Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Double Crossbones

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Here's the situation: pirates rule the seas and shore.

Can pathetic and lovestruck David Crandall blow the whole conspiracy wide open?

Lady Sylvia Copeland is the ward of Governor Elden, governor of the Carolinas.  Little does she suspect that Governor Elden is love with her and intends to marry her.  She's in love with a shy shop keeper's apprentice - you guessed it, David Crandall.  But the shop is suspected of cooperation with the pirates and everyone associated with the shop is arrested, pending hanging.

What will Lady Sylvia do when David Crandall turns out to be a pirate?  That is, Bloodthirsty Davey.  But surely, it's through no fault of his own....


Through a series of events, Davey sails to Tortuga, discovers the head of the pirate-merchant operation, meets the pirate captains, risks his life for Lady Sylvia, as a result gets arrested, escapes, and puts everything to right.

Have you ever seen the old TV show 'The Waltons'?  If so, you'll recognize Will Geer as Mr. Botts.

'Double Crossbones' will amuse audiences of all ages.  Donald O'Connor stars as Davey Crandall - an apprentice turned pirate turned well-to-do.

Points: 9
Rating: D (there are some fight scenes and deaths)

~Meggy



Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sick

Unlike some, who get the sniffles or a headache or just feel rather fatigued, I take being sick seriously.  When I get sick, I go all out - headache, swollen throat, fatigue, chills, achy muscles, the works.

Last night was miserable.  My achy limbs were restless but felt like jello - tense, quivering jello.  This morning was better except that my throat was so swollen I could hardly swallow.  Even now my voice comes out as a squeaky whisper.

It's kinda funny how it came on.  Yesterday was great.  I felt fine, better than usual - except for a sore throat.  Not once did the word "tired" occur to me all day - and that's unusual.  I went to dance class and besides putting in incredible effort, things weren't as hard as they have been in my half-asleep state.  My dance teacher got out her Nutcracker music and we did a combination to Marzipan - and I loved it!  I've never tried so hard to dance in my life.

After I got home, I was half changing and half sitting at my desk in front of my computer.  I remember feeling my jaw and neck muscles get tight.  Shortly before five, I started to feel, well, bleh.  Within fifteen minutes, I was curled up on the couch, achy all over.  It was weird how fast it came on.

So now a question - cold or flu?

This happened to me three times last winter and I wondered about it then.  I don't remember the particular circumstances of those three times, but considering how fast it came on this time, I'm thinking that maybe its the flu.  What do you think?

(Have you ever seen the 1970s TV show 'Emergency!'?  In this clip above, Donald O'Connor does a Johnny Gage moment - see if you can find the expression that I mean.  My sister says it's because he's got food in his mouth. ;)  )

~Meggy

Monday, November 28, 2011

It Comes Up Love

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Good girls fall for bad boys - this is an age old rule.  And Ricky is just the guy to make Victoria come down from her high horse.

Victoria and Constance Peabody have been living with their strict and stuffy grandmother while they were attending boarding school and Victoria has grown into a stuffy young lady.  Now Victoria is too old for the school and the girls are coming home to their father, who is as nervous as a fish out of water.  He seeks help from his co-worker Edo Ives but the girls resent her.

Mrs. Winthrop is a widow with her sights set on Tom Peabody, and she's well aware that Edo Ives is competition.  Mrs. Winthrop lives with her head somewhere in the Victorian age and she highly disapproves of Edo's nephew Ricky for Victoria.  She attempts to have Victoria hang out with her own son Carleton, as a good influence for the both of them.  Unfortunately for her, Victoria and Carleton have other ideas.

Ricky is "so man-of-the-world-ish" that Victoria falls for him instantly, but Victoria is so old-fashioned Ricky doesn't exactly fall for her.  To make matters worse, Mrs. Winthrop and Miss Ives are in a head to head battle over Tom, and at first it appears that headstrong Mrs. Winthrop is winning.  With Mrs. Winthrop's firm way of handling clueless and gullible Tom Peabody, things go from bad to worse.  Edo and Mrs. Winthrop love Tom, Carleton loves Edo, Tom doesn't know who he's in love with, and Victoria loves Ricky.  Does Ricky love Victoria?  Can Ricky and Victoria get the grown-ups straightened out?

