Triple Threats

That is not my picture and she or he is most definitely not one of my snakes. That is a black mamba, probably my favorite venomous snake. If I had my way and if I were more experienced (and had a permit, and did not have family members worrying, etc) that's the snake I would get. Alas, I can only dream.
Most people think the King Cobra is the ultimate snake, but for me, although I love the cobras also, the mambas are the most impressive snakes. Especially the black ones. They are incredibly venomous, aggressive, and fast. Triple threat.

I am listening to Fiona Apple. I love her songs, too bad her singing voice is not really the prettiest. Actually, it's a pretty ugly voice, but her songs have a kind of power that make you forget (most of the time) her vocal faults. I wonder when she's going to come out with a new album, it's been a few years.

This week I did not make my sister get me a live pinkie for Tybalt. I am going to attempt to feed him a dead one tomorrow and see if I can get him back to eating pre-killed items. I really hope so.
Topkapi was already looking for food this afternoon. Sorry Topkapi, you're a day early.

By the way, I started a live journal account. It's mostly about books, reviews, recommendations, etc. So if that's something you might be interested in here's the address: http://valca85.livejournal.com/
Comments, questions, snide remarks are welcomed.

I started another part in my magical training today. After weeks of doing the LBRP (Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram) it was time to step up to the next challenge. This next ritual is called the Middle Pillar Ritual. It is performed after teh LBRP, but before the Tarot contemplation. I did not have it fully memorized today, but even so I could already feel what a strong tool it will be in the future. Looking forwards to truly learning it.

Feeding Frenzy Friday Part 11

Everyone has eaten today. So far. I have Topkapi to feed at night, who never gives me trouble (although just by saying that I've probably jinxed it, and she'll refuse the mouse today). Damascus was of course his greedy self and wanted more food. Coral was surprisingly less hyper today than usual. I think she's getting used to me grabbing her and holding her, and it's about time. While she ate, I changed the mulch in her cage, and you can imagine the irritation when I put her back inside. She was beyond pissed that I had cleaned her cage, but it had to be done and at least for a few weeks I won't have to worry about the condition of it.

So, like I mentioned yesterday, I went to see "Mary Poppins: The Musical" with my mom. Overall, it was entertaining in a very Disney-on-steroids way. The singing was not the best, the voices were strident and hard to hear (even with microphones and only a 10 piece orchestra, at the most). The diction was atrocious, I could only understand one word out of ten. I don't know if it was the forced English accents that some of the actors had, or if it's just a case of sloppy consonants, but it is a problem when you see an actor pause to give the audience time to laugh, and there is just silence. Either brush up on diction or get super-titles like at the opera.
Mary Poppins was by far the worst of the bunch. Her voice made me long for Julie Andrews and that is not something I admit to lightly. She couldn't even dance properly. I know that musical theater performers have to be multi-talented and know how to act, dance, and sing, but do they have to be so mediocre at all three? Pick one and stick to it, like some of the more famous ones have done. No one wants to see a Jack of all trades, master of none on stage.
The two children were surprisingly good. The girl stood out in particular. I could understand her, she sang in tune, and she was a good actress.
There was one good singer in the bunch, a woman who played the evil nanny. She had a terrific voice, a grown-up voice, which was a relief after Mary Poppins's whiny-teenager's voice. I like men to sound like men, and women like women, not like children, which is probably why I always end up listening to classical singing.

The production itself was marvelous. The scenery and the costumes were perfect and the special effects went off without a glitch. At least not a noticeable one. It was a little over the top, with glitter, people flying through the air and things moving constantly to amuse the audience. I guess they think we are all ADD sufferers and need shiny objects constantly flashing in our faces. There was actually a sign outside of the theater that warned people with epilepsy about the intense strobe lights they would be using.
My mom really enjoyed it (although the singing did make her visibly wince a few times) and if I can stop being a nit-pick and a cynic for a minute, I also had a good time, and like everyone else in the theater, left singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", happily stumbling over a few consonants of my own.

New Lands

Tybalt ate his live pinkie yesterday, so my evil action of the week is completed. He has to go back to eating frozen mice. Not only is it more convenient if he did, but it would also make me feel less like the villain in a fairytale, holding the defenseless mouse to be eaten by her minion and pet snake.

