Something To Listen To

It's Friday, which means (I suppose) that it's time to pen another post for the slowest readership day of the week. *sigh* 

I've been busy (yes, yes, we know...). My birthday was on Wednesday, and the family went down to the Paramount to watch the stage musical Wicked. Never seen it before, but I remember when the book came out (back in the mid-90s). I've enjoyed these "retellings from the villain's perspective" stories immensely over the years (Maleficent, Circe, etc.). Of course, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon was probably the first and best of of these...then again, I've never read Mr. Maguire's novel. Certainly, no one's made a musical out of MZB's book, but I'd guess that's due to Morgan Le Fay having less 'cultural cache' then the Wicked Witch of the West.

Anyway, it was pretty good. The performances were top notch, especially Ephaba whose technical proficiency (voice wise) was pretty impressive...I don't remember witnessing that kind of singing ability since (perhaps) Phantom of the Opera. The production itself was pretty spectacular (some really elaborate set and costume design), even if the story was a little light-weight. Our family enjoyed it.

[by the way, I find it a little weird this recent theme in media of humanizing both the 'outsider' and the 'establishment' and bringing them together in these kumbaya stories (Wednesday Addams, anyone?). Maybe that's just me, but...well, whatever. Sign of the times, I guess]

The other thing I spent half the week listening to was the exceptionally good When We Were Wizards podcast. 15 episodes of oral history about the foundations of Dungeons & Dragons, TSR, and the rise and fall of Gary Gygax as told by the people who were there...and there were a lot of people interviewed for the show. Yes, quite fascinating, and rather compulsive listening...even my 10 year old got sucked into listening to multiple episodes.  Gary's personal story is as incredible as it is tragic.  Few people in this world are propelled into immense fame and fortune by falling into the exact right set of circumstances for their time and talent...and fewer still (if any) are prepared to handle it with wisdom and maturity. 

For those of us who enjoy the game of Dungeons & Dragons, we owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Gygax and to all those people who helped in the game's creation. But mostly, I think, to Gygax.

Okay, that's enough. I have a couple things to work on today (perhaps for a weekend blog post? We'll see...). But right now, I might enjoy another slice of this delicious pineapple upside down cake that my wife bakes me every year for my birthday. Goes perfect with the morning coffee.

Cheers!

: )