Perpetual Whirlwind

LIVEBLOG: 65th Annual Tony Awards

2011-06-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

Gather 'round theatre freaks! It's time to laugh, cry (but mostly laugh), and give kudos to those in the world of theatre that have dared to do wonderful things this year.

I was along for the ride with all my snarky quips -- live-blogging every minute. In case you missed it, you can still check out the instant replay below:

LIVEBLOG: 65th Annual Tony Awards

Six Degrees of Separation?

2010-12-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

Working in the TV biz, I watch a fair amount of the boob tube. Some news (okay, a lot of news) and some not, but one thing stays true in both cases: there are a ton of commercials. For the most part, I put the commercial breaks on mute and sort through emails. But every once and a while, one commercial comes along that actually makes me wait for the commercial breaks.

My latest favorite involves a balding, dweeby Kevin Bacon uber-fan named Ivan Googling TV shows and Internet clips of the movie icon in his basement. Downright creepy, right? Wrong. The twist is that under all that make up, Kevin Bacon's biggest fan is ... Kevin Bacon.

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon just got a little more complicated.

With most actors, this would have been little more than some self-serving egotistical attempt at reviving a career. But Bacon takes the mildly creepy role and turns it into something that's both charming and hilarious.

"I didn't know how far they wanted to go with the look and the character. If it was just me kind of walking around, people would think it was weird," Bacon said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I walked into this house and I was like, 'Oh my god, you gotta be kidding me.' I loved it."

It's not the thousand and one pieces of Bacon memorabilia or how obsessed Ivan is with the "Footloose" actor that's scary. What disturbs me most, I think, is that I actually like this commercial. I don't know what they're selling and quite frankly, I don't even care. What I've learned from that commercial: Kevin Bacon is as cool now as he ever was! Maybe cooler.

Back in Action

2010-08-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

This blog has been woefully neglected lately. So much so, I'm not sure my blog and I are even on speaking terms. I assure you, blog, it's not you, it's me. Life has been incredibly hectic lately, but that's no excuse. I think it's time we rekindled our relationship. It might not be an everyday thing, but we should try to catch up at least a few times a week. Deal? Good. Now for the sake of keeping things pithy, let's get right to it, shall we?

Real life is scary as hell. Yup, I've officially graduated college and have been a full-fledged, real-life adult for more than 3 months now. I've successfully accomplished my first post-college goal (get a real job in my chosen career field, journalism), but I'm not entirely sure where to go from here. Don't get me wrong, life is great. I'm working nights as an associate producer from 13WHAM news in Rochester (coincidentally, the station I literally grew up watching) and I'm still freelancing feature pieces for City newspaper. Every day presents me with new challenges and ideas and I'm loving it (hey, just because I don't have to get up for 8 a.m. classes anymore doesn't mean I have to stop learning, right?).

And even though I've picked up tons of new skills -- like how to simultaneously check my email, import new HD graphics into ENPS, write two completely different stories, take three phone calls and listen to the police scanner (yes, I assure you, it can be done) -- what I've learned the most about is myself (stop rolling your eyes -- I know you're rolling your eyes).

Self-awareness has been a strong trait of mine since I was about five years old. But that only takes me up to the present. I know myself NOW. As I am, and how I was in the past. But who I'll become in the future? I'm clueless. Friends around me have specific career goals, places they want to live, even potential life mates. I don't have any of those nailed down.

But maybe there's something wonderful about that. Taking life at face value. Life hasn't dealt me a royal flush (oh yes, kiddies, it's a poker reference), but clutching a four of a kind is a solid hand to win with.

And I need the win -- being a "real" adult means paying bills and student loans!

Geeky Guilty Pleasure

2010-06-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

There are many things in life with which we have love/hate relationships. But rarely do two of those things come together in one. So behold closeted Trekkies and Ke$ha fans/haters alike, because this video might just top the list of awesomely bad things in life.

I never watched a whole lot of "Star Trek" (practically none in fact), but I never realized how much drinking there was on that show. Nor did I notice the bromance between Kirk and Spock. But they do help make that song bearable. Brilliant.

Thanks to Jen Wilson for the link!

LIVEBLOG: The 64th Annual Tony Awards

2010-06-13T15:35:00.001-07:00

How did these sneak up on me again? That's right, folks, the 64th Annual Tony Awards are tonight and I'll be bringing you the play-by-play (no bad pun intended). I'll be doing the Live Blog thing again as we watch Broadway starlettes and vets duke it out for the coveted Tony Awards.

There are a handful of interesting nominations this year -- particularly "American Idiot," a jukebox rock musical based on the popular Green Day album of the same name, nominated for Best Musical -- as well as the hosting choice: Sean Hayes. Hayes is nominated for his role in the critically-condemned revival of "Promises, Promises," and although the show itself was not praised, many critics said Hayes was one of the production's redeeming qualities.

That said, this year's award ceremony is sure to be an interesting one. So join me at 8 o'clock to follow along with the good, the bad and the ugly for this year's Tonys.

LIVEBLOG: The 64th Annual Tony Awards

REVIEW: "All in Good Time"

2010-04-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

“All in Good Time”
Barenaked Ladies
Raisin’ Records
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4 stars

The wisecracking Canadians of Barenaked Ladies have had a rough year. They’ve withstood the departure of co-founding member Stephen Page, the death of lead singer Ed Robertson’s mother and even a private plane crash. But the boys are back with a more reflective sound on their 9th studio album, “All in Good Time.”

The album offers a bluesier pop rock sound than fans may be used to, but one listeners will still enjoy. Despite the more mature, introspective sound, “All in Good Time” still balances poignant with fun — something the band has mastered during their 22-year existence.

Robertson takes lead vocals for ten of the album’s 18 tracks, while keyboardist Kevin Hearn and bassist Jim Creeggan step up on the remaining eight songs. Robertson’s voice offers a familiar sound for listeners (he used to split lead vocals equally with Page), but Hearn’s and Creeggan’s voices croon with mixed success. Creeggan’s song “On the Lookout” sounds less Barenaked Ladies and more Maroon 5.

Their track “Four Seconds” is a bouncy pseudo-rap filled with pop-culture references (think “One Week” but slower and goofier) that proves the guys haven’t lost their signature sense of humor. The first single off the album, a dulcet ballad titled “You Run Away,” astutely reflects the band’s split with Page, while other tracks, like “Ordinary” and “Golden Boy” are akin to BNL classics like “Jane” and “Brian Wilson.”
Beyond the group’s pensive new light rock sound is the same comic charm that will keep old fans and help attract a new generation.

Confessions of a Foodie

2010-04-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

There's something about potatoes. I don't know what it is, but I swear there's something magical about them. Baked. Deep fried. Mashed. Salted. Drowned in butter. It almost doesn't matter how I cook them, their mysterious power over me and my taste buds still remains.

There's something cathartic about slowly devouring an entire bowl of potatoes. Maybe this train of thought is coming from a hungry place. Maybe it's because potatoes just happened to be what I was craving when I got home today. Maybe it's because I was just watching 'Julie and Julia' in class and now all I can think about is food.

But as I sit here eating a huge bowl of mashed potatoes for dinner, two things occur to me: 1.) that my parents are probably horrified to learn their almost grown-up daughter is eating only mashed potatoes for dinner — and is admitting it freely on the Internet — and 2.) potatoes may be the single greatest food on the face of the Earth.

Not that I am discriminating against other foods — all food is wonderful. But potatoes in all their glory, particularly mashed, are the granddaddy of all foods. The velvety texture as they roll around in my mouth. The warm sensation as they pleasantly crawl down my throat. The satisfactory feeling as they nestle comfortably in my stomach. They're simply wonderful.

Bus Stop

2010-02-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

This was an observational exercise for my Print Journalism Workshop. Just observations, no personal interjections or narration allowed. My observations came from the Green Street Bus Stop in Ithaca, NY at 9:41 a.m. on a Wednesday.

"When's it s'posed to come?"

"Ten minutes ago."

Grunt. Ratty hiking boots scuff the sidewalk. The gray slush-sopped concrete squishes beneath them.

A hand rummages through a coat pocket. Keys jingle. Gum wrapper crinkles. Plastic card emerges. The Dijon mustard color is disguised only on the one side with glossy black letters: TCAT.

Creak, creak, creak, creak. Man with a baby backpack strolls by. Each step bounces with pride. Probably a boy in the back. He's bundled in a robin's egg blue blanket.

Yellow Labrador trots by. Squish, plop, squish, plop. Ears alert, eyes darting in every direction. Ears perked up, they bounce with each step. Owner strolls listlessly behind.

Scuff, plop, scuff, plop. More snow the color and consistency of raw sewage splatters.

Rrrru-ne-ne-ne-ne. The gaunt, sallow-skinned young man in the red Toyota revs his engine. Rrrru-ne-ne-ne-ne!

"What a douche."

Squish, slish, blech. Wheels spatter more snow-turned-sewage across the street.

"Dude, let's just walk."

"Nah, it's uphill!"

Snort. Then silence. Glances down the street. Back at his watch.

Waaah-koooh! Waaah-koooh! Pedestrian cross signal pierces the bitter winter air. No one crosses. No one pushed the button.

Crunch, crunch, crunch. Salt crackles beneath a lovey-dovey couples' boots -- Uggs on her and mud-stained Gore-texes on him.

Rock music blares from someone's iPod. Old school AC/DC.

Hey Satan! Payed my dues
Playin' in a rock band

Overweight mother and her gaggle of three kids wander to the stop. "Mommy, when are we a-gonna have lunch?" He tugs at her hand. "Just wait, we gotta take the bus home first," her voice growing higher and more sing-song with each syllable.

I'm on the hiiiiiighway to hell!

A distant hum. Everyone is on tip-toe, looking expectantly down the street.

A blue and white bus lurches down the slushy road. Coated in a thick layer of snow sewage and salt.

"Is that the 30?"

"I can't ... tell ..."

It's stopped at the light. Chuuuuuuuh! The driver lets off the brakes and bounds down the street toward the stop.

Squeeee! Brakes screech for a second. Slowing down, the driver becomes visible: a hefty bleach blond with dark roots.

She wags her sausage-like finger at the expectant passengers.

Whoooooooooosh! The bus whizzes past. Without stopping.

"Fuck."

MOVIE REVIEW: "Invictus"

2010-02-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

Among the wealth of popular movie genres that sometimes rely on over-fluffed storylines or technical gimmicks to spark an audience reaction, sports stories lend themselves seamlessly to film and evoke an unusually high level of weepiness among otherwise tough sports fans. In the darkened safety of the theater, jocks (and, of course, other theater-goers) are free to well up over the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Though many flicks in the sports film genre rely heavily on the dramatic nature of sports to evoke inspiration (Cinderella Man and Seabiscuit come to mind), Invictus parallels that sideline fervor with the powerful political story of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) in the turbulent first year of his presidency. Few other sports films use historical context so well to make a point. Chariots of Fire shows the haughty, snobbish side of British social structure through the lens of the 1924 Olympics, but most sports films stick to an oversimplified, feel-good script.

However, Invictus director Clint Eastwood utilizes the South African rugby team’s unlikely triumph in the 1995 World Cup and Mandela’s remarkable courage and strength to magnify South Africa’s struggle with crime, poverty and unification after the Apartheid in the 1990s.

As Mandela, Freeman ambles humbly around his office and the country, greeting each person genuinely as a worthy individual with charmingly slow, deliberate speech. Freeman’s eyes seem weary throughout the film, which is a subtle nod to Mandela’s tenacious work ethic — we only see Mandela in his bedroom once and he’s not even sleeping, he’s preparing for his daily 4 a.m. stroll.

The South African president’s exhaustive concern about his excessively fractured nation is established in the opening scene with an immediate contrast between the trim, clean rugby stadium of white athletes and the barren dirt field used by a group of black children.

In an effort to unite the country while maintaining the delicate balance of black aspiration with white fear, Mandela asks Springbok captain Francois Fienaar (a taciturn and noticeably bulked-up Matt Damon) to lead his ninth-seeded team to beat the heavily favored Australian rugby team in the World Cup. Though initially skeptical that a sporting match can repair a country’s spirit, a hand-written copy of the poem “Invictus” from Mandela gives Fienaar all the inspiration he needs to be a leader for his team, even if he is not as skilled a leader as President Mandela is. Damon’s performance is arguably strong, but often overshadowed by Freeman’s Mandela. Then again, it’s hard to compete with such a historic figure (and actor).

Sport is almost secondary in this multi-layered profile of an iconic leader, but Eastwood puts rugby front and center when it matters most — at the World Cup. The sweeping colorful crowd shots and fast-paced montages of bulky players beating each other to a bloody pulp are visually stimulating, but fail to give any context to rugby as a game. As far as I could gather, rugby is a barrage of bone-crunching tackles where every play looks foul and it seems anything goes.

Nelson Mandela was a leader who clearly saw the big picture, and Eastwood does too. The lack of sporting context is supplemented with historical context. A few fleeting details — one exaggerated slow-mo sequence toward the end that disrupts the film’s otherwise perfect pacing and many of the supporting characters’ often inconsistent accents — are the only faults in this celebratory biopic that transcends the sports film genre.

Ithaca's Idols

2010-01-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

Until this year, I'd never been bitten by the "American Idol" bug. Until this year, I'd never seen a single episode (though I'm a big fan of many of its alums). Until this year, I didn't really get what all the hype was about. But after much convincing from one of my editors, I finally broke down and began watching this season.

I can't say I'm all that impressed so far, however, certain ~~tragically bad~~ ahem ... interesting auditions have stuck out. Probably none more memorable than General Larry Platt's rendition of his original song "Pants on the Ground." Seemingly overnight, "the General" as he calls himself achieved William Hung levels of Internet meme success.

I absolutely hated this song and how popular it became after it debuted on "Idol". But the Ithacapella version is surprisingly catchy and oddly captivating. The all-male Ithaca College-based a capella group caught the attention of Ryan Seacrest Productions and will be featured on an upcoming show. And as much as I hate myself for it, I can't wait.

Check out their video (spontaneously filmed in a hotel room from what I can gather):

Permanently Hilarious

2010-01-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Most of my friends know and ~~love~~ hate me for correcting their grammar and spelling all the time. And though I'm admittedly not so great at the latter, I always use spell check -- something these people probably should have considered before getting misspelled/grammatically incorrect tattoos.

If you don't know the difference between "your" and "you're" then you probably shouldn't get it tattooed on your body. If you don't get the joke, you should probably give your grade school English teacher a call.

Thanks to my friend Lena for pointing this out to me. I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor: The Obama State of the Union Edition

2010-01-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

When Presidents used to make national speeches, the whole country would tune in to hang on every word he said because at least many of them cared deeply about what was being said. Nowadays, Americans are more concerned with what words the president utters because it's the difference between a swig of your adult beverage and not.

I did a quick GoogleNews search for "Obama State of the Union Drinking Game" and came up with around 6,300 results ... just in the last 24 hours. The only scarier fact is that there were only about 100 more on the State of the Union specifically. I realize that there is probably a bit of overlap, but within the first page that I checked, the results accurately reflected the search terms I was seeking.

It's a sad, sad commentary on our society, yet it's oddly fascinating and quite funny to glimpse through the ways the public plans to get sloshed tonight. The rules I found range from hilarious fantasies (the Huffington Post blog suggested taking a shot every time Joe Wilson yells something and an additional shot if Obama yells back) to more likely possibilities (like every time Obama says "make no mistake" or "let me be clear"). It's amazing how predictable one of the great orators of our times has become.

More serious sources are predicting the actual content of his speech will focus on the economy and unemployment, as well as the health care debate (each mention of which, by the way, will cost you another shot if you're playing along). Needless to say, it's crucial for Obama to give a knock-out speech tonight.

A VERY SERIOUS NOTE: I do not condone binge drinking.

LIVEBLOG: The Golden Globes

2010-01-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Roll out the red carpet, 'cause it's time once again for the starlettes of Hollywood to pat themselves on the back. The 67th Annual Golden Globes, hosted by Ricky Gervais (interesting choice), start tonight at 8 p.m. I'm not usually a fan of these shamelessly excessive awards shows, so what better way to enjoy it than to jot down some clever, sardonic quips as it happens?

I'll be live-blogging the show starting at 7 p.m. (for the Red Carpet pre-show) using Cover-It-Live (thanks to my editor, Eric Rezsnyak, for introducing me to it). Feel free to join me (below) in my inevitable snark-fest. Should be fun!

LIVEBLOG: The Golden Globes

Check out my predictions from before and the actual winners here.

Golden Globe Predictions

2010-01-17T15:12:00.001-08:00

*UPDATE* Now that the show is over, I've updated the list to include the actual winners (noted in bold).

Here are my bets for this year's Golden Globes. I'll use an asterisk (*) to denote my choice & elaborate on each.

Best Motion Picture (Drama)
*Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

My Prediction: "Avatar" will probably win (it's got more buzz than an over-populated bee hive right now), but I wouldn't mind (nor surprised) if "Up in the Air" pulled out the win. No points for "Inglourious Basterds" in my book -- they spelled both words in the title wrong.

Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy)
(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
*It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

My Prediction: I've only seen two of the five in this category -- (500) Days and Julie & Julia -- so it's hard to judge. From everything I've heard and read about Nine, it almost has no business being nominated (surprising, given Rob Marshall directed) and The Hangover was a typical frat-boyish humor movie, so it's chances are slim too. My bet would be on It's Complicated (it's got a bunch of Hollywood A-listers & has gotten pretty good reviews, despite its predictability).

Best Actor (Drama)
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
*Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Tobey Maguire, "Brothers"

My Prediction: This one's a toss up between Morgan Freeman, who was incredible as Nelson Mandela in "Invictus", and Tobey Maguire, who made a practically seamless transition from Spider-boy to emotionally wounded soldier.

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)
Matt Damon, "The Informant!"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Nine"
*Robert Downey Jr., "Sherlock Holmes"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "(500) Days of Summer"
Michael Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man"

My Prediction: The only other person I could possibly see wining this category would be Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was adorably funny in "(500) Days".

Best Actress (Drama)
*Emily Blunt, "The Young Victoria"
Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Miren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious"

My Prediction: New Queen Emily Blunt will definitely beat out former Queen Helen Miren, but Sandra Bullock could be a threat (she did win the Critic's Choice Award).

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)
Sandra Bullock, "The Proposal"
Marion Cotillard, "Nine"
Julia Roberts, "Duplicity"
Meryl Streep, "It's Complicated"
*Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia"

My Prediction: Streep beats Streep in this category, but again, Bullock could steal the win here too (she made quite a comeback in "The Proposal" this year).

Best Supporting Actor
*Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanely Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

My Prediction: I didn't believe Matt Damon's British accent for a minute, but he was outstanding in that role otherwise.

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
*Mo'nique, "Precious"
Julianne More, "A Single Man"

My Prediction: Of the flicks in this category, I've only seen "Up in the Air", and neither Farmiga nor Kendrick gave an award-winning performance. Based on the buzz I've heard, Mo'nique has this one in the bag. You go girl!

Best Animated Feature
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
*Up

My Prediction: "Up" was not only funny, but also poignant and moving. I don't think there's a bad one in this bunch ('cept maybe Coraline), so this category could definitely be a toss-up.

Best TV Drama Series
Big Love
Dexter
House
*Mad Men
True Blood

My Prediction: After my European Mass Media professor raved about "Mad Men" for an entire semester, I finally broke down and watched a few episodes, and I have to say, I'm a fan. I've loved "House" forever (no matter how formulaic the show's plots are), but I seriously doubt it'll win again (Season 5 was a bit of a mess).

Best TV Comedy Series
30 Rock
Entourage
*Glee
Modern Family
The Office

My Prediction: Even though I wanted to hate it, "Glee" officially gets my vote in this category. I officially hate myself for loving that show. But it's fabulous.

Best Actor, TV Drama Series
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
*John Hamm, "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
Bill Paxton, "Big Love"

Hugh Laurie's always received high praise as House, but I think this could be Mad Men's year for a win.

Best Actress, TV Drama Series
Glenn Close, "Damages"
January Jones, "Mad Men"
*Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
Anna Paquin, "True Blood"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

My Prediction: I could see Kyra Sedgwick winning this award too, but she's already won in the past.

More Than Just Steps

2009-12-01T08:06:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of things on peoples' minds today. It's first day of December -- the first day of snow for some, one less day to find the perfect Christmas or Hannukah gift for others, and one day closer to finals week for myself and my fellow students. One thing everyone needs to keep on their mind today: AIDS.

Today is World AIDS Day, a time to remember those we've lost to the disease (more than 25 million since 1985, and at least 2 million just last year) and a time to think about our future. But how can just one person help? Educating yourself and sharing that knowledge with others can be one of the most powerful tools we have to combat this disease.

Check out this video that Ryan Kasprzak, whose name you make recognize from "So You Think You Can Dance", made for Dancers Responding to AIDS.

When there is a cure for AIDS, we will dance for joy. Until then, we will dance for life. In the meantime, education, prevention, treatment and research are some of our best weapons against AIDS. Let's use them to their full potential.

Funny Bunny

2009-11-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

The number of movie spoofs available to Internet users at any given time is simply insane. There are literally thousands of sites dedicated exclusively to producing funny remakes of famous films. So what makes angryalien.com so special? One word: bunnies.

The site, created by artist Jennifer Shiman, has posted one video a month since 2005 that recaps a movie in 30(ish) seconds ... with bunnies. It's genius. Pirates of the Caribbean, Titanic and the Harry Potter films are some of my favorites.

I'm not a fan of Twilight or all the hype surrounding it, but this spoof of Twilight is too funny not to share.

Thanks to Seth for showing me this site!

Muppet Rock

2009-11-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

I was obsessed with the Muppets as a kid (and quite frankly, still am). I own several Muppets movies (don't knock it, they're totally enjoyable, even as an adult. I still watch Muppet Christmas Carol with my family every Christmas) and judging by the following video, I can't be the only one who still loves the wacky puppets.

This clip of the Muppets performing "Bohemian Rhapsody" has blown up on Youtube over the past couple days -- it's currently the most played, most favorited and the number one vid in the music category -- and it's easy to see why. Combining a classically nostalgic Queen tune with everyone's favorite band of puppets, the video is both heartwarming and hilarious. I particularly love their adaptation of the lyrics. Just watch and you'll see what I mean.

On another related and equally funny note, check out Beeker & the Swedish Chef's rendition of "Habenara" from Carmen. Genius.

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: Aha!

2009-11-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

Opening routine tonight was set to “Aha!” by Imogen Heap and featured the dancers as pieces of art. At the start, they were all standing on different podiums and covered in sheets. When the music picked up, half the sheets were ripped off and they started with some great sharp, rhythmic arm moves. The dancers kept shaking their hands like they were being electrocuted, which was weird at first, but oddly captivating. About halfway through, the rest of the group joined in with some Thriller-esque moves. A haunting and intriguing piece to open the show choreographed by Wade and Amanda Robson.

Cat looked a bit dowdy tonight in a pale pink, loose-fitting dress with a high school-girl collar, big, sparkly brooch and elbow-length sleeves. It’s astonishing that a woman that beautiful can actually look unattractive.

After a quick chat with the judges, it was down to business. First two couples were Ashleigh & Jakob and Kevin & Karen. Cat revealed that Ashleigh and Jakob were safe without talking to Kevin & Karen at all … it was weird and made me think maybe America kept them safe too? I hope not, they need to get cut this week … and they could be: they’re in the Bottom 3.

