Fashion in the Writing Center

During my Writing Center shift this evening, I sat and chatted with the other tutor on duty, Barkley. He's starting grad school in the Fall for classical guitar and is older than the average student, having already completed his BA in English and now just completing a few courses to prep him for grad school. After our session with a girl learning to develop a thesis ended, chat turned to other interests, including short stories, television and, my favorite, clothes.

Barkley has the standard problem of having no idea where to shop or what to buy. He does, however, have an idea of how he wants to look. He likes the style in Mad Men (I am loving what this show is doing to our uber-casual generation) and particularly likes vests and hats. Huzzah, someone I can work with.

So we talked about what he should look for in a suit. He's broke, like most students of music, and his girl also wants to upgrade and refine her style, also on no money. I encouraged them to look at Target to build a wardrobe of basics and then upgrade as money allows. I explained that his shoulders being broad means he needs suits that fit there since tailoring shoulders is expensive and tapering waists are cheap. We talked about ideas for his woman, about stacked heels that are more comfortable for daily wear.

I forgot how much I enjoy talking about clothes and advising about fashion. With a few exceptions, I have very few chances to discuss it lately. I've missed it. So I'm thrilled for a project!

Recap

I had a wonderful weekend. It would take up too much bandwidth to go through the whole thing, so the highlights (in chronological order):

1. A fantastic 5 hour conversation with my sister from New Jersey to Virginia Beach on my drive down.

2. Lots of fun on an afternoon spent with Angel having lunch and shopping (and a cute outfit from Mardy!).

3. A spectacular night out with Kyle in a hotel room that overlooked the water (in beautiful weather) and a delicious new restaurant.

4. Breakfast with Kyle's beyond cool cousins and their wives.

5. A productive afternoon of cleaning, which I didn't initiate.

6. Dinner at a really lovely locals only restaurant (seriously, it's in the middle of a residential neighborhood).

7. Lunch with one of my favorite couples and their beyond adorable baby, KET.

8. A relaxing evening watching movies with my love and hanging out.

9. A drive back enjoyed on the phone with my mother.

10. Dinner with a good friend who brought fabulous wine and test ran my ravioli (which he declared a success once we figured out how to make it not-stick).

Good? Absolutely! I'm tired and bed is calling me, but I am satisfied and happy. I have a Calc test on Thursday, so until then my life belongs to calculus, but I'm going into it in a great place.

Rediscovering The Sound of Music

I grew up with The Sound of Music. I have known every word the music, the timing and the pacing since as long as I can remember. But it's been years since I watched it, maybe even a decade. I have seen it on stage, but I know the show so well, I never thought about how long it had been since I watched it.

My sister, in her wisdom, chose the 45th Anniversary BluRay version for my birthday present. It arrived today and I put it in. It's amazing what time will do to your perception of a film.

First, I forgot how long it is. This is why I'm writing this at 2 am - I just finished watching it. Heavens, but it's long. On a positive note, I didn't realize how late it was until I stopped watching the film, so that's a good thing.

There's so much I never noticed as a child. I never noticed how different the Captain is when he's with the Baroness and Max at the beginning of the film - how his tone and temper changes drastically from the way he addresses his children and Maria. His charming banter, as well as the Baroness' flirting and suggestion, completely went over my head before. That's a pattern, actually. The development of the relationship between Maria and the Captain is so much clearer when you've been through it yourself. I can see the looks and the moments that worried the Baroness - as well as her jealously, which I had never caught. I knew for some reason I didn't quite like her, because I think I knew that the Captain was supposed to marry Maria, so this woman was in the way, but the jealousy is rather subtly played, as is her victory attitude when she convinces Maria to leave. I still, however, found the same reaction to her comment about boarding school, which can't be typed in polite company. I just have better words for it now.

I also noticed how well acted this movie is. The music and the children were always my focus as a child, because of course I noticed and was interested in the things I could relate to. Also, the children are entertaining. But the awkwardness in the Captain when he goes to find Maria (after he and the Baroness have called it off in a rather adult way) - that is the awkwardness of a man who is interested in a woman and doesn't know how she'll react. I know that emotion, I've seen it! The attempt at being playful that comes across poorly - accurate. And her response (Something Good, one of my favorite songs) is so very real - what did I ever do to deserve this and how can I do it again? It's so touching and captivating when you have something to relate it to, rather than wishing they'd hurry up so we could get back to the kids.

Speaking of the kids, Liesl's attempt at and then dissolution of relationship with Rolph is very hard to watch. So beautiful when they have their first kiss - that tension and excitement. And then so very sad when it all crumbles and she realizes it fully. I think she handled it better than any 16 year old I knew...but then again, she is going on 17.

Small things I noticed too. For example, I know that the girl who played Gretl almost drowned in the scene where they fall in the lake. And sure enough, when the boat topples, she grabs on to the side and then is seen being carried to land. Everyone else is laughing - she's crying. It's only a second, but there it is. Apparently, the actress has been deathly afraid of water ever since.

So, yes, it was wonderful to see again. I had missed this movie, and a lot of other Rogers and Hammerstein films that I grew up with. Like I said to my sister, the hardest part about growing up is realizing you don't own any of your movies - your parents do!

American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare

The entire title of this is American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare, the Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee. Whew. Karen Abbott did a lot of research to write this 2010 biography of Gypsy Rose Lee. You may recall that Gypsy herself wrote an autobiography that was later turned into the stage and screen musicals of the same name. The problem with that was that Gypsy was a phenomenal editor of her own life. She, and others, considered her a storyteller and the story she wove the best was her own. Abbott gets into this in the introduction so that readers will understand why the Gypsy in her book is so different from the one Natalie Wood played.

