Tap Dance Tuesday (sort of)

Well, it's tap dance Tuesday again and the big news is that when we return from our Spring break I will be joining the intermediate tappers!!! (I am really more excited about this than I probably should be, but at the moment it's the only thing I have going on outside the confines of my little house).

That said, today's video doesn't actually have any tap dancing in it.  I am posting this as a tribute to the man who I guess one could say was a sort of dance inspiration to me as a kid.  No, not Gene Kelly - George Reeder.

George was a colleague of my father at a certain community college in Southern California, where for all of my childhood, they put on what to my young mind were musical theatre extravaganzas (my dad as the musical director, George as the choreographer).  In my memory, the theatre department was always putting on golden era musicals, but I guess they wouldn't have needed choreographers and music directors for non musicals, so I suppose my recollections are a bit biased.  At any rate, my brother and I spent a huge amount of our young years running around backstage, watching rehearsals and playing in the costume department (where my mother would sometimes be helping to get last minute sewing done), so when I look back, my childhood takes on the atmosphere of a Busby Berkeley movie.  In my early teenage years I even got to play minor chorus rolls which was great fun!

Sadly, George passed away a month or so ago.  He was quite a bit older than my dad and I had always been told that in the 50s he had been a backup dancer in Hollywood movies, the most famous one being Singing in the Rain.  So today, in memory of him, I am posting this clip from that film.  If you watch carefully, you can see him at second 54 behind Gene Kelly with the white bow tie and a suit which I am not even going to try describing.

Oh yeah, here's me all costumed up before our tap show last month.  Unlike most of my fellow classmates, I didn't really have much in the way of stage fright and I think that is from all those years as a kid doing musicals with George and my dad.  Just do it like you did in rehearsal and if you mess up, look the audience in the eye and keep smiling.

a sort of public service announcement

My father brought this short film to my attention recently and I wanted to share it here.  Self defence is something I feel strongly about and I think every woman should take a self defence course at some point in her life.  As a teenage girl, my mother signed me up for classes taught by a former police officer and her husband.  He dressed up in padded gear and we got to beat the crap out of him.  If any of you are thinking of taking self defence, I would highly recommend this format - it gives one a good idea of how much force it takes to fight off an assailant.  Also, it's a great feeling knowing you can kick ass if called upon to do so.

Tap Dance Tuesday

I'm back with another edition of Tap Dance Tuesday - though in our household Tap Dance Mondays have become the reality.  Yes, I have found myself a tap dance class to attend and have been spending Monday nights hoofing it.  I would guess that the majority of my classmates are a full fifteen to twenty years older than me (and I'm no spring chicken myself) and none of us are all that good, but who cares! I for one am having a blast even if we don't quite look like these lovely ladies yet.

The Modern Ghost

"Perhaps the war, or possibly an increase in class consciousness, or unionization of spirits, or whatever, has greatly energized the ghost in our day and given him both ambition and strength to do more things than ever.  

 Maybe 'pep tablets' have been discovered on the other side as well!  No longer is the ghost content to be seen and not heard, to slink around in shadowy corners as apologetically as poor relations.  Wraiths now have a rambunctious vitality and self-assurance that are astonishing . . . Modern ghost are less simple and primitive than their ancestors, and are developing complexes of various kinds.  

They are more democratic than of old, and have more of a diversity of interests, so that mortals have scarcely the ghost of a chance with them.  They employ all the agencies and mechanisms known to mortals, and have in addition their own methods of transit and communication.  Whereas in the past a ghost had to stalk or glide to his haunts, now he limousines or airplanes, so that naturally he can get in more work than before.  He uses the wireless to send his messages, and he is expert in all manner of scientific lines."

Dorothy Scarborough Ph.D.

from the introduction to

Famous Modern Ghost Stories

1921

(note: all images found via Google)

Human Croquet

Ah, the end of Summer.  Here in NI, we have mostly been deluged under some surprisingly heavy thunder showers.  And in the odd moments when the sun does shine, it feels more to me like October than August (okay, I am from Los Angeles where our Octobers are a little warmer than most).  Still, in those sunny moments I dream about late Summer garden parties where the sense of aimlessness is delicious and indulgent and nothing like my current unemployed ennui.  

