#every song rebecca writes is incredible but i love how much this one stands out and how solely applicable it is to simon's story

[desnaa]

Does somebody jump for joy? Does somebody cry? Now that I'm not part of that sadness?

Does somebody want me now? Now that I can't fly? Now that I'm not part of the madness? Part of the madness? Part of the madness? Part of the madness?

Laughter and screams seem to echo faintly I can still hear them around Somewhere the roller coaster climbs and dives While I've got my feet on the ground

Aren't I so much better now that I'm just a normal guy? Now that I'm not Now that I'm not Now that I'm not Part of the madness

Aren't I so much better now that I'm just a normal guy? Now that I'm not Now that I'm not Now that I'm not part of the sadness Part of the badness Part of the radness Part of the madness

[rebsrams]

The Enneagram Series - One (Ethan x F!MC)

Book: Open Heart (OHSY)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Rebecca Valentine)

Warnings: angsttttt

Summary: Ethan’s back from the Amazon. MC can’t really come to terms with his decision to cut her off. Based on Atlas: Enneagram from Sleeping at Last.

Word count: 1,249

Author’s notes: I kinda re-imagined part of the beginning of OHSY, actually. It sounded very strange to me that MC would just try to get him back no matter what after he left her like a total coward, escaping his feelings. I just thought that she would have reacted, in some way. And being my MC extremely hot headed, that’s the way it turned out!

Song: One - Sleeping at Last

“Why do you always have to be so goddamn patronizing, Ethan?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you keep fucking up every damn thing that you lay your hands on!”

There they were, roaring at each other again.

The week they had experienced was quite rough, aiming at each other’s throat on every possible occasion and without any valid reason.

Except the fact that after his return from the Amazon, he shut her out for the umpteenth time, and soon it became clear enough to her that he wanted it to be the last.

After the first, big fight they had over Ethan’s words at Donahue’s, he decided that the wisest thing to do was to ignore her and give her time to take his decision in, although it took him an amount of effort that after two months away from her wasn’t ready to face at all.

However, his decision soon turned out to be delusional, as she began to tease him slightly on every possible occasion about his recent recanting, forcing him to stay quiet and bite every bullet in order to keep a vague appearance of dignity across the corridors.

When the situation became unsustainable to him, he began to do the only thing he was used to do when things got rough: he became a bossy jerk, continuously mistreating her to keep her away from him.

The plan obviously didn’t worked out as well as he imagined, because she began to yell at him every time he got a little too much authoritative for her taste and he, for his part, was far too proud for letting himself go the opportunity to stand up to her, his guilt only slightly moderating his tones.

At least they had the decency of fighting in his office, far from prying eyes and especially ears.

But the walls of his office were a little too thin for the volumes reached by their confrontations, and every now and then Ethan happened to notice Harper’s disapproving glances coming his way.

All that he could do was let out a long sigh, pinch the bridge of his nose and go on with his work, waiting for another day to come to an end and for Rebecca to finally draw a line under the whole situation and at least try to forgive him.

But that day, he lost it.

It wasn’t exactly something that she said or done, he deserved every cursing word coming his way.

He was simply mad and couldn’t take it anymore.

Mad with himself, for allowing to his marble heart to break down its walls and letting her in, not even thinking of the consequences.

And mad even with her, for being so incredibly breathtaking, swaying her hips and graciously laughing at the nurse station every single morning.

It was too much for him, for the cold, perfectionist, overachiever Dr. Ethan Ramsey.

He didn’t really mean those things.

He knew perfectly well that she was an excellent doctor, one of the best of her age, and most importantly he didn’t mean to say, by no means, that she was fucking him up.

He was self-destructing himself, staying away for her and forcing himself to push her away every time they got closer.

And though he was the emotionless and imperturbable doctor that Edenbrook came to know, he just wanted to loosen the reins for a bit and allow himself to feel.

Well, if he wanted to feel something, her face after those words was something that could have easily tormented him for weeks.

Totally wounded, for a moment utterly helpless in front of the amount of conflicting feelings she was experiencing.

He could read delusion, sorrow and something that he found rather difficult to pinpoint.

Maybe… Hate? Could it really be that, in the end, she came to hate him?

Well, I’d deserve it, he couldn’t help to think, the weight of what he said totally sinking in.

“Oh, well, in that case… I guess I have nothing more to do here,” she looked around his office, tears dangerously threatening  to fall off her freckled cheeks.

“Have a good day, Dr. Ramsey.”  She turned around, then stopped on her tracks when she was already holding the doorknob.

“On second thought…”

This wasn’t going to end well.

“I suggest you to let go of all this” she gestured around him “aura of complete perfectionism that you bring. It may sooner or later require something of you that you can’t afford to give away. Think of it.”

With this enigmatic words, she left the room leaving her characteristic wake of coconut and cinnamon mints behind her, the loud, angry thumps of her sneakers on the floor annoyingly drawing attention towards her.

Though he always knew she was the only mystery he wasn’t always ready to unravel, her words resonated loud and clear, like a bolt from the blue. Something he tried to ignore for all his life.

Everything in his existence had got to be perfect. No burrs of defects, from his tie knots to his patients’ charts. He lived strictly following routines and embarking only in situations he knew he could fully manage. Which was definitely not the case, speaking of her.

She came into his life like a hurricane and disrupted all of his plans.

Everything was so simple, before her.

Don’t marry, don’t have any kids, commit to your job completely and take Jenner out twice a day.

That’s all he needed, all he wanted. Until her.

Just needed to look at what he’d done to get over her and put his mind back to wherever the hell it was before.

He didn’t have many friends inside the hospital, but whoever knew him just an inch could tell that spending two months in the Amazon wasn’t exactly what he was aspiring to, at least at the time.

It happened increasingly that he found himself daydreaming of her, cuddled against him on the sofa, with her head on his shoulder and his hand through her ginger locks. He found incredibly hard to admit, especially to himself, that he once fantasized about her in a white dress, with orange flowers in her hair.

To bring things back to normal, he thought he just needed time and space to divide him from her, and the Amazon sounded like the further job offer he had received in the latest months.

It could have been a vaguely good idea only if he had the real guts to remain there and not showing his great punching-bag face anymore. He would have still found out that his feelings for her were still there, of course, but at least he would have spared her all the hurt that followed that unfortunate (but breathtaking at the same time) encounter they had at Donahue’s, the night he got back.

He always needed proof for everything, and that was one of the reasons why he became a doctor.

Laws of biology can’t hurt you, people can. That’s what he repeated himself throughout med school and afterwards.

He searched for predictability, order, perfection. But at what cost?

“Something of you that you can’t afford to give away”

His soul, his heart, his humanness. Things he reluctantly needed, as a doctor and as a hypothetically happy human being.

But he just stayed there, the scent of his now cold coffee floating around the room and his eyes locked on the door she went through mere moments ago.

--------------------------------------------------

So, this is gonna be angsty.

As an aspiring singer and a huge music lover, I often draw inspiration from pieces of music. Also, I’m utterly in love with Sleeping at Last, so this is just part of what I wrote listening to them.

I’m not sure how this series is going to evolve, I just know that it will have (with any luck) nine chapters.

Maybe I will go in chronological order, trying not to mess up with the original plot, or maybe I’ll just write about some slices of life involving my favourite duo.

If you have any suggestion, please write me! :)

Unfortunately, don’t know when I’ll be able to post again. I’m having a huge mole of work to do and I don’t really know where to begin! I’ll try to keep writing as a safe haven in this messy world that we’re living in.

tags: @schnitzelbutterfingers​, @choicesfan10, @openheartfanfics​ 

I’d also like to thank again everyone who’s commenting such beautiful things under my works, lots of heart emojis to you 💗💗💗

[finalhxaven]

♫

Send 🎵 for a 5-10 song Playlist about our muses! (Still accepting)

oh just shut up, everyone, you KNOW this is my ship.

1. How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox Twenty One 

I sat down on the street and took a look at myself Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to I believe the world is burning to the ground Oh well, I guess, we're gonna find out Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend, Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come

End of the world kind of songs really vibe with these two characters, especially in an au where Zack survives to face Jenova and Meteor head on. There’s a sense of denial that has to come with facing the end of the world, and they have enough of it to go into battle for the sake of fighting for what they believe in. So long as it’s together, they don’t need to have a future. It’s about the here and now, and what they can do for each other in this very moment.

2. Tonight by Seether

Like sugar and cyanide These worlds are gonna collide I want to yell it from the rooftops down Until it's over, and we're older

Their chemistry is raw, it’s simple touches that turn into passionate kisses, and just a single word from one has the other reeling. An incredibly reactive couple belying their own internal struggles that they help one another cope with at the end of the day. But man is it like fireworks with their feelings.

3. We’ll Be Fine by Rebecca Ferguson

When you're lonely Don't be afraid, I'll keep your heart close to mine Lay safe in my arms Lay safe in my armsWhen I'm falling I won't stay down 'Cause I will hold you Lay safe in my arms Lay safe in my arms

They understand better than anyone how to survive by themselves. Many people believe Tifa and Zack respectively can handle anything, but tend to forget that they deserve someone to lean on too emotionally. Someone who can be their balance. So when they start a relationship, there’s tenderness in the way they each speak to one another. Reassurance. Kindness. 

Love.

4. Time Adventure (From Adventure Time)

'Cause you and I will always be back then You and I will always be back then You and I will always be back then You and I will always be back then That's why You and I will always be best friends

This one’s special because it gives a bittersweet taste. Both characters are fully aware that nothing lasts forever, but it’s the feelings that are strong enough to transcend time and do magnificent things. (Also this song is just for you Rain in particular uwu)

5. Kokoro (From Xenosaga)

My beating heart begins to race When I turn to see your face I remember that sweet dream which you told to me

I wanted just to be with you So we could make the dream come true And you smiled at me and that was the beginning

Tifa to Zack. All he had to do was plant the thought in her head. “A family. Maybe a house? We could grow our own food and...” That’s all it takes for her, really. This song in particular has a sad ending, and I did that on purpose because there’s always that reminder that Zack’s demise was upsetting in every way, someone with so much love to give and hope in his heart even despite being hardened, deserved much more.

6. Futuristic Imagination by School Food Punishment

Tonight if you listen Tonight if you try You're gonna finally find out why I can't hate you Tonight if you listen You might realize How many bridges I'd dare to burn To keep tonight

TIFA TO ZACK AND IT’S SO SCARY ACCURATE. Tifa is pretty extreme when it comes to love. So while she spent a majority of her energy denying her feelings, at some point it comes to a head that she needs to convey her feelings. And yes, would go to the end of the world for him. This is an english cover that puts her feelings together simplistic with a passionate vocal I think fits Tifa better, but the original japanese has more complexity in the lyrics that fit Tifa’s emotions towards Zack more accurately.

7. No Choir by Florence and The Machine

But the loneliness never left me I always took it with me But I can put it down in the pleasure of your company And there will be no grand choirs to sing No chorus will come in No ballad will be written It will be entirely forgotten And if tomorrow it's all over At least we had it for a moment Oh darling things seem so unstable But for a moment we were able to be still

Love doesn’t fix everything. If you have abandonment issues or depression, that won’t magically go away just by being in love. but Tifa to Zack? She believes in TRYING, even despite her own flaws. Maybe even because she isn’t perfect, that she wants to spend the rest of her life always working on it with him. And at the end of the day, all they want is something quiet and sweet together.

For Your Zack In Particular, Rain: 

1. Modern Age by Anberlin

There is so much left we have to lose here. The more we give away. You just will never keep the promise said. If all we hold is yesterday.

It’s cute to think that Zack has everything together, but the guy’s been through a lot. Just as much loss if not more due to the events in Crisis Core, to the point where morality is too grey for him. But what makes Zack so wonderful is that he continues forward with a path he carves for himself, no matter what the future leads. Yours is the kind to keep moving towards the future.

2.  INFINITY≠ZERO by Nano

Show me how (don't look away, it's a time the world could change) To go on (don't let it go, be the light to shine on) Even if unable to see, I clenched my true heart, Extended my hand, and thereafter.. INFINITY≠ZERO

At first I didn’t get the title of the song when I heard it, but it was only after a couple of listens that I got what it means. INFINITY≠ZERO is a philosophical denial that the only thing eternal is nothingness. And it really hits home with your Zack because even with facing so much dread that brought each First Class Soldier down, he continues to believe in something more. That this world isn’t made of ambiguity towards the end, but can be worth fighting for BECAUSE it can be beautiful. 

3. Battle Cry (From Empire)

And all of my fears... And all of my doubts... Are lacing their boots... And grabbing their guns... The war is on now... Oooh And they're marchin' in... OOOoooh... And they're marchin' in... OOOoooh... And they're marchin' in... Ooooo... I can hear the battle cry At war with my heart and mind

There are complexities in war that aren’t just battle scars. Zack is more than the triumphs he has and the demise he got, because he regularly faces emotional conflict within himself as he learns more and more about what ShinRa is about. His resolve is not absolute, because he must always continue to face himself in order to fight on. Your Zack in every thread we’ve ever had, continues to face these dilemmas with human emotions and responses. And I love that about him.