Next three couples: Ryan & Ellenore, Russell & Noelle and Channing & Victor. Ryan & Ellenore did a fantastic, emotional Travis Wall contemporary piece last night. Russell & Noelle did one of the best foxtrots I’ve seen on this show, but then again voters might not respond the classic ballroom style. Of the three, I suspected Channing & Victor would land in the bottom and they did. Their routine was so bizarre (well danced, but bizarre) and I think America didn’t know what to make of it. They’re also kind of forgettable, so they could definitely be in trouble.

Last two couples: Mollee & Nathan and Legacy & Kathryn. The judges loved Mollee & Nathan’s pop jazz routine last night, but I thought it was lackluster at best. I also think America’s getting sick of their over-cutesy personalities (I am too). Legacy & Kathryn blew me away with their Paso Doble last night. One of the best routines of the season so far. And America finally put Mollee & Nathan in the bottom. I doubt she’ll be cut before the Top 10, but I can’t wait to see Nathan with different partner. I think Mollee’s holding him back with her Micky Mouse club vibe.

The special guest dancers tonight were choreographer Nakul Dev Majahan and MDN Bollywood Dance company with a Bollywood routine to "Desi Girl" from the movie Destona. The routine was absolutely dynamic and employed great partner work and use of the stage. Not to mention the costumes were gorgeous. I wish I could pull off wearing a sari – they’re beautiful.

Solos: Karen was first up and did one of the weakest solos I’ve ever seen. Majority of it was her flipping her hair around and standing there. Occasionally she groped herself. Ew. Kevin did a pretty mediocre hip-hop solo He did the back-bend-with-no-hands move again and some popping, but nothing exciting or memorable. Both their routines left me asking ‘how the hell are they still in this competition’ or worse yet, ‘how did they make the Top 20 in the first place?’

Channing was next and performed a gorgeously flowy piece that accentuated her fabulous extension. Not exactly dancing for her life, but lots of solid technique and a vast improvement on the previous two routines. Victor was next and fared pretty well in his solo. His pirouettes are his strength and he played on that – he did too many turns (that was pretty much the whole routine), but he executed them beautifully. Mollee did a lot of gymnastics and leaps for her solo – I forgot she could do that kind of stuff, so it was great to see. What wasn’t so great were the moments in between those moves where she strutted around the stage like a stripper. Something about the whole thing just felt wrong. Probably because she looks (and acts) like a twelve-year-old. Nathan fused his popping ability with his contemporary and really showed off his insane level of control. He kept coming out of his pirouettes and stopping dead in his tracks facing front (on one foot!). That’s tricky stuff.

Special guest tonight was a rocker chick named Orianthi, who’s apparently played with such legends as Santana and Michael Jackson. She performed her song “According to You”. I’ve never heard of her, but her guitar chops were sick. Her voice was a bit whiney at times, but I forgot about it the second she did a guitar solo (and there were several mini ones throughout the song). Not too shabby for the musical guest slot (which was notoriously sucky last season).

Results time: Ladies first. Nigel called Mollee forward first and while I find her totally obnoxious, she excelled at her solo and was safe. Nigel said it was difficult for ballroom dancers like Karen to do solos (yeah, but that’s no excuse for not doing ANYTHING in a ‘dance for your life’ situation) and said that although Channing had spectacular technique, she didn’t let her personality shine through and that she was cut. What?! She was a bit boring, but she didn’t deserve to go this week. Then again, she’d probably get cut next week anyways. I guess as long as we’re weeding out the weaker dancers, I’m cool with it.

Time for the guys. Nigel called Nathan first and said he was safe (as expected). His technique is way too strong for them to let him go before the Top 10. Then it was down to Kevin and Victor. As suspected, Kevin got the ax. I’d normally say something about Nigel filling the hip-hop void in the show, but I don’t think Kevin did that too well, so I’m not too sad to see him go.

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: That Was Like Walkin' on Tall Cotton

2009-11-18T22:11:00.000-08:00

'Nother week of "Dance" blogs, comin' atcha (despite the fact that I'm neck-deep in final projects and papers already). Here's my recap of Tuesday's performance show (arguably one of the strongest across the board).

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: It was French fried & Three up, three down

2009-11-13T09:20:00.000-08:00

Did you miss my weekly musings about 'So You Think You Can Dance'? I thought so. Saying I was 'too busy' is such a lame excuse. I was on a much-needed and totally planned hiatus called 'homework, final projects, Ithacan, Newswatch, freelance work and other shit hit the fan simultaneously' break. Catchy, right? The fact that the show has been on at wacky times (thank you, baseball) didn't help either. Anyways, here's my recap of Tuesday's performance show and Wednesday's elimination show via the City newspaper entertainment blog. Enjoy!

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Not your grandmother's tuba recital

2009-11-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I went to a somewhat unusual concert on Halloween night: Octubafest. A big tradition here on the IC campus, Octubafest is a recital in which several tuba and euphonium students perform lots of spooky and fun tunes in costume. Audience participation is a must -- singing, dancing, a cymbal crashing contest, throwing Nerf balls at the tubas. It's not your grandma's tuba recital. Check out this audio slideshow:

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Going Green for Halloween

2009-10-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year -- even as an adult. Something about getting dressed up and pretending to be something else is exciting (maybe it's the five-year-old inside of me; and trust me, she's there). Those who know me know I don't like to do the same costume twice. Even if I'm going to one party Friday and one on Saturday, I'll come up with two completely different outfits.

That usually means getting crafty -- in terms of making to costume and saving money. Making your own costume is not only fun, but also sustainable. Check out what a group of Ithaca residents is doing to save money and the environment this Halloween.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Originality?

2009-10-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

Kanye may have been right about Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video being awesome (I'm not getting into any debate about whether it's better than Taylor Swift's video or not), but I'll bet he didn't know the concept for the video wasn't Beyonce's idea.

Recently, the pop singer admitted on BET that she was inspired by a performance by Gwen Verdon (Bob Fosse's wife) on The Ed Sullivan Show called "Mexican Breakfast." Beyonce's video also liberally borrows moves from "Sweet Charity", which like the Ed Sullivan performance was choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse.

I'll admit I was a bit miffed when I first heard this news, especially because at that point Beyonce hadn't admitted to the blatant similarities (check out a mash-up of all three routines video here), but then again, she's doing what we ask of all great artists: steal from the best and make it your own. Whether or not she made it totally her own, I'm still not sure of, but I'm willing to let it slide.

On another quasi-related note, in April (how did I miss this?) about 100 London single ladies performed the dance from Beyonce's video in Picadilly Circus to win tix to the pop singer's concert this month. Awesome.

AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Israeli Folk Dancing

2009-10-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last week, for our digital journalism project, my friend Norah and I went to Cornell to cover the Israeli Folk Dance class taught there every Thursday. Here's the final audio slideshow:

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: Blood on the Dance Floor & Vegas Week, Pt 1!

2009-10-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Guess what?! I'm keeping my promise and posting my 'SYTYCD' recaps! And the crowd goes wild! Here's the link to the one for Tuesday (Salt Lake City auditions) and for Wednesday (Vegas Week). Enjoy!

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: I Head Ya Doin' the New Orleans Bounce Last Night

2009-10-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry again for the delay in my weekly 'So You Think You Can Dance' recap, folks. Hopefully all my loyal readers out there (are there even any?) won't abandon me just yet. I swear I'll get better at this ... hopefully ... maybe? I'll try. Pinky swear!

Anyways, here's my recap of both Tuesday and Wednesday nights' shows via the City Newspaper arts & entertainment blog. Enjoy!

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: Watching That Was Like Watching Paint Dry

2009-09-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Again, sorry for the delay. Check out my recap of the Boston "So You Think You Can Dance" auditions on the City entertainment blog here.

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: The Aliens Have Landed

2009-09-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay, folks. I meant to post a link to my recap of Wednesday's episode of 'So You Think You Can Dance' a few days ago, but alas, my computer bit the dust (temporarily). I'm sure all my loyal readers out there (Mom, Dad ... yeah, that's probably about it) have been dying of anticipation for my recap, so here it is. Enjoy!

RIP: Patrick Swayze

2009-09-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Actor Patrick Swayze died today after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to the Associated Press. He was 57 years old.

Swayze, best known for his portrayal of bad-boy Johnny Castle in the '80s coming-of-age flick "Dirty Dancing", announced in March 2008 he had one of the more deadly cancers. The one-years survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 20 percent, and the five-year survival rate is only about 4 percent.

Swayze earned three Golden Globe nominations, for "Dirty Dancing" (1987), "Ghost" (1990) and 1995's "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." Those three movies alone exemplify something few probably think of when they think of Swayze: his versatility. He wasn't afraid to play the sensitive guy in "Ghost", the dancing bad boy with a heart of gold in "Dirty Dancing" (come on, who didn't fall in love with him in that movie?) or even a drag queen in "To Wong Foo". He shocked the hell out of critics and audiences alike with that last choice in particular, but managed to pull it off in a surprisingly entertaining comedy.

Though I was born the year after "Dirty Dancing" was released, I've watched it more times than I can count and loved his performance. His dancing was just outstanding — masculine, controlled and technically brilliant. It's not surprising, considering his mother is famed choreographer Patsy Swayze.

Swayze was an avid conservationist off-screen, who was deeply moved by time spent in Africa.

Though I'm sure we all knew his death was inevitable (even Swayze himself addressed his mortality in television appearances this past year), it's still sad to lose such a talented actor, phenomenal dancer and beautiful spirit. He will truly be missed.

Empty Chairs, Full Hearts

2009-09-10T20:35:00.001-07:00

Last week there was a story in the Ithaca Journal about a new art exhibit here in Ithaca being put on by the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service of Tompkins County that caught my eye. The idea of the "Empty Chairs Project: Loss After Suicide" was to have artists who have lost a friend or family member to suicide create chairs to honor their memories.

I thought the impact of the story would be much more powerful in an audio slideshow than print, but I'll let you be the judge. Here's the link to the final version.

'SYTYCD' Fall 2009: The Year of the Tappers

2009-09-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

So even though I left City newspaper a few weeks ago (tear!) to come back to school, I'll still be blogging for them throughout the year. First up was a familiar topic: "So You Think You Can Dance"! The show kicked off its sixth season last night and, for the first time, will be airing during the fall. Here's my recap of the first audition episode. Enjoy!

ROUND UP: They Hired Who?!

2009-08-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

In about nine months, like other college grads I'll be venturing out into the real world in search of a job. It's a daunting task of course, but given some of the questionable hiring practices this week, it's getting more terrifying by the second.

Jenna Hager, (a.k.a. former first daughter Jenna Bush), secured a reporter position with NBC's "Today Show" earlier this week despite having no journalism experience whatsoever (unless you count being target practice for the paparazzi and tabloids).
In an interview with the Associated Press, she even admitted it's not a career path she ever considered and that she's not particularly qualified for the job.
"It wasn't something I'd always dreamed to do," she said. "I hope to focus on what I'm passionate about because I think I'd do the best job on them — education, urban education, women and children's issues and literacy."
Yeah, because literacy clearly runs in the family ... This is the person we'll be getting our news from. Great. It's very reassuring considering how many talented J-school grads there are that are currently jobless. So. Unfair.
Remember disgraced former Gov. Elliot Spitzer? You know, the one who got busted with a high-priced ~~escort~~ hooker? Students at City College in Manhattan will be calling him 'Professor Spitzer' this semester. Yup, he's teaching a class on public policy at the New York university. Interesting move on their part, but at least it's not a class on ethics ...

The lesson? Toss your morals out the window & go for a career outside your major, kiddies. That's how we're supposed to get a job nowadays, I guess.

I Got A Feeling This Is Gonna Go Viral

2009-08-06T06:04:00.001-07:00

In the wee hours of the morning yesterday (well, technically today) I found myself where every sleep-deprived night owl finds themself at 3 a.m. after aimlessly perusing the Internet for several hours: Youtube. And that's when I found this: an A capella cover of "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas.

David Choi, who sung and made the video, is getting a lot of flack for using Auto-Tune to adjust his voice's pitch, but I honestly don't care. It's awesome. I've listened to it more than a dozen times since I woke up this morning and I can't get enough of it. Probably doesn't hurt that this was already one of my favorite songs this summer though ...

SYTYCD: Final 4 Revealed!

2009-07-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

The finale is almost here and this year's Top 4 have finally been revealed: Kayla, Brandon, Jeanine and Evan. For my thoughts on tonight's show, check out the City Newspaper blog here.

SYTYCD: It's a Bird, It's a Plane — No! It's an Arabesque!

2009-07-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last performance show before the Finale. And yet somehow, I'm still remarkably underwhelmed. Lil C was the guest judge tonight (ugh) and the routines on the whole were mediocre. There were a couple solid routines (particularly the disco one; more on that in a second), but I'm getting less and less invested in this competition. The crop of dancers this year have the best technique of any season so far, but the least star power. Even S1 was more entertaining (and that season practically put me to sleep).

Anyways, the final 3 guys kicked off the show with a Sonya jazz piece, which she described as "Willy Wonka-esque". I was pumped for it since I'm a big fan of the original movie (the Johnny Depp remake, not so much) and it didn't disappoint. The routine, set to "True Romance" by She Wants Revenge, had lots of great quirky, sharp movements. I love it when they put the guys together in routines because they can be rougher with each other — at one point Evan and Ade launched (and I mean LAUNCHED) Brandon into the air and at another point, they did simultaneous standing back tucks. Awesome. Lil C started spewing his bullshit saying he wanted to see Ade & Brandon dance together since the beginning. He then continued to shit all over Evan, "commending" him for not getting swallowed by the "dominating excellence" of Ade and Brandon. Evan's performances the last few weeks haven't been the strongest (he probably should have gotten the boot two or three weeks ago), but he did some great stuff in that routine. Lil C's comments were nothing more than a veiled attack on him. I don't mind the judges critiquing the dancers (that's why they're there), but all I ask is that they critique all the dancers equally. Mary and Nigel gave ALL the boys good critiques and Nigel stood up for Evan, saying he stood out in the routine for him and that they all danced it brilliantly.

Jeanine & Ade got a samba by Louis Van Amstel to "LoveGame" by Lady Gaga. Hated the song, lukewarm about the routine. Jeanine was very clearly the star of the number. She threw her be-feathered butt (bad costuming) into the routine — her hip swivels were sexy as hell and her fast footwork was genius. But Ade's poor, lofty technique and ridiculously goofy grin held the routine back. The judges' remarks mostly focused on Ade's lackluster performance, and rightly so, but poor Jeanine got left in the dust. After their next routine though (more on that in a minute), Mary gave Jeanine high praise for the samba and even put her on the train (I think).

First solo performance was Kayla. A lot of her movements lacked the usual grace we see in her performances. It wasn't bad, but it still wasn't as great as most of her other work. I love her — as far as I'm concerned, she hasn't taken a wrong step in the competition — but I am worried for her. America hasn't latched on to her, which I don't get, and I think she could be in serious trouble come tomorrow night.

Melissa & Evan (Broadway by Tyce DiOrio) to "Get Me to the Church on Time" from "My Far Lady". Evan was the groom who overslept and Melissa was frantically trying to get him ready. It was silly and campy and just a lot of fun. A thoroughly enjoyable performance. Evan owned the routine, but Melissa might as well have not been there. I barely noticed her. It wasn't very technically demanding, but it had loads of personality and goofy faces — something Evan excels at. Not my favorite routine of the night, but certainly decent. Lil C slammed Evan again, saying he danced it well, but that he wasn't "shooting for excellence." Will someone call out Lil C for his obvious beef against Evan? Nigel stepped up and defended the poor kid again, saying it wasn't technically brilliant (eh, it was a typical crappy Tyce B'way number), but that it required a lot of energy and Evan did well.

Next solo was Ade. He's got good height on his jumps and did a few pirouettes, but most of his movements feel super-spastic to me. I mean there's such thing as sharp choreography and even popping, but he just looks like he's having a seizure on stage. I hate him (and his stupid pick). I hope he goes home tomorrow.

Kayla & Brandon (contemporary by Stacey Tookey) to "All I Want' by Ahn Trio. I was SO excited for this partnership — these two are probably my favorite dancers left in the competition at this point. It was about a married man (Brandon) and his mistress (Kayla). For the story line they were given, it was surprisingly classy. It was still passionate and sexy as hell, but absolutely beautiful to watch. Kayla's lines and extension have always been brilliant, but this time she had a partner (Brandon) who could match it. I got chills. On top of that, there were some magnificent lifts that Brandon made look effortless. Genius. The judges loved it and Mary said both of them were still on the Hot Tamale Train. She even said Kayla was perfection. Wow.

Next to perform a solo was Melissa. It was probably the weakest solo I've ever seen her do (and her solos, let's be honest, haven't been the strongest or the most memorable). She spent the first 10 of her 30 second solo just standing their and (unconvincingly) flirting with the camera. The rest of the routine consisted of 1 leap, a few half-hearted twirls and some more camera-mugging time. Extremely disappointing, especially from such a typically talented and beautiful dancer.

Jeanine & Ade got hip-hip with TabNap to "Move" by MIMS for their second routine. It was about two friends that were getting evicted from their apartment. I don't know where they get all their ideas, but I'm glad they do. They came out with their stank faces on and did an okay job of hitting it (at least in the beginning). The routine included some tricky, but fun choreography — at one point Jeanine had to do some double-dutch like jumping in between Ade's legs, which he was moving in and out — and the ending was adorable (they both put some of the boxes they had been maneuvering on their heads, this time with sad faces drawn on them). But I still felt it was lacking. I felt like Jeanine was, once again, really trying and throwing herself into the routine, but Ade was just along for the ride. The two of them even fell noticeably out of sync towards the end of the routine. The judges were practically salivating over the routine (sometimes I swear we've been watching different performances), and said Ade was great. NO! No, no, no, no! Blech!

Solo time again: for Brandon this time. This guy knows what it means to dance for his life. He did the same routine he initially auditioned with, which was so good it put Mary in hysterics. The music was dynamic ("O Fortuna"), he had quite a few spectacular tricks, including one that was pretty much a belly flop (with a much more graceful, controlled landing), and just great musicality. He got a standing ovation from the judges and Nigel even called it one of the best solos in the show's history. The black spanky pants aside, I would pretty much agree.

Melissa & Evan got the dreaded quickstep with Louis again to "As Long as I'm Singin'" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Evan was more alive in this routine than he's been in weeks. Again, Melissa was kind of just there. When I actually did notice her, it was because her technique seemed off for the quickstep. The routine had lots of energy at the start, kind of lost it in the middle, and kinda-sorta-not-really picked up again towards the end. Once again, Lil C picked on Evan and made a snide comment about his height ("you didn't dance as big as I wanted you to"). What a piece of shit. Mary said it started strong, but fizzled after that and I can see that. Nigel said it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't one of the stronger routines of the night. It wasn't the best of the night, but I thought it was at least fun and definitely more than adequate from the pair of them.

Jeanine's solo was good, as usual. And that's my problem with her. She certainly has the technique of a competition dancer, lovely extension and decent musicality, but I feel like it's a "Groundhog's Day" moment whenever she does her solos. It's always the same kind of stuff. So uninspiring. I want more from these dancers!

Evan's solo was filled with all his usual fun B'way stuff, but he added a buttload of flips at the beginning (I had no idea he could do that!) and some beautiful pirouettes. It wasn't the best solo we've ever seen, but it's certainly stronger than the rest of his solos and most of the other dancers' solos this season.

Kayla & Brandon did a disco by Doriana Sanchez to "Dance" by Sylvester for their second routine. All I can say is Da-hamn! They had flips, they had lifts, they had personality up the wazoo. It was just amazing to watch. The pair of them had lots of fun with it and made it look effortless, even though I'm sure it wasn't. Kayla was shaking it all over the place and showed off her flexibility when she did a split and Brandon picked her up, flipped her upside-down and lifted her over his head. At another point, Brandon threw Kayla into a death drop, then she got up and threw him into a death drop. AMAZING. There were a ton of great moments in that piece; definitely my favorite number of the night. Lil C started blathering on again, but it was worse than usual this time. Some crap about seeing music with your ears, finding the darkness in the pockets of the music. Kill me. Kill me now! Such utter crap. How the hell is this guy still on the show at this point?! He's such a joke. He's killing the show's credibility. Although, luckily, he hasn't choreographed a single routine this year, which hopefully means Nigel & the team already had a contract with him for this season and were stuck with him, but might get rid of him for S6 (*fingers crossed!*)

The last number of the evening was also choreographed by Sonya and it was all about girl power — super girl power that is. I'm all for superheroes and I wanted to love the routine, but ended up just liking it. It was alright, but not stellar. Between the costumes and the movements, the whole thing had a very 80s vibe to it. The boys' number was better tonight. Lil C offered another piece of dookie advice: "I thought you danced it amazingly, but I wanted you to dance more amazingly". To quote Hermione in the first HP movie: "What. An. Idiot." Mary said Kayla stood out (and she did, along with Jeanine. Melissa might as well have been the invisible superhero). Nigel tried to pull a Mary, starting off with a sort of somber tone, then jumping up, shrieking and frolicking like a little girl. I nearly died of laughter. Then he gave a shout out to Jeanine's boobs ("You can't tie down talent") because her costume included a laced up/semi-open bodice. I didn't even notice that about her outfit until he said it. I actually felt embarrassed for Jeanine. That comment was totally uncalled for and unnecessary. I usually love Nigel's comments (they're pretty spot-on), but that crossed the line.

My ideal final four: Brandon, Evan, Kayla and Jeanine. I'd like to see Melissa and Ade go home tonight. Let me explain.

Brandon and Kayla should be obvious: they've got arguably the strongest technique of any of the dancers left and have done some of the best performances of the season. They should be shoe-ins, although I am worried for Kayla. I love her to death and she's probably the only one I'd really like to see win the show at this point, but America doesn't seem to have latched on to her.

Now, I love Evan. I think he's a great dancer and adorable as hell. BUT he shouldn't still be in the competition. I've wanted to defend him all summer, but he has been one note the whole time: comic, fun, Broadway guy. Granted, he's very good at it, but in this competition, that's just not enough.

That being said, plus the fact that Evan is still here, I'd much rather see him in the F4 over Ade. The fact that Ade's still here is such a joke to me. He's a clumsy dancer with a weighty style, a dopey grin and a redonkulous-looking pick. Can't. Stand. Him. The only reason he made it to the Top 10 was because of Melissa. She carried his ass the whole way through. I'm completely baffled as to why he's still here.

Although the Top 10 guys on the whole were some of the weakest we've seen in this competition ever. Oh how I long for the days of S3 & S4 ... times when I was actually sad to see the dancers go, even some of the early eliminations (Hok, Jesus, Anya in S3; Rayven, Chelsea T. and Kourtni L in S4). I couldn't any be less invested in this competition right now.

At this point, I've almost given up on the entire season. Let's just toast to S6 and pray that it's better than this one.

SYTYCD: Happy Centennial!

2009-07-24T05:32:00.000-07:00

It was a big week for the "So You Think You Can Dance" franchise, as the show aired its 99th (Wednesday) and 100th (Thursday) episodes. I didn't have a chance to write up a review of the Wednesday performances (for that, check out the City newspaper entertainment blog by Eric Rezsnyak here), but I did write up the big 100th episode extravaganza (if you can call it that) for City -- follow the link here.