In this spirit, here's a game from The Home Entertainer (1938) which might fit the bill:

   A game which provides little exercise, but plenty of laughter is Human Croquet.  A large number can take part, and no previous experience at all is required.  
   First the "hoops" must be placed in position - scattered about the field, in approximately the same fashion as for real croquet.  Each hoop consists of two people who stand facing each other, with hands clasped and arms raised so as to make an arch under which another person can walk.  It will not be necessary for the hoop to remain in this position all through the game; it is quite enough if the two people assume it whenever a player is wanting to pass.
   Each "ball" is a person who is blindfolded, and who does not move except when ordered to.
   Finally, there are the "players," each in charge of a "ball".
   As far as possible the game follows the style of ordinary croquet.  Each player has one stroke in turn, and is allowed an additional one when his ball passes through a hoop or hits another ball.
   To begin the play the first player gets his ball on the starting line, standing behind him gripping his arms, and aims him at the first hoop -  which of course the ball cannot see.  Then the player says "Go," and the ball trots forward, until his owner calls "Stop."  If the ball has passed through the hoop another "stroke" is allowed; if not, the second player makes his attempt.
   Every ball must run in a straight line, and must promptly stop when ordered.  When two balls collide the one that is struck stays where it is, but the other is given another "stroke," and ordered off afresh.  No player may speak to his ball while it is in motion, except to stop it, nor touch or re-direct it in any way.  
   That player wins who first gets his ball through all the hoops, in their proper order, and back to the starting line, or to a post at the middle of the "court".
   Interest and fun is added to the game if each player and his or her ball are made to wear some distinguishing colour - either ribbon or hat or rosette, so that couples are more obviously linked.
   Hoops must never move from their stations, and must give no indication of their whereabouts to oncoming balls. 

Hello gentle readers,

Well, the bad news was delivered to me yesterday - my laptop is no more and since my budget doesn't stretch to a new one quite yet it does put a damper on things blog-wise.

As you can see, I can still post, but adding my own pictures is going to be a bit of a task (especially since all my photos to date went down with the ship).

So what have I been up to?  Well, watching a lot of old TV episodes on YouTube for one thing.  I thought I might share with you some of my favourites today.  If you've never seen them, they are well worth checking out and if you have seen them . . . well I think they're still worth checking out again.

Tales From the Green Valley

I absolutely love those reality programs where they have a group of "moderns" live as though they were in the past (I'm guessing reader, that you probably share this love if you're reading my blog).  The seventeenth century is not one of my usual time periods of interest (I gave up Renaissance Faires when I was in Jr High), but this is pretty fascinating stuff and makes me definitely appreciate my modern life - I don't think I would last a minute wrangling livestock or beating my laundry in the river and as for eating let alone slaughtering my own meat . . .

The Great British Garden Revival

I missed this one when it aired here last December and just recently discovered it.  Essentially, all of Britain's best loved TV gardeners present a segment on why we should revive a past style of gardening that has fallen out of favour.  Now you won't usually find me watching gardening television, but I've been taking some tentative steps into our front garden this Summer, trying to come up with something period appropriate to our little Victorian terrace house and this has been quite helpful (especially the episode on cottage gardens).

Elegance and Decadence

Ms Worsley is a huge favorite here in the B household.  A few weeks ago, after hearing that she had recently been in Northern Ireland I commented to Mr B "Y'know, she is one of the few 'celebrities' [i.e. someone regularly on the TV] who I would ask to take a picture with".  If you don't know Lucy Worsley you should definitely check her out.  All of her programs are great and she's an absolute joy to watch.

"vintage" computers

Hi there!

This is just a quick post to tell you that I did not drop off the face of the earth, however it looks as though my trusty laptop may have done so.

Two weeks ago the screen on my lap top died, so I scheduled an appointment with my local Apple store "geniuses".  Mr B and I nearly died laughing when they brought us back a little print out that said something to the effect of "Due to your computer being a vintage model, we are unable to work on it at this location".  (Yes, it really did say "vintage"!).

The "geniuses" were nice though and suggested a repair place just outside of town, so that is where my laptop is at the moment, seeing if they can source the "vintage" parts that are needed to make my computer run again.

At this point, all is definitely not lost, just out of action til further notice, and I am set here typing away on Mr B's new iPad.

And now let me digress for a moment.  Back when I was a youngster, my mother sent me to typing classes as she felt everyone should know how to type.  With hindsight, I am now very grateful for this every time I watch someone without these skills try to type something on a QWERTY keyboard.  Let's get this straight, I am no record holding speed typer, but I do alright.

Now to get back to my point - I absolutely cannot stand typing things out on a touch screen.  It feels so slow and I feel so clumsy.  So until my laptop is fixed, or until a similar solution is found (new lap top perhaps? Sadly not in the budget until next Summer), posting around here might be a bit sparse.