Gratitude, Opinions, Arts Funding, and Facts

So, I'm in bed today trying to not be sick (and failing) mainly due to all the sing, sing, singing I've had to do and still have to do this week...I can NOT afford to be sick!!!  So, what to do when you're in bed and sick of homework and can't sleep?  Research of course!  First off I'd like to say how grateful I am that I'm not a total gleek-head!  There are some OBSESSED people out there!  It's like with Buffy, no matter how obsessed I am with the show, I know for a fact that there are always people worse than me.  I don't theme my living place around the show, I have no replica props, set pieces, or costumes from the show, no matter how on top of the latest news for the show I am, I'm not obsessed enough that I'm the first to hear it, etc.   I'm glad for that fact about Buffy and about all the other shows I love...oh so glad!

On another note, can I just tell you how WEIRD it is to be in love with a show with such a HUGE fan base?!?!? That's sort of a new thing for me.  It almost makes me want to hate the show, but then I go into my own little world and pretend that I'm the only one who's ever heard of Glee and that I know everything there is to know about it and I'm happy again and go back to obsessing over the audio/visual, idealized throw back to my high school days of being a somewhat star vocalist of my high school choir...ahhh, that's better!

Well, the point of this post is Glee. I was doing my little research thing (and realizing how MANY gleek-freaks there are out there and being grateful to not really, TOTALLY be one) And I found a quote from the creator, Ryan Murphy, that made me sit up, gasp, and cover my mouth with both hands (causing me to almost drop my computer) out of a mix of delight and surprise.  He was talking about the episode where Neil Patrick Harris guest-stars.  Apparently he was a rival of Mr. Schue's in high school, and he apparently hooks up with Sue in this episode...wow...but that's not what wowed me about this article.  There are three little sentences that just make me so happy, as a TV fanatic and as a musician...and here they are:

"It's a very great, sweet, important episode. We wrote it for Neil and for Joss. The whole episode is about arts funding and the importance of arts funding in high schools."

First of all, they didn't just ask Joss to come...or NPH for that matter...they WROTE the episode for them!!!!!!!!!!  (YAY!)  And second of all ARTS FUNDING!!!  This is one big reason I just ADORE the show!  They make choir and music seem awesome.  As a music major and love of all things art related I am so in favor of the push for arts funding, and with the massive numbers Glee has raking in I think they might have some pull...but then again, the people who are the anti-arts types are generally not the types to be watching a show all about song and dance...too bad :(  (Curse you all who believe that the world is strictly scientific and that arts are of no value...you know who you are...I went to high school with a few of you and you heard a piece of my mind then...argue me and you'll hear it again!!!)

For being a little weirded out by the fact that this show is incredibly popular I do just love it so much!  Nearly everyone listens to music (even you "strictly science, art is stupid" wierdos...you might think you could live without art, but I know the truth...you have no idea how much of your life is CONSUMED by the work of artists), and for everyone who listens to music there is a different taste.  I have been pleasantly surprised by the nice balance of music the show has.  My favorite pieces are the Broadway and the Classic Rock, I don't really care for the other stuff, but the cool thing about the show is that you fall in love with the characters and there voices and that makes you want to hear more (at least for me anyway) and that's the beauty of the show.

A couple little tidbits of info I found out that was awfully intriguing:

• Rachel gets a boyfriend whose name follows the Glee custom of being incredibly cheesy: Jesse St. James...hot lead vocalist of Vocal Adrenaline and the actor, Jonathan Groff, was her counterpart when she was in Spring Awakening (this info makes me kind of sad cuz I'm a HUGE fan of Finn, but hey, I've gotten used to this kind of disappointment from the many shows I've watched :(  but still!!!)
• Puck has a fling with Mercedes
• We see Artie out of his wheelchair (but it's only in a dream he has)
• Lady Gaga has given permission for Glee to do one of her songs (she's a freak, and she bugs me, but she has some really fun music!)

Well, I believe I just wrote all this and didn't make too much sense with my buzzing, foggy head and my shallow breathing as a result of feeling like I have about a dozen of those little sword-shaped toothpicks stuck in my throat, but it was fun!  And if you don't agree with me on a few of these things, that's fine...this is just the place I publish my opinions about things TV related...yeah, bye!

~Manda (the sick)