Glee Review #7: Theatricality (Season 2, Episode 7)

I'm so sorry that this post is A WHOLE WEEK late. I took and unexpected hiatus of sorts. Things were hectic with memorial weekend, and the last days of school piling up tons of homework and studying for finals. So, this Glee review won't be in the same format as usual. I won't add any questions because while I did take notes during the episode, so I still remember what my feelings and reactions were I can't think of any questions since any I would've had were answered already! I hope that's okay and you still enjoy my slightly deformed review, because even though I missed a whole week of posts I had to add this one!

*I'm going to keep my future Glee reviews in the format I used last time, I won't have anymore paragraphs dedicated to music, and drama. Sorry if you like it better but for now it's easier because I've been taking notes during the episodes to not forget anything!*

You know that Glee performing Gaga, would never disapoint! And I defitnitly think it didn't. The traditional recap before "Theatricality" started even made me smile, when the narrarator used the word achivitate I was cracking up!

While Tina's conflict that started in the very beginning seemed a little ridiculous, I thought it was cute and quirky and I loved the pop culture references to the Twilight craze! I thought Idina Menzel was amazing when she sang "Funny Girl" and Santana shocked in "Bad Romance" which was not what I expected, but just as enjoyable. Still continuning the line up of great musical performances, was the New Direction guys with "Shout it Out Loud" even thought it made me laugh out loud! While I couldn't stop smiling seeing my favorite Glee guys in full out Kiss attire, the performance as a whole wasn't funny at all, the vocals were great and the energy immeasureable. "Beth" as cheesey as it was, was adorable. I think seeing Puck's new involvement in Quinn's pregnancy should make for a change in the story line, causing Quinn to choose to keep her baby. I loved the fact that Shelby gave Rachel a cup with gold stars! "Poker Face" was a very interesting number. At first I didn't understand it, I mean you just reconnected with your mom after 16 years and now that she's leaving you after less than a week, you decide to end with singing a Lady Gaga song? Not the choice for me. But as the song progressed, I found it to be sweet and funny and I finally learned the lyrics! I loved the rendition, and like I said many times before, it left me smiling.

Memorable quotes!

“You want to name our daughter Jack Daniels?” - Quinn

"Don’t be late for your appointment at SuperCuts!” - Kurt

“And ladies, I don’t wanna hear about chaffing. You’re wearing metal underwear, its not my problem.” - Shelby

"She's boundary-pushing, the most theatrical performer of our generation, and she changes her look faster than Brit changes sexual partners." - Kurt

"Wait, where’s Rachel? I mean, I only noticed because, like, five minutes have gone by without her saying something totally obnoxious." - Puck

"My parents won't even let me watch Twilight. My mom says she thinks Kristen Stewart seems like a bitch." - Tina

The glee club adorned with Gaga! (She lent them her actual outfits!)

Sorry this review was so horrible! I'm taking time on working on the one for "Funk" so please keep reading, and thanks for checking out this blog post!

Song stuck in my head today: "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Led Zeppelin

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison

Back to Basics: A Flower List Update

It's been time for my update for a while now, and I know I've been slacking! So here you go, one fresh new update on everything The Flower List.

What are you most excited for this summer?

33% said Camp!
22% said The amazing weather :)
22% said Swimming!!
11% said Barbeques- YUM
11% said Pool parties!
0 of you said The 4th of July
and...
0 of you said Other


I can't wait for summer- as usual! Unless you have some really strong hatred for summer, you have to get excited when a new season rolls along. A new season gives you new opportunities and experiences, not to mention new weather! There's so many different things to love about summer, it seems the favorite here at The Flower List is camp. I do a variety of day camps over the summer, and even doing those for the short three hours a day for a week I've become so attached to everything there. I hope everyone going to camp this summer, wheter it be sleepaway or only for a week or so like mine, enjoys it and creates even more camp memories!