Happy Centennial "SYTYCD". Here's to another 100 episodes!

The ugly truth about, well, "The Ugly Truth"

2009-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Kathy and I'm a romantic comedies addict ("Hiiiii, Kathy"). They're cheesy, formulaic, and generally filled with poorly written dialogue and outrageous situations that movie buffs won't go near with a 10' pole. But I don't usually mind. They're mind-numbingly simple, but entertaining nonetheless, and generally have a decent eye-candy factor me and my girlfriends to ogle at for an hour and a half. And even though "The Ugly Truth" (out in theaters this Friday) is filled with all the usual hogwash that I love, there's nothing more to it than we've seen in the TV trailers for the past month or so.

The premise is totally predictable: Sacramento TV news producer Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl, "Knocked Up" and "Grey's Anatomy") is a neurotic workaholic who's hopeless in love, despite the fact that she's drop-dead gorgeous. Riiiight. Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler, "300") hosts a foul-mouthed, chauvinist TV show about relationships called "The Ugly Truth." And when network execs bring Mike in to spice up their morning show, he and Abby start butting heads constantly (duh). Convinced he knows more about dating than Abby, Mike offers to help her get her new, hunky neighbor, Colin (Eric Winter), but in the process (spoiler alert for anyone with half a brain, or anyone who hasn't seen the trailer) ends up falling for her.

Now, I could make any number of witty remarks here, but that would require me to employ more humor than is exhibited throughout the entire movie. With the exception of a few memorable scenes - most notably one involving a business dinner and vibrating panties - I barely chuckled during the screening. The ugly truth about this movie is that it's little more than a snarky, double-entendre-filled battle-of-the-sexes. Walking into the movie, I knew exactly what was going to happen and fully expected the usual fluff, but I was hoping for more comedy than I had already seen in the previews. And there simply wasn't. Rather than 100 minutes of non-stop hilarity, it was a painfully mediocre romantic comedy - and that's saying something.

At the end of the flick, Abby asks Mike why he loves her. "Fuck if I know," he replies. My thoughts exactly. Heigl's character is barely likeable, let alone dateable or even believable. The idea of a woman being so austere and out-of-touch with dating standards (Abby's idea of online foreplay includes a background check and peek at her date's credit score) is unimaginative. And the fact that such an overly exaggerated character was dreamt up by three female writers is even more disheartening. Newcomer Nicole Eastman teamed up with Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith ("Legally Blonde") to create a cast full of distorted stereotypes.

Between the complete lack of romance (I couldn't even conjure up a memorable, sexy scene to include in this review) and the less-than-impressive quality and amount of comedy, it's not worth the eight or nine bucks you'd have to spend to see it on the big screen.

"The Ugly Truth"
(R), directed by Robert Luketic
Begins Friday, July 24

And That's the Way He Was

2009-07-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Walter Cronkite, a man who pioneered the role of a television journalist with such ease and grace that he was known to many viewers as the most trusted man in America, passed away today at the age of 92, according to CBS News.

For nearly 2 decades, viewers were comforted by Cronkite's straightforward delivery of some of the biggest news stories of a generation — the Civil Rights movement, Watergate, and, perhaps most memorably, the Vietnam War. But the talented reporter was a reluctant star and desperately clung to the journalist's creed of objectivity as strongly as he could.

“I am a news presenter, a news broadcaster, an anchorman, a managing editor — not a commentator or analyst,” he said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor in 1973. “I feel no compulsion to be a pundit.”

But it was that undying devotion to a lack of bias that made his opinion so powerful and so valued by many. I'm sure millions will never forget his exclamation of "Oh boy!" when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in 1969, when he shed a tear while reporting President John F. Kennedy's death, or when he stepped out from behind his desk, pointed to the map of Vietnam and said the war was clearly not working.

Sadly, I was born too late to experience the wonder of his nightly news broadcasts. Nonetheless, he'll be fondly remembered by us J-Schoolers as Uncle Cronkite and as one of the best examples of an honest-to-God reporter.

SYTYCD: Ladies' Night

2009-07-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

I know I didn't blog Wednesday night's performance show (sorry, I was just exhausted), but I did review last night's results show on the City Entertainment blog again. Check it out here.

I'll definitely be blogging next week (it's the 99th & 100th episodes), so look for those on Wednesday and Thursday.

SYTYCD: Breaking the Breaker

2009-07-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's the link to my thoughts on tonight's results show on the City Newspaper entertainment blog: click here. Enjoy!

SYTYCD: Pipe Down, Ya' English Muffin

2009-07-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last performance show before the Top 10 are revealed!!! Anybody else as excited as I am?

Tonight's guest judge was Tyce DiOrio, which was fine by me. That's where he belongs – on the judging panel. He’s always a hilarious super-bitch with his critiques and I love it. Plus it means we don’t have to watch any of his crappy routines. Huzzah!

Each of the couples danced two routines this week, so this is gonna be a long post (bear with me).

Melissa & Ade’s first routine was a disco routine by Doriana to ‘Move on Up’. They started off with great energy, but it quickly became dirge-ish. The routine was chuck-full of lifts, which were the best part of the routine to me. My favorite was when Melissa kicked her leg up to her chin, and Ade basically threw her over his head horizontally. The judges all loved it.

Kayla & Kupono started off the evening with a Mia Michaels contemporary routine to “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles. The dance was about addiction – Kupono was the addiction and Kayla was the addict. Genius idea, Mia. It such a powerful routine – both of them committed 100 percent to the concept. Kupono was downright creepy (which was the point) and stole the performance from Kayla for once, I think. But she was great too. Do I smell another Emmy for Mia Michaels?

Caitlin & Jason’s first routine was a fox trot to “Minnie the Moocher” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It was a jazzy, American style fox trot and it was alright. Not bad, not great, just okay. Jason’s carriage wasn’t as strong as it needed to be, but Caitlin pulled him through the routine. Her extension (as always) were great, and she was perfectly suited for this fluid routine.

Jeanine & Phillip pulled Russian Folk Dance, which they’re apparently bringing back to the show (they did this style before?). Watching the rehearsals, I was downright scared for these two and I was right to be. Phillip really dragged Jeanine down – his leaps were weak, and he always felt out of sync to me. It was painful to watch. The routine really slowed down about 10 seconds in, and I think that could hurt them in the vote, although the judges gave them mixed reviews, so we’ll see.

Randi & Evan got a hip-hop routine by TabNap to “Halo”. The concept was that Randi was pregnant and they were going to get engaged. I was beyond nervous to see Evan do hip-hop, but he really surprised me. The routine was perfect for them – hard hitting, in-sync and lots of personality. They also pulled off some amazing lifts, which was especially great because, hey, how often do you really see strong lifts in hip-hop? Love TabNap. Love Randi & Evan.

Janette & Brandon’s first routine was an Argentine tango by Miriam Larici and Leonardo deMarco to "Libertango". Janette looked sexy as hell, and her dancing was amazing too. Her footwork was flawless and she completely committed to the routine. I barely noticed Brandon for the first half of the routine, but he stepped it up with his fast footwork and some amazing lifts (which are seemingly effortless for him). The only problem: they lacked serious chemistry. Janette gave it her all, but Brandon didn’t even try. Disappointing. The judges gave them a standing ovation (a bit much), Tyce made some ridiculous metaphor about orange juice and Mary put them on the train. Woo-woo!

Melissa & Ade’s second routine was a waltz by Ron Montez to “Natural Woman” by Mary J. Blige. It was fluid, graceful and just beautiful. Melissa makes everything look effortless, and Ade’s been growing on me. His technique still isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be, but he’s getting better. I guess Melissa is rubbing off on him.

Kayla & Kupono danced Broadway by Joey Dowling to "The Dance at the Gym" from "West Side Story” for their second number. The music really put me off – I love WSS, but the song selection was all wrong for this piece. That song is powerful and spicy and their routine simply wasn’t. Kayla really threw herself into it, but Kupono (as usual) was just kind of along for the ride. Not one of their better routines, but the judges gave them mixed reviews.

Caitlin & Jason got a lyrical jazz number with Mandy Moore to “Show Me Heaven”. The routine started off slow, but things picked up a bit after the first minute or so. The routine had some great sharp kicks, lots of chemistry and was remarkably in sync. Jason was practically ignoring Caitlin though. He always plays too much to the audience, completely disadvantaging his partner.

Jeanine & Phillip did a jive to "Stuff Like That There" for their second routine. The whole routine felt lackluster to me, and wasn’t particularly dynamic either. Jeanine threw herself into it, but, as always, Phillip was just lagging behind. I’d like to see her make the Top 10 so she can have a chance with a new partner. She could really emerge as a threat I think. The judges were pretty easy on them and Jeanine even made it onto Mary’s train.

Randi & Evan’s second routine was a samba with Pasha and Anya from S3 to "Ritmo de Bom Bom". Strong start to the number with this amazing flippy, throw thing (sorry, I really can’t explain it). They danced the routine well technically (as always) and Randi was sexy as hell, but Evan wasn’t totally there. I mean he was, but not in the strong leading man kind of way. If he wants to survive in this competition he needs to learn how to be strong like bull, not cute like puppy. They’re still some of my favorite dancers and I really hope they make it to the Top 10. Nigel said the routine wasn't as hot as he would have liked it. Mary referred to it as a "slow sizzle,” and put Randi on the train too.

Janette & Brandon finished off the night with a Wade Robson jazz routine to “Ruby Blue” by Roíson Murphy. I love Wade Robson’s routines, and this one was no exception. Janette & Brandon were supposed to be burglars – Janette as the go get ‘em type and Brandon as the more calculating type – and it came through perfectly. They started off on top of the steps and came down with some great freeze-frame moments. They were so in-sync it was almost scary. The routine had loads of personality and was easily one of my favorites of the night.

Phew! Okay, I think that's it.

Bottom 3 Predictions: This is tough, since half of the couples will be in the bottom. Phillip & Jeanine will probably be in trouble (both their routines were pretty lackluster) and Caitlin & Jason will end up there by default. They’re not the most exciting dancers and don’t really seem to have a strong voting bloc. I think the last spot is a toss-up (although all of them pretty much are). Kayla & Kupono might land in the bottom. It seems like the audiences haven’t really warmed to them, although their ‘addiction’ routine was brilliant and it just might save them. Randi & Evan might be in trouble too because of the judges’ lukewarm reactions to their samba, but I really hope they survive til next week.

I guess we’ll see. I’ll be blogging about tonight’s results show over on City Newspaper’s entertainment blog (I’ll post the link in a later post). Anybody else as excited as I am for this year’s Top 10?!

SYTYCD: Farewell Forgetables

2009-07-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight's show started off with a group number to some song from "The Wiz" (I didn't catch what it was). It started with the dancers standing behind a giant picture frame (ooookay?). Then they sprung to life and the shit hit the fan. The routine was busy and clumsy – the dancers were all over the place. I didn't like it and no surprise, it was a Tyce DiOrio number. That guy always gives us such crap. Nigel gave him the usual tongue bath (when will the producers realize he's a sophomoric, hack choreographer at best?)

Anyways, onto the results. First two couples: Karla & Vitolio and Randi & Evan. I thought both couples would be in trouble tonight, but apparently one was safe. Karla & Vitolio didn't do a bad job last night given the circumstances (new couple, tough genre, pretty technique-heavy routine), but it certainly wasn't strong. And I really don't care about them – they're SO BORING! And I love Randi & Evan – they're strong dancers and totally adorable, but always unfairly over-critiqued by the judges. But they're safe! YAY!

Next three couples: Janette & Brandon, Kayla & Kupono and Melissa & Ade. I thought all three of them would be safe, but I guess one of the pairs is in danger. Janette & Brandon were über sexy in their cha-cha last night, and it's no surprise that they're safe. K squared had a pretty dark Sonya jazz routine, but it had to do with vampires, so I thought for sure the tween Twilight audience members would come out in droves for them. Melissa & Ade were absolutely amazing in their classical 'Romeo & Juliet' ballet routine, but young voters might not get the beauty of ballet (although Katee & William got tons of votes & praise for their pas de deux last season). Aaaand ... Melissa & Ade are safe, Kayla & Kupono are in the Bottom 3. Mia said K&K's number was the best of the night – I disagree, but it was good – but hopefully at least Kayla will survive unscathed.

That left us with Jason & Caitlin and Phillip & Jeanine as the last two couples, with seemingly predictable results. Phillip's got a huge voting bloc that has saved him and Jeanine after some pretty dreadful routines (Broadway and Tango) the past couple weeks and Caitlin & Jason's routine last night was really weird and they don't seem to have a strong fan base. But somehow Phillip & Jeanine landed in the bottom and Caitlin & Jason survived to see another week. My reaction was the same as Caitlin's ... What?! I know I complained about Phillip getting by unfairly because of his strong fan base so far, but I definitely didn't think they deserved to be in the bottom based on their hip-hop routine last night. On the plus side, this was an opportunity for Phillip to show off, which I can't say I mind.

Then it was time for another performance from "The World of Dance". Usually I love this segment, but this week's performance (a ballet routine performed by Desmond Richardson and Patricia Hachey) left me a bit disappointed. The ballet was fine (although the costumes were a bit distracting), but it looked like Patricia slipped at one point (did anyone else see that?) and I actually liked Melissa & Ade's ballet last night better.

Solo time. Karla was up first and I'm pretty sure she did the same routine she did for her audition and for her solo last week (has anyone else noticed this?). She's never impressed me with her dancing and doing the same tired routine is very uninspiring. Vitolio's solo had some great leaps and good control, but his personality is just non-existent when he performs. He's got an adorable accent during his interviews, but he's dullsville when he dances. Urgh. Kayla was next and did a more-than-adequate, but slightly lackluster routine. Her technique is great, but I think she took the judges' critiques too much to heart (a few weeks ago, Nigel told her that her routine was too busy and it seemed like she was trying too hard). She's one of the judges' favorites (and mine too), so I doubt she's going anywhere. Kupono's solo basically involved him doing a few lunges, but that was it. He pretty much just stood there. Poor life choice, Kupono, poor life choice. Jeanine was next and did a lovely solo with lots of great extensions that showed off her lines, some perfect pirouettes and leaps. She's becoming one of my favorites in this competition and I'd like to see her with a different partner. Although based off his routine with her last night and his solo tonight, Phillip isn't going anywhere. He did his thing and his solo was filled with great popping and comedy. Plus the judges love him. He should be fine too.

Then, KELLY CLARKSON! It was nice to see an American Idol on So You Think You Can Dance. I think her top was a bit unflattering, but her performance of "I Will Not Hook Up" was great. I wish this song was a bigger hit – I've had it on my iPod for about a month (since I blogged about it) and it's one of my top played songs. And take a note "pop stars": she sang every note LIVE and it sounded great. Love her.

Results time: The judges were unanimous in their decision for the girls. Nigel told Jeanine she had the strongest solo of the night (I'd agree) and that she's safe for another week. Huzzah! Then Nigel told Kayla her solo was stagnant and I can see that, but I don't think she deserves to go home – this girl's a star. Karla got rebuked for her lack of star quality and was cut. Can't same I'm surprised or disappointed at all.

Onto the guys, and again, the judges were unanimous. Phillip got called out first and was scolded for "overworking" his solo and for his less-than-great performances in previous weeks, but is safe. The judges said Vitolio had a great stage presence but no substance to his solo. Was I watching a different performance? I would say the complete opposite was true of his solo. Anyways, Nigel then told Kupono standing there wasn't going to cut it, but he got a pass to next week. I need to go gambling with this guy because he is SO LUCKY! I suspect he'll be in danger next week.

We're really whittling it down here and I think the remaining 12 dancers definitely deserve to be here. I have a feeling Caitlin & Jason will be in trouble and Kupono as well. But it's strong pack this year and anything can happen. Still, I think it'll be tough for the judges to pick the Top 10, which happens next week! Can't wait!

SYTYCD: The Dancing Condom

2009-07-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ah, another Wednesday. Time again for my “So You Think You Can Dance” mid-week pick-me-up.

Mia Michaels was the guest judge this week and I was SO ready for her to be über-bitchy about the dancers. Instead there was a ten-minute exchange between her and Cat about whether or not she had warmed to any of the dancers (cough – Brandon – cough cough) and it was nothing short of obnoxious. Mia tried to claim she was only hard on Brandon before because she saw his incredible potential and wanted him to grow. Bull. Shit. Cue the tapes of her being utterly hostile toward the guy. Ugh. Let’s hope she’s better tonight.

On top of that, this week’s show was still two hours long when it easily could have been whittled down to an hour and a half. In their mini-video segments this week, the dancers recapped their last 3 weeks in the competition. Are the producers of this show that lazy? Are the contestants that boring? Come up with something. Please.

Alright, onto the dancing!

Janette and Brandon danced a cha-cha by Jean Marc and France to “Hush Hush, Hush Hush” by PCD and it was sex-ay! Janette tore up the dance floor in her skimpy, sparkly hot pink outfit. Even though the cha-cha is closer to her style (salsa), she still exceeded expectations and really blew the roof off the joint. Brandon was definitely adequate, but at times was overshadowed by Janette. There were a couple times when he was playing to the camera instead of his partner, but overall the chemistry was there and it added to this already spicy routine. They got great reviews from the judges, including two first class tickets on the Hot Tamale train from Mary, and should have no trouble making it to next week’s show.

Kayla and Kupono got a contemporary routine by Sonya to “Eyes on Fire”. It was supposed to be a vampire love story (I’m sure all the tween Twilight fans in the audience peed themselves). For once, I actually liked Sonya’s choreography and I think both of them did it justice, especially Kupono. He's actually growing on me, especially since he got paired with Kayla. Their extensions are just insane to me – their legs seem to go one for days – and their side-by-side leaps were brilliant. They also got great reviews from the judges.

Randi and Evan got a Broadway routine to "Rich Man's Frug" by Joey Dowling. Finally, we got to see Evan in his element and, in my opinion, he didn't disappoint. He started off the routine by doing a cartwheel on the table they had onstage that looked like slow-mo. It was crazy and must have taken a crazy amount of control. And that spiked hair was a great look for him (H-O-T, HOT!). Randi's costuming, unfortunately, didn't do the same for her; her dress made her look shorter and a bit thick (which is a shame because she's cute as a button). Both did a great job with the routine, but Evan really stole the spotlight this week. And somehow the judges didn't think so ... um, what? Sometimes I feel like the judges and I are watching two different routines. I'm worried they could land in the Bottom 3 this week because of the judges' lukewarm reaction to a brilliant routine.

Caitlin & Jason got a pop jazz routine by Brian Friedman to "Creator". Caitlin, who was dressed in a giant "leather condom" (as Nigel put it) with tinfoil Dino spikes, was supposed to be an alien who was coming for Jason to impregnate him. Yeah. They danced it well, but the routine was just ... bizarre. They got mixed reviews from the judges and I'm pretty sure they'll suffer a "WTF" reaction from the audience and land in the Bottom 3.

Jeanine and Phillip got hip-hop (again) with TabNap to "Love Lockdown" – and it really was a lockdown, as the two were chained together by the ankles. That just has slip-up written all over it. But they pulled it off and had some strong popping and great sharp, in-sync movements. I was a little distracted by the "chain-ography" (as Mia put it), but it was still a very cool, well-danced routine. I am kind of annoyed Phillip is still here (he's been skating by because of his strong fan-base), but they deserve to stay this week.

Melissa and Ade performed a pas de deux by Thordal Christensen to "Romeo and Juliet" and it was absolutely stunning. It was so nice to see Melissa on pointe and totally in her element. She made the routine just look effortless, which is tough to do with ballet (you really can't fake it). Ade's technique wasn't quite there, but Melissa more than made up for it. I can only hope America appreciates how absolutely beautiful it was.

Karla and Vitolio got a quickstep to "Puttin' on the Ritz". My initial thought: Train. Wreck. The odds were definitely against them: they're new partners this week, they're the most BORING people on this show, they're some of the weaker dancers and they pulled the quickstep. The routine itself was good and there were a few cool moments – at one point, Vitolio spun Karla around and her black and white frumpy frock turned into a flowy pink and orange gown – but the whole dance felt heavy. They weren't nearly as bouncy as they should have been, and that can ruin any good quickstep. They got pretty decent reviews from the judges though (oooookay?)

Bottom 3 Predictions: Karla & Vitolio probably (they're boring and not particularly memorable), but the other two spots are toss-ups. It's a tough call 'cause no one really bombed last night. I am worried for Randi & Evan because of the judges’ mediocre comments. They don't deserve to go home though, especially not based off of last night's routine. I'm pretty sure Caitlin & Jason will suffer from a "WTF" and will round out the Bottom 3. Plus, they don't seem to have the strong voting bloc some of the other dancers do. I'd like to see Karla & Vitolio go, but I wouldn't be too disappointed to see Caitlin & Jason go.

SYTYCD: Ballroom Blitz

2009-06-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

I know I promised to keep up with "So You Think You Can Dance" on this blog, but tonight's a bit different. Check out my thoughts on tonight's results show on the City Newspaper Entertainment Blog. Enjoy!

RIP: Charlie's Angel & King of Pop

2009-06-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

It was a sad day in the entertainment world, as both Farrah Fawcett, 62, and Michael Jackson, 50, passed away.

Fawcett, best known for her toothy grin, perfectly feathered hair and tight-fitting clothing on TV's "Charlie's Angel's" in the 1970s, succumbed to a three-year battle with anal cancer. She died in St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica and is survived by her longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, and her son, Redmond.

Although she was a sex symbol in the 1970s — the poster (right) was plastered on nearly every teenage boy's bedroom wall in her day — Fawcett was more recently known for "Farrah's Story", a television documentary that aired last month and chronicled her struggle with cancer. She was an icon of her decade and will certainly be missed by many.

Jackson, the youngest member of the Jackson 5 and the undisputed King of Pop, passed away this afternoon after he was found not breathing in his L.A. home, according to Associated Press reports. The exact cause of his death is still unclear, but reports of cardiac arrest and a coma have surfaced. The singer was 50 years old.

Jackson was staying in a Bel-Air mansion while he was preparing for a series of 50 sold-out shows at the O2 dome in London. The concerts were scheduled to begin July 13.

Jackson's unparalleled music career in the 70s and 80s was recently overshadowed by his bizarre behavior and disturbing legal troubles, but his influence on popular music is undeniable. A uniter of black and white musical influences, his records are still among the top-selling albums — his 1982 "Thriller" album remains the best selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies sold.

I could go on and on about his accomplishments, but it would be wasted space. Even though he freaked many people out (myself included) with his eccentricity, his impact on popular culture will certainly stick with us for years to come. The moonwalk, sporting short black pants with white socks and black shoes, the lengthy, movie-like music videos, his high-pitched singing and that single, sequined glove.

Even though much of his most popular discography was released before I could walk, I can still remember watching videos like "Thriller", "Billie Jean" and "Smooth Criminal" and desperately trying to replicate his style. But no matter how hard anyone tries, it's impossible to be like Mike. As a person, he might have been troubled, but as a dancer, singer and overall performer, he was astounding. He will truly be missed.

STYCYD: But ... And There is a Butt ...

