.: so comes snow after fire :.

Great news! Today I signed up to join a new choir, as an alto! After a three-year-long break, it's a different choir but with the same director, who's also a friend of mine. Everyone was adorable and kind, and they even applauded me when I introduced myself. I got most of the sheet music right away, and they're going to give me a cd with the alto parts next week. Today I managed to learn most of the Miserere they were practicing by ear, but then after dinner I saw Les Miserables and now my brain is so full of music I can't remember a single note from practice. Oops.

Speaking of which, incredibly late to the party, I finally saw Les Mis. Noteworthy: the book was one of my favourites as a kid, I read it a thousand times, not kidding, to the point that it's embedded in my soul. Crazily obsessed with that visceral love only teens have. And I hadn't heard the musical yet, even if I had it on my iPod since the late Middle Ages. Procrastinators of the world, unite tomorrow.

Back on topic, let's get rid first of what I didn't like: the director. For god's sake, it was almost three hours of close-ups. And when the camera wasn't focused on an actor's face it was doing a drunk dance that kept us from seeing what was going on on scene. Why did they bother with sets and costumes when 90% of the time we couldn't see anything but the actors' noses? So annoying. Another thing, it felt incredibly rushed. They had to cram all those events in one movie, so it just jumped from scene to scene leaving us with little to no clue to what was actually happening and where. They gave a lot of time to Eponine (who was a character that I loved, true), but little to no time to Cosette, who's meant to be Valjean's driving force, his reason for life. We just have to accept their bond, but we never get to see it, because there's no time and when she's on scene she has time only to sing about Marius.

And yep, Russel Crowe is terrible as Javert, but that's in every review ever, so I won't bother you any further. ;)

And now, what I liked! The music was amazing, I can't wait to hear it all again, with Roger Allam as Javert. The songs were truly stunning! Anne Hathaway was sublime, no other words to describe her. I loved the parts with the evil innkeepers, although they sometimes felt superfluous to the story. One funny thing I noticed, they and Fantine were the only characters when I didn't actually notice they were singing. With every other character I had this sort of detachment, that I was watching someone singing, but with them it felt natural, like it was the obvious way for them to express themselves. Weird.

Another weird thing, probably because I'm too tired, was that when Marius sang Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, thanks to a gifset on tumblr, I could only see Bilbo singing it after the Battle of Five Armies, and I got teary-eyed for him, not for Marius. Sorry, Marius, but it's just too perfect! Hope someone will make a video. Christmas 2015 is going to be such fun.

I loved all the actors, anyway. The kid, Gavroche, was great, and everyone of the revolutionists too, although, again, their part was so very, very rushed. It's the kind of story meant for a miniseries, not one movie.

And off to bed, now! ^^

Rock Band Blitz is finally here! I managed to buy it yesterday (it's quite complicated, as one has to buy three different files to make it work), and after trying my hand at a few songs, I must admit it's more fun than I thought. The one big problem, though, is that after three songs my motion sickness starts acting up. After two more songs, I can't focus my eyes and my hands begin to cramp.

Not really a big problem, though, as I bought it mostly as a dlc pack for Rock Band 3. It has 25 beautiful songs, and especially Fun's We Are Young. It's Tati's and my 2012 song, we sing it out loud everytime we're together, usually while cooking, so we were ecstatic when they announced it for Rock Band. Today I tried my hand at singing it, obviously on Expert (ain't no short-ass gods around here), first solo then on harmonies (one person can sing harmonies, you just have to plug in two mics and hope that everyone sings the same thing). It is, unsurprisingly, very, very hard, but I managed to get five stars both times. The hardest part is obviously getting Janelle's part right, carry me home tonight, while I usually sing the na na na na part there, because the choir is louder than her.

And the best part is that since I have a boom microphone stand (Tati gave it to me two years ago as a birthday gift), singing this song at the top of my lungs gets a hundred times more awesome. I always feel like Carey Mulligan in Shame, the New York New York scene. ♥

Man, I do miss singing in a real choir. The drums are my love, but singing is so much fun, especially in a group. Maybe I should roll up my sleeves and look for a new choir to join.

Back from choir practice, I had lots of fun. We finally know which song we're doing for our concert in April, and it's the partisan song Fleur De Paris. It's a partisan song, and it's in french. It's too good to be true! \o/

It was also fun because I was in the second row, and there was this girl standing in the first row who had a long ponytail, and every minute she would turn around her head and almost slap me in the face with her hair, so I had to sing while keeping an eye on her and get down at the right moment to avoid it. After a while of this, everyone in the alto section had noticed us, and started giggling. It was childish, but really funny. Since I'm the eldest there (most of the girls and boys are 15), when I'm with them I feel like a kid again, and start acting like one. :D

Tomorrow it's Valentine's day, and that means... it's my name day! I'm going to celebrate it the way I do every year: lots of chocolate and disney movies! *_*

I just did the last laundry with the washing machine. For the next two weeks it's just me and a bottle of hand cleaner detergent. The sun is coming out, so it won't take much time to dry in the balcony. Man, I'm going to miss my washing machine!

