Mystery Legends Phantom of the Opera game review!

So my sweet dear love gave me an early Christmas gift yesterday. He surprised me with a game I did not know anything about until yesterday. It's a newer Phantom of the Opera PC game, so now to my knowledge there are two Phantom of the Opera PC games, Return of the Phantom and Mystery Legends Phantom of the Opera.

When I got home last night I started to play this lovely game a little bit, look forward to playing some more of it later on after I'm done with my overtime shift at work.

I not a pro gamer so my review and opinion are just geared towards the phantom aspect of this game. I like the voices, and graphics they are pretty good, the storyline is alright, and the only reason it's alright is because Christine and Raoul are married and have had a daughter. I just hate the fact that they are married. The story begins after they have just seen an Opera performance, the phantom sees their daughter, apparently he thinks she is Christine and he brings her back to the Opera House. So for the game you are playing the role of Christine's daughter as you go through the dilapidated Opera House to try to figure out how and why you are there. Basically the game is full of mini puzzles that you come across and need to solve before you move through another portion of the Opera House. For me this is perfect as I'm a puzzle game lover when I do game. I prefer games like tetris where you need to solve a puzzle and move onto the next level vs. other games like racing or shooting (which I'm God Awful at).

A screen shot from the game, the entrance of the Opera House!

Shawn bought me the game from Big Fish. If you google Mystery Legends Phantom of the Opera you will get tons of game guides as well, I browsed through one but do not wish to sort of cheat and would like to finish the game on my own merit, so I will just amble through the rest of it when I can resume play.

Batman Masque - REVIEW

I bought this comic book while working on my thesis, so this is my second time reading it, to review it for this blog. This is basically a phantom/batman cross-over it's pretty interesting. There are essentially two phantom roles in this comic, a lot is crammed into this short comic book. Harvey Dent and Batman are the two phantoms, Batman represents the phantom's compassionate human side, Dent represents the phantom's evil side. Laura Avian is a prima ballerina and is the Christine, she is blonde which is a happy thing for me, as the original Christine in Leroux's novel is blonde. At one point in the comic after being rescued by Batman she ends up in ALW Christine MOTN gear. The art work is okay for this comic book, compared to other graphic novels I've read it's passable for a graphic novel but not great. Right now this graphic novel is pretty cheap on Amazon, it is worth it as a unique item for collection, and it's a fast, decent phantom read.

December's Sexy Phantom!

It's a new month, official month of the holidays! This December I've elected Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera to be sexy Phantom for the month! Why not acknowledge our Erik in the original form and name him sexy!

I'm looking for sexy Phantom suggestions for the upcoming month of 2011. Please let me know your suggestions for any sexy phantoms that haven't been covered yet, when I publish them I will credit you with the suggestion.

Yeston/Kopit Phantom - BroadHollow Theatre at Elmont Public Library Review

Your Phantom blogger pal with Brianne Boyd (Christine), 

Chris Dufrenoy (Erik) and Janette!

On Friday night (November 26, 2010) I didn't celebrate Black Friday by shopping, I never do unless it's online shopping. Instead I went to a local community theatre production of Phantom by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit. My Phantom PHriend as well as PHellow PHan who happens to live local to me Janette and my love went with me. Janette will eventually write up her opinion of the show and I will add it to this entry.

This is my second time seeing this version of Phantom, I saw it when I was 18 at Hofstra University (10 years ago! Oh my!) Janette also saw it at Hofstra, we were trying to remember if Hofstra had a live orchestra for this version or not. What we saw Friday night was pre recorded orchestrations but live singing.

Chris Dufrenoy was Erik, he had a good voice and played the part of Erik very well. Janette, who I have deemed the resident Y/K Phantom expert (because she's seen it one more time then I have) said he nailed the song My mother bore me. She said that is the best she's ever heard that song to be sung. 

Brianne Boyd was an amazing Christine, she sang beautifully, her facial expressions conveyed exactly what Christine was feeling.

There were two Phillipes, I'm not sure which of the two I saw that night, all I can say is unfortunately because I hate Raoul and Phillipe is the equivalent of Raoul in this version of the story, I kind of blocked him out of my brain a little bit (sorry actor).

Sheila Sheffield played Carlotta, she was good, she played the role of sneaky conniving diva quite well.

Dominick Trivigno played young Erik, he was adorable, and had a pretty good voice for a young boy.

The rest of the cast and ensemble did very well, they worked well together to keep the show rolling.

Scenery, set and lighting were great, the set was well done, they definitely made it possible for the phantom to sneak around, and the set was able to convey the mood that the Opera Company was being taunted by a phantom.

The costumes were stunning. I absolutely loved Christine's Tatiana (fairy queen) dress. Erik's masks were well done, in this version he has different masks to portray his feelings.

After the show to my astonishment as well as Janette's the cast was outside in costume willing to greet everyone. I eagerly gave out a few business cards, Janette and I sort of stood in awe staring at the two principle actors, and then finally asked to take a picture with them, which my sweetheart agreed to take for us.

Phantom ABCs

One of my friends posted something about ABCs and technology so it has inspired me to create Phantom ABCs, this is how PHans teach kids the alphabet. I had to stretch a few letters to relate to Phantom LOL.

A is for Angel
B is for Bar, Buqet, Box Five, Boat
C is for Christine, Carlotta, Cellar, Chandelier
D is for Don Juan Triumphant, disfigurement, deformed
E is for Erik
F is for Firmin, Fog
G is for Graveyard, Ghost
H is for Hannibal
I is for Il Muto
J is for Joseph
K is for Kopit
L is for Lasso, Lair, Leroux
M is for Monkey, Masquerade, Mirror, managers, music
N is for Notes
O is for Opera, Opera House
P is for Phantom, Punjab, Piangi, Persian
Q is for quite
R is for Rat, Rooftop, Raoul (gross!)
S is for Staircase
T is for Trophy, Tutor
U is for Underground, Understudy
V is for Violin
W is for Wishing You were somehow here again
X is for Perdita X - a character in Maskerade, a novel from Discworld written by Terry Pratchett, Maskerade was loosely based on POTO
Y is for Yeston
Z is for zazzle.com - a website used to sell custom phantom creations

Great Neck South High School's performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera - REVIEW

Last night my love and I went to see what I believe to be the first local production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, performed by a high school, since the rights were released for high schools to performa Phantom. We attended a performance at William A. Shine's Great Neck South High School. I was very excietd and very curious to see the show and to compare it to the Broadway production.