The Flower List is going well.... I keep adding things but it takes a while to get everything nice and all so I can scan it (well that and me just being pure lazy!). I hope to accomplish a lot over the summer, I added a little counter on the bottom of the blog just incase you're ever wondering where I'm at! Some recent aditions I made: Be part of a flash mob, Give a stranger a $100 bill....

Not much to right! But like I said, with summer comes time, and with time comes The Flower List! I hope as all my readers start spending more time at the beach and less time at there screens, they won't forget me! Because just to give you a heads up, I'll still be posting. (:

Song stuck in my head today: "Be Ok" by Ingrid Michaleson

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison

Love is everyone's favorite topic.

Think about songs you listen to. Songs you hear on the radio, and on TV. Songs you love to dance to. What are they all about?

Love.

Wheter it's heartbreak, making up with an ex, falling head over heels or cursing out the pains that come with love, they all have a common theme; because we can all relate to love, and it comes in so many different forms and stories to share people don't even realize they're singing about the same thing over and over again! I find it amusing, but hey I'm drawn to it to. It's only natural I guess, and somehow it rarely ever tires me. I always have to stop to sing along.

If you've been with me from the start, you might recall my 'people watching' post. I talked about this girl in my orchestra class who, on a day when we had a substitute, started playing us all her original compositions. She made a new one, and she tried to play it for me, wedging herself between the piano and the white-board carrying a mountain of binders, but the stabbing sound of the dismissal bell tainted her wonderful song. I couldn't hear most of it because of the bell and the buzzing voices of students revving up for the end of the day, but I asked her what the song was about. She smiled at me and said, "What they're all about."

Love.

"All you need is love"

The Beatles

"If I should be so bold, I'd ask you to hold my heart in your hand. Tell you from the start how I've longed to be your man. But I never said a word I guess I'm gonna miss my chance again."

Jason Mraz

"Move to the city, loose all your heart, she weren’t that pretty, you ain’t too smart. Plenty of girls and boys in love, plenty of girls and boys in love."

Rumble Strips

"Feel like I'm falling and I'm lost in your eyes, you make me crazier, crazier."

Taylor Swift

"Goodbye my almost lover, goodbye my hopeless dreams."

A Fine Frenzy






"All my lovings, I will send to you."
The Beatles


Song stuck in my head today: "Hey Stephen" by Taylor Swift ;)

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison

Glee Review #6: Dream On (Season 2, Episode 6)

I think after watching last night's episode of Glee most people had a dream to be on that show! What a great night it was last night at nine. The songs were good, the plots creative and tear-jerking, and the comedic times not extremely side-splitting.




Didn't watch last night's episode? Remember, *SPOILER ALERT*


I had to take notes last night -old school- because I left my phone at school so I didn't have texts from my friends to go through about the episode as I'm writing this.... so this post will have to do without my normal paragraph set up. (Y'know? One for music, one for drama, stuff like that that always seems to fall into place!) I don't have time to reorganize everything because I'm busy juggling An Interview With Taylor Swift! on the side! Thanks for all the support these past couple days, everything's looking bright!!



The thing I loved so much about the episode was the big focus on Tina and Artie. I've been dying to see more of them for ages!! I thought that how Bryan Ryan mentioned Terri as the 'one girl who got away' was a great little twist of things. I thought "Dream On" was a really cool number, but at times it seemed to perfect for an Aerosmith hit. I wanted more raw vocals instead of the great always on-pitch sound we're used to. At first, when we saw Artie almost magically rise up out of his wheel chair while at the mall when Tina, and pretty much start a flash mob dancing to "Safety Dance" I was stunned. I was laughing to myself, thinking how ridiculous and unrealistic the whole scenario was, wondering if the whole cast was delirious thinking they could add this cute but way out of touch scene seamlessly into the episode! But then when the dancing suddenly stopped and you saw Artie sitting back in his chair, my laughter almost turned into tears. I loved the scene -though I thought they could've chosen a better song!- it made me really think about how much it meant to Artie, and how devastated he must feel everytime a song comes on and he can't even tap his feet. I loved how we got to see the real side of Jesse, why he suddenly transferred and what his real motivations were. It's good to know that they weren't particularly evil and know he's grown to like Rachel. I'm not sure if you guys saw Idina's character being Rachel's mother as a shock, because my super gleeky fans (Sam!) have known thanks to great Glee websites that that was going to arise for a while. I still love the connection even though I wasn't as shocked as I should've been! Even though it was made fun of at the end, to lighten the hard-hitting speech, I thought Will's whole black hole and star 'speech' was great!!! For some reason, "I Dreamed a Dream" didn't wow me. It was one of those moments where you want to cry but it feels like there's no tears left, except trade the tears in for a shocked reaction. I thought how that was the 'tape' was very interesting. My favorite song was actually "Dream a Little Dream of Me". I thought it was one of the best songs Artie has sang besides "Dancing With Myself"! Seeing Tina dance with Mike was adorable but sad at the same time, knowing what was going through Artie's head.