2009-06-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

But we'll get to that in a little bit. Tonight's guest judge was Toni Basil, who is apparently receiving an award for her Hip-Hop and locking. I guess she's got street cred. Ooookay. She babbled a bit, but it's coherent babble, so I'm good with it (it puts her way ahead of Lil C).

The show got off to a rough start with two disastrous routines, but things picked up from there. I still wasn't overwhelmed by most of the dances though.

Karla & Jonathan started off the night with a Dave Scott hip-hop routine this week, which was supposed to have a Bonnie and Clyde feel to it. I’m just gonna say it. Jonathan’s about as gangster as the Care Bears. The routine itself wasn’t particularly exciting, and their dancing was just dismal. It wasn’t hard-hitting, most of the time they were noticeably out of sync and throughout the whole routine they were smiling like it was picture day at school – manic and totally the wrong mood for the piece. The judges tore them a new one (Nigel said “instead of gangster, it felt more like a Sunday school picnic”), but they kind of deserved it. Bottom 3 for sure tomorrow.

Asuka & Vitolio pulled a Mandy Moore jazz routine that she deemed “Thrash Rocker Jazz”. Asuka served face again this week and had the right attitude for the piece, but Vitolio was barely noticeable (aside from his badly-tailored neon blue pants). Like the couple that proceeded them, they were routinely out of sync and definitely struggled in spots (they went into that lift slowly and with noticeable difficulty). Mandy Moore choreography plus Pat Benatar plus awesome costumes should have added up to fabulous. But it didn't. The judges sugarcoated it a bit, but they could still be in trouble tomorrow.

Melissa & Ade got a rumba with Tony Meredith. It wasn’t my favorite number, but it was a drastic improvement from the previous two routines. Melissa was practically naked – she was dressed in a tiny, sequined bra and loosely wrapped piece of fabric around the rest of her body. The judges kept saying how beautiful she looked, but I found it distracting. I thought it made her look anorexic skinny, which is a shame, because she’s a beautiful girl. The passion was definitely there (especially from Melissa) and the technique was pretty good too. It was a little rough around the edges – Ade was basically stomping around Melissa during the assisted spins – but it was fair overall. They got good reviews from the judges and will probably be fine til next week.

Jeanette & Brandon performed another Dave Scott hip-hop routine that was supposed to be a battle between a rock ‘n’ roll chick and a hip-hop guy. The costumes were fabulous – I want the jewel-encrusted fishnet tights Jeanette was sporting – and the routine was great fun to watch. They were sharp and in-sync with their movements, though not as hard-hitting as it could have been. Still, a great routine compared to what came before it. They’ll definitely survive until next week.

Kayla & Kupono pulled a Viennese Waltz Jean-Marc (who I think is a kook, but hilarious). My initial thought: Train. Wreck. I knew Kayla would at least fare alright, but I thought Kupono’s femininity and weak technique would drag her down. But they really proved me wrong. The routine was absolutely fluid and dreamlike. The chemistry was strong, the lines were wonderful throughout and the whole thing just oozed elegance. Kayla's performance was graceful and stunning – her extensions and lines are just insane to me. Ultimately, she overpowered Kupono, but both were more than fair. Nigel said it was good, but that people wouldn’t stand up and cheer for them. Mary proved him wrong and put them on the Hot Tamale Train (third week in a row for Kayla!) Well-deserved. Usually this style is the kiss of death for dancers on this show, but hopefully America appreciates just how amazing that routine was. Easily one of my favorites of the night.

Randi and Evan got a Mia Michaels contemporary routine that was all about Randi's butt. *Shakes head* Oh Mia Michaels. Only you could dream up something so ridiculously cheeky (no pun intended). The routine was hilarious and lots of fun to watch. As always, both had great technique (loved the half-handstand cartwheel moves they did) and totally believable chemistry. Great reviews from the judges (except Nigel kept making endless butt jokes ... ugh). They should be fine for next week (they seem to have a pretty solid fan base). Yay! On a side note, Randi was wearing a shirt that said "unitard girl". Love. It.

Caitlin and Jason got a Paso Doble this week. My first experience with this style was Neil & Sabra's routine towards the end of S3, so my expectations for this type of dance are quite lofty. The music ("O'Fortuna") and the opening lifts were dynamic, but the rest of the number fizzled for me. It needed to be powerful and a bit angry and sassy, but it really wasn't. Plus Jason kept pulling his face WAY too much (frightening). The judges lapped it up though, but I still think they'll fall in the Bottom 3.

Jeanine & Phillip closed the show with a Tyce DiOrio Broadway routine to "Moses (Supposes)" from "Singin' in the Rain". The routine centered around a love seat, which Phillip jumped over at one point (very impressive). They had some fun with it in the beginning, but the choreography (Phillips couch-jumping ability aside) fell flat after that, (it ended with a pillow fight and running around the stage.) Blah. I watched the original movie scene on Youtube to help erase the memory of Phillip & Jeanine's rendition. The judges’ reviews weren't great, but Phillip's got a strong following, so I suspect they'll survive another week.

Bottom 3 Predictions: Jonathan & Karla, probably Asuka and Vitolio and maybe Caitlin & Jason. It almost doesn't matter though. Jonathan and Karla are inevitably doomed (their routine was dismal) tomorrow.

SYTYCD: Buck Off!

2009-06-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Let me first apologize for not keeping up with this show on my blog. I've definitely been watching (religiously) and have been taking note of my early favorites (we'll see if they last). I promise I'll keep up with blogging for the rest of the show. Now, on to the Top 18's performances.

I walked away from tonight’s show with two conclusions: 1.) Even typically well-dressed people with expensive stylists can make fashion faux-pas (read: Cat Deeley’s overly poofy red dress) and 2.) Lil C is a useless, mumbling idiot who likes to pretend he’s a hip and legit choreographer when in reality he’s neither. He constantly talks out of his ass and uses terms like "buck" to describe routines (read: the producers need to axe him from the show IMMEDIATELY ... they're losing credibility with every unintelligible thing that man says).

Last week’s show was overall one of the strongest I’ve seen in the show’s history and it was going to be a tough act for the dancers to follow up with this week’s performances. Tonight's show was a more typical SYTYCD week – some solid performances, some mediocre and the occasional train wreck or two.

Here’s the breakdown of the evening:

Randi & Evan (Jive): These two performed with a ton of energy and spirit, and it was loads of fun to watch. I had some issues with the costuming (Evan’s pants were too baggy, Randi got stuck in a feather tutu and both were sequined to death). Evan’s performance wasn’t as sharp as it could have been, but he was still strong – he pulled off an amazing Russian over Randi’s head. But little miss Randi was the star of that routine. I initially dismissed her (probably because of the unitards), but she has far surpassed my expectations and has, at least so far, done flawlessly in the competition. The judges were pretty harsh on Evan (boo!), but hopefully their high-energy routine this week, plus their amazing routine last week, will keep them out of the Bottom 3 tomorrow.

Melissa & Ade (Jazz): What an odd routine – I’m not always a fan of Sonya’s choreography. Their technique (especially Melissa’s) was great and they did each move more than adequately, but I feel like I didn’t get anything out of it. It was just kind of there. The judges lapped it up and Lil C even called Ade “one to watch” this season (God I hope that doesn’t take him as far as the same remark took Twitch last year). The audience and judges seem to like them, especially Melissa, and while she’s got great technique (she’s living proof that ballet training can take you a long way), I’ve never been impressed with these two. It was a pretty forgettable routine that might put them at the bottom of tomorrow’s pack.

Caitlin & Jason (Hip-Hop): These two performed a Shane Sparks hip-hop routine and while their movements were pretty sharp, they were hardly ever in sync, which pretty much killed the whole routine. Caitlin really struggled in this routine, with the exception of her solo (which she killed). Jason was adept, but not spectacular. I think these two will land in the Bottom 3.

Brandon & Jeanette (Disco): Both seemed to struggle with this incredibly quick Doriana Sanchez disco routine in rehearsals, but they really stepped up their game with tonight’s performance. The number was full of lifts, which were magnificent to watch – Brandon (who claims has never worked out a day in his life … riiiiight) is insanely strong and Jeanette just soared. Her spread eagle lift was particularly incredible – holy flexibility Batman! With the exception of a slight slip at the end by Jeanette (she tried to cover, but it was still noticeable), it was a fantastic routine and one of my favorites of the night. They’ll be around for another week for sure.

Asuka & Vitolio (Waltz): Danced a lovely waltz, but it still didn’t blow me away. The pair of them performed the steps well, especially compared to their work last week, but the actual choreography just fell flat. Their technique was great and the lift/spins were absolutely beautiful (mostly thanks to Asuka), but it wasn’t my favorite routine. Asuka threw herself into it and danced with more emotion than I thought possible, but Vitolio was barely present. They got great reviews from the judges though, so they might be alright. I’d like to see Vitolio go home, but it probably won’t happen this week.

Kayla & Max (Pop-Jazz): These two got Punk’d by wardrobe – Max was wearing MC Hammer pants and a kinky, bejeweled leather tank top and Kayla looked like a psychedelic Muppet in her hot pink and banana yellow-feathered number – but they pulled off another AMAZING routine. The idea behind the routine was that Kayla was a princess and Max was a jester, who really wanted to take her throne. It was a bizarre routine, but both really threw themselves into it and pulled off some great leaps and spins, not to mention plenty of personality. They should be fine for this week.

Karla & Jonathan (Contemporary): New choreographer Stacie Tookey (great name) gave the two a slow contemporary routine. I hated these two last week, but this routine was one of my favorites of the night. They needed to pull some serious shit off to recover from last week’s disaster of a cha-cha and they did. I’m still wary of them going far in the competition. Karla, who annoys me with all her bragging (for the love of my sanity, go back to ‘Wicked’), actually danced pretty well and had great lines throughout – something I definitely wasn’t expecting from her. Jonathan was fair by comparison, but I still think he’s the weakest dancer on the program in terms of technique. Mary drooled over him and even said he did this style better than his own (ballroom), although that’s not saying much – he sucked at ballroom last week. But he’s cute (a little too cute in my opinion), but he’ll pull in the pre-pubescent vote for sure. They’ll probably survive this week.

Jeanine & Phillip (Tango): These two were some of my favorites last week, but they struggled through a pretty rudimentary lack-luster tango. Both of them were very obviously out of their element and had practically zero technique – especially Phillip. To their credit, they really tried, but it just wasn’t enough. Jeanine stayed in character and fared alright, but Phillip really dragged her down. It was, at times, painful to watch. The judges sugar coated their critiques (which were negative on the whole), but at least Mary called Lil C out for not knowing what he was talking about when it came to Phillip’s bent knees (for the record, he was supposed to keep his knees bent, which he did). I’m so glad someone’s willing to call him out on his bullshit remarks (he makes plenty of them). The judges’ overly-nice reviews, along with Phillip’s strong following might leave these two unscathed for another week.

Ashley & Kupono (Hip-Hop): The pair ended the night with another Shane Sparks number. These two have never been my favorite dancers, but they fared alright. It wasn’t as hard-hitting as I would have liked and it wasn’t particularly memorable (although the shadow concept was cool). The judges tore them a new one, which was a bit unfair, but I guess they need to make someone the bad guys, right? I think they could be in trouble tomorrow because of the judges’ comments.

I think Melissa & Ade, Caitlin & Jason and Ashley & Kupono will land in the bottom 3 tomorrow night, but Phillip & Jeanine and Randi and Evan might be in danger. I doubt anyone from the latter two couples will be sent home, but it’s tough to call. I find I’m frequently disagreeing with the praise-happy judges this season and well, let’s face it, American voters are unpredictable. I guess we’ll see what happens.

LIVEBLOG: The 63rd Tony Awards!

2009-06-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my very first attempt at a Live Blog! On tonight's bill: The 63rd Annual Tony Awards!

The Tony Awards, established by the American Theatre Wing in 1943, were named for Antoinette Tony, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The awards are given to recognize outstanding achievement in American theatre.

Tonight's show will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, and will feature performances by Dolly Parton and the cast of "9 to 5: The Musical", Sir Elton John and the cast of "Billy Elliot", Liza Minnelli (oh boy), Stockard Channing (of "Pal Joey") and — wait for it — rock band Poison. This motley crew of performers will join the nominees “Guys and Dolls,” “Hair,” “Next to Normal,” “Shrek the Musical” and “West Side Story." For a full list of tonight's nominees, check out the list here. Leading in the nominations tonight is "Billy Elliot", with 15 nominations.

Aaaaand ... we're off!!!

8:02pm - Starting with a sound glitch? Shame on you Tony's! A very delicate and beautiful opening of "Electricity" by Elton John and the cast of "Billy Elliot". Lovely image with the three Billys and the chairs.
8:04pm - Great collaboration between the casts of "West Side Story" and "Guys and Dolls" for "Tonight" and "Luck be a Lady Tonight". Poison feels a bit out of place (as I suspected they would) in this musical-mash-up opening though ...
8:07pm - I completely forgot how fake Dolly Parton's boobs and hair were until this moment. She performs a campy rendition of "9 to 5" with the cast of "9 to 5: The Musical".
8:09pm - Liza with a "z" sounds alright at the start of her song, but starts to sound drunk after the first few minutes.
8:11pm - Ah! Attack of the hippies! Are they filming in Ithaca?! Oh no, wait, it's the cast of "Hair". This has got to be the oddest mix of musical performances the Tony's has ever seen. Let's see what happens, I guess?
8:14pm - Did Neil Patrick Harris just use the term "fetching"? His suit is remarkably shiny. It's oddly memorizing ...
8:19pm - First award of the night goes to Roger Robinson in “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone" for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Nice pithy speech — he even thanked a tech! Huzzah!
8:24pm - Oh boy, here comes "Shrek: The Musical". Stick to movies, Disney. Please?!
8:25pm - Those Duloc singer/puppet people are the most frightening dolls since Furby. Yikes!
8:29pm - N.P.H. just used the term "BTW". Stop trying to be hip, Neil. You'll always be Doogie Howser in our minds.
8:30pm - James Gandolfini sets the record straight: him and Shrek — no relation!
8:31pm - Angela Lansbury takes home the award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for "Blithe". No surprise there; this is her fifth Tony Award.
8:33pm - Hey there drunken cameraman! Hold it still, for God sake — we're going out live here!
8:35pm - Thank you touring cast of "Mama Mia" for that campy, sequined rendition of "Dancing Queen." You were at least slightly better than the movie version! Congratulations.
8:44pm - Who invited Will Ferrell? ... And why?
8:45pm - The Tony for Best Original Score goes to Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt for "Next to Normal." Damn, I had "Billy Elliot" in the pool.
8:47pm - Not only did they play the cutoff music when Yorkey and Kitt took too long with their speeches, but they also shut off the mic. Ooooh! Burned!
8:53pm - Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the Spanish-language lyrical translation of WSS (up for Best Revival tonight), introduces the cast in the "Dance at the Gym". And as good as some of the dancing is, the routine doesn't seem to translate too well to TV. Alas!
8:57pm - Susan Sarandon is looking a bit too skinny (her arms look particularly anorexic) in her full-length black dress and struggles a with the teleprompter. It's just not her night. Best Direction of a Play goes to Matthew Warchus, who was nominated twice in this category, for "God of Carnage". Best Direction of a Musical goes to Stephen Daldry for "Billy Elliot", who gives a classy speech thanking the crew (huzzah again!) and the three Billys.
9:05pm - Oh boy, it's time for the Tonys to take a break for a rock concert. It's the "Rock of Ages" musical montage, which includes “I Want to Rock” / “Paradise” / “Don’t Stop Believing” and features Constantine Maroulis (of sixth place fame from the fourth season of "American Idol").
The audience was ready with pre-distributed glow-in-the-dark lighters (really, Tonys?), but I'm not feeling it. It's an adequate rock concert performance, but it can't really hold a candle to many of the stunning vocals and captivating dances of traditional B'way musicals. It's kind of insulting. At least a performance from the cast of "Guys and Dolls" is next. I just might survive.
9:13pm - They announce the nominees for Best Special Theatrical Event and "You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush" is on the list. Now I remember why Will Ferrell is here.
9:14pm - Liza's drunk ... classic. But she's a funny drunk. Gotta love her. She wins for the category for "Liza's at The Palace".
9:18pm - Ooooh, more audio woes for the Tonys. A tuxedo-ed tech runs onstage and hands the actor a hand-held mic. Ouch.
9:21pm - The cast of "Guys and Dolls" does a nice rendition of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat", but I wonder why they chose that song and not one that featured either Oliver Platt or Lauren Graham. Hmmmm ...
9:27pm - 2 presenters, 2 frightening dresses. Hellooooo ugly bow!
9:31pm - Best Featured Actor in a Musical goes to Gregoray Jbara for playing Mr. Elliot in "Billy Elliot". He drags his wife up on stage with him to thank her for being a single parent for the last year so he could perform on Broadway. How sweet!
9:37pm - My live blogging is rudely interrupted by a bad internet connection. Curse you internet fairy! (But at least I'm back!)
Karen Olivo takes home the award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for WSS. Kudos to her. She's practically speechless. A very genuine and touching moment.
9:40pm - The performance of "You Don’t Know" from "Next to Normal" rocked harder than "Rock of Ages". I have to see this musical — it looks great! It's also up for Best Musical tonight.
9:42pm - Why are they reusing a 1990s Riverdance Folgers commercial? Anyone else find that weird ...?
9:46pm - Geoffrey Rush (a.k.a. Captain Barbossa) nabs the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Play and makes a pretty amusing speech (nothing says hilarity like poking fun at the French).
9:50pm - The traditional moment where we pause to remember those in the theatre community who have passed on in the past year. A lovely rendition of "What I Did For Love" from a huge chorus. Bea Arthur, Ertha Kitt, and Paul Newman get the biggest rounds of applause and the lights of Broadway are dimmed in their memory. I always thought that was a classy and appropriate way to remember those in the theatre we've lost.
9:58pm - Frank Langella, who I loved in "Frost/Nixon" (if you haven't seen it yet, go see it, now!), comes out to present the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Play, but not before shamelessly joking about how he wasn't nominated despite being on Broadway in "A Man for All Seasons" this year. Genius.
The award goes to ... Marcia Gay Harden for "God of Carnage". Gab, gab, gab, gab, gab — cut her off! And they do.
10:04pm - Hey, it's what's her face from "Coyote Ugly". Apparently she's making her debut on B'way this year. Who knew?
10:05pm - YAY! Here comes "Billy Elliot"! It looks like they're going to do the "Angry Dance" number. Slightly modified for the Tonys, and slightly less powerful than the normally staged version, I think. The lighting and sound effects during that scene are normally spectacular on stage; it kind of fizzled in tonight's televised translation. Bummer. Still a wonderful musical — go see it if you get the chance — which is probably why it's also up for Best Musical tonight.
10:15pm - Here comes the cast of "Legally Blonde: The Musical". And here I go to get an Advil.
10:17pm - Harvey Fierstein (in his signature raspy voice) announces that "The Norman Conquests" will take home the Tony for Best Revival of a Play tonight.
10:21pm - "God of Carnage" takes home the award for Best Play and playwright Yasmina Reza thanks many people, including her mother, who overcame her fear of flying to be in the audience tonight.
10:34pm - Invasion of the hippies, part 2. A performance of "Hair" by the cast of the musical, gets the audience clapping and involved (this is probably the most audience groping there's been since 'Cats'). At least they managed to keep their clothes on.
10:39pm - Kristin Chenoweth is the next presenter. I forgot how grating her voice was until now. Can someone pass her a throat lozenge or something?
The award for Best Revival of a Musical goes to ... the hippies! "Hair" wins the Tony, and holy crap is the cast HUGE!
10:50pm - The three young Billys win for Best Lead Actors in "Billy Elliot" (the first time three actors have shared this award). David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish don't really know what to do, and it's adorable and endearing. They pick things up and begin thanking a lot of people, including their families and stage managers (huzzah for a third time!)
10:59pm - And "Billy Elliot" takes home the big prize: Best Musical. Congrats to them, it's a fantastic show, which definitely deserved to beat out "Shrek" and "Rock of Ages" — I can't believe those shows were even nominated ... was there really nothing else good on B'way this year?
11:03pm - N.P.H. is singing. He's actually not bad, and the material is pretty amusing. Here's a sample of some of the lyrics (set to the tune of "Tonight"):

Elton’s Billy was all the rage
What class, what drive,
now Angela won five
and she hooked up with Poison backstage.

and

This show could not be gayer
if Liza was named mayor
and Elton John took flight.

He was a pretty unnoticeable host for the most part, but kudos to him for trying. Adorable and competent, but nothing spectacular. Much better than the Whoopi fiasco of last year though.

There weren't too many surprises this year. I could have done without the expendable performances from the touring casts, but I think there were plenty of solid performances to make up for it — my favorite of the night is definitely "Next to Normal", with "Hair" and "Billy Elliot" in a close tie for second. Overall, a fun show.

Thanks for ~~enduring~~ — er, embarking on this Live Blog adventure with me. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Unlike the B'way stars and producers who are off to the fabulous Tony Awards After Parties, I've got to crash (I have work in the morning).

G'night for now!

PHOTOS: All taken from the NY Times website (I'll add captions when I have a chance later)

SYTYCD: Hobgoblins, Japanese Hip-Hoppers and a Same-Sex Samba

2009-05-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yessssss! Summer can officially begin! That's right, "So You Think You Can Dance" officially premiered last night and I can't wait to see how this season shapes up. Oh, how I've missed Nigel's snarky remarks and Mary's psychotic laugh and ear-piercing shrieks (okay, that second one ~~might be~~ is a total lie, but I'm still pumped for this season).

We've still got a couple nights' worth of auditions, so I'll keep it to some of my favorite moments until we reach the Top 20. First up, last night's auditions in NYC and Denver:

Gabi Rojas, a 24-year-old circus performer from Albuquerque, kicked off the New York auditions and blew everyone away. Her performance was subtle and birdlike, but she moved beautifully. Even though she suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, her performance was graceful and stunning. No surprise, she got a ticket straight to Vegas.

Storyboard P and Hobgoblin (I swear those are the names they gave ... hopefully their mothers didn't actually name them that), the self-proclaimed inventors of a "dance" style called mutation, were scary both in looks (their faces were covered with puke-green face paint) and in dancing (which was about 90 percent contortionism and 10 percent ... hip-hop?). The judges gave them a shot at the choreography, but after watching the rest of the auditions, the duo decided the competition wasn't for them and they bowed out (probably a wise move on their part).

Peter Sabasino, the 21-year-old Italian tap dancer, might have looked ridiculous in his capri-length baggy sport shorts and skin-tight wife beater, but his audition was great. Usually tappers don't make it to the Top 20, let alone Vegas, but this guy shows a lot of promise and is apparently trained in all the basics. The judges sent him straight through to Vegas. Could my hope of a tapper in the Top 20 finally come true?!

Short, Tokyo-born Nobuya, who I initially wrote-off as a joke audition after he told the camera all the styles he'd been learning lately, was actually a pretty decent hip-hop dancer. He mostly did locking, with plenty of comedy to entertain the crowd, and, after some choreography, he got a ticket to sin city.

Tiffany Geigel was born with a disease that prevented her spine from forming properly — she has three vertebrae whereas the average human has seven — and was expected to die shortly after birth. She is now 23 years old and auditioned despite the pain, ridicule and knowledge that she would not make it onto the show. Tiffany is truly an extraordinary human being and a lovely dancer. The judges gave her an honest critique of her dancing, which they said was unbelievably fantastic given her situation but ultimately not right for the show, and gave her huge praise for having the courage to audition and told her to continue dancing.

