My Answers to the We Love Musicals Tag

Time for me to fill out the We Love Musicals Tag!

1. What are your favorite musicals?

1. Guys and Dolls (1955)
2. An American in Paris (1951)
3. White Christmas (1954)
4. The Greatest Showman (2017)
5. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

For the rest of my top ten, read this post :-)

2. What do you like about musicals? 

I like how a good musical allows characters to express their thoughts and emotions through song and dance instead of only words.  A good musical uses music the way Shakespeare used soliloquies.

Bonus points if they're really fun and leave me smiling, and if they have wonderful songs I want to learn all the words to!

3. What's the first musical you can remember seeing? 

The Sound of Music (1965) -- I have a vague memory of half-watching it when I was maybe four or five years old.  We didn't own a TV set until I was 4, so it can't have been earlier than that.

4. Have you ever seen a live musical onstage? 

Yes!  I saw Hayley Mills in a touring production of The King and I in 1997.  I also saw a production of The Mikado as a teen.  And I saw a couple of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals back when I was in college -- I think Princess Ida and The Gondoliers? 

5. Have you ever performed in a musical? 

Yes!  During college, I was in the chorus of three Gilbert and Sullivan musicals: The Sorcerer, The H. M. S. Pinafore, and The Yeomen of the Guard.  I had several friends who were in them too, which made rehearsals and sitting around in the Green Room lots of fun.  Not to mention, learning how to do stage makeup has come in really handy now that my daughter does ballet and needs stage makeup for her performances.

Me with two friends backstage in our Yeomen of the Guard costumes.

6. Do you periodically dance about and burst into song in real life? 

I do.  Sometimes in public and fairly often at home.

7. What's the newest movie musical you've seen? 

Wicked (2024), which I took my daughters to see in the theater in December.  I liked it all right.

8. What's the oldest movie musical you've seen? 

The oldest one I know for sure I've seen all of is The Wizard of Oz (1939).  I've seen parts of some Shirley Temple movies too, but I'm not sure which ones I've seen all of -- that would have been when I was a kid, and I just don't remember now.  So I'll say The Wizard of Oz because it's so nicely symmetrical that the newest musical I've seen is a sort of retelling of the oldest one I've seen!  Neither of which are movies I actually love, but that's okay.

9. What's the last musical you watched? 

I watched The Music Man (1962) last week with my kids.  It was their first time watching it, and we laughed and laughed!  Good times.  Being from Iowa myself, I've always had a particular soft spot for it.

10. What musical do you hope to watch for the first time soon?

Hmm.  Probably either Pirates of Penzance (1983) or Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018).  They're both on my TBW shelves, so it will just be a matter of which I'm in the mood for first.

If you want a clean version of this tag, you can find it in the blog party kick-off post.

Merry Christmas to You!

I hope you have been enjoying a joyful Christmas.  It's been so quiet and lovely here -- went to church in the morning, baked a pie after lunch, read a book and built Legos with my kids and took a nap, then had a lovely feast.  Just now, we took a "Christmas lights walk," a yearly tradition where we walk around our neighborhood enjoying everyone's outdoor decorations.

If you're looking for some nice background music or something more low-key to watch during your celebrations, my college has posted a great video of their annual Christmas at Bethany concert on YouTube.  We watched it yesterday afternoon, and I was so impressed by this year's musical selections.  Every year's concert is lovely, but I think this is the best one I have ever experienced (including the ones I performed in many years ago)!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

The Strike-Out Tag

I purloined this from The Texas Lass.  But I told her I was going to, so that makes it all fine, right?

The idea behind this tag is that you cross out things you've done, like they're a to-do list or something.  And provide a bit of explanation if you want.  

Kissed someone – Well, I've been married 21 years, so I would hope I could cross that off!

Gone to a rock concert – I've been to a Beach Boys concert and two Creed concerts, all when I was in my twenties.

Helped someone – Um, I'm a mom.  I help people all the time.

Gone fishing – I went with my grandpa in Iowa several times as a kid, and also with some friends when I was a teen.

