My Music Monday song is "Break Away" by the Beach Boys because this song has been stuck in my head the past couple of days. I love the Beach Boys' music. Their songs always remind me of summer. "Break Away" was written by Brian Wilson and his father, Murry; Brian said it was inspired by the Monkees. It was recorded in 1969, so it is a later period Beach Boys song. I remember this song from the Spirit of America record album (1975). I played that album, and Endless Summer, over and over and over as a teen.
What Beach Boys songs are your favorites? I would love to hear from you in the comments section, below.
The Great Gatsby is my favorite classic novel. It is also the first classic novel I ever read, in 8th grade. The Robert Redford movie had been released a while before, and I was obsessed with the movie adaptation too.
I resisted the 2013 Baz Luhrmann adaptation for a while, but finally rented it and watched this weekend. I was very wary of the movie because of the modern music and CGI involved. To my surprise, this Gatsby was not what I expected.
I had two issues with this adaptation. The first was the "Nick in a sanitorium" framework, so different from the novel. I think this framework was unnecessary and detracted from the film. The story is compelling on its own and did not need this artifical device.
Second, the fling that Nick and Jordan had was important to the narrative, and this was left completely out of the 2013 film. Nick and Jordan could have met and exchanged pleasantries at a DMV office for all the passion and chemistry they shared.
There were some things I really liked about this adaptation, though. I loved the period detail, especially the costuming and the sets. Gatsby's house was spectacular, beginning with the ride in through arched trees.
I really liked Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. Robert Redford did a fine job in the 1970's version, but he was a bit too perfect. Even as a young teenager it baffled me that Daisy would choose Bruce Dern over Robert Redford. DiCaprio was more human, more energetic; I believed that he "owned drugstores" and was involved in some mysterious, nefarious activity. His look was right for the part too. I believed that he grew up in a poor family and was a self-made man.
I also liked Carey Mulligan as Daisy. Again, I liked Mia Farrow in the original, but she was a very languorous Daisy. Carey Mulligan was younger and more of a flapper. She seemed impulsive as opposed to Farrow's softer and more dream-like Daisy.
Other standout performances in this film were Joel Edgerton, who brought Tom Buchanan to life as a vital and brutish man, and Isla Fisher as Myrtle, his mistress.
I also liked the Jazz Age energy of this production. I do think the CGI was overdone, and frankly nothing can compete with Nelson Riddle's original 1970's score. (I did not care for the modern music, although it was less jarring than expected.) However, the pace was brisk and suited the 1920's storyline.
All said, I would recommend this movie for fans of the novel -- and I would love to hear what you thought of it in the comments section below.
I love jazz. I grew up with it. My father was a big jazz fan, and my parents had jazz records and played them on the hi-fi when I was little. This music is still comfort food to me, and I listen to it often, especially on Real Jazz (XM Radio), NPR - especially Riverwalk Jazz, and WCLK (local Atlanta jazz station).
I was delighted to find two great jazz apps for phone or tablet.
The first is JazzBird, and it is an app developed by Jazz Boston. It is available as an app on iTunes and Google Play. You will find a wide range of jazz stations to play via radio on your phone or tablet. I have JazzBird Lite (free) installed on my iPad. It is great except you can't play music in the background as your surf the web, read email, etc. I am assuming this functionality exists in the paid version, but I haven't tried that yet.
The other app is JazzRadio. It is free and available in iTunes, Google Play, and Blackberry World. My beloved phone is a Blackberry, so I was especially excited to find this app! JazzRadio has a huge range of channels, each focusing on a different type of jazz. A few of my favorites include: Classic Jazz, Cool Jazz, and Vocal Legends. This app does play in the background while you do other things on your tablet. I just found it and have listened so much this past week!
I hope you enjoy these apps as much as I do!
Pictured above: the incomparable Louis Armstrong.
So You Think You Can Dance offered a wealth of talent in the Chicago and Los Angeles auditions this week.
We started the night in Chicago. The guest judge was Fabrice Calmels from the Joffrey Ballet. My, he's handsome (and a charming, articulate judge as well).
Highlights from the Chicago auditions included:
The Puppet, Paul Brushaber. The Puppet is an animator, and his dancing was really unique. He really did look like a puppet on stage.
Franchesa Bass. Franchesa is a contemporary dancer who has Alopecia. Her dance had an otherworldly, alien quality, and was very unique.
Janna Scaccia. Janna is a ballet dancer and she is a trainee at the Joffrey. She idolizes Fabrice. I love ballet and am always delighted to see ballet dancers on the show.
The show then moved to Los Angeles. The guest judge was Christina Applegate. She and Jesse Tyler Ferguson are my favorite celebrity judges. Christina is always bright and funny, and seems to have a lot of heart.
Los Angeles offered some strong moments including:
Jessica Richens dancing to a jazzy "This is a Man's World." I liked her dance better when I first watched it. After some thought, I think she had a bit too much hairography and attitude to supplement the actual dancing.
Valerie Rockey tapping to "I'm Movin' On." I love tap! She seemed to really take joy in dancing. She went to choreography, but got a ticket to Hollywood there.
Kyle Taylor, a 28 year old mechanic from Wichita, Kansas, is a popper. He danced and had a dance off with visiting SYTYCD alumni Fik-Shun, Cyrus, and Legacy. Kyle is untrained, but loves to dance. The dance off was a great moment. He moved on to choreography, but bowed out after trying to partner there.
Deise and Mauricio are ballet dancers in love. They danced a lovely number together. Deise is particularly strong, and was the focal point of the dance.
Hailee Payne is a jazz/funk dancer. She looks a lot like Miley Cyrus, with short punk blonde hair. She is a good dancer but I think her very big personality may wear thin over the course of the show, if she continues on.
Sebastian Serra is a returning auditioner. He is a ballet dancer with big, bold moves. I loved seeing him travel the stage as he danced.
Dani Platz is a contemporary dancer. She has struggled with an eating disorder, and danced a number full of emotion that moved Mary and Christina. Mary Murphy commented that dance is "like oxygen for the soul." Dani moved on to choreography and got a ticket to Hollywood.
The final dancer for the night was Marie Poppins (pictured above). She is a popper from France. She did an elegant and rather lyrical dance to one of my favorite songs, "Smooth Operator" by Sade. As she danced out toward the judges, Fik-Shun got up and joined her and they did an impromptu dance together on stage. This was definitely the highlight of the show to me -- great fun!
Did you watch SYTYCD last night? Do you have any favorites from the night? I would love to read your comments, below.
I love, love, love vintage postcards! I have a small collection of vintage dachshund postcards, and also a few postcards from favorite family vacation destinations from my childhood.
Vintage postcards are fun to collect, to frame, to save in a decorative box, or to give for a unique, thoughtful gift (framed or tucked into a special greeting card).
This love of vintage postcards led me to open a postcard department in my store, Birdhouse Books. I have cards featuring dogs, cats, Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, and lots of Roadside Americana (motels, restaurants, stores, amusement parks). The postcard above features a swimming pool at the Carriage House Resort motel in Deerfield Beach, Florida. This looks exactly like motels I remember staying at during my childhood!
I'm hosting a vintage postcard giveaway on my blog. It's easy to enter with the Rafflecopter form below. The contest will end on Tuesday, June 10, at 11:59 PM. On Wednesday, June 11 I will use Rafflecopter to randomly draw a winner. The winner will receive a vintage postcard valued under $10 from my shop. (Winner selects their favorite postcard in this range.) You'll see all the great cards in this price range here: vintage postcards at Birdhouse Books.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
