Question: How does one write their first blog entry, ever?

Will this single piece of personal electronic journalism be the one that defines my future online legacy? Or will this little introduction be thankfully forgotten as a navel-gazing beginner’s first struggling attempts to write something even remotely interesting for anyone else?
(Hey - it was a rhetorical question, take it easy. There won’t be a quiz.)

This is my blog-space, which I share with my good friends on the http://www.thedudes.nu domain. I’d like to use my first blog entry to talk about a piece of music I have been listening to lately.

I am a big fan of musicals, and this friend of mine is too. We have discussed the different versions of "Chess" to no end, we get goosebumps when we hear "One more day" from "Le Miz", and don’t get me started on the fantastic piece of work that is  "The Phantom of the Opera". Anyway, my friend came up to me last week and threw a track from this one my way: "Wicked - the Musical". It was only one track, and while I didn’t think it was so catchy at first, a few listenings later I was hooked. And then, after reading the synopsis and libretto (I can’t resist reading spoilers), I was even more interested.

The story is about the Wonderful world of Oz, the fantastical world where the little girl Dorothy ends up after being swept away from Kansas by a cyclone. Specifically, it’s about two girls who begin University together but end up being the "Wicked witch of the West" and "Glinda the Good witch". In a sense, it’s a "prequel"-story, not unlike the StarWars-prequel-concept. The musical is based on a book , and deals with the nature of evil, wickedness, corruption, making choices, and accepting your fate. It shows that everything is not always what it seems, and I believe that is something that is very valid in today’s world. The wizard, who turns out be either a very shady character or merely pragmatic, depending on your point-of-view,  spells out some bitter truths for us all:

Oz is becoming a fascist place, and only through external enemies can the Wizard keep control. In this world, everyone will have to make a choice, and the difference between good and evil may not be so clear as you’d hoped.
I am impressed with the ideas behind this musical, and book. Who knew that a silly movie with lions, tin men, and scarecrows could be the backdrop for such interesting political and moral discussions? Well of course, since it’s a musical, there has to be the compulsory love-triangle, but what can you do?

The music and lyrics are written by Stephen Schwartz, who has done work in animated films together with Disney and Dreamworks. Quite a few of the tracks stand out as excellent, and those that don’t are perfectly fine. At first, in my opinion, some of the music was a bit more challenging to listen to, but after a few listenings everything was pure joy. I won’t have time nor am I capable to post a full review - suffice to say that I deeply recommend anyone to pick up a copy of this CD and try it yourselves.

This concludes my first blog entry ever. It got quite long, thanks for reading this far.
Have a nice day!