Starring Donald O'Connor as Ricky Ives and Gloria Jean as Victoria Peabody, this film is fairly slow for the era.  Some have judged the beginning to drag and the end to come too quick.  Overall, it is amusing and the storyline is united to one end.  'It Comes Up Love' is not the greatest film of its time but it's well-suited to a feel-good afternoon.

Points: 9
Rating: A

~Meggy


*It Comes Up Love - Part 1*

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Yes Sir That's My Baby

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Ah, the eternal battle of man versus woman.  In this case, the boys want to play football, the women want them to stay home and watch the baby.

A group of ex-GIs go back to school to complete their education - with wives and babies at home.  The football team needs them, but the girls are taking a class from a professor who has a score to settle with men and is teaching the girls to boss the men around.

William and Sarah Jane have a sweet little home with their cranky Bupkins, and poor William goes all twitchy whenever he starts worrying over the baby, which has its own hilarious consequences.  He and Sarah Jane agree that, even though William is the MVP, he's got too much to do to play football as well.  The other wives fall in behind Sarah Jane and suddenly all the married men have to quit the team.  But the coach has other ideas.  William amuses us with a cute song about the mysterious woman species and serenades us with a song about being in love.  Sarah Jane amuses us - and gets our hackles rising - by singing about the childish masculine species.  Its a fight of man versus woman, but in the end, its really professor against professor - or is it lover against lover???

There are times when the audience just wants to wring someone's neck for the injustice, and other times when we just want to laugh out loud.  So who walks away with the victory?  You decide: Yes Sir That's My Baby

Points: 10
Rating: A
Satisfaction: 100%

~Meggy

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Walking My Baby Back Home

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Donald O'Connor plays a rich, young man who is head of a band that came together in the army.  They try desperately to make it but no one is picking up on their style.  Time after time, they try different arrangements and different joints - to no avail.  The band walks out on him.  His girl Chris works for her uncle in his Minstrel show, but the Minstrel flops.  Together, Jigger (Donald O'Connor), his best bud Chimp, and Chris agree to keep trying until they make it.

New York is a tough place, and they have to figure out what they're going to do before they can convince the guys to come back.  But Smiley, a black pianist and singer from the Minstrel, makes a break!  The new generation loves the old Dixieland!  Jigger convinces Smiley that combining the Dixieland with his orchestra will be a hit, and they get all the guys back.

But Jigger is a Millard, a rich piano family, and they want him to be in opera.  They don't even know he played hookie during his music lessons.  When their fortune comes to depend on his performance as an opera singer, Jigger is stuck between his friends and his family, neither of which knows the full extent of his situation.  A dutiful son, he agrees to sing, but he can't tell anyone of his family's financial situation, so what will the band think?

Bouncy dance numbers and a silly romance make this movie fun and enjoyable to watch.  The plot never focuses too much on any one problem, making it light and whimsical.  Donald O'Connor is given a chance to exhibit his talent, once again, in many areas, and Janet Leigh enthralls us with her singing.  Even the Millard family presence doesn't weigh too heavily on the feel.  Recommended for all ages.

Points: 10
Rating: A

~Meggy


*Walking My Baby Back Home*

Friday, November 25, 2011

Robinson Crusoe

I cannot say taht afetr tihs, for fvie yares, any ertxadorariny tnhig heeapnpd to me; but I levid on in the smae cuosre, in the smae poustre and plcae, jsut as bferoe.  The chief thgins I was eymopled in, bseieds my yeraly loabr of palnintg my barley and rice, and curing my rasinis, of btoh wchih I awalys kpet up jsut enguoh to hvae seufificnt sotck of one yaer's priooisvns befroehnad - I say, beidses tihs yleary laobr, to mkae me a canoe, wichh at lsat I fniisehd; so taht by dgngiig a caanl to it of six feet wdie, and fuor feet deep, I bgourht it itno the cerek, amlsot hlaf a mlie.  As for the frist, wihch was so vslaty big, as I mdae it whtuoit cnesoindrig boefnhread, as I oguht to do, how I slohud be albe to lanuch it; so, neevr bnieg albe to bnirg it to the wtaer, or birng the weatr to it, I was ogeblid to let it lie wehre it was, as a memorandum to taech me to be weisr nxet tmie.  Iedend, the nxet tmie, tuhogh I cluod not get a tere peorpr for it, and in a pacle wehre I culod not get the waetr to it at any lses dtiscane than, as I hvae siad, naer hlaf a mlie, yet as I saw it was practicable at lsat, I eevr gvae it oevr; and thoguh I was naer two yreas aobut it, yet I neevr grduegd my laobr, in hoeps of hanivg a baot to go off to sea at lsat.