Considering the high school probably worked on this production for possibly 3 months only (I'm still not quite sure about all the production details) they pulled together and did a pretty amazing job. Most of the scenes and musical numbers mimicked the broadway show but on a smaller scale although there were differences. I have some video clips (I was surprised I managed to get away with taking a few photos and video) which I will post to youtube, facebook and picasa sometime very soon.

Aaron Mor played the phantom, he did a wonderful job voice and acting wise. I have some of the final scene on video but couldn't finish taping because as always I started boohooing at the end. This kid blows Gerard Butler away voice wise. He's much better.

Karen Notovitz performed Christine very well, she managed to pull of Christine's high notes very well, which could have gone the other way as high school singers may not be as developed as a Broadway singer.

The real star of the show to me though was Jane Coons as Carlotta. She stole the show, she performed the role of the diva to a T and her voice was amazing, this young girl has great range for her voice and was an excellent Carlotta.

The set pieces, sets and costume as well as lighting were all very good. I liked the dancers costumes from the Il Muto scene best for this production. Christine and Carlotta's costumes mimicked the broadway costumes but were less elaborate, they were still pretty good though. The Phantom's costume was great, and make up did a pretty good job with the deformity, they gave him gray hair after he was unmasked which is pretty interesting.

Overall I can give the great neck high school's production a pretty good review, at the end of the performance I met the show's director and gave him my Phantom PHan business card with my contact information. I'm hoping he will contact me and I can score an interview or something for a bonus blog entry. It would be nice to get more pictures and hopefully some interviews.

Phantoons of the Opera

Raphael has made a 2011 Phantom of the Opera calendar, Phantoons of the Opera. Worth checking out and possibly purchasing :)

Phantoons of the Opera!

Christmas gift ideas for the PHan in your life!

The holidays are among us again. Are you wondering what kind of phantom goodies to ask for if you're a PHan? Or what you can get that special PHan in your life (whether they're your partner or relative). I've decided to put together a small holiday gift guide for PHans and PHan lovers everywhere!!!

Tickets
Tickets are always a great idea for the Phan in your life. We do not mind repeatedly seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical over and over again, and we don't mind tickets to special phantom events in our area, if you know of any. Just DO NOT buy us a ticket to Love Never Dies unless you wish to risk our fear and loathing.

You can get tickets through the show's official website (which seems to be down at the time of this blog entry), or you can hunt around for discount ticket offers, around this time of year newspapers generally offer sale advertisements for tickets as well.


Books
I am a lover of books and also a PHan, I'm sure there are many phans out there like me, the books will be my most comprehensive ideas for gifts as I'm including a few common books that PHans must have as well as my personal wish list of Phantom books I'd like to receive. 


  The Phantom of the Opera: Pop-Up Book 













































































































PHilms
The PHan in  your life will always appreciate a phantom movie. We like to have a collection of PHilms available in case we are in need of an emergency fix or in case we crave seeing a certain phantom on our TV. Three common films are the 2004 musical, the 1925 Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney and the 1990 Phantom with Charles Dance. 
 





















Soundtracks
What Phan doesn't want a soundtrack from the show, even if they have it generally they will gladly take another one. Three good soundtracks IMO are the original OLC, The Mexican Cast Recording and the Y/K Phantom.
  

























Music boxes, Ornaments and other unique PHan gifts
A few years ago there was a company making Phantom of the Opera music boxes, the San Francisco Music box Company. Carlton Cards has also made Phantom of the Opera Christmas Ornaments. The music box company has gone out of business and I'm not sure if Carlton Cards sells ornaments from previous years. But you can always find these music boxes through e-bay, if you use Phantom of the Opera as a search term you can yield a search for many unique Phan gifts.

The Phantom of the Opera Audio Book published by Tantor - Review

Sometime during late September I visited a book store in Huntington with my friends, it was part of a birthday celebration. To my delight I came across this version of Phantom of the Opera on Audio CD, with a free e-book included and it was on sale. Of course I had the funds to buy it, so I made the purchase. I was excited because in all my years as a phan this was only the second audio version of the Phantom of the Opera novel  that I owned. Quite some time ago I had the cassette version of the book on tape, but I don't think I have it anymore.

Tantor publications has made this audio book available, Alexander Adams is the narrator. He does a wonderful job narrating this novel, he expresses feelings of the characters but he is not over the top in expression and he doesn't make the story boring with his narration as some audio book readers can do.

If you do not have the phantom of the opera novel on audio book yet, this is definitely a worthwhile version to add to your collection :)

The Phantom of the Opera Penguin Readers editon - review

I picked up this version of Phantom of the Opera for my thesis, just worked on re-reading it for this blog and well because I wanted to. Basically it is a retelling of Gaston Leroux's novel written by Coleen Degnan-Veness. It's 83 pages long with some discussion questions after the novel, this takes up about 3 pages. This book is great for younger students as well as teachers of younger students who are interested in the story, or would like to assign it. The discussion questions at the end provide a great guide for a lesson and to get the reader to think more about the novel. During the novel definitions are provided as footnotes for the reader. This book is the best I've seen so far for anyone wishing to teach phantom, so teachers who read my blog this is the book for you if your students range from 4th to 6th grade.

Great Neck South High School performing POTO

Oh I'm on phantom overload!!! Y/K phantom is performing at Elmont Public Library which I'm trying to get to and Great Neck South High School on Long Island is performing ALWs Phantom. I would like to go to both, that's two weekends in a row of phantom if I do.

November's Sexy Phantom

Wow haven't posted for some time...at least for me. Halloween and the time our favorite man, the phantom is most widely recognized has passed for this year :( But don't despair, I have a sexy phantom for November. This month's Phantom is Claude Rains, he also starred in Casablanca among other classic films. He was the 1943 Universal Studios Phantom.

Claude Rains 1943 Phantom of the Opera

1925 screening Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown NY - Review

I need to be sleeping now, but blogging while any type of Phantom event is still fresh in my mind takes some precedence. Earlier this evening at 8 PM, my sweet love and I attended a screening of the 1925 silent version of Phantom of the Opera at Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY. My friend Dan was kind enough to inform me of this upcoming event. The movie was accompanied with live organ music.

