hopeful after the HIMYM season finale, but apparently the entire final season will take place during the 56 hours leading up to Barney and Robin's wedding. Because they truly hate us and want us to suffer.

* May this oral history of The Office remind you of a time when The Office was actually a good show.

* CBS announced its fall schedule today.

* The SHIELD cast was out doing interviews at the upfronts, while revealing very little.

* Wondering why Tony Stark didn't have any help from the Avengers in Iron Man 3? This is why. (No spoilers, just funny.)

* You can now see clips from the vampire movie Only Lovers Left Alive. And I thought Tom Hiddleston's Loki hair was bad...

* Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhal to play the two princes in the Into the Woods movie? I just... why.

* This is probably of interest to no one but me, but my girl-crush Heidi Blickenstaff is playing the lead role in Next to Normal! YES THAT IS THE SHOW I NAMED MY JOURNAL AFTER. GOING TO VERMONT NOW, KTHXBAI.

* OH MY GOD WE HAVE ALL BEEN PLAYING MONOPOLY WRONG ALL THIS TIME. Mind = blown.

* Someone at Google Maps is a Lord of the Rings nerd. Heh.
next_to_normal: (Buffy hee)
Don't worry, eventually I'll slow down and run out of icons, and then I'll be forced to post other things, haha. :)

21 Vampire Diaries icons
26 Next to Normal icons

Preview:



Read more... )

next_to_normal: (sisters)
Well, now that the earthquake excitement has passed (yes, I'm fine, building is fine, everyone's fine except the whiny dog down the hall), I have more awesome ladies for you.

Read more... )
next_to_normal: (Alice Ripley)
The Next to Normal review!

I've already blathered on rather at length about the plot and the songs (and then compared it to The Hunger Games. Yes, really), so I'll mostly just talk about this performance.

Read more... )
next_to_normal: (valium)
EEEEEEE!!!!! I HAVE SEEN NEXT TO NORMAL AND IT IS GOOD.

Went to see it at the Kennedy Center last night with my college roommate - who also loved it, which I was SO happy about. I thought she might, since her experience with mental illness is way more complex than mine, but for the same reason, I was also worried that she might find it too intense or upsetting. But she declared it "the perfect show" and was utterly gleeful at My Psychopharmacologist and I. :) (Well, who wouldn't be?) More detailed review coming up as soon as I have time to write one.

In the meantime, linkspam!

* This has already made the rounds, but if you haven't seen it yet, an early (slightly spoilery) review of SMG's new show, Ringer. I AM EXCITE.

* Charisma Carpenter will guest star on Burn Notice this season. Woo!

* More set pics from Being Erica season 4. OMG that HAIR!!!

* Some interesting news on The Office's new boss.

next_to_normal: (no time for kissing)
The rumors about Hunger Games casting seem to be getting slightly closer to actual fact. I really just want them to announce something official so people will stop speculating. I'm also amused that, judging by the most talked-about names, there are NO sixteen-year-old actresses in Hollywood capable of playing this role. Seriously, why is the choice between a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old? There must be someone in between. (Then again, I'm sure there are a few, and we just haven't heard about them.)

Anyway, that's really just a segue for me to blather on some more about the series, in which I relate it to the other two things I can't stop talking about: Buffy and Next to Normal.

Spoilers! )
next_to_normal: (Alice Ripley)
Yay, time for part 2 of Next to Normal! (I swear, I am identifying with this show more and more every day.) If you missed last week's post, you should probably read that first. As I mentioned, this one will have to give away a big plot twist, but it's sort of impossible to talk about how AWESOME this show is without spoiling it.

Read more... )
next_to_normal: (valium)
Yaaaay!! Today we're going to talk about my newest musical obsession and the source of my new username - Next to Normal!

I am super excited that it's on tour now - starring OBC member Alice Ripley ("She's fierce! Hey, that's the first time I ever said the word fierce... that's the second." /[title of show]), and it's coming to DC! ... a year from now. But still!

I bought the soundtrack as soon as I came home from New York (where I didn't get to see it on Broadway), and fell in love with it pretty much immediately. The score is very rock-influenced, the actors' voices are amazing, the characters are all so relatable, the humor is sarcastic and snarky, and the show is a fascinating exploration of mental illness, grief, and family.