~Meggy

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Hey-lo and a happy Thanksgiving

Hello all you fans, just wanted to know if I already told you that I've been accepted at Franciscan University of Steubenville, but I'm fairly certain I haven't told you yet.  Well, anyway, I have been and I'm very excited.  I'm saving up like mad so I can pay for dance lessons while I'm there.  There's a great looking studio ten minutes from campus, I just have to figure out how to get there.  Should be fun, I'm looking forward to it.

Right now I ought to be making a pie or cutting out a cape, but I've spent so little fun time on here that I thought I'd take a minute.  I'm wondering if this "only factual posts" thing is reflecting on my traffic or if that's just a coincidence.  The number of page viewings has skyrocketed, but my comments have slowed to a halt.  Strangely, however, the traffic doesn't appear to have anything to do with all the new movie reviews I've been spitting out.  At least, they don't nearly have the highest ratings.

On a totally different subject, my dance teacher got a new kitten.  It's absolutely tiny - you know the type - and is the softest thing you've ever felt.  It's part mancoon cat - which is apparently actually maine coon - and is black with big blue eyes.  Loves to be cuddled, but doesn't like pointe shoes.

So I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving.  My singing is coming along quite well and I'm very thankful for that.  I'm also thankful for people like Donald O'Connor, Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, Bing Crosby, Mitzi Gaynor, etc.  But I'm also thankful for my family and friends.  I'm thankful for music and movies, food and clothing, compliments and critique, pets and wild animals, patience and Adoration, imagination and creativity, diversity and uniqueness.  I'm thankful for my own personality, the way I'm different from most people, and even for the way it sort of estranges me from them.  I'm thankful for the way I am and for the things I like.

A few last things: are you interested in the Donald O'Connor things I have to share? is the current layout of my blog too distracting or complicated? have I shown any interests that you share and would like to hear more about?

My regards,
~Meggy

Monday, November 21, 2011

Donald and Donna


Isn't that just the cutest thing?  I just had to show you!

If you'd like me to post the rest of the Colgate Comedy Hour episode for you, let me know.  Most of it is pretty funny.  Otherwise it's pretty easy to find on YouTube, and the part number is in the name.

Did you know? -
According to IMDb, Donald O'Connor's full name was Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor.
Donna Gwen O'Connor was named after her father and O'Connor's first wife Gwen Carter.
Donald O'Connor was supposed to star opposite Bing Crosby in 'White Christmas' but got pneumonia.
The little redhead Cosmo talks to at RF's party in 'Singing in the Rain' was his wife at the time.

Here's another funny clip I hope you'll enjoy:
I love Donald's song about the stars and the moon!  lol

And here's a clip from a movie in which Donald plays a genius actuary.  It's quite hysterical, and I recommend it if for its amusement alone, for its storyline lacks somewhat.  But it would not be a total waste of time, especially if you think Donald O'Connor is one of the most talented and handsome men ever to grace the screen.  If you don't think that, then, well, you might enjoy it anyway.

I'm looking forward to seeing 'Mister Big', if anyone ever uploads it to their channel.  I haven't seen 'I Love Melvin' yet because I suspect that Mom got it for me for Christmas so I've vowed to wait.  (If I don't get it, I'm going to be in quite a mood.)  I've seen quite a few movies lately in my spare time, if you're interested in reading a review on each one.

In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!

