| Dec. 9th, 2009 @ 06:36 am Reviews: Several belated! |
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Current Mood:  impressed
Current Music: I Will, Ed Gerhard
BPAL of the Day: Snow-Flakes
Wow. I can't believe I went this long without updating. I had a post started over a week ago about LAST weeks LotS episode, but between moving out of there and moving back in here, then joining the hunt to find my grandmother a new puppy. (Both of her elderly dogs passed away within a month of each other and she is very anxious to have another pet.) Then we went to see 'A Christmas Carol' on Thursday, went to Midnight Merriment in Concord on Friday, Saturday I saw Ed Gerhard again in Laconia and then, though I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind for it, I watched this week's episode of LotS!
I suppose I ought to do this chronologically so I'll start with last week's LotS review.
11/29: Review: LotS S2, Ep. 4. "Touched"
It was an okay episode. A bit of a letdown from the last one. It was a bit awkwardly written and less polished than the previous three episodes. Kahlan goes in search of a young woman who is the last remaining Confessor. (Other than Kahlan) The girl, Annabelle, has been hidden away in a tower her whole life and only knows about the world through romance novels. A servant poisons her father and spirits her away to sell her to the local bad guy. Kahlan and company arrive just in time to save the girl who runs off and manages to confess the first person she sees. Then she ignorantly goes on a confessing spree, eventually confessing Richard himself. Things looked pretty bad for Annabelle since they were obviously not going to leave Richard confessed to this random girl forever. The ending was better than I expected, but the clichés and awkward storytelling made the episode feel much more in line with last season than this one so far. Kahlan was the best thing about this episode. Bridget did an excellent job portraying Kahlan's angst.
A reasonably entertaining, if flawed episode.
*** stars.
*Skipping over the slog through getting packed and unpacked and in and out of the house.*
12/3: A Christmas Carol.
A very well done and entertaining production. All the parts were excellently performed. Scrooge couldn't have been more perfect. Not a lot to say about it, but it was definitely a lot of fun.
My mother and niece went to this as their holiday event since I am OBVIOUSLY(!!) going to see Ed on the 18th and 19th. I offered them to get Nutcracker tickets in Boston, but my mother didn't want to go to Boston.
**** Stars.
12/4: We had to visit my grandmother Friday because my mother didn't get to go on Thursday. On Friday my grandmother was set on buying a Ragdoll kitten and a Dachshund puppy so I researched some Ragdoll breeders while we were there. In the end my mother found an ad in the Boston Globe for Dachshund puppies... that are within walking distance from our house. My grandmother went to see the pups Sunday and decided to take two Dachshund puppies instead of getting a kitten. Too bad. I would like a Ragdoll or Birman kitten myself and would have liked the opportunity to get to know one first.
By the time we got to Midnight Merriment in Concord it was nearly 11. The 'new' Pachamama store has less so far than the old one, but they have some very nice things and I got a couple of statues and a sterling bell there. I also went to The League of NH Craftsman store and got a silk scarf. Everything was closed after that.
12/5 Ed Gerhard at the Belknap Mill in Laconia.
I took my usual insane amount of time getting ready. I remembered the nails this time, thankfully. I had chosen the outfit for this show last winter. It is hand-painted silk in silvery blue with a leaf pattern that I think looks like leaves trapped in frost on a window. It was suitable since it snowed for the first time this season on Saturday. :P I suppose it could be called 'atmospheric' for a semi-Christmas concert, but I could have done without the added atmosphere. My mother had the nieces so getting out of the house took longer than it should have. All conspired so that I didn't get there until the parking lot was already filling up and people were pouring in the Mill at about 6:45. (The concert was to start at 7:30.) I was naturally beside myself that I would be 'late' for the concert that is closest. When I got in there was only one seat left in the front row- the last seat on the left under the speaker- and the opposite to my preferred slightly right of center view. It was quite close to Ed, but I thought the view wouldn't be very good from that angle. The ladies next to me were a little worried about the speaker. I told them it would be okay. He didn't play heavy metal.
Happily, I was completely wrong about the quality of the seat. I have never seen Ed from that side and I liked it. The microphone was a bit in the way, but I found that I was more able to watch both his hands playing at once from that angle. The speaker added a little depth and resonance without detracting from the purity of the sound. The sound at the Belknap Mill is really very good.
It was wonderful, of course! He's gotten a new six string and seems to be building a very good relationship with it already. :) I would say that it was the six string that he did his most stunning work on this night. 'Imagine' was transcendent. What an experience for the senses that was. Glorious almost beyond description. Quiet, deep, elegant, rich and stunningly beautiful. He was a little quieter than he sometimes is. There was a calmly reflective kind of mood to his playing overall, with a neat bit of playfulness at the end.
We talked a little after. I think I'm doing a little better, less fangirly. He was as sweet to me as ever. :)
I am not talking about the next ones... Don't want to jinx anything...
****** Stars!
Review: LotS S2, Ep. 5. "Wizard"
I wasn't particularly engaged in this episode for obvious reasons, but I did come around to it eventually. Zedd eats an enchanted persimmon which causes him to lose his memory. Turns out the witch Shota enchanted him to force him to name a new Seeker. Shota returns Zedd's youth and a young and wisdom-free Zedd wanders off to fall in love with the first prostitute he sees. His power endears him to his chosen flock, as he impresses them by 'making' money, making castles, transforming the rag-tag bunch of johns and prostitutes into lords and ladies before running off to fight the Keeper of the underworld.
It was interesting enough but unfortunately it also gleefully trampled the rules they already painstakingly established. They said banelings could only be destroyed by fire. In this episode Zedd burned one, but he came back anyway. They are also playing very loosely with their magical rules. According to this episode nothing can bring back the dead. Only Mord Sith, at least, CAN bring back the dead in the show-verse. Last season Kahlan's sister went to an island that was protected by a magic so strong that no one could ever attack it. In this season the Mord Sith had no trouble at all doing just that. Internal consistency is GOD. Writers must abide by the rules they put forth or have a damn good reason for changing them. Without it the story is worthless because it has no authenticity.
Perhaps I am expecting too much from a syndicated fantasy show in a 1AM time slot. With the first few episodes this season they proved they are capable of making compelling, strong stories. I just hope they manage to deliver them without gleefully trampling everything that came before it.
** 1/2 Stars.
Present: We were supposed to go to the Cape on Sunday for three nights, but that has become going on Thursday night for two. It's better than nothing, of course. It will be my first non-petsitting trip away from home this year. I won't be at B&N Thursday, BTW.
I think that is about it for now. I took over 500 pictures when I was petsitting that I am still going through and sorting out. I had three box openings while I was there, too. It has been a busy month!
Time for bed! |
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