4. King/Ghost in a Song by Grabbitz

I'm gonna start doing things I think I should 'Cuz I wanna die knowing I did all I could Days and days of restless worry Will I ever change a thing? Leave my mark on endless stories I just want to go out like a king I just want to go out like a...

He’s a king and he’s dead and it’s not okay.

5. Wings by Birdy

Oh, lights go down In the moment we're lost and found And I just wanna be by your side If these wings could fly Oh, damn these walls In the moment we're ten feet tall And how you told me after it all We'd remember tonight For the rest of our lives

Shit wait this was supposed to be Tifa to Zack. I’m such a mess forgive meeeeee

6.Who Tells Your Story by The Roots (From The Hamilton Mixtape)

Memories divided by perception Will it be water for chocolate or resurrection? The path to perfection is rarely achieved I head in that direction, I dream and believe An underground dude that overachieve From the windy city I was blowing they eaves Somewhere along the way I aired out MCs (who lives who dies who tells your story) But to stand out some days you may freeze Degrees

He’s always been a man who thought about legacy. The idea placed as a small seed from Angeal, growing further until full fruition for Zack to pass the same seed unto Cloud. 

But the awareness of mortality is properly achieved in the au of him living, Rain. He grows, he learns, he realizes that in order to continue living you MUST acknowledge death will always be at the doorstep. And that is where he finds cherishing what is all around him so much more prominent in your writing than in the media of him showed. Everyone always thinks of the tragedy, but what of the philosophical dilemma of continuing to live?

@xaksu

[thesinglesjukebox]

LOONA - BUTTERFLY [6.20] Does a [6.20] count as stanning? Who can say...

David Sheffieck: The LOONA meme has so far been more memorable than the LOONA singles, but this might be the point where that relationship flips. "Butterfly" packs in hooks but doesn't overload itself, and the chorus sounds like DJ Snake giving pop a chance -- which surprisingly turns out to be a great idea. If they can keep this up they might start to match the hype. [7]

Iain Mew: Sometimes I want a song, and sometimes I'm happy with an expressive wash of sounds that cascade over any structure, words set loose and floating around as the next best thing to the flight they invoke. This is one of the latter times and then some. [8]

Alex Clifton: There are moments in "Butterfly" that just soar unexpectedly, like the pitch-shifted "fly like a butterfly" in the chorus. Every time it hits my arms feel a little lighter, like I might ascend myself. A song about flying should convince you that such a thing is possible, that you too are going to take off and accomplish your dreams. I think LOONA has succeeded here without going too twee (a difficult line when writing about butterflies specifically). [7]

Iris Xie: Wow, if you actually enchanted the holographic '90s butterfly clips I had as a child and made them sentient, I think it would be this song. LOONA continue isolating the highest pitched parts and amping up the woozy house aspects of Grimes's output, but that only helps hone the girlish, but not childish, wonder that is present here. I am slightly disappointed that the vocal track makes it sound like there's only one single voice rather than twelve unique voices, and there could be better usage of the harmonies, but the instrumental does the heavy lifting here. The three hooks of "fly like a butterfly / I better be around you / wings, wings" weave in and out of the drops, sonically conveying the theme as the notes go higher and higher. However, what stands out to me is that "Butterfly" really lays K-pop and its genre tropes bare -- there's a substantial force behind this song that actually communicates the feeling of being commanded to pay attention and listen to LOONA, and if you know K-pop, you know exactly what is happening in each section of the song performance-wise, right down to the hand gestures and winks. If you do well in biding those instructions, you will be rewarded by being grabbed and thrown into the group's particular dreamscape. Here, this is emphasized through the surprisingly substantial fierceness of the drops, which repeats throughout the song. I've been listening to K-pop for several years now, but I don't think it's ever been so evident to me until this song what the genre tries to accomplish -- a deep grab for your attention, within every possible method, but always starting with the song. [7]

Ryo Miyauchi: The climactic release has been important for LOONA songs at least since the yyxy era. The ghastly beat of "New" suggested a shedding of youth into a more adult phase of seeking danger as thrill. The future-bass drop of "Egoist" ripped off the binding chains to finally achieve self-acceptance and self-sufficiency. And when the group came together as one, the drumming rush at the center of "Hi High" unleashed their emotions with its very intensity in tact not unlike fromis_9's "Love Bomb." "Butterfly" opts to do the same with its huge squeaking drop that rids their inhibitions as a direct expression of the transformation phase in their metamorphosis, cutting through the silence with power but also with grace. However, that spotlessness of the song's choreography also makes me want more songs like "Heart Attack" and "Hi High" from LOONA that reflect just how hard to sort and suppress their feelings might be. [6]

Anna Suiter: When "Butterfly" was released two weeks ago, I would've given it a [4]. The song just felt flat, and everyone's voices ran together except for Chuu's. But eventually that pitched whistle bit in the chorus got into my head and stuck there. It really does make you want to fly a little bit. When you include the very deliberate diversity of the music video and the overall "we are all LOONA" them of the promo, it floats a little more, even if it's not enough to truly make it soar. [7]

Thomas Inskeep: This seems to start off too slowly at first, but once the chorus hits you realize that this is the musical effect of the chrysalis becoming the butterfly. And after a bit, the woozy tempo makes all the sense in the world (especially with that bridge). This is EDM pop using its powers for good rather than evil: "Butterfly" is frankly kinda weird, and for K-pop fairly out there, but it works, and grows on you. [6]

Rebecca A. Gowns: With the usual disclaimer that I haven't heard much K-pop, here goes: I like the vocals in the verses, and strongly dislike the vocals in the chorus (too much high/low pitch-shifting for my taste, and the word "butterfly" is too feathery and insubstantial). The verses feel like they're building up to something, but then the chorus is too obvious, a glitter pen doodle of a butterfly on a middle school binder. Which is fine, I guess, just not really my thing! The instrumentation works in some places (the opening, the bridge), but for most of the song it just sounds like a cacophony. [4]

Katherine St Asaph: Like "Teenage Dream" with twelve hundred thousand other things going on. Plenty of them are good things, like the pinging high notes or the breakdown like an EDM drop through compound eyes, but together they make this so damn crowded. And I still don't understand the ARG hype at all. [6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Incredible how every Orbit is delusionally praising these OT12 LOONA singles as if they're not terribly predictable and a major step back from the pre-debut material. Blockberry Creative understands that people are already invested in each member and will gleefully obsess over the convoluted ARG elements, so it's tempting to feel like LOONA's music is now an afterthought given the dip in quality and creativity. "Butterfly" has the same talk-rapping we've heard ample times before, and the same dance music tropes that K-pop fans love slapping with the not-exactly-accurate term "future bass." The attempt at capturing the lyrics' sense of boundless, buoyant ecstasy is obvious with various musical elements -- the trailing off of vocal melodies, the ebb and flow of the beat, the reverbed snapping -- but it feels frustratingly restricted, like performative gestures at something it couldn't possibly achieve. The occasional dubstep wobbles provide a gritty contrast to the song's otherwise pristine sound, but "Butterfly" is ultimately too formal and insipid to soar. You can "stan talent," sure, but talent doesn't guarantee good songs. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[raveyqueen]

please write a really sad ravey fic and i will love you forever

You asked for sad and ohhhh boy, is this sad. Here ya go!

“You could just, oh I don’t know, tell him how you feel, Racer.”

Race’s sigh is something even Jack would call dramatic, he’s fully aware of this. But Al just doesn’t get it. They’ve had this conversation so many times and it always ends the same way.

“You know I can’t do that, Al. It would just make everything such a mess.”

“It’s already a mess! You’re clearly miserable here and I’m tired of you literally moping around the apartment every day. It’s been years, Race.”

Al is the only one of their friends who knows about his feelings for Davey but he just doesn’t understand. Race had his chance, months ago. And he blew it. So now he just has to live with those consequences and watch as the love of his life goes and marries someone else.

“I’m not going to be that guy, Al. This isn’t one of those Hallmark movies that Jack watches all the time. I can’t just get in the way of Davey’s wedding.”“He doesn’t even want to get married though! He’s literally just doing it to make his parents happy and because he happened to get Rebecca pregnant while he was drunk.”

Race sighs again. Rebecca. She’s been Davey’s on-and-off-again girlfriend since their junior year of college and in just a few hours she is going to be his wife. She’s nice enough, fits into the group easily enough and everyone seems to like her enough. Except Race. And kind of Al, but Race suspects that that’s just because he’s fulfilling his best friend duty by hating the girl who is marrying the guy Race is in love with.

When Davey had come out as pansexual his senior year of college, Rebecca was less than pleased and made sure that Davey and everyone else knew it. That was one of their biggest fights and Race was shocked when they got back together a couple of months later, but he never said anything. He didn’t want to burden Davey with his own feelings on top of everything he was already going through back then.

And then that had just became the norm. Race had lost count how many times they had called it quits just to end up together again. No one really ever said much about it, but Race was sure they all saw the toll it took on Davey each time. He only ever seemed to smile and laugh when he was on an off period with her, and that was Race’s favorite time.

And then there was that damn party a few months ago. They had all gotten together to celebrate Romeo’s birthday and things quickly got out of hand, as they usually did with them. Race had never been so drunk in his life, and that was saying a lot. He had made Al and Mush help him clear the couches in the living room so he could have enough room to dance and spent most of his night doing just that, dancing away. He hadn’t even been sure when Davey had sat on one of the couches and began watching him but after every song ended, Davey would erupt into applause.

After awhile, Race had gotten tired so he threw himself down on the couch next to Davey and they had both been grinning at each other, completely unaware of the rest of the party going on around them in the apartment. They hadn’t really talked much, just stared and smiled at each other, giggling occasionally because something about that much alcohol just makes everything seem so damn funny.

Race was going to tell him. He had been trying to sort the words out in his head, which was even more difficult because of the alcohol, but dammit - he had been so determined. He had been in love with Davey for years, since they met back in their freshman year of college. He’d never had the opportunity to tell him though. For the first few years, Race wasn’t even sure if Davey liked boys, and once he did know, Rebecca was already in the picture and it just was never a good time.

Just as he had gathered enough courage to say the words, someone was standing in front of them and clearing their throat. Rebecca was the last person he’d expected to see that night, seeing as he was fairly sure her and Davey might actually be done for good this time, but there she had been. Asking to speak to Davey, alone.

Davey had promised to come back in a minute and asked Race to save his seat for him. It was about an hour later that Race decided to head home, tired of waiting. He’d tell Davey tomorrow, when they were both sober. It was probably for the best anyway.

But Race never got the chance to tell Davey how he felt. Him and Rebecca had gotten back together that night and then a couple of months later, Davey was telling them all that Rebecca was pregnant. And that he was going to ask her to marry him.

And now here he was. Sitting in a church, a few pews from the front, watching Davey put a ring onto Rebecca’s hand. He can’t remember if he was the one who grabbed Al’s hand for support or the other way around, but he feels Al squeeze his hand when the officiant asks if anyone objects to this union. It takes everything in him not to snort in response. It isn’t until Al leans over to him and speaks his name quietly in his ear that Race realizes Al’s nudging him to look up, so he does.

And his breath catches. Davey is standing up there, looking as incredible as he always does, in front of the entire church. He’s holding both of Rebecca’s hands in his and he is.. Staring. Directly at Race. The moment they make eye contact, Race forgets how to breathe. Forgets where they are for a moment. For just a moment, it’s just Race and Davey. Alone and staring at each other. Race actually thinks he can hear his heart beating loudly in his chest and hopes no one else can. He wants so badly to object. To stand up, say no - none of this is right. He wants to have that big dramatic moment like in those movies Jack loves, where Davey comes down from the altar and runs to him and they kiss - finally kiss - and run out of the church together and live happily ever after.

Race doesn’t say a word. Just continues to hold eye contact with Davey and squeeze Al’s hand.

Race doesn’t hear the officiant speak, doesn’t hear Rebecca say ‘I do.’ But even he notices the long pause and the tension in the air that’s not just coming from the little bubble they’ve created from their continued eye contact.

He realizes then that it’s Davey’s turn to say those two words. He just has to say them and then that’s it, he’ll be married. But he isn’t saying them. He’s just standing there, hands still holding Rebecca’s, and still staring at Race. Race refuses to break the connection to look around and see if anyone has caught on to what’s been happening between them the last few minutes of the ceremony. Race wouldn’t look away even if the Fairy Godmother herself appeared in a pumpkin on top of the altar. He feels so trapped in Davey’s eyes.

There’s no telling how much time passes. Race can’t focus on anything other than the tiny bit of hope in his heart that Davey is going to say no. Race so desperately wants Davey to say no, he’s never wanted anything more. He can feel his eyes starting to water but he refuses to blink, to try to clear them. If he blinks, he’s afraid he’ll lose everything.

When Davey speaks, it’s like all of the tension in the room melts away. Race vaguely hears sighs of relief from around him, sees the flash of a camera go off somewhere to his right, and feels Al squeeze his hand harder than ever. But still, neither him nor Davey look away from each other. Still trapped in whatever connection they’ve made to each other in this moment.