~Meggy





*Correction:  Donald didn't get pneumonia, he got something called Q fever, which is transmitted by ticks usually carried by cattle.  He either got it from Francis the Talking Mule or one of his stand-ins.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Igor

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

What is a poor Igor to do when he wants to be an inventor and no one will let him?  Well, a few obstacles are taken care of when Igor's evil scientist is accidentally blown up.  Igor is still forbidden to invent, but Igor has been inventing in secret and now he's ready to create life for the evil invention competition coming up.  Unfortunately, this life is not evil - her "evil bone" wasn't activated.  Despite all Igor's efforts, Eva just isn't evil, she's an actress.

This MGM movie is about a character who doesn't fit in his role, changes the world, and solves their evil problem.  This film underrates life and is often vulgar and leaves the viewer disgusted.  Presented in such a way as to be amusing, this complicated philosophy of life and good and evil has potential to trap its unsuspecting viewers.  The plot is riddled with ugly being beautiful and beautiful being ugly.  While "good in an ugly disguise" is not an uncommon theme and can be handled with grace and proper values, this movie fails to do just that.

The setting is very dark and could be scary to small children - indeed, even to older children.  Some of the characters are horrid to the point of immoral.  Even though characters that are at first thought to be the good guys of the story have deplorable personalities.  The plot is forked, the message twisted, and the drama poorly written.

Rating: D (not recommended)
Points: 2
Satisfaction: 0

~Meggy

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Anything Goes

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Their play is about an American girl looking for love, who sings and dances.  A French girl just wouldn't be right, would she?  Well, Ted - who hired French Gaby - and Bill - who signed Patsy - fight this out as they head back to America on a cruise ship.

Patsy was first, and anyhow, they all agreed Bill could sign the girl.  But then Ted meets Patsy for a date and, oh, Gaby's got to go.  But how to get rid of her?  Ted chickens out, so Bill takes Gaby to dinner - and things don't go as planned.

Ted, not knowing Bill didn't break the news, makes the mistake of apologizing.  Then Gaby, at first stubborn, overhears Patsy's father confessing to Patsy that he's in trouble.  She backs out, playing mad at Bill.

Patsy tries to save Ted from her father's problems, leaving Ted sitting in his cabin staring at the phone and hoping she'll call.  But Bill gets tipped off on the whole situation - he and Ted now have the difficult task of getting their girls out of their cabins.

Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor team up again to give us a film that's entertaining in every way.  With Mitzi Gaynor and Jeanmaire, romance is not a stretch.  Complete with dancing, singing, and humor, this film is one you'll not want to miss.

Rating: A
Points: 10

~Meggy

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

(modern music) Love Came Down...

...to this.  No, I'm not talking about Jesus Christ.

Have you heard the song:
Let it rain, let it pour
She don't love me anymore

It's a song by David Nail.  He laments that, even after seven years of good marriage, he didn't wear that ring just one night and now it's all over.  Let's for a moment pretend that this really happened.  That is the most pitiable thing I've ever heard.  He has reduced himself to nothing.  After seven years, he betrayed his wife.  She found out about it - the song seems to say he told her - and she kicks him out.  He is to be doubly pitied because he married a girl who, herself, is no good.

Then what does he say?

Let it rain
Let it pour
She don' love me anymore

How about the fact that you destroyed yourself?  What if the rain should pour because you hurt her?  Love is not the romantic feeling she felt in her heart each morning while she was cooking you breakfast.  She's not kicking you out because she doesn't love you - although I doubt she does - she's kicking you out because you were unfaithful.

Boom bam - without realizing it, all of society is subjected to the way of thinking that says she ceased to love him and because of this, they're done.  This is not the case at all.  Love is not physical attraction or mutual understanding or even being satisfied with one another.  Love is when you automatically think of the other person before you think of what it means for yourself.  Love is when you see the defects of another and feel compassion, not disgust, and shame on their account, and you want to help them.  That, my friend, is love.  She threw you out of the house because she didn't understand this concept of love, and neither do you.

~Meggy

That being the case, some songs are written in fun.  Think of lots of old show tunes and you might come up with some that are, well, say, morally degrading or wrong - on the surface.  But then, mostly they were written to further a story or get a feeling across to the listener.  Just because the above may be true, doesn't mean the song doesn't have value.  Do you think it does?

