Top Ten Mondays!!!!! Plus, Dave Is Turning A Dragon

Well, folks, it's that day again. It's the time when I sit down and reflect on how, on 12th January, 1924, a fire took place at the Virginia Tire & Rubber Company. The total loss that occurred cost about $500,000. Only about 10 percent of the tire stock was saved, and the rest was burned. As of this time it was unclear exactly how much would be covered by insurance.*

Actually, it's time for..
TOP TEN MONDAYS!!!!! Today's topic: Dave's Top 10 Favorite Musicals! Now, before I reveal my list, I must define what constitutes entrance into my list. In order to make my list, I have to have seen the musical either on stage or in movie form (not just heard the soundtrack. Sadly, this eliminates a lot of classics), it must have a stage version (no movies with cool songs are eligible), and it cannot be in a different language. Thus, without any further aduex....

• #10- Oklahoma. To be honest, this musical terrified me when I was a child. I thought the villain (I can't even remember his name now...was it 'Sid?'...or 'Jumbo?') was so scary that I couldn't sleep at night.
• #9- My Fair Lady. Honestly, I don't love this one, but it took me forever to just think of 10 musicals that I'd seen, and I liked it better than Oklahoma, so here it is.
• #8- Annie. I forgot where I first saw this, but I liked it. Not enough to break into the Top 5, though.
• #7- The Wizard of Oz/The Wiz. To be honest, I haven't seen "The Wizard of Oz" in its entirety, but I know all the songs and I've seen enough of the movie to enjoy it. I did see The Wiz, however, so I think that should count.
• #6- Music Man. This might have been the first musical I saw. Morton High School put it on several years back and I loved the catchy songs....especially "76 Trombones."
• #5- Sound of Music. Anyone who doesn't love this musical is either ignorant or not alive anymore. I got to play in the pit orchestra when Morton did this one when I was in 8th grade. Even though the songs do get old after hearing them 8 hours a day for a week, I could still go to this musical every weekend and have a good time.
  
• #4- West Side Story. I saw Eastlight's production of this two years ago and loved it! The song "America," I believe, is one of the best musical songs of all time. Also, you get all the story of Romeo & Juliet without all the "prithees" and "beareths" and "betwixts.
• #3- Beauty and the Beast. Being the most recent one I've seen, this one easily makes the Top 5. Even if I hadn't seen the Penguins do it, I'd still put it in the top 5.
• #2- Fiddler On the Roof. This story is so great! I've seen this musical twice live; once, at Tremont High School, and again at St. Louis University. Both times, the performances were excellent, the script hilarious and moving, and the songs captivating. You just can't find a more likable character than Tevya.
• #1- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. You just can't get better than this Andrew Lloyd Weber masterpiece. I saw this at the Indianapolis Civic Theater, and it was incredible! Each song is amazing and in a different style. Also, the lyrics are so practical, clever, and moving. I could watch this show every night and be a happy man.

And there you have it. Sadly, because I do not frequent the theater, my list is missing several classics. I hope one day to see musicals such as Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Grease, Hairspray, etc... But until then, this list will have to do.

In other news, I have an amazing story to relate today! Today, I performed something supernatural! After you read this story, you will surely say to yourself, "Yourself, Dave is telling lies!" But I'm not. Are you ready to hear this amazing tale?

So, I'm sitting in my Free Composition class listening to Dr. Vayo lecture on the concept of originality in compositions. I am sitting in the back row with only one other girl (cause we both couldn't find the room and ended up getting to class late), and, to be honest, I was beginning to zone out. Now, what you need to know is this; I have had nothing to eat since breakfast, and I have put nothing into my mouth since then. Suddenly, I felt the sensation in my chest that a burp was coming. I didn't want to belch loudly, but my chest was beginning to tighten and create pain, so I put my hand over my mouth and did what we males are experts at: the silent burp. It's basically where you burp with your mouth closed, your cheeks puff up with the gas, and then you slowly breathe out to relieve the pressure (it's fun. Try it sometime). However, what happened next made me feel like I was in the Twilight Zone. As I breathed out, I suddenly detected a bizarre smell (and, no, it didn't smell like a burp at all!) and my mouth suddenly tasted like ash. I looked down at my hand that was covering my mouth and I nearly gasped in horror; there was smoke coming out between my fingers! I immediately jerked my hand away from my face and stared wide-eyed as a small cloud of smoke hovered in front of my face where my hand had been. I continued to breathe out and was floored when more smoke formed in the air! Within seconds the smoke dissipated and was gone, but I was still left with a nasty taste in my mouth and an obnoxious smell; it smelled like sulfur. I immediately faked a cough and headed out of the room and went to the drinking fountain. The water couldn't quench the bizarre taste in my mouth though, so I returned to class and waited the rest of the lecture in a nervous state of anxiety. When the class was over, I asked the girl sitting next to me if she had seen any smoke during the lecture. She said she hadn't and looked at me curiously. I don't blame her.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Right now you're saying to yourself, "Yourself, Dave should be sent to the monkey house." Wrong! I know this story sounds ridiculous, but I will sell my future car and house deed if I'm telling a lie. The only logical explanation that I can think of is that I'm slowly turning into a dragon. However, if any doctors read this blog, I would appreciate any medical advice for breathing smoke.




*- taken from the website This Day in History