The organist was a gentlemen by the name of Jeff Barker, he did an amazing job playing away while the movie was being shown. The best part was when he played the classic phantom music, not the ALW overture, but the classic Halloween horror theme that is known for the Phantom. Mr. Barker's organ playing made you feel the movie, and get into it even more then you would without the organ music.

Seeing the 1925 Phantom of the Opera on the big screen was...well it was amazing among other things. We were shown a print from the private collection of a man I assumed to be one of the employees at Tarrytown or part of a group that chose to put together this screening. The print he had was actually a later edition of the movie released in 1930, with the technicolor bal masque sequence. There was also some sound from when they chose to add sound to the movie, but we didn't hear any sound during the screening. What stood out to me most while viewing this movie was how clear the film appeared, my DVDs of the 1925 movie have never seemed this crisp and clear.

The 1925 movie in itself is the closest to the original novel by Gaston Leroux. The chandelier falls in the very beginning of the film, you see the torture chamber brought to life, you see Christine's choice between the scorpion and the grasshopper, you notice all of the things the phantom has bought for her and kept inside of his lair. A few minor changes in the film, the role of the persian in the book has been changed to police inspector Ledoux, and Erik dies at the end after an angry mob chases him, beats him and throws him into a river. *sniffles*

Lon Chaney does a wonderful job on the make up for the Phantom as well as his portrayal in the role. His make up is the closest to Gaston Leroux's Phantom, his role makes you feel for the phantom, and yet see him as an intimidating man. Mary Philbin was a great Christine, her best part to me was at the end of the film when she was trying to lie to Erik and deny hearing voices while Raoul and Ledoux were in the torture chamber. Norman Kerry as Raoul, well he did an excellent job portraying the character I despise.

Here is more information from IMDB about the original 1925 movie should you wish to know :)

The Phantom of the Opera (Kate McMullan adaptation) - Review

This version of The Phantom of the Opera is adapted by Kate McMullan. It's part of a series called Bullseye Chillers, basically simplified versions of classic horror novels for children to read. My guess on the age level of reading for this book would be anywhere from 9 to 14, this also depends on the personal reading level of the child, advanced readers may read this book at an earlier age.

This is a pretty good simplified version of Phantom. Basically it stays pretty true to Leroux's novel. The novel is told from Erik's point of view, and for a 95 page novel with extremely large print and illustrations there is a lot of information packed into it about the phantom. There is detail about his life prior to the Paris Opera House, and there is also an emphasis on his feelings, which to me as a phan is very important.

This is a great book for younger readers to be introduced to phantom with, when I eventually have kids I can assure you they will be reading this, although knowing me they will be clutching a Leroux novel while sleeping in their cribs. This book is worth owning for phantom book collectors and phans hoping to introduce a younger child to Phantom. It's also very reasonably priced through amazon.

Phantom and PHood

Today is a lovely day!!! This morning while making a quick batch of pancakes before work, I was struck with the inspiration to create a phantom of the opera pancake - which I did. It is also my close PHan PHriend Janette's birthday - Happy Birthday Janette!!! She has had a phantom of the opera cake created in honor of her birthday by her friend Gerri. So inspiration has struck and I am creating an entry devoted to Phantom of the Opera and PHood. Mostly phantom of the opera cakes though.

To see a bunch of lovely images you can do a google search for phantom of the opera cakes - there are so many to see, apparently this is a popular idea.

There is also something I found through google called Phantom Gourmet - seems worth checking out just for the logo if you are a phan.

If you're looking to get a phan cake done, Janette's friend Geri does an excellent job!!!

Now to finish off the entry with a few images of phan cakes, including my phantom pancake :) 

One of the random POTO cakes found on a google search

I think this cake was from a celebration for ALWs Phantom but I have to double check my information

This is Janette's POTO Birthday Cake :)

This another Phan's Birthday Cake :)

This is my phantom pancake :)

Dressing up as The Phantom of the Opera

It's that time of the year again...Halloween is fast approaching...for many of us PHans this means an excuse to dress up as the phantom....not that we don't do it anyway sometimes. So this entry is going to be filled with tips and resources on how to dress up as the phantom.


Here's my way: Of course I've dressed up in the past as the phantom - quite a few times. My way was pretty simple and cost effective. I bought a cape from the Halloween store for under $20, as well as a mask that I found in the Halloween store (most Halloween stores feature phantom masks at reasonable prices). I had a top hat from the Halloween store as well instead of a Fedora. Usually I used a pair of black pants I already owned, any white shirt I may have had and a black sweater or black suit jacket that I borrowed from my father. For shoes I've always gone with a pair of black boots I may have owned or black shoes I had that looked similar to a pair of men's shoes. One year for a costume party I went as far as tragically scarring my face hoping it would win the costume party - it did not :( For the tragic scarring I just used make up - lipsticks, eyeliner, blush and eyeshadow - I took brown, reds and pinks and just placed slashed marks all over to create an effect of disfigurement. Since I'm female and have had long hair mostly my whole life (except for a brief period in college - where I insisted on having it extremely short) I just place my hair in a ponytail and sometimes use gel or mousse to slick it back. There ya go folks that's the Diana Brewster Phantom of the Opera.

Now for other options, helpful hints resources etc.
*Obviously google is a good choice searching for how to dress up as the phantom of the opera, or for phantom of the opera costumes will provide you with many hits and choices.

Wiki Hows helpful hints

e-how.com's idea for the phantom

You may want to check on phantom of the opera message boards you might know about, other phans may have suggestions as well for you, my favorite message board is phantomoftheopera.com 

Where to buy Phantom of the Opera Gear for costumes: 

You can buy phantom of the Opera gear from any Halloween store that's local to you, you can also use e-bay - use the search term : Phantom of the Opera Costumes or even Amazon there are links to some phantom costume items from amazon below. For clothing you can talk to someone you know that does sewing to create clothing (especially if you would like to opt for a Christine costume instead of the Phantom) you can go with what you own, check costume shops, or hunt clothing and department stores to see what you could come up with.
 

Phantom of Manhattan Review

This is my third and what I hope to be my final time reading this monstrosity of a novel. I read it once when it first came out and swore I would never read it or another work by Frederick Forsyth ever again. Well I haven't read anything else by Forsyth. My second time reading this novel came with my masters thesis based on Phantom of the Opera, of course, and now this time to take notes and re read for this blog - needless to say you obviously know this book is landing a bad review. This book is 177 pages of poorly written horse poo, 177 pages is nothing for me to read but it is when the book is torturing me.

