Posts tagged dancing
October 14, 2011 · Filed under Movie Reviews · Tagged dancing, friendship, happiness, inspiration, relationships
Footloose – the one with Kevin Bacon – was the first movie my older son ever saw. He was weeks old at the time. He smiled and laughed and bounced in the dark theatre. So did I.
The music – Footloose and Let’s Hear It For the Boys– kicked ass then, and it does now, along with the eight new songs on the soundtrack. That baby is now 27-years old, and, with a start in life like Footloose, you bet he can dance.
Suffice it to say I have fond memories of the original, but for someone who never sees a movie or reads a book twice, I am delighted with this remake. I’m easy – give me a fast pace, slices of humor interspersed with tragedy, and dance dance dance. I’m there. And, usually, memorizing the choreography so I can dance it when I get the soundtrack.
But I wanted more dance from this new Footloose. More singing. And, those red boots Ariel wore – oh, yeah, I wanted those, too.
I didn’t miss Kevin Bacon or Lori Singer – the maverick out-of-towner and the preacher’s daughter – from the earlier Footloose, because Kenny Womald as Ren McCormick and Julianne Hough as Ariel, dazzled and crackled. They demonstrated dimension even while dancing.
And I loved the conversion of Ren’s sidekick. Not talking religion here. Though, you may recall Footloose is about a big-city boy, Ren, who gets stuck in a small-town where a three-year ban is instituted by the preacher/councilman (Dennis Quaid in the 2011 film) after his only son is killed in a head-on after a booze-fueled dance. No, we’re talking about the conversion of a slow-talking Southerner to learn how to dance.
Sometimes I wanted Director Craig Brewer to hang onto the scene longer – and more singing and dancing – but, you know what? I would go see Footloose again. And, next time bring my firstborn son.
***
Actually, we just came back from Redbox, and noticed the old Footloose on the display.
He said we should see the new Footloose.
I said I did.
Without me? he asked.
Guess I’m going to see the new Footloose again.
May 29, 2011 · Filed under Personal · Tagged abuse, alcoholism, career, dancing, diabetes, father, fearless, happiness, healing, inspiration, Marisa Russo, mother, pedophilia, rape, therapy
For years, I hid it, never spoke about it. Until finally, it pushed up out of me like a beach ball you press down in the water – it pops out. Has to.
And, one day, the gift of that childhood trauma becomes apparent.
First, the damage and danger twists synapses, neural pathways, belief systems, trust, whom you love and who you run from. What does a four-and-a-half year old girl learn from being raped by her mother’s new husband? Handsome guy, her mother head over heels in love with him, her cutting the little girl’s real father out of every photo, changing the girl’s name, and silencing her when she tries to speak it. Mother, an alcoholic, suicidal, schizophrenic. Real father, gone, after the little girl reaches age six, because the stepfather beat him up and told him to never come back. She never saw her dad again.
Little girl escapes Read the rest of this entry »
October 11, 2010 · Filed under Author Interviews, Book Reviews · Tagged abuse, angels, dancing, fearless, fiction, happiness, healing, inspiration, mother, motherhood, novel, optimism, pedophilia, positive thinking, rape, relationships, self awareness, stepfather, storytelling, trauma, writing
Room
By Emma Donoghue
Published September 13, 2010 (Hardcover) Little, Brown and Company
If you have a five-year old, you know how pivotal that year is. A bridge between fantasy and reality, between playing with anything and going to school where you play with what you are given, between trusting just nearby adults and trusting an expanding world. Trust. What is really real.
Five is a touch-point. You remember being five in your own life. What happened then may have altered your direction in life. It did for me. It did for Jack, in this bestselling novel by Emma Donoghue. Read the rest of this entry »
July 21, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged dancing, dating, he's just not your type, he's just your type, inspiration, men, non-types, relationships, self awareness, soul mates, therapy, your type
He’s Just Not Your Type (And That’s A Good Thing)
By Andrea Syrtash
Published April 27, 2010 (Paperback) Rodale Books
I canceled the date that I would have gone on tonight, and read He’s Just Not Your Type instead. But it wasn’t until after I read the book by dating expert Andrea Syrtash that I understood why I had to not go.
It would have been a second date, and something inside me said no. He was cute enough. Read the rest of this entry »
July 15, 2010 · Filed under My Book: BookMark · Tagged abuse, career, dancing, fearless, friendship, goals, healing, inspiration, love, manifest, passion, positive thinking, rape, relationships, self awareness, stepfather, storytelling, trauma, writing, writing group
A stack of my manuscripts – four versions – towers close to four-inches above my glass desk. The sheets of paper bear the brilliant scribblings from four dear friends in my writing group. Dubbed by Jeff Baker of The Oregonian “the hottest writing group in Portland.”
It’s a special night. Read the rest of this entry »
June 24, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged abuse, career, dancing, father, fearless, goals, gratitude, happiness, healing, inspiration, optimism, passion, positive thinking, rape, relationships, self awareness, stepfather, writing
A Little Book of Thank Yous: Letters, Notes & Quotes
By Addie Johnson
Published August 1, 2010 (Hardcover) Conari Press
For five days, I was flat-on-my-back sick. Translation: dreams and meditation. Clever body. How else was it going to make me re-focus on what is good and pure in life? I actually was praying for a vacation, but obviously this was the better answer. I am actually grateful.
That full-hearted feeling led me to Addie Johnson’s book – I have an advance copy. A Little Book of Thank Yous fits sweetly in most purses and backpacks. From the book, there are quotations of genuine gratitude like Cicero’s Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. And, the humorous, Read the rest of this entry »
June 11, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged abuse, dancing, fearless, inspiration, magic, optimism, play, storytelling, writing
How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself
By Robert Paul Smith
Published February 23, 2010 (Hardcover) Tin House Books
Even the title How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself is all fun! Robert Paul Smith admits to being an overgrown kid. At 42.
The book has that antiqued look, and the sketches Read the rest of this entry »
June 2, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged abuse, dancing, dysfunctional, fearless, happiness, inspiration, laughter, lemons into lemonade, love, magic, novel, optimism, positive thinking, rape, relationships, self awareness, smiles, spiritual, storytelling, therapy, trauma, writing
Lemons to Lemonade: Little Ways to Sweeten Up Life’s Sour Moments
By Addie Johnson
Published June 1, 2010 (Hardcover) Conari Press
My son looked into my eyes as I finished opening my mail, and a stack of books three feet high towered on the ancient oak table. He asked, “Are you rich?” Read the rest of this entry »
May 13, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged abuse, dancing, diabetes, diet, divorce, EMDR, father, fearless, feelings, happiness, healing, healthy diet, love, marriage, physical health, rape, self awareness, stepfather, therapy, trauma, women food and god, writing
Women Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything
By Geneen Roth
Published March 2, 2010 (Hardcover) Scribner
There have been only two sizes of clothes in my closet for the past twenty years – fours and smalls. You may conclude that I do not need to read a book like Women Food and God. But I do.
Because inside my wicker hamper – that I bought in New York City when I was 21 and working for a fashion and beauty boutique PR agency – I have Read the rest of this entry »
May 3, 2010 · Filed under Author Interviews, Open Book · Tagged dancing, past lives, reincarnation, storytelling, suspense, thriller, writing
The Hypnotist: A Novel of Suspense
By MJ Rose
Published May 1, 2010 (Hardcover) Mira
Whether or not you believe in past lives, the ancient concept sparked an intriguing suspense series by MJ Rose.
The third of three books is The Hypnotist. We discussed that book and reincarnation on my show today Open Book with Diana Page Jordan. I gave her chills with one of mine.
Read the rest of this entry »