It seems like my questions have less and less substance, but maybe Glee is testing me to look at their episodes more creatively.... Nah. I think they're just being annoying!
1.) Will Terri ever resurface in an epsiode?
Even though the divorce isn't legal yet, it seems like Terri is out of Will's life -and ours- for good! Like I said before, I adored the twist of how Bryan Ryan had a crush on her, so that got me to wondering if we'd ever see her again. The only ever time we've seen her in this season was when she confronted Emma while she was preparing a dinner for Will at their old apartment.
2.) Will Artie continue to look into new studies of his condition?
After being shut down by Mrs. Pillsbury when bringing up the research being done to help Artie gain his ability in his legs back, it seemed like he was really over the chances of being a dancer. I thought what he said to Tina was true, but there's always exceptions! How many times have there been miracle stories on the news were someone who should've never uttered a word, can sing and speak? Enough to create a realistic story line, that's how many! Yeah, it's not possible for everyone, but so what! It's TV and I love Artie too much.
3.) Having Rachel's mother in her life, will we get to meet her dads?!
If you keep your TV on Fox for the extra minute or so as the credits roll, you would've seen that Rachel does in fact introduce herself to her mother. I can't wait to see what happens! And I think it'd be so cool if Rachel's dads would appear in an episode or two. All we've seen of them is the photo booth pictures that Rachel had in her locker of them both.



I can't wait for Glee to go Gaga! And I am anxious to see how Kurt and Finn's families coming together will unfold. It should definitly be exciting, here's next week's roundup for ya! Sorry I keep getting the singers wrong, but hey at least I have the songs and last week I didn't mess up!!
"Poker Face" - Rachel and Shelby
"Bad Romance" - Kurt and glee club girls
"Beth" - glee club boys
"Shout It Out Loud" - Finn
"Funny Girl" - Shelby



And finally, your quotes!
"Don't make that face-global warming's just a theory." - Bryan
"I sound like someone who put tap shoes on a horse and shot it." - Artie
"It's sort of a little Rachel Berry museum." - Rachel
"I have a box of Playbills hidden away in my basement like porn!" - Bryan
"Have you heard the term anger sex?" - Bryan
"Then, something amazing happened: I was introduced to Jesus; he was my Honduran social worker. " - Byran
"Evidently, that is not customary, and that's when I started huffing glue." - Brenda
"Can't feed a child sheet music, Will. I mean, I suppose you could for a while, but they'd be dead in a month." - Bryan
"What if she's singing on the tape? What if she's terrible? Or worse — what if she's better than me?" - Rachel
"Uh, I don't know this man. His caretaker just stepped away; I overheard him mention he's a sex offender." - Bryan
"Is it a tad over-the-top to bill the district for sky-diving lessons to have the Cheerios parachuted onto the football field? Perhaps." - Sue

Artie singing "Dream a Little Dream of Me"

Thanks for reading everyone!


Song stuck in my head today: "Dear Prudence" by The Beatles


Keep on keepin' on,

Madison

Even the sky cries sometimes

I say, the greatest investment a person can make is in a pair of rain boots.