First let's start with the preface. Forsyth gives ALW a world of praise, and proceeds to try to discredit Leroux. How do you discredit the author of an original work? A work that is clearly fiction, a work that Leroux knows is fiction, how do you argue that the work should then be factual and that Leroux was wrong in order to set up for your piece of crap sequel. The awful sequel that inspired LND.

Now let's get on to the ridiculous book itself. Forsyth has no creativity whatsoever, even though he might think he's clever. He tells a jumpy story from the point of view of characters like Taffy Jones and Cholly Bloom *snicker* The story brings Erik to Coney Island, leading a multi million dollar corporation. Erik rejected from attending opera at the MET, pairs up with Oscar Hammerstein (not the same one who has worked with Rodgers on Broadway shows, but an earlier relative) to create another Opera House. Erik intends to bring Dame Nellie Melba to debut for his opera but upon learning from Madame Giry (before she died) that he has a son with Christine, he sends for Christine to come to New York and debut in the first opera. This sets off a series of events and by the end Christine ends up dead like she does in LND, except her death scene is merely a few sentences versus a whole song in which she takes forever to die.

Honestly if you don't have too for a blog, school report, out of curiosity or for any other reason I wouldn't bother with this book. Don't waste your money, don't waste your time. I have a copy but it was given to me, after reading it the first time through a library copy I checked out, I knew I wouldn't spend a dime on this piece of trash. Unfortunately a well meaning non phan gave it to me, thinking I like all things phantom. Check out the book from a library if you must read it, you can borrow my copy and never give it back if you wish, I have posted information if you wish to buy it through amazon despite my searing review but I wouldn't spend a penny.

SEXY PHANTOM 2011 CALENDAR OFFICIALLY FOR SALE!!!

After an edited release of March's Sexy Phantom Ramin Karimloo, I was egged on by my PHellow PHemale PHans to create a sexy phantom calendar. So I went to zazzle and created some magic, now available to any phan is a sexy phantom calendar for 2011!!! Exciting stuff, there will be drooling and a new phantom to look at every month!!!

Click here for purchase information

October's Sexy Phantom

It's October 1st!!! New month, new sexy Phantom. This month the very incredible Hugh Panaro shall be October's Sexy Phantom. Hugh was phantom on Broadway for quite some time, since then he's left the role and then come back, well at the moment he's back on Broadway and Phans everywhere are itching to see him, so for my phans, enjoy Mr. Panaro's sexiness for the month.

Global Phantom of the Opera day has been decided

It's official starting next year in 2011, Global Phantom of the Opera day will be September 23. Woohoo!!!

Global Phantom of the Opera Day

Yesterday was National Coffee day for the U.S. Being a hard core coffee drinker one of my friends informed of this event. Well she created a monster, I set myself up to drink 10 cups of coffee but only made it to 7. So then this morning after some minor sadness due to the finishing of National Coffee Day - the idea formed in my head to create a national phantom of the opera day. Other phans in different countries suggested the day be global and now we have a face book page devoted to the creation of a global phantom of the opera day. If you're interested in joining feel free to do so :)

Phantom of the Opera PHan club

I've established a new Phantom of the Opera PHan club through facebook. Please join if you wish - my goal is to start up bi-monthly meetings hopefully in November :) Anyone who has facebook can join but the meetings may only be feasible for those local to NY. But I'm sure we can possibly use a laptop and have people join us on oovoo for meetings, if they aren't local to NY.

Sexy Phantom for September

I promised September's Sexy Phantom to Lady Semantha - author of Life After Phantom - the second erotic novel from Phantom of the Opera that I've managed to locate.
In this quick entry I shall post a lovely image for my PHellow drooling phans and the information so that you may purchase her book if you wish.

This month's sexy Phantom - right from Life After Phantom by Samantha

Phantom of the Opera Bumper Stickers

I forgot about these lovely little gems of phan humor I found quite a few years ago. They're phantom of the opera bumper stickers - they're pretty funny - and can easily be printed on computer paper for your car.


Phantom Bumper Stickers

Phan weekend this weekend in Pittsburgh, PA

This weekend some Phans are gathering in Pittsburgh, PA to celebrate the weekend together and see the music box tour in Pittsburgh before it closes. Sadly I cannot make it to PHan weekend in Pittsburgh :*( *sniff* but to all who go have a PHantastic time and share information with me so that I may write up a report for my blog :)

2004 Phantom of the Opera movie review

Weirdly enough I've been wishing to see the 2004 Phantom of the Opera movie so badly, I don't know why - but I had to watch it so that I can review for my blog as well. So last night I was fortunate enough to watch it on a HUGE TV instead of my tiny one thanks to my sweet heart :) So without further ado my review - it may potentially contain spoilers.

This movie has it's good points and it's bad points. A lot of phans hate it - but I feel it does certain things well but also lacks when it comes to certain aspects. One of the major reasons it's hated is because of Lloyd Webber's choice to cast Gerard Butler as the phantom. I definitely disagree with ALWs decision (this man seems to do a lot to disappoint phans) not because of Mr. Butler's acting - I feel he did a good job acting the role of Erik - but because of his singing. He's awful - his voice cannot come close to how Erik's voice is supposed to be - and I feel if you are going to cast a phantom you better make sure he can sing. This issue with Gerard Butler has bothered me from the first time I heard the 2004 movie soundtrack before the movie was released in theaters.

The movie is good in the aspect that it can go into more detail then the play can using cinematography and flashbacks. This enables the story to be more understandable to a non phan - which as much as I love ALWs play and would prefer it over the movie any day - I do admit the play lacks some understandability for a non phan - the plus side to that is that any non phan should see it two or three times to gain a better understanding or go with a die hard phan.

There are certain aspects of the movie that have more relation to the novel - the chandelier crashing portrays the devastation and chaos that you could imagine it creating when you read the novel. When the phantom takes Christine down to the lair he uses a horse which happens in the novel but not in the musical. The horse in the book is white though - the movie horse is black.

