Fred and Ginger

On Having Your Bubble Burst...

I read recently on Delancey Place (2-4-10) that Fred Astaire didn't like Ginger Rogers. Who knew??!! Those of us (ladies of a certain age) who remember their movies fondly can hardly believe that, I'm sure. Here's a quote:

"Neither much liked the notion of being subsumed as part of a team: Astaire had already done that with his sister [Adele]; Rogers thought of herself as much more than a mere dancer (she did, after all, go on to win an Oscar for her role in Kitty Foyle), and doubtless sensed that, good as the two of them were together, Fred Astaire somehow outshone her. Astaire even wrote to Leland Hayward, his agent, after the success of The Gay Divorcee, that he wished never again to be part of a fixed team in his movie career, and especially not with Ginger Rogers. ...

"Astaire even had a contract drawn up with a clause that Ginger Rogers could not appear in more than three of the five movies he had signed on to do for RKO. In fact, they eventually did ten movies together. ..."

The author goes on to say that it is a testament to their acting ability that they were able to make believable the movies they were in together. Live and learn!

This excerpt came from this book: Fred Astaire by Joseph Epstein, Yale, 2008, Pp. 94-97

Mr. Kenju's Family Wedding, Part 3

I mentioned in the last post about the wedding that the bride and groom don't look their ages, and many of you agreed. Here is a lightened photo, which shows him better. And the photo below this shows why he may not look his age for at least another decade (he's now 61).

Below is the groom's mother; age 91 and irrepressible, apparently. I had never met her before, but according to mr. kenju, she was a gorgeous young woman of Puerto Rican descent. The groom's father was one of mr. kenju's uncles, and he was Italian. None of them show their age either - at least the ones in our family!

Mama loves to dance! They couldn't keep her off the dance floor, and they didn't want her to get up too much because she is sometimes a bit wobbly. But she would not stay in her chair at all! I know they wished for a seat belt.....LOL. She has a radiant smile and it graced her face all day long. She must have been happy about the wedding, which was the bride's first and the groom's second.

Remember I mentioned in the last wedding post about people who let their small children run wild? Here's one. See that look of rapt adoration on the papa's face? The mother was worse! They thought this kid hung the moon, and indeed, he may have hung theirs, but not mine! And from the looks of it - no one else was as pleased with him as they were. He's cute, but there is a time and place for loud play, and a church and wedding reception are not the right locale! He was allowed to roam at will during the wedding and the dinner, and more than once he almost made a server drop plates, or ran in front of people. The parents were totally oblivious to any problems he may have caused. I hope that they will become more aware before too long, or that kid will be annoying others all his life.

One of Those Really Important Questions.....

that comes to mind now and then.....


"Do ballerinas ever pass gas on stage?"


I was watching "So You Think You Can Dance" two weeks ago and they had guest dancers on the show from the Los Angeles Ballet. They danced a wonderful pas de deux; so graceful and lyrical. All I could think of at the time was to wonder if she ever farted. If I had to jump and bounce across the stage, and lift my leg over my head, I'd blow someone clear off the stage, no doubt. Either that or they'd wish they were off the stage....

(Not that I've ever been able to lift my leg over my head, mind you.)

Quotes of Note.....and....

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My greatest skill has been to want but little.
Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

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It has always seemed absurd to suppose that a god would choose for his companions, during all eternity, the dear souls whose highest and only ambition is to obey.

Robert (I accidentally deleted the last name and info.....sorry....but I think it was Ingersoll)

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Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.

Roger Miller, musician(1936-1992)

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Speech is for the convenience of those who are hard of hearing.

Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

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We had big thunder boomers and lightning here today from about 5pm on until just a little while ago. It's just as well the computer was turned off, because I had to see the last competition on American Idol and the finale of Dancing with the Stars. If David Archuleta doesn't win Idol, it won't be for lack of my trying. The phone has been dialed constantly for the last 4 hours. Miss Kenju wants David Cook to win, but I think Little David is a much better singer! Even Simon agreed tonight! Plus, his fundamental goodness shines through everything he says and does. I applaud that, in these days of apathy and self-indulgence shown by many. The other David is good too and a real gentleman from what was said about him.

Kristi Yamaguchi won DWTS, as was predictable from the very beginning. She is a ray of sunshine nearly all the time, and now that I know she and her husband (who, until recently, played for the Carolina Hurricanes) will be selling their house and moving to California, I'm a little bummed. I had hoped to run into her at a small local cafe I know she frequents, so I could tell her how much of a fan I have always been.

I'm always sad when Idol and DWTS are over for the season, but So you Think You Can Dance starts soon - so I'll be back rooting for my favorites in no time!

Dance, Eye Shadow and a Birthday

The reason for this photo will become clear in the third paragraph.

I watched the finale of "Dance Wars" last night; what a waste of two hours that was. Filled with flashbacks from the first 4-5 episodes, plus interviews with Carrie Ann and Bruno which proved to be embarrassingly repetitive (and boring). To top it off, the wrong team won, IMO.

During the show, they announced the new contestants on the next series of "Dancing With the Stars", and my reaction to the list was "ho-hum". The only 2 worth mentioning are Marlee Matlin and Kristi Yamaguchi. Kristi, married to a Hurricanes Hockey player, lives near us and has been seen shopping at stores around here. Mr. kenju saw her at a local restaurant recently, but I've never had the pleasure. She was a favorite of mine in the skating world and I am sure to root for her in the dance show as well. At least she will look good in the outfits. Also in the show is Priscilla Presley, age 62. Can she keep up with the younger ones? Kenny was heard to wonder if she will object to wearing skimpy costumes.....LOL. We will see.