“I do.”

[ninallthatjazz]

Review TdV Vienna – 07.06.-10.06.18

If you are wondering why I have been pretty absent from Tumblr last week – it’s because I was on my long awaited Vienna trip/Tanz der Vampire week. I originally had planned to see the show twice, on Thursday and Sunday. But somehow I got incredibly lucky and managed to get last-minute tickets with student discount for all the other shows during my stay, meaning I saw it 5 times (!!!) in 4 days.

And as promised I will review the show(s) for you, but since I had so little time in between, I couldn’t write up one for each performance right away. Also considering I already posted a general review of the Vienna show HERE, I will just review the roles/actors I haven’t mentioned/seen before, as well as sharing highlights from the individual shows that were particularly memorable.

I also have quite a few pictures, therefor I will put all this under a read more so you don’t have to scroll endlessly. Enjoy!

Cast lists:

Drew Sarich – Graf von Krolock I know, I have written about Drew already. I promise to keep it short. But I couldn’t write this review without mentioning how abolutely incredible Drew was once again. His Krolock is the most layered character out there in my opinion, he manages to make you feel all kinds of emotions with his portrayal. He managed to make me tear up during ‘Unstillbare Gier’ in every. single. performance. 5 times in a row! And the first and last time I was even full on sobbing and had difficulty breathing for a few minutes after the song was over - it was insane. I pray to god he will return to this role some time in the future, I can’t imagine this being the end of Drewlock.

Abla Alaoui – Sarah Chagal Abla was an incredibly sweet Sarah. I really loved her voice, might actually prefer it to Dianas even. Acting wise they are both amazing, and while they make different choices, I couldn’t say one was better than the other. I really liked the way Abla played the transformation in the end – it started out with small jerking movements and grew more prominent up to the revealing of the fangs. It was a very nice touch and made that whole scene that much more interesting. I also really enjoyed her chemistry with both Daniel Eckert and Drew Sarich (more during the highlights 😉).

Daniel Eckert – Alfred Daniel was an incredible Alfred. He was really sweet and he has a great voice, he and Raphael Groß are definitely my favourite Alfreds. Because even if I still want the Graf to succeed, they both managed to make me care about Alfred a little more and made me actually like ‘Für Sarah’ :D He was also very funny next to the Professor, which not every Alfred manages to do.

Christopher Dederichs – Alfred Christopher is also a good Alfred, and I did enjoy his performance a lot; but his voice wasn’t quite on the same level as the other two in my opinion. He still delivered on most songs, but ‘Für Sarah’ wasn’t quite as captivating. This is also due to personal preference, but I never imagine Alfred with blond and curly hair, so that took some getting used to. But all in all a great performance that I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing again 😊

Dawn Bullock – Rebecca Chagal I love Dawn as Rebecca. She is hilarious and has great comedic timing, and her voice is perfectly balanced between rough and melodic. Maciej Salamon – Yoine Chagal He was also a great Chagal, especially the comedic moments were great with him, but I think Nicolas Tenerani is definitely the better singer and showed more diversity in his singing technique – Maciej always ‘growled’ his lines which made Chagal not as complex a character as he was during Nicolas’ performance. Marle Martens – Magda Marle is an incredibly strong singer, and I was blown away by the effortlessness with which she sang. I found a new appreciation of ‘Tot Zu Sein Ist Komisch’ thanks to her.

Highlights: There are quite a few things I discovered in these shows, some of them are planned/regular moments, some just happened in one show (I will name the specific show in brackets).

·       In one show, Chagal (Nicolas Tenerani that day) tries to nail the piece of wood to the door, but it wouldn’t stay on – so he just took it down and carried it back out again XD (June 8th)

·       During ‘Nie Gesehen’, Rebecca searches for Chagal in her sleep, and when she wakes up, she checks under the sheets first before searching the room for him XD

·       After singing ‘Gott Ist Tot’, Drew turns to look back at the moon and bares his fangs

·       I never noticed that Alfred and Magda are flirting quite a bit during ‘Wahrheit’ – Magda is dropping some vegetable to have him picking it up as an excuse to start a conversation, and Alfred is totally into it!

·       When Abronsius is ‘whispering’ to Alfred during Wahrheit, Rebecca wants to know what he’s saying reeeally badly and even tries to ask Magda and Chagal if they understand, only to be VERY annoyed when they don’t.

·       One time, Rebecca (Tanja Petrasek) wasn’t on stage on time after ‘Rote Stiefel’ – she wasn’t there when Chagal said ‘…er hat sie geholt, hat sie uns entführt’! She came on stage right after though and just started with her line, I don’t think people noticed. (June 9th, evening show)

·       When the professor and Alfred try to interrogate the villagers after Chagals death, the village idiot sits there picking his nose, and that’s why he doesn’t notice everyone else leaving XD

·       After biting Magda, Chagal is howling like a wolf and then he has the hiccups; hilarious!!!

·       Raphael had a hilarious way of singing ‘…das Schloss von diesem GRAFEN!’ (June 7th/9th)

·       When the vampires are amongst the audience in Finale I. Akt, there were quite a few screams from surprised/terrified audience members XD

·       When Drewlock seduces Alfred, he smells at the sponge, and for some reason his voice sounds really weird singing the next few words (‘…ich weiß, was du fühlst und denkst…’); it almost sounds as if he were high! (from Sarah’s scent?)

·       Drewlock reacting to Herbert and Alfred meeting – glorious! During the lines “dies ist mein Sohn Herbert…” he is grinning as if to say ‘oh you poor boy, you have no idea what’s coming for you’ and when Herbert sings “Endlich jemand, der mir die Langeweile nimmt!”, he is putting a hand over his heart as if to say ‘awww, my precious boy has found a toy’ XD

·       During the ‘intro’ at the beginning of act 2, there is a lonely bat flying towards the castle, vanishing through a window – that looks exactly like the one Graf stands in front of at the beginning of ToFi!

·       While he is walking down the stairs during ToFi, Drewlock is stroking his bottom lip with his thumb while he is observing Sarah!

·       Drewlock touching Sarah’s hair and then smelling his own hand during Totale Finsternis – that was another great detail that made his vampiric nature tangible

·       In one show, Filippo forgot the lines during the beginning of ‘Carpe Noctem’ – I had to giggle a bit, but I don’t think it was very noticeable for people that don’t know the song by heart :P (June 8th)

·       I noticed that the cover black vampire, Jordan Hinchliffe, was wearing an open black vest, while Arltan Andzhaev (main cast) is always shirtless. (June 8th/9th)

·       In one show, the white vampire (Jasper Caransa) almost kissed Sarah (June 9th, evening show)

·       After the nightmare bite, Arltan ‘shares’ some of Sarah’s blood with Herbert

·       The Professor sniffed at both oatmeal bowls and gives the one that smells awful to Alfred (I am guessing that’s the one Koukol spat into 😉)

·       In the crypt, Abronsius mimics breasts when he says ‘denk an Chagal’s Tochter’

·       Chagal kissed Magdas foot when she stopped him from joining her in the coffin during ‘Geil zu sein ist komisch’ (June 9th, evening show)

·       Herbert (Charles Kreische) had a small mishap once, his sleeve caught in his neckline. But Charles was great, stayed in character and ripped it free with a dramatic eyeroll :D

·       When Krolock comes down from the pulpit in Tanzsaal, one of the vampires falls to her knees and kisses his hand

·       Before the Sarahlock bite, Drewlock looks to Herbert as if to get reassurance. Only when Herbert slightly bows in response, he holds his hand out for her.

·       Drewlock gave ‘Sarabla’ a kiss on the cheek before biting her (you read correctly – A KISS!!) It was Ablas last show as Sarah playing with Drew, and it was a sweet little gesture that had her giggling for a moment <3 (June 8th)

·       When Sarah falls after the Graf lets go of her, all the vampires move towards her and only stop when Krolock hisses at them, as if to say ‘don’t you dare touch her, she’s mine!’

·       Herbert flirting with another (male) vampire during the Ballsaalszene, dancing almost the entire thing with him, winking and waving at him

·       When Graf and Sarah were towards the back of the stage, Drewlock had another taste of her by running his finger through the blood on her neck and sucking it off his finger… (not sure if this was a one time thing – noticed it on June 9th, matinee show)

·       Krolock also flirting with (female) vampires during that whole scene – one moment that stands out is when there are only a few of the vampires left (shortly before they discover the human’s reflections). He changes partners, and when met with one specific female vampire he kisses his index finger and wiggles it at her (flexing and extending, not moving it side to side like some diva) – she basically turns into a teenie with a crush (as do I), giggling and legs turning to jelly. I asked Drew about it, and she is indeed supposed to be one of the many conquests the Graf had before Sarah.

·       Towards the end of Tanzsaal, Drewlock starts picking his teeth, he apparently still has Sarah stuck in his fangs. When the humans ‘dance into’ Krolock, he demonstratively flicks a piece off his fingers XD

Pictures:

Last, but definitely not least, I have a bunch of photos from the stage door and all the treasures I collected etc.

On the day of my last show I brought my own fangs and I had SO much fun posing for pictures with them – every single person I met at the stage door was super sweet and kind enough to play along 😊

This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I will treasure these memories forever <3

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: The Air That I Breathe

Today is the day! Finally, I get to see Goji x Monke and I am so goddamn hype! If you've been around these parts long enough, I am a massive Goji shill. That franchise is a pillar in the trinity of my childhood and I hold those films truly dear. When Legendary dropped their version of Godzilla seven years ago, I was dumb impressed. Hell, I even liked Skull Island and I kind of hate Kong. Even the overly long King of the Monster was a good time for me so I was definitely looking forward to this one. And then f*cking Wuha happened and we all lost a year of our lives here in the States to abject stupidity. It's absurd that it's been a whole f*cking year and we're still seeing spikes in cases, man. Half the world has got this sh*t under control enough to actually see this thing in a theater but the US, the richest, most powerful country in the world, is still on restriction because idiots are idiots. I would have loved to see this in a theater but I couldn't. Had to settle for my home theater. Even so, this was a f*cking great time.

The Good

Goji x Monke is f*cking gorgeous to look at, man. Like, desperately, effortlessly, beautiful. It’s been almost a decade since us Yanks have had our go at the Goji mythos and this is, by far, is the best looking one. It is f*cking stunning. And a lot of it is in the daylight. Like, you can SEE the stunning without having it mired in swampy atmosphere to hide some of the “fake” CG.

This cast smacks the hardest! The caliber of talent in this film has no right to be this good. Like, none. Rebecca Hall, Alexander Skarsgard, Eiza Gonzalez, Shun Oguri, Kyle Chandler, and Lance f*cking Reddick, are all massive gets for this flick, even if the overall star power pales in comparison to the first two forms in this franchise. Kind of hard to beat Sam Jackson, John Goodman, Brie larson, Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche and Ken Watanabe. I don’t care what you say, those casts, between two films, is going to be dumb hard to top, especially considering the nature of this franchise. That said, there are standouts.

Brian Tyree Henry is the best thing about this movie, outside of the decadent effects. His paranoid conspiracy theorist, Bernie Hayes, is a true delight and an incredible pivot from the usually stoic, classically heroic, protagonists we’ve had so far in the franchise. I can’t say he’s a “main character” but he gives the best performance like he should be one. I’m glad dude is getting so much work lately. He’s an excellent actor and deserves all of the shine. If you haven’t seen it, definitely check him out in Atlanta. That’s probably the best performance you’ll ever see him give.

Millie Bobby Brown returns as Madison Russel and, once again, i genuinely enjoyed her character in this, just like i did in KotM. Brown is never intrusive but it’s kind of weird that she gets to find all of the stuff. I imagine that was installed in her contract or whatever but it's not like she cant handle it. Brown is dope in this role and i kind of hope they give her that third shot in a few years with Henry and Dennison in tow. Their chemistry together is so goddamn tasty, it has to be fattening.

Julian Dennison was a surprise. I don’t generally like the “kid sidekick” characters in these flicks but his Josh Valentine was pretty okay. I just mentioned this but it needs to be repeated; I really liked the chemistry he had with Henry and Brown. Dude fit that whole Goonies dynamic they had going, taking up the straight man role while still being kind of hilarious in his own right. Kind of hope that, if this franchise gets another sequel, we can have a bit more of these characters together. Give them their own goddamn movie!

The pacing in this is TIGHT! Like, you get right into it and sh*t never let’s up. This is probably the best, most even, showing of Kaiju content in all four films and I'm kind of in love. It’s weird to say because Goji x Monke has the lowest run-time among all the films, but it gets you to where you need to be with no fat, whatsoever. One could say they trimmed a little too much off but that's what Extended and Director's cuts are for.

The direction in this movie is on point. You can tell that, the guy behind the camera, guiding this narrative, is a real life fan of Goji. Adam Wingard has always said his movie would be a love letter to Goji and Kong, in every interview, every appearance, and he wasn’t lying. This movie feels like it fits right in with those old Showa Goji showings but stands perfectly in the modern blockbuster age. Wingard poured all of that passion and enthusiasm he has for Gigantis, the Fire Lizard into this movie. Goji x Monke is a labor of love and you acutely feel it.