After being a total brat to my mom this past winter, I finally got a pair of rain boots that I had wanted for a while. Not just the rain boots she bought for me in particular, I just wanted rain boots in general. It was one of those kind of things that you've always wanted but never got, and you didn't try really hard to get them even though you've loved them for a while.

I think they're so awesome! I mean come on, they're so adorable and quirky and you don't have to worry about anything getting on them if your one of those kind of people who likes to keep their shoes nice. They come in so many different patterns, colors and designs and you can buy really high end ones if you like designers or pick them up at any retail store for $15.

Maybe I love them so much because I love the rain. There's something about it. I was thinking about it today as I daydreamed in all of my classes watching the little droplets ping across the parking lot, making the tar look even richer in its deep shade of black. Isn't it funny how rain which is often called a gloomy or sad weather can livened up our world in so many ways? Think about the color, doesn't everything look brighter when it's when? It has to do with saturation or something I think. (Don't rely on me, I just failed a science test!). Sure, things get muddy and sometimes even darker and depressing with the rain but some things just look more alive.

I love wearing my rain boots. It's sorta become a routine now. I wait for a day when it's rainy, and when the sky starts crying I start smiling because I just need to wake up throw on a T and jeans and slid my rain boots right over and I feel great. I love seeing people's faces when you wear rain boots (well with mine anyway!). There's nothing too special about them, except the fact that they're bright red. That's what drew me to them. There they were in the farthest corner of the shoe department in Marshall's snuggled between last year's Coach flip flops, and they screamed at me! I had to have them. I didn't know how I couldn't of realized them before, walking around the store for hours trying to find a good replacement for snow boots, and there they were the whole time, sticking out like a sore thumb. A lot of people ask me when I wear my rain boots if I've seen the movie All About Steve which I always answer to with a shake of the head. I've yet to seen the movie -with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper- but everyone who asks says it's hilarious. My favorite teacher calls me Gossie, who's a children's book character.

She's (He's?) a goose who always wears this big red rain boots. I'm not familiar with the books but I found some things on Google! And the characters are really cute.

If you don't have rain boots. Go get them. Now! Find ones with your favorite colors, I'm sure they'll have them, and do something creative to spice 'em up! My friend said her sister has red ones and she took a Sharpie to them and drew little ladybugs all over the boots and they turned out great! If you've never been one to like the rain, (?!) try to look at the positives: the rain is nature's way of cleaning the Earth, it feeds wildlife and rids pollutants. The rain is the perfect excusing for not wearing any makeup, straightening your hair, dancing, and kissing! So if you ever need a good excuse for something just check the seven day forecast, and always keep your rain boots ready.

I NEED THESE

That'll be me on my wedding day!

Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain!

These are my rain boots! :)

I hope wherever you're reading this, your favorite weather is present! I know I'll be snug on my couch tonight as the rain hits hard, watching Glee! The next time a storm passes by and you feel stuck inside. Go out and dance, you'll have fun trust me.

Song stuck in my head today: "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison

Concerts=Motivations

I don't see how you can hate Taylor Swift. After last night, I think it's physically impossible. I'm not sure if you guys are fans of her (ya better be!) but sorry, 'cause this post is nothing but Taylor, Taylor, Taylor.

You can judge me. Say I haven't been to enough concerts to make a firm opinion on what I experienced last night, but I don't care. The Fearless tour is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life. I came home, with my ears ringing, body shaking and a pure determination to start saving money to get the best seats for her next tour.

So I don't start babbling as I so often do, here's just some quick reason why The Fearless 2010 tour was the best thing ever.