This question came to me during the show....."Who in the world thought it was a good idea to put blue eye shadow on Kenny Mayne?" He looked surreal! And another thing....."Why does Lisa Rinna think her lips need to be the size of a grouper (see photo above) before she stops adding collagen?"

Note to Blogger: You would do us all a big favor if you would enable click and drag for photos, so they could be placed exactly where we want them to be in the post!!

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Exactly 42 years ago today I gave birth to our first child; our son, our joy, who made us burst with pride and pleasure. I remember it as if it were today - a cold, rainy night....a quick trip to the hospital (mr. kenju ran red lights and drove faster than he should have). I cannot believe it has been 42 years, and I wouldn't take a trillion dollars for him. Happy Birthday, Sonny Boy!

Look at This!

Click to enlarge.

Isn't he precious?! He attended the Governor's Mansion Party tonight, as I did. He was enjoying the jazz combo and shortly after I snapped this, he started to dance. It was too cute for words, and I wish I had taken a video. This is the only clear shot I could get of him.

I am too tired to write more or to make visits tonight; I worked again today, decorating a private home and we finish it tomorrow. Photos of that to follow.

Music

I have another story posted at Ronni's today. I hope you'll read, enjoy and comment!

Can-Can was a 1960 movie celebrating the music of Cole Porter. I had forgotten how many great songs were in this movie until I watched it Friday night. I am so glad that a lot of the good movies from the 40's, 50's and 60's are being brought out on DVD! The movie takes place in 1896 in Montmartre, in a cafe known for the can-can, a dance thought by many to be vile and unchaste, which had been banned from public viewing. The cafe proprietor is Shirley McLaine (Simone) and Frank Sinatra is her lawyer/suitor. Maurice Chevalier is a judge, as is Louis Jourdan. We are treated to all of them singing at some point. If you haven't heard Maurice Chevalier or Frank Sinatra singing C'est Magnifique, you should rent this DVD. Juliet Prowse appears as a cafe dancer, and at a fancy dress ball held in the cafe, she and Shirley perform a ballet of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where Juliet is the serpent. It is a wonderfully choreographed dance!

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In the last 3-4 days, I have been listening to the Beatles Anthology. Soon after the set came out, I got it for Christmas. "The Long and Winding Road" is playing now, and Shake Rattle and Roll and Blue Suede Shoes just finished. It is funny to me that Blue Suede Shoes sounded more countrified when the Beatles sang it than when Elvis did. Many of the songs on this CD were recorded under casual circumstances; they might have been rehearsing or just playing around. The songs are punctuated by laughs, un-planned riffs and the voices of the four guys can be heard as well. You could almost imagine that you were there in the room with them.

I was 22 when I heard the Beatles for the first time. I was hooked from the first five minutes of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Paul was my favorite and while I didn't scream like the teeny-boppers back then, I did fantasize about him. I quit that a long time ago, but I still love their music and for me it has only gotten better with time.

In My Next Life.....

I'm going to be a ballroom dancer just like Cheryl Burke. That woman has the sexiest body in the known universe and she got it largely from dancing! I saw the local tour of "Dancing with the Stars" and it was a fabulous night of entertainment! My older daughter gave me the tickets for Mother's Day, and all I can say is I am in her debt forever.

We saw Joey McIntyre, Joey Lawrence, Drew Lachey, Apolo Anton Ohno and a lot of the professional dancers who appear on the show every season. The one disappointment is that Joey Fatone did not appear tonight, although he was slated to be here. A woman in our row said she thought that Joey would not appear in shows that Apolo was in - and maybe she is right. They were rivals for the top prize last season.

Mr. kenju was not the least bit interested in this show, so I took a good friend of mine. We were spellbound from the beginning. All the dancers work very hard to make it a wonderful evening, and no energy is spared. They had a live band and four singers, who were not introduced, so I don't know their names, but they were terrific! The two Joeys and Drew also sang some old standard ballads, in the style of Frank Sinatra. Who knew they were SO talented?!

That cute little blonde in the photo with Apolo Ohno is Julianne Hough, all of eighteen years old, and already a seasoned performer. I wish I had taken my camera. I thought they would not allow flash photos, so I didn't take it - and of course - there were many flashes from the other side of the arena. That'll teach me!

I used to tell mr. kenju that boys should know that girls love guys who can (and love to) dance. Any man who wants to meet women only needs to learn to dance well, and he has a free ticket to paradise. As I was leaving the arena tonight, I overheard a woman say, "if only my husband had come tonight, he would be treated to a night of hot sex." And every woman in earshot said "Amen." Take a lesson, boys!

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And now a short rant about arenas and charges. The tickets for this show ranged from $49.50 to $150 (for dance-floor-side table seating). They charged $8 for parking. I could see paying that and more in NYC or LA or DC, but in Raleigh??? Maybe we're headed into the big leagues. Who knew? My friend offered to buy my refreshments, and as we approached the food counters, I was appalled at the $9 beer and $3 bottled water. I used to laugh at my parents when they got upset at prices, but I see that now I have turned into them.