Watched four movies in one night – My husband and I worked third shift for four years, after we got married but before we had kids.  Every week, Cowboy and I would have one night off together, and then I would have another night off that he had to work.  And do you know what I did those nights off by myself?  I watched movies.  Oodles of movies.  Our library system had an amazing collection, and I just basked in movies.  Four movies in one night wasn't even rare.

Lied to someone – I am, alas, a sinful human being.

Failed a subject – Closest I came was a C- in Geometry in high school.  Let us not speak of it.

Been in a car accident – Our family was in a really bad wreck when I was 8, when a drunk t-boned our car.  I was also hit in a parking lot when I was a teen, and my hubby and I had a fender bender a few years ago.

Been in a tsunami – Thank the Lord, no.

Watched someone die (including pets) – I've had plenty of pets die, but I don't think I watched any of them die.  I just found them dead, or sometimes they wandered off to die alone and we never found them.

Been to a funeral – Quite a few.  My dad is a pastor, and my mom was the choir director when I was growing up, and I got called upon to sing in the choir for more than a few funerals as a teen.  Also, I attended the funerals of all four of my grandparents.

Burned yourself – I have an aloe plant in my kitchen because I am accident-prone, and I love to cook and bake.  I wouldn't say I burn myself routinely, but 2 or 3 times a year is pretty common.

Run a marathon – Not something I have any interest in doing.

Spend over 10,000 bucks in one day – Buying a house counts, right?

Flown on an airplane – Many times, as a passenger.  Once, when I was 12, a friend of my parents took us up in his little private airplane, and he let me steer for a while, even.

Written an 18-page letter (front & back) – I've written a LOT of long letters in my life, but 18 pages is probably a little over my max.  Usually I run out of steam around 10 pages.

Gone skiing – Not something I enjoy much, but I've gone downhill skiing probably half a dozen times.

Lost someone you loved – All my grandparents have died.  Several of my aunts and uncles, too.

Got into trouble for something you didn’t do – Probably?  No specific instances come to mind, but I know it happened when I was a kid, and it always made me furious.

Stolen a book from a library – Not on purpose, but we have had a few go missing over the years.

Gone to a different country – Yes!  I've been to Canada quite a few times, plus Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, and whichever island in the Bahamas where Nassau is.

Gambled in a casino – No, thanks.  I've been inside a couple casinos, but I didn't do any gambling.

Been in a school play – I mean, sorta -- I was in a couple talent show productions in college, including one where we performed the Monty Python skit "Buying a Bed," and I was in the chorus for three different Gilbert and Sullivan musicals in college, too.

Taken a lie detector test – Why would I?

Voted for someone on a reality TV show – I don't really like reality TV.

Read more than 20 books a year – Rare is the year when I don't read more than 20 books.  For the last few years, I've read about five times that many.

Gone to Europe – As mentioned above, I've been to Poland and Ukraine.

Had a surgery – Let's see... I had surgery to set a broken arm when I was 12, got fully sedated to have my wisdom teeth out when I was 18, had my gall bladder out in my mid-30s, and then had surgery to set a broken arm again last year. 

Had stitches – Thanks to three of those surgeries, yup.

Ridden a tuk-tuk (autorickshaw) – No, but they look cool.

Had more than 5 IM conversations going on at once – I think I've maxed out at three.

Been in a fistfight – Fighting with my little brother when we were kids probably doesn't count.

Had a pet – Many!  Cats, fish, dogs, and hamsters.  No llamas, tho.

Petted a wild animal – I like to pick up grass snakes, so I think that counts.

Had your own credit card & bought something with it – I didn't have any credit cards until after I got married, but I do have two of them now. 

Dyed your hair – Several times, usually some shade of red.

Got a tattoo – Nope, but if I did, it would say "The readiness is all."

Had something pierced – I have one hole in each ear.

Got straight 'A's – I got a B in one class in college, which ruined my perfect record of straight A grades for all four years and made me graduate second in my class, with a GPA of 3.98.  Stupid PE class spoiled everything :-b  The girl ahead of me had a perfect 4.0.  But for seven out of eight semesters, I had straight 'A's.