It's actually kind of hard to describe without spoiling the two plot twists in the first act. I've never seen the show, so I'm not really sure how shocking they're supposed to be (you can figure it all out from the soundtrack, which is what I did). But I'm obviously going to need multiple posts to talk about it - I kind of want to include every single song in the show - so I will talk about the first twist (it's impossible not to, since it's the whole premise of the show) in this post, and then for next week's post, I'll talk about the other one.

Read more... )
next_to_normal: (Default)
 
Breaking Bad

6/4/12: Links and Breaking Bad (1.01-3.08)

8/26/13: Linkspam + Breaking Bad Thoughts (5.11)

9/29/13: This is how it ends (Breaking Bad 5.16)

10/1/13: Breaking Bad linkspam (more on the series finale)

 
BtVS/AtS

8/12/08: I should have a Xander icon... (Xander's character arc)

8/15/08: Cordy/Angel meta

12/2/08: Spike has two doors!

3/4/09: Food for Thought (comparing Riley's "As You Were" speech to Spike's "Touched" speech)

5/7/09: Spike... again (AtS S5)

6/1/10: Not Fade Away

7/13/10: Yeah, I'm going there (season 8)

8/19/10: Comics wank, must be... a day ending in y (BtVS/AtS crossovers)

8/25/10: "That was real." (Cordy/Angel and Spike/Buffy)

10/16/11: Book review: Whedonistas!

12/2/13: Meme: December 2 (Favorite season)


Dexter

6/8/10: Dexter (season 1)

6/10/10: Dexter, Part 2 (season 2)

6/22/10: Dexter, Part 3 (season 3)

9/13/10: Dexter - it's been a while (season 4)

9/29/10: Final (?) TV premiere round-up (5.01)

1/6/11: Let's talk about Dexter! (season 5)

9/27/13: Beginnings and Endings (series finale)


The Hunger Games

1/29/11: The Hunger Games (Finally!) (book)

2/12/11: OMG YOU GUYS!! (Catching Fire book)

2/27/11: Epic Mockingjay review (book)

3/26/12: The big epic Hunger Games review (movie)

11/24/13: OMG Catching Fire (movie)


Lost

8/12/10: I'm Freeeeee (1.01-1.02)

8/13/10: More Lost thoughts (1.03-1.09)

8/17/10: Even more Lost thoughts (1.10-1.16)

8/18/10: I has finished season 1! (1.17-1.25)

8/23/10: Lost season 2 (2.01-2.10)

8/26/10: Yep, more Lost (2.11-2.18)

11/20/10: Super-huge pop culture round-up (2.19-2.24)

12/5/10: Hey, remember when I used to watch Lost? (3.01-3.08)

3/20/11: "Remember when I used to watch Lost?" 2: Electric Boogaloo (3.09-3.16)

3/26/11: Lost season 3 thoughts! (3.17-3.22)

3/31/11: Lost Season 4

4/10/11: More Lost talk (5.01-5.10)

4/31/11: Incoherent Lost flailing (5.11-5.17)

5/22/11: Yes, I still watch Lost! (6.01-6.10)

6/23/11: I has more Lost thoughts! (6.11-6.15)

6/28/11: The epic Lost post (6.16-6.18)

12/9/13: Meme: December 9 (Juliet's work with the Others)


Marvel/DC

7/2/13: So I finally saw Iron Man 3

12/7/13: Meme: December 6 (oops) (Why you should love Captain America)

5/26/14: State of the (Marvel) universe

10/14/14: Well all righty then (Captain America 3 and the MCU)

10/27/14: So I started watching Arrow

10/30/14: Let's talk about TV! (The Flash and Arrow)

11/2/14: Linkspam and TV talk (Agents of SHIELD and Marvel vs. DC)

5/18/15: Avengers: Age of Ultron


The Vampire Diaries

9/30/10: The Vampire Diaries, take two (season 1)

10/12/10: The Vampire Diaries, take three (up to 2.05)

11/6/10: Semi-belated Vampire Diaries thoughts (2.07-2.08)

1/30/11: Let's talk Vampire Diaries (2.10)

9/16/11: TVD Thoughts (3.01)

10/14/11: The Ghost-pire Diaries (3.05)

