day twenty three - a youtube video

youtube is a wonderful thing.
there have been times when i have literally spent hours watching videos, learning new songs, finding karaoke tracks (yeah, i'm cool...).

but i honestly do have a favourite clip, that i keep going back to. the amount of times i have watched this video is not okay. it goes for 8:45, so in perspective i have probably spent literally hours of my life watching this video.

so what is this video, you may ask?
incase you weren't aware, i'm a little bit of a musical theatre geek.
in the industry that is showbiz, there is a woman. her name is Sutton Foster.

words cannot possibly begin to express my respect and admiration for this talented woman.

she is currently starring as Reno Sweeney in the upcoming production of Anything Goes on Broadway in New York. unfortunately it's not looking as though i'm going to make it... but fortunately for me broadway.com have put up some videos of inside the rehearsals.

but you know what? after watching this, i realised that there are so many talented people out there. yes, Sutton Foster is playing the lead in this particular musical, but every single one of those chorus members is extraordinarily talented.

this clip is the title song, "Anything Goes."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcs09ZaskiM

have a watch. it's only 8 minutes and 45 seconds of your life.

and it's so worth it :-)

xx

day twenty two - a website

to be honest, i don't spend much time surfing random websites.
the extent of my net-surfing goes about as far as hotmail, facebook, youtube, google, and the school intranet.

however, there are two websites i am going to share with you today that have nothing to do with those above.



firstly, a blog.
by a good friend - a very clever, intelligent, wonderful and talented young lady.
i always find her blog to be so insightful, as well as enjoyable to read.
it's called Books, Baguettes and Ballet Slippers.
check it out:
http://emilymercurio.blogspot.com/



secondly, i am always in need of a laugh.
and when all else fails, moving images always seem to make my day that little bit brighter.
http://www.gickr.com/ allows you to upload photos and create a gif file out of it.
for example... a personal favourite: the dancing prefects:

http://gickr.com/results4/anim_f4cb258f-85f3-e014-bddd-97a70ddaa8de.gif


:-) enjoy.
xx

day twenty one - a recipe

I firstly open this blog by apologising for the lack of blogging in recent weeks.
The last few weeks of school got a little overwhelming at times, and I have spent the past week in Perth on music tour.
But I will try and continue this blog challenge... I guess my aim now is to actually finish it, regardless of whether it takes a few weeks or a few months.

I have decided to take a different angle on this blog, similarly to how motzie did (see the link to this blog on the right hand side --->), but perhaps a little more on the negative side.

In the past few weeks I have been feeling as though I have had no control over anything; unfortunately resulting in the heightening of my stress levels.
So here I go - found a version of this on google but have altered it a little to suit me at the moment.


'A Recipe For Stress'

Ingredients:
7 days of bad sleep
5 days of early mornings
2 units of VCE
1 list of uni preferences
1 curious mind

Seasoning:
a splash of rain
a sprinkle of homework
a dash of cold symptoms

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
2. Coat large saucepan with a thick layer of attitude
3. Pour ingredients into saucepan, mix thoroughly & cook on high heat until boiling
4. Serve on large plates with a side dish of frustration
5. Add seasoning to taste

Note: Best served day before a SAC



xxx

day twenty - a hobby of yours

this is slowly turning into a weekly blog, i apologise - i blame my little pal called year 12...

anyway, so about a week ago i wrote about music, and how my life pretty much revolves around it... but believe it or not, i actually do have one hobby in particular that does not involve music...

welcome to the world of scrapbooking.

throughout each year i collect photos from any important events - from shows, (onstage and backstage) to school, to holidays, to parties, to overseas trips (although these end up with a scrapbook of their own..), to practically anything where a camera is handy.
then, at the end of each year, over the summer holidays, i create an annual scrapbook. i select my favourite photos from each event, get the photos printed, spend christmas money on supplies, and off i go.

if you're not 100% sure what scrapbooking is, here's an example - these are two pages (act 1 and act 2) with selected photos from a show i was in last year...

i have been doing this every year since 2007 (year 8), and looking back on those scrapbook it's probably one of the best things i could have done. i mean, seriously, if i'm looking back now, only 4 years later, and reminiscing about the good times i find lay out on the page, imagine how special these books are going to be in 20, or 30 years time?


this year i have no idea where my summer went, so i still have one section of my scrapbook to go, and after that i plan on doing an entire scrapbook on my trip to Japan - there is no way i could possibly have chosen just a few photos out of the thousands taken!