Taken pictures with a webcam – I mean, I've used a webcam to video chat with people plenty of times, but I don't think I've used one to take a picture.  Not sure why I would.

Gone to sleep with music on – I had a couple college roommates who insisted on sleeping with either the radio or a CD on, and I got used to it eventually.

Well, that was fun, in a random and wacky sort of way :-D  I hope you enjoyed it!

Because I wasn't tagged with this, and there don't seem to be any rules about tagging people... I am not tagging anyone with this.  However, if this looks fun to you, go ahead and copy it for your own blog!  To make that easier, here's a clean copy of the questions:

Kissed someone 

Gone to a rock concert

Helped someone 

Gone fishing 

Watched four movies in one night 

Lied to someone 

Failed a subject

Been in a car accident 

Been in a tsunami

Watched someone die (including pets) 

Been to a funeral 

Burned yourself 

Run a marathon 

Spend over 10,000 bucks in one day 

Flown on an airplane 

Written an 18-page letter (front & back) 

Gone skiing 

Lost someone you loved

Got into trouble for something you didn’t do 

Stolen a book from a library 

Gone to a different country 

Gambled in a casino 

Been in a school play

Taken a lie detector test 

Voted for someone on a reality TV show 

Read more than 20 books a year

Gone to Europe 

Had a surgery

Had stitches

Ridden a tuk-tuk (autorickshaw)

Had more than 5 IM conversations going on at once

Been in a fistfight 

Had a pet 

Petted a wild animal 

Had your own credit card & bought something with it

Dyed your hair

Got a tattoo

Had something pierced

Got straight 'A's

Taken pictures with a webcam

Gone to sleep with music on

"Real Genius" (1985)

Real Genius (1985) always reminds me of college and my friend Ed.  That's because she and I discovered it together during our sophomore year there.  (Yes, Ed is a she -- E and D were her initials, and Ed was her nickname.  We called her Lady Ed on formal occasions.)  I'm pretty sure I nabbed a used VHS copy of it at a going-out-of-business video store sale, buying it solely because I loved Val Kilmer.  But Ed loved '80s comedies, the zanier the better, so it's possible she'd seen it before and suggested we rent it because she liked it and knew I liked Kilmer.  And then I bought a copy after seeing it with her.

Either way, we became obsessed with this movie.  We watched it over and over during our sophomore year.  We were living with two other girls in an apartment that year, and one of them also enjoyed the movie, though she didn't get quite so deeply involved with it as Ed and I did.

By "deeply involved," I mean we quoted it endlessly.  "It's a moral imperative" became a kind of mantra for us, our best reason for deciding to do anything from trying a new shampoo to staying up until 2am on a Friday night/Saturday morning to watch one more movie before crashing.  We quoted a lot of other lines too.  "Rue the day?  Who talks like that?" was another favorite, mostly because WE were the sort of literary nerds who talked like that.

And Real Genius inspired the three of us to buy "alien antennae" like Chris Knight (Val Kilmer) wears in his first scene.  We found them at a Halloween store, I think, or at least during Halloween, and we wore them to classes and all around campus.  Not all the time.  Not every day.  But every couple of weeks, for the rest of that year and on into the next, we'd decide one night that tomorrow would be Antennae Day, and we'd all three wear them to class, the cafeteria, choir practice, everywhere.

Wearing those antennae taught me the power of costumes.  Ed was already an outgoing person, but our third Musketeer and I were both quite shy.  I don't know how it worked for my fellow shy roommate, but for me, wearing those antennae gave me a boldness I usually lacked.  Somehow, knowing that people would be looking at the antennae on my head, not just at me, made me willing to be a little more outgoing.  Not a lot -- they didn't change my personality.  But if a basketball player stopped me to ask if I was a bug or an alien, I'd make some funny or cute remark back about it being a secret, so I'd have to kill him if I told him.  Ordinarily, I probably would have mumbled something, but knowing he was staring at the antennae gave me some kind of inner spark of energy or something.