Get Hep To Love

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

What do you do when you're a child prodigy and sing continuously without break?  Run away of course!  And that's exactly what Doris Stanley (Gloria Jean) does in the 1942 film 'Get Hep To Love'.

Poor Doris has been a child prodigy for years.  Even now, going on fifteen, her aunt buys little-girl clothes and keeps presenting her as a kid to get more money.  Once again, Aunt Addie goes back on her promise to give Doris a vacation, so Doris runs off to Connecticut.

She doesn't make it far - she's a juvenile.  At an orphanage, she swipes a card with an address on it and goes to their place, masquerading as an orphan.  For the first time, she attends a high school, makes friends, and falls in love with a boy - Jimmy Arnold (Donald O'Connor).  But Jimmy has a crush on slippery Elaine.
Doris is a valuable jewel, and there's a reward out for her.  How long will it be before her music appreciation teacher and her foster parents find out about her?  And can she convince Jimmy that Elaine is just using him?

This fairly fast-paced movie has a fun plot, complete with songs and dancing, and is both amusing and romantic, as far as teenager love stories go.  This movie has ten points out of ten, with an A rating (see sidebar), and comes with my recommendation.

~Meggy




Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Vera-Ellen

Vera-Ellen was, reportedly, a very shy child.  She developed severe health issues by age nine.  She began taking dance lessons for therapy of both mind and body, and developed a passion for it.  She had talent and, at a young age, joined the Rockettes.  She made her debut on Broadway at age eighteen.  From there, she soon went to film.  She danced with Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Donald O'Connor.  She also starred in roles with Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby.

Unfortunately, tough times were not over for her just because of her passion for dancing.  She was married twice, divorced twice.  Her one child, Victoria Ellen Rothschild, died of SIDS.  Furthermore, in the 1950s, before anorexia was even coined or properly treated, she was anorexic.

When musicals lost their popularity, her career declined.  She may have continued as an acting talent, but there's speculation that there may have been some dark influences which ended up driving her away from this path.  She retired from dancing when she was only in her thirties and died at sixty, quietly.  No one heard of her for decades until the news came that she had died of cancer.

 Vera-Ellen was a lovely dancer and actor.  She was extremely talented, which is never so apparent as in her 'Dance to the Ocarina'.  Watch for nearly flawless footwork and fast turns.  She was not, however, a singer, and most of her singing roles were dubbed.

She was one of many extraordinary talents who had trauma in their personal life.  Her career, though brief, was very beautiful.  It was probably best that her career was so short, so that we could remember her at her best.

Her full name was Vera-Ellen Westmeyer Rohe

~Meggy

Sunday, November 13, 2011

A Time for Miracles

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Saint Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton is known well for her work.  In this movie, 'A Time for Miracles', a quickly paced biography of her life is presented in a moving, if poorly written, film about her entire life, from birth to canonization.  The first we see of her is as an adult, but a voice over narrator briefly relates some facts about her childhood.

Sadly, the film had its drawbacks.  The acting was, in some places, wonderful, but not always.  The writing was terrible, the direction lacking, but the story faith filled.

It's hard to rate a film like this since it is a hagiography, mainly factual instead of dramatic.  It is not unworthy of your time, certainly, and could easily hold a place of distinction among a collection.  While there have been better films about saints, this one deserves mention.

Rating: A
Points: 5
(see sidebar)

~Meggy

Some may not view this video as appropriate, but regardless of Lambert's reputation or his original meaning for the song, I find it very inspiring - for both his talent and the message.

Mrs. Rabbit's Musings: Sir Ken Robinson

Mrs. Rabbit's Musings: Sir Ken Robinson: "Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality." -Beatrix Potter  If you home school, and ...

_____

I love this entry.  I think Sir Robinson says it just right.  The last year that I attended St. Joseph School, at the closing ceremony, they laid off what seemed to be half the teachers - and this was not a big school.  One of these teachers was the art and music teacher.

