ladybug_archive: (baxterstockman)
Frankie Valli released a Christmas album this year! Squeeeee. I saw it at Wal-Mart on Friday and I couldn't resist getting it. Somehow I resisted listening until after Halloween. It is awesome and totally puts me in the Christmas mood. And I adore that he's still working with Bob Gaudio after all these years!

I ended up doing three different things for costuming. At the party, I played Rouge. It was nice to pull out that old costume again, but I still wanted to try some new things too. On Friday, when Wal-Mart was having a party and costume event, I threw together a very bad costume of Lydia from Beetlejuice in her casual clothes. I never could find a pink sash I know we have, so I had to use a scrap of cloth left over from a sewing project. And my hair is too long to stand on end, so I had to settle for a ponytail on top of my head. At least the makeup was in both correct colors, but I had a terrible time getting the purple to show up well.

None of us could find those yellow clothes, so now I'm really worried wondering where they are. But I played April on Halloween anyway, doing a combo of the 1987 and 2014 versions. My aunt gave me some blue jeans for my birthday that are so soft and lightweight and comfortable, so I used those and my tan boots as the 2014 elements. Everything else was the 1987 version.

I'm so glad we went to the Trunk or Treat at the church; there were only two groups of kids who came to our door (aside from one or two that came so early they weren't expected and I couldn't get there in time). I think that's the slowest Halloween we've ever had. It's sad how things have dwindled in recent years. It's strange too, considering how much people are spending for Halloween stuff. You'd think the number of Trick-or-Treaters would increase, not decease.

I've started to warm up to at least one of the new Troll characters, as I figured I would. I like Poppy, who is the leader. She reminds me more of the classic Trolls than most of the characters do, so I would like to get a plushie of her, I think. Probably the Build-a-Bear one, as I'm not impressed by the "fur" softness levels of the more mainstream ones. I might even try to see if I can see the movie. I figured I'd really want to give it a try after all, since I've loved Trolls so much through the years. I've always tried any version of them I could find. I loved the computer game about finding baby Trolls (I was playing it just the other day) and the children's novels about a pink-haired Troll coming to the human world and making friends with a human girl, and I would have tried the series Trollz if I had been aware of it and had access to it when it was on. Regarding Poppy, from the trailers I've gathered that rather than being a naively cheerful idiot, she's a good leader who chooses to be cheerful even though she knows there's a lot of things to be unhappy about. I could be wrong, though.

I finally took some screenshots of Baxter and Barney from my DVDs and am continuing to work on my website. I think I almost have it to the point where I'll let it go live. I still need to decide what I'm going to do with my fanarts, if I should post them on dA and link them, or if I should post them on the website only. People on dA rarely seem to give a darn about stuff I post, so I'm pretty bored with posting there. That, and half the time when I try, dA ends up gobbling memory and I have a horrible time even getting stuff up. Ugh.

I'm still ordering Netflixes from that list Dad made of movies we'd seen many years ago and liked. A Mario Lanza movie came yesterday, That Midnight Kiss (ugh, what a stupidly mushy title). The music was beautiful, of course, and I was totally thrilled that Kathryn Grayson was the girl, as I adore her and her singing. But the movie itself was pretty stupid. Some guy convinces a temperamental tenor to trash his room when he's mad and tear up his contract, because they want to bring Mario's character in as the tenor instead and they have to get that guy to go. And it ticked me off how the girl just couldn't bring herself to sing the operas' love songs with the temperamental tenor, not because he's a jerk, but because he's fat, ugh. But that was the typical attitude of the day, that fat always equaled unappealing. Honestly, I liked the guy okay; in physical appearance he reminded me of Simon. And actually, in some ways he had a perfect right to be angry, considering the way he was being treated at different points in the film. And then there's a huge misunderstanding between Mario and Kathryn's characters and they're both acting stupid refusing to talk things out and she's doing the typical "I hate him! I hate him!" immature nonsense when he sends her good luck wishes and she stomps on the poor roses, yet for some reason when she sees him on stage instead of the other tenor, she's totally thrilled and happy and all anger is forgotten, even though they haven't talked anything out yet. Of course, you're supposed to take it that it's because she really loves him instead of hating him, but I was expecting an explosion on the stage before she calmed down.