I also gave Barbossa his Pedialyte bath. He did not enjoy it one bit, but I did manage to get him to drink some of it, so if he is even a little dehydrated, he got a good dose of electrolytes to help him out.
I put him in a big container and I was worried of him trying to get out, like Topkapi does, crawling along the container until she finds the rim and then making a dash to freedom. I shouldn't have worried, however. Barbossa refused to move, as if staying really still could make him disappear. No such luck.
When I picked him up to dry him and put him back in his cage, he seemed so relieved. He crawled to his favorite spot in his cage, curled up, and for all intents and purposes appeared to be knocked out. Oh, the horror...

Today my mom and I are going to see "Mary Poppins: The Musical". My mom loves the movie and so she wanted to go see it. I, on the other hand, can't stand Julie Andrews so any movie she's a part of does not score any points with me, but since the musical is blessedly free of her teeth-grinding sweetness, I have hopes of enjoying it.
I have never mentioned that I sing. I omitted that consciously because it is the most integral part of my self and maybe I didn't want to share that at the time, but now I don't see why not. I've studied voice for 12 years, so half my life, and it is my passion (apart from my beautiful ophidian babies) and what I hope to do for the rest of my life. Fate is tricky, so we'll see. My main goal is to sing classically, but I also welcome musical theater or really any experience to sing. Hence the Mary Poppins field trip. I really don't know that much about the musical theater voices that are out there, I've always been so focused on the opera world. But recently I've widened my horizons, stopped being quite so snobby and realized there are some really beautiful, non-classical pieces of music out there. Step by step I am exploring virgin territory. Well, at least for me.

Liquid Trust

I just can't get enough of Topkapi drinking water. She does it every day, but I always find it astounding and also a bit flattering that she trusts me enough to drink, not only when I am around, but when I am actually holding her. Most of my other babies don't let me do this. For the first year I had him, I never saw Barbossa drink. I knew he did because his bowl's water level would go down but I never saw him. One time I almost did but as soon as he felt my footsteps he froze. Now, at least, he lets me watch him while he drinks. I can't get too close, but I can be in the same room. I've seen both Talulah and Damascus drink, but they both get too hyper when I'm holding them. CocoRosie has let me hold her while she drinks a few times. For a few months she's been unusually cranky so it has not been repeated, but I have hopes for the future. I would like to achieve that level of trust with all my snakes.

Yesterday my sister and I went to see Rachael Sage. The concert went really well. She played and sang some great songs and we had a good time. The venue was also cute, kind of a lounge style room, with a buffett and bar, and the audience had tables with tablecloths and everything. I was also surprised at age demographic of the audience. We were the youngest ones there. Rachael Sage must be about 30 so, why is her audience so much older? She is an Indie singer so I expected a room full of mid-20s people. Very strange. I got to talk to her and I got her autograph, which is very cool. Now I just have to meet Tori Amos (my musical obsession).

I have a cake in the oven right now, so I'll share the recipe

Maple Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tdp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix dry ingredients, set aside. Mix maple syrup and milk, set aside. Cream butter and sugar, then add the egg. Add the wet and dry ingredients alternating, in two parts each. Pour into prepared pan. bake 20-25 minutes.

Spring in the Woods

CocoRosie is looking very active today. Actually, she's been like that for a few days, I wonder if it's the spring. I know she's laid eggs before, usually unfertilized, so I'm sure mating season does affect her. Maybe that's why she didn't eat last Friday. Sorry CocoRosie, I have no mate for you, no beautiful rat snake who deserves to win your heart. Oh, well, maybe next year. What would be cuter than little ferocious CocoRosies running around the house?

Last night I took Tybalt and Talulah out for a little walk around the kitchen table. I hadn't taken Tybalt out at all last week, because I wanted to see if by handling him less he would feel up to eating. He did eat last week. I'm going to take him out moderately this week and see if he still eats when I get home on Sunday from the pagan camp.

Yesterday I was very bored in the afternoon, so I picked up a Stephen King book (not that I need to be bored to read his books, I think they're great). I had recently bought "The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon". It's a relatively small book, about 250 pages, but it is incredible. Briefly, it is about a nine-year old girl who gets lost in the woods in New England and how she tries to find her way back to civilization. I read the whole thing in about three hours. I won't say how it ends, but it is a book that haunts you after you've finished it. I'm obviously still thinking about it today. I'm not sure it was THE best choice of literature to read right before I go on a camping trip, but too late now.

Tonight, my sister and I are going to see Rachael Sage in concert. She is an Indie artist who has her own music label and who is completely independent from the big record companies. Her music is great, and she has beautiful lyrics. Since she is an independent artist, her concerts are not huge, but are usually in a very intimate setting. She talks to the audience and gets requests, so I think we are going to have a good time. She seems like an interesting person.