As a student who loves to learn, to study, and improve my mind through reading, I see infinite value in sitting and studying.  As a dancer, singer, and artist, I also see infinite value in learning so-called extra-curricular activities.  The more global the mind, the greater the potential for a diverse range of possibilities, and the wider the perspective.

One of my dreams is to involve my own kids, one day, in dance and drama and music, but also have them become very familiar with good literature and efficient with math and interactive with science, and so on, as far as their individual talents will allow.  I believe we all have untapped potential when we don't work in all of these areas.

~Meggy

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Sing You Sinners

Brothers should stick together.  That's a lesson learned in 'Sing You Sinners', starring Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, and a young Donald O'Connor.  Dave wants to get married, Joe doesn't want to work, Mike wants to be a jockey, and Momma Beebe wants her boys to go on singing.  When Joe screws up over and over, and Dave puts off his plans for marriage again and again, and poor little Michael gets beat up, it's no wonder Momma finally threatens to walk out on them - especially when all three of them begin to imitate Joe's unfaltering foolish footsteps.

Bing Crosby plays a fantastic trouble maker, treating us to his wonderful voice along the way.  Fred MacMurray wholeheartedly convinces us of a fed-up eldest sibling who has turned around so many times he doesn't know what to do anymore.  And a cute Donald O'Connor thrills us with a stunning performance of an endearing youngest brother, showcasing his talent in remarkable ways.  Incredible odds, lady luck looking up and down, blowing it again, lost girls, racing, chances, and even a fight, this movie never stops.


Rating: D
Points: 10/10
Satisfaction: can I say 110%?

~Meggy


Sing You Sinners

Monday, November 7, 2011

Monthly Movie Monday

Be the first to identify the most of the following movie lines and you win!
(Prize to be determined at a later date.)

1)  "Alright, you're a cab."

2)  "I could brush up on my English, or bring along an interpreter.  That is if they'd let in a movie actor."

3)  "Drag the mouse across the desktop!"

4)  "Goodbye, Kent - and all that that implies."

5)  "This is called farming! You kids are gonna grow all kinds of plants! Vegetable plants, pizza plants."

Of course, I'm the final judge, and only my answer counts as the real one unless you can prove it was in another movie.  Even if you don't know them all, go for it!  (Btw,  the last two months' are still open.)

Good luck!
~Meggy



(Hint: two are from the same movie, and feel free to look them up on the Internet!)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Call Me Madam

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

Irvin Berlin's 'Call Me Madam', filmed in 1953, stars Ethel Merman and Donald O'Connor in an amusing romance taking place in two separate countries.

Sally Adams, a social elite, becomes the ambassador for the United States.  Nonetheless, she knows nothing of diplomatic policies, or even where this other country is - this country she's being sent to.

That's where Kenneth Gibson comes in.  He's just had a difference of opinion with his employer and lost his job as a reporter.  He tries to land a job going with Ms. Adams, and at first she doesn't bite, but when he proves very useful, he's suddenly packing for a trip to Europe.

The Lichtenburgese are hoping for a loan, which would enable the marriage of the princess to the prince, but America has sent Ms. Adams to turn them down.  Unfortunately, this trip was doomed to bring heartbreak to both Sally and Gibson.  One falls in love with royalty, and one falls in love with a man who really does disapprove of an American loan.  A pure misunderstanding causes both of them to lose their loves.  Gibson and Adams return, sullen, to America, to resume their daily lives.

This is a surprisingly little-known movie, but definitely worth the time.  Spectacular performances by the entire cast draw you into this fast-paced film.  It earns 10/10 and an A (see sidebar), with 100% satisfaction.  Please watch this film.  (Despite the black and white pictures, this film is in color.)

~Meggy

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Dancing

Ah, the thrill of dancing!  I haven't felt that thrill in years!  I remember once feeling that thrill as I performed in a recital, and I've been chasing that feeling ever since, but I've not found it again.  The reason being, I see now, that I haven't been serious enough in my dancing to feel that thrill.  The fact that I ever felt it is incredible - but that may have been, quite possibly, the last year we had a fair class size, and it was a tap piece, and it was well choreographed.  I've been chasing that feeling ever since.

