Maree('s) Muses

The boys (and girls) are back ! img source I never got around to telling you about this TV gem, but since the second series is hitting the British television sets in 2 days, it is indispensable that I point you in the right direction. (In case you're missing out.) Obviously, there is no need for me to say that we're dealing with the three/actually four musketeers based on the infamous novel by Alexander Dumas. The Three Musketeers must be one of the most favourite works of literature to be adapted for the big and small screen (my favourite version being the 1961 French one). This new BBC serial adaptation premiered in 2014 and is perhaps a little unconventional in terms of "adapting" a classic piece of literature. I like that the characters are heavily based on their literary counterparts and the overall mood and general direction of the stories stay true to the original (I can tell, I've read it). However, there are new themes and ideas, inventive

I think it's safe to observe now that my blog is a bear and it went to sleep to hide from the cold. Sorry about that, it was not my intention. It still is not my intention for it to be so, but I find myself unable to change it. Trouble is that the couple of posts I've been preparing are some of the difficult ones, not just in wordiness, but generally in an I-want-them-to-be-just-right way. Then my requalification course started and threw everything in the air. Instead of editing a millionth version of a blog post, I now find myself spending any "free time" revising history with my super cool flash cards, drawing up lists of kings, peering over books on architecture and trying to learn how to decode specific styles and periods. It's all very interesting. Also very time consuming. More than that, the course has just advanced to the stage of our outings into the wild streets of Prague. More information to sink into my deepening pool of knowledge. It

Soo.... I have mentioned it briefly at the end of a previous post and promised to tell you more depending on how the thing works out. Weeell, it did. So here I am telling you more. (Also it kind of explains the not-so-occasional blog silence.) I enrolled into a course to learn how to be (and eventually qualify as) a tourist guide. I'm not quite sure what I think about it yet... Only that I'm proud of sorting out all the paper work. It was nasty, lengthy, I even used the phone a couple of times (woah what is happening?!). Family and friends are getting a bit over excited by my attempt to get my life together and step out of the viciously unemployed circle. I try to maintain a resaonable level of excitement and lust for knowledge, and to stay positive, but not too much. In case it doesn't end well... It's not like one day, I woke up and suddenly I realized what my life calling is: "I want to be a tourist guide!" she whispered, staring optimist

Welcome to another part of my live music experience in the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town. If you haven't already, don't forget to have a look what I've been doing on the gig day and who the first support act of the night was . All caught up? Let's get to it then :) There was a short technical break. In the meantime we were kept entertained by some reproduced music, which was a good mix of old-timey and folksy type of things (Simon & Garfunkel among others). Then out of the blue, as a complete surprise, a 4-piece band that I don’t know takes the stage. Turns out there’s another support band before Hudson Taylor come on :) Weeell, when I say a surprise, I mean I should have realized, ‘coz I did notice there were 2 sets of drums on the stage and I wondered what the deal with that was... Duh! There's another band. Silly Maree :D Please, excuse the rubbishness and zero reporting value of the photo. The band was (I didn’t quite catch the name, but l

Watch out! A spontaneous blog post that I didn't plan for is happening. Riiiiight now: Because I am an oversharing producer of words, here is what I have been up to in August: been sleeping on/under Westminster Bridge :)   been enjoying a little bit of Musketeer hunting spotting! (I may or may not talk about that later ;) been wearing a lot of nude lipstick. I've found the perfect shade for me and I proclaim it my staple lip colour of summer 2014. It's like I'm not wearing anything on my lips, but I am! :D (fyi: Maybelline Color Whisper in 720 "Mocha Muse") My choir sang at this event for young people... It was about a week (plus a couple of days preparation) of singing for cca 500 people, twice a day, most of which went live on tv (only a small channel, don't get too excited. but still. kinda cool, yeah?) It was very demanding both physically and mentally, tough for us as a team of musicians, who are trying to be as professional as we poss

If you are not (and want to be) in the loop on what led up to me being at a gig at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, read here ;)) Otherwise, welcome and let me introduce you to the first support act of the night, which was a girl with a guitar, big voice and big hair, going by the name of Kimberly Anne.