Latin ballroom couple Igor Zabrodin and Nina Estrina did a perfectly adept routine, which ended with a Pot Stir (a move in which Igor spins Nina, she scrunches down and looks like she's spinning on her knees) that went on forever — and it was incredible. They both stuck around for the choreography, but only Igor makes it through to Vegas in the end.

The next ballroom couple to take the floor was a bit ... different. Misha Belfer and Mitchel Kibel were the first all-male ballroom couple to ever try out. Before the audition began Mitchel, who previously danced with female partners and is supposedly the "straight" one, desperately tried to convince the audience that two men dancing together could be very masculine. I don't know who he was trying to kid, especially decked out in that sequined, spandex onesie cut to the navel, but I figured I'd give the guys a chance. Their samba was actually going pretty well, at least until Misha swung into Mitchel's legs during a lift/spin move and they both fell down ... HARD. But rather than critiquing the guys' actual dancing, Nigel went on to berate them with a slew of homophobic comments ("I think you'd probably alienate a lot of our audience. We've always had the guys dance together on the show but they've never really done it in each other's arms before.") Mary said she was too distracted by them switching between leading and following to comment on their actual dancing. I'm not saying these guys deserved to make it onto the show (we've seen much better sambas than that), and I'm not saying it wasn't a little difficult to adjust to at first, but I was disgusted that the judges ONLY commented on their being a same-sex ballroom couple and ignored the dancing aspect all together. All in all, the guys went onto choreography (Nigel wanted to see them dancing with girls; "Who knows, you might even like it," he said) and were ultimately cut.

Next week: more auditions. They can be entertaining at times, but I wish they would cut the auditions down to like ... two two-hour shows rather than five? Six? I can never remember how many of these we have to sit through before we finally whittle it down to the best of the best.

A True Idol

2009-05-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sex sells. No generation has seemed to prove that more than my own (I'm ashamed to say). But American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is taking a stand against the old adage with her new song "I Do Not Hook Up".

The tune, which can be heard via Youtube here, is a refreshing change of pace among the sea of overly sensual songs like "Birthday Sex", "Waking Up in Vegas" and "If You Seek Amy" (Google that last one if you can't spell out the "pun"). Clarkson's song, off her fourth album, has even climbed the iTunes Top-100 chart to number 15 and is up to number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100 list.

Clarkson has received quite a bit of praise for the song as well. The LA Times wrote that the track "should be heard by every teen girl contemplating chucking her purity ring."

I seriously doubt the song will perform a miracle and that all the over-sexed prosti-tots running around high schools today will suddenly trade their micro-mini skirts, plunging necklines and streetwalker ways in for pants, turtlenecks and reform school overnight, but with any luck, Clarkson's song will be a positive influence on at least a few. Here's to hoping the catchy tune makes it to number one on the charts and that Kelly continues to be a real idol.

Semesters of Love

2009-05-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

Taking a cue from Katie, I think I'm going to break down the semester. I saw and did so many things, that this seems like the easiest way to sum up my semester in London.

London in ...
Days abroad: 118
Days in London: 102
Days in other countries: 16
Countries visited: 4
Shows seen: 21
Bill walks taken: 3
Tim Kidd walks taken: 1
Tube lines ridden: 11
Tube rides: I lost track around several hundred thousand ...
Times I cursed the Circle Line for being delayed: probably somewhere in the thousands, possibly even a million
School trips: 3
Night bus trips taken: countless
Newspapers read: too many too count
Visits from friends/family: 3
Photos Taken: 3,818 (seriously)
Mockumentaries participated in: 2
Friends made: countless
Memories: priceless

Things I'm not going to miss
The Circle Line
The — ahem — special toilet in our flat
The incomprehensible pictograms on our washer/dryer and oven
Navigating the sidewalks (uneven surfaces and Londoners that can't seem to walk on one side of the sidewalks)
Crazy cab drivers (I swear they were all out to get me!)
The gap
My coin purse weighing a ton all the time (seriously, I think I could knock a man unconscious with that thing sometimes!)
The cinema professor and talking about the "European aaaaht cinema" (European art cinema) all the time
Our landlord and the real estate agency we went through
Not being able to understand people's accents sometimes

Things I'm going to miss
The accents (I know that kind of contradicts the last list, but as cryptic as they were sometimes, I am going to miss the British accents ... all 200 of them)
The tube (except the Circle Line)
The pubs, particularly the Redan
The (free) museums
The double-decker buses
How tidy everything is
The fact that they use words like 'tidy'
How much people read the newspapers there
The close proximity to so many theatres
How well behaved the dogs are (most don't even need leashes)
The architecture
"Charlie Chaplin"/Jerry (AKA the mime I interviewed)
The London Center
Fred, the ICLC caretaker who always liked to play jokes on us
Bill, Heather and Sarah
Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens (so pretty!)
Walking along the Thames
Getting mistaken for an Aussie (this happened on at least 4 separate occasions)
Coffee and Free Croissants from Café Forum
Pret a Manager sandwiches and croissants
Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash and Bulmers (though I'm going to do my best to find the latter in the states)
Going out to clubs and always managing to end up in Piccadilly Circus
Our flat and all its oddities (well, some of them anyways)
My flatmates
The places I went
The people I met

Idea for blog post © Katie Woodward

The Boys Are Back In Town ...

2009-05-11T03:20:00.000-07:00

... well, almost. After an 8-hour flight from Heathrow, a group of ICLC students (myself included) safely landed in JFK. So I'm back in the U.S., but not quite home yet.

It didn't even hit me that I had left London until we began our final descent into New York. The thought that I wouldn't be in London again for a very long time (if ever again) had me choking back a few tears, but at the same time, my heart was beating strongly with excitement to be home again. The feeling was almost nauseating it was so overpowering.

Most of the other ICLC students felt strongly one way or the other — either incredibly depressed to be leaving the UK behind or overjoyed to be going home to family and friends. I'm sure everyone felt a bit of both emotions, but the weight of the two sides hit me equally hard ... and all at once. It's the oddest jumble of emotions that I cannot accurately describe with words (try though I might). Until you experience it yourself, it's impossible to understand.

Expect a much longer post and plenty of photos after I get home (and possibly take a much-needed nap?)

Before I sign off, a quick thank you to everyone who's been reading. I hope you've found the posts amusing and informative. And although I'm no longer in London, I will continue to blog, hopefully about news (including local Rochester news, national and International), issues of interest (politics, social trends, etc.) and some summer movie reviews. I also hope to add some interesting profile pieces and audio slideshows to the blog to keep things interesting.

Cheerio!

2009-05-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

I've got just about 16 hours left in London. And there are so many clichés that are absolutely true right now.

Mainly, that I'm very sad to leave. The semester has been incredible and absolutely unforgettable (though knowing my short-term memory, a few things are bound to slip). And yet at the same time, I'm very excited to go home. There are a lot of things I've missed while I've been away (mostly family and friends) and I can't wait for summer to start.

So with that, I think I'll sign off for the last time from London.

Cheerio!
Kathy

Quick Update

2009-04-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

I know I'm miles behind in blogging (is that actually a saying?), but I've got enough time to at least give you a quick update before my massive to-do list eats me alive:

Last weekend the rest of the Laluks finally made it to London (Mom, Dad and Steve). I had fun playing tour guide all around the city (Westminster, Madame Tussaud's, Buckingham Palace, Portobello Road, etc.) and even took in two shows with Mom (Les Mis and Billy Elliot) and one with the whole family (The 39 Steps). Steve went home on Sunday and I went onto Paris with Mom and Dad for a few days. Ate some great bread and drank wonderful wine, and saw all the sights associated with the city (the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, Pont Neuf, Museé d'Orsay and the Arc de Triumphe).

After getting back into London yesterday, I went to see my last show for my drama class — 'Madame de Sade' with the one and only Dame Judi Dench. I couldn't resist waiting outside the stage door to meet her and get her autograph (which I did). She has got to be the classiest and most gracious celebrity I've ever met (granted, that list is pretty short, but still).

Now it's down to the last week and a half before I head home. Finals are coming up (more quickly than I'd like), my internship is winding down and it seems like there are more things in London I want to do that just won't fit into my schedule. And as much as I don't want to leave London, I am looking forward to being home and seeing everyone that I missed.

Although I do have one last visitor before I depart London — Mark! Granted we haven't seen each other in about two or three years (God, has it really been that long?), but I'm sure we'll have a blast.

There you have it: the Cliff Notes version of the past few weeks of my life. Not too shabby, eh? Anyways, I better get back to work if I'm going to get anything done. I might be able to pull off a few more late-night blogs, but we'll see what happens.

Cheers!

Lessons Learned from London: Vol. 2

2009-04-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

34. Washer/Dryers toy with your emotions and taunt your sub-par intelligence. Bizarre temperature settings (how warm is 40 degrees Celsius again?), crazy wash cycles (do I really need a super fast spin? Do I have a choice?), enigmatic dryer settings (but I don't have delicates!) and the door that never unlocks — it's insanity!
35. Bill Sheasgreen, director of the IC London Center, is a walking encyclopedia of London history and trivia ... and possibly the coolest guy in London.
36. Walking is a great way to get around and really see London (just make sure you have your A to Zed or a really good map).
37. Having a drink at 11am at the local pub is not unusual.
38. Watch which football jersey you wear and where you wear it (try saying that five times fast).
39. Despite all my years in Little League and the similarities between cricket and baseball, I will never become a professional cricket player.
40. As orderly as most things are in London, people don't seem to understand the concept of walking on one side of the sidewalk. I don't care if it's on the left (like in Japan) or the right (like in America) — just pick one!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

What a Jokeless Bloke!

2009-04-10T12:40:00.001-07:00

I never thought it was possible. A comic strip that isn't comical ... not really anyways.

But the folks at Garfield Minus Garfield have proved me wrong by taking Garfield out of Garfield cartoons. The effect is amusing at first, but after a few clips, it just makes you realize how angst-ridden, lonely and downright pathetic Jon Arbuckle is without his famously snarky pet.

Here are a few of my favorites:

March 27

April 11

October 8

I don't think I'll ever look at a Garfield cartoon the same way ever again ...

Cricket Wickets and a Dog Named Knickers

2009-04-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

A bunch of American students trying to play cricket. Yup, it must have been quite a sight.

This morning Bill taught Katie, Clara, Anne, Eric and I how to play cricket in Hyde Park. We weren't exactly sure what we were doing most of the time (even once Bill explained the rules), but we still had a whack at it (sorry, bad pun).

And while cricket is similar to baseball, we quickly discovered some differences:

Cricket's played in a 360-degree field, so there's no such thing as a foul ball.
You can't strike out in cricket but ...
... cricket bats are significantly heavier and more awkward to swing than baseball bats.
There aren't four bases in cricket, just two wickets.
Communication between the two batters (yes, two) is crucial to score runs. Points are scored when the two batters run past each other on their way to the wicket on the other side of the pitch.
Forgetting to carry the bat with you when you run can cost you quite a few runs.
There are a lot more rules and terminology to remember in cricket than in baseball.
There's a lot more strategy and thinking involved in cricket than baseball. It took us forever to get used to the fact that you don't have to run to the wicket after each hit.

Usually you don't play with so few people, but we did have one more player I haven't mentioned yet: Knickers the dog. While Bill was setting up the wickets, a tiny dog trotted up to us and looked expectantly at the ball in my hand. Taking his cue, I threw the ball across the field and he darted after it. We ended up chatting with his owner for a while and even invited her to play with us.

After a few hours of play, we were exhausted so we called it a day. Besides, by that point we had realized none of us would ever become professional cricket players, and in true London style, it had started to rain a bit.

As promised, here's a photo of all of us on our make-shift cricket pitch.

Front: Bill and Knickers, Back (from left to right): Anne, Clara, the Sports Marketing professor (sorry, I don't remember her name), me and Katie.

Lessons Learned from London: Vol. 1

2009-04-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue, but hopefully amusing nonetheless. I've learned loads while I've been here and if I ever want to write a guidebook to London in the future, I might as well jot down some notes, right?

So here goes (in no particular order), discoveries and revelations from London with my own quirky spin:

1. British accents are possibly the sexiest accent around and, at the same time, one of the most difficult to understand.
2. Mind the gap!
3. When crossing the street, look right, then left, then right again.
4. Don't think you can run in front of a taxi, the driver will run you over as soon as look at you.
5. As cool as Tesco's (grocery store) is, it still can't compare to Wegmans.
6. Only Americans and other tourists react to the news of someone getting stuck under a train on the tube (subway).
7. Never, ever rely on the Circle Line to get you anywhere on time.
8. Never change trains at Green Park — the station is HUGE!
9. Even celebrities ride the tube (at least the ones that aren't too stuck up)
10. Never EVER use the phrase 'wet pants'. Just don't.
11. Don't say 'excuse me' unless you sneeze. Otherwise, use 'pardon'.
12. Cadbury Chocolate is as big here as Hershey is back in the states. And you'll be hard pressed to find a Hershey bar anywhere in London.
13. British English is NOT the same as American English. Look up a British slang dictionary online and study it.
14. Don't make jokes about the Queen, tea, football (soccer) teams or British traditions. Just don't.
15. Somehow you always, always end up in Leister Square.
16. London never sees snow, even in the winter ... except for this past February.
17. London is amazing when the sun is out, which happens more often than you'd think.
18. Walking is the best way to get around town — just remember your brolly!
19. ABBA = God over here.
20. Some of the best places to shop are the street markets here.
21. The Portobello Road market isn't as cool as it was in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but still worth visiting ... multiple times.
22. Eat in the pubs. Try Fish and Chips, Black Pudding, Yorkshire Pudding and Toad in the Hole at least once, but don't hate me if you don't like them. The British aren't known for their spectacular cuisine.
23. Learn to love your local pub (for me it's the Redan). It's a place you can go where everybody knows your name (like Cheers!)
24. Peanut Butter — real Peanut Butter — doesn't exist here.
25. Free evening papers are amusing, but are mostly filled with tabloid gossip.
26. English dogs are remarkably well behaved.
27. Some things are cooler to see in person than in pictures. Among these are Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London Bridge.
28. British keys go in the lock upside-down and open the opposite way.
29. There's a reason for a 2-pence (like 2 cents) coin here that's bigger than every other coin in your pocket. I've been here three months and I still don't know what that reason is!
30. Your wallet may weigh a ton from all your loose change, but it adds up fast (the Brits use £1 and £2 coins instead of bills).
31. So many Americans don't know how to make tea. You put the hot water on the tea bag, not the other way around!
32. TKTS tickets here are significantly cheaper than they are on Broadway.
33. Ovens don't have coherent settings, just pictures ... and pictures that don't make sense at that.

That's not the end of the list — I'm sure I forgot things and there are things I still have yet to learn.

It's Absolutely Barmy!

2009-04-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the madness finally drew to a close yesterday (around 4:30 a.m. for me) and even though the team I picked to win did win (UNC beat Michigan State for those of you who weren't following the tournament), I'm sad it’s over.

I'll certainly miss the madness of screaming at my computer screen hoping it would change to outcome of the games (though I know it didn't) and staying up til 1am to watch the later games, but then again, there's always next year, right?

I ended up in second overall in my pool, which I'm happy with (particularly since I don't follow college basketball other than in March). If you're interested in someone who does know a bit about sports, check out Andrew Lovell's blog and his analysis of next year's tourney (yup, he's planning already). Lovell is a recent Ithaca College grad, former Ithacan Sports Editor, a sports writer/copy editor for the New Britain Herald in New Britain, CT and a guy who really knows his stuff.

Photo: UNC Head Coach Roy Williams hoists the championship trophy over his head with the help of his players.
Credit: Associated Press

To Blog or Not To Blog

2009-04-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

That was the question (to which the answer was obviously 'yes'). If you haven't guessed, I finally made a trip to Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon. The weekend adventure also included stops at Warwick Castle and Oxford.

Unlike America, Europe is full of castles (along with other gorgeous works of architecture), so the fact that I've managed to see four of them on my semester abroad isn't surprising. What is surprising is how remarkably different they all are. The castle at Warwick (pronounced Worr-ik) was more in the same vein as Malahide, although significantly bigger. We walked through the interior of the castle, climbed to the tallest tower (quite a workout), ate lunch by the river (during which we were visited by a fearless duck), saw a hawk demonstration, did a quick tour of the town and (of course) played on the playground.

Kara and I checked into our B&B and decided to take a power nap on the most comfortable beds ever (so much so that we briefly considered stealing the mattresses) before heading out on the town in Stratford. After a very leisurely and tasty dinner at an Italian restaurant, Kara, Brittany, Chris and I joined the rest of our class to see the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of 'The Winter's Tale'.

I was bored to tears when I read the play the week before, but watching it on stage was captivating and incredible. The actors were phenomenal, with the exception of a few. The actress playing Hermione, the King's 9-month pregnant wife, didn't seem to understand her character at all and the one playing her daughter, Perdita, did little more than recite her lines. The set didn't seem that spectacular at first — a long table set for a feast sat in the middle of the stage, with two bookcases and a doorway placed along the back wall — but just before intermission things got interesting. After learning of the death of his wife, King Leontes started to exit through the door at the back of the stage when the seemingly boring bookshelves tipped inward, forcing books to cascade from the shelves, while the a piercing white light shone through and nearly blinded the audience. The effect was powerful and stunning, but I really feel for the poor stagehand that has to reset those bookshelves every night. A few moments later, a giant bear contraption controlled by two puppeteers appears onstage to execute one of Shakespeare's best stage directions: 'Exits, pursued by a bear'.

After the show, a bunch of us went down the street to the Dirty Duck, a local pub where many of the actors frequent after performances. We saw them filing in, but figured they probably didn't want to be bothered, so we just chatted about the show amongst ourselves instead before calling it an early night and retiring to our incredibly comfortable beds.

Saturday started off with a quick, but yummy, breakfast in our hostel and then a tour and history of the town by Dr. Tim Kidd, the theatre professor here I've heard so much about (I live with three theatre majors). We learned a ton — Tim is basically a walking encyclopedia — and made stops at the Holy Trinity Church and Shakespeare's home before we were given some free time. A few of us decided to trot down the garden path to the cottage of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife. We picked up a few souvenirs at the gift shop and stopped for tea and pastries at a cute garden restaurant before heading back to the bus.

But the trip wasn't completely over yet: we still had a two-hour stop in Oxford. Naturally, majority of the group flocked to the Christ Church since a few scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed there. Unfortunately, the dining room that served as the Great Hall in the films was closed, but the rest of it was gorgeous. Katie, Chris, Brittany and I wandered around a bit, passing by tons of breathtaking churches and buildings I couldn't tell you the names of before hopping back on the bus and heading back to London for good.

PHOTOS:
A view of Warwick Castle
Promotional photo for 'The Winter's Tale' from the RSC Website
The Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon

Tally-ho?

2009-04-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

Even though it's always been around, only recently have I really taken a notice to airport security. With all my travels this semester (London, Munich, Frankfurt and Dublin), it's been hard to ignore, but I have noticed a few things.

Every airport I've traveled through seems to have similar, if not identical rules: take your shoes and coat off, put your change and keys in the bins and make sure your toiletries fit in the designated size bag and containers. How these standards are enforced, however, seems to vary greatly with each airport.

In Germany, I forgot to take off my ring and pocket watch necklace and take my liquids out of my carry-on, and didn't even get a second glance from security. When I accidentally left my jewelry on in the Dublin airport, I got sent back through the metal detector — twice — and wanded.

Horses for courses I suppose.

Land of Leprechauns, Guinness & Castles

2009-03-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

You guessed it (or perhaps not) — Ireland! Last weekend I went up North for a few days in Dublin with Kara, Brittany and Sarah. After a very early flight, an — ahem — interesting and slightly confusing bus ride, and a quick power nap, we set off on foot through the city in search of Leprechauns, pots of gold and a good time. Accompanied by sunny weather and a clear blue sky, we took in all the sights: picturesque bridges along the river, gorgeous cathedrals and churches, and colorful gardens. We toured through the Viking area (yep, that's what it's really called) and eventually made it to the Guinness factory (we couldn't skip that).

Now, beer's not my favorite drink, but I actually enjoyed the tour. We learned a ton about how it's made, and it was surprisingly interesting. We even got to taste-test a pint of Guinness each. I only had about half of mine since I didn't like it, but Brittany did, and gladly finished off the glass. The view from the Gravity Bar, located high atop the Guinness factory, was incredible, and we even saw a rainbow draped across the sky (though we never did find the pot of gold at the end of it). To finish off our first day there, we went out to dinner at a traditional Irish pub. Though it was remarkably similar to those we'd experienced in London, the accents were anything but familiar. I've finally adapted to the British accent (I hardly even notice it anymore), but trying to understand the waitress's thick Dublin accent was a bit of a challenge.

With only 12 hours left in Ireland, we set off for Malahide Castle, just outside Dublin. After seeing Neuschwanstein and Höhschwangau on my spring break, I had pretty lofty expectations. Malahide is incomparable to the two Bavarian castles (I feel like most are), but the Irish fortress has a subtle beauty and sophistication that made it worth a second look. We took the castle tour and wandered through the winding pathways of the garden and park. After a brief stop at the playground to relive our childhood, we found ourselves back in the quaint town of Malahide.

We had just enough time to grab a drink (Bailey's) and a bite to eat before heading to the airport and back to London. It was a whirlwind weekend, but great fun to see yet another country. I love looking at all the stamps in my passport — each of them a badge of honor for going out into the world and experiencing a new culture. And I can't wait to add more.

Photos:
Brittany and I with our free pints of Guinness at the Gravity Bar.
Church in the Viking area of Dublin.
Me in front of Malahide Castle.

You'd Have to Be Barking Mad to Pick Them!

2009-03-31T07:22:00.000-07:00

And apparently I am. I know I'm jumping out of order a bit (the Dublin post is coming, I promise), but bear with me for now.

We're down to the Final Four for the NCAA games now, and I'm three for four. I even had Michigan over Louisville, which surprised most people since Louisville crushed Arizona in their Sweet Sixteen game and was the number one seed overall. The only team to ruin my perfect Final Four bracket was Villanova, who just squeaked by Pittsburgh (78-76) to make the Final Four (not that it mattered, I had them losing to Duke in their Sweet Sixteen match-up).

The games have been intense, but great fun to watch. And my roommates still think I'm crazy. Just two more days of the madness though. I can't come in first (Max and Cory have too many points and there are too few games left), but I'm pleased with how I've done this year. I've got Michigan v. UNC in the championship game and UNC for the win (a popular pick — apparently even the President picked them).

Photo included: An updated version of my bracket.

Hopefully Things Don't Get Shambolic

2009-03-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you're aware that London is not only home to me this week, but also to the leaders from around the globe, including President Barack Obama. The reason for that is the G-20 Summit, a meeting that will focus on the current state of international financial markets and the future of the world economy.

This is the first time so many world leaders have convened in the UK since the first general assembly of the United Nations in 1946, and the Foreign Office has spared no expense. An estimated £20 million has been spent by Great Britain alone for summit preparations.