Anyway, rewatching Real Genius to review it this week flooded me with nostalgia.  I didn't just remember the movie, I remembered all our good times watching it, using the movie to psych ourselves up before a big test or something difficult.  It always had a sort of empowering effect on us like that, filling us with confidence.  

The movie is honestly pretty standard '80s teen comedy fare.  There's a geeky genius named Mitch (Gabe Jarret) who gets accepted to a prestigious science school.  

His new roommate Chris (Val Kilmer) is an unconventional charmer who glides through life (and school) with an insouciant swagger, tossing off funny quips and profound nonsense at every turn.  Also, he wears bunny slippers a lot.  

There's also a mysterious man who comes and goes via the closet in their room.  Mitch eventually learns this is Lazlo Hollyfeld (Jon Gries), who was once the smartest, youngest student at the school, but now is a recluse who lives in the steam tunnels.  (If he looks familiar, Gries played Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite...)

Together, Lazlo, Mitch, and Chris discover that a professor (William Atherton) is going to use their research and inventions to build a laser weapon for the military, so they decide to sabotage his project.  The sabotage involves filling the professor's house with popcorn, which he hates, in a pretty spectacular and memorable finale.

The science in the movie ranges from flimsy to just barely plausible.  The school is laughably unrealistic.  The ease with which Chris and Mitch sneak onto a military base and sabotage a top secret project is nonsensical.  But that doesn't matter.  Because... Val Kilmer sells the whole thing, one swaggering bon mot at a time.

I really wonder what filming this was like for Kilmer.  After all, he was a bit of a boy genius himself -- the youngest student ever accepted to the acting program at Juliard.  I wonder if he's so very, very effective at mentoring Mitch because, in a way, Kilmer saw a bit of his own past situation in Mitch's story.  Boy genius, youngest student at a place filled with talented people, lots of pressure to succeed... it must have felt familiar, don't you think?  I wonder if Kilmer exudes such actual kindness and care through this character because he's playing the sort of mentor he once needed.  Or maybe I'm just reading way too much into this fluffy bit of tomfoolery!

Is this movie family friendly?  Ummmmm, welllllll, not exactly.  It's only rated PG, but I really think it should be PG-13, due to the innuendo and sexual references scattered throughout, mostly in dialog but also some implied visually.  But the PG-13 rating was still very new in 1985, so I guess they decided not to apply it here.  I won't let my kids watch it yet, but I probably will when they are in their upper teens.

This review is my contribution to the fifth So Bad It's Good Blogathon hosted by Taking Up Room.  I'm so glad it gave me a reason to revisit this movie, which I do love even though it's cheesy and unrealistic and ridiculous and goofy.

12 Delights of Christmas Tag

Heidi started this tag on her blog Along the Brandywine last week, and I'm happy to say, she tagged me with it!  Thank you, Heidi :-)  

So here we go with my answers to her questions!  As usual, all pictures are mine from my Instagram account, except ones that are movie screencaps I took myself.

1) A favorite Christmas tradition? 

Every year, we take "Christmas walks" around our neighborhood to look at the Christmas decorations outside their homes.  One of the kids gets to carry a little lantern with a battery-operated candle in it, and sometimes we sing Christmas carols as we walk.

2) Say it snowed at your domicile, would you prefer to go out or stay curled up inside? 

I do both!  First, I go out and help my kids build a snowman, maybe have a snowball fight, maybe do a bit of sledding down the hill in our backyard.  It tends to work best if I go down the hill first, to carve out a deeper track than they can make.  Then they can just sled down in that track all they want.  When I come inside, I make hot chocolate for everyone.  After that, I curl up and watch the snow.

3) Tea or hot chocolate? 

Hot chocolate, all the way.

4) Favorite Christmas colors (i.e. white, blue, silver, red and green etc)? 

Red and silver and gold are my favorites.

5) Favorite kind of Christmas cookie? 

I have a recipe we call "Mandi Cookies," named after a college roommate of mine who gave us the recipe.  They are fantastic for cut-out cookies, and I could eat half a dozen in one sitting.  I have the recipe here on my recipe blog.