This is the one you have been waiting for so long, I hope. Thank you for your patience. August has been a bit of a weird month (more on that later), resulting in a weird blog silence. What can you do? Life happens. Here's more of my unnecessarily long London stories for you. "Oh dear, is she still going on about London? That was ages ago!" Yes it was, but I will never stop going on about it! The best is yet to come, believe me ;) Now, let's travel in time: Day 3: 5th June 2014 (Thu) I was woken up by the traffic early in the morning. It surprised me. We are a bit off the main road and still the noise is remarkably prominent (says the girl, who has lived on the main street for all her life, and is used to the sound of traffic day and night. Only in a “big city” of a different scale.) I made my plan for the day, which included Baker Street, Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill. Not more, because I needed to get back home early to get ready and leave in time f

the inner courtyard of the V&A. read below. I'm baaaack with more of my London stories. Sorry it takes so long, but that's just the way it is with perfectionists, who keep polishing the text, moving paragraphs, deleting TMI... If you've been reading me for a while, you know very well that I don't do short and sweet. I do long. And not limit myself to sweet... Beware, I guess. As always, there are photos to save the day. Oh, before I forget, I have an important announcement : Dance the Drizzle has a page on facebook now :) This is me encouraging you to go over there and click the like button ;) Anyway, here is Day 2: 4th June 2014 (Wed)

Just to demonstrate that I am not dead and to share a few bits of what I've been up to (while constantly working on more London content for you), here is a summery post full of pictures: Firstly, I need to make a little disclaimer: the computing devices around me have decided to make my life even more complicated and they just keep dying and then coming alive again. Sometimes they take turns, sometimes they die all at once,... and for no good reason! All in all, it's a bit tricky for an internety person who is trying to be good and work on blog posts. Therefore, please excuse more belatedness in everything. Now to what I've been doing in the meantime: - I've been to the Zoo (again), where I ran into a llama who's had just about enough of everything. One day, I'd like to put together a special post dedicated to Prague Zoo and share some of my best snaps of its inhabitants, but I'm afraid that's in the far future for now. - I finally

!!! Warning: What you are about to read is based mainly on my very detailed travel diary. However, there are bits and pieces left out because of privacy, etc. So chances are that at times these posts might seem a little bit uneven in the level of detail. Basically, it's all very confused and not my most brilliant piece of writing. I am aware ;) Also, I hope you are ready for how long this is. #sorrynotsorry If you're tired of reading, look at the photos. I wonder if there will ever be a time when I’m actually on time or early for an important bus or a train. This time it wasn’t my fault though. It was the tube’s fault. The train I took on the way to the coach station stopped and it took a good couple of minutes for it to get moving again. (You must understand that for Prague underground it is very uncommon that the trains would stop and wait.) Not nerve-wracking at all!!! Not when you're catching an international coach, you're just about on the

Hello my little monkeys :) Can't believe it's been a week since got back from my trip to another universe aka London. (If you're not in the loop on what's that all about, check out the " Travelling Tales " label above :) I'm still digging through photos and diary notes... It makes me emotional... Today however, I have some pre-London music for you. I had this post almost ready before I went and now it shall keep you entertained (I hope) while I prepare some of London stories and pictures to be shared with you. And believe me there is a lot to be said and A LOT of new music for you to listen to :) For now though, let's pretend I haven't gone anywhere yet and listen to a couple of songs that caught my ear in the past weeks/months. I shall keep them in chronological order. Just because I like things to be chronological :D Right, no more useless rambling, I'll just get on with it, shall I? First up a little bit of HAIM . Mainly, it's j