i don't really know why i find scrapbooking so relaxing, but i can spend hours on a single page. i can sit in my room, for hours, music blasting, phone off, no internet, and just enjoy something that is not only fun, but actually really productive as well.

speaking of productive, i better wrap this up and go write this english essay...

remember to keep being creative!
it's in everyone, you just need to find your own way to express it.
xx

day nineteen - a talent of yours

i'm not the kind of person to generally acknowledge that i am actually 'talented' at something - i more look on things like that as the idea that whatever it is that i am doing, i am doing for enjoyment, because i love it, not because i am any good at it. what's the point in living life and using your talents when you don't enjoy them?

so that brings me to what is probably my biggest passion in life, and i guess i would say the area where i bear the most talent - music.

it's been a part of my life for as long as i can remember.
when i was a baby mum would sing to me whenever i was upset, whenever i needed to be calmed, and almost every night she would stand by the piano and sing while my dad accompanied her.
by the age of 3, i could stand up and sing you most of the songs from the musical "Annie" (yes, i used to wish i was a little red-head with a head of curls...).
i began piano lessons in prep, with my sister already 3 years ahead of me.
when my sister began to learn clarinet, i joined the choir.
since then, the music in my life has only grown: i now play electric and double bass, piano, guitar, and to me most importantly is voice.

it's like the theory says, that we start off our lives as a 'clean slate', and from there we are changed by the environment we grow up in. music is something in your environment, and for me, a very important part of my childhood, of my life, and it seems to be where my so called 'talent' lies.

however, talent is often defined as: "natural abilities or qualities"
although this is true to a certain extent, if we did nothing with our talents then they wouldn't grow, and wouldn't be being used to their full extent.

i believe that talent is a combination of three things:
natural ability, hard work and passion.

yes, i have been told that i have a certain amount of talent when it comes to my vocal ability, but it would not sound anything like it does today if i hadn't have done any work to improve it.

but you know what? enough of that.
i don't care about how 'talented' people are at certain things, all that i care for is the enjoyment that you get out of whatever it is that you are doing.

i found my voice because of music.
i immersed myself in my school life through music.
i met my best friend through music.
i listen to music when i am happy.
i listen to music when i am sad.
and this music can have the power to make me feel these emotions, plus so many more.
and as a result, i express myself through music, and i can't imagine it any other way.


so i will leave you with something to ponder. it's my opinion and you don't have to agree but...

sometimes, passion is more important than talent.
and without hard work and passion,
what's the point in even having a talent?

xx

day eighteen - whatever tickles your fancy

Japan.
such a beautiful country.
i can't even begin to imagine the destruction caused by the recent earthquakes and tsunamis.

but, there is some good news sometimes.

today i received an email from a friend who lives right in Fukushima - where the earthquake occurred. up until today, we didn't know if she was okay, we hadn't heard from her.

so in this blog, i choose simply to share her email...

Thank you for your message!

I'm sorry that an answer becomes slow.

Under the influence of the earthquake, the Internet was not usable.

I'm OK.

Yes. It was really terrible earthquake and tsunami...

My family and my house are OK.

But, I don't know how about my friends and their family.

A lot of houses were strolled around by a tsunami.

My hometown was gone...

There are no houses, no people, no foods, no wear no water, no light...

It's awful...

In addition, a nuclear power plant was attacked by a tsunami.

So, we can't go out or must go other places.

There are few children in my city...They go to other places.

They have to live and study apart from their parents...

We are afraid of exploding every day...

But I alive. We alive. Japan alive.

I believe that this situation improves.

Surely children will come back our city.

Thanks to you, I got well.

I'll get over these days.

Thank you so much!!!

xoxo,

Mizue

to each and every person affected by the earthquakes,
my heart goes out to you.
xx

day seventeen - an art piece

i'm not a big fan of art. i appreciate it, and am in awe of it, but i don't really understand it or remember an specific art works.
so i'm going to mix this up a little, as i believe that photography is an art all by itself.

i have a friend, a very talented friend, who is an extraordinary photographer.
if you are interested, check out her blog - amazing...
http://lizamills.blogspot.com/

and so, for my "art piece" i have simply chosen the first photo on her blog at the present time.
i think the photo and the caption speaks for itself...


"you are not as fat as you imagine."

check out her blog, she's incredible.
xx