Some other interesting tidbits to this story so far:

France is playing hardball, threatening to walkout of the summit if their demands for stricter financial regulation are not met. According to a BBC story posted earlier today, France is seeking a stronger global financial regulator than the US and the UK, and leaving the summit would be a huge blow to Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Chris Knight, a professor of anthropology at the University of East London for 20 years, was suspended last week for suggesting violence against the police and bankers. The university announced today that it would close its doors until the summit is over and cancel its alternative G-20 summit event.
According to the Evening Standard, hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters are planning to storm City banks tomorrow in a series of coordinated demonstrations. Another set of four marches, said to signify the four Horsemen of the apocalypse, are planned to converge on Trafalgar Square from the US Embassy tomorrow.

Should be interesting to see what happens in London tomorrow and at the conference this week. I'll update as things develop. I promise a blog entry about Dublin is coming (along with a few others), so brace yourselves.

Are You Completely Mental?

2009-03-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

This post is about a week overdue, but it's that time of year again: March Madness. And while the Brits have yet to embrace the craziness of the NCAA tournament, I'm way into it already. After the, ahem, interesting results of last year's hyper-competitive Ithacan office pool, we were all ready for a re-match.

We're down to the Sweet Sixteen already and it's been a crazy first few days: mascot fights, major upsets (who had Arizona or Cleveland State?) and me screaming at my computer screen (God bless March Madness On Demand online).

The result: my roommates think I'm crazy. My editors have also had a good laugh at how intense I am about the games, but once I compared it to their premiership football (soccer) matches, they seemed to understand.

I can't wait for the games on Thursday!

Photo included: My bracket so far. UNC all the way!!!

Mind Your P's and Q's

2009-03-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

When we are kids, our parents are supposed to teach us manners. And I know every set of parents has their own philosophy about what is polite and what isn't, but there are a few things I think we should all be able to agree on.

Case in point: over the weekend, a few of my friends and I went to a club. Now, I understand that people like to go out and have a good time (we do). I understand that people like to dance at a club (we do). And I even understand that clubs tend to get crowded and this isn't always the best atmosphere to do that in. But what I don't understand is the need to barrel people over without so much as a 'sorry' or an apologetic wave of the hand. I'll let you through, just don't topple me over to do it. There's just no need.

On another note: kissing in public - not my favorite thing to see, but I'm willing to accept it. Until you get to the point where you're practically doing the dirty with clothes on. Just take it home. Or at least to a motel.

Seriously folks. Seriously.

Jolly Good!

2009-03-23T23:56:00.000-07:00

Only a day after I made it back to London from Spring Break, I had yet another adventure ahead of me: Christine came to visit! After a speedy (and slightly frightening) taxi ride to Heathrow, I picked up a jet-lagged Christine and took her back to my flat. We were both exhausted, but since we hadn't seen each other in a few months, we had a lot to catch up on. Once we were up to speed on the latest gossip, we put in a movie and promptly passed out for a few hours. I know it's not usually the best idea to help people get over jet lag, but we were pooped! Plus it's no fun touring around London when you're exhausted.

When we woke up, I gave Christine a whirlwind tour of Westminster: Big Ben, Parliament, the replica of Shakespeare's Globe, the Tate Modern, a nearby street market, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. We got back to my flat with just enough time to eat dinner and decorate — now that Spring Break was over, it was finally time to celebrate my 21st Birthday properly. Christine and I popped open the bottle of champagne my roommates had gotten me, and once the rest of the gang arrived, cut the cake. Then it was off to The Loop, a club and bar near Picadilly Circus. It really was a perfect way to celebrate: great friends, great drinks, a great deal of dancing and a great night.

I continued to play tour guide for Christine over the next few days, traipsing through Westminster at night, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, St. James's Park, Buckingham Palace, the Portobello Road Market, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Bartholomew's Church and Hyde Park. And while I'm not a walking encyclopedia of London, like Bill Sheasgreen, director of the ICLC program who does walking tours of London throughout the semester, it was entertaining for both of us and I think Christine enjoyed herself (speak now, Christine, or forever hold your peace). Hopefully I'll be ready to be a tour guide once again when my family visits in April.

Along the way we managed to see two shows: one bad, one good. I was seeing Over There, a show about twins living on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall in the 1980s, for my drama class and actually had pretty high hopes. The plot may sound interesting on paper, but the extremely experimental stylization of the entire production was bizarre, disturbing and a bit too modern for my taste. Luckily, we also managed to see a more traditional show that really delivered: Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre. Having stage managed the show this past summer on a cement stage outdoors at a park, I was a bit jealous of the double concentric revolve and other elements of the set that would have made our production much easier, but thoroughly enjoyed watching it from the front this time.

We also had some fun culinary experiences, including a full English breakfast — you really can't come to London without at least trying it — and Milk Chocolate Magnum ice cream bars, which are like Dove Bars, only better. Christine says they're mentioned in the movie Spice World, so she was dying to try one. We also went out to a local pub on St. Patty's Day for a pint (how could we not?) All in all a fun visit for both of us!

Photos included in this entry:
Christine and I in front of Buckingham Palace.
Look who turned up in London! Christine in a London phone booth.

99 Luftballons

2009-03-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Assuming you read all of my last entry, I'll pick up where I left off: the train from Munich to Frankfurt. With three days of navigating Munich and speaking German under my belt, I was feeling pretty confident about getting to my next destination. I managed to get to the station, order dinner (in German) and get on the right train on time. So far, so good, I thought. But still, it was getting late, so I put on my iPod and started to doze off. But about halfway through the four-hour journey, a cacophonous noise interrupted my nap and the ambiance of my music — the conductor had come over the PA system to make an announcement ... in German.

Trying to decipher his rapid-fire German over the muffled speaker while my neighbors talked loudly was quite a challenge. All I caught was that the train would be terminating in Nüremberg — two stops before my destination. In a state of semi-panic, I started eavesdropping on the people around me to see what they were going to do. Luckily, the two gentlemen sitting behind me seemed to be speaking a mix of German and English, so I casually jumped into their conversation. The one guy, who spoke fluent German and pretty decent English said there was going to be a train on the platform next to us when we arrived in Nüremberg that would take us to Frankfurt. I really lucked out he was on the train and willing to help me (and a few other tourists who seemed more confused than I was initially). Luckily, after transferring trains, the rest of my trip was uneventful and I arrived in Frankfurt just before midnight. After checking into my hostel, it was definitely time for lights out.

The next day, I grabbed a quick breakfast at the hostel before hopping on a train towards the Hauptwache area, home to St. Katherine's, St. Paul's and a large open street market known as the Zeil. The weather wasn't spectacular, so I took a tour of St. Paul's — indoors and in English, thank goodness. Then I wound my way through the aisles of clothes, crafts and food at the Zeil. By the time dusk fell, the view of the city's skyline really popped — so naturally I started taking loads of pictures (some included in this entry). Then, I stopped off at the restaurant on the square for dinner — sausage and German potato salad again, but I wasn't complaining. That's mostly because I had peeked at the desert menu beforehand and knew what it had in store. For all the flack I got from my friends, who were vacationing in culinary capitals like Paris and Venice, for going to a country whose diet consists mainly of beer, sausage and pretzels, I just have three words of revenge: Warm Apple Strudel. Top it off with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and I think I win this battle.

Anyways, I'll move onto the next day: Römerberg, St. Bartholomeus’ Cathedral and another trip to the Zeil. The Römerberg is an old city plaza, which houses the now-defunct city hall building and a large national art museum. When I visited, it was also headquarters for a Free Tibet protest, which I stopped and listened to for a bit. It’s interesting how often we forget, (myself included), that there are political and social issues out there that transcend borders, languages and cultures. From Römerberg Platz, I walked over to St. Bartholomeus’ Cathedral. Though half the building was masked by construction cloths, the sight was still stunning. Carved with ornate, detailed patterns, the Cathedral literally towers over every other building in the city, making it distinguishable even from across the Main River. Mass wasn’t going on when I got there, so I walked around and literally gaped at the incredible statues, sculptures and stained glass. On my way back to the train station, I once again found myself transfixed by the odd crafts, clothing and food for sale at the Zeil. Case in point: one tent, which offered discounted socks, underwear and German puppets, sat between a tent that sold giant Gherkins by the jarful and another tent that sold twisted hunks of glass and metal the owner called 'art'. It was a bizarre and eclectic mix, but an interesting place to visit nonetheless.

My last day in Frankfurt started early with breakfast and check out. My flight wasn't until later that night, so I had plenty of time to wander along the Main (pronounced 'mine') River and visit the Alte Oper (Old Opera House), Tausanlange Park and the Financial District. The Alte Oper was stunning — so much so that I finally ran out of room on my first SD card on my camera. After switching to my second memory card, I meandered through the park, taking my time framing up artsy shots of everything: statues, trees, chess tables, etc. Eventually I found myself in the financial district. Men and women in suits rushed among the giant skyscrapers and around a giant statue of the Euro symbol. It was interesting to watch , but pretty soon it was time to pick up my bags, hop on the train and head to the airport. Unlike my trip to Frankfurt, my trip home was not eventful at all. I did manage to pick up 'Q&A', the book that inspired the recent hit indie film Slumdog Millionaire, for only €2 though. I haven't finished the book yet, but I love it so far and highly recommend it.

And there you have it, my spectacular Spring Break in Germany. It was an incredible 6 days and I'm thrilled I finally got to go there. By the way, brace yourselves for a few more blog entries (I've got a lot to catch up on!)

Photos included in this entry (from top to bottom):
St. Paul's church by night.
A view of St. Katherine's church from the Hauptwache.
My (tasty) Apple Strudel (yes, I took a picture).
Römerberg Platz and a Libra statue that sits in the center of it.
A view of Bartholomeus' Cathedral.
The Old Opera House (die Alte Oper)
A giant statue of the Euro symbol in the financial district.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

2009-03-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Finally, the post my parents and other adoring fans (should I actually have any) have been waiting for: an overview my Spring Break in Germany! I spent three days in Munich and three in Frankfurt, so I'll split my posts between the two cities (just so they don't get too lengthy. First up: Munich!

After only a few hours of sleep, I set off for the train to Heathrow at the ungodly hour of 5am. True, my flight wasn't until 9, but I let my slight paranoia about missing it get the best of me. Luckily, everything went smoothly and I arrived at Heathrow, went through security and found my gate with about 3 hours to spare. At least it gave me some time to brush up on my German, finish reading my book and down a few cups of coffee.

I passed through customs without any trouble — not because of my ability to speak German (apparently customs officers speak pretty decent English) — and hopped the train toward central Munich. I had spent 7 years in middle school, high school and college studying the language, but nothing can prepare you for being fully immersed in it. Street signs, announcements, people sitting next to you on the train — you’re suddenly surrounded by this foreign language.

Certainly, I had experienced a similar culture shock when going to Japan (hell, there they even have a different alphabet), but it's still a bit disconcerting at first. After finding and checking into my hostel, I ventured out into the heart of the city: Marienplatz and the surrounding area. For those who aren't familiar with Munich’s geography, Marienplatz is home to the old Rathaus (City Hall), an ornate glockenspiel, the Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Ghost), Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church) and Viktualienmarkt. Much to my surprise, it was quite chilly and even started to snow a bit. To help me warm up, I bought a chewy, soft pretzel — a specialty in Germany — and kept wandering through the open street shops of the Viktualienmarkt.

But soon, dusk started setting in, and my numb fingers urged me to head back to the hostel. After a quick shower, I looked around nearby for a place to eat. Even though I was an American tourist, I refused to act like one and settle for a burger at McDonalds. No, I wanted to go where the locals went and eat what the locals ate. Eventually, I found a small restaurant with Dönnerkebabs (venison sandwiches) and Pommes Fritas (French fries). Proudly ordering in the best German I could work out in my head, the balding man behind the counter punched my order into the computer and told me it would be a few minutes before it was ready. I quickly noticed knowing even a little German was quite helpful and made the locals keener on assisting me.

By the time I made it back to my room, I was exhausted. A glance at my pocket watch revealed it was only about 10pm (an early bedtime by my standards), but I collapsed onto my bunk anyways and promptly passed out for the night.

I caught a relatively early breakfast at the hostel the next morning. I had plopped down in a plush leather chair by myself, and was just about to tuck in to my cornflakes, OJ and toast with Nutella when Jenna, an Austrian native visiting Munich for a job interview, asked if she could join me. We chatted for a bit in a bizarre combination of broken German and English, but it was nice to have some company. We both had plans for the day (work for her and sightseeing for me), but agreed to meet up later for dinner and drinks.

That morning I set off in search of the Bavarian Art Museum. After taking a slight detour (hey, German street signs are confusing, even if you can understand the language) to Thiersplatz, a small garden area with a few statues and several dozen pigeons, Maximilian Straße, a street named for famous German leader Maximilian I, and the St. Lukas Church, I finally made it to the museum. I'm not a huge art fan, but I meandered through the museum for nearly two and a half hours, completely mesmerized by the statues and paintings.

I then braved the snowy weather again to see Odeonsplatz, the Theatiner Church and the Hofgarten, before catching an early afternoon train to Dachau. Though most would not put the former concentration camp on their list of places to visit, I thought it was important to see it and remember the history there. As you may suspect, the site's background gave it weighty impact on me and the other visitors, but what words fail to describe is the sheer power it has to affect all who go there. But much like my trip to Hiroshima, Japan, this was not a visit for enjoyment, but rather one for learning.

After catching the train back to Munich, I met up with Jenna, who took me to a local bar for dinner and drinks. Continuing in our mixed German/English, we talked about politics (she's a big fan of Obama) and the differences between America, England, Germany and Austria. One of the biggest differences I noted was the size of their beer steins. I know it's stereotypical, but the difference between a glass, a pint and a liter is huge — particularly to someone like me who isn’t really an avid beer drinker. It was great talking with her, but I did have to call it a relatively early night because I needed to get up at the crack of dawn the next day.

I wasn't leaving Munich just yet, not permanently anyways. I was off to Füssen, a small town tucked away in the mountains that still manages to attract dozens of tourists day after day. How, you ask? It's home to two magnificent castles: Höhschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Built by Ludwig I, the two castles are straight out of a storybook. It's even been said that Neuschwanstein Castle was inspiration for the Cinderella castle (and it's easy to see why). Other highlights of the day (besides the fresh mountain air and breathtaking views) included a horse-drawn carriage ride led by horses named Max and Moritz (characters from a German children's book) and a driver named Fritz, eating Schwarzwald Kirschtörte (Black Forest Cherry Cake) and getting complimented on my German after asking someone to take my picture.

My last day in Munich came far sooner than I wanted it to, so I decided to pack in as much as I could before I had to catch my train to Frankfurt. I started off the morning with a visit to the Frauenkirche, yet another church in Munich. Because of the strength of Germany's Christian population, it's not uncommon to see a church every few blocks (kind of like the number and frequency of Starbucks you see in the US). By the time noon rolled around, my stomach was grumbling. I still wasn't completely familiar with Munich, but I knew one place I could try for lunch: the Hofbräuhaus, one of Germany's most famous beer houses. I ordered a small stein of the house brew, which of course was still huge (the Germans don't mess around when it comes to their beer), Bratwurst, Sauerkraut and a pretzel with mustard — a truly German meal.

At my mom's suggestion, I then headed toward Nyphenberg Palace. After a blustery, snowy walk along the river, I finally made it. Though the walk was cold, the view was well worth it. I also wandered past a small memorial building (the name of which I still don't know) that was quaint, but photographically interesting. I took several pictures, but then forced myself to head to the train station and finally bid Munich 'Aufwiedersehen.'

Hopefully that'll satisfy your appetite for now. I'm already working on my entry about Frankfurt and should have that up later tonight (assuming that I don't end up watching all the March Madness basketball games instead).

Bis Später (until later)!

Photos included in this entry (from top to bottom):
A view of Peterskirche on a sunny day in Marienplatz.
A peace statue near Marienplatz. People put different flowers in her arms each day.
The Rathaus Glockenspiel on Marienplatz.
A lion statue near Odeonsplatz and the Hofgarten.
Neuschwanstein Schlöß, which was inspiration for the Cinderella and other fairytale castles.
View of the mountains from the top of Neuschwanstein Castle.
Enjoying a beer at the Hofbräuhaus, a famous pub/restaurant in Munich.

So Long! Farewell!

2009-03-05T16:53:00.000-08:00

T-minus 5 hours until I leave for Spring Break in Germany! I'll be spending three days in Munich, and three in Frankfurt. I'm really excited to see the country, practice my German and engulf myself in yet another European culture.

As a journalist, I tend to work best on deadline, so naturally, I left all my packing (only one suitcase Mom!) until after I finished my midterms earlier today. I hope I remembered everything (though we all know it's inevitable I'll forget something.) I've double checked all the important stuff, so I should survive.

I'm not bringing my laptop with me to Germany — it's too risky — but I'll probably stop into some internet cafés here and there to keep on on emails if you need to get in touch with me. Expect a long blog post when I get back next week. And plenty of photos.

Aufwiedersehen! (Goodbye!)

And the Music Was Ace!

2009-02-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

Let's hear it for the boys — and the orchestra too — because both bring a vibrant and intriguing air to Tom Stoppard's provocative drama spectacular, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, which recently finished its run at the National. Maintaining a delicate balancing act between frail enlightenment and overwhelming darkness is not the production's only feat — its flair for provoking bleak laughter while questioning society's beliefs about what is normal and the audience's perceptions of insanity and sanity makes the show truly impossible to ignore.

Set in Soviet Russia, the play follows political dissident Alexander Ivanov (played by Joseph Millson), who is imprisoned in a mental institution for voicing his beliefs. In a classic sardonic Stoppard twist, his cellmate shares Alexander's name, but not his belief that sane people are locked up in mental institutions. Rather, Ivanov (Toby Jones) stubbornly insists that he is the conductor of his own orchestra — fully deployed on-stage, but invisible and inaudible to every other character.

Not only do the musicians play André Previn's sweeping compositions masterfully, but they also interact with the cast — at one point thrusting themselves and their instruments headfirst into a surprisingly satisfying quasi-interpretive dance/fight sequence — and serve as a central symbolic character in this dark, vexing comedy. The orchestra's on-stage presence also adds an air of extravagant opulence that compliments the scenic and lighting design style flawlessly.

Even the title fits in with everything — ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’ (or Fudge, as my 5th grade band director said) is a popular mnemonic device for remembering the notes that appear on the lines of the treble clef: E, G, B, D, F. But Stoppard’s cleverness doesn’t end there. When Alexander describes to us what happened to his other dissident friends, he names them after musical notes: A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

Millson's performance is truly one of the best I've seen so far in London. He makes evoking deeply unsettling thoughts and emotions seem effortless. Opposite his wide-eyed son Sacha (played by actress, yes actress, Bryony Hannah), Millson's Alexander is harsh and stern, but remains an inspiring character because of his firm assertions. At one point, the psychiatrist (also a member of the orchestra) explains to Alexander that he can be released if he admits that his beliefs are false.

Your opinions are your symptoms.
Your disease is dissent.

But Alexander refuses to yield to the powers-that-be. But while Millson's performance is profoundly weighty, Jones has no trouble providing a comic relief with his obscure, yet compelling wit. Oh, and did I mention he also happens to be another Harry Potter film alum? He voices Dobby in the series. I'm beginning to see a trend here: HP actors go straight back to their roots in the London theatre when they're not busy shooting the cult flicks.

Though I didn't leave the theatre humming Previn's melodies, they did strike an emotional chord (no pun intended) with me, as did Stoppard's message, despite it being masked beneath a thick layer of his disparaging, comic dialogue. Soviet Russia may be a faint memory of the past, but the themes still hold relevance in today's world. Many countries still cling to the theory of 'arrest now, ask questions later', imprisoning dissenters for expressing beliefs that are, for the moment, unpopular (at least among those in power).

It's a shame that the show isn't playing anymore (it closed Feb. 25) and that it will unlikely be performed anywhere else in the near future. The difficulty of finding, blocking and rehearsing a play with a full-sized orchestra is both a financial and logistical nightmare for most theatres to wrap their heads around. Nonetheless, the full-theatre experience was spectacular and unforgettable.

Catching Some Zeds

2009-02-27T05:33:00.000-08:00

It's 1:30pm on a Friday and I just woke up (I know, I know, Dad, 'lazy bum', right?). But after a production week at Peace News, a grueling week of classes and homework and trying to finalize plans for Spring Break (more on that in a later entry), I've barely caught any zeds this week.

On top of all that, Brittany, Kara and I went to a concert on Monday, followed by a trip to a club. The concert, which featured newly signed artist Tallulah Rendall, was held in a small, artsy club. I'd never heard her music before, but she turned out to be pretty good. After that, we went to a dance club called Tiger Tiger (don't ask me, I can't make these names up) because it was student night. Great mix of music, cool atmosphere and lots of dancing — a great night overall (even though I had to get up early for class the next day).

I thought New York was the city that never slept, but London gives it a pretty good run for its money!

Not Too Parky!

2009-02-25T02:46:00.000-08:00

Bitter cold temperatures, several feet of snow on the ground, school cancellations — these are the kinds of things that usually compose my winters (with the possible exception of the latter — my superintendent didn't believe in snow days). Between growing up in Rochester and going to school in Ithaca, I've seen some of the coldest and snowiest winters every year.

Until now. Over the past week or so, the temperature here in London has been at least 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm already busting out some of my spring clothes. The only snow we've seen was the "blizzard" a few weeks ago, and I'm starting to see why the Brits had a tough time coping with it.

Not that I'm complaining — trust me, it's a nice change of pace — it's just a little bizarre for me. I have to keep reminding myself that it's February. Horses for courses, I guess.

We Are QPR! We Are QPR!

2009-02-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

Nearly six weeks after setting foot in London, I finally managed to do something I've been dying to do since I got here: attend a football match (that's soccer for my American readers). It was Queen Park Rangers, better known as QPR for obvious reasons, against Ipswich, nicknamed the Tractor Boys because the town of Ipswich is mostly rural. It wasn't a typical match either. It may not have been a Premier League game, but the outcome determined which team would advance to the premiership. Needless to say there was a full stadium and a lot at stake.

The game was pretty good. QPR scored within the first few minutes and Ipswich caught up to tie the game by the half. Even though the Rangers had a strong start, they lost it after that. QPR was plagued by a sloppy defense, haphazard passes that ended up in the wrong places and a few shoddy calls in the second half. The game was loud and fascinating to watch, but even more so were the fans. Supporters here are hard-core, like nothing I've seen regularly in the states. It starts with wearing team colors to the match and ends with intense shouting and cheering matches between fans.

Nothing got out of control, but swarms of coppers in orange vests were ready if anything did happen. It's not uncommon for fights to erupt between fans following intense football matches. We lucked out and things ended calmly, but there was a group of fans sitting in front of us we had a bit of fun silently teasing for their constant chants of 'We are QPR, We are QPR!'.

If you ever get the chance to visit the UK, Football is definitely a must-see. It's a huge part of the culture and loads of fun to watch.

I'm Absolutely Gobsmacked!

2009-02-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

Land of the rising sun. Land where the old meets the new. Land with delicacies of raw fish and seaweed. Japan has given us many things, but unexpectedly dropped an intriguing new theatrical spectacular, 'Shun Kin', on London earlier this year that has played to packed audiences nearly every night. Based on Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's prolific novel, A Portrait of Shun Kin, the show is performed by experimental acting troupe Complicite and tells the story of the blind shamisen prodigy Shun Kin and her sadomasochistic relationship with her willing servant and lover Sasuke.