Then today I found it again.

We can't afford to add tap lessons to our budget - financially or time wise.  I took at least three years of it, probably more - don't remember exactly.  Although everyone else in my first class had taken tap the year before, I quickly caught up.  One year, I was the first to grasp every concept.

I love tap dancing.  It's strenuous, but it comes so easily to me.  Although my ballet teacher looks at my petite allegro and wouldn't believe it, I don't have trouble with quick movements.  I'm inflexible and my left calf refuses to propel me off the floor.  But the skills I need to tap have come fairly naturally to me.

Today, inspired by Donald O'Connor, I dug out my tap shoes - which still fit me - and I went into the mudroom and warmed up.  I still remember most of the steps - shuffle, the Irish, the buffalo....  There only a few I can't remember.

I looked up tap dancing on YouTube, and found a couple combinations, which I worked on for about an hour.  It was so much fun!  Between the bench and the coats, there's not a lot of room, but I situated myself in the widest area and tapped away!

I begin to appreciate, once again, how hard dance really is, and how absolutely talented dancers are.  You have no idea, especially if you have not danced much, how hard the ballerinas in The Nutcracker are working.  Not only to they have to perform and execute the steps with exact accuracy, they also have to lift themselves, so much so that they almost fly up off the floor, in order to execute them correctly, and furthermore, they have to make it look so flawless and perfect, while effortless.  This last thing is the hardest of all.

Of course, I looked up some ballet videos, and I finally saw what my teacher wanted of me.  I'm so jealous!  I will not be beaten by those rich people who train every day.  I'll go twice a week and look just as nice as they do by recital time.

Oh, I know now I could never give this up just because I'm going off to college!  I found a place ten minutes from FUS which costs less than I'm paying my teacher now.  They have certain discounts in certain classes if you're taking more than one class, and they also have tumbling - something I've always wanted to do!

Unfortunately, I'll have to find a way to get from campus to class, and worst of all, the dreams that always start out like this, rarely last long enough to get me to the end.  I pray this enthusiasm for dance doesn't melt away.

I'm sure you've had those sudden passions - it's always hard when you realize your life has to continue beyond the limits of your new obsession, isn't it?

When I was really little, I wanted to be like the women I knew and liked.  I wanted to be my teachers, or my mom.  For a very long time, if anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'd have said a teacher or a mom.  It never occurred to me that I could be a singer or an actress.  Those kinds of things weren't part of my existence.

But I always liked singing.  It's surprising that it's taken this long for me to get lessons, but I've always been shy, and I was afraid to sing for someone.  Now I'm putting incredible effort into my dancing, I'm taking singing lessons, and I'm even practicing my diction, thinking of getting into acting in college.  This is crazy!  This is not the girl I used to know!

I know this is partially all because of my admiration for Donald O'Connor and my revisited craze for old, musical movies, starring incredibly talented people.  But this has always been a fascination for me, just not always realized.  Is it possible that I could get into show business?  I wouldn't want to do the cheep stuff that's so common today.  I'd want to make something as beautiful as they used to be - whether on stage or on screen.  Even if that meant joining a local talent troupe, wouldn't that be lovely?

~Meggy


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IayOxH1NN8Y&feature=related

Dragon's Heart

Okay, guys, this is important.  Dragon's Heart is not getting the needed publicity.  The author is my sister and her sales are diminishing.  Buy!  You can get it at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and on the Tate Publishing website.

~Meggy

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Everybody Out!

"Everybody out" for four minutes!
 
~Meggy

Dynamic Views

Okay, guys, what do you think of the new Dynamic Views for Blogger?  I like aspects of it, but it's so bland, even when customized, that I've opted out for now.  (For example, I like the tabs on the side, but there seems to be less flexibility for decoration and individuality.)  There seems to be so much wasted space.  The same is true for the blogging interface, which I've switched back to because I like both the design and some of the layout better.  Except that I like the "new post" layout in the new interface.

http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/09/dynamic-views-seven-new-ways-to-share.html   This page allows you to view any Blogger blog in the new view.  Check it out if you haven't already, and either way, tell me what you think.

