The Mentalist sneak peak! (:

Alright. So, I was pretty excited when I saw this.

The CBS website posted a "Season 4 Premier First Look" for The Mentalist today. It's only four photos and a couple of captions, but it's getting me excited nonetheless. (:

Obviously, Jane's in prison and going on trial for what he did at the end of last season.

The only downside to this is that Jane has been in jail before ("Black Gold and Red Blood" from season 2), and I... didn't really like that episode. I really prefer Jane being out and about, and with him being stuck in jail... it just wasn't as fun, in my opinion. Hopefully, things will be different with season 4. I'll admit that this could probably very well be pretty interesting.

Anyway. The Mentalist will start back up on September 22nd, and I'm getting pretty excited. (:

Here's a video that was posted a few weeks ago, which recaps last season's finale, "Strawberries and Cream." Obviously, there are spoilers.

Ahh! It's so good! (: I especially like that quote at the end. Honestly, I can't wait. Hopefully this next season is fantastic. Though I'm sure that it will be. (:

... 36 days! (:

Oh, Grantaire.

Oh, dear. Here comes another rambling Les Mis post.

You know who else I love in Les Mis? Grantaire. Of course, there isn't much of him in the actual musical (but still enough to make him a bit lovable, of course). However, he's fantastic in the book as well. I just love him. He's such a sad, pessimistic, but also funny character. (:

As most of you may know, Grantaire is one of the student rebels who joins in on the fight at the barricade. He's a cynical, pessimistic alcoholic who happens to sign his name simply as R. Why? Because, in French, the capital 'R' is apparently pronounced a bit like "grand-air." Grantaire. Get it? It's fantastic. (;

Grantaire "doesn't believe in anything." So, why is he even at the barricade? One word: Enjolras. He idolizes him. Grantaire admires everything in Enjolras that he lacks within himself. He wants to be more than a drunken cynic, but he can't. That's why he admires Enjolras so much, because that's what Grantaire wishes he could be. He wishes he could believe in something, so he believes in Enjolras. And if Enjolras wants to start a revolution and build a barricade, then so be it.

Of course, Enjolras sadly doesn't quite feel the same way.

"Grantaire," Enjolras called. "Go and sleep your wine off somewhere else. This is a place for intoxication, but not for drunkenness. Don't dishonour the barricade."
"You know I believe in you."
"Go away."
"Let me sleep it off here."
"Go and sleep it off somewhere else," said Enjolras.
"Let me sleep here and, if need be, die here."
"Grantaire, you're incapable of believing or thinking or willing or living or dying."
"You'll see," said Grantaire gravely. "You'll see." 

 Aaaannnddd... we all know how that ends.

In the musical, we see the two of them on much more friendly terms. Grantaire still annoys Enjolras a little bit, but we still see them as friends. In the 25th anniversary concert, Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser are fantastic as the two of them. (:

Something that I really love about Grantaire in the musical is a fairly new addition that I saw put into play when I saw Les Mis on June 5th. It's the relationship between Grantaire and Gavroche. They have a sort of big-brother/little-brother thing going on, and I love it. Since the turn table was gone, we didn't get to see Gavroche's death, only hear it. But Grantaire's reaction made up for that and made it all the more tragic.

I'm not too familiar with Grantaire actors, so I can't really say that I have a favorite. I do really love Hadley Fraser, though, who played Grantaire in the 25th anniversary concert. I also like Anthony Crivello, from the 10th anniversary concert.

They have, in my opinion, very different portrayals of Grantaire during "Drink With Me." Hadley's Grantaire is clearly talking to the rest of the men during his solo, and basically really taking a hit at their morale. He's clearly saying, "Do you guys realize what you're doing? We're all going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it." He doesn't necessarily care at all that he's going to be killed, but he would like to point out to the rest of them how stupid they are for getting into that situation. 

Anthony's Grantaire, on the other hand, seems to be talking only to himself. He's finally realizing what he truly got himself into, and he's terrified.

Here's Hadley. His solo starts about 47 seconds in.

And here's Anthony. He starts singing about 56 seconds in.

Notice the difference?

While I adore Hadley's voice, his portrayal of Grantaire, and just Hadley in general, I also love Anthony's take on Grantaire in DWM.