Emmy Rossum is okay as Christine. Her voice is amazing as far as technique goes and is crystal clear - but I feel as if she is lacking emotion when she sings - I also feel she lacks emotion in her role - in her facial expressions - they are either wrong or don't have enough emotion in them. Patrick Wilson was Raoul - which is just gross being that I absolutely hate Raoul and always will - but I would say he did a good job - he passed the making me almost throw up in my mouth test - that is a good Raoul, bravo Patrick Wilson. Minnie Driver played Carlotta - she was way to over the top - which would have been great if she was on the stage - but when you are being filmed sometimes you don't need to be that over the top because film is a different medium and can get angles and close ups that being on stage cannot do for an actor. Miranda Richardson was Mme.Giry - I felt her accent was too crazy - it was over the top on the french accent - it's just not something I'm used to as Mme. Giry in the musical doesn't perform with such a thick french accent. Jennifer Ellison performed the role of Meg Giry she did a good job - and Simon Callow and Ciaran Hinds did well as the managers.

The chandelier crash came close to the end of the movie - instead of before intermission as it does in the musical. I could kind of understand why they may have chosen to do it that way - but I am not used to it that way so I don't like it that much. It also messed up a few lines in the masquerade scene that related to the chandelier because it has already come down by that point in the musical. I also feel that it was too much action all at once - Christine unmasked the phantom - then he cut down the chandelier while abducting her, simultaneously having the Opera House erupt into flames due to the crash leading into the final scene - it was too much chaos at one time. There is also a sword fight at the end of wishing which I feel was unnecessary and very sad. Raoul almost wins this sword fight - one of the many times he decides to try and be the hero - until Christine stops him - the phantom would NEVER lose a sword fight to Raoul - he wouldn't let himself get to the point of almost losing and he was a genius in everything that he did - Raoul would not have had the skills Erik would have possessed when it came down to fencing.

Now for some song review and then this review shall be wrapped up - the beginning of the title song annoys me slightly it reminds me of an anime scene - not how Christine is supposed to go through the mirror at all. Point of No Return however - my other favorite song is pure sexiness in this movie. I like the dancers featured in the background while Christine and the phantom are singing - I also love the fact that there are flames on the stage foreshadowing the fire and chaos that will happen once the chandelier is brought crashing down.

Overall if you can stand GBs singing this movie is good if you need an immediate fix and don't have access to a boot leg of the musical - it is also better to show to a non phan as there will be some more detail and background information available.

All four formats of the movie on DVD can be found for sale through amazon - widescreen, full screen, two disc special edition and blu - ray - I have all four formats LOL

PHan humor

Since I don't have anything to review - and currently to my knowledge the only thing to report is that Hugh Panaro has joined the Broadway cast as Phantom once again - and that Love Never Dies (UGH) is on further delay to reach Broadway - I decided I would do a blog dedicated to some Phan Humor - so I'm going to search and post some photos, links and videos for your laughter.

Erik decided to threaten the managers like a gangsta

Funny phantom lines from the 2004 movie

Some crossover Phan Phiction

hmmmmmm this little boy is similar to myself as a child - except I did not get much phantom stuff until I  had a job and could pay for it 

Susan Kay's Phantom

After finishing this glorious book (okay so everyone must know where this review is heading) for the fourth or fifth time - I am ready to review this wonderful gem - this "bible" to all phantom phans everywhere.

This book chronicles Erik's life from birth to his death - as well as covering a short time after his death as well. This short time after his death contains an unexpected twist at the book's ending - a twist that most definitely makes a phan pretty happy. The book is split up into seven different parts - providing a timeline of Erik's life and how he spent those years from a different viewpoint of some important characters in his life.

From birth in 1831 to 1840 he lived with his mother, from 1840 to 1843 he traveled around with some gypsies performing in a fair, from 1844 to 1846 he was a stone mason's apprentice, from 1850 to 1853 he spent time with the Shah of Persia (during the four year gap between 1846 and 1850 he was traveling in the fairs again), from 1856 to 1881 he was in Paris and began work on the Opera House with Charles Garnier - as well as living through the saga that we all know and love when he fell in love with Christine and tried to win her love. Raoul picks up the ending of the story in 1897 and this is when we learn a deep secret which I shall not divulge for any phan who hasn't purchased this book or had the chance to read it yet.

This book is such a wonderful work of art in the world of phan writing. It is so powerful, so sad, so compelling - every time I read it I can easily imagine it as a movie and I hope for the day that one might be produced. Kay opens up Erik's world and adds so much more dimension to it - he is much more understandable to anyone who might read this book -and non phans as well as phans alike should have more empathy and compassion toward's Erik after reading this novel. Power, love, and Erik as a duality between good and evil are recurring themes in Kay's novel. This book is worth every cent you might pay for it, as you shall read it over a few times and fall in love with it and Erik every single time. If you haven't picked up Kay's Phantom yet - you need too - it's essential to any phan's collection.

I shall end this entry with some of my favorite quotes from Kay's Phantom.
"Nothing had prepared me for Erik." Madeline
"But music was the keystone for his extraordinary genius." Madeline
"I can make anything dissapear, if I really want to. Anything except my face." Erik
"Impossibility was not a concept I acknowledged." Erik
"In the darkness you came to me. And in darkness you left...."Giovanni
"I never expected to feel anything again..."Erik
"You're always watching...what a pity you never quite manage to see." Erik
"Wherever this shadowed path might lead, we were both irrevocably committed to follow it to the end." Erik
"Then I did what any sensible person does when Erik gives her a direct demand. I obeyed him without question." Christine
"I envy her that calm, blissful animal ignorance, the inability to understand that Erik could die of a second seizure at any moment. Cats don't look ahead and contemplate the future, don't complicate their lives with doubt and uncertainty. They live only for the present; they know exactly what they want and they aren't afraid to take it. I wish...I wish I were that cat!" Christine
"My mind has touched the farthest horizons of mortal imagination and reaches outward to embrace infinity. There is no knowledge beyond my comprehension, no art or skill upon this entire planet that lies beyond the mastery of my hand. And yet, like Faust, I look in vain . . . for as long as I live, no woman will ever look on me in love." Erik

Scott Davies Appreciation Group

One of my face book fan friends has started a Scott Davies Appreciation group. Please join if you are on face book and like him.