1.) Taylor got into it.
This made the show. That Taylor got into the crowd, physically and mentally. Doesn't it just really make you wanna scream when you spend all this money to come to a concert, buy food and shirts and then you're stuck all the way in the back up high, surrounded by unenthusiastic 'fans' and their Blackberry yielding fathers who are wondering why they ever got themselves into this mess, spending their Friday night in a mob of sparkly, singing, girls? Well, it makes me cringe thinking about it. But instead of staying up top a decked out platform in the safe confines of her band mates and screaming ground floor fans, Taylor came in through the crowd, sang a song on the steps and hugged and shook everyone she could while making her way down to the opposite end of the coliseum to ask her fans - who were freaking out at this point - if she could hang out with them back here. Oh, did I mention she gave some lucky girl her bracelet?! I'm pretty positive that'll be on that teen's wrist for years to come, as Taylor right now seems unstoppable in her current star status. When she came to the back of the arena, I swear the only thing separating the two of us was a small wall to block out insane fans and the lucky people with ground tickets. She made everyone back there freak out, all of us were happy she looked like the Taylor we know and love, not some ant sized girl that we had to watch on the big screens! Not only did she come back into the crowd but you could tell clear as day she was so into the concert and her fans. She stopped so many times, for five minutes or more to just look around and take it all in. She'd stop and smile or laugh to herself as the crowd screamed and cheered for her infinitely. You might say she was taking a break to let herself breath. But she did it so long, and so often and looked so happy you knew what she was feeling.
2.) The performances were spectacular.
Everything Taylor did with her songs was big, the little speeches she gave, the outfit changes, the videos leading up to them, and the scenery too. They gave the crowd a dose of energy everytime she stepped out in another sparkly dress. Sometimes I think things artists do on their live performances can be too much, and hide the music. But with the Fearless tour, the things that happened may have even enhanced it! There was always something new that made you think differently about the song, got you more involved, or just made you smile and laugh.
3.) The merchandise.
This might sound stupid, but I had to throw it in here! The t-shirts were only $25. I'm sorry but that made me extremely happy that I didn't need to spend $40 like other concerts!! :)
4.) Her and her band sounded good.
Taylor Swift didn't sound like some other artists that seem like they had some sorta vocal chord transplant after seeing them live. She sang just like you would hear on the radio, and her band was just as great. She also got her band into, not just by recognizing them at the end of a set but by letting one of her guitarist play around with the crowd, making up scream and telling us when to get louder or softer. Basically he was the conductor of a stadium packed with girls who, even though they had been non-stop singing and screaming the whole night, weren't about to give up yet. And seeing Taylor's other guitarist come out for a long solo was an amazing contrast to some of the slower pop song she had been singing previously.

I could go on and on as normal but bottom line: TAYLOR IS AMAZING. This tour showed who she was, and that she's here to stay! I was so impressed with it and it opened my eyes up to so many different things. She really made me feel fearless!

But, two last things before you take a gander at some photos I painstakingly snapped last night, balancing my camera on my knee while keeping a look out for the security! (No that was not me running around looking for better seats) One: Taylor really showed me how much she appreciated her fans and why. I never understood a celebrity's love for their fans. I mean, I get it but still it's not like they'd be nothing with out them. But they would in a way, and I get that now. I finally comprehended last night, after years of thinking if I ever got famous I would never let my fans get to me that much, why singers, actors, etc. are always saying how much they love their fans. They are their inspiration, they're the people that keep them going, make all the rejections worth it and I guess in a way, their friends. I don't know how I come to realize this, and it's sort of hard to express in writing but I'm glad I did.

And, my last statement is that if you have a Facebook I'd love if you'd become a fan of 'An Interview With Taylor Swift!'. It's a fanpage I started to cross off 'Meet Taylor Swift' from my Flower List. (Which new page will be up soon). I thought if Betty White could get on SNL with the power of Facebook and ahugfromtaylorswift.com could accomplish its goal in four months, trying for mine was worth a shot! So please join, send fan mail to Taylor, tweet her or whatever else you can think of! I might start a new blog/website, Youtube or Twitter for it in the coming months but for right now I'm just getting some other things with it going. I hope we can all make this happen together. Write or post a video on the fanpage to tell me what you want me to ask/tell Taylor if I get to interview her.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/An-Interview-With-Taylor-Swift/111018958941059?ref=ts



^ MY FAVORITE (:


Song stuck in my head today: "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison

HAIR (hair hair hhhair hhaiir hair!)