~Meggy

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Hello

I should be working.  I really should.  But I'm in such a strange mood lately that I just have to share it!  *giggle*

Okay, well, actually, I don't mind keeping it to myself.  Not at all.  In fact, I was embarrassed at myself for how much talking I was doing last night.  Even whilst doing it.  But I didn't really mind, because no one else seemed to.  And I'm too tired to mind.  I just don't usually do so much talking.

In fact, my whole attitude has been freaky lately.  Including my vocabulary.  'Freaky' and 'creepy' are very common lately.  Don't know why.  And isn't it weird that 'freaky' and 'creepy' are not spelled the same?

And if you live on the east coast of the US, especially near Boston, you've probably used the phrase 'wicked cool'.  There's a foreign nun named Sister Olga, who's starting her own order these days, who was once commenting on her job at BU.  She was telling someone how nice a bunch of students are and the other person said, "Yeah, they're wicked cool."  She was a wee bit confused.

Which is all random.

Which is cool.

Hey, something else that's random - New York says 'ridonculous', which is cool.  It's cool too.

You know what's not cool, is my blabbing on without something to say like it's really important because we all know it's not and yet I get the feeling you're going to read it to the end anyway because that's just what people do, I know it is, and so I'm just gonna go on writing until I run outta material and see how many of you stick on and keep on reading until the end of this very, very long sentence, which reminds me of when I was complaining about five 500 word essays on a history test and my papa said that he used to write things like, 'and the train went clickity-clack, clickity-clack, clickity-clack,' to boost his word count, which I think will just about end this sentence.

And I guarantee that you will not find anything else like this post anywhere on this blog.  You can try, but you won't succeed.  So go ahead!  Try!  I insist.  I haven't been proven wrong in a long time.  More importantly, I haven't been proven right in awhile either.

But while we're wasting time, I'd like to say that I find it interesting that no one participates in the polls that will actually act toward my benefit - and maybe yours if I'm generous - but will answer a silly question about maple syrup!  Seriously!  Don't you people have anything better to do?  But I know you don't, and you know how I know?  You're reading this.  Yep.  Yeppity yep.  Getting all serious now, why won't you tell me if you watch the vids I put in my posts???  Seriously, if I'm wasting time, let me know!  I don't have to share my funny favorites with you.  Or the movie clips.  Or even awesome songs!!!  I don't.  And I won't if you don't watch them.  So there! :P

Wow, man, I am outta control.  I'm just so stoked, high on all the cool things happening lately!  Like, the most recent thing is my first quarter grades that are going in right now.  I'm so pleased with them.  I also sent in my application to FUS.  I'm a moony teenager over a corpse right now - I'll explain in a minute - and I'm determined to work harder in dance than I have in all the years since I was three combined.  I was also asked to homecoming, but I ended up turning him down because he got a girl friend and dumped me, then he got dumped and wanted me back, and then I decided I don't like crowds anyway and pushed him right back down on his rear.  Get a girl friend when we've got a date, will ya?  Well, take that!

Actually, I didn't care.  I wasn't planning on really dating him anyway, but it was a thrilling and worrying and thrilling again experience.

As I type, the oil truck is here and so i'm typing with ne hand because i'm keeping a just-in-case hand on my dog's collar.  So excuse ne for spelling errors.  I'm actually purposely ignoring the errors right now just to make my point, but because this is a nonsense post, there are probably other mistakes too.  I do not intend to proof read today.

Okay, I have both hands back.

So if you're new to this blog, please don't write me off.  lol  Look at 'The Milkman' or find a label on the sidebar that sounds interesting and look at posts with that label.  You'll be surprised at how much variety I (don't) have here.  Mostly there are some daily accounts, some randsom thoughts - that is, random thoughts - and and increasing number of movie reviews.  I'm especially proud of some of my analyses, but you don't have to be.
Okay, now to add some more pictures to this post and it's off to schoolwork.

(Oh, yeah - Donald O'Connor died in 2003, so I'm moony over a corpse.  Make sense now?  Actually, I'm moony over ashes, because I think he was cremated.)


Comment.  That was a command.

~Meggy

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...