It's been a favorite game of my husband and I's to say 'Do you wanna see something cool' and then typing 'something cool' into google images. We used to get a picture of a horse from World of Warcraft. Today I just typed it into the regular google without images and got this! We should probably all check it out. It's apparently cool...
I really would not consider myself a "fan" of the Disney Fantasia movies. I remember watching the first one when I was a little girl and being bored out of my mind. I was pretty sure I was going to feel the same way about Fantasia 2000 when my husband bought it a few weeks ago. I surprised myself when I actually really enjoyed it! I ESPECIALLY loved the finale "Firebird". I would rather not say too much about it. You really need to watch it for yourself. I really don't think I have many words that could express what this short film makes me feel.
I did a little research on the music. It was written by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) for a ballet called "Firebird" in 1910. The particular piece that they used in the Disney Fantasia 2000 movie was the 1919 version. Just a piece of trivia: Disney bought the rights to this music in 1940 when they made the first Fantasia. Roy Disney decided it would make the perfect finale piece and asked Gaetan Brizzi & Paul Brizzi (animators that worked on The Hunchback of Notre Dame) if they would like to work on it. You can read more about that here:
After learning this piece was written for a ballet I was very curious what the ballet could have been about. It seemed like it was MADE for that piece of animation. Here is a short plot summary of the ballet. I found it at
http://www.danceit.org/firebird.html
"Young prince Ivan finds himself in the terrible realm of the giant Kashchei, the immortal entity of pure evil, who imprisons women and transforms men into stone. Not realising the danger, Ivan rambles through the bewitched garden of Kashchei where he meets a dazzling Firebird. Struck by the Firebird’s beauty, he steals one of its feathers and runs away. That evening he encounters 13 maidens, and falls passionately in love with one of them. The next morning, when the maidens, Kashchei’s prisoners, are compelled by magic to return to his castle, Ivan follows them. Kashchei's monstrous servants capture him, and are about to transform him into stone. He waves the magical feather that summons the Firebird, who tells him the secret of Kashchei’s immortality: his spirit in the form of an egg that he keeps in coffer, must remain intact. Ivan opens the coffer and breaks the egg; the monster dies, its magic is dissolved, and all those who he had captured are freed. The maiden Ivan loves, princess Tsarevna, and the prince marry."
I hope you enjoyed this film! I know I absolutely loved it!
What I love about Regina Spektor: 1)Her lyrics are so random, but yet hold so much meaning. 2)Her music is so basic but always portrays her emotions perfectly. 3)Her voice is BEAUTIFUL, but also she is not afraid to sound like an idiot!
I particularly like this song because everything about it SO simple, but it gives me the chills every time. (Those of us who play the piano can tell she is no Mozart. I mean- the tune is basically "Heart and Soul" with some extra bounce and the beat is a little different- but...it's..AMAZING.) She is just describing a moment she is having on the beach- and the thoughts that are going through her head.
Folding Chair: Come and open up your folding chair next to me My feet are buried in the sand and there’s a breeze There’s a shadow, you can’t see my eyes And the sea is just a wetter version of the skies
Let’s get a silver bullet trailer and have a baby boy I’ll safety-pin his clothes all cool and you’ll grafitti up his toys I’ve got a perfect body, though sometimes I forget I’ve got a perfect body cause my eyelashes catch my sweat Yes, they do, they do…
Now i’ve been sitting on this abandoned beach for years Waiting for the salty water to cover up my ears But every time the tide come in to take me home I get scared, and I’m sitting here alone Dreaming of the dolphin song…
Maybe one day you will understand I don’t want nothing from you but to sweetly hold your hand Till that day just please don’t be so down Don’t make frowns, you silly clown
Just come and open up your folding chair next to me My feet are buried in the sand and there’s a breeze There’s a shadow, you can’t see my eyes And the waves are just a frothier version of the skies
Here's a mix that I put together for a friend. These songs in this order always seem to bring me just a tad out of the slump I'm in. 1)Fix You- Coldplay 2)Never Is a Promise- Fiona Apple 3)Perfect (Acoustic Album Version)- Alanis Morissette 4)Sullen Girl- Fiona Apple 5)The Nurse Whoe Loved Me (A Perfect Circle) 6)Hide and Seek- Imogen Heap 7)Star Mile- Joshua Radin 8)Such Great Heights- Iron & Wine 9)Why Worry- Dire Straits (although I wish there was a better version. I'm not a fan of all the in between music) 10)Blackbird- Sarah McLachlan 11)Happy- Brandi Carlile 12)Self Portrait- Stephanie Smith 13)Two of Us- Aimee Mann & Michael Penn 14)The Way I Am- Ingrid Michaelson 15)Folding Chair- Regina Spektor