The homages and easter eggs littered within this thing are a Godzilla fan's wet dream. From Goji destroying that APEX plant in the beginning, calling back to MechaGoji destroying that refinery in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, to the way they transported Kong to the Hollow Earth entrance mimicking the balloon drop from King Kong versus Godzilla, or that high ass, modulated hiss from Apex MechaGoji; As a Godzilla fan, this is my paradise and i am LOVING all of it. I was crying from happiness this entire movie. If this is truly the swan song for the MonsterVerse, it’s a damn high note for a curtain call. Bro, they even have kind of a Super X fleet and i can’t even!

Legendary’s original Kaiju have all been kind of whack. Like, the Skullcrawlers are garbage. Straight up fodder for Monke and the MUTOs were completely uninspired. The others who showed up in KotM were a joke, too. None of them fit the Toho Kaiju at all and I'd hate to see a movie starring any of them. But the few introduced here? I like these. They make sense. They feel organic to the world. They feel threatening. They feel like proper antagonists and not just sacrifices to main Kaiju development.

This is the most we’ve seen of Legendary’s Goji and the clearest look yet. Like, this Godzilla is arguably one of the best designs so finally getting a real, proper, gander at all of it’s atomic powered glory has been dope as f*ck. Again, you can tell Wingard has a favorite of the two and it ain’t Kong. Monke definitely gets more screen time, but what little we get of Goji is jam-packed with aggression and Atomic Breath and it kind of sh*t all over the Monke scenes.

MechaGoji is my all-time favorite Kaiju. I was a little worried that Legendary blew their load too soon with Ghidorah but nope! MechaG is every bit as threatening, arguably more so. Like, this giant, robot, asshole is not to be f*cked wit. Dude is a problem and it makes that known immediately. Now, this MechaGoji isn’t the the autonomous robot of old. Legendary decided to go the piloted route we’ve seen since Heisei. I’m not mad, Kiryu is my second favorite version of the Big MechaG, but the twist feels real Godzilla x Mechagodzilla and Tokyo SOS. Again, not mad, but kind of hoped for a little space ridiculousness, you know. Maybe later? Hopefully later? Please let there be a later...

I even like Kong in this. I f*cking hate Kong, man. Of all his films, I've only like two; Skull Island and the Peter Jackson remake. The latter more so because you can tell Jackson loves Kong and his movie is a legit labor of love, much like Wingard and this one. These guys made Kong compelling. They made him more than a White Fear allegory and i kind of dig it. A lot of my love for Skull Island can be accredited to Sam Jackson, John C. Reilly, and John Goodman, but I legit left the theater thinking Kong's flick was a good time.

Goji over Monke, two to one. Like i said. There’s no way Monke steals the crown, not from this version of Godzilla. Scrap was f*cking epic, though. Like, outside of MechaG just throttling the both of them, Monke was the closest to snaking that crown. Closer even than f*cking Ghidorah and i don’t really know how i feel about that. That said...

That tag team against MechaG is the best Kaiju scrap in the entire goddamn franchise so far. Sh*t is f*cking brutal, grandiose as f*ck, and takes place in the daylight so you can actually f*cking SEE it. F*CK!!

The Bad

The writing is real weak in this. It’s arguably the worst thing about this movie. I actually wrote a whole essay about how you can’t judge these films like you’d judge a proper, emotionally stimulating, thought provoking, exercise in cinema but even brain-dead Kaiju fights should have some semblance of plot to string them together. Goji 2014, Skull Island, and King of the Monsters, all had a decent narrative to string together the necessary conflicts presented in their films but Goji x Monke is easily the worst of these films in that department. It isn’t as bad as Michael Bay or as pedestrian as Zack Snyder but the writing just smacks of Roland Emmerich. This is a movie that he would have definitely made in his Nineties heyday of excess and spectacle.

The plot contrivances are kind of corny. I’m not going to point all of them out but i will say this; Mark Russel starts this movie in the exact same place he started KotM and it’s ridiculous. They need Russel back at his skeptical self as a way to sideline him from this narrative as he's now  the man in the big chair over at Monarch so he kind of sidesteps his daughter’s very real observation. All because the plot demands it of his character. It’s a boner and i hate it. I hate the many, many, others, too.

Look, i love Rebecca Hall. I’ve been a fan of hers for years. She’s in a ton of sh*t that i genuinely love. Same thing with Alexander Skarsgard. I had t let that be known because their characters in this are f*cking useless. Like, they’re the main characters and they have less agency that the Goonies trio in this thing. It’s f*cking dumb. You couldn’t work more plot relevance into the characters that we are clearly supposed to spend the most time with? They’re supposed to be the emotional anchor for this flick and i found myself attached to the supporting crew. What a way to waste great actors.

The Verdict

Godzilla vs. Kong is a fun ass ride. This is the Avengers of Legendary’s MonsterVerse and it pulls out all of the stops. Goji x Monke is lousy with fan service and easter eggs, but sprinkled in restraint throughout, giving fans of the Big G tons of sh*t to get us in tizzy. Like, there is SO much here for a fan to latch on to but, even if you’re not, this flick has a ton of worth aside from that. The direction is on point, you really feel like this is a Goji film, and the action is the absolute best in the franchise. There is weight and realism to how these massive creatures move, the effects doing overtime conveying what a giant, radioactive, lizard and a skyscraper sized ape can really do. In broad daylight. Without looking fake or corny. You can tell that the director, Adam Wingard, knew his sh*t and really loved making this movie. Goji x Monke is easily the best looking in the entire goddamn franchise, hands down. i cannot stress that enough.

Also, as kind of a bonus but not really, this movie has some of the strongest human characters in the entire franchise. Millie Bobby Brown does her thing, as always, and newcomer Julian Dennison does his thing, but Brian Tyree Henry is the absolute standout. I can see this being a star-turning performance for him if it had hit theaters properly but we’ll see. This thing did gangbusters in China with Henry taking a principal position in the narrative and China hates the Darkies so that’s saying a lot. Of course, there are the usual issues with these types of films; pedestrian writing, superfluous human conflict, tons of plot conveniences but those are basically tropes of this genre. It’s hard to have a Kaiju story without them. You just have to suspend your disbelief and let some of this sh*t rude, you know? If you can do that, i promise you that you’ll have a fantastic time. I can’t say it’s my favorite, that title still rests with Goji 2014, but Godzilla vs. Kong is definitely a contender for second best. If you have HBO max, it’s definitely worth a watch. If you’re willing to brave a pandemic theater, it is definitely better on the big screen.

[tpaigeme]

Being West Virginia What People Are Saying About The Art of T. Paige “Some people are born to translate life's struggles and beauty into art with every ounce of their being.  T. Paige Dalporto is one such person.  He brings the heart and soul of West Virginia to life through his music, poetry, acting, and impressionistic photography. He is West Virginia."  Annie Lindstrom, Talkupy on Blogtalkradio.com “I loved-loved-loved your song (“Hawks Nest: Tunnel of Death”) for The Hawks' Nest Tunnel film. There is no way that song will NOT be in the film. It is incredible and so are you. Just want you to know how I appreciate you. You rock!” Mari-Lynn Evans Producer of The Appalachians on PBS (6 million viewers) “Just reading the lyrics in your song makes me cry. Dear God, this song is great and you are a genius.” Judy Bonds, Coal River Mountain Watch, winner of the Goldman Prize, “The Nobel Prizefor Environmentalists” “This song says what I have tried so hard to put into words. I love it. You have outdone yourself again.” Maria Gunnoe, Coal River Mountain Watch, winner of the Goldman Prize, “The Nobel for Environmentalists” “One of the top 3 songwriters in WV”....John Blissard, Founder of Allegheny Echoes Old Time Music Festival and Camp "T. Paige, ‘The Soundtrack of our Movement’ (to save Appalachia’s mountains). One of the most eloquent songwriters around. There’s a real soul to what he sings.” Paul Corbit Brown, President, Keeper of The Mountains Foundation "This is a great song." Denise Giardina, environmentalist, West Virginia gubenatorial candidate, author, “Storming Heaven”, “Saints and Villains” “You’re a poet. And not a bad one.” Don Marsh, the late Senior Editor-in-Chief, The Charleston Gazette "This song makes me proud to know you"....Sandy Wells, Columnist, Innerviews, The Charleston Gazette. "I love your music."...Kate Long, veteran Singer/songwriter, Writer for The Charleston Gazette, WV Public Radio Producer “Keep doing what you’re doing”...Kathy Matea, Nashville Recording Artist “You rock hard for one cat." Todd Burge, singer/songwriter “I listened to your CD till 2 am last night. The first time I heard you play, I couldn’t wait to hear more. You were different, and I was struck by your uniqueness, passion, and the edginess in your playing and songs you weren’t like the rest. I really believe in your talent and I’ve listened to a lot of music and you rank up near the top.” Marcia Flannnery Griffith, Nashville Recording Artist, Singer Songwriter “T. Paige is a folk hero around here. He represents a LOT of music.” Louis Argento, Music Impresario, Charleston W.Va. “The most talented artist in WV.” Bob Henry Baber, Mountain Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Governor “Your music is cool, real...”Dylan meets the Luminaires” Wayne Killius, Nashville record producer, Session Drummer appearing on many hits “A Voice who speaks up for the common folk”...Rebecca Park, Actress, Educator “Dalporto's CD is a real gem...That sound is what makes him stand out among the ranks of West Virginia musicians. Dalporto is well on his way to making a big name for himself in the West Virginia music scene. Gripping lyrics, a classic."Matt Burdette, Editor, Graffiti Magazine “A piece that is at once both a song of defiance and tribute, T. Paige has found his voice. He reminds us that we cannot allow the continuation of the destruction of our beautiful pearl (WV) by out-of-state conglomerates. I think Pete Seeger would be very proud of the ‘passion to the people’ spirit of ‘The Pearl’”. Ross Ballard II, author, audio CD and compilation music CD. “Here is the song that captures so much emotion, so much pain, and so much of the tragic story of what happened on that terrible day when 12 loving, hardworking miners were treated as “items” in a WV coal mine. That day the world got a glimpse of West Virginia’s epic fight against corporate greed.” For Church Bells at Sago...Ross Ballard “Mr. Dalporto is a many-talented artist, writing original songs for the just released audio book of ‘When Miners March’, along with publishing a very nice book that collects some of his poems and photographs. He loaned me a copy of his excellent paperback book, “It’s Still a Wonder Just Being Here” that includes poems written between 1981 to 1999. He took most of the photographs around his home in the upper Kanawha Valley between 1989 to 1999. All of the photos are beautiful, simple, and sincere. I particularly enjoyed the two color photographs of Smithers and Alloy. His poems are likewise beautiful. Dalporto has traveled around the United States, living in Alaska, Nashville and other locations before returning home to Charlton Heights. He is active in the anti-MTR movement. He just received word that two of his works, “The Pearl” and “Railroad” have been accepted for publication in Blair Mountain Press' new book, due out this October---‘Coal: A Poetry Anthology.’” Steve Fesenmaier, former head of the West Virginia Library Commission Film Services “T. Paige is one of southern WV’s most creative artists. He is a great musician, recently writing and playing several songs for the soundtrack of the audio movie of When Miners March. Dalporto has traveled around the United States, living in Alaska, Nashville and other locations before returning home to Charlton Heights. He is active in the anti-MTR movement.” Steve Fesenmaier, former head of the West Virginia Library Commission Film Services FOR: The Ballad of Shirley Jones “This song is about my Uncle Shirley. He died at the age of 18 from working in Hawks Nest." Rita Jones Hanshaw "Horrible tragedy, this song is amazing and totally captures how most of the people who worked in that tunnel must of felt." Tessa Colyer 8 months ago “My grandmother is the daughter of Cecil Jones. She never knew her father as he died along with his brothers before she was born. Until yesterday, her daughters and grandchildren were not really aware of this massive tragedy. Thank you to the people making the songs and films so we have more information about our past. This story MUST be told.” Patricia Daniels "Wow, that's a great job on the song. I have been around the tunnel and I know of 4 locations where victims were buried, so I know what you are singing about. When does the film come out? This should be the theme song for the film." rickietube1 Shiny Shine 2 years ago "My grandfather was Charles Jones. I am so proud that this tragedy is finally coming to light". Cary Curlee "Awesome song! I have my students read Hawk's Nest (a novel about the tunnel) in Intro to Appalachian Studies. I believe this story story needs to be told!" FOR “When You Go” “This song makes me proud to know you"....Sandy Wells, The Charleston Gazette. "I try and not cry at work. Beautiful!" Linda Petry Hospice of WV "I love that song." Mike @ music@fourdogsmusic.co.uk “I love this song. It is powerful. Anyone that truly cares about people will be affected by this song. You have stayed true to yourself a long long time Paige. It's time your work is recognized. Hopefully this song will be the beginning of something really good for you. You are a wonderful beautiful person Paige. I am so proud to know you and call you my friend...." Bo Webb CRMW "Heartbreaking".. “Oh my, Paige, this will touch everyone who hears it. What a beautiful tribute!” Mary Caputi, MD “Very moving and tender tribute to the fallen Massey miners.” Tony Oppegard, Attorney for Miners’ Rights Very, very, great song!!! Couldn’t take my eyes off if it! You got a winner there. Thank you for sharing. Loved it.”....Joe Youtube musician, viewer “My friends Carrie & MIchael Kline sent me the link to your YouTube video "Buffalo Creek" yesterday. I'm an attorney in Kentucky who has long represented coal miners and their families in safety-related matters. I am also a collector of coal mining songs. I have quite an extensive collection, so I already had your songs "Church Bells at Sago", "The Pearl", "The Ballad of Ma Blizzard" and "Kiss the Hills Goodbye". No offense, but "Buffalo Creek" blows them all away...! What a great song! I love the lyrics, as well as the passion in your voice and picking! Then, I checked out your other videos and found the clever "Massey's Farm" (I've always loved Dylan) and the great "Who Did This?" I love the raw power and emotion of all three of those songs!! You are certainly one of the most talented performers that I have seen on YouTube, and I appreciate you sharing.” Tony Oppegard, Attorney for Miners’ Rights "Standing on my chair applauding. This is perfect. Had to subscribe after watching a bunch of your videos. Cheers." MisterNoHead For: It’s Still a Wonder Just Being Here: Photographs and Poems “Thank you for your lovely book. Both the poems and photographs are haunting and beautiful. I was very touched by your story.” Sylvia Nasar, author of, A Beautiful Mind, Columbia University, New York “This is one for the Mountain State to be proud of...beautifully printed.” Ken Sullivan, Ph.D., Executive Director, W.Va. Humanities Council, Charleston, W.Va. “The delicate way the images inform the writing and vice versa...and the relationship between the two is both personal and striking.” Meredith Coeyman, Aperture Foundation, New York “From big black coal cars that travel to heaven and ride among the stars, to his vivid descriptions of trees and West Virginia landscapes, this is one true example of turning coal dust into a real diamond of a book. The pictures are priceless, as well. Wait till you see where the Raven is sitting. I loved it. A real slice of Appalachia.” Patricia Syner, Educator, Fayette County, W.Va. “Every page is a gem.”..Gail Twigger, Twigger Shaw Design Source, Charleston, W.Va. “This book makes me proud to be a West Virginian. The author demonstrates a true understanding of Appalachian life through his photography and a desire to live life to its fullest through his poetry. An Appalachian Prize”...Amazon.com customer, from Montgomery, W.Va. For the film, Moving Mountains, by Penny Loeb The film, by Pulitzer finalist Penny Loeb, premiered August 21, 2014, to an excited and appreciative audience of 250 in Charleston WV, at the old Capital Theater. “T. Paige was brilliant. An extremely talented actor and artist. I really enjoyed working with him.” Michael Alban actor, Moving Mountains “T. Paige! This is unheard of!  A first time actor holding his own alongside an accomplished  star like Theresa Russell!” Michelle Farrell, Chief Cinematographer, Moving Mountains Awards WV Press Association---Photojournalism WV Writers---Poetry Billboard Magazine---Songwriting Soundtracks Moving Mountains When Miners March with Hazel Dickens Rise Up West Virginia Blood On The Mountain contributor Albums Pearl  2006 T. Paige: Collection due out in late 2019