But... when it comes to my favorite... Hadley just might win this one. Why? I'm not sure.

I JUST FREAKING LOVE HIM.

Ahem. That's all. (:

Les Miserables - the book, the musical, and why Javert is not a villain (;




Ah, Les Miserables. I'm a self-proclaimed expert on the subject. (; So, be prepared for some rambling. This is probably my biggest "Enthusiastic Interest." So I suppose I should start off my posting with this subject, yes? Yes. (: I have an indescribable love for the musical, and I enjoy the book very much as well. Starting with the book, I've only ever read the unabridged version, and I prefer the translation by Norman Denny. As of right now, I'm on my third time of reading it. It's by far the longest book I have ever read, but also one of the best. The characters and messages that this book has inside are all so beautiful and thought-provoking. I love it all.

As for the musical, I can never get enough of it. The music, the story, the characters, I'm in love with it all. Through out my entire life, I pray that I'll be able to see the musical as many times as possible. I actually saw my first performance of Les Mis live and in person this past Sunday, on June 5th. (Yes, I was so deeply in love with the musical even before I saw an actual performance of it. Thank God for YouTube and iTunes). It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. The characters, in both the book and the musical, are so memorable and touching. My two favorite characters are the antagonist and the protagonist: Javert, followed by Valjean. Valjean is an easy character to love; his story of redemtion and the lengths he will go to to be good in the eyes of God, and also to protect his beloved daughter Cosette can touch anybody's soul.

As for Javert, many people will look at me funny when I say that he's one of my favorite characters. 'Why would you love the villain of a story?' First of all, Javert is not necessarily the villain. He's not necessarily a bad man. He's simply misguided. (:

Why do I love Javert? Well, for one thing, I'm usually a sucker for the "misunderstood" characters. Here's my take on him: Javert is the way he is because of his belief system; being born in a jail, the son of a gypsy fortune teller and her convict husband, he grew up unwelcome in society. He came to find that he had only two options in life: to attack society, or to defend it. He chose to defend it, and the law became his religion. Anybody who choses to break the law needs to be punished justly. And that's why he treats people the way that he does. It's true, he's not right in the way thinks, but in his mind, he is.

On a side note, I have one more favorite character, but this one is only in the musical, not in the book: Enjolras. Oh, Enjolras. (: I don't like him much in the book, but I simply adore him in the musical. (: So full of passion, usually quite attractive, most of the time an fantastic singer, and all-together amazing. Not my absolute favorite, mind you, but definitely up there. (; I honestly think that the biggest reason as to why I fell in love with the musical's version of Enjolras would be this man:



Ramin Karimloo. (: With a smile that could melt your heart and a voice that could melt your soul, I absolutely love this man and his take of Enjolras in the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert. He. Is. Fantastic. (:

Anyway. I should probably stop this rambling now. Though, to be honest, I could go on and on. I'll save it all for later. ;D

Til next time! (:

Musings of a Fanatic (:

Well, well, well. I suppose I should say a little about myself and my blog, yes? Yes.

Why the blog name? Well, once I develop an interest for something... I can get a bit "overenthusiastic" about it. (: Some may call them "obsessions", but that sounds a bit too negative for me. I prefer "enthusiastic interests." (:

What are some of my top "enthusiastic interests," you may ask? Well, let me tell you. (:

1) Les Miserables

2) The Mentalist
3) New York City

4) Stage Actors & Movie Actors

5) Family History

6) Music

People need to be careful around me when they bring up any of those subjects, especially the top four. Because, when they do, I get a bit excited. And then I go on and on about whatever subject was brought up, to the point that whoever I'm talking to begins to wonder what they've gotten themselves into. So, I've gotten to the point where I have to severely restrain myself. (; To be honest, I think that this blog may be a sort of outlet for me, where I can ramble on and one about any of these Enthusiastic Interests of mine without annoying people. (:

So, that's kind of how this blog will be. I'll ramble about my Enthusiastic Interests, and throw in a bit of my day-to-day life in there as well, just to add some boring to the mix. (: For the first few entries, I'll probably focus on each of my "Top Six" listed above. After that, anything's game. We'll see what happens. (:

Anyway, I suppose that that's all for now. (: