Some people care too much. I think it's called love.
I think we dream so we don't have to be apart for so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time.
"I wonder what Piglet is doing," thought Pooh. "I wish I were there doing it, too."
It's so much more friendly with two.
"Oh, Bear!" said Christopher Robin. "How I do love you!" "So do I," said Pooh.
There is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.
"Sometimes," said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."
"How do you spell 'love'?" "You don't spell it... you feel it."
Watching RENT over the weekend, I noticed something similar to another New York-based musical, Newsies: in both shows, the characters sing about escaping to Santa Fe. While I've certainly heard both "Santa Fe" songs before, I only noticed the coincidence now, probably because I saw the Newsies musical on tour about a month ago, so it's fresh in my mind (side note: I have a serious Newsies obsession that stems from childhood). So why Santa Fe? This strikes me as a random choice of idyllic living spot. Do all New Yorkers dream of Santa Fe?
The cast of RENT wants to open up a restaurant in Santa Fe:
Young Christian Bale - oops I mean Jack Kelly - dreams of enjoying all the space in Santa Fe:
Now, it doesn't surprise me that city dwellers, particularly the poor ones populating these musicals, daydream about smaller, quieter locales. But why do both land on Santa Fe? Maybe it fits into the traditional American dream, where people seem to have an inherent need to venture westward. Santa Fe definitely symbolizes the west, which is notably seen in the Newsies video where Jack Kelley rides horses in a cowboy hat during the song (all of these western items seem to suddenly appear out of nowhere). Granted, Newsies takes place at the turn of the 20th century, so these western goals seem more natural. RENT is set a century later when the instinct to travel west isn't as prevalent.
I'm not knocking Santa Fe. I traveled there once with my family and it was quite a pleasant little city. It's also very artsy, which would appeal to the creative New Yorkers in RENT. However, there are certainly many other small American cities. Maybe Santa Fe just rhymes well for songwriting. Any guesses?
Despite all these dreams, the characters always end up back in New York. I suppose Santa Fe isn't for everyone.
Now, I think I need to watch a few more musical numbers. Gots to seize the day!
Today, a co-worker said, "Did you hear Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was nominated for..." my mind immediately filled in the blank with all sorts of literary awards: a Nobel, the Man Booker, a Pulitzer? "... a Grammy award?" Hmm, no. My response: "Does she sing?" Apparently, the Grammy is for Beyonce's song "Flawless," which includes a sample of Adichie's extremely popular TED talk "We Should All Be Feminists." Who knew?
We really have a moved to a new age when TED talks are part of pop songs.
Adichie is a renowned Nigerian writer. I have yet to read any of Adichie's novels, though I have always heard good things and her newest novel Americanah is on my holds list from the library (just 99 people in front of me). However, I have watched "We Should All Be Feminists," which is an excellent lecture on the term feminist and the role of gender in today's world, particularly Nigeria. If you haven't seen it before, I highly recommend watching Adichie's TED talk:
I also seem to be very behind on modern culture because I had never heard this particular Beyonce song. I just watched the video, but I'm not sure I liked it. However, the collaboration is certainly interesting if a little bizarre. While poets and song-writing often go hand and hand, you don't see too many novelists getting recognition in the music world. I wonder if Adichie will be at the Grammys.