Scott Davies Appreciation Group

Some quick news

The music box tour of POTO is now playing in Pittsburgh - and sadly on Halloween it shall close performing a final time at the Pantages Theatre in San Francisco :(

 Music Box Tour Pittsburgh Announcement

Music box tour closing :(

2004 movie soundtrack

Just finished listening to the 2004 movie soundtrack - well I finished hearing it yesterday. The music involves the same songs as the play - but the orchestrations have been modified and a new song learn to be lonely has been added on to use for the movie's ending credits. I love the modified score for this soundtrack - the title song is reminiscent of the original title song score - sung by Steve Harley and Sarah Brightman - released as a music video before the actual play debuted. There is an interesting fairground sequence in this soundtrack that is pretty good as well. The fairground sequence is used to explain how Mme. Giry let the phantom into the Opera House when he was younger. Emmy Rossum is Christine - she is absolutely amazing - her voice is crystal clear and she can reach the high notes very well. However voice wise - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Joel Schumacher most definitely miscast Gerard Butler. His voice is nowhere near the level of the actual phantom - not even close to the genius that is Michael Crawford.

Discontinuing quote and image of the week

I've decided I will discontinue the quote and image of the week - however I will still keep the monthly sexy phantoms - my blog needs them :)

Das Phantom Der Oper

Earlier in my travels I busted out my inherited MP3 player and listened to Das Phantom Der Oper. This is the original German cast recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical. This soundtrack is pretty good stuff - although a little bit random. The auction scene is skipped and it starts at the overture. There is one slightly choppy part when the soundtrack cuts abruptly to the title song.The one great thing about this soundtrack is that the ballet is on here - the other soundtracks seem to neglect that very wonderful part of the show. Peter Hoffman and Anna Marie Kaufman are excellent as the phantom and Christine. During Think of Me or Denk An Mich - I heard flutes more prominently then I've heard them in other soundtracks before. I would highly recommend this for any phan's collection.

OH YES!

In October - The Broadhollow Theatre Company shall be performing Y/K Phantom at the Bay Way Arts Centre- In November it shall be at Elmont Public Library - I'm there - it's so close to me.

Broadhollow Phantom Schedule

Elmont Library Calendar

Hugh Panaro is coming back to Broadway

September 4th - John Cudia will give up the role of the Phantom on Broadway - making room for Hugh Panaro to come back in opposite Sara Jean Ford as Christine. I've never seen her before - although I have had the pleasure to see Mr. Panaro - perhaps another phantom trip shall be in order.

Hugh's coming back!!!!

Weekly Quote

I forgot to put up a weekly quote and images last week. For now here's the weekly quote - an image will come later or tomorrow.

"Nothing had prepared me for Erik." Madeliene Susan Kay's Phantom

Another book find

Just found another book through face book :)

Vicki Hopkin's book

New website

Oh how I love face book - I have made another Phan Phriend earlier this is their website :)

Jo Fantome's website

Some new sites from my favorite message board

I'm playing around on phantomoftheopera.com my favorite message board. They have four phantom of the opera sites besides the forum - one I featured yesterday - I will feature the remaining three today for perusal.

Fifth Cellar - PHan PHic

Phantom Project - similar to my graduate thesis - as well as what I'm doing for this blog too

lessons from phantom of the opera - great blog - I'm following

New author and phantom book

Today I'm once again browsing through face book - I'm finding lots of new phantom phans and information using face book recently. I just came across another author who has written a Phan book - her name is Jennifer Linforth - this is the third new phantom book I've got to get my hands on for a reading and review - very exciting - although my salary is about to be spent purchasing phantom of the opera books haha - here's a link to her website - she also has face book - a blog as well - and twitter

Jennifer Linforth's website

1990 Charles Dance Phantom of the Opera Review - also phan role play and gathering possibilities

Last night my PHan PHriend Janette and I who are lucky enough to live a mere few towns away from each other decided to have what we call Phantom geek out session # 2 last night. I'm actually hoping to find other Long Island PHans and perhaps start a club to meet once a month for a gathering. We chose to watch the Charles Dance Phantom of the Opera - hopefully I can make sense of my crazy notes and come up with a useful review and op ed for this movie.

Before I start Janette and I are also starting a face book role play using the 1990 phantom as our premise. I have made a profile for Christine - Janette has made a profile for Erik - if anyone who comes across this blog is interested let me know which character you might want to be - and then face book my profile - Janette's - and of course Erik and Christine's profile. If you wish to know the characters see the IMDB link below:
IMDB Charles Dance Phantom

MOVIE REVIEW/OP-ED: *WARNING SPOILERS* THIS REVIEW IS ALSO ALL OVER THE PLACE LOL
*Janette and I collaborated on  the review and analysis of this movie - so some ideas or interpretations belong to Janette Marie Coffey and I must give her credit

This movie is based on the musical by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit. It premiered as a mini - series on TV during the 90s. This is the movie that I first saw when I was 8 - my parents let me stay up for the second half. When I became a PHan I spent years looking for this movie - until I finally found it.  Although it is based on the musical the movie itself is mostly straight drama - with some singing.

My favorite scene in the whole movie - is when the phantom takes Christine off stage after Carlotta puts something in her drink and she is unable to sing in Faust. He takes her across the lake in his boat and sings softly to her. I don't know what it is but the boat scene in almost every version gets me - if it's included it's bound to be my favorite part of the movie. I also love the world the phantom creates in this movie. The Kopit/Yeston version always enchants me - and the phantom's world under the opera is so beautiful, so magical.

Janette loves the Bistro scene - that scene is incredibly powerful - Christine and Carlotta go voice to voice in a singing duel - Christine's voice is so powerful - so spine tingling.

The chandelier crash in this movie is pretty graphic - but that's very much appreciated - besides the horror/slasher versions with Robert Englund and Dario Argento no other movie to my knowledge gets graphic with the chandelier crash.

Janette bought up some good points. In this movie Raoul's character goes by the name of Philippe - if you read the novel Philippe is actually Raoul's older brother. It's odd that in this one Christine is dating Raoul's older brother - why did they leave Raoul out - why chose Philippe? That's something to ponder or but Yeston and Kopit about if they can be reached.

I find this movie follows the book loosely - more so then the ALW version.

I love the fact that in this version Erik has different masks to suit each of his moods - it's very unique and hasn't been done in any other phantom versions.

It's interesting to me that Erik uses itching powder in Carlotta's wig instead of making her croak. I like that a little better then her croaking like a toad - Janette said itching powder is more plausible and believable for him to get away with - although he can get away with making her croak since he was able to throw his voice and imitate voices as well.