[garlicandnightmares]

Vámpírok Bálja 10 years anniversary show(s) (6th and 7th of June)

So last Tuesday (and Wednesday as well) I returned to magical fantasy world where everyone sings about their feelings and cuts vegetables to the rhythm of the music. This time in Hungarian. Yes, I went to Budapest for the anniversary show and one "normal" show (both with @phantasmagoricfebruary​ which made the whole experience ten times better). It was awesome. Worth every penny (also Budapest is a really nice city, if anyone wants, I can write about my trip as well).

While I loved Russian vampires, in Budapest you can really feel that they've been doing this for ten years. And I mean it as a compliment. Actors are great in their roles and the whole cast seems more like a giant family rather than people connected just through work. It was great. I don't have anything more sophisticated to say other than great. Anyway, obviously I'm not going to end it at that, I just have to write like ten pages outlining every single song. I wouldn't be me if I didn't. Like always - all the magic happens under the cut.

First of all - Egyházi Géza. He was the Graf of 7th and let me tell you - he's the best Graf of them all. He might have dethroned Lukasz Dziedzic as my favourite Krolock. He has the posture and it's very obvious that he immensely enjoys being on stage. His Graf constantly smiles sinisterly and he can't keep his mouth shut - always hissing and showing off his fangs. I love that. Apart from Die Unstillbare Gier, his Krolock isn't a tortured soul, but rather a mastermind with a plan on how to get his fancy dinner. It’s probably my favourite interpretation of this character.

(All the photos of cast/show are from Vámpírok Bálja fb page. Also they’re from earlier show on 5h June)

Anniversary show was special (obviously) with cast changing throughout the show (Andrádi Zsanett appeared as Sarah and she stole my heart). There were four Krolocks throughout the show, but I'm not that fluent in Hungarian cast to have recognised them all at all times (apart from Egyházi, ofc). I think in the first act it was mostly Bot Gábor, but I still don’t know who sung Totale Finsternis. Alfred was mostly played by Pásztor Ádám, but Sánta László sung like two songs (Du bist wirklich sehr nett with Andrádi Zsanett and Ein perfekter Tag). Throughout the show Szemenyei János was Herbert,  but there was a twist during the ball with Jenei Gábor and Pirgel Dávid appearing onstage. And I will talk about it more later on, because it was such a glorious thing. Also - two Magdas (Kecskés Tímea in act I and Sári Évi in act II).

Before we get to songs - the curtain. Or rather curtains. Because there were two and while the second one was simply red and shiny, the first one looked like iron fence. It was interesting. I wonder if it's simply an aesthetic choice or if there were some attempts at storming the scene and they decided to protect themselves.

Either way, before I form some conspiracy theory about the curtain, Ouverture. It never gets old, does it? It doesn't matter how many times I have heard it already, it always sends chills down my spine and gets me in a right mood. A mood for glorious cheesy vampires. But before we can actually get to the good stuff - Alfred loses Professor in Transylvanian woods. He, Ho, He was... alright. The Professor was as plastic as always and Alfred was as scared as always. I have nothing against this song, but I also don't love it. Likely because I'm simply not Alfred's fan (although I really liked Pásztor Ádám as Alfred, but I'll talk about it more later on). He, Ho, He is a nice opening setting the action, but let’s not dwell here. Do we have Professor loaded onto Alfred's back? Off we go then!

Knoblauch is growing on me. It's still a song I probably wouldn't be playing on repeat, but after Moscow show I did sing it for a week. And I might end up singing it again. It's so damn catchy. And in Hungarian as well. I'm continuously amazed at just how well Hungarian sounds in songs. I remember listening to Hungarian album for the first time and being so surprised that this many syllables can fit into the melody and sound good (mind, I was used to Polish version where Knoblauch is Czosnek, so only two syllables. Fokhagyma sounded like such a long word, I didn’t know if they could squeeze it into the melody. They can. And it sounds great).

Another thing - ensemble in Hungarian show is absolutely amazing. They work so well together, one might accuse them of using telepathy. And they look like they genuinely have fun onstage which pretty much makes the whole song. Also Hungarian Magdas are incredibly pretty. All three I saw were absolutely charming and very girly in their appearance. Chagal was surprisingly good in his role. It's really hard for Chagals not to feel forced or just plainly gross to me, but Pavletits Béla played the part really well. He played the fiddle in the beginning, jumped around the tables a bit and was a great host to Alfred and Professor, trying to pour pálinka down the latter's throat to warm him up a bit. It was all genuinely funny. Also - the dialogue between the Professor and Chagal was great. I loved the villagers in the background, looking oh-so-genuinely-surprised that anyone would try to look for a castle in this area, when there are absolutely no castles around. The quick come-on-hide-our-garlic-necklaces act and the following relief when Chagal explains that they like garlic because it's healthy - funny as hell, again, mainly because the ensemble plays so freaking well. During the last sung part, when Magda stands behind Abronsius’ and Alfred's chairs, Alfred was practically glued to her cleavage and Professor had to swat him away. These two have a really good chemistry throughout the first act and I have to admit, the thought of why is Alfred chasing after Sarah when Magda is around did cross my mind once or twice. Especially since this Alfred seems much less innocent and unworldly than most Alfred's. And he does look like he's taken straight out of some boyband, which slightly takes away from his i'm-so-sweet-and-unaware-of-women-flirting thing. Not that it's a bad thing, at least not for me, because I was never hooked on sweet and naive Alfred. This one was somewhat innocent at the beginning, but it wasn't overdone (and in Alles ist hell he flirted back when Magda dropped her turnip or whatever it was).

Back to the main story - oh the wonders of modern technology! A bathtub! … With a girl inside? Chagal played it great, but Török Anna seemed slightly off like she was somewhat uncomfortable. It was just this one scene, though. All throughout the rest of the show she was fine. This time, surprisingly enough, Alfred stole the show with his dreamy eyes stuck to Sarah and when Chagal closed the door almost on his face he looked delightfully shocked. It was great. And with Alfred looking the way he looks - I can understand Chagal's concern in Eine schöne Tochter ist ein Segen. Which was a brilliant song. Chagal came across as genuinely worried (and a tad possessive when he was singing about boarding the door with his hammer), but also funny in all the right moments. Pavletits Béla is truly great as Chagal. He has quite the voice too.

Nie geseh'n - again, I was surprised just by how likeable this Alfred is. And he has a really nice voice. Torök Anna makes a decent Sarah. Not my favourite one, but I can't say anything bad about her as well. Her Sarah is dreamy, not overly manipulative and rather genuinely charmed by Alfred. On 6th she sounded slightly off, like she was sick, but on 7th everything was fine, so it was a one time thing. Chagal and Magda had their moment (on 7th Kecskés Tímea almost stabbed Chagal with that needle and if he had stayed few seconds longer be probably would end up being One-Eyed Chagal). I really liked the moment when Rebecca realised that she hit Abronsius and not her unfaithful husband and got all flustered about it.

Well, fun is over, the night in all its glory comes with dark and gloomy vampire. Yup - Gott ist tot. On 6th it was Bot Gábor singing and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. While he has the voice and he sounds really well, for me he lacks the posture to be the perfect Krolock (although paired with Szemenyei János, who is also the shortest Herbert they make a nice and short von Krolock family, which is kinda adorable). He's simply too short to be intimidating (still taller than me, though, so maybe I shouldn't complain so much) and I love intimidating Krolocks (like Egyházi Géza and Rostislav Kolpakov, for example). Don’t get me wrong - he wasn’t bad. In fact, he is a pretty good Graf. He just isn’t my type of Krolock.

When Egyházi sung Gott ist tot on 7th - that was the performance which made me jump with excitement a little. Every gesture he made, even the smallest one felt very pointed and meaningful, especially when it was magnified by the shadows cast onto the background. Quick change of scenery and we're on Alles ist hell. I like that song. It’s nice and uplifting and Rebecca with that stuffed goose always cracks me up. Up until Koukol shows up, of course. Koukol in Hungarian production is especially gross. But it’s exactly what Koukol is supposed to be. There’s a lot of noises coming from him. I really liked the interaction between Koukol and Chagal. Chagal is a cheeky bastard in general, but Hungarian Chagal takes that to the extreme. It’s great.

And that’s how we arrive at Wahrheit. And here I have to mention Rebecca, because she is probably the cutest Rebecca I've ever seen. Cute may not exactly be the intended way for her to come across, but she was adorable. The face she pulled when the Professor came up to her is golden. Kecskés Tímea and Pásztor Ádám have great chemistry together. When she ‘accidentally’ drops the turnip, Alfred is very quick to help her out.

Fun fact about Wahrheit on 6th - piece of wood fell down too quickly (when Koukol appeared), so when Abronsius sung that high note Chagal threw his saw to the ground and then made incredibly adorably fake ‘it-wasn’t-me face at the Professor.

On 7th the Professor was played by Illés Dániel (I think it was his first performance ever) and he was slightly off when it came to that little walk Professor does with the rhythm of the music, but it’s probably just a matter of practice. And he has surprisingly good voice (he went really high in the part where Chagal drops the piece of wood). Also - he looks really thin in his costume and it makes the whole character feel somewhat… fragile, I suppose. Overall, I really liked his Abronsius.

Andrádi Zsanett and Sánta László sung Du bist wirklich sehr nett on 6th. And while Sánta László’s Alfred okay, but not anything special, Andrádi Zsanett’s Sarah was awesome. She was a perfect mix of cute and wheedling without coming across as calculating and cold. The two of them worked together really well.

Alfred’s out of the bathroom, Sarah’s all cosied up in the bathtub, which means it’s time for wild Krolock to appear! First thing that I notices was that the rooftop Krolock practically hangs down from the roof. It doesn’t look very dignified. I mean, it can be explained with him feeling this overpowering hunger for some blood, so he keeps reaching down, but I’m not sure I can get behind that 100%. I mean, at the end he looked like he was about to tumble down from that roof.