I want to tell you about a very stressful weekend that I went through. I'm not exactly sure why I want to share this, but I do. I apologize if it gets lengthy. You are under no obligation to read all of it. I just cannot skip over the details and make it short, because it's the details that are important. I have recently registered with a recruitment agency that sends me offers for temporal part-time jobs in fashion retail. Usually it comes out of the blue and they are very short placements, just filling in where somebody is missing. Anyway, since I am embarking on an exciting trip and I need to earn money to pay back to my lovely family who have funded my travelling adventures, I decided to pluck up my courage and I replied to one of the offers.  What followed was one of the hardest things I have ever done. And I shall tell you the story of how the little inexperienced me battled through a weekend in fashion retail, quietly repeating to myself: "London, I'm d

I have marked all the calendars with a very relevant washi tape that was given to me by a friend some while ago. Finally there is some proper good use for it :) Here are some of the things that I've already got ready: an umbrella so cute that it's borderline childish CHECK extra batteries and charger for my camera  CHECK Thanks, family! :) a cutesy travel-themed notebook to jot down impressions, stories, anything and everything... CHECK That means I will have a solid source for upcoming London-y blog posts :) an unnecessarily lovely and detailed street map of London CHECK Thanks, mom! :) Yes, I am old school and I believe in real maps. Nothing can go wrong if you have a map. My phone is just a regular stupid one, but even if I had a smartphone, I think I would prefer a real map in my hands. an ever-growing list of places I need to see and take a picture of, because they appeared in a film/television series that I like CHECK I am now getting to a point of endles

... from misery to happiness todaaay (*cue sing-along in a Scottish accent*) Here is the big announcement and the super exciting adventure that I have been hinting pretty much for about 2 months now. And surely, the Sherlocks and Watsons among you have already figured it out, because the last couple of clues that I left were so damn obvious... I will be visiting London. In less than a month, for a couple of days, I will be in the actual London town over in my beloved Britain. I had a new passport made :) Which in in itself deserves a celebration, because for the first time in my life I have a good picture on an ID type of thing. Love my passport. Here it is with my super London-y folder where I keep all my organizing and planning stuff for the trip.  I didn't want to say anything in public until it was for certain that I can go. And honestly, never in my life has there been a project with so many ups and downs. I had everything planned and ready and t

Hello friends, how are you on this fine day of May? Celebrating the end of WW2 ? :) I dare to presume that you have noticed that this year marks the 450th birthday of one William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of all human history. Have you indulged in a bit of drama to celebrate good ol' Will's birthday? I certainly did! Czech Television could not stay behind all the celebrations and the new art channel offered, among other things, a BBC series titled The Hollow Crown , which comprises one of Shakespeare's tetralogies of historical plays: Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2 and finally Henry V. The executive producer of the series was Sam Mendes (yes, the Sam Mendes) and  it was released as a part of 2012 Cultural Olympiad. starring: Ben Whishaw (Richard II), Jeremy Irons (Henry IV), Tom Hiddleston (Henry V)  img source Honestly, just reading the list of names involved in this project made me ridiculously excited, because with people like Rory Kinne

Weeeeeell, how shall I say this... I hope you have your tissues ready. As you might have guessed, in my 3-week blogging silence, Music Monthly would not be happening. Amidst of me being super social (ergo super exhausted), trying to be a good family person, increasing the job hunting efforts and planning exciting adventures... I will be taking a little Music Monthly break . Let's call it a hiatus. I might bring it back next month, in a couple of months or next year, who knows. But for now, I think I need to let go... Let go of the pressure I've put on myself. I need it to be fun again. I apologize to those of you, who are fond of my playlists and music-y writings, specifically to Adalberto, who is the one outspoken supporter of this feature. Do not despair. Taking a break in Music Monthly doesn't mean I won't write about any music at all. Maybe I will end up spicing up some of my other posts with a song or two. And of course if there are any major development

