The Stuff That Moves Me

I've said it before, and even if you haven't read much here, you probably know just how much I lovelovelovelovelove music.  As in, music of all kinds.  I was blessed with parents who loved music, and cultivated that love in us.  We all took music lessons of one kind or another, and we all still can play an instrument or two -- though, in my case, not well, but still, I can still get through some piano.  Sure, we grew up listening to the crazy stuff like Spike Jones and Mrs. Miller, but we also listened to all kinds of other music too.  One of my earliest memories of music in our house was listening to The Sound of Music Soundtrack, while my dad taught my sister to waltz.

Mom and dad love musicals, so show tunes were big in our house.  It made me smile the other day when Seth posted something on Facebook about how good life was as he was in his car listening to show tunes with his friends (several of whom are music majors).  Thomas is on a huge jazz bent these days, posting regularly his newest awe of Miles Davis and the like.  Jillie is more of a pop girl, but Michael is doing his best to bring her to classic (spangles and sequins) country, a la George Jones and Hank Williams.  He is, as she says, something of a music diva, and there are MANY rules surrounding music at the upcoming nuptuals.  Jim is a little concerned that the rules mean there will be nothing to dance to, but I'm sure it'll be just fine.

And so it was that I found myself watching the Dr Who 50th Anniversary episode on Saturday, with Jim and Seth.  I'm Johnny Come Lately to Dr Who, having only started to watch it in the last couple of years, but when Jim has watched it from the first episode, and Seth is a Whovian of note as well.  It's fun to watch wtih them --- Seth and Thomas are amazed at how much Jim knows about the series.  Me, I just love the music.  Jim?  He fell asleep ten minutes into the anniversary special.

The first time I actually "watched" the show was on a Sunday afternoon.  Jim was watching it in the bedroom whilst I napped.  I just remember waking up and thinking "what is that AMAZING music?"  It truly has some of the most simple, but moving music out there.  It's just perfect for the ebb and flow of the action, and the heartbreak is palpable too.  It's not unlike the Titanic score, that brought Jill to panic back in the day.  (And, just for update, she did finally see the movie a couple of months ago.  And cried like a baby, too.)

That being said, I have spent a good portion of the past two days listening to Dr Who music, and waiting for Jim to watch the 50th anniversary special for real.  It's recorded on the DVR and he'll get round to it in the next few days, I'm sure, and I will get all teary all over again, and Seth will once again wish that he had David Tennant's hair.  And we'll all count the days till the Christmas Special, when we say goodbye to Matt Smith.  I can't say that I'm attached to the show in any way like I was to LOST, but I will cry when Eleven leaves us.

Meantime, this:

Adventures in Twaziland

We headed north last weekend, for my mom's birthday celebration.  She hates talking about her age, so I'll just give you a hint:  it has a 0 and an 8 in it.  You do the math.

And so it was that we headed up to Michigan: The Heir, The Spare, The Adopted One, and my boo.  Mom and Dad live in Oscoda, and Jim had never been there, so he did his typical researching.  Told me everything about the area, like I'd never been there.  Oscoda is on Lake Huron, and is mostly a summer home location for people from "downstate" as Michigan calls the Detroit area.  There's not a lot there, but it's also 15 miles north of Tawas City, or Twaziland, as my boo called it.  (He has a thing with names........he alternately calls me Lucy, Sophie, and last weekend, I suddenly morphed into Peaches LeFleur.  He's name challenged.)

The trip was mostly a disappointing discussion about Game of Thrones and Magic The Gathering, though at one point, the boys discussed the merits of a certain female character.  Thomas said "yes, she is very pleasing to the eye."  Seth said "yeah, she's got the perfect measurements: 36-36-36, or whatever they are."  Thomas replied, "She fills out her costume very nicely."  Yeah, there were a few reminders during that trip that they were, indeed in mixed company.  Seth's response?  "You know, you always say that, and I don't even know what mixes company IS."   ::sigh::

In the last hour of the trip, they finally switched the discussion to Dr Who, which is much more interesting to me, given the fact that I watch it.  And that Jim has watched it since Day One.  They started talking about their dislike of the current writer, and what he needs to do to improve his craft.  One example they used was an episode wherein the villains were babies.  Seth said "that's what I'm talking about.  I mean, everyone  knows babies are terrifying.  There's nothing new about that."

Obviously, the Spare to the Throne does not have a future in babysitting.