10/14/11: This is an actual reaction post (3.05)

1/6/12: TVD thoughts (3.10)

3/23/12: What's that? A reaction post? (3.17)

10/17/12: TVD 4.02

1/3/13: Linkspam + rambling (The problem with Klaus as a villain)


Other TV

11/10/09: Friday, December 13, 1963. Four guys shot their own legs off. (Mad Men 3.13)

2/9/10: Proof that shippers are stupid everywhere... (Chuck)

4/1/10: Caprica (season 1)

4/10/10: This is a ranty rant (Bones 5.16)

6/28/10: Doctor Who (season 5)

6/29/10: Dead Like Me (season 1)

7/8/10: Dead Like Me (again) (season 2)

7/14/10: Because I really needed another TV show to watch... (Huge 1.01-1.03)

8/24/10: Six Feet Under season 2

9/10/10: Huge (1.10)

9/20/10: Last night's Mad Men... (4.09)

9/25/10: Community is back!!! (2.01)

10/18/10: Catching up (Mad Men 4.13)

8/1/11: Let's talk Sports Night

8/31/11: The Tudors

9/29/11: Faaaarscape! (1.01-1.09)

10/9/11: Farscape meta, part two (1.16)

1/29/12: Chuck thoughts (for real this time) (season 5)

1/22/13: British TV! (Wallander and Party Animals)

7/15/13: I watch things (The Newsroom)

12/14/13: Meme: December 13 (oops again) (Friday Night Lights favorite female character)


Movies

9/5/07: Shadow Undies (Shadow Puppets commentary)

6/16/10: Boys from the Dwarf (Red Dwarf: Back to Earth)

6/18/10: Strictly Sexual (note: review is access-only)

7/9/10: I did a stupid thing... (Dead Like Me: Life After Death)

1/19/11: Black Swan

12/29/12: The big Les Miserables review

3/16/14: Worth Every Penny (Veronica Mars)

11/26/14: Thanksgiving linkspam (and Into the Woods angst)


Books

8/19/09: Head-scratcher of an ending (the Sevenwaters trilogy)

8/31/10: Book Review: Swordspoint

9/1/10: Book review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

9/23/10: Book review: The Fall of the Kings

10/21/10: Feeling like I'm always playing catch-up (To Say Nothing of the Dog)

10/22/10: Book review: The Passage

12/15/10: Book review! (Finally) (Doomsday Book and Blackout)

1/8/11: Book review: The Privileges

1/11/11: More book reviews! (Miracle and Other Christmas Stories and All Clear)

4/14/11: Stuff I did (The Privilege of the Sword and Speak)

5/3/11: Book Reviews! (Heir to Sevenwaters and Freedom)

5/14/11: More book reviews (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and Seer of Sevenwaters)

7/16/11: End of Semester Book Reviews (The Art of Choosing and Pearls, Politics, and Power)

7/21/11: More book reviews! (Big Girls Don't Cry)

9/27/11: Book Reviews (The Handmaid's Tale, One Day, and Delirium)

8/14/12: Wanted: Friends! (MWF Seeking BFF)


Theater

9/2/10: Review: Billy Elliot

9/8/10: Review: A Little Night Music

9/12/10: Review: In the Heights

9/19/10: Musical Sunday! (Next to Normal)

9/26/10: Musical Sunday! (Next to Normal)

7/12/11: At long last! (Next to Normal)

4/23/12: The Newsies Review

9/15/13: The (brief) return of Musical Sunday! (Miss Saigon)

11/25/13: If/Then

2/2/14: First Date


Multi-Fandom

11/14/09: In which I prove I think too much (BtVS/Into the Woods parallels)

9/20/10: It's like my perception is warping back to normal... (high school shows)

9/27/10: The Vampire Diaries, or Why Buffy is the Best (the use and abuse of dramatic irony)

10/2/10: Romance =/= Geometry (love triangles)

12/16/10: Being Erica! (S3 finale, parallels with BtVS)

3/3/11: I have a one-track mind (Hunger Games/Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Next to Normal parallels)

5/27/11: Whee! (Is Katniss a Buffy or an Angel?)

6/25/12: Where are all the female anti-heroes?

12/4/12: My advice? Don't watch for the plot (Homeland, Lost, and the importance of plausibility)

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