Day 23 and 24

This one was easy as I've already had my wedding. I already have added "our song" from the wedding, so this time I will include the song that my dad and I danced to. It's funny, the only time I really cried, besides during the actual ceremony, was as my dad was walking me down the aisle and when we did the Daddy/daughter dance to this song. I guess it was a kind of "Wow, this is really happening" moment for me. To be fair, this song makes me cry now hearing it. 

Day 23 - A song I want to play at my wedding: Tony Bennett - The Way You Look Tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8gwKnkJHWY&feature=related

Weirdly enough, this one is also easy. The song from Day 2 will definitely not be playing, I refuse to have it there. But I want this as the prelude or postlude, as it has always been one of my favorites. I want them to play the full version of it (it is a bit long) on the organ, so it should be a really excellent quality church organ/organist. I figure if you're going out, it might as be with a bang and something really dramatic. 

Day 24 - A song I want played at my funeral:  J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

My weekend

This weekend was really long but we had a blast! I got to hang out with my friend Sioux and her fiance Jason, as well as some of their friends, which was nice. I also was involved in helping with the prep work for the wedding, which I had been missing ever since I dropped out of the wedding party due to financial reasons. The ceremony itself was an interesting mix of Christian and Native American traditions, as the bride was Native and the groom was Lutheran. At the beginning of the ceremony, they burned sweetgrass and tobacco to ward off evil spirits and then later burned sage to keep in the good spirits. After the couple said their vows, they did a wedding vase ceremony which involved the couple drinking out of a double necked Native American vase (which was interesting as I had seen them in Arizona and purchased one as I liked the look of it, but didn't know what it was) and then giving the rest to Mother Earth. A little later, the couple also did the wedding blanket ceremony where a traditional Native American blanket, similar to this, was wrapped around the couple to bless their union. The reception was nice as well and we danced to 70s and 80s music. We stayed at the B&B where the wedding was held, which had lovely breakfast. The other nice thing about the trip was our rental car (which we had to get since my car was still in the shop). We got a Toyota Yaris 4-door, which was fun to drive, even though I ended up doing all the driving. John liked it so much he's thinking about getting one, as our new car, once we finish off paying for the Mazda.

It was nice being back in Richmond, as I hadn't been there since Sioux's graduation from undergrad at my alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) three or so years prior. It made me remember how much I liked living in the area and so I've started to look for jobs there. The main thing is trying to convince my husband that it is not the land of rednecks (like it was in Danville, where my parents lived briefly), but rather a nice mix of North and South. I like Richmond because you can still get sweet tea, but it's not too Southern, or at least I don't consider to be so. Unless of course you count those Civil War crazies that sometimes hang out there, aka guy walking up and down Franklin Street with a giant Confederate flag on Confederate Memorial Day back when I was in school. Yes, it was the capital of the Confederacy at the end of the Civil War, but thankfully it has progressed a bit since then. It's funny because when I was living there during my undergraduate years, I thought it was great if you were married with children but not fantastic if you are single and in school, especially without a car. But now that I'm getting to the point of not being in school, I can see how nice it is to live there, and possibly raise a family. We'll see how things progress.

Trying to think of something more fun to write about than the state of my car

Alas, I'm having car troubles yet again, and it couldn't be worse timing. I am going to Virginia next week to celebrate my friend's wedding so that I'll have something happy to think about on Sept 11 instead of depressing things. My car is in the shop and looks likely to be there until next weekend, which means I can't pick it up until next week. Boo!

Anywho, I've decided to write about two films I've watched recently instead. These are two very different and random movies. First off is the big budget but ultimately a flop movie version of the Broadway play Nine, starring Daniel Day Lewis as Guido Contini, with Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard and yes sadly, Fergie. First off my dislikes. I don't think Daniel Day Lewis should ever be allowed to sing again and I thought Fergie's song was annoying and way too easy to get stuck in your head. Granted, I've never been a fan of Mr. Lewis, although my mother swears by him in Last of the Mohicans, as I'm sure so do a lot of other women. Fergie should stick with the Black Eyed Peas. I also thought the story was a little pathetic. I mean the guy has everything and blows it all and has to start all over again from scratch. I mostly just wanted to steal his car, which was this cute little Italian convertible. On to the likes: the choreography and the performances of Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard. The dancing was fabulous and the movie was directed by Rob Marshall, who did Chicago, another of my favorite movie musicals. Nicole Kidman was only in the movie for a very short period of time as Guido's muse and leading actress, sings a wonderfully sad song called "Unusual Way." Judi Dench is amusing as Guido's straight-talking costume designer who used to work at the Folies Bergere and sings a song about it and how great it was. I must admit her singing in French was a bit off-putting for me as I see her as the classic British star, but she did put on a good act. Penelope Cruz is absolutely gorgeous and vulnerable as Guido's mistress and she sings this super seductive song in lingerie that I'm sure her new hubby Javier Bardem is getting a kick out of now. Marion Cotillard, who I loved in La Vie En Rose about Edith Piaf and as the lady in red and pretty much the only good thing about Public Enemy, plays Guido's ignored and unappreciative wife. She gets to sing one really great song "Take It All" and one good song called "My Husband Makes Movies."

The second movie I've watched recently is The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. This film was directed by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame and who also did movies like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Brothers Grimm. It was the last film role for Heath Ledger, and he died while filming it. The movie also stars the venerable Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer (who was probably my favorite actor in this movie, I thought he was hilarious and I didn't care for him in the Austin Powers movies) as Parnassus's sidekick Percy, soon-to-be new SpiderMan Andrew Garfield as the stumbling vulnerable Anton, model Lily Cole as Parnassus's daughter Valentina and Tom Waits as the Devil. The premise of the movie is hard to explain, so I will refer to this AFI Fest article, "Gilliam's first feature since 2005’s TIDELAND, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is a return to the grotesque and arabesque aesthetic of some of his earlier work, including the Monty Python animations. Doctor Parnassus, like Baron Munchausen, runs a ramshackle theatre troupe, clattering round the shadowy streets of nighttime London in the hopes of entertaining a motley crowd of drinkers and shoppers. The show involves luring a member of the audience through a magical mirror and into the titular Imaginarium, where Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) uses his powers (he’s immortal) to amplify their waking dreams into the trip of a lifetime. Some lucky punters emerge from the mirror reborn, others find Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) lurking on the dark side of their daydreams, ready to lure them straight to Hell. The Parnassus crew is no merry band of players, however. The Doctor broods over a long-ago deal with Mr. Nick that is about to come due. Anton (Andrew Garfield) nurses an unrequited crush on Valentina (Lily Cole) who thinks of nothing but making a getaway, pasting the cover of Ideal Home (“norm porn”) above her bunk, to aid her dreams of regular family life. Percy (Verne Troyer) is Dr. Parnassus’ loyal longtime companion, but even he is getting frustrated by his boss’ drinking and mood swings. Their disequilibrium is disrupted still further when they rescue Tony (Heath Ledger), whom they find hanging underneath Blackfriars Bridge and he too becomes smitten by Lily’s charms. It’s inevitable that they will all end up in the Imaginarium, seeking answers and escape." Summary aside, I loved the movie and it's focus on imagination (the AFI article goes into Gilliam's views on imagination, which is a good read as well), and the battle between good and evil and which we one we choose. I loved the very Monty Pythonesque "Join the Police" clip in the middle of the movie, which I can't seem to find online to show anyone. I thought the visuals were fantastic, especially the monastery scenes and when they are inside Dr. Parnassus's imagination.