6) How soon before Christmas do you decorate (more specifically, when does your tree go up)?

I like to put it up the day after Thanksgiving.  I would put it up the day after Halloween, but Cowboy would object strenuously, so I don't.  Some years, it's gone up later, though, like the years when we spend Thanksgiving somewhere else with family.

It usually takes us one day to set up the tree and decorate it, and I spend another day doing lights and decorations outside and in the foyer, and another one decorating the living room.  So it's a job for a long weekend.

7) Three favorite traditional Christmas carols? 

1. "What Child is This"
2. "Go Tell it on the Mountain"
3. "Silent Night"

8) A favorite Christmas song (i.e. something you might hear on the radio)? 

I have a great fondness for Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" because one of my first college roommates really loved it and we would grab pencils for microphones and belt it out along with the radio.

9) A favorite Christmas movie? 

White Christmas (1954) is my top favorite, and you can read my thoughts on it right here.

10) Have you ever gone caroling? 

Yes!  Though not for a long time.  When I was a kid, my parents and the rest of the church choir (which my mom led) would go caroling to the homes of shut-in members of our church.  When I was a teen, our Sunday school went caroling to some nursing homes a few years.

11) Ice skating, sledding, skiing, or snow boarding? 

Sledding!  I didn't learn to ski or ice skate until I was in my teens, and I never really have enjoyed either of them.  But I love sledding.

12) Favorite Christmas feast dish?

Every year, for the last 10 years or so, I've made coconut cream pie for Christmas.  We love it!  Especially Cowboy, who loves basically all pies.

Time to TAG people!

I would love it if these bloggers took a turn with this:

Coffee, Classics, and Craziness

Flowers of Quiet Happiness

I'm Charles Baker Harris (And I Can Read)

Movies Meet Their Match

Caftan Woman

And if YOU want to do this tag yourself, even though you haven't been tagged, you are 100% allowed to do so!  Here are the questions, for copying ease:

1) A favorite Christmas tradition? 

2) Say it snowed at your domicile, would you prefer to go out or stay curled up inside? 

3) Tea or hot chocolate? 

4) Favorite Christmas colors (i.e. white, blue, silver, red and green etc)? 

5) Favorite kind of Christmas cookie? 

6) How soon before Christmas do you decorate (more specifically, when does your tree go up)? 

7) Three favorite traditional Christmas carols? 

8) A favorite Christmas song (i.e. something you might hear on the radio)? 

9) A favorite Christmas movie? 

10) Have you ever gone caroling? 

11) Ice skating, sledding, skiing, or snow boarding? 

12) Favorite Christmas feast dish?

Are You Still Bored?

I've been collecting up more fun and free/cheap ideas to share with you, activities you can do to alleviate boredom while you're still sheltering-in-place.  I know a lot of places are starting to lift some restrictions, but... a rainy spring day being cooped up at home is never fun, and even less fun when you've been stuck at home for 6+ weeks, so... here are some fun things you (or your kids)(or your parents) might enjoy :-)

(ICYMI, my first post of such ideas is here.)

+ Concordia Publishing House is offering a free printable coloring page for National Day of Prayer, which is TODAY (May 7).  PLUS that page also has printable coloring cards for Mother's Day and Father's Day.

+ Theater students at my alma mater, Bethany Lutheran College, created their own productions of the first nine episodes of the original Lone Ranger radio show!!!  And you can listen to them online right here.  Fun, family-friendly entertainment.

+ Tweetsie Railroad is offering free printable designs for making paper trains and train cars.  They've added a new one every week for quite a while, so there are lots of them to try out.

+ Colonial Williamsburg has added virtual tours of the Governor's Palace and their Art Museums to their website.  They're fabulous, especially the one of the palace, which is filled with costumed interpreters and just... awesome.

+ Chawton House (aka the estate where Jane Austen lived in later years) has put their spring museum exhibits online!  They're called the "Man Up!" collection, and are all about women who did things they were maybe told they couldn't or shouldn't, but discovered they could do anyway.  You can explore the exhibit here.

+ Etsy artist Magnetic Past is offering free downloadable coloring pages with themes like Famous Authors and Pride and Prejudice and Medieval Times.

+ LeVar Burton is doing a Twitter livestream 3 days a week, reading books aloud!  Mondays are children's books, Wednesdays are YA, and Fridays are for adults.

+ YourLMMStory.com is collecting up people's stories of how they became a fan of Lucy Maud Montgomery's books.  You can share yours today!

+ If you have Disney+ and you or your kids are interested in learning what it took to make an animated movie back in the days of hand-drawing everything, you need to watch The Reluctant Dragon (1941).  It's a gentle little story of a man who has an idea for a movie and wanders around the Disney studios trying to find Walt himself, on the way encountering everyone from story board artists to sound effects recording artists and everyone in between.  I learned a lot from it, and so did my kids.  Plus, it's funny!  Bonus points if you spot a very young Alan Ladd in a bit part (this was one year before his breakout role in This Gun for Hire).  Hint: he's wearing a green jacket.

That's all I've got for you this time.  Friends of mine from elsewhere are saying that restrictions are easing up, but here where we are, things are pretty shut down still.  But we should be able to start holding worship services in church again about the time our new pastor arrives in a few weeks!  What a blessing!

The Four Things Tag

Eva did this on Coffee, Classics, and Craziness and tagged anyone who enjoys rewatching movies.  I ADORE rewatching movies, as you undoubtedly know, so... I consider myself tagged and am filling this out accordingly (with some asides to narrow down the categories a bit).

Four Jobs I’ve Had

Face-painter
Waitress
Cashier
Columnist

Four Things I Don’t (like to) Eat

Boiled potatoes
Baked potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Stewed potatoes

(My reaction to 'taters.)

Four Places I’ve Lived (since I was an adult)

Minnesota
Wisconsin
Connecticut
Virginia

Four of my Favorite Foods

Chocolate
Peanut butter
Pears
Asparagus

(From Pinterest)

Four Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once (with my best friend)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Slow West (2015)
Hamlet (2011)


Four TV Shows I (am currently) Watch(ing)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Leverage
Castle
F Troop

Four Things I’m Looking Forward to This Year (2018)

Publishing my next book, Dancing and Doughnuts
Visiting the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum (I hope)
Seeing my best friend again (someway, somehow)
Cleaning up the giant mess that my bedroom has become


Four Things I Can’t Live Without (besides the obvious things like water and air and food)(and not counting people or God, cuz they're not things)

Books
Movies
Yarn
Cameras


Four Places I’ve Visited (over and over)

Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Mackinac Island, MI
Charleston, SC
The Wisconsin Dells, WI

(A pic I took in Colonial Williamsburg last year.)

Four Pet Peeves (or things that annoy me, anyway)

The number of people who don't differentiate between an opinion and a fact
Lots of Alan Ladd's movies aren't available on DVD
The phrase "try and" -- it's bad grammar and ought to be "try to"
The way the big toenail on my left foot just won't go back to normal after getting ripped off like 2 years ago


Four Things I Wish I Could Do

Fence (with swords, I mean, not put up fences)
Enjoy housecleaning
Eat as much bacon as I want
Decorate really pretty cakes

(From Pinterest)

Four Subjects I Studied at School College

English
History
Literature
Creative Writing


Four Things Near Me Right Now

My Wolverine coffee mug
The Sons of Katie Elder soundtrack on CD
A box of my daughters' nail polishes
My red camera, Francis

There, I finally finished this tag!  Yay!  I hereby tag anyone who loves bacon :-9

"Anastasia" Soundtrack Guest Post

Good morning!  My review of the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack is now up over at J and J Productions.  Listening to this album always takes me back to my college years, especially winter in Minnesota with lots of wonderful snow outside and lots of friends inside.  Happy times!

AMA Answers #2

More answers to the AMA questions y'all asked me!

DKoren asked:  If you could cast Rudy in any modern movie, what would you like to see him in? 