Today is my first day at the choir! We usually start practice in September, but this year we had to wait until October. That means, we'll have to start on Christmas carols now, while it's still so hot outside it feels like May. It's going to be really weird!

And tonight it's cinema night! We're going to see District 9, and I'm so excited about it! \o/ I already know I'm going to love it, I just don't know how much. :D

I just did the last laundry with the washing machine. For the next two weeks it's just me and a bottle of hand cleaner detergent. The sun is coming out, so it won't take much time to dry in the balcony. Man, I'm going to miss my washing machine!

Today is my first day at the choir! We usually start practice in September, but this year we had to wait until October. That means, we'll have to start on Christmas carols now, while it's still so hot outside it feels like May. It's going to be really weird!

And tonight it's cinema night! We're going to see District 9, and I'm so excited about it! \o/ I already know I'm going to love it, I just don't know how much. :D

Real life update! Tonight I woke up with my usual Christmas cold (actually, it came later than usual). Yesterday we had our annual Christmas concert on the streets, that is, we walked around the town for four hours singing Christmas carols. I absolutely adore doing it, but it's kind of a tradition to wake up the day after that with a cold. ^^" We finally took some pictures, holding candles and everything, so as soon as I get them I'll post them here. ;)

On other news, my family is coming this afternoon. Yep, my aunt, uncle, cousins, and my uncle's mom (who's not related to me, but who is, nonetheless, the closer figure I ever had to a grandmother, so let's call her "grandma"), ready to celebrate Christmas together! I can't wait, the presents are under the tree (and it's the first time in eight years here), the decorations are up since November, and Singstar Disney is already plugged to the playstation. :D

Tonight I'm having my first Christmas concert with my choir (the second one is on monday, and the third one on Christmas Eve). I'm pretty excited about it, I have a new haircut, my clothes are ready on the chair, and I've been humming xmas songs since when I woke up. In the meanwhile, I uploaded a short video I made, sort of a fan-trailer of the game Final Fantasy Dissidia, since it hit the shelves yesterday, and it'll take a whole year to arrive here in Europe, and man I can't wait to buy it!

Here They Come.

And here on mediafire, for a high quality version. ^^

Yep, it's the song from the Narnia trailer. I was planning to make a Merlin video out of it, but this one sneaked in and I just had to do it. Sorry, Merlin, I promise you'll be next. ;)

Tonight I'm having my first Christmas concert with my choir (the second one is on monday, and the third one on Christmas Eve). I'm pretty excited about it, I have a new haircut, my clothes are ready on the chair, and I've been humming xmas songs since when I woke up. In the meanwhile, I uploaded a short video I made, sort of a fan-trailer of the game Final Fantasy Dissidia, since it hit the shelves yesterday, and it'll take a whole year to arrive here in Europe, and man I can't wait to buy it!

Here They Come.

And here on mediafire, for a high quality version. ^^

Yep, it's the song from the Narnia trailer. I was planning to make a Merlin video out of it, but this one sneaked in and I just had to do it. Sorry, Merlin, I promise you'll be next. ;)

It's been a year since the great flood here. It's a beautiful, sunny day, it's weird to think it was the same period last year when we had all that rain. Well, lucky us, this year it seems Nature is going easy on us. ;)

Yesterday we started our choir rehearsals, and I couldn't remember one single tune, it was so embarassing! Then we did When You Believe, and suddenly all the notes were back. :D

And an anime update, I've started watching Claymore, and I love it! It's been so long since I last watched an anime with so much passion, so no manga until episode 23, as I don't want to spoil myself the story, then it'll be the first thing I'll buy. ;) Right now I'm at episode 10, and Theresa is definitely my favourite character. *_________*

It's June at last! Luckly today is not as hot as last week, and there's a fresh wind blowing. I woke up really early, did the laundry and did some gardening. I'm a bit clumsy today, as yesterday I wore sandals for the first time this year, and obviously at the end of the day my feet were bleeding and hurting like hell. Today they feel better, but I still can't walk without limping, so I'm trying to avoid walking in the first place, let's hope they'll heal fast. The weather is so nice, I'd love to take a stroll! *______*

And yesterday my Angel Sanctuary artbook arrived! So beautiful! It's been months since I last bought an artbook, I love how the pages smell. Must be the ink, I don't know, but it's really good. ^^

We also had our last choir rehersal before the summer holidays, I know I'm going to miss singing. I already have Christmas carols dancing in my head. :D

Ho anche finito le Guerre del Mondo Emerso, e letto la Ragazza Drago. Licia Troisi si conferma una delle mie autrici preferite, un inchino a lei! Spero che il prossimo libro esca prestissimo, intanto mi iscriverò alla sua newsletter. ^^