At least it's just shallow, stupid fluff, though, and not rage-inducing like Kiss Me, Kate is. Ugh, I loathe that production. The guy is such a jerk I can't figure out what she sees in him. Such an egotistical, abusive creep.... And I hate the whole Taming of the Shrew plot in general. I know about the different alternate interpretations of the plot, that she's not really tamed and she's just letting the guy think she is, but to me it's still a really gross and disgusting story.

And then there's The Toast of New Orleans, which I love for the music while I'm unsure what to make of the plot. On the one hand, I think the idea is simply that the high society types changed the main guy too much and that by making him integrate into their world, they're destroying everything that made him unique, and that of course that's a bad thing. But when part of what they did was simply to teach him good manners, I kind of struggle with the whole thing. The character was very obnoxious and crude and annoying, and I found him far more appealing when he learned good manners. I suppose the idea was more that the girl loved him for his bizarre and unique personality and didn't like it being erased or seeing him stifled, instead of simply saying that him learning good manners was wrong, but I have a really hard time seeing the distinction. Of course, it's not a good thing for anyone to have to be stifled if they're not actually doing anything wrong, but eh, I don't know; the way the movie handled the whole thing kind of bugs me. At least she said "We changed him too much," implying that some of the changes weren't bad, but still.
ladybug_archive: (joe_lew)
Had a very lovely 4th of July. Wanted to go get Build-a-Bear's new Trixie plush, if she was a darker blue than Funrise's version, and she is! Bought her happily, and also got a custom shirt with the picture from my icon. That's my other favorite picture of Joe and Lew, along with the paper airplane one.

We had a picnic in the canyons, came home, and Mom started watching this year's edition of A Capitol Fourth. I joined her after a shower, although I was disappointed to not get to see Perry Mason, especially since I didn't get to see it last night.

BUT THEN FRANKIE VALLI CAME ON AND EVERYTHING WAS ALL BETTER.

OHMYGOSHSQUEE! Nothing else music-related could have possibly made me happier. Not even The Monkees. Although they would have been a close second.

Seriously, I am so, so happy I stuck around to watch that concert. Frankie was a complete surprise; I had no idea he would be on or that he was even still performing. I haven't heard much about him in quite a while and was wondering if he was doing okay. I guess they wanted him to come while the hype over The Jersey Boys movie version is going strong? Whatever the reason, it was sooo awesoooome to see him!

When the host went "The original Jersey Boy", I perked up and was thinking something along the lines of "Jersey Boy?! Can it be? Can it really be?! ... Ohmygoshohmygoshohohmygosh! Squeeeee! It is!"

And seriously, that man can still sing! He can't really get that classic falsetto anymore, but singing normally, he sounds almost exactly like he did in the 1960s! That is quite a feat.

I was enraptured during his part of the concert and I'm still inwardly squeeing all over in ecstatic delight. This day was wonderful; I could scarcely be happier.
ladybug_archive: (hamilton_mignon)
I have some thoughts on the recent My Little Pony series, but I'll post that later. Today it's this.

First off! What is your pen name?
Lucky_Ladybug

Any previous pen names?
I don't think a pen name should be changed. Once it/you are established, you're known by that. Why change it and suddenly make it hard for people to find you/know it's you?

Of course, when it comes to various social networks and the like, I sometimes will use various names. But to post stories, I always prefer Lucky_Ladybug. And I include that as my LJ name too, so that people will hopefully know the insane one is me.

And what does your pen name mean?
It's the name of an old and silly but cute song covered by many people, but specifically Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons. It's pretty straightforward, isn't it? It's a ladybug who is lucky.

Any alternate nicknames or pen names?
[livejournal.com profile] insaneladybug, of course. Usually used on journals. And always with the "Lucky_Ladybug" attached where it gives the name of the poster.

What fandom(s) do you write for currently?
Perry Mason, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Monkees, West Side Story.

And what pairings do you write for it?
None, unless they're canon, such as Tony/Maria for West Side Story.

Why?
Why not? Not everything has to be about romance, after all. Try branching out more. Platonic/gen stuff is great, too. And there's a serious lack of it in many fandoms.

What are some current projects of yours?
The Case of the Spectral Stalker, my current Perry Mason mystery. (The one I'm still quibbling about. Now I'm concerned I may lose some of my audience if I do the happier, albeit crazier, ending. And yes, I know the author should be happy first and foremost, but I won't be happy if I lose my audience, either.)

