Loramir Of Gondor's Journal

...and the Dirty Dancing obsession continues. I'm so weird about movies. There's tons of movies that I watch ones and like, even like well enough to buy, and then, out of the blue, there are several that I watch once and get completely obsessed with.

( Movie-related rambling )

Anyway, enough rambling. My DD obsession is still in effect, though now I've got the DVD it'll probably start to fade pretty soon. It's just such a fun, happy movie though, melodramatic abortion sub-plots notwithstanding. And it's a great romance, of course. I love what somebody over at Cinematical said about it: "I love the entire dynamic of the film -- two people who each believe, for utterly different reasons, that the other one is way out of their league, yet they fall in love anyway." *sigh*

And on that note, I'm off to watch the final "Time of My Life" scene one more time :)

OK, I would like to establish two facts: I do not read fan fiction and I definitely do not read slash. Ever.

I just don't get slash. I have never understood the point. It generally disgusts me.

I also don't read fanfic. I'm an English major and a perfectionist. I can't handle bad grammar and horrible mutilations of the canon.

So I don't read fanfic. Or slash.

Until now. I have been converted to the wonders of Shoeboxism. Yes, I have discovered shoebox_project. I heard of it ages and ages ago, but slash just really turns me off so I forgot about it as soon as I saw it was Remus/Sirius.

So then the other night during my Essay Avoidance Session I found some quote icons from SBP. They were so intriguing I was like, "Well, I'll just read a little. You know. To see what it's about." So I pulled my first all-nighter in three years of college to "work on my paper," which roughly translates to "read the entire fic."

( my thoughts - possibly spoilerish )

I highly recommend it...er, obviously. I got the PDF version, since some of the older LJ entries are missing the art that goes with them. Read it. Even if you have never read another fanfic and will never read one again. Even if you hate slash. SBP manages, though I would never have thought it possible, tasteful slash. It seems natural. It's not gratuitous. It's not the absolute point of the whole story.

And for the sake of intriguing you further, here are some of the fabulous quotes. Practically every single line is quotable, though some are just classic.

( quotes quotes quotes )

Johnny & June's version of "The Far Side Banks of Jordan" is awesome. Not really for the performance, but because of how...fitting it is. June even sings the "if I am first to go" verse, which she was.

The lyrics are awesome. It's sort of a gospel slash love song.

( my one regret is leaving you behind )

OMG, I was just at JohnnyCash.com because I'd never been there, and they had videos of him on the Muppet Show. My dad now thinks I'm nuts because I've been laughing my head off. "Egg Suckin' Hound" is hilarious, but I love him doing "Jackson" with Miss Piggy!!

He's such an interesting man. Tough, mysterious rebel sort of person one minute, joking with Kermit the Frog the next. Odd.

Incidentally, "Where Did We Go Right?" is one of my favorite songs EVER. Johnn & June have such awesome love songs! I also love how even on June's solo songs, you can always hear Johnny in the background. Oh, now "Darlin' Companion" has come on. I love that song too.

Also incidentally, June's singing grows on you. I used to really not like (used to being a month or so ago when I first got into JC) her voice and preferred Reese, but I've gotten used it. It's rather different from Reese's, but she has a very distinctive, throaty kind of voice (with a twang, too) that you kind of have to get used to. Now I prefer her to Reese...well, not really. I like them about equally; same for Joaquin & Johnny. I like Joaquin's style better on some parts of songs - he puts more expression into "Get Rhythm," but I love how Johnny says "You're a mighty little boy to be a-workin' that way." And, though it appears to heresy for Cash fans, I prefer "Ring of Fire" without the horns. They distract me from the singing and the words and make it seem too upbeat and happy.

Well, enough rambling. Must be able to stay awake in church tomorrow (not that I'll be able to anyhow).

I bought The Legend of Johnny Cash CD from Walmart! It's the first CD I've bought since...last June. Wow. But I have to go do the online bit of my grammar midterm now, so more enthusiasm tomorrow. Oh, I love how he says "you're a mighty little boy to be a-workin' that way' in "Get Rhythm." And I like the bridge on that song. OK, I'm going now.

And I have 7 done of my icons100 challenge! I'll post a batch when I have 15 or 20.

bohemea just posted this YouTube video of John & June singing "Darlin' Companion" here at joaquintheline. It is SO sweet!! Neither of them IRL is as good-looking as Joaquin & Reese, but this 2.5 minute video shows the romance between them just as well as Walk the Line ever does.

I LOVE that song (for the whole 3 days since I first heard it...), and that video made it even sweeter. I've never seen them together much, only a few pictures. They're so cute together! I love how June wiggles her hips and hangs onto his shoulder, and the way he turns and looks over his shoulder at her on the "little saucy mare" lines...*squee* It makes me love WTL even more; it's like it really brings home the happy ending of the movie. That just made my night!!

If you look through the related videos, there's a lot of other stuff too. John performing "Ring of Fire" and "Big River" and stuff earlyish in his career, a lot of later stuff, his appearance on Sesame Street...

So I've been listening to different versions of 'Wildwood Flower.' And the lyrics have been driving me insane. Because they make no sense.

