- I haven't got it in me to do a post that is in anything other than bulleted form. Today, it has been.... grueling.
- I'm coming up on the major book deadline, and while I'd fantasized about putting the thing to bed today and getting it in the mail, this is not to be. It's looking like I can realistically be done Wednesday or at the latest Thursday. I kind of anticipated this, so I feel like I'm in good shape.
- The grading. Oh god, the grading. I've got so much freaking GRADING. That said, I won't have as much at the very end of the semester because I set it up this way this semester. I think the reason it's such a burden is because of the book deadline. Really, I think this shifting of deadlines is, as Martha would say, "a good thing."
- The weather outside is frightful, and not in a Christmasy way either but rather in a Guns 'n' Roses sort of way. LAME.
- A. and I decided that the skinny sister in White Christmas maintained her skinniness by living on a diet of black coffee, cabbage soup, dry rye toast, and cigarettes. Well, and she was a dancer, and so probably danced every day. We're wondering whether rocking it out old school in this fashion is really, indeed, the way to not be a fatso. I mean, sure, you would be killing yourself slowly with such a diet, but you'd have a body like a china doll!
- So I have all of this work to do, but I've been on the phone with people for like 2 hours. I have bad work habits.
- I'm beginning to feel seriously concerned that my "specialty" course next semester won't make. Sigh.
- I think that is all for now, as I really do need to grade and to prep. Sigh again.
12 years ago
5 comments:
Longtime lurker bursting out.
Vera Ellen -- seriously anorexic. Honestly. Note the high necklines on everything. It wasn't a modesty issue, but because studio execs found her sunken collarbones disturbing. She destroyed her skin and suffered from premature aging which shortened her movie career. The smokes and the malnutrition contributed to her death at the age of 60. But she was skinny...have to give her that.
My specialty course looked DOA but suddenly picked up some students today. Hope you get the same good news
historyprof0- yes, A. and I conjectured about the anorexia and potentially some bulimia thrown in for good measure as well. Neither of us could ever consider such a diet *for real* (for me at least dry rye toast would be a deal breaker) but it did make for some great and hilarious conversation while watching White Christmas over the phone on Saturday night (and yes, A. had just left my house on Saturday morning, so it was ridiculous that we talked on the phone for hours on Saturday night. Incidentally, we both actually think that Rosemary Clooney looks fabulous from the neck down, but her hideous hair ruins it for us. We also think that Bing Crosby (and yes, we know he's Mr. Abusive Tap-Dancer-Crooner)is sexier than Danny Kaye, but we both would probably end up with Danny Kaye, who is dreamy in a Ron Weasley sort of way. Clearly, we covered a lot of ground :) )
I love that movie. I love the steel blue suede shoes and dyed-to-match socks on Danny Kaye. I love Clooney's fabulous black dress (va-voom!) and vampy elbow length gloves and a totally hot George Chakiris (one of her dancers who later wins an Academy Award for West Side Story). I love Vera Ellen's spastic toe taps. I love that the Santa Fe Chief somehow is running in Vermont. I love Danny Kaye booming out in his campiest voice "because we LOOOOOVE him, we LOOOOOOVE him." There's not a frame of it that I don't love, even if yeah, Bing Crosby was sort of a crud off-camera and Rosemary Clooney can't act really and what the hell were they thinking when they gave her that 'do?
It's a movie that prompts over-comment, I guess.
Ok, historyprof0, you love this movie the way that I do and thus, I will say this: the best number? Of them ALL? The "Choreography" number. EXCELLENT. My favorite part of the whole movie, really. It. Is. Awesome.
I discovered that not one of my students had ever seen White Christmas. Not one. So I assigned it for their last paper in film analysis. Not the best choice for Acting topic but I am sorry - it had to be done.
Post a Comment