Janette said Erik also has parental guidance in this movie - which is true. Carriere is his father - also manager of the Opera house. The audience learns this in a back story toward the end of the movie - in which Carriere tells Christine about the phantom - how he grew up and that he is the phantom's father - we also know this in the beginning when we see Erik and Carriere talking together in Erik's lair. He seems slightly less out of control because he had his father around to guide him - interestingly in this version his mother was completely devoted to him before her death - she accepted him for his deformity and to her he was beautiful - it makes you wonder what could have been had she not died and was able to live and guide him and accept him. Janette also wondered why Carriere kept Erik under ground - why he didn't decide to bring him out and try to raise him - my argument for that was the time period - Erik would not be accepted then as he might be now.

During Erik's unmasking you can almost feel his anguish as he realizes Christine is afraid of his face. In this version you never see Erik's face - not in the movie - and not in the play either. I appreciate that uniqueness - in every other version Erik's face is revealed and here you are left to imagine how his face may really look. Bravo to this version for letting us imagine.

There are a few scenes that are similar to the ALW musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber actually saw this version either before or while in the process of creating his version - so I think he may have ripped off Yeston and Kopit. I'm also currently hating on Lloyd Webber so this might just be my anger. One particular moment  is when the phantom interrupts the Opera while Christine is singing Faust - he begins singing with her and eventually abducts her off stage - which happens in ALWs musical during Duan Jaun Triumphant.

A lot of stuff is going on when Erik dies - and while he's in the process of dying. Before he dies of natural causes though - at the end he is shot. I will discuss the ending and death of Erik. As he's dying of natural causes his underground world is falling apart as well, while he's dying he has a conversation with Carriere and is adamant that he is buried and not put on display after his death. When Erik dies he is shot by Carriere - it is interesting that the man to shoot him is his father - which is also the man who helped create him and give him life - he is shot by Carriere to avoid being arrested by the police and to be even more miserable in jail - that is my theory anyway. At the very end of the movie Philippe and Christine run off together - you are given a sense though that there life will not be a happy one - at least not at first - Christine will probably have many issues to deal with.

So this long blog entry comes to a close - the movie information is below if you care to purchase - it is worth PHan ownership and it was worth the lost sleep last night - just to finish seeing the movie.

Phantom of the Opera Canadian Cast Recording

My inherited MP3 player and I have done it again - The Phantom of the Opera 1989 Canadian cast has been listened to and is ready for a quick review. This is yet another highlights version of the soundtrack - most foreign phantom versions seem to be only highlights. Colm Wilkinson is an amazing phantom - his vocals are soft and very soothing - he conveys the phantom's emotions well. Rebecca Caine is Christine - her voice has a great range for the role. The orchestrations were pretty calming to me - and the soundtrack was very enjoyable to listen to - a must own for the fact of having Colm Wilkinson as the phantom - you can also see him in a concert given for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh titled Hey Mr. Producer - he performs a phantom scene during this musical concert.

Quote and Image of the week

Missed my quote of the week by a day - I posted one last Tuesday - so for today - a quote and an image of the week in one entry!

The image of the week is a phantom of the opera cake - I don't know who created it - I found it through google images

Quote - "Such a little thing really, as kiss... most people don't give it a moment's consideration. They kiss on meeting, they kiss on parting, that simple touching of flesh that people take entirely for granted as a basic human right." - Erik (Susan Kay's Phantom)

Phantom of the Opera - Original London Cast Recording

This is the most common Phantom of the Opera soundtrack available. Most non phans know about this one before finding out about other phantom soundtracks, if they find out about them at all.

Michael Crawford sings the role of the Phantom - he originated the role in London and on Broadway. His Phantom is an extraordinary phantom that I wish I had the privilege to see (I became a phan in 1994 - when he was already finished with the role). His voice is very melodic, and wonderfully soft - his emotions are very expressive - IMHO he definitely comes very close as to how the phantom would sound if I could really hear his voice.

Sarah Brightman sings the role of Christine. She has excellent range - she can easily tackle the voice part of the role very well. As she should since ALW wrote the part of Christine for her. That's also the reason all Christines are brunettes in the ALW musical and not blonde (as Christine is in the 1911 original novel by Leroux). Her voice is amazing but I have heard that she had flailing arm syndrome while performing so I don't think I missed anything by not seeing her as Christine.

The orchestrations and songs on this soundtrack are absolutely amazing - this soundtrack is partially responsible for hooking me on phantom - along with the 1990 Charles Dance mini series that I saw when I was 7 or 8 - I was listening to this soundtrack for a good 3 or 4 months before I saw the show for the first time on Broadway. My family knows this soundtrack because it's all I would listen to when I lived with them for about 2 or 3 years. My favorite song ever on this soundtrack has to be the title song - which of course is called The Phantom of the Opera - track # 7 on the first CD. Other favorites are Music of the Night - Masquerade - and Point of No Return - the final scene track is wonderfully emotional - but quite depressing as well - Michael Crawford ends the soundtrack with an emotional dramatic finish.

Any Phan must own this - I'm sure I'm preaching to owners of this soundtrack already if you're reading this blog - but if you're a newbie Phan - buy this now!

Phantom of the Opera Erotica

I thought that the only phantom of the opera erotica to exist was the one novel I own Unmasqued by Collete Gale - which I've got to re read and review for this blog. I was wrong - a phan off of the message board has also written an erotic phantom of the Opera novel. I'm including her website and the information to buy Unmasqued should you want to purchase it before my review.

Samantha's Phantom - other erotic novel - author site

I'm also including some nice images from Samantha's novel

New Phantom sight/ phan author

I put out a request on the phantom message board to have some phans face book me if they wish. Good stuff - just found a phan author with what looks like a great sight at a quick glance. I'm going to buy her book and review it as well
http://www.chansondelange.com/

Sexy Phantom named for August

So this August the sexy Phantom - so sexy that he has two pictures is Lon Chaney's 1925 Phantom of the Opera. Props is due to the man who originated the role of Phantom of the Opera on film - the only film that is closest to the original novel by Leroux. He's also the phantom that looks most like our precious Erik. So here ya go my PHellow PHans - two yummy pictures of Lon!

Y/K Phantom soundtrack

This is the soundtrack to the Phantom written by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit. Charles Dance's television mini - series version of Phantom of the Opera is also based on this version of Phantom.