Lullaby of Silence, my three-way crossover with Perry, The Monkees, and Kolchak.

And a Kolchak oneshot concerning a mysterious, healing cloth.

EDIT: And of course, To Blossom As the Rose, the FF7 crossover with the two Westerns. I haven't forgotten about it. I know what should happen next chapter; the problem is fitting it in amid all my other projects.

Do you ever think your OTP will reach a happy ending?
My current OTP ... Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold and Belle from Once Upon a Time ... yes, I certainly hope they will. The whole point is to bring back the happy endings, and they deserve one, too.

If you ever had to kill one of them off, who would you choose and why?
Why would I want to do that? Gah, they've been going through enough already.

... Although, I can't deny that I really hope that in the climax, Mr. Gold will be seriously injured stopping Regina/saving Belle, and then Belle will have to make like her animated counterpart and save his life with her true love.

Will your OTP ever have kids?
... That would be interesting, wouldn't it.

What do you see them doing post-canon?
I want them to stay in Storybrooke, as I've seen some post-canon stories portray. I think they have a better chance for happiness there than in fairytale land. Actually, it seems like that's the case for quite a few characters.

(Plus, I really really love Mr. Gold's character design and personality.)

If a character has multiple 'appearances', which one(s) do you use in fic?
The one I like best, baby. The question should really be, what if I like elements of multiple versions?

For Perry, I will always write about the classic TV series. No ifs, ands, or buts. The characterization is incredible and develops in ways it never did in other versions.

Sailor Moon is what I have a problem with. I think the good guys are better in the manga and the bad guys are better in the anime. The girls spend way too much time cooing over guys in the anime. And Rei is so mean, oh gosh. I've really come to love Sailor Jupiter and appreciate her awesomeness, but it's so annoying when she suddenly goes squeeing after yet another guy who reminds her of her old flame.

I just don't think I can bring my conflicting feelings on the different versions of Sailor Moon together, since it requires either abandoning one element or the other, or else smooshing everything together. I do the latter for YGO, but it's different since I really only like a couple of things better in the manga and can easily insert them into anime canon. For Sailor Moon, the problem is much broader and I just don't know how to deal with it. I don't think I will ever really be able to write for Sailor Moon because of it. I just can't decide how to unite what I like about the different verses. And since the fanfic category is pretty much dead anyway, I'd rather concentrate on current projects.

How do characters sound in your head?
Like they should. Perry is Raymond Burr's voice, Hamilton is William Talman's, etc. etc. (Unless I've been watching too much of something else and when I try to concentrate, someone else's voice is in my head, i.e., hearing Robert Carlyle's voice for Hamilton when I'm trying to channel William. Gah.)

Have you ever written/wanted to write crack fic (e.g. singing in a karaoke bar) for your fandoms?
No. Not unless everyone is in character. What's funny about it if it could be absolutely anyone? It's only funny if you can recognize the voices and personalities of the characters and you're watching them react to silly situations.

Music Meme

Aug. 5th, 2010 11:18 pm
ladybug_archive: (autor)
What are you listening to right now?
Ruslan und Ludmilla Overture.

What song(s) make(s) you sad?
It really depends on my mood. Songs about death can make me sad, but sometimes they just make me somber and contemplative. Hmm.... Oh, Forgiven from the new Battlestar Galactica usually makes me sad or melancholy. It's beautiful, but it makes me think of cemeteries because I was looking at cemetery pictures and writing a deathfic when I first heard it.

What is the most annoying song in the world?
Any Christmas song by Christina Aguilera.

Your all time favorite musicians?
Rockapella will always be very special to me, especially now that I've rediscovered them. And the 4 Seasons and the Monkees. Also, Evanescence (I'm so excited for the new album! I hope it comes out next month like it's supposed to), Within Temptation, and Nightwish. And for instrumental composers, John Williams and Howard Shore. Danny Elfman is pretty good too.

Your newly discovered musician is?
Not really newly-discovered, but thanks to Garowyn, I know enough of Blackmore's Night that I bought a CD of theirs at the Scottish Festival last month. I love it. I was particularly attracted to it because it has the song I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore, the title of which I took for my phantom hitchhiker fic.

