Smell the buttery goodness...

Well, Neal flushed his cell phone down the toilet, and I have a funny story too:

Two nights ago, I wanted to make some popcorn to eat while watching Harry Potter movie 4 (I got the DVD, yay!). I put the popcorn bag in the microwave for 4 minutes like I usually do, but since we got a new microwave, it's a little different than the one I used before. See, this one seems to be a lot more powerful than the old one, so instead of getting a bag full of yummy buttery popcorn, I ended up with a bag full of horribly burnt popcorn and smoke. Well, most of the popcorn was grey, but there was also a mass of horribly burnt black popcorn, and it stunk up the whole kitchen. Even the next morning, there was still a smell of burnt popcorn in the air. Frig, it's 2 days later and the microwave still smells like burnt popcorn...

I've watched Harry Potter 4 twice since I got the DVD, and I've noticed a little subtlety that you can only notice if you watch the movie several times. The scene after the Second Task (where they have to save the hostages in the lake) when Barty Crouch seems to recognize "Moody" who is really his son Barty Jr in disguise - notice in every scene involving Barty Jr as himself, he's always doing this tongue-flicking thing. Well, when Barty Sr sees "Moody", "Moody" does the tongue-flick, and that's why Barty Sr gets suspicious. A few not-so-subtle things that can be noticed the first time watching - Barty Sr looks like Hitler, Viktor Krum looks like Dreamboat (though I'm sure that one was not intentional...), Ron and Hermione totally have a thing for each other, the Patil twins are not identical (they're played by actresses who aren't even related to each other), and Harry's glasses often don't have lenses in them.

Other movies I've watched recently - My Big Fat Greek Wedding (funniest movie ever!), Amelie (my movie!), and Strictly Ballroom (yay for dance movies!).

I might even be in a movie myself! I might audition for a local movie, whooo!

And friends, remember to come to my dance recital next month - Saturday April 29, get your tickets at the Confed Centre box office!

I feel for poor Giselle...

Not much going on in my life lately. Life is boring at this time of year. Though the weather is getting better and the days are getting longer. Mr. Squirrel was in the tree again. It's getting warm enough not to need to wear a winter coat.

We had a Way of the Cross show at St. Anne's last night and it went well. I drove up myself and almost got lost on the way, but I got there in time. I play a weeping woman this year. I don't think I'll be able to make it to every show because of work and crap, but I'll be in as many as I can.

I've never seen the ballet Giselle, but I know the story and can strongly identify with it. Giselle is a peasant girl and falls head over heels in love with Albrecht. In Act I, they dance joyously and Giselle totally falls for him, though her mother warns her by telling her about the Wilis - spirits of maidens who died before their weddings as a result of faithless lovers. Then, a group of nobles arrives, including Countess Bathilde, who becomes very friendly with Giselle and even gives her a necklace as a sign of friendship. Later, it is revealed that Albrecht is a nobleman in disguise and betrothed to Bathilde. Giselle is heartbroken. She goes mad with grief and dies of heartache.

In Act II, Albrecht feels remorse, so he goes to Giselle's grave. He is surrounded by Wilis. They come out at night and haunt men, forcing them to dance themselves to death. Giselle is one of them. They attempt to force him to dance himself to death, but she warns him, and sustains him. When the sun rises, Albrecht is saved, and the Wilis go back to their graves.

I'm such a Giselle - the only difference is that I didn't die of heartache. But if I did, and if I became a Wili, I would save him from death too. Giselle loved Albrecht so much that she was willing to save his life rather than get revenge on him for breaking her heart...

Giselle and Albrecht dance and everyone is happy:




Alessandra Ferri as Giselle during the mad scene:




Ballet Minnesota's Giselle, during the death scene:




Giselle (Agnes Letestu) sustains Albrecht (Jose Martinez) to save him from death





If there's a ballet character I can identify with, it's Giselle.