The orchestration is very enchanting as is the whole soundtrack. If Phantom were a storybook this would most definitely be the soundtrack. Glory Crampton's Christine is very strong in her vocals - she adds a very magical quality to Christine. Richard Write's Erik is very yearning and sad, he does a spectacular job portraying Erik's love for Christine through his vocals.

Best songs from this soundtrack IMHO are Music Lessons/Phantom Fugue and You are Music. This a must have for any phan looking to expand their CD collection.

Image of the week

In addition to a phantom quote of the week - I'm also going to be posting an image of the week as well.

This week's image is a lovely collage featuring scenes from ALWs POTO starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Too beautiful!

El Fantasma de la Opera

Thanks to my PHantastic inherited MP3 player (creative zens are great) I can now listen to my POTO collection on the go and review some soundtracks for this blog. So the first soundtrack I am reviewing is the Mexican cast recording of ALWs Phantom of the Opera - El Fantasma de la Opera. This soundtrack is available on amazon for less then $10 - a great steal for a PHenomenal soundtrack.

This soundtrack is more like the highlights version of Phantom of the Opera - covering only about half the songs/scenes from the show - unlike the double disc OLC which covers almost the entire show.

The orchestra for this soundtrack is amazingly strong - the music from this show touches me deep into my core - but the orchestra has done a superb job for this soundtrack - leaving the music to affect me even more so.

Juan Navarro sings the part of the Phantom - he does a wonderful job - his voice is very melodic at the appropriate times - yet he is able to sound like a tyrant when he needs too.

Irasema Terrazas sings Christine - she is wonderful - her voice reaches the appropriate range that it should for Christine.

This soundtrack is worth it for any Phan's collection - I have impressed a few of my Spanish friends with this - even making them copies of the soundtrack.

Phantom of the Opera Quote of the week

I've decided to introduce a new feature into my blog - now in addition to the sexy phantom of the month - there will be the phantom quote of the week - I'm also toying with the idea of an image of the week - and possibly a video of the week.

So without further ado The Phantom of the Opera quote of the week is.....

"Pitiful creature of darkness ... What kind of life have you known ... ?
God, give me courage to show you you are not alone ..."
sung by Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera during Track Down this Murderer

REVIEW: Phantom of the Opera #42 - as well as other extra tidbits

Last night - July 21, 2010 - I saw ALWs Phantom of the Opera for the 42nd time - my  boyfriend came with me (it was his first time) - it's always good to go with someone for the first time - or someone I haven't seen the show with - they can provide new insight - new opinions - even though I will always stick by my opinions - it's good to talk about the show with fresh blood - and get their take on things - but we will go into that a little later - Oh this is going to be a long blog today.

As always - the show is Phenomenal to me - no matter if one of the principals does the best job or not - to me it's more see the show get the fix for a few months. John Cudia was once again amazing as the phantom - I saw him last month in June. He makes the ending of the show extremely dramatic - he plays the phantom as more of a tyrant - but every actor has their own take. Jennifer Hope Willis was good as Christine. The only problem I have with her is that her voice is very weak and squeaky at times - more so during Think of Me and Wishing, but I don't know if that is because I sat in the back of the theatre - or if her voice is just that way. I'm also not the best singer - so my opinion of someone's voice could be off. Ryan Silverman was alright as Raoul. He didn't make me as sick as other Raouls have made me in the past - that's how I judge - if the Raoul makes me want to throw up a little - he's excellent. Everyone performed well - the show went off without a hitch - everything fell into place as it was supposed to. There's only been two shows where things did not go as they should - one of the performances for one of my birthdays Raoul didn't jump off the catwalk and disappear below the stage - giving the illusion that he has jumped in the lake. The phan gathering performance I attended (that was # 17) - Carlotta missed putting the apple in the pig's mouth - so the actors were kicking around the apple like a soccer ball - it was pretty funny.

When the night was over  I wanted Shawn's opinion. He said he really didn't like the phantom or Raoul very much. He did say he would route for the phantom - but he had thought the phantom was a little bit out of control when he killed people and kidnapped Christine. This is of course the normal non phan opinion about the phantom. So no one spear him please! I've had friends of mine tell me the same thing - because they don't view the show and the phantom as myself or another phan might - simply because they haven't put in the time and research that myself and other phans devote to our hobby. If I were an outsider to the show I might say the same thing. I feel though that the phantom did what he did because no one accepted him. Looking into Erik's (the phantom's real name) prior life before the opera - you can realize he was never accepted by anyone because of his disfigurement. Yes he could have overcame it - but by being shunned his entire life - he didn't really know the proper ways to be social and express his love for Christine. I absolutely despise Raoul - I always will - simply because of his character. I don't like that he is a dronish FOP - that he is very rich and conceited - and I don't like that he had Christine by the end of the story. However if the story ended happily I know it would not be the success that it is today - what makes Phantom so great is partially the depressing ending - if the phantom did take Christine's heart most people wouldn't love the story so much IMHO. One thing I did realize yesterday night - after already thinking I have experienced the story from each character's point of view at some point in my life was that even though I despise Raoul - him and Christine were in love with each other and they couldn't change it - and they didn't want anyone else besides each other. Being with Shawn makes me see this - I don't know if I've ever really fully gone through that before. I don't want anyone but Shawn - so I can see how it is hard for Christine and Raoul to stay away from each other - and I can get why it would be hard for Christine to stay with the Phantom - she wouldn't be fully happy because her love lies with the dronish FOP. On that note - as much as I accept their love - I will forever and always HATE Raoul - I've just got to find other reasoning besides the fact that he's a dronish FOP.

So after this review of Phantom #42 - turned phantom op ed piece - here comes the extra tidbits - one partially silly - one very useful.

TIDBIT # 1 - the main page for the official sight has changed - I kind of like it - although it isn't as haunting as the prior main page.
New official main page

TIDBIT # 2 - very silly one - my PHan PHriend who lives by me is coming over later - we are geeking out to more phantom - we will watch the phantom movie - or play return of the phantom - and just hang out and have possible non phantom talk as well (surprisingly we do have non phantom talk) so even though I've seen the show last night - Janette and I have both agreed that to us there cannot be too much or enough phantom. Asking her or I or any other phan if we've had too much phantom - is like asking a normal person if they breathe too much (that I have to credit Janette with) so that's the sillyness.

With that last note -for now I say goodbye - tomorrow I may have a possible movie review depending on if Janette and I watch something tonight.