I have the thickest, curliest hair ever. Whatever you say, I don't care. That's the way I'll always look at my messy mane.

To really love me I guess you have to love/put up with my hair. It's part of the package. My hair gets in the way, and is constantly falling out as weird as that sounds. I'm convinced it keeps growing I mean I have like 90 pounds of hair and that never changes even with the many strands that come loose each day. Seriously, it seems to be a hot topic with people who are close to me. I have family friends who hate my hair and always tell me it's way too wild and praise me when I take out the straightener. Same things with my friends. Some love my 'bold look' and some tell me not to shower when I straighten my hair *cough cough DANI*.


I never really started liking my hair the way it is until last year. I always wore it straight or blown out pretty much. But now I can't imagine it any other way. It sounds weird that I'm making such a big deal out of it but it is to me! I love my hair and I think it sorta personifies me. I hate fake things like fake nails, eyelashes, flippers, extensions, anything really! I hate when people try to change themselves or think they're ugly. So many girls think they're ugly now and it makes me want to vomit. I've seriously given up trying to push self-confidence as much as I should. I think for most people it just has to be like an epiphany. You can't really teach someone that sometimes. I think most people think my hair is ugly. I guess that because it's different than the straightened hair everyone goes for. That's why I had to refer to it as a 'bold look' before hand because some people I know really think it's daring. I don't know why. It's what I was born with. Some girl have silky smooth straight hair and some girls are born with wild thick curls. I took what I got and embraced it! It seems simple to me.


On Tuesday, I straightened my hair. Nothing too out of the ordinary. I mean I don't do it often; maybe like once a month or so. But with the straightening I forgot the annoying burden that always comes with it. (It's not too annoying really but I can't think of any other word).


"Did you get a hair cut?!" "What did you do to your hair?!" "I love your hair!" "Your hair looks amazing!".

No to brag, but this is what I get. True stuff. I mean I get like 10 comments a day - not lying - some from people I'm not even close with. But really, it's like a slap in my face and it has become tedious. I just want to flip out for once and say, "No you idiot! I didn't get a hair cut! It's called a straightener, and I know for a fact you can't leave the house without using yours! Thanks for the vote of confidence, next time I come in with curls I'll be sure to remember how un-amazing it looks."


And you can't forget the over used, "Why don't you wear it like that all the time?!". People don't get why I just smile meekly and thank them over and over again. To me it's just telling me that you hate my hair the way it's supposed to be. They don't get that I'm serious when I say I hate it sometimes, and that I'm not another low self-esteem girl. I hate my hair straight sometimes when I decide to wear it. I can only go for a certain amount of days without craving for a quick shower to rid it of the gross heat treatment. I like my hair straight a lot too, don't get me wrong! But why can't people understand who I am? And I'll never have the pin-straight look they're looking for. I appreciate the great comments all day, but it's okay, I've gotten the point by now. It's just your turn to get that I feel like I'm being forced to conform to something every time I crush my curls through those plates. Change is good, straight is great! But I'm a curly girl. Through and through.








So what do you think? Curly or straight? Comment if you want, but to me it seems pretty crazy to think it can cause such opinions and theories and what not, here's two favorite things people have said about my hair just 'cause I had to post these:

"Relax your hair hair its over powering you body" This was posted anonymously on my Formspring, my friend Alana and I can't get over it.



"Madison, you turned around once and your hair whipped me. I swear my face was red." - Oh that ROHAN



Thanks for reading, vote in the poll, you only have two more days! I have big news: I'm seeing the fabulous TAYLOR SWIFT tomorrow night, big thanks to the awesome Brianna for this great experience!!!! I might have a review because I know a lot of people in my town are going.

Song stuck in my head today: "Pennies from Heaven" by Louie Prima

Keep on keepin' on,

Madison