And boy is she different. Gypsy was not a very nice lady, though she lived in a not terribly nice world. Rose is different too - her sister, June, talks about the revisionist history given to their mother. More than ambitious and driven, Rose is a parasite, a menacing and ruthless woman. No less than three murders are attributed to the woman. But it was Gypsy who said she could strip on that fateful night, not her mother. Gypsy was ambitious, just as ruthless and dedicated. No one can say she didn't work hard.

Abbott does her best to pull together a lot of information and dig out the truth from the miles of fiction. She uses primary sources (the entire last 1/8 of the book is references) and makes it clear where she's guessing at Gypsy's voice (it lacks quotations). You also get a look at the rise of Minsky and the changes in NYC from the 1920s through the 1960s. The book moves back and forth between the 1940s and early 1920s, then progresses until the two run into each other. You see Louise born, tossed aside and eventually brought back to center. You watch her terribly complicated and poisonous relationship with her mother, the different men in her life and her only sister.

In the end, I was very sad for Gypsy and the life she led. And for June. For pretty much everyone except for Rose. There isn't anything about her that makes me sympathetic, probably because of the way her children forever suffered for it, even after her death.

The book is excellent, really interesting. The woman led an interesting life, any telling of it would be interesting, but Abbott does a great job at making fact engaging. It's a tale of a different time and a truly complicated and amazing woman. Not a nice woman, not a kind woman, not a generous woman - but an amazing one.

A Darker Disney

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs aired on ABC Family tonight (followed by Enchanted, which I love) and I realized how very dark Disney animated films were. Kellie and I discussed Pinocchio in the same light - boys being lured to an island of eternal fun (including cigars!) and then turned into donkeys? That's some dark stuff.

Snow White has a Queen who tries to cut out Snow White's heart, a really ominous brewing of poisons (both the transformation one and the apple) and the Queen cackling about her being buried alive. She also falls off a cliff and gets squashed by a boulder.

So, once upon a time, Disney told stories that were dark and had actual scary elements to them. Even The Little Mermaid was not to nice - remember Ursula getting a schooner through her abdomen? It's hard to pinpoint, but I think the change came with Pixar. Beauty and the Beast, Alladin and The Lion King all contained pretty dark elements, though Scar wasn't nearly as scary as the previous villains. But Toy Story? Monsters, Inc.? Finding Nemo? Fantastic movies, but they lack the evil element.

What is the purpose of this? A different style of storytelling, certainly. But maybe it's a move towards realism. The reason for really dark elements of fairy tales is to scare children into behaving and to provide a really dark side so that the happy elements are that much brighter. But the dark elements in Cars is Lightning McQueen's own ego and some competition at the racetrack. More true to reality, but not nearly as dramatic. We do get a villain in The Incredibles, but it lacks evil.

I love the Pixar movies and own several of them. They are great movies. But I miss the evil and dark of the original Disney animated films.

Hibernating

I was supposed to drive up to Boston this weekend to see people, but I am exhausted. In the deep down, to the bone way. Add to that waking up feeling sick enough today that I had to miss training for the Writing Center and have to make it up next week. Finally, I have Calculus to work on (I missed class Tuesday for being stuck at the VA) and really can't afford to get behind. Since I'll be gone next weekend, I want to try to get as much done this weekend as possible.

So this weekend, I'm staying in. I can work on the house (it isn't that bad, I just need to vacuum and swiffer, really) and do homework. Get myself rested and refreshed. I think all the traveling in December finally caught up and floored me. I may go out for tea or just to get out, but the plan is to mostly hibernate and restore. I'm available by phone and I'm sure I'll be online - I'm not hiding, just resting.

NYC Cleaning House

Since I get the New York Times streamed to my Google Reader, I read a lot about New York City politics. I don't read most of it past headlines since a) I don't live in NYC and thus don't care much and b) I get the really big stuff from NPR. However, there has been a trend lately that I've noticed. The city has been cracking down on past due fines and such. Outstanding parking tickets were first and now I'm reading that they're pushing principals to make parents who owe for school lunches pay up (or else pull it from their budget elsewhere).

I support this. I don't always agree with the laws and the way they're implemented, but until they're changed, they are the laws. I think a speed limit on the interstate is silly if your driving is otherwise safe (full disclosure - I speed. Often. And a lot.), but when I get pulled over, I admit what I did and pay a fine. Why? Because I knowingly and willingly broke the law. So I can't get mad at the cop for doing his job.

What I don't understand is why the city had to be in a huge financial mess to start enforcing the laws. I recognize that some of them are costly to enforce (tracking down parking ticket violators is not fun or cheap), but it seems like the city has reallocated employees to these jobs rather than hiring new ones. This money could have been used elsewhere previously - that's why we have fines*. To pay for stuff! Roads, salaries, pensions, etc. I'm happy to see them getting their ship in order, but why did it take a hurricane to do it?

*Okay, and as a psychological deterrent. People are less likely to break laws that have a tangible punishment. This is why points systems on driver's licences works. You mess up enough times, it doesn't matter if you keep paying - eventually, you lose your licence. I admit that I have parked illegally at school (our spots are full of snow!) and done the "be on time vs $10 fine" conversation. Ten dollars was worth it. Got a ticket, paid it, moved on with my life.