Well firstly, I managed to get myself the almost-interview. I picked up the phone, called a guy and said I wanted to work. He said: "Do you meet the conditions written in the thing?" I said: "'Course I do." He said: "Can you come to the store tomorrow?" I said: "Sure, no prob." And that was that :)  ( I am of course very loosely paraphasing the conversation ;)  It may seem simple to you, banal even, but I assure you that for me, a person with ... yes, let's call it a phone call phobia, this was a huge achievement. Disclaimer: not all phone calls freak me out. Incoming calls from family members and close friends are absolutely fine, for example. Incoming calls from unknown numbers on the other hand, very scary! And the idea that I should call somebody whom I don't even know, but his number was given to me in a shop when I finally plucked up the courage to go in there and ask about a job they advertised on the

Pop a bottle of bubbly, throw confetti, bake a cake and blow out the candle! Dance the Drizzle is 1 year old today!!! I baked this sweet little thing yesterday, for celebration :) Oh how the time flies...  In that year I managed to publish a staggering amount of 37 blogposts (including this one), with an average of about 3 posts per month. I know that compared to some of the big blogger names, it seems like nothing, but this place is mine and in my book, 37 it's pretty awesome! It's more than I have ever blogged before :) Apparently, over time my bloggy baby has developed from a "music only" place into a more creative and lifey kind of blog, which I enjoy tremendously :) But music still prevails and it always will. Whatever you people say in that little poll over in the right bar. Get voting if you want to. There's only six days left and chances are the results will have no effect on DtD content whatsoever :D I love that this is a place wher

Well hello, music lovers! So... it seems that this monthly thing is not working out very well this year. Soon my only regular feature will be as regular as Ben Cook's "weekly" series Becoming YouTube, if you know what I mean ;) It's starting to worry me. I should probably seriously re-think the strategy of how I put these together, or I need to put Music Monthly to sleep completely. Just let it die quietly without anybody noticing... And then maybe I could focus on all the other music posts and general life things that I want to blog about... Tricky decision this. If you have any opinion on the matter or any blogging advice, please leave a comment below! Now for a bit of time travel: let's talk about February. February seems to have been very exciting month for me. ... Wait haven't  I been saying that for the last 6 months? Somehow I manage to make my life feel very exciting and that's without having a job. Imagine the excitement if I had one... :D On

Just because I'm nice, I'm gonna share with you a way how you can win some Hudson Taylor goodies ;)  To read a more detailed catch-up on Hudson Taylor news in Czech PRO PONĚKUD PODROBNĚJŠÍ ČLÁNEK V ČEŠTINĚ O NOVINKÁCH OD HUDSON TAYLOR >> click here << The competition is related to their latest music video of the song "Weapons" , which will be Hudson Taylor's first "proper" single. It will be released on 16th March. You can preorder it on iTunes. Video was directed by Lucy Tcherniak and shot in a former prison (Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast), starring Liam McMahon. If you wish to read more about what the song means, or can mean... How it came to life, etc., I recommend clicking here and you will be taken to a transcript of what the lads said about the whole thing :) Now, here's that gem of a video. I myself like it very much (surprise, surprise). It is very powerful and gripping... in an Irish sort of way... and it defini

This last weekend and couple of days before that, were such perfect and amazing days that I have to share with you what I've been up to. Also,  the "Life" category seems to be winning in my content poll so far, so there you have it, I'm giving you Life. Don't miss your chance to vote though!  It all began with ice skating. Well, to be precise, it all began with the Winter Olympics.  A couple fo my friends were planning on going skating to the Olympic Park that we have here in Prague. Wonderful thing this is, btw: it's a place where for the time of the Olympics you can come and try different winter sports like skating, ice hockey, curling, cross country skiing, even biathlon and a mini version of ski jump (if you're suicidal) and there's a little snowboarding slope as well. There are also big screens for crowds to gather and watch the broadcasts from Sochi and a studio of Czech Television. All through the day there are concerts, exhibitions na