I don’t know who sung Einladung zum Ball on 6th, but it sounded off. It definitely wasn’t Bot Gábor or Egyházi Géza. However, on 7th Egyházi sung it and he winged it. His Krolock was perfectly balanced between hunger and complete self-control. He was so perfectly disdainful when he was inspecting the boarded up door to Sarah’s bedroom. Also he didn’t really seem bothered by being discovered, since he kept leaning over Sarah and ogling her neck even after Alfred started shouting and reluctantly left only when Alfred and Abronsius were practically entering the bathroom already.

Both Alfreds poked the air with their crosses with such conviction as if they were trying to push out every little particle of Krolock from the room.

I also really liked the outrage on Alfred’s face when he was peeking through the keyhole to Sarah’s room.

Anyway, let’s move to the quick rendez-vous in front of the inn - Draußen ist Freiheit. Again Ádám and Anna make for a cute Alfred and Sarah. I liked their bickering, Sarah being all ‘oh you’re scared now?’ and Alfred trying to be reasonable.

And finally we arrive at my second favourite dance of the whole show - Die roten Stiefel. That choreography is insane. The amount of throwing and dragging around which happens there makes my head spin. Sarah is rarely on the floor. I can’t praise the dancers enough. Both dancing and acting on their side was spot on. The dancer who plays Krolock has a very creepy way of staring as he stalks around the stage. And the kiss between Sarah and Krolock at the end was pretty passionate.  

I have a soft spot for Das Gebet. It’s probably the most emotional song and it doesn’t have any comedic twist. The golden light shining from behind and beautiful voices get me every time. While on 6th Krolock (Bot Gábor, or at least I think it was him) overpowered the rest of the cast and at the end he practically was the only voice you could hear. And on 7th the delivery of the song was perfect.

Das Gebet came to an end and Sarah was off to the castle. There is one thing that fascinates me about the scene where Chagal and Rebecca find out that their daughter is missing. I mean, Chagal sees Alfred with Sarah’s shoes and immediately jumps into the conclusion that the Graf took her. Which makes me wonder, does Graf makes a habit of giving people new shoes instead of normal invitations? Like whenever there are random shoes left in the village does everyone go ‘Oh, the Graf is throwing a party.’?

Either way, Chagal runs off after Sarah, then we have Wuscha Buscha. Both Professors (Sándor Dávid and Illés Dániel) were delightfully unsympathetic and focusing only on inspecting the body. Horváth Mónika’s Magda seemed stunned to see Chagal’s dead body for the whole duration of Wuscha Buscha.

She got more emotional in Tot zu sein ist komisch. Which was really good on both 6th and 7th. There was the right amount of mixed emotions, some sadness, some anger and then the hilarious scene with “I’m a Jewish vampire.” There seemed to be some mishap with the candle on the 6th because Chagal didn’t manage to put it off, so instead he tucked it away behind the mug so no one would see that it was still lit (but it was perfectly visible from the balcony where I was sitting :D). In general Béla had to improvise a bit on 6th.

While creeping downstairs Abronsius kept shushing both the floorboards and Alfred, who looked so funnily annoyed that the Professor would put all the blame for the noise on him.

The end of the first act was quite a thing. First - Bot Gábor on 6th. In that scene it was extremely obvious that he is the shortest Krolock. He’s just so tiny. And his costume makes him seem even shorter. Also he makes a lot of hissy and growly noises which combined with his petite posture gave quite hilarious effect. And when Szemenyei János as Herbert appeared, pocket von Krolock family was complete. Don’t get me wrong - I didn’t dislike it. It was actually quite adorable. And funny.

In the part with Alfred - when Gábor whipped out the sponge he also dropped the card from the Professor and then very elegantly covered it with his cape and whenever he moved the card got dragged along. It was hilarious little detail, especially since Gábor’s Krolock looks like he wants to murder everyone all the time.

But my absolute favourite performance was on 7th with Egyházi Géza (and János once more). Also, quick side note - since Géza is rather tall, when János‘ Herbert walked out the height difference between them was ridiculously hilarious. But back to Géza’s Krolock. God almighty, if there’s a limit to just how much fun you can have on stage he has crossed it time after time. It’s delightful to watch. His Krolock knows exactly who appeared at his doorstep and he has so much fun with his melancholic act. He gazes at the moon longingly, makes dramatic gestures and basks in the attention from the Professor and Alfred. The fake smile when he was talking about loving Abronsius’ book was the most fake smile on the planet Earth. And the face he pulls the moment he turns away is golden. His mimics deserve a separate mention on the cast list. And his teeth. Like I’ve said - he simply can’t keep his mouth shut. When he’s not singing or talking, he keeps smiling or pulling faces which include showing his fangs even to last rows. When he was closing the castle door at the very end of act I he gave the audience the widest and the most delighted grin I’ve ever seen. It’s hilarious and I love it.

Okay, act I came to an end. Before I get to act II, I just quickly want to talk about the theatre itself. It’s fairly small, but very cosy (and the seats in the first row are very comfortable). Part of the foyer decoration were small bats hanging from the ceiling - it was brilliant, I loved it.

(Tiny and cute)

 Even though the theatre is in the middle of the city, there is small area in front of it where one can go out during the break (and I was lucky enough to arrive to Budapest on a day when it was 34 degrees during the day, the possibility to go outside was truly a blessing).

 Anyway, time to return to the performance. On 6th Totale Finsternis did not do anything to me. I’m not sure if it was Zöld Csaba or Langer Soma (I think it was Csaba), but his gestures were very sharp and felt somewhat rushed. Vocally it also wasn’t the best Totale… I’ve heard. It wasn’t bad, but it felt a bit… underdone, I suppose.

No one should be surprised by this point when I say this - Totale Finsternis with Egyházi Géza swept me away. Similarly to Gott ist tot - his gestures felt very deliberate, very calculated. He was like a cat playing with a mouse. Again the amount of fangs shown per minute - exceptionally high. Also, this Sarah seemed ready to be eaten here and now.

But let’s move onto my absolute favourite dance of the whole show - Carpe Noctem. Not as much throwing each other around as in Die roten Stiefel ballet, but with the things they do on those bed poles - I’m still not quite sure if they are actual human beings. I’m amazed that this bed was still standing at the end of the song. The slow descent from the top of the bed that the White Vampire does - amazing.

On 7th I was sitting in the first row and had a very good view on the part where Black Vampire bites the White one. And let me tell you - Túri Lajos Péter is great as the Black Vampire. All throughout the dance he keeps hissing at everyone including the audience (I think he took some lessons from Egyházi Géza in terms of keeping his fangs out all the time). He has his eyes only for the White One and he gets so wonderfully possessive when Sarah tries to come and check on White One after he gets bitten. Overall, I have to say I really liked Túri Lajos Péter and Baranya David together. They both have this very disturbing vibe and great charisma onstage. Oh, and the Black Vampire lost his vest. I’m certainly not going to complain about it. I liked his makeup too - he had his spine accentuated with black, which made him look very skeleton-like.

I have to say - I’m fascinated with the fact that when Alfred dreams about the Graf he imagines him shirtless and with a six-pack and Sarah is in her normal white dress with nothing fancy added. Alfred, your priorities are showing and it looks dangerously like pretty girl is not one of them. 

Also Carpe Noctem was the first song where I noticed just how good vocally Szemenyei János is. I might have some issues with his costume and makeup, but I really like his voice a lot.

Koukol in the bedroom scene is oddly cute (and gross, but he’s always gross). I really liked that moment when Alfred notices the porridge and he wonders who has made it. Koukol looks so pleased, he’s nearly jumping and pointing to himself. And he gets so disappointed and angry when Alfred jumps into conclusion that it must have been Sarah (btw. on what does he base that conclusion? All she was talking about when he was seeing her was bathing and sponges).

The porridge looks more like alien jelly, I love the face Alfred pulls when he tries to eat it.

Für Sarah was sweet. Adam has a strong voice and although when he holds a longer note he looks like he forgets that he is supposed to act as well and looks like he focuses solely on not choking. But overall, I liked his performance. Like I’ve said, he has this teenage heartthrob vibe and it mixes really well with a song about how he is going to save the girl (even though we all know that he ultimately fails).

Ein perfekter Tag - I love this song. It’s short, but very rhythmical and it makes you just want to jump out of your seat and explore. I think it shows why Alfred tags along with the Professor when he’s mostly treated like an accessory to the tools bag (also, I really like the sound of Hungarian word for a bag - taska). I really like how Alfred and Abronsius sing back and forth. It shows how they student-teacher relationship would look like if the Professor was slightly more of a people person.

Everything that went on in the crypt was truly a comedic gold. First of all - on 6th the Professor nearly jumped off too early when he was reaching his leg to check how high he was. When he didn’t find ground he looked towards the audience with a very funny oh-shit kind of face. And the Professor on 7th was extremely expressive, when he was already hanging down over the crypt. He kept scolding Alfred for every little noise and when Alfred failed to stake the von Krolock family - I did for a moment wonder if maybe he was having an actual heart attack. The disappointment was palpable. He flopped and hung down so much that you could catch a glimpse of the harness keeping him from falling down. Watching him was very entertaining.

Chagal and Magda’s duet was hilarious both on 6th and 7th, although I think I did like the performance on 6th slightly better. Magda is so wonderfully daring and charming and clumsy throughout that song. When she offers her hand to Chagal, she smiles at the audience charmingly. Oh and also - I’m not sure, but I think the beginning of Die Menschliche Geilheit Ist Stärker is slightly faster in Hungarian. It made the whole song feel more lively and playful.

I feel like the Professor channeled my feelings with his awe at the sight of books. Although, the Graf should definitely take more care of his library. I mean, spider webs? On books? Dreadful. I’m continuously amazed at how quickly the Professors are able to sing the string of philosophers names.

Sarah seemed extremely bored with Alfred on both evenings. Her mind was all on Graf, pretty dresses, big sponges and tonight’s ball. And even Pásztor Ádám’s pretty face didn’t make me sympathetic to his case when he ran back to Abronsius with sad, puppy eyes and ‘why doesn’t she want to come with me?’.

But enough about Alfred and Sarah, let’s talk about Alfred and Herbert. On both evenings it was sung by Pásztor Ádám and Szemenyei János (which means I’m definitely coming back to Budapest, because I really want to see Jenei Gábor as Herbert as well). János’ Herbert is very intense. He bounces around like a cheering child, he hisses, he growls and at some point he even snarls like a horse. And while I do like the intensity, but the horse noise was too much for me.

But I have to say - he was great after the chase, when he came up to Alfred. On each evening he his a different thing to get his attention, which I liked a lot, because I love when actors act differently during various performances.   

Like I’ve said earlier - János has great voice. Slightly deep for Herbert, but I love deep voices (and he can also sing high as well, there was a moment during Tanzsaal when his vocal range genuinely surprised me).

My biggest problem with this Herbert is his makeup. It’s all wrong, it makes his face seem extremely round and that makes his whole silhouette seem somewhat chubby (and he is a very petite and young looking guy irl). I don’t know who got drunk when coming up with makeup for him, because both Jenei Gábor and Pirgel Dávid have great make up (funnily enough - very different from each other).

There was a small snipped with Alfred and Abronsius going through a low arch with a bat sculpture hanging there in the middle. Professor practically headbuts the bat and only Alfred’s quick reaction saves him from that encounter.

Sie irren Professor - on the 6th Graf’s microphone decided to sing a song of its own and it kept screeching throughout the whole song. But on 7th everything was fine. And I’m going to repeat myself - Egyházi Géza doesn’t play Krolock. He is the Graf. I guess then years in this role will do that. The joy in his voice is almost palpable when he sings about having Alfred’s soul.

Now - vampire dance off, also knows as Ewigkeit. Oh, how much I love this song. The choreography, the music, the costumes. It’s great. And on both evenings the performances were perfect. One thing, though - no lady with a ship on her head! I mean, I’m so disappointed. I feel like lady with a ship on her head should be a part of every TdV performance. When the song ended vampires walked into the audience and scared a few people before disappearing.

As the cemetery emptied, our Graf decided to scold the moon for hiding from him. Die Unstillbare Gier sung by Egyházi Géza is the best version of this song I’ve heard. That man’s voice is magic. I don’t know how he manages to sing the way he does. He walks through the cemetery with such confidence and he really knows how to work the cape. Again - I love just how deliberate his movements and gestures are. He puts the perfect mix of melancholy, anger and nostalgia into his performance. And this might be the only part of the show where he doesn’t constantly show his fangs.

Quick stop for Alfred’s second thoughts and one of my favourite instrumental intros rolls in. Which means we are at the very beginning of the ball. Ball on the 6th was the most awesome ball of all balls ever (I might be exaggerating a little).

We got three Herberts (and I think it should be the standard number of Herberts during every performance). I might have squeaked a little when the three of them marched onto the stage. And they all had so much fun together, they were giving each other little backrubs, whispering and chatting. It was great especially since Hungarian Herberts are very different from one another.