Best female voice?
My favorite female voice is Sharon den Adel, lead singer of Within Temptation. She is *amazing*. Her range is incredible and her voice is so ethereal. Close runner-ups would be Amy Lee of Evanescence and local artist Allyse Smith-Taylor.

Best male voice?
Oddly enough, this one is harder for me. Most of the bands I listen to have female singers. And I'm not sure which one of the many beautiful Rockapella voices to single out. In the end, though, maybe Scott Leonard. But I always have a certain loyalty to Sean Altman, too. And I love Mike Nesmith's songs so much.

Music type you find yourself listening to most?
Right now, classical, anime music, or rock.

What do you listen to, to hype you up?
Cheery anime songs or energetic classical pieces.

What do you listen to when you want to calm down?
Quieter songs, sometimes religious, sometimes friendship, sometimes instrumental. EDIT: Oddly enough, if I'm in a certain frustrated and angry mood, quiet songs only make me more frustrated. Sometimes I need to listen to something rock in order to calm down enough to listen to quieter songs.

Last gig/concert you went to?
Rockapella, last August. It was awesome. X3

Band you find yourself listening to the most right now?
Really none. Mostly I've been listening to individual artists or classical.

Most hated band?
**shrugs.** I can't really think of a band I detest. I could much easier tell about individual artists. I can't stand the aforementioned Christina Aguilera's singing style at all.

Song that makes you think?
Anything by Within Temptation or Nightwish. Their songs are so deep.

Band that you think the world should love as much as you do?
Within Temptation! But finally they're getting some of the recognition they deserve. At last, it's easy to buy their albums in the States!

Coolest music video?
I really loved the one Within Temptation did for Memories, but watching it recently I felt really sad. It's still an amazing video, though. Actually, I think that even more since it evoked such emotion in me. The one they did for Angels is pretty cool, too, though the wings look fake. LOL. But soft!

EDIT: And as Aubrie pointed out, Michael Jackson's video for Smooth Criminal must be mentioned. I like both versions of it, though the edited one is my favorite overall because the full-length one seemed to have a lot of moments of pointless exclaiming by the audience and whatnot. I was really amused by the little boy in the full version, though. LOL.

Can you play a musical instrument?
I can play piano. I've wanted to play guitar, but it keeps confusing me. Plus, it makes my already-sensitive fingers hurt. XD;

Are you in a band?
No.

Do you wish yourself that you were a musician?
I want to be a singer.

Best chick band you know of?
The Ronettes. Totally random there. But I love when their Christmas songs are played during the holidays. XD;

Last song that you heard on the radio/CD, etc?
What I'm still listening to.

What do you think of Classical music?
It's amazing! I was raised on it, and always loved certain pieces, but it was only through Princess Tutu that I fully embraced my love of the genre.

What do you think of Country music?
I used to listen to it religiously. Those old country songs I heard back in the day still make me extremely nostalgic.

What do you think of metal?
I do not like heavy metal, nor do I understand why a couple of bands I like are classed as metal. Well, it's more understandable with Nightwish, but with Within Temptation I fully believe they never get harder than hard rock.

Last BIG band that you saw live?
If Rockapella is considered big, then them. If not, the oldies bands I saw ten years ago: The Shangri-Las, The Grass Roots, The Association, and of course ... Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I also saw Micky Dolenz, by himself.

Do you listen to music in foreign languages?
Heck yes. Mostly in Japanese.

Funny concert moment?
Rockapella last year, when I wanted Zombie Jamboree and someone else wanted People Change, and Rockapella didn't want to do People Change:

Scott: Zombie Jamboree isn't depressing at all; it's just about dead people.

LOL.

And then Kevin did the customary halt of singing during the bridge and doubled over. Someone asked what was wrong and he gasped, "I swallowed a bug." LOLOLOL. The bugs were a running joke in that concert.

Best local act you can think of?
Cherie Call.

Do you listen to the radio?
Only during the Christmas season.

Do you watch music TV?
We don't get music channels.

Do you follow the music charts, like the top 40?
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a darn.

Have you met any famous musicians?
Yes, Rockapella. ^^ I wanted to talk to Frankie Valli, but he didn't do a meet and greet.

Are any of your friends/family/etc. musicians?
Some of them dabble in it.

Song that best describes your feelings right now?
Some song about being tired.

