![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Harry Potter
I will be going to a bookstore tonight around midnight. Not because I read Harry Potter or will be buying Harry Potter. I just want to watch the fun. People lining up for hours for a book? Heck yeah!
***
Hairspray
I've read two reviews of Hairspray and both loved it and heaped crazy amounts of praise on Travolta. Which strikes me as strange, since much of the bashing I'd seen prior to now was of Travolta. I might go see it, as it gets out about 11:45 and is just around the corner from the bookstore.
***
News
In case you have missed the news story: Michael Vick indicted on dogfighting charges.
It is a sick, sick practice to fight animals.
A plus side news story: Tattoo ink that removes itself.
For those of you that have the sense to not want to permanently commit to your boyfriend's name on your arm.
***
So You Think You Can Dance
Starting with the ouster, I'm sad to see Anya go. The fact is, though, that when you've been in the bottom three for a certain number of times, no matter how you dance, the judges have to face the fact that you aren't connecting with the audience. Do I think the audience was on crack? Yes. But oddly enough, Danny and Anya got ballroom more than anyone else, and they were in the bottom three several times.
(Dear judges - balance things out with some more ballroom, please.)
I, too, found Jaimie's solo just so-so. But she's been consistently really good, so she deserved to stay. Lauren's solo was the first time all season I've felt she really gave it all she had. Lauren needs to ditch the lingerie, however, as a costume choice.
For the guys, oddly enough I felt that Neil needed to go after a solo that was all tricks, no treats. Then again, I didn't feel that he deserved to be in the bottom three (while Lauren did - yes, I'm contradictory). Danny is a brilliant dancer, no doubt about it. The difference between brilliant dancer on this show and brilliant dancer in the industry is distinct, though - here you have a camera in your face, which shows EVERYTHING, whereas in the industry there's more distance between the audience and the dancer. Danny is a more personable, less arrogant Blake. Incredible skill that will have him working for ages, but an off-putting personality that will hinder him on the show.
Hok did a decent solo, but I guess his limitations (and the comparison to two more versatile breakers) caught up to him. I'll hate to see him go, because he truly is awesome.
Also? They really, really need to feature more professional dancers on the show instead of musical acts that don't do much but stand there (I'm looking at you Hilary Duff). Last night's guest was amazing! Tap is so gorgeous. And there were moments that you could see that he was greatly influenced by Gregory Hines. The body language said it all.
Here's my thoughts on the performance night (completely out of order):
Jaimie and Hok: You know, that routine didn't leave you with the impression that Hok was an old man. But that said, it was a sweet routine that I liked. Not very Broadway, but the dancing was just lovely. Their interaction was lovely. The message was lost, but the quality of the dance seemed nice.
Pasha and Sara: That was an interesting and funky routine, one you could tell was executed well. But it fell flat because the energy wasn't there. It wasn't energy that needed to be brought by Pasha and Sara, it was energy that would exude from the moves themselves. There needed to be more with the suspenders, more tricks and movement to cause interaction between the two. I feel the choreography could have had them twining about one another in a way that would have engaged the audience more. Much like the 80s, it was lots of color, a lack of substance.
Dominic and Sabra: Their personal connection is so fun and awesome that it adds a complete other dimension to the dance. Danny needs the quality with a partner that these two have. They don't stand out from each other. They're true partners in a dance. Which is great right now, but as of next week could be a problem. Will they get overshadowed when with someone else? Will they lose chemistry? Will they end up fighting for their lives by themselves and unable to shine on their own?
Danny and Anya: The only reason they were in teh bottom three is because of the approachability factor. Anya can't make up for both of them. That foxtrot was flawless. That dance is seriously freakin hard. (I took ballroom one time. Salsa? No problem. Cha cha? Easy. Tango? No problems doing that. Foxtrot? Suddenly I had two left feet. Now I recognize that I'm more of a Latin girl anyway, and the tango was suited to my natural movements, but no one told me back then that the foxtrot is one of hte hardest of the ballroom dances. I believe it. Sucker is HARD.)
Lacey and Kameron: I'm fed up with the audience love for them. Not because it's not warranted by Lacey, but because it feels like she's going to sweep to a win without ever being challenged. I genuinely LIKE Benji better. And I feel like Lacey gets a certain amount of love just because she's Benji's sister. (This may sound cold, but in a competition where the dance community is that small, they need to ditch last names and other identifying factors in favor of just being dancers. The dancers don't want to get love based upon like for a relative.) Kameron, while a hot guy that I'd hang with (that week they slicked down his hair? Hubba!), is not stepping up to the plate. He needs to go. The bad part is, he's been paired with a dancer that gets him through because of her fanbase. Yes, this coming week he'll finally be on his own, but still. In comparison to the other males, he's just not as much of a standout at this point. Plus that routine, while video cute, lacked fire. I'm not sure if it was Dan or their execution, but it didn't compare with the others.
Which brings me to...
Lauren and Neil: I'm going to differ from every review I've seen of this pair - that stunk. The reason it stank, though, is not because Mia's choreography was off-putting. It stank because it was a routine built around Lauren and Neil being alike, yet the choreography was not executed in unison. Looking at the two (check out the clip here), Neil had the right lines for the dance and the song. His moves were crisp, his lines long and strong. Lauren seemed behind him and the beat for half the song, and she never quite executed to his level. She has the ability to execute. She proved that in her solo. She just didn't extend her body or fully go with the movement. It's the "Thriller" problem. Or the "Pairs Figure Skating" problem. When dancing in unison, the moves have to truly be in unison or they look sloppy. Extend the leg to the same angle. Jump to the same height. Spin at the same rate. Hard to accomplish in a week, but Lauren could have done much, much more to get to Neil's level.