My favourite one, in terms of appearance, posture and behaviour (excluding singing, because I only heard Szemenyei János), is probably Jenei Gábor. He is the tallest one, I think. And he is extremely lean and elegant, very subtle and subdued in his gestures. Also, he has very small head and it looks somewhat odd, but once I got used to it, his Herbert quickly sneaked into my taste. It’s not really that surprising, taking into account, that my absolutely favourite Herbert is Kirill Gordeev and he is definitely of the subtle and lean type. I’d love to see Gábor live for a whole show one day. And I have to mention that he was really nice during the fan meet, which only made me like him more.

Szemenyei János looks even shorter than he is, when he stands next to Gábor and Dávid. But he makes up for his height with the intensity of his performance (fangs were shown a lot).

And of course - Pirgel Dávid. I would place him halfway between János and Gábor. He is elegant, but he isn’t as ethereal as Gábor. He has a somewhat boyish air to me. Very cheeky.

@phantasmagoricfebruary​ had an interesting comment about those three - that they look like three stages of Herbert’s vampire life with János being the youngest with the least amount of self-control, Dávid being the middle one and Gábor being the oldest and most refined and controlled.

On 6th Tanzsaal was the only song performed by Egyházi Géza and when he appeared on top of the stairs - the whole audience roared and started cheering. 

For the culminating point of the ball - Sarah’s appearance both Torök Anna and Andrádi Zsanett walked out and Géza was joined by another Krolock (I am fairly sure that it was Langer Soma). Anyway he caught my attention, because he reminded me of Thomas Borchert a little. He just had this vibe and visually he is slightly similar (not up close, though, only when he’s on stage with the right lighting). They both sung the last part of the song. At the beginning they seemed slightly out of synch, but they quickly harmonized nicely and it was great. The more members of von Krolock family onstage the better.

My favourite little detail from the ball must be when Krolock carries Sarah and shows her off to the rest of the guests. Géza went up to his son(s) with such proud stride almost as if he was saying ‘Look at my nice dinner, isn’t she great?’ and all the Herberts were like ‘Yeah dad, good job. Can we move onto my dinner?’ I loved that.

But nothing lasts forever and mirror reflections gave away the presence of unwanted guests on the ball. Because on 7th I was sitting in the first row, I could hear sounds made by the actors which weren’t picked out by the microphones. And when Alfred ran up to Krolock with the candle-holder, Géza made this tsk, tsk sound looking all amused. That’s why I love first row. Yes, you don’t see the whole stage at once and you have to look up constantly, but you can see the smallest little details.

I’m somewhat happy that Budapest production has the “traditional” ending, so no Krolock in crocodile leather. But that also means no Krolock’s evil laugh and no disappearing through a trap door. But I don’t think I could survive seeing Egyházi Géza in that leather coat and not burst out in laughter.

The Hungarian casts seems to bask in the applause. They came out about four times each night if I remember correctly (it could have been more, though, I wasn’t exactly counting in the moment).

I might write a small supplement about the meeting after the show on 6th if anyone is interested, but for now that’s it. Overall, the Hungarian vampires won my heart. It was phenomenal.

[celtfather]

Diversity of Celtic Music #418

Strap yourself in for some high-speed, craic’n fun Irish Celtic music on this week’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast.

The Gatehouse Well, Alasdair Fraser & Tony McManus, Teton Skye, Moch Pryderi, Farsan, The Glory Reel, Kevin Kennedy & Samantha Kennedy, Atyls, FinTan, Bridgid's Cross, Bernadette Morris, The Celtic Kitchen Party, Brendan Monaghan, St. Jame's Gate, Molly's Revenge

I hope you enjoyed this week's show. If you did, please share the show with ONE friend.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is dedicated to growing our community and helping the incredible artists who so generously share their music. If you find music you love, buy their albums, shirts, and songbooks, follow them on Spotify, see their shows, and drop them an email to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

Remember also to Subscribe to the Celtic Music Magazine. Every week, I'll send you a few cool bits of Celtic music news. It's a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Plus, you'll get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free, just for signing up today. Thank you again for being a Celt of Kindness.

VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 With the new year comes a new votes in the Celtic Top 20. This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. Just list the show number, and the name of as many bands in the episode as you like. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2019 episode.  Vote Now!

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:04 - "Tree Gap Set" by The Gatehouse Well from Bring You Ashore

3:45 - WELCOME / DIVERSITY TALK

6:14 - "Roslin Castle/Miss Gordon of Gight" by Alasdair Fraser & Tony McManus from Return to Kintail

12:18 - "The Chill Eastern Wind" by Teton Skye from Teton Skye

16:06 - "Welsh Bagpipe Medley" by Moch Pryderi from Moch IV

18:53 - "Oran An Roin" by Farsan from Farsan

23:06 - CELTIC FEEDBACK

25:50 - "The Flood of the Holm" by The Glory Reel from The Glory Reel

29:18 - "The Connemara Cradle Song" by Kevin Kennedy & Samantha Kennedy from When I Was One And Twenty

33:18 - "Atlas" by Atlys from Atyls

37:04 - "Tamosher" by FinTan from Excursion

39:55 - "John Ryan's Polka/Blarney Pilgrim" by Bridgid's Cross from Half Two

42:26 - CELTIC MUSIC NEWS

45:13 - "By the Water's Edge" by Bernadette Morris from Where the Heart Is

48:37 - "The Finest Local Pub" by The Celtic Kitchen Party from Sociable!

52:39 - "Unbroken" by Brendan Monaghan from Unbroken

55:48 - "Tullamore Dew" by St. Jame's Gate from Happy Life

59:44 - CLOSING REMARKS

1:01:28 - "The Western Shore" by Molly's Revenge With Moira Smiley from The Western Shore

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather. To subscribe, go to Apple Podcasts or to our website where you can become a Patron of the Podcast for as little as $1 per episode. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

  CELTIC PODCAST NEWS

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. My name is Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic musician and podcaster. This show is dedicated to the indie Celtic musicians. I want to ask you to support these artists. Share the show with your friends. And find more episodes at celticmusicpodcast.com. You can also support this podcast on Patreon.

In every episode of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, I mention "celebrating Celtic culture through music." It’s easy to miss the nuance of this mission statement. This podcast is not just about the traditional music of Ireland or Scotland. It is about all of those under-served aspects of Celtic music, and its many forms, from around the globe. It's about the fusion, the change, and the growth of the musical traditions of the Celts.

So I found it disappointing to hear someone attack my guest host Susan J. E. Ritta last week for promoting the women of Celtic music and FairPle, an organization dedicated to giving Celtic women in music a voice. It's both disappointing and rather disgusting.

Women are under-represented throughout the music business, including Celtic music.

If you've spent ANY time studying the music business since it began, like I have, you would know this to be true.

Sadly, some folks feel threatened by those who are marginalized and gain a fair footing.

It happened to the Irish when they first came to American. If you have studied the history of the Celts, you will note the Celts too were marginalized. And when you belittle one marginalized group, you disgrace all of our Celtic culture. You disgrace the history and suffering the Celts endured and overcame.

So let me be clear. The women of Celtic music deserve our support. If you disagree, that's your choice. But I will continue to fight for these amazing women and promote FairPle and any organization that stands up against small-minded people who refuse to change with history.

So whether you're a new listener or long-time, if that's you, I wish you a fond farewell. This podcast is not for you.

TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through it's culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos. Join the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST! There are many ways to support the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. You can make a donation through our website. You can buy a bumper sticker to show your support. You can buy an Irish & Celtic Music Podcast t-shirt or get the Sainted Song Henger Collection to tell the world you support Celtic culture through music. The best way is to become a Patron of the Podcast.

This show exists because of the kind patronage of people like you. You can make a pledge of a dollar or more per episode and cap how much you want to spend each month. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion and production of the show. It allows us to attract new listeners and to help our community grow. And you also get episodes before regular listeners.

You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast at http://patreon.com/celticpodcast.

I want to thank our newest patrons: Brian M, Jennifer, Robyn, Joyce, Rebecca H, BassPipes, Murray F.

  I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Email a voicemail message to celticpodcast@gmail.com

Allison Walker-Elders emailed from DC: "Hi Marc,I've been meaning to write this email for weeks! During your episode # 405 (Fight Like a Celtic Woman) I was so moved by Heather Dale's song "One of Us" that I had to stop in the middle of my hour-long run and have a good cry.

The song reminded me of every woman I have ever looked up to in my life, personally or academically or in my career. I don't know if it was intentional on Heather Dale's part, but I was strongly reminded of the 2016 American election-- while I didn't always agree with Secretary Clinton, she would have made a great president and I was proud that she was one of us. Remembering that feeling of pride combined with the devastation of her loss while listening to "One of Us" brought me right back to that moment in the early hours of November 9th, 2016.

Thank you for everything that you do to raise up the voices of underrepresented Celtic musicians and songwriters.I especially appreciated Lady Susan's episode this past week and can't wait to listen to other episodes of her show.

If I were to request anything from your show, maybe it would be a longer episode for workouts--I'll be running a marathon later this summer and plan on listening to your show while I run it in the beautiful mountains of Washington State."

Thank you so much Allison for your touching response. I'm so happy the song moved you. It's become a favorite of my daughter Kenzie too. And I'm quite proud of that.

You are right. There are many voices underrepresented in the Celtic community, especially from Celtic women. I know a quarterly episode is a very small contribution. But I'm proud I can add that into the world. And while I originally planned it just for 2019, I've since changed decided to extend it into the future.

As for the longer workout episodes, may I should add that as a Patreon Milestone--Celtic Marathon Training. That'd be fun.

Check out this episode!

[spanlish-blog]

July Favorites: Lifestyle.

Moving on to everything I loved in the month of July! It’s rather “bag heavy,” ha. I did share a few things I’m loving this pregnancy over on the baby page a few weeks ago. Share your favorites below! xo

Okay, as for music… don’t laugh at me. I can’t help it if my music tastes range from being 17 years old to 68 years old. First up, we can’t stop listening to Bruno Mars Versace on the Floor. It’s not like it’s an appropriate song for Max but he must have heard it in the car and is OBSESSED with it. I’m dying to go to the Bruno Mars concert here on the 22nd but feel like unless I want to put my pregnant body in a crop top or bodycon dress, I will stick out like a sore thumb. Ha! Okay next, I wrote earlier this month that my mom and I went to the James Taylor concert and Bonnie Raitt opened for him. I didn’t know anything by her, but when her song “Nick of Time” came on, my mom was like OMG I USED TO LOVE THIS SONG OMG. I love that she loved that song back in the day because I think it’s so relevant to so many people I know at the moment. I’ve been listening to that too, like a baby boomer.

My crazy candle love this month still goes to the Copper Coconut from Bath and Body Works. Ugh! I hate that I love this candle so much but the scent is unreeeal. I wish I could find a coconut way or soy wax candle that had the exact same scent.

DeLallo GOLDEN(!!) Balsamic Glaze. Years ago I used to make my own balsamic glaze, but then DeLallo came out with an easy squeeze bottle and I’ve never looked back. We use it all the time, especially in the summer on tomatoes. I just about died last month when I was in the store and came upon the golden balsamic glaze. AH! I love golden balsamic vinegar more than traditional, so this has been in constant rotation over here. It’s amazing.

I’m steadily making it through my summer reading list and in July, I read And We’re Off and just loved it. Such a good story!

Costa Del Mar South Point 59 sunglasses. I completely copied off of my cousin who bought these in May. They were on my counter and I tried them on and fell in love. I prefer plastic frames over wire (I just think they are more comfortable), but this is sort of a mixture of both. Not only do I like the look of them, but they are polarized and so great for swimming, driving and full days out in the sun. My eyes are weirdly sensitive (why is this? They have always been this way!) and a lot of times I wear sunglasses even if it’s cloudy. Cannot even explain my love for these ones.

New Barn Barista Almond Milk. I’ve been a Califia farms almond milk fan for years (I adore the coconut almond milk!) but grabbed this on a whim at Whole Foods. WHOA. It is the only almond milk I actually LIKE in coffee. I mean, I can stand other almond milks, but I don’t enjoy them. To me, adding almond milk to your coffee is like adding water. It adds next to nothing. This is so much creamier than regular almond milk though. Super impressed.

Dolce Vita Studded Sandals in Gray. I love love love Dolce Vita shoes (I’m afraid to count how many times they have been in my favorites!) and got these on the first day of the nordstrom sale. They are one of the only things I could really wear “now” even though they are meant for fall, and I adore them. The color is perfect and I’m not a gray person. The studs are so cute and they are pretty comfortable too. Freaking love ’em!

KitchenAid Pro Line blender. In full discloser, KitchenAid did send me this blender a few months ago when my kitchen was being remodeled. Holy cow… I cannot say enough good things. You guys know it took me forever to buy a Vitamix, and then earlier this year, that broke. Eddie grabbed a Ninja (which we have had before) since he has a smoothie every morning because we needed something that day, and the blades dulled down within weeks. This KitchenAid blender is INSANE. 100% the absolute best blender I have ever used in my life (and I have no obligation to write about it!). It blends everything. The only thing is that it is HEAVY – heavier than my Vitamix, but it’s not like I’m ever carrying around the base. We are so crazy over this that I recommend it to everyone who asks.

