SQUOOSHED: Construction and Things

I thought I would share some of the progress of the construction going on outside our door. I added a vignette and a slight antique tint to the picture... just because. Trust me, it's more interesting to behold than the original. As you can see, they are moving right along. This picture was taken in the evening which is why there are no construction workers around.

After doing some research online, Patrick and I learned that they are building a "retail square" with various boutiques and shops, including a Harris Teeter. I can't imagine how convenient it would be to have a nice grocery store next door, but unfortunately it's not going to open until 2013 or later, which means I probably won't be around to take advantage of it :(

At the risk of sounding like a major dork, I'm going to admit that the constant clattering and banging emanating from the construction site outside often reminds me of Isengard where Saruman built his army of orcs, and the tall structure you see in the picture that looks to be a stairwell of some kind reminds me of the tower of Orthanc (it looks much more imposing in real life than it does in the picture). For all of you confused non-geeks out there, I'm talking about The Lord of the Rings.

I searched high and low for a clip to demonstrate what I'm talking about but I have to settle for this clip. Sorry, can't find one without the graphics on the screen. Anyway this scene happens to be my favorite in The Fellowship of the Ring because I absolutely love the camera work and the shift in tone as it floats from Gandalf imprisoned in solitude on top of Orthanc, then dives down to the flurry of orc activity below.

Speaking of my obsession with the Lord of the Rings, I forgot to mention the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King live orchestra concert that we went to last month at an outdoor theater here. Basically they projected the movie onto a big screen while an orchestra played the music and a choir sang along. You could still hear the actors' voices clearly so it was just like watching the movie, only the music was live. If you chose lawn seats like we did, you could bring your own food and beverages (including alcohol). Unfortunately we did not plan for how cold it was going to be! Luckily they were selling hot chocolate, which I opted to drink instead of the ice-cold beer that we brought.

I don't think cameras were allowed during the performance, but I took a few quick pictures before the show started. As you can see, our view of the screen wasn't that great but it didn't matter since I had seen the movie so many times already and it was all about the live music anyway. Also the pictures appear fairly bright but it did get dark outside quickly, which aided in the cinematic experience.