The story is bizarre and couldn't keep my attention for most of the production. Then again, it was two and a half hours long with no intermission, so the odds were against it. It also jumped around constantly and lacked any coherent line of thought. And, since my Japanese is a bit rusty, a good portion of my time was spent reading the English subtitles — poorly placed on the extreme left and right of the stage — while simultaneously trying watch what was happening on stage.

Only slightly more dizzying than trying to keep up with the dubious subtitles was the way the story was framed: on one side of the stage, a modern-day women sits in a recording studio dictating Tanizaki's tale for a radio show, as we watch Tanizaki investigate the stories he found in Sasuke's journal several years before, while the actual 1800s-era story of Sasuke and Shun Kin unfolds in front of our eyes. Confused? So was I. It does, however, amply demonstrate the concept of what the British call 'Chinese Whispers' or the way a story gets changed as is passes from one person to the next. What Americans would characterize as the 'Telephone game' concept I suppose.

Despite these setbacks, 'Shun Kin' shines as an intriguing and different type of production than London's West End is used to. The staging and theatrics of the production were masterfully and beautifully choreographed. Rarely have sex and violence been so unusually tame and graceful to watch. It's a far cry from the generally intense and gratuitous images we see in movies and television, and, though many critics disagree, I have to applaud Complicite's unique interpretation. Additionally, Shun Kin's transformation from puppet, (masterfully controlled by two on-stage assistants called Kurogo), to live actress harmoniously shadows her progression as a character.

And, in the true spirit of all things Japanese, the production blends the old traditions with the most modern trends. The show utilizes Kabuki and Noh theatre techniques, like the use of Kurogo, and cleverly shifting bamboo sticks to represent a series of different doors, passages and hallways, and blends them effortlessly with dazzling new theatrical technology, particularly through the use of projections to emphasize particularly beautiful or painful moments. Accompanying the entire production is a gorgeous set of melodies played on the shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese instrument similar to the banjo. Here's an example, courtesy of Youtube:

Definitely a show worth seeing — probably twice so you can ignore the subtitles and dull storyline the second time around and appreciate the beauty of choreography and truly stunning theatrical techniques.

Photo: Production still taken from the 'Time Out London' Website.

It's Been a Hard Day's Night

2009-02-16T04:40:00.000-08:00

If you've ever seen my iTunes, you'll know I have a rather eclectic taste in music. Naturally this means I love the classics, so my play list would be incomplete without the Beatles. And even though I wasn't alive for Beatlemania, I've always been a big fan of the Fab Four and I jumped at the chance to visit their hometown of Liverpool this past weekend.

I woke up at an ungodly hour (here came the sun through my window at 6am, so I dragged myself out of bed. Give me a break — it's not like I'm used to getting up that early eight days a week). After sitting on a bus for about four hours, it was a good day, sunshine as we finally made it to the hostel. Bill took us on another one of his infamous walks before we went on the Magical Mystery Tour, which gave us a glimpse at a day in the life of the boys. We saw the birthplaces and homes of Ringo, George, John & Paul, the church where the group would come together, Penny Lane (the infamous long and winding road), Strawberry Fields (which went on forever), the cemetery where Eleanor Rigby was buried, the Hard Day's Night hotel (the only Beatles-themed hotel in the world) and even the Cavern Club (where the group played countless times). It was really interesting and we really lucked out with the weather too — it didn't rain at all!

When we got home to the hostel, we freshened up and took a quick power nap before heading out to Her Majesty's Philharmonic, a pub that the Beatles frequented. We had to wait for a table, but it was well worth it. I had trouble deciding on something, but I finally settled on a glass of white wine and the chicken and mushroom risotto, which was fantastic! Because we were only there one night and it's not like you get to go to Liverpool any time at all, we decided to head back to the Cavern Club for some drinks and dancing. We got a bit lost, but with a little help from our friends, we eventually found the club.

The night just kept getting better, as the music and atmosphere of the club didn't let me down. While we were listening to the band's guitars gently weep, we met some local Liverpudlians (seriously — that's what they're called!) and sang along to some classics like 'I am the Walrus', 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' and 'Hey Jude'. I'm a loser, so I knew every word to all the songs, but it was loads of fun. When he took a break, we kept chatting with the locals, but we needed help deciphering every little thing they said, as they had really thick accents. It wasn't long before the next band got up to play and with a devil in our hearts, we decided to act naturally and dance! We stayed for a while, but soon it was 1am and though it had only been a short while since we said 'Hello', goodbyes were in order. When we got home, we promptly crashed in our bunkbeds at the hostel. Not too much monkey business, but overall, we had fun and it was a good night.

Our alarms greeted us with a good morning, good morning around 7:30 and, after we fought for the shower (eight girls, one shower is a bad combination any way you slice it), we met Bill to walk to the Beatles Story museum. After a lengthy walk to the Albert Docks, we went inside and were each handed an audio set for a self-guided tour. There was a ton of memorabilia and some really interesting stories, including those of the two former Beatles: drummer Pete Best and bass player Stuart Sutcliffe. And do you want to know a secret? Even though I'm a big Beatles fan, I never knew about Sutcliffe before. The exhibit was complete with a huge yellow submarine, a life-size cut out of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band cover and a tribute to Lennon: his picture and glasses on a white piano with the lyrics to 'Let it Be' written on the wall.

Afterwards, a group of us went exploring around Liverpool: the Albert Docks, back to the Cavern Club and Pub (we wanted to get some photos) and stopped at a great panini place for lunch (the name of it is on the tip of my tongue, but I can't think of it right now). By 3pm, we had reached the end of our time in Liverpool and hopped back on the bus for the journey home. I listened to the Beatles the whole way home and even watched 'Across the Universe' yesterday just for kicks. But after all that and writing this entry, I'm pretty much all Beatlemania-ed out. And I'm guessing you are too.*

Cheers,
Kathy

*If you're not all Beatle-ed out, see if you can find all the Beatles song titles in the entry. I had fun trying to fit in as many as I could. (Hint: there are 45 total)
**Photos in this entry:
Top: The infamous Strawberry Fields in Liverpool.
Middle: The Cavern Club, where the Beatles played countless times.
Bottom: From left to right, Sara, Celia, Me and Randi at Penny Lane.

A Load of Codswallop!

2009-02-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

I added two more shows to my list this week: 'Private Lives' and 'Othello', and based on my two previous experiences with the London Theatre, I expected them to be quite good. As you might have guessed from the title of the entry, they were anything but.

I'll start with 'Private Lives', Noël Coward's tale of 1930s divorcees Elyot and Amanda, who meet on their subsequent honeymoons and whose fatal attraction drives them to run off with each other to France. Reading the plot to this play alone had me intrigued — it sounded like it had a lot of potential to be interesting, fun and quite comical. Unfortunately, the actors didn't seem to think so, and proceeded to over-act the entire show. Accompanied by clumsy and distracting underscoring, costumes that didn't fit the time period and sets that felt lack-luster for the glamorous upper-class lives the characters were supposed to be leading, it wasn't worth my time. I think if I had seen it on my own, I probably would have walked out at the interval (intermission to those of you state-side).

The other show I saw, 'Othello', wasn't on the bill for my drama class, but they had extra student tickets for only £10 and it's one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. Plus London is known for its fantastic productions of Shakespeare works (mainly Stratford, but still), so I thought there was no way I could go wrong. How wrong I was. After a long, crowded journey there on the tube/overground, we found our seats in the first balcony level towards house right. There were a few other Ithaca College students near us, but the group was pretty scattered throughout the theatre.

At the start of the production, the director came out to inform us that the role of Iago would be played by the understudy and, therefore, Cassio would also be played by an understudy. I was slightly bummed by the news, but decided to give the production a chance anyways. Starting off with underscoring that had touches of African drumming, Othello and Desdemona sang their first few lines beautifully, giving me the hope that the production would be much better than the show I saw earlier in the week.

But as the production continued, Patrice Naiambana (Othello) was all over the place — light and comical, then quickly depressed and right back to cheerful. Not the Othello I had found so fascinating when reading the original work. Natalie Tena (who many of my classmates recognized as Tonks from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) as Desdemona was elegantly charming, but did not manage to evoke the depth of pity for which I'd packed the tissues. Understudy Alex Hassle was memorable in the role of Iago, but for all the wrong reasons. He was no more sinister or cunning than Spongebob Squarepants and managed to flub at least one line in practically every scene. I know he was the understudy, but it was unfortunately clear why. The benefit of him playing Iago was his understudy, Robert Vernon, really shined in the role of Cassio — I walked away with a whole new appreciation for that character.

But the production was still riddled with technical goofs — the flash on a camera didn't go off when it was supposed to, a piece of cloth hung for a scene was ripped in half by a cast member, and during the final scene, the candle was knocked over, which a spare cast member came on stage to pick up mid-scene. Between that and the pitiful performances, it was not the 'tragedy' I imagined I would see.

Hopefully this week should be better. Only one show on the bill: Shun Kin, which is based on several Japanese short stories. I don't know how the rest of my classmates will enjoy the performance, but I'm particularly intrigued already, mostly because of my trip to Japan a few years ago. It'll be interesting to compare the two.

It's getting late and, even though I'd like to write about my weekend in Liverpool, I really should get to bed. You'll have to wait until tomorrow!

Cheers,
Kathy

PHOTOS (from top to bottom):
'Private Lives' production still, taken from The Evening Standard's Website
'Othello' production still, taken from the RSC's Website

Street Where the Riches of Ages Are Stowed

2009-02-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite movies growing up was always Bedknobs and Broomsticks (if you haven't seen it, go rent it. It's a Disney classic in my book). It juxtaposes witchcraft, catchy songs and animated characters interacting with Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson with the backdrop of WWII England, all while maintaining a light, comedic and entertaining tone.

Aspiring witch Miss Price (Lansbury), her conman "professor" Emelius Brown (Tomlinson) and orphan children Carrie, Charlie and Paul set off in search of the other half of a magic book at the Portobello Road Market, and, like in any great Disney flick, there's even a song and dance number to go with it. Get nostalgic with me and watch the scene (thank you Youtube!):

Anyways, for the longest time, I convinced myself Portobello Road was an imaginary place made up for the movie. I had no idea it actually existed! I couldn't wait to go check it out once I arrived in London.

My friend Anne, who was equally eager to visit the market, and I planned a trip to the infamous street with our friends Jackie and Clara on Friday. Aside from taking lots of pictures and humming the song the whole time, I picked up lots of inexpensive souvenirs for my family and friends and a few new outfits. Though it wasn't exactly like it was in the movie, we still had lots of fun browsing the little boutiques, antique shops and street carts filled with colorful fruits, elaborate jewelry and even old books.

Photo: From left to right, Jackie, Anne & I with the Portobello Road street sign

Stiff Upper Lip

2009-02-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, my politics class made the trek from the London Center to Westminster to watch a session of the House of Commons. Held in the Palace of Westminster (seen at left), the members of each party sit facing each other in pews with green cushions — Labour Party on the left and the Conservative Party on the right. When we arrived, one of the conservatives was at the podium criticizing his liberal opponents and posing questions for Speaker of the House Harriet Harman (Labour). When Harman got up, she began addressing the schedule of topical debates for the next week — military operations, road and building repairs, the credit crunch — and answering her opponent's questions.

They then moved on to business questions, which involved a everyone who wanted to speak standing up, either being called on or not, and sitting back down. I was amazed how cordial everyone was when talking about proposals made by other members. They would always use phrases like "my esteemed colleague" and "the dear gentleman or lady", which truly surprised me. You'd never see something like that in American politics.

What I expected to see was what one Scottish representative brought: a bit more of an attitude. He criticized the House for ignoring the needs of Scotland and went so far as to call certain members 'gits' and 'clowns'. When he got yelled at by the moderator, he apologized ... sort of.

"My apologies, Mister Secretary," he said. "My esteemed colleague is a complete twat."

Majority of that session consisted of each member getting up and discussing issues specific to their constituents, many of whom were concerned with TFL's inability to cope with the snowfall of the past week. On a side note, I love British humour. Completely blunt, and very tongue-and-cheek. So many of the House members had great comic wit.

Then, David Miliband (pictured at right), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, got up to discuss the recent news about the case of Binyam Mohamed, a UK resident who claims he was tortured in Guantanamo Bay. Problems arose when it was revealed that the British High Courts suppressed information regarding the case. The U.S. then threatened to stop sharing information about terrorist threats with the U.K. if the courts did not hand over the information (more details in this story from The Daily Telegraph here). I wish we could have stayed, but we had to leave, as many of us needed to get back to the London Center in time for afternoon classes. It was definitely an interesting and worthwhile trip nonetheless.

Back in Black

2009-02-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

Last week I saw a play that revolves around misogyny, murder and mommy issues — must be a serious drama, right? Wrong. Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" is just that: downright entertaining. As an outspoken rebel playwright in the 1960s, you'd think Orton's outrageous black comedies would have played remarkably well to a free-loving hippie audience, but it took 45 years for this particular work to reach the London stage without being censored. And I couldn't be more pleased that it finally did.

The West End production stars Matthew Horne, a big television star over here, as the bottle-blond deviously manipulative, yet charming Mr. Sloane. Forty-something landlady Kath, a marvelously hilarious Imelda Staunton (who I instantly recognized as Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) is immediately smitten with her new tenant Sloane, who seems to be hiding something from the very start. Adding to the cast of already outrageously bizarre and seriously psychologically disturbed characters are Kath's — ahem — bachelor brother Ed (comic genius Simon Paisley Day) and their senile father, Kemp (a hysterical and touching Richard Bremmer).

Set in the living room of a house that stands alone next to a rubbish dump, the bubble-like atmosphere fuels the neurotic chaos that ensues: Kath shamelessly throws herself at Sloane (at one point in a completely sheer nightgown that leaves nothing to the imagination); brisk, buttoned up Ed reveals his enthusiastic admiration for the male physique and wastes no time hiring Sloane as his chauffeur and decking him out in a dinky, kinky leather uniform, and Kemp recognizes Sloane as the murderer of his former boss.

The unscrupulous tale, which was Orton's way of offering a giant 'screw you' to society for being too close minded, is reminiscent of Harold Pinter's earlier work and is hilariously entertaining and uncomfortably twisted at the same time. It is a truly amoral piece — wild, witty and utterly heartless.

The small cast was one of the best I've seen in a long time. Staunton, Paisely Day and Bremmer are all veterans of the London stage and it shows. Each of them got the quirky nuances that make their characters so oddly entertaining and fascinating to watch. However, casting Horne may have been a bit of a misstep. His lack of experience with stage acting was even more apparent next to the rest of the well-trained cast and made his character seem less complex than Orton's script called for.

Nonetheless, my first taste of British black comedy was memorable and enjoyable. Next week's show is Private Lives. I also snagged extra tix to Othello, so look for mini-reviews of those next week.

Cheers!
Kathy

PS: Brace yourselves for a slew of entries — this blog is in desperate need of updating.

"What do you mean 'shovel'?"

2009-02-02T23:49:00.000-08:00

Something incredible happened in London today. Something unusual. Something absolutely unheard of.

It snowed! … A lot, actually.

More than 6 inches of fluffy, white snow fell last night and blanketed the entire city, causing utter confusion and panic among most Londoners and sheer excitement among others (namely me and my roommates … well, most of them anyways).

Aside from my family and friends, snow is one of the things I’ve missed most so far on this international adventure, so I was thrilled when I saw flakes falling outside my window and realized they were actually sticking. Kristin, her friend Molly and I bundled up and ran outside for a few minutes to take photos and frolic in the snow last night in the midst of the ‘storm’ (I use quotes because by Rochestarian standards, it’s not much of a storm at all). Apparently it was enough of one to get us on ABC News though.

It’s been amusing watching the Londoners try to cope with the new phenomenon. Since they don’t typically get very much (if any) snow, the city’s not equipped to deal with it. I didn’t see a single snowplow and the closest thing people could find to shovels were brooms. And practically everyone I passed was complaining at how cold it was. Wimps.

I wandered around the park at Kennsington Gardens just down the street from my flat and found that half of London had taken a snow day. They busted out their goulashes and umbrellas — it’s the closest thing they have to snow gear — and built snowmen and took pictures in the park. Some started spontaneous snowball fights, which seemed to break out everywhere, while others just looked in awe at the snow-covered trees, bushes and pond.

Here's a video I took while in Hyde Park of the festivities:

On my way home from the park, I decided to stop at Tesco’s (the grocery store) to pick up a few things for dinner and found the other half of the city inside in full-on crisis mode, stocking up on canned goods and water. Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up, I’m not that good. Practically every tube line was down, if not severely delayed and the buses couldn’t handle the unplowed streets.

So while Londoners try to cope with the winter weather in whatever way they choose, I’m just enjoying a little reminder of home.

Photo included in this entry: A snowman built in the park. There were literally hundreds of them everywhere!

The Universal Language

2009-02-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

If you know me, it’s no secret I love to dance — anytime, anywhere. If I hear music, I can’t resist grooving along to the beat (you can ask my parents, they used to catch me choreographing Broadway routines in our living room or tap dancing ‘round the kitchen all the time).

And unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly seen the T-Mobile commercial that involves hundreds of hired dancers randomly bursting out into choreography to a mix of great tunes in the middle of the Liverpool Street tube station (if you haven’t seen it, check it out below).

Anyways, the commercial, which somehow relates to cell phones, (can someone explain that to me, please? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller …?), was filmed only two weeks ago, meaning I was in London when it happened. Was I fortunate enough to be in Liverpool station when the quasi-spontaneous dance party broke out? No. But I’d love to be involved in something like that (similar things have been done before — check out “Frozen Grand Central” below).

We did manage to make it to Liverpool station today (en route to our shopping trip at the Up Market and the Petticoat Lane Market), and there were video screens strewn about the walls of the entire station. They usually serve as additional advertising space, but at that station, they were all playing the T-Mobile commercial. Most people rushed past, running to catch trains and make connections, but two kids, both about 7 years old, stood transfixed in front of the screen. They broke their hypnotic trance a few seconds later only to start dancing along with the commercial. A small crowd gathered to watch the toe-tapping twosome before their mother eventually guided them off to their train.

Bottom line, there’s really only one absolutely universal language: dance (because trust me, American English and British English — not the same thing!)

All That's Known

2009-01-30T04:04:00.000-08:00

Ah, the London Theatre. Known for its classic dramas and comedies, a rock musical based on a risque 19th century German play is not something you'd expect to see in London's West End. But 'Spring Awakening' played to a nearly-full auditorium last Wednesday and had to do three curtain calls because the applause was so overwhelming.

And while I've been a fan of the music since it came out a few years ago, and I've been aching to see it on Broadway, I thought the show itself was mostly well put together, but at times a bit too comical and even a bit disappointing.

I should mention that the actor who played Moritz in the production we saw was the understudy -- and you could tell. His acting was more immature than his characters' antics and he missed quite a few crucial notes in songs that I loved listening too on the soundtrack.

Him aside, the rest of the cast was great, particularly Aneurin Barnard, who played Melchoir brilliantly as the clever rebel with a heart of gold -- a far cry from the character Frank Wedekind created in his original work, but entertaining and wonderful nonetheless. The old-fashioned story is sucked straight into the 21st century through poppy, catchy rock tunes that allow the audience a glimpse into the characters' thoughts. The show is certainly not for timid audiences -- 'Spring Awakening' tells the story of a group of young teens experiencing puberty and sexual thoughts for the first time in a conservative 19th century Germany. I was impressed with how tastefully many of the scenes were staged and thought it did a beautiful job of expressing the confusion and beauty of that time in our lives.

I would point out, however, that on several things, Duncan Shiek (music) and Steven Sater (book, lyrics) strayed from the original play in order to create a more marketable and popular musical. I won't go into detail, as it'll spoil it for anyone who wants to see the musical or read the play, but just know that he sold out a bit. Both versions work well in their own capacities (though my drama professor wasn't having any of the musical version -- she's a bit of a traditionalist I think), so here's my recommendation if the show is on your short list (Mom?): see the show first, then read the play by Wedekind and appreciate both for what they are.

I couldn't take photos in the theatre we saw the show at, so the included art is from the London 'Spring Awakening' website. It's of a rehearsal of the number 'The B*tch of Living'.

Would You Like Another Cuppa?

2009-01-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

Time for another update on my life in London: classes, my internship and explorations.

Last week we started classes here at the London Center and I love them all: European Mass Media, European Cinema, Contemporary British Politics and Drama & the London Theatre. My professors are all really nice and seem very interested in the various subjects they're teaching. A lot of students here think I'm crazy for taking four classes (twelve credits) plus an internship (three credits), but actually, it's a pretty light semester by my standards (I've taken 17 or 18 a semester since I got to Ithaca).

My classes should be loads of fun too -- we're taking a trip to Parliament for my politics class, plus, the gist of my theatre class is going to see plays, writing reviews & talking about them. I'm really psyched for our first show tomorrow: SPRING AWAKENING!!! It's been on my shortlist of shows to see on Broadway for quite some time now, but I haven't been able to nab tickets. I'll probably blog about it Thursday. We're also seeing a show starring Dame Judi Dench. I think I've died and gone to theatrical heaven (at least in my book).

Anyways, I went out clubbing last Thursday with Chris and his friends John & Laura. The place we went, called Shunt, was actually in a tube station and had an underground cave-like atmosphere. There were archways into different rooms that had all sorts of odd art exhibits -- some photos, some sculptures, some modern art (too weird for my taste) and eventually, the actual club. We had a great time chatting and dancing before heading home (with a pit stop for some yummy Turkish take-out) in the pouring rain. It was a fun way to celebrate being abroad.

On Saturday, Bill led another walk, this time through St. Paul's, St. Bartholomew's and the surrounding area. The architecture was, as usual, absolutely stunning and the churches were gorgeous. At my mom's request, I've included a few photos from the walk (top photo: sunrise over St. Paul's, middle photo: outside of St. Paul's, bottom photo: statue inside St. Bartholomew's). Once again, the weather held out for us (we've been really lucky on that so far -- hardly any rain!) and we had a great time. There was another walk on Sunday through the markets of London that I missed because I was at my internship at Peace News.

Peace News is a small monthly newspaper that covers human rights issues, political conflict and local activist movements. My editor, Mil, and the rest of the staff are very friendly and I think I'll learn a lot from working there. I'll also be drinking lots of tea (my Grandmother would be so proud). It seems every time I turned around, Mil was asking me 'Would you like another cuppa?' I'm loving it though.

I should stop writing and get back to doing my homework. Blog posts will hopefully get more frequent this week -- I think we finally figured out the internet situation in our flat.

Obama-mania ... London style

2009-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:00

Walking into the pub yesterday, the somewhat familiar scene still felt a bit surreal to me. Crowded with the usual lot, sharing pints and chips after a long day at work, Chris and I plowed our way through and, without so much as a glance towards one another, made a beeline for the empty table next to the television. Typical Americans, right? Actually, in this case, I guess the answer is yes.

After ordering a couple pints and some chips (hey, when in Rome ... right?), we turned up the volume and sat completely transfixed by the images flashing in front of our faces. Others were glancing occasionally at the headlines scrolling across the bottom of the screen --- 'Sen. Kennedy collapses at Inaugural Lunch', 'Aretha Franklin to sing national anthem', 'More than 1M come to witness first Black president inaugurated' --- but only Chris and I were solely focused on the Obama-mania back home.

