Excitement:

Been a while since I posted, and A LOT has happened since then, because I'm pretty sure the last time I did was before Christmas.

Well, long story made short: I am no longer a college student for the time being and am not living in the dorms.
Before I move I am staying with some friends in town for a little while. Said friends run a daycare out of their home, so I have been around kids 24/7, which is totally cool to me because I love kids and I've worked with them for years.
But something totally awesome happened today that I wasn't really expecting...

Most of you know that I am the creator and head author at Think Classic (links below), which is a blog that centers on all things vintage or classic, i.e. classic movies, radio programs, literature and vintage fashion. It's basically a hobby of mine run wild. What you may not know, unless you are the one person who I've ever really told, is that, while I love teaching preschool and working in a daycare, if I could choose one profession to do just because it'd be AMAZING no matter how ridiculous or un-achievable it seems, it would be to work as a film historian or work in film preservation.

Crazy, I know..

But it is days like today that remind me of that ridiculous little fanciful idea. I was working on scrounging up some Harold Lloyd videos to go along with the most recent Think Classic post (again, link below),and one of these little preschool kids came up to see what I was doing, so I showed him a video and he was laughing SO hard all the other kids came over. We ended up watching two of his longer movies plus one of his shorts for well over half an hour.
Maybe that doesn't seem that incredible to you, and if that's the case, maybe that's because you don't know who Harold Lloyd  was. For a full story, click the link below...but for the short version: he was the highest paid actor during the silent film era. Silent films. There are quite a few adults who, even if they have an interest in classic film, that level of interest doesn't extend to silent films. And I can understand that...I personally love silent films, but they are just harder for some people to get into. But these were kids..kids who probably haven't even really been introduced to the world of classic film at all, and they loved it! Not only did they love it, but not one of them questioned why there was no sound or why it was in black and white. They were just totally into it right away because it was funny. And I'm sorry, but in the same way that kids have a simplistic yet sincere idea of what is right and wrong, and just as they are so naturally intuitive, kids know when something is genuinely funny.

Harold Lloyd once said:

"It has been amazing to me that these comedies can still strike a responsive note of laughter with audiences of all ages and in all parts of the world. Laughter is the universal language. It establishes a common identity among people--regardless of other differences. It is the sweetest sound in the whole world."

Isn't that amazing? I mean, Lloyd said this sometime before he died in the early seventies, so that was a while ago. But it still rings true just shy of 100 years after some of his movies were made and released in the early 1900s. It just shows that all the fancy sound and visual effects are for stuffy adults who have lost a sense of imagination. I just think that's so incredibly awesome...and I also think that wherever Harold Lloyd is now, he is undoubtedly supremely happy that his good acting is still appreciated.

If you are still wondering who Harold Lloyd is or would just like to know more about him, please take a look at the new Think Classic post:

Harold Lloyd: "I just took life and poked fun at it.."

This will take you to the main page of Think Classic, where you can also read the aforementioned post:

Think Classic

And, if you're interested, here are links to the Think Classic Twitter and Facebook pages. There are also some good Harold Lloyd videos posted on that same Facebook page from the other day:

Think Classic Twitter

Think Classic Facebook

So in love..

"And now I'm all alone again, nowhere to turn, no one to go to.
Without a home, without a friend, without a face to say 'hello' to.
And now the night is near,
Now I can make believe he's here.
Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping.
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head.
On my own,
Pretending he's beside me.
All alone,
I walk with him til morning.
Without him,
I feel his arms around me.
And when I lose my way, I close my eyes,
And he has found me.
In the rain, the pavement shines like silver.
All the lights are misty in the river.
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight.
And all I see is him and me forever and forever.
And I know it's only in my mind,
That I'm talking to myself and not to him.
And although I know that he is blind,
Still I say, there's a way for us.
I love him.
But when the night is over,
He is gone.
The river's just a river.
Without him,
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers.
I love him
But everyday I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending.
Without me,
His world will go on turning--
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known.
I love him.
I love him.
I love him,
But only on my own."

"Marius:

Good God, what are you doing?

'Ponine, have you no fear?

Have you seen my beloved?

Why have you come back here?

Eponine:

Took the letter like you said.

I met her father at the door.

He said he would give it--

I don't think I can stand anymore.

Marius:

Eponine, what's wrong?

There's something wet upon your hair.

Eponine, you're hurt!

You need some help!

Oh, God! It's everywhere!

Eponine:

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius,

I don't feel any pain.

A little fall of rain

Can hardly hurt me now.

You're here, that's all I need to know.

And you will keep me safe,

And you will keep me close.

And rain will make the flowers grow.

Marius:

But you will live, 'Ponine, dear God above,

If I could heal your wounds with words of love!

Eponine:

Just hold me now, and let it be.

Shelter me, comfort me.

Marius:

You would live a hundred years

If I could show you how.

I won't desert you now..

Eponine:

The rain can't hurt me now.

The rain will wash away what's past,

And you will keep me safe,

And you will keep me close.

I'll sleep in your embrace at last.

The rain that brings you here

Is Heaven-Blessed!

The skies begin to clear and I'm at rest.

A breath away from where you are

I've come home from so far,

So don't you fret, M'sieur Marius.

I don't feel any pain,

A little fall of rain can hardly hurt me now.

That's all I need to know.

And you will keep me safe,

And you will keep me close.

Marius:

Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine,

You won't feel any pain.

A little fall of rain can hardly hurt you now.

I'm here.

I will stay with you til you are sleeping.

Both:

And rain will make the flowers...

Marius:

...grow.."

Holy crap.I am a major dork and I willingly admit that but seriously...honestly...this is so amazing.So sad.I won't try to deny that it made me cry in the theater. I have absolutely nothing against Cosette, and I love that she and Marius both live and end up together since they both love eachother so much, but there is also no denying that poor Eponine really loved Marius, too.She loved him so much, and she did so much for him, and thinking that he would die in the barricade, she wanted to die along with him.
Sigh...
As the musical says at one point, "To love another person is to see the face of God."
And the ending, as I already gushed about in the last post, was so incredible.To pair all of these things together and then to add that final reprise of Do You Hear The People Sing, where all the dead are living again together and singing, "They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord.."
How beautiful!