( confusion )

BUT I just found this which cleared things up a lot. It has the lyrics from an 1860 version which make remarkably more sense. I suppose being performed for so many years by mountain country artists (many of whom would have been less than literate) has corrupted the lyrics, with people singing what they think they heard their mothers sung. So for the record, here's the original lyrics:

( I'll Twine 'Mid the Ringlets (1860) )

BTW, "If I Were A Carpenter" is such a sweet song. I read somewhere that it was during that song that he proposed, not "Jackson" like in the movie. A bit more romantic, since "Jackson" doesn't really meet 'love song' standards. I prefer to see the movie as a separate story, since comparing it to the real story usually disappoints me, but in this case it adds an extra degree of romance to know it really happened. I read that Johnny proposed to June over 30 times before she agreed.

Aw, and "And His Name Is John" is cute! "But it's a dog!" "Yeah, but it's his friend." OK, that probably made no sense to anyone who is not currently suffering from a Johnny Cash obsession like me. It's not really a classic sort of song, but it's cute because it's about their son and it's affectionate and...cute. They sound like proud parents (which I suppose they were). I keep saying "Aww" in a rather pathetic way. But it's (I will not say 'cute' again)...(tries to think of a synonym)...sweet? awwww-inducing?

Ha! Aww-inspiring! OK, kick me now. I should not be rambling on at 1:30 in the morning about cute songs. It appears to cause me to make dreadful puns.

So. That was like the most pointless post known to man. I bet no one else in the world was so bothered by the lyrics to 'Wildwood Flower' that they spent ages googling it. Therefore no one cares and I am filling my journal with boring stuff no one cares about. But hey, it's my journal, so there.

Sorry to people who friended me for icons/caps (ha! What, 2 people?) and get their friends page spammed with my babbling, but oh well. I promise I'll get a separate journal for babbling in once I get 50 or so people who actually come here for icons & stuff.

Right. I'm going now, really. I just hardly listen to music much anymore, mostly just in the car, and it's been a long time since I found a new artist I liked. So I'm going through this big discovery phase and gushing over everything. I'll get over in it a week or two, probably.

And one reason I really like Johnny Cash - I can sing ALL his songs! They're all in my range! This is unusual as I have a very low voice and not much range - most men can sing higher than me - but Johnny's stuff I've been able to sing all of so far! And the earlier stuff anyhow, the stuff from the movie, is nice and simple and I've learned all the words and it's great to sing at the top of my lungs in the car. I miss my trips to Charlotte, LOL. I don't have nearly as much chance to sing anymore.

OK, this is my last edit. I keep editing to say more stuff. GoodBYE now.

I think my Effexor withdrawal is a bit better. My Walk the Line withdrawal, unfortunately, is not. I want to see it again now. I'm definitely buying it. I found it for less than $15 online. It's weird, I can hardly even explain why I like it so much, but I'm like pining to see it again!

I have become obsessed with Walk the Line and Johnny Cash in general. I watched it 4 times over the weekend before I had to return it. I downloaded some Johnny Cash/Johnny & June songs and was a bit disappointed to find that Reese makes a much better June than June herself does. By which I mean she sings better. In my opinion. Joaquin & Johnny are so close it's hard to tell them apart! I really wish Joaquin & Reese had recorded a full version of "Time's A Wastin'." It's dreadfully catchy and I don't really like June & Carl Smith's version. Did she ever record a version with Johnny?

Oh, the misery of Effexor withdrawal (still). Right now I have this dreadful shaky feeling in my stomach like really bad butterflies. It makes me want to tense up instinctively and then my muscles get sore. And my head is flashing still. And my back hurts, although I think that's more because of the horrible mattress the school gave me and me being generally old and decrepit.

I really want to watch Walk the Line again right now. It's probably a good thing I can't because then I'd get sick of it. I want to watch it and force everyone else to watch it and like it so I'll have someone to enthuse with. Unfortunately Amanda's not interested so I'm forced to spam my LJ about it. I think it's too much for my romantic nature. Somehow I find it even more romantic than really dramatic romances like PotO or even P&P because it's so simple and real and it really (mostly) happened. Although it doesn't make me cry, surprisingly.

I want to either look for icons/wallpaper or make some, but my stomach is bothering me too much and I want to curl up and...do something. I dunno. First I want to see how cheap I can find Walk the Line online. *sigh*

So I just watched Walk the Line again. Ostensibly to cap it but mostly because I wanted to see it again. Someone's already done like 4000 HD caps at cap_it so there wasn't really much point, but I'll post them anyway later. My school DSL is faster at uploading caps than my Direcway satellite at home, so I'll wait till I'm back there.

It really is a good movie and for some reason I really really like although I've never been a huge fan of Joaquin Phoenix or Johnny Cash. I love the romance and the great music and good acting (Reese Witherspoon is such a good actress). I really want to watch it again now, even though I've just watched it twice and I need to watch Elizabethtown.

I have this sort of Good Movie Syndrome where when I watch a really good movie, I want to watch it again IMMEDIATELY.

I think I might watch it once more tomorrow since it's a two day rental and then take Elizabethtown to school with me, since it's a week rental. I love Blockbuster's no late fees thing!

Still feeling like crap from quitting my Effexor, but from reading a bunch of message boards my withdrawal isn't half bad compared to some people. I just hope it doesn't last much longer.