Do you know the names of all the band members that you listen to?
Mostly. I don't admittedly know the names of all the people in Within Temptation and Evanescence. The Evanescence people keep changing too, which doesn't help. LOL. I know all the singers in the bands, though. But I keep forgetting Tarja's replacement's name in Nightwish.

Does a musician’s physical attractiveness play a role in the music that you listen to?
Certainly not.

Favorite movie sound track?
The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars movies.

What do your parents listen to?
Religious music and classical. Mom likes oldies, too.

What are you listening to right now?
Still what I was listening to when I started this.

Do you wear band T-shirts?
I've always wanted an Evanescence T-shirt, but I couldn't find them when I looked in Hot Topic. Someday maybe I'll buy on their website. But I hate paying S&H charges!

Do you cook to music?
I sing a lot in the kitchen. And at Christmastime, the radio is usually on.
ladybug_archive: (Default)
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I doubt anyone would find it that interesting. **shrugs.** I'd already had the Ladybug moniker for four years or so by then (which is another story entirely), so I wanted my LJ name to involve ladybugs. But instead of LuckyLadybug, my usual version, I thought it would be funny to make it InsaneLadybug instead. My mom doesn't find it as amusing as I do. XD

If anyone's curious as to where Ladybug came from in the first place, it happened in an old Yahoo Group I was in for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Everyone was picking nicknames of their song titles to be known as in the group (i.e., Sherry, Candy Girl (not to be confused in any way with Aqua's song Candy Man), Big Man in Town, etc.). I thought for a while and finally chose Lucky Ladybug, an old song that they cover on ... I think it's their Walk Like a Man album. And it stuck.

I've never been a fan of changing one's penname, for several reasons. For one thing, your readers know you as a certain thing. Changing it could confuse them, and in some cases, make it hard for them to find you again. Of course, if you pick a strictly fandom-related thing, then it's understandable to want to change it as your interests change. One reason why I'm glad mine isn't fandom-specific. Lucky/InsaneLadybug can apply anywhere.

I also very rarely change my email. If I like it, I stick with it unless extenuating circumstances make me feel I need to change it. I still use my YGO-related one (sorry, not telling what it is), mainly for surveys, while I have a more recent one I use for personal emails and FF.net/LJ alerts.

Squee!

Dec. 11th, 2008 08:33 pm
ladybug_archive: (Default)
SQUEE! The Breeze is my new favorite Christmas station! X3 They played Rockapella a couple of hours ago! I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day! ♥ I wrote FM100 and asked them to play Rockapella for the holidays, but they haven't. ;__; Kosy doesn't, either. **hugs The Breeze!**

They're just an awesome station in general, anyway. They're playing a lot of the Christmas songs I haven't heard on other stations this year. X3

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And for once I feel like answering one of these. XD; ... But I totally misread it. I thought it said "by" the mountains. I don't want to live IN the mountains! That's too isolated for me. In that case, I would pick by the ocean. Whatever, my choice over both of those options is as follows:

I would choose to live by the mountains, which I already do. I can't imagine living away from mountains; they're so big and majestic and gorgeous, with trees and snow all over them. The ocean would be beautiful too, but I don't think I'd feel very safe living extremely close to a large body of water. (Haha, for that matter I wouldn't want to live so close to the mountains that avalanches would be a concern, either.)

I was going to answer several others, but I never got around to doing it. Crystal Rose said pretty much how I feel on the Which Cancelled TV Show Do You Miss the Most question; Carmen Sandiego and YGO, of course. Like her, I'd really only want to see Carmen back in reruns. I know from experience that past magic just can't be captured again with remakes. (Though I certainly wouldn't complain if there was going to be one that would feature all the Rockapella guys who were on the original show!) YGO I would love to see as a continuing story with the original characters. But reruns would be awesome too. X3

The other recent one I wanted to address was the one about what live concert meant the most. At this point in time, it would have to be when I saw Frankie Valli in concert eight years ago. It is still one of my happiest memories. He was awesome! He sang all the old classics from the 4 Seasons' career, and his biggest solo hits, and he's just such a nice guy. I didn't get to personally talk to him, unfortunately, but it was just an amazing experience. And I can hardly believe it was eight years ago. XD; It seems like it was longer, in another lifetime, almost. But I remember it very clearly; everyone was really involved, clapping to the beat and singing along. I was, too. X3

(Speaking of Frankie, he put out a new CD singing old classics from the sixties. I want!)

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