Ballyk and other stuff
Aug. 22nd, 2006 03:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icepixie*head pops up from three hours of TV*
I meant to spread out the three episodes on the Ballykissangel DVD that came today over the course of the day. Told myself I could stop after just one, go catch up on e-mail, etc. Spread the crack out just a bit.
Ha. Hahahaha. I suppose it was my own fault for clicking "Play All" instead of on individual episodes, but...OMG, you guys. This show is amazing. The first three episodes, most of its immense charm came from funny, quirky characters, but these three have not only that charm, but also really interesting, knotty conflicts, and, particularly in the last episode of the season, fantastic acting from the two leads that led to an emotional rollercoaster that was reminiscent of Farscape. FARSCAPE, PEOPLE. I don't make comparisons like that lightly. Said emotional rollercoaster perhaps did not have quite the towering highs (there were more chuckles than screaming laughter) or the depressing depths (there were also no tears), but it was definitely there, and oh my god, I think I'm in love.
The end of the third season is gonna hurt.
Um, I think I may have to watch all of these episodes again tonight. And screencap like whoa.
*
BTW, the theme is incredibly earwormy. It's just so jaunty! Now you, too, can get it stuck in your head for all eternity!
That site also contains the Vicar of Dibley theme, which is a choral setting of Psalm 23, and which is also stuck in my head. It's an interesting contrast.
*
That one actually sounds vaguely legitimate.
Book quiz thing from someone, I forget whom:
1. One book that changed your life:
I think Huck Finn may have been the book around which my desire to be an English major coalesced in junior year of high school, but I also remember thinking I'd probably be one before then, so I'm not sure. Otherwise...huh. I dunno. So many have had impact on me that I doubt I could pin it down to just one.
2. One book that you've read more than once:
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith.
3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
Not fair! I hate these questions! ...Um. An anthology of all poetry ever?
4. One book that made you laugh:
A Civil Campaign, by LMB.
5. One book that made you cry:
The Velveteen Rabbit.
6. One book that you wish you had written:
Winter Rose, by Patricia A. McKillip, because OMG, so beautiful. She makes language do her bidding with no apparent trouble at all, and it's gorgeous.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
I forget the name of it, and I refuse to look it up. But there was this kids book I read when I was about seven or eight, where a family with two kids moved into a haunted farmhouse. It was haunted by the ghost of an evil little girl called Helen, who tried to drown one or both of the kids. She may have succeeded; I can't remember. All I know is that it scared the pants off of me at that age. I don't know that I wish it hadn't been written, but I do wish I hadn't read it, or at least that I hadn't read it till I was older.
8. One book you're currently reading:
Possession, by A.S. Byatt. Literary research, yay!
9. One book you've been meaning to read:
I still have A Passage to India on my list.
I meant to spread out the three episodes on the Ballykissangel DVD that came today over the course of the day. Told myself I could stop after just one, go catch up on e-mail, etc. Spread the crack out just a bit.
Ha. Hahahaha. I suppose it was my own fault for clicking "Play All" instead of on individual episodes, but...OMG, you guys. This show is amazing. The first three episodes, most of its immense charm came from funny, quirky characters, but these three have not only that charm, but also really interesting, knotty conflicts, and, particularly in the last episode of the season, fantastic acting from the two leads that led to an emotional rollercoaster that was reminiscent of Farscape. FARSCAPE, PEOPLE. I don't make comparisons like that lightly. Said emotional rollercoaster perhaps did not have quite the towering highs (there were more chuckles than screaming laughter) or the depressing depths (there were also no tears), but it was definitely there, and oh my god, I think I'm in love.
The end of the third season is gonna hurt.
Um, I think I may have to watch all of these episodes again tonight. And screencap like whoa.
*
BTW, the theme is incredibly earwormy. It's just so jaunty! Now you, too, can get it stuck in your head for all eternity!
That site also contains the Vicar of Dibley theme, which is a choral setting of Psalm 23, and which is also stuck in my head. It's an interesting contrast.
*
That one actually sounds vaguely legitimate.
Book quiz thing from someone, I forget whom:
1. One book that changed your life:
I think Huck Finn may have been the book around which my desire to be an English major coalesced in junior year of high school, but I also remember thinking I'd probably be one before then, so I'm not sure. Otherwise...huh. I dunno. So many have had impact on me that I doubt I could pin it down to just one.
2. One book that you've read more than once:
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith.
3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
Not fair! I hate these questions! ...Um. An anthology of all poetry ever?
4. One book that made you laugh:
A Civil Campaign, by LMB.
5. One book that made you cry:
The Velveteen Rabbit.
6. One book that you wish you had written:
Winter Rose, by Patricia A. McKillip, because OMG, so beautiful. She makes language do her bidding with no apparent trouble at all, and it's gorgeous.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
I forget the name of it, and I refuse to look it up. But there was this kids book I read when I was about seven or eight, where a family with two kids moved into a haunted farmhouse. It was haunted by the ghost of an evil little girl called Helen, who tried to drown one or both of the kids. She may have succeeded; I can't remember. All I know is that it scared the pants off of me at that age. I don't know that I wish it hadn't been written, but I do wish I hadn't read it, or at least that I hadn't read it till I was older.
8. One book you're currently reading:
Possession, by A.S. Byatt. Literary research, yay!
9. One book you've been meaning to read:
I still have A Passage to India on my list.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 09:25 pm (UTC)And get with A Passage to India!! ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 01:25 am (UTC)*jaw drops*
I AM SO JEALOUS. YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE.
(I saw the Ulster National Orchestra when i was in Belfast last year. For three pounds! Yay student discounts. Of course our seats were in a really weird position--we were behind the orchestra. I think it must have been some weird seats for a choir or something. But hell, three pounds, I'm not complaining.)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 03:14 am (UTC)In any case, I recall being somewhat disappointed by the ratio of orchestra to Anuna. I think they sang once, maybe twice. I had really been hoping for a lot more, like a concert with the orchestra, not just a concert where they put in an appearance as a bit of decoration here and there. I believe the whole thing was broadcast on the BBC, though, and I did enjoy the wicked percussionist they also featured, who did the Sabre Dance while standing in the middle of a not-quite-round contraption in which were strung all sorts of things that made sound when you hit them. He was reaching all around him and it was amazing and a lot of fun. He pretty much stole the show. Oh, and there was a soprano soloist wearing a shiny dress that was, no joke, the color of Pepto-Bismol. (I had to explain my amusement at the color to my Swiss friend.)
But yeah, not nearly so much Anuna as I'd have liked. :-\
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 04:48 pm (UTC)I think they sang once, maybe twice.
:(
The percussionist sounds like fun to watch, though.
shiny dress that was, no joke, the color of Pepto-Bismol.
Oh my,
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 08:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 12:04 am (UTC)OMG, best site ever! How did I not know about this?!! I am so turning these into ringtones.
And the S:AAB theme song still gives me chills, God damn.
Thank you so much for pointing that out.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 01:26 am (UTC)No prob. I should go listen to the S:AAB theme again...