Fawn Design diaper bag. So a few months ago I told you guys that I was thinking of getting the Honest diaper backpack and a ton of you commented and emailed to say I just HAD to get the Fawn one, that it was incredible. I’m at this stage where I hate to use anything but a backpack with Max – I like both hands free. And while I’ve never been one to really carry a diaper bag (since we have to drive everywhere, I just leave it in the car!), my go-to was the Rebecca Minkoff Julian backpack which I adore and wrote about in my favorites multiple times. The only problem was that it was a black hole inside, and it was sort of difficult to fit a diaper, some wipes, a snack and Max’s water without everything becoming a jumbled mess each time. So I got the Fawn Design one and oh my gosh, I LOVE IT. I’ve been using it since before we went on vacation in June and it has been perfect. The pockets on the outsides AND the insides are amazing. While I was on vacation, I saw that they restocked the mini bags, which was what I initially loved. I had bought the regular size backpack and while I love it, it’s bigger than I need right now. I knew the mini would be perfect, so I ordered one of those once they were back in stock and love that too! It’s the ideal size for one toddler. Once the new baby comes, I’ll be using the regular sized for a while – and with any long travel or days out, I use the bigger one too. Might do a big full post on it on my baby page.

While that’s been my go-bag for life, in late spring I bought a Las Bayadas bag and have been using it as our pool bag all season. It’s HUGE and amazing, not to mention neon! It fits so much – like five beach towels (I bring multiple extras for Max!), clothes, shoes, his puddle jumper – EVERYTHING. I also bought my cousin one of the blankets in the neon stripe for her birthday back in June too. I’m obsessed. Give me all the neon!

And on one more bag note (OMG, I know), I couldn’t resist and bought this hot fuschia crossbody Ted Baker bag at the nordstrom sale too. I really only use this when I don’t have Max with me and as I’ve said for years, I’m a crossbody-only girl when it comes to my purses that aren’t diaper bags. They just make everything so easy! It’s been a long time since I bought a crossbody bag that isn’t a Rebecca Minkoff MAC clutch. I love this shade so, so much and the bag fits the perfect amount.

This is certainly a random one, but last month I fell in love with stroopwafel caramel bites from Trader Joes. I have not been into sweets at all this pregnancy, and while these are still a little on the sweet side, they aren’t overly sweet. The best part of them? The TEXTURE! Oh my gosh. Like crunchy and creamy at the same time. I bought them on a whim and Max and I loved them. They are the perfect treat that you can have two of (like, actually only two!) and enjoy. How did I never try these before? Note: I just googled and saw that my friend Bridget actually did a taste test post on these!

[none of this is sponsored, just like to talk about things that I discover and love over the month. i purchased everything myself unless it was a gift from a family member or friend. tell me your faves! there may be a few affiliate links above. love love.]

The post July Favorites: Lifestyle. appeared first on How Sweet It Is.

Source: July Favorites: Lifestyle. Source: July Favorites: Lifestyle.

[tpaigeme]

Press Release

Being West Virginia What People Are Saying About The Art of T. Paige "Some people are born to translate life's struggles and beauty into art with every ounce of their being.  T. Paige Dalporto is one such person.  He brings the heart and soul of West Virginia to life through his music, poetry, acting, and impressionistic photography. He is West Virginia."  Annie Lindstrom, Talkupy on Blogtalkradio.com “I loved-loved-loved your song (“Hawks Nest: Tunnel of Death”) for The Hawks' Nest Tunnel film. There is no way that song will NOT be in the film. It is incredible and so are you. Just want you to know how I appreciate you. You rock!” Mari-Lynn Evans Producer of The Appalachians on PBS (6 million viewers) “Just reading the lyrics in your song makes me cry. Dear God, this song is great and you are a genius.” Judy Bonds, Coal River Mountain Watch, winner of the Goldman Prize, “The Nobel for Environmentalists” “This song says what I have tried so hard to put into words. I love it. You have outdone yourself again.” Maria Gunnoe, Coal River Mountain Watch, winner of the Goldman Prize, “The Nobel for Environmentalists” "T. Paige, ‘The Soundtrack of our Movement’ (to save Appalachia’s mountains). One of the most eloquent songwriters around. There’s a real soul to what he sings.” Paul Corbit Brown, President, Keeper of The Mountains Foundation "This is a great song." Denise Giardina, environmentalist, West Virginia gubenatorial candidate, author, “Storming Heaven”, “Saints and Villains” “You’re a poet. And not a bad one.” Don Marsh, the late Senior Editor-in-Chief, The Charleston Gazette "This song makes me proud to know you"....Sandy Wells, Columnist, Innerviews, The Charleston Gazette. "I love your music."...Kate Long, veteran Singer/songwriter, Writer for The Charleston Gazette, WV Public Radio Producer “Keep doing what you’re doing”...Kathy Matea, Nashville Recording Artist "You rock hard for one cat." Todd Burge, singer/songwriter “I listened to your CD till 2 am last night. The first time I heard you play, I couldn’t wait to hear more. I knew I had to wait but eventually would get together with you to hear more. I knew, because of what you were doing...you were different, and I was struck by your uniqueness, passion, and the edginess in your playing and songs you weren’t like the rest. I really believe in your talent and I’ve listened to a lot of music and you rank up near the top.” Marcia Flannnery Griffith, Nashville Recording Artist, Singer Songwriter T. Paige is a folk hero around here. He represents a LOT of music.” Louis Argento, Music Impresario, Charleston W.Va. “The most talented artist in WV.” Bob Henry Baber, Mountain Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Governor “Your music is cool, real...”Dylan meets the Luminaires”...you should put out an album.” Wayne Killius, Nashville record producer, Session Drummer appearing on many hits “A Voice who speaks up for the common folk”...Rebecca Park, Actress, Educator “Dalporto's CD is a real gem...That sound is what makes him stand out among the ranks of West Virginia musicians. Dalporto is well on his way to making a big name for himself in the West Virginia music scene. Gripping lyrics, a classic."Matt Burdette, Editor, Graffiti Magazine “A piece that is at once both a song of defiance and tribute, T. Paige has found his voice. He reminds us that we cannot allow the continuation of the destruction of our beautiful pearl (WV) by out-of-state conglomerates. I think Pete Seeger would be very proud of the ‘passion to the people’ spirit of ‘The Pearl’”. Ross Ballard II, author, audio CD and compilation music CD. “Here is the song that captures so much emotion, so much pain, and so much of the tragic story of what happened on that terrible day when 12 loving, hardworking miners were treated as “items” in a WV coal mine. That day the world got a glimpse of West Virginia’s epic fight against corporate greed.” For Church Bells at Sago...Ross Ballard “Mr. Dalporto is a many-talented artist, writing original songs for the just released audio book of ‘When Miners March’, along with publishing a very nice book that collects some of his poems and photographs. He loaned me a copy of his excellent paperback book, “It’s Still a Wonder Just Being Here” that includes poems written between 1981 to 1999. He took most of the photographs around his home in the upper Kanawha Valley between 1989 to 1999. All of the photos are beautiful, simple, and sincere. I particularly enjoyed the two color photographs of Smithers and Alloy. His poems are likewise beautiful, simple and sincere. Dalporto has traveled around the United States, living in Alaska, Nashville and other locations before returning home to Charlton Heights. He is active in the anti-MTR movement. He just received word that two of his works, “The Pearl” and “Railroad” have been accepted for publication in Blair Mountain Press' new book, due out this October---‘Coal: A Poetry Anthology.’” Steve Fesenmaier, former head of the West Virginia Library Commission Film Services “T. Paige is one of southern WV’s most creative artists. He is a great musician, recently writing and playing several songs for the soundtrack of the audio movie of When Miners March. Dalporto has traveled around the United States, living in Alaska, Nashville and other locations before returning home to Charlton Heights. He is active in the anti-MTR movement.” Steve Fesenmaier, former head of the West Virginia Library Commission Film Services ________________________________________________ For, “The Ballad of Shirley Jones” "This song is about my Uncle Shirley. He died at the age of 18 from working in Hawks Nest." Rita Jones Hanshaw "Horrible tragedy, this song is amazing and totally captures how most of the people who worked in that tunnel must of felt." Tessa Colyer 8 months ago “My grandmother is the daughter of Cecil Jones. She never knew her father as he died along with his brothers before she was born. Until yesterday, her daughters and grandchildren were not really aware of this massive tragedy. Thank you to the people making the songs and films so we have more information about our past. This story MUST be told.” Patricia Daniels rickietube1 "Wow, that's a great job on the song. I have been around the tunnel and I know of 4 locations where victims were buried, so I know what you are singing about. When does the film come out? This should be the theme song for the film." Shiny Shine 2 years ago "My grandfather was Charles Jones. I am so proud that this tragedy is finally coming to light". Cary Curlee 1 day ago "Awesome song! I have my students read Hawk's Nest (a novel about the tunnel) in Intro to Appalachian Studies. I believe this story story needs to be told!" For, “When You Go” "This song makes me proud to know you"....Sandy Wells, The Charleston Gazette. "I try and not cry at work. Beautiful!" Linda Petry Hospice of WV "I love that song." Mike @ music@fourdogsmusic.co.uk "I love this song. It is powerful. Anyone that truly cares about people will be affected by this song. You have stayed true to yourself a long long time Paige. It's time your work is recognized. Hopefully this song will be the beginning of something really good for you. You are a wonderful beautiful person Paige. I am so proud to know you and call you my friend...." Bo Webb CRMW "Heartbreaking"...Vivian Stockman OVEC “Oh my, Paige, this will touch everyone who hears it. What a beautiful tribute!” Mary Caputi, MD “Very moving and tender tribute to the fallen Massey miners.” Tony Oppegard, Attorney for Miners’ Rights “Very, very, great song!!! Couldn’t take my eyes off if it! You got a winner there. Thank you for sharing. Loved it.”....Joe Youtube musician, viewer My friends Carrie & MIchael Kline sent me the link to your YouTube video "Buffalo Creek" yesterday. I'm an attorney in Kentucky who has long represented coal miners and their families in safety-related matters. I am also a collector of coal mining songs. I have quite an extensive collection, so I already had your songs "Church Bells at Sago", "The Pearl", "The Ballad of Ma Blizzard" and "Kiss the Hills Goodbye". No offense, but "Buffalo Creek" blows them all away...! What a great song! I love the lyrics, as well as the passion in your voice and picking! Then, I checked out your other videos and found the clever "Massey's Farm" (I've always loved Dylan) and the great "Who Did This?" I love the raw power and emotion of all three of those songs!! You are certainly one of the most talented performers that I have seen on YouTube, and I appreciate you sharing "Standing on my chair applauding. This is perfect. Had to subscribe after watching a bunch of your videos. Cheers." MisterNoHead One of the top 3 songwriters in WV....John Blissard, Founder of Allegheny Echoes Old Time Music Festival and Camp __________________________________________ For: It’s Still a Wonder Just Being Here: Photographs and Poems “Thank you for your lovely book. Both the poems and photographs are haunting and beautiful. I was very touched by your story.” Sylvia Nasar, author of, A Beautiful Mind, Columbia University, New York “This is one for the Mountain State to be proud of...beautifully printed.” Ken Sullivan, Ph.D., Executive Director, W.Va. Humanities Council, Charleston, W.Va. “The delicate way the images inform the writing and vice versa...and the relationship between the two is both personal and striking.” Meredith Coeyman, Aperture Foundation, New York “From big black coal cars that travel to heaven and ride among the stars, to his vivid descriptions of trees and West Virginia landscapes, this is one true example of turning coal dust into a real diamond of a book. The pictures are priceless, as well. Wait till you see where the Raven is sitting. I loved it. A real slice of Appalachia.” Patricia Syner, Educator, Fayette County, W.Va. “Every page is a gem.”..Gail Twigger, Twigger Shaw Design Source, Charleston, W.Va. “This book makes me proud to be a West Virginian. The author demonstrates a true understanding of Appalachian life through his photography and a desire to live life to its fullest through his poetry. An Appalachian Prize”...Amazon.com customer, from Montgomery, W.Va. For the film, Moving Mountains, by Penny Loeb The film, by Pulitzer finalist Penny Loeb, premiered August 21, 2014, to an excited and appreciative audience of 250 in Charleston WV, at the old Capital Theater. “T. Paige was brilliant. An extremely talented actor and artist. I really enjoyed working with him.” Michael Alban actor, Moving Mountains T. Paige! This is unheard of!  A first time actor holding his own alongside an accomplished  star like Theresa Russell!” Michelle Farrell, Chief Cinematographer, Moving Mountains Awards WV Press Association---Photojournalism WV Writers---Poetry Billboard Magazine---Songwriting Soundtracks Moving Mountains When Miners March with Hazel Dickens Rise Up West Virginia Blood On The Mountain contributor Albums Pearl  2006 T. Paige Collection  available late 2019