It was a far cry from the parties and cheering I remember from my election night experiences in Ithaca, NY last November. There were no fireworks, no cowbells or other instruments, no sports-like cheering, no shirts or hats with the President-elect's face or name. Instead, the Brits around us were watching, semi-attentively, and commenting calmly about what it all meant.

Most seemed pleased to see Bush go and Obama come in.
"Finally! America has an intelligent president," one man said.
"Hopefully he'll be able to fix the mess Bush left for him," his friend replied.

People began to pay more attention when the President-elect stood up to be sworn in as the first African-American President of the United States, but there was still a distracted buzz of chatter from some patrons.

Quite an opposite experience from those in Ithaca, but still, an interesting way to spend the inauguration. It wasn't a top priority for everyone here to watch, but it was still very much an important day for them, and for the world.

On a side note, it was an momentous enough occasion for Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum to add a figure of the new president and to offer free admission (with a passport).

The photo above is from mine & Chris' trip earlier yesterday to the museum

'ave you spotted the morning 'eadlines?

2009-01-20T02:24:00.000-08:00

Finally getting used to the tube/streets of London. Well, at least those around my flat and the London Centre. I was actually able to give a fellow American directions yesterday.

As a journalist, naturally I read the paper everyday to keep up with current events and learn about different styles & writing techniques. Though I have some concerns about story placement/the amount of tabloid-esque stories in each edition I pick up here in London, I have to say I'm proud of the fact that practically everyone reads the papers on the tube.

In re the title of the blog, it's a direct quote from a guy who was chatting with his mates on the tube this morning about a story about Barack Obama. It's so interesting how different the U.K. is from the U.S. already.

Off to class (European Mass Media).

Cheers,
Kathy

Practically Perfect in Every Way

2009-01-19T04:13:00.000-08:00

Now that we're finally settled into our new flat, it finally feels real. And, to steal a phrase from everyone's favourite British nanny, Mary Poppins, our flat is practically perfect in every way: spacious, nicely kept-up, completely furnished and in a great location.

There are a few quirks though. Most notably so far is that our dryer doesn't work very well. I was the first to do laundry yesterday, so I got the ... well, let's just call it interesting task of figuring out our washer/dryer. We do have a cool drying line that stretches across our shower and bathtub, but I'm living with three other girls, so inevitably there's always someone who wants to shower. This leads to a whole charade of putting up, taking down, and re-folding clothes onto another small drying stand we have. Then having to re-hang everything in the bathroom. It's quite a bit different from what we're all used to back home, but I'm sure we'll adapt. In the scheme of things, it's really not too bad.

We also still don't have Internet set up in our flat, which makes checking email, uploading photos and blogging somewhat difficult. We're going to finish sorting that out this afternoon/evening I think (hopefully). In the meantime, you'll have to suffer through my sparingly updated posts. Sorry 'bout that.

Over the weekend, Bill, the London Centre director, led a tour through Westminster. There were about 40 or 50 students who joined us on the 4 and 1/2 hour tour. My flatmates and I had already wandered around near Parliament and Big Ben earlier in the week (we had some free time as we found a flat so quickly), but we also saw where several British diplomats live, Scotland Yard, the National Theatre, replica of Shakespeare's Globe, a fantastic little (busy) public market (I bought an entire baguette of yummy, crusty bread for only £1.50, which ended up being my lunch), the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. It was supposed to pour, but we lucked out and it stayed sunny for the whole walk (a rarity in London). Met up with one of Keeley's friends at a pub and hung out with him and his mates for a while. Had a really interesting chat about all sorts of differences in culture between America and Britain, as well as Germany (one of the guys was originally from Berlin).

Spent a lazy day at home yesterday: unpacking, settling in, doing laundry & grocery shopping. It was a bit weird to go to Tescos for our food (I've grown up around Wegmans my whole life), but we worked it out. Watched When Harry Met Sally and The Notebook, neither of which my self-proclaimed "soul-less" flatmate Kristin enjoyed, but I'm a fan of both (they're classics and if you haven't seen them, go out and rent them!)

Off for lunch and the first day of my internship at Peace Now. Possibly searching for a job later. Classes technically started today, but my first one isn't until tomorrow morning (European Mass Media). Probably going to go to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum tomorrow -- they've got free admission with a student ID and a new statue of President-elect Barack Obama. It'll definitely be interesting to watch the inauguration from another country and see what the response here is like.

Cheers for now,
Kathy

Photos included in this post (from top to bottom): The sunset over Westminster (London Eye, Big Ben & the skyline) and Me & Big Ben.

Mind the Gap please!

2009-01-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

I have arrived! And while my travels warrent a much longer post than this will be, I only have access to the internet at the London Centre, which is a only a few tube (sorry, Subway for you Americans) stops and a short walk away from the hotel.

For those of you who don't quite understand the title of this blog, "Mind the Gap" is a phrase heard over the PAs in the tube stations, as there is a significant gap between the doors of the train and the platform. At first I assumed the gap referred to the horizontal distance between the edge of the train and the platform, but it actually refers to the height difference. It's better at some stations than at others, but still something to be mindful of.

Today's been a bit of a blur -- and I'm not just talking about the morning fog. Me and my flatmates (roommates to Yanks) went on the hunt all over London to find us a place to live for a few months. We've got one set and will be moving in Friday afternoon.

For mail purposes though, anyone who wants to send letters, sweets or anything else, here's my address at the IC London Centre:

Kathy Laluk
c/o Ithaca College London Centre
35 Harrington Gardens
London SW7 4JU, England

Photos and videos to follow, but I really just want to enjoy the city right now.

Cheers,
Kathy

Elementary, My Dear Readers!

2009-01-06T16:42:00.001-08:00

This blog has seen it all -- class assignments, random thoughts, rants, you name it. And now it gets to see things from an international perspective. In case you haven't guessed by my intro (or by the title of this entry), in less than a week I'll be off to London to study abroad for the semester.

It's bound to be an incredible experience and I can't wait to document everything. In addition to blog entries and photos, I'll be trying my hand at some video blog entries.

So sit back, enjoy and get caught up in this (International) Perpetual Whirlwind with me.

Looking Back

2008-12-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

"In what ways is your daily life militarized,"
my professor wrote on the board not but two minutes after walking in the door.

Completely baffled, I stared vacantly at the paper in front of me. For several minutes, the sheet of looseleaf was as blank as my mind. Feeling pressure from the pencils scribbling next to me, I jotted the only things that came to my mind.

"By my class schedule, by my work schedule, by the law and rules, by deadlines, by my bosses/supervisors/professors.

These things dictate my life and how my day-to-day activities are organized and prioritized."

Not some of my best work. Cut me some slack though. I decided to take the course because a.) it filled my 400-level course needed for my politics minor, and b.) I had interviewed Kelly for a story for The Ithacan and she seemed really cool.

Looking back, some of the most obvious things didn't even cross my mind -- militainment in particular. Terribly embarrassing for a communications major & theatre minor to admit, believe me, but it's true. Militarization and the military enter into my work as a journalist on a daily, if not hourly, basis. When I go shopping, there are inevitably a pair of hideous camo pants I can scoff at on the clothing racks. And hell, I own several movies that deal with soldiers' lives and the role of the media in military happenings.

What didn't cross my mind and probably shouldn't have at that point, were the less obvious ways the military enters my daily life. Recruitment officers and posters everywhere on campus, presidential influence over militarization and foreign policy (my International Politics professor would scold me for not thinking of that one), patriotism and citizen reaction to war and, particularly for my generation, the War in Iraq.

Okay, maybe that last one should have been obvious to me. But it wasn't. Most people don't think about militarization on a daily basis, but the underlying truth I've discovered while taking this course is that whether we notice it or not, the military seeps into our lives and impacts us every single day.

Private Security?

2008-11-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

The day I first set foot in Hiroshima was one of the hottest I can recall. Stepping off the crowded ichi-ban train, my mother and I quickly made our way to the nearest vending machine we could find -- which happened to be all of four steps off the train -- to get a couple bottles of water. With water bottles in hand and sweat already pouring from our brows, we made our way into the oven-like heat of Hiroshima.

Walking down the path toward the museum (hey, it was airconditioned!), we walk by a series of small statues and memorials. I glanced at them briefly, but in the sweltering heat, I was in no mood to stop and linger.

As we crossed a bridge, still on our path to the cool air of the museum, a different structure caught my eye. The remnants of an old building, half in shambles, stood right in my path. I stop walking and read the plaque sitting in front of the building. What made me stop in that kind of heat, I'm still not sure of. Was it the wiry, skeletal structure of the half-there roof? Was it the garden of beautifully blooming flowers surrounding it? Did I think it was a mirage? Whatever the reason, I stopped and gazed at the eerie, but majestic Hiroshima A-Dome.

Once we did make it to the museum and the temperature shock wore off, I was, once again, immediately taken aback by the images, statues and plaques that danced in front of me. For those who have never visited the site of an Atomic Bomb detonation, it's impossible to describe the emotions you're overcome with. Feeble attempts have been made -- angry, depressed, hopeful. And while these emotions all ring true with my own experience, the power of what the city has been through, what they have learned and what they have become today cannot be pigeonholed into mere words.

That said, the people of Hiroshima, as with everyone I encountered in Japan, were as polite, calm and peaceful as anyone could possibly imagine. Even as a gajin, I was treated with more respect by the Japanese, many of whom were complete strangers I will never meet again (sadly), than I have by everyone else collectively in my whole life.

So, remind me again why we have foreign bases disrupting the daily lives of these respectful, peaceful allies? Even if they were savage allies, would it make a difference? Do we really need to 'keep an eye' on them?

The answer is no. While Japan is a major powerhouse in the Pacific Rim, the country has been allied with the U.S. since the end of WWII. It's been how many years since then? Since they are our allies, doesn't that imply that we trust them? To steal a phrase from my kindergarten teacher, 'Can't we all just get along?'

Again, the answer is no. The U.S. feels some sort of God-given right to do whatever the hell it feels like, oftentimes despite horrendous consequences for others. Well, apparently I missed that chapter in the Bible, because some mythical claim to selfish imperialism is not justifiable.

You couldn't blame the Japanese for being angry. We punished their descendants during WWII, we dropped bombs that devastated two of their major cities and we still occupy a large portion of their already small land mass for our own peace of mind.

But do the Japanese rise up in their wrath? Do they revolt? No. And if that's not proof to the ignorant gajin that Japan is not a threat, is not a country that needs to be watched, is not a country that needs foreign bases, but rather is a country full of trustworthy, peaceful people and (I can't believe I'm saying this) politicians, then i don't know if there's anything that will prove it to them.

Location, Location, Location

2008-10-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

"The point is, Ladies and Gentlemen, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good."

This phrase, though seemingly obvious, was first introduced to us by Michael Douglas' character Gordon Grekko in the 1987 flick Wall Street . It must have caught the attention of US policymakers, as this seems to be the guiding philosophy of where to place our military.

In an excerpt from "Being 'Over There'", Col. Daniel Smith explains how we go where the resources lead us. Since becoming a global superpower, the United States has forced its military into every country that offers some resource or benefit. Forget whether or not the country is our enemy or our ally, we'll find some excuse to be where the resources, notably oil in recent years, tend to be.

As Smith points out, "the Pentagon hopes that its plan, the Global Posture Review, when fully implemented, will allow for rapid, tailored responses to contingencies that could arise from any one of a number of 'vital national security interests. ... [O]nly two of these circumstances are paramount: countering any new outbreaks in the 'global war on terror' ... and reliable access to energy resources."

Despite the tragedy that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration knew they had to take military action against whoever was responsible -- even if they weren't sure who that was at the time. So why not go where the oil is -- we're running out, the possibility of drilling in Alaska is controversial, and it will help us. It's not hard to follow the administration's logic -- it does make sense.

But that doesn't necessarily make it right. According to the 2003 Defense Department's "Base Structure Report" lists 702 foreign bases owned or leased by the Pentagon, with about 6,000 more installations in the U.S. and its possessions.

While this may feign political security that covers the administration's asses in many peoples' eyes, for the most part, all it does is piss the rest of the world off. We're seen as arrogant, ignorant and too aggressive. It may seem like a good strategy, but I fear it will come back to bite us in the ass eventually.

Invading peoples' space, placing permanent military bases down the street from their homes, flexing the intimidation muscle; these things tend to piss people off. And frankly, I can't blame them.

Corporate Corruption?

2008-10-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

The first rule of the Corporate Army is you do not talk about the Corporate Army.

The second rule of the Corporate Army is you do not talk about the Corporate Army.

It may seem obvious to draw connections between the military and the underground boxing group first described in Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club (yes, it's a book. It was a book first and if you haven't read it, you should. It's better than the movie — and I'm saying that as a fan of the movie).

Both have violence in a somewhat autonomous and controlled setting. Both have their own rules and secrets. But what political analyst and scholar Peter W. Singer suggests — that the industrial and corporate side of the military is not only secretive, but destructive as well — may not seem as apparent to most.

In his first book "Corporate Warriors," Singer states that "the idea of private businesses as viable and legitimate military actors has also begun to gain credence among a growing number of political analysts and officials, from all over the political spectrum. ... [A]lthough numerous newspaper and magazine articles have been written on the activities of such firms, most have been long on jingoistic headlines and short on earnest examination."

Now, I'm a bit of a skeptic, so my first reaction was to question the legitimacy of his argument. Initially, I wanted to write him off as another pestilent, self-proclaimed "know-it-all" who was simply in love with the sound of his own voice and his own argument.

Rule Number 3: If someone says 'stop', goes limp or taps out (hint, hint, Mr. Singer), the fight is over.

But as I did further research, I came to realize that he was right — at least to some degree. Certain organizations that have helped privatize military operations are very secretive about their operations. It seems Singer wants to take anyone and everyone who works as what he calls a 'corporate warrior'.

Remember Rule Number 4 though, Mr. Singer: Only two guys to a fight.

He accuses several military-based corporations as appearing disconnected, but being more intimately connected to the military than they appear at face value. He claims the firms' leaders are knowingly and deliberately blocking efforts to expose them. But would the Colonel give up his secret fried chicken recipe if someone invented a fanatical conspiracy theory? More than likely not.

But, as Rule Number 5 says, let's take one fight at a time, fellas.

Additionally, while the media has done a somewhat mediocre job at exposing and criticizing the privatization of military operations, as Singer points out, FOIA forms can only get you so far (take it from a journalist-in-training who's spent too many hours filing said forms and still ending up empty handed). It is hardly fair to pretend the media is ignoring their responsibilities as journalists when legal, legit roadblocks are thrown in their way. Singer just needs someone to blame.

Though Singer brings up some interesting points, I think his argument falls flat. Obviously the information is out there if Singer is able to draw up such detailed facts and accounts. Certainly, he had to do his research, and it might have taken more time than most are willing to donate to the subject, but it is still available. And while the supposed evils of the corporate army may not dominate the headlines or make front page news, that does not mean they are not being explored by reporters. Do no insult us, Mr. Singer.

Shirt and shoes are off now (It's Rule Number 6 in this bizarre game).

It is unfair to make the media the scapegoat in this scenario simply because you are one of the few people interested by this topic and one of the few to allow your paranoid delusions to make such grandiose and unsubstantiated claims.

Even if newspapers and magazines began delving into the issue, and pushing the content towards the prominence of the front page, what difference would it make? The print journalism world as we know it is shrinking at an increasingly alarming rate, as is the attention span of the average American. Furthermore, Americans (and many people in the rest of the world) are growing increasingly apathetic towards political affairs and international relations. War is old news to us by now. Another car bombing? We'll shrug it off. We're attacking some other city I can't pronounce? Eh. It's a sad, harsh truth, but the general public doesn't care about things like this, and to some extent I'm not sure they need to right now.

But even if Singer is right and his arguments are legit, Rule Number 7 is fights will go on as long as they have to.

My guess? Singer will keep spouting his conspiracy theories about the villainous corporations and their evil plots to take over the world until he's confronted by the groups themselves. And if and when they finally do decide to respond ...

It'll be their first night, and according to Rule Number 8, they'll have to fight.

Virtual Reality?

2008-09-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

That magic box with the flashing lights. As a somewhat tom-boyish twelve year old, the Nintendo 64 my brother got for Christmas one year was a toy of envy for me. Though it's laughably rudimentary in the video gaming world now, that small plastic black box with the blinking lights produced images that put us in another world and kept us entertained for hours on end.

Though my video game days are pretty much numbered (I was never any good anyways), my brother is still engrossed with the virtual reality world. And instead of seeing the familiar cartoon-ish characters of SuperMario and Diddy Kong Racing, images of bloody battles and brutal war flash on the screen in front of him. And even though it's been about a month since I've been home, since I could hear the muffled sounds simulated gunfire and screams creeping up from the basement, I know he's still playing constantly.

Despite my parents’ warnings and the best regulations, he bought even more violent war video games, like Call of Duty. As he played more, not only did his reflexes get better, but he continued to understand the strategies and tactics involved in playing the game. When he got Xbox Live and could talk to other players via headset, he began strategizing and scheming even more.

As Rodger Stahl says in his article "Have you played the War on Terror?", increasingly the way today's youth understand war and how it works is through media -- in particular, video games. It seems every time we turn around, there's some new war video game. America's Army. Doom. War of Worldcraft. Call of Duty. Call of Duty 2 and 3 and 4. These games are flooding the shelves of our favorite electronic stores.

Partially, I think this this is because the way games are played is similar to that of war. There are two or more sides with opposing goals or views. You're either on one side or the other and are trying to defeat the other side(s). Think about it as a soccer game: one team is trying to score in one goal, the other team wants to score in the other goal. Your offense tries to accomplish this goal, whereas your defense tries to prevent or defeat the other team from accomplishing their goals. There is some level of strategy involved and a need for communication. And even though I'm pretty sure we don't have to worry about hordes of soccer players plotting world domination, I am fairly certain that the basic ideas behind warcraft are not unfamiliar to today's youth.

How to Tell a True War Story

2008-09-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

No matter how many war stories I've heard from my Grandpa, none of them can offer an objective truth. At least, that's what author Tim O'Brien suggests in his short story 'How to Tell a True War Story'.

“It's about love and memory. It's about sorrow. It's about sisters who never write back and people who never listen”

We have writers like Tim O'Brien, Michael Herr and, the man, the myth, the legend, Tom Wolfe, to thank for New Journalism, a style of writing that fused real-life experiences with descriptive, novel-like writing. From New Journalism sprouted the film version of the genre, known as the docudrama, that constitutes most of the military films we see in theaters today.

Gates argues that the increasingly better film technology, notably CGI effects, and a resurgence in proactive military support post-9/11, have contributed to Americans' distorted perceptions of war.

And I have to say I agree. These films are filled with cinematic eye-candy for newly patriotic audiences, but rarely keep true to the original fact --- for the storyline's sake of course! What we get is a general public who use entertainment to substitute their perceptions and opinions of the military.

Out of Class, But Not Out of the Game

2008-02-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

For those of you whose clickstreams take you to my wildly popular blog every week for another cynical quip about journalism, blogging or the media in general, you may have noticed my brief leave of absence.

After auditioning and being cast in Ithaca College's mainstage show, Dance: No Translation Needed, and much careful thought, I decided to drop my Nonfiction Lab class. Rather than allow my GPA to slip into further obscurity, I figured it would be for the best.

Nonetheless, I've been enjoying my stint as a blogger and will continue to post about the assigned readings, my ventures in narrative journalism and any other subjects that tickle my fancy. In the words of Mark Twain, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

That said, I tried my hand at incorporating narrative into my writing for The Ithacan for the first time this week. I'm pleased with the piece, but I am interested in your comments, criticism and advice to better my writing.

Narrative: Just for Classical Literature?

2008-01-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

Even in high school, as an avid writer and English geek to the core, I truly hated the term narrative. I assumed, like many, narrative only encompassed what great writers — Charles Dickins, Mark Twain, J.D. Salinger — had done in their classic works. My English teachers would write comments on my papers like, 'clear and concise, but lacking personal narrative.' I thought to myself, 'well, I'm going to be a journalist, I won't have to write in that style.'

After coming to Ithaca College and having the inverted pyramid drilled into my head so much I could do it in my sleep, I still thought I was right. But through discussions with faculty and classmates, I've decided to set my own ambitions a little higher this year.

While my high school journalism career was important, it was only after spending a year as a writer for The Ithacan, that I realized journalism, much like classic literature, is about telling a good story. When I thought of books I've read, certain aspects of the stories jump out at me: plot, character, location, tone, style. And while journalists use AP style and inverted pyramid, they also use aspects similar to literature to do their job: tell a good story.

The newspaper industry is dying. And even despite the flashy Web sites and celebrity gossip that plague much of our print and online media, we're losing our audiences. As journalists, we've forgotten that we have a responsibility to write about subjects that may not be the most popular story of the day or that may not be something people know or even care about, but rather, we need to write about things that should be talked about and need to be talked about, no matter how unpopular.

Furthermore, it is also our responsibility to tell these important stories the best way they can be told, whether it be through traditional writing, still photos, video, audio slideshows or something else. We need to engage the reader and entice them to care about issues that are imperative to their lives, whether they know it before looking at the story or not.

This year, I plan to do just that. In addition to my Nonfiction Lab, a course that is, according to the syllabus, designed to teach us how to produce long-form narrative in a variety of media, I'll be having weekly meetings with a small group of peers to discuss and hopefully improve our ability to write with strong personal narrative, while maintaining our journalistic obligations.

And while the efforts of one person to do all that sounds cliché and probably won't make a huge impact, I'm sure it'll at least satisfy my former high school English teachers, as well as myself.

A New Experiment

2008-01-24T23:03:00.000-08:00

It's been said that the Internet is the way of the future, especially when it comes to my chosen field of study: journalism. Yet despite my best efforts to become web-savvy, including working as an editor for Ithaca College's weekly newspaper, The Ithacan, a few Web design classes here and there and surfing through cyberspace in the wee hours of the morning rather than finishing my homework, this is my first stint as a blogger. To be honest, I'm still a little unsure of where to begin.

According to Dictionary.com, a blogger is defined as "a person who keeps a Web log (blog) or publish an online diary." Vague, but at least I'm getting a better sense of direction for this new venture.

So, I decided to browse a few blogs for some ideas. I found everything from celebrity gossip and ridiculous pop culture to the morose and dismal poetry of moody middle-schoolers to legitimate and thoughtful posts on major magazine and newspapers' Web sites.

While on this quest to find my personal blogger identity, I found something else: reading extensively lengthy posts is an exhausting mission few chose to embark on. Sometimes because of poor quality material, other times because the general American public is moving away from reading. Hence the decline in newspaper readership over the past decade or so, but I digress.

That said, I hope to keep you, my faithful readers (however few of you there actually are), informed, interested and thinking. Although this blog was created specifically to track my progress in Nonfiction Laboratory, a course I am currently enrolled in at Ithaca College, I hope to, in my copious spare time, enlighten you on subjects of interest to this future journalist, and ideally, to you as well.

Before I go, a quick thank you to blogger Dear Kitty for the cartoon.

Sit back, enjoy and get caught up in this Perpetual Whirlwind.