Thursday Thirteen #24: The DO WORK playlist

Ok, I'm back! I survived TOMMY, and finals, so here's my first Thursday Thirteen of THE SUMMER!



Thirteen Songs off of my playlist entitled "DO WORK, SON!" which I listened to while studying/writing papers this year during finals.

1. Chicago-Sufjan Stevens
Off of the Illinois album, and featured heavily in Little Miss Sunshine this song has a really calming effect on me, and is a really great song to work to since it's not distracting.

2. Indoor Fireworks-Elvis Costello
Elvis' voice is like velvet on this song, LOVE IT.

3. Counting Down the Hours-Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
The definition of finals week this spring!

4. The Song of Purple Summer-The Spring Awakening Broadway Cast Recording
This song oozes summer out of every note, and I can't wait to listen to it some night as the sunsets. It's on the list to remind me of what I'm working toward.

5. The Animal Song-Savage Garden
So...this is a huge guilty pleasure for me, I'll admit it. Savage Garden produces some great pop tunes.

6. A Day in the Life-The Beatles (Love Remixes)
I was apprehensive when I was told Cirque du Solei remixed the beatles to creat their show LOVE, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This album is amazing!

7. A Case of You
As the facebook group puts it: "Joni Mitchell is a F***ing Baller" and I will listen to her until the day I die.

8. Nan, You're a Window Shopper-Lily Allen
I can't get enough of Brit "hip-pop"...as I like to call it. Lily Allen rocks out on this track with her dry wit.

9. North Country Girl-Pete Townshend
I love Pete's voice, and his guitar playing. This song is gorgeous.

10. Lost in the Supermarket-The Clash
Joe Strummer is my homeboy.

11. Racing in the Streets-Bruce Springsteen (Live Bootleg)
This song is so beautiful that I have to stop all my work and just take time to listen to the lyrics when it comes on.

12. Head Over Heels-Tears for Fears
Yessssss 80s music!

13. I'm Not Alright (Acoustic)-Sanctus Real
I didn't think christian alt-rock could be this hauntingly beautiful.



And the 2006/2007 school year comes to a close. (I don't think my mom has realized it yet...but I'm officially a senior here at the University of Michigan!)

"Called it"

My name is Cosmic Kid, and I'm a movie "caller".

I made this realization tonight, while watching the movie Fracture, starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. An hour into the film I knew how it was going to end. I never said anything out loud, however, it drove me crazy for the rest of the film. What bothered me the most about figuring this movie out so early was that I definitely enjoyed the entire movie, and thought it was very well made, but I guessed it so early.

This is not the first time this has happened, either. The Prestige: 45 Minutes. Disturbia: 30 Minutes. And these are just the recent occurances, and both are movies that I really liked! I'm starting to think I've just seen too many movies. Have I hit my film peak? I mean, I am only twenty years old!

...maybe I'm just procrastinating so that I avoid writing the paper, the take home final, and the research project I have due this week. That's probably it.

Thursday Thirteen #23: Opening Night

In honor of the opening night of the show I am Asst. Stage Managing this weekend, here are...
13 things to know about the opening and running a show!

1. Everyone is happy because there are no more early morning production meetings
Most shows have regular production meetings, and UMich likes to have them between 9am & 11am. Tommy was blessed with 9am meetings, which after rehearsals that went until 11:30, is early.

2. Never say "good luck"
In every performance circle, the big G.L. is actually bad luck. For theatre say "break a leg" and for opera say "Toi Toi Toi!" (I still have no idea what Toi means)

3. The Cast is usually well behaved
Between nerves and wanting to perform a good show, most casts are quiet back stage and nice to everyone.

4. People get to see the show!
After 5 weeks of rehearsals, bad moods, late nights, and hard work, friends and family finally get to see what you've created such a fuss about. (And hopefully they're impressed)

5. It gets easier!
Rehearsals, Techs, and Dress Rehearsals are frenzied, but usually things get easier during the run of a show. The crew has finally learned the show, so most things become routine. With a long running show everything can become clockwork...as long as no disasters happen.

6. Something always goes wrong
I love problem solving, so waiting for that one thing to go wrong and having to trouble shoot around it is a challenge I look foreward to.

7. Stage Blacks
My wardrobe is distilled down to 4 things during performances: Black shoes, black pants, black Tshirt, and a black hooded sweatshirt. THis makes getting dressed a lot easier in the morning.

8. No Foot Wrestling
On Saturday's rehearsal the crew was so bored that they actually foot wrestled backstage. Now they barely have enough time to sit down!

9. The Orchestra Arrives
With musicals, opera, or theatre featuring compositions, once the musicians arrive beautiful things happen to a show. I always love when full orchestrations are added, since the show really comes alive once they're all there.

10. Never mention the "scottish play"
Another huge no-no once a show has moved into the theatre is ever mentioning Shakespeare's "scottish play," M*cB*th.

11. "Thanks"
Once the actors have moved past the insanity of moving into the theatre, then adding costumes, they start to notice all of the hard work the Stage Managers and crew members are doing, and start saying thanks. It's nice to finally reach this point, since all the hard work is being rewarded.

12. Costumes rock
Whether the show is a period piece or modern, costumes are always an awesome addition to complete the world of the production. Love them!

13. Cast Party!
It's finally time to celebrate all of the work you've done!



Here's to a successful opening night of The Who's TOMMY here at UMich!

Loving Love

One of the room mates finally burned me a copy of The Beatles' LOVE, the collection of remixes from Cirque du Soleil. All I can say is WOW. This album takes these Beatles tunes to a whole new place, and it's a good place.

Thursday Thirteen #22: Television

13 TV shows I absolutley have to see each week!

1. House M.D.
Can you say "obsessed"? I record every new and repeated episode each week

2. The Riches
This new show from FX rocks! Eddie Izzard is amazing!

3. Grey's Anatomy
I'll never miss a new episode of Grey's

4. Mythbusters
I'm a nerd, and happy to admit it

5. Dirty Jobs
Discovery runs my life, and Mike Rowe is just too entertaining

6. Colbert Report
Mr. Colbert amazes me, because he is so perfectly in character during each moment of his show, that I love every second of it.

7. It Takes a Thief
It makes me paranoid and entertains me all at the same time.

8. Cash Cab
The greatest game show ever, that takes place all in the back of a New York City taxi cab!

9. Project Runway
I've watched it since day one, so I'm not giving up on it any time soon

10. Hell's Kitchen/Top Chef
I like Hell's Kitchen more than Top Chef mostly because of Ramsay, but Top Chef is pretty awesome too.

11. The Sopranos
This show is so incredibly well written that I can't stop watching!

12. Curb Your Enthusiasm
The funniest show on television, hands down!

13. Scrubs
Scrubs is the snack food of tv, if it's on, you can't help but keep enjoying it!


What shows do you have to see/Tivo?