(Rudy = Rudolph Valentino, for those who don't know.)  I would have him play Roux in Chocolat.  Yes, Johnny Depp was creamy-dreamy in the role, but I can totally see Rudy as Roux.  With his Italian accent he'd have that perfect flavor of slightly-other.  Plus of course he'd have the handsomeness and the charm and the devil-may-care flair down pat.  Kind of lost in imagining him in this now -- thanks :-9

Valentino vs. Depp

Or, looked at another way, what role would you like to have seen him play?

If I could have him had make any story into a movie, back when he was actually making movies?  Oh, why not have him as John Thornton in a silent version of North and South?  Rudy could do haughty and offended so sweetly, and also wounded and tender and sad and hopeful and... yeah, that would have been amazing.

Particularly Thornton-ish shots of Rudy

Which character in The Great Escape do you most relate to? 

Sedgwick (James Coburn), I think.  He's always making things and solving problems in creative ways.

Which is your favorite?

Hilts (Steve McQueen) and Danny (Charles Bronson) tie for my favorite.  Hilts for his swagger, and Danny for his sadness.  (Always with the sad characters, Hamlette!  Yeesh!)

Jessica Prescott asked:  Which is your favorite Star Wars character, and why?

Han Solo (Harrison Ford).  Again with the swagger -- I like a guy with braggadocio, but only if he's 100% earned the right to it.  Which Han has -- he's every bit as bad and cool and wonderful as he wants you to believe he is.  (Also, I'm fascinated by smugglers.)  (Also, Harrison Ford!  Hubba hubba.)

Do you have a favorite song/singer/band?

Yes I do.  His name is Bobby Darin, and I have loved his music since I was 16.  I bought a cassette tape of his music because I wanted to hear his rendition of "Mack the Knife" (my favorite song ever since).  I listened to it on my cassette player with my headphones in that night, lying in bed, and knew I was never going to be the same.  I listened to both sides of the tape before I went to sleep, and listened to it right away again in the morning.  His music has been with me ever since.

I do post about him fairly often -- you can read all my posts about him here if you want to know more about why I love him.  He recorded music in every genre that existed in the '50s, '60s, and early '70s, and his versatility is pretty well unrivaled.

Besides being a consummate singer, songwriter, and live performer, Bobby was also a talented actor.  He appeared in many popular TV shows, made quite a few movies, and was even nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in Captain Newman, MD (1963).

Did you read the Chronicles of Narnia as a kid? If so, which book was your favorite?

I read them as a teen.  My favorite is The Horse and his Boy, which I've read probably 4 times, while the rest I've only read once.  I used to go around saying, "The bolt of Tash falls from above!" at random moments.

Zoe asked:  Have you ever participated in English Country Dancing, attended a masquerade ball, or danced The Laendler? If so, might you paint a word picture of your experience? 

No to English Country Dancing (but I'd love to try it), and no to The Laendler.  Sort of yes to the masquerade ball, in that my college had a Halloween dance every year, and my friends and I always went in costume.  One year we all went as vampires dressed in costumes (so I was a vampire soldier, Cowboy was a vampire Ringo Starr, etc.).  Another year, we all went Goth Glam.  One year I was Rogue and Cowboy was Wolverine.  So while we all knew who everyone was because we saw these people every day (very small college -- about 400 students at that time), it was still kind of a masquerade ball.

Wearing a costume to a dance, for me, was a way of shedding my inhibitions about "am I dancing weird?" and "do I look like a dork?" because with a costume on, of course I looked goofy!  And that gave me freedom to bust out some moves I might not ordinarily try.  Though to be honest, my friends and I have never been awesome dancers, but we have been joyful dancers, and we do things like The Monkey and The Twist that were popular long ago.

I also took ballroom dancing my freshman year of college.  But there were more than twice as many girls as boys, so I ended up learning the boy steps to all the dances so I could dance with the only person I knew in the class and she could learn the girl steps.

So... none of those were quite what you were asking about, I'm afraid.  I really want to try English Country Dancing one day!  When I have time, lol.

(There's no good reason for this extra photo of Bobby Darin.)

Thanks for the great questions, friends!  I'll be answering Natalie's question next -- I have a feeling I'll be spending a whole post on it!