I will be going to a bookstore tonight around midnight. Not because I read Harry Potter or will be buying Harry Potter. I just want to watch the fun. People lining up for hours for a book? Heck yeah!
***
Hairspray
I've read two reviews of Hairspray and both loved it and heaped crazy amounts of praise on Travolta. Which strikes me as strange, since much of the bashing I'd seen prior to now was of Travolta. I might go see it, as it gets out about 11:45 and is just around the corner from the bookstore.
***
News
In case you have missed the news story: Michael Vick indicted on dogfighting charges.
It is a sick, sick practice to fight animals.
A plus side news story: Tattoo ink that removes itself.
For those of you that have the sense to not want to permanently commit to your boyfriend's name on your arm.
***
So You Think You Can Dance
Starting with the ouster, I'm sad to see Anya go. The fact is, though, that when you've been in the bottom three for a certain number of times, no matter how you dance, the judges have to face the fact that you aren't connecting with the audience. Do I think the audience was on crack? Yes. But oddly enough, Danny and Anya got ballroom more than anyone else, and they were in the bottom three several times.
(Dear judges - balance things out with some more ballroom, please.)
I, too, found Jaimie's solo just so-so. But she's been consistently really good, so she deserved to stay. Lauren's solo was the first time all season I've felt she really gave it all she had. Lauren needs to ditch the lingerie, however, as a costume choice.
For the guys, oddly enough I felt that Neil needed to go after a solo that was all tricks, no treats. Then again, I didn't feel that he deserved to be in the bottom three (while Lauren did - yes, I'm contradictory). Danny is a brilliant dancer, no doubt about it. The difference between brilliant dancer on this show and brilliant dancer in the industry is distinct, though - here you have a camera in your face, which shows EVERYTHING, whereas in the industry there's more distance between the audience and the dancer. Danny is a more personable, less arrogant Blake. Incredible skill that will have him working for ages, but an off-putting personality that will hinder him on the show.
Hok did a decent solo, but I guess his limitations (and the comparison to two more versatile breakers) caught up to him. I'll hate to see him go, because he truly is awesome.
Also? They really, really need to feature more professional dancers on the show instead of musical acts that don't do much but stand there (I'm looking at you Hilary Duff). Last night's guest was amazing! Tap is so gorgeous. And there were moments that you could see that he was greatly influenced by Gregory Hines. The body language said it all.
Here's my thoughts on the performance night (completely out of order):
Jaimie and Hok: You know, that routine didn't leave you with the impression that Hok was an old man. But that said, it was a sweet routine that I liked. Not very Broadway, but the dancing was just lovely. Their interaction was lovely. The message was lost, but the quality of the dance seemed nice.
Pasha and Sara: That was an interesting and funky routine, one you could tell was executed well. But it fell flat because the energy wasn't there. It wasn't energy that needed to be brought by Pasha and Sara, it was energy that would exude from the moves themselves. There needed to be more with the suspenders, more tricks and movement to cause interaction between the two. I feel the choreography could have had them twining about one another in a way that would have engaged the audience more. Much like the 80s, it was lots of color, a lack of substance.
Dominic and Sabra: Their personal connection is so fun and awesome that it adds a complete other dimension to the dance. Danny needs the quality with a partner that these two have. They don't stand out from each other. They're true partners in a dance. Which is great right now, but as of next week could be a problem. Will they get overshadowed when with someone else? Will they lose chemistry? Will they end up fighting for their lives by themselves and unable to shine on their own?
Danny and Anya: The only reason they were in teh bottom three is because of the approachability factor. Anya can't make up for both of them. That foxtrot was flawless. That dance is seriously freakin hard. (I took ballroom one time. Salsa? No problem. Cha cha? Easy. Tango? No problems doing that. Foxtrot? Suddenly I had two left feet. Now I recognize that I'm more of a Latin girl anyway, and the tango was suited to my natural movements, but no one told me back then that the foxtrot is one of hte hardest of the ballroom dances. I believe it. Sucker is HARD.)
Lacey and Kameron: I'm fed up with the audience love for them. Not because it's not warranted by Lacey, but because it feels like she's going to sweep to a win without ever being challenged. I genuinely LIKE Benji better. And I feel like Lacey gets a certain amount of love just because she's Benji's sister. (This may sound cold, but in a competition where the dance community is that small, they need to ditch last names and other identifying factors in favor of just being dancers. The dancers don't want to get love based upon like for a relative.) Kameron, while a hot guy that I'd hang with (that week they slicked down his hair? Hubba!), is not stepping up to the plate. He needs to go. The bad part is, he's been paired with a dancer that gets him through because of her fanbase. Yes, this coming week he'll finally be on his own, but still. In comparison to the other males, he's just not as much of a standout at this point. Plus that routine, while video cute, lacked fire. I'm not sure if it was Dan or their execution, but it didn't compare with the others.
Which brings me to...
Lauren and Neil: I'm going to differ from every review I've seen of this pair - that stunk. The reason it stank, though, is not because Mia's choreography was off-putting. It stank because it was a routine built around Lauren and Neil being alike, yet the choreography was not executed in unison. Looking at the two (check out the clip here), Neil had the right lines for the dance and the song. His moves were crisp, his lines long and strong. Lauren seemed behind him and the beat for half the song, and she never quite executed to his level. She has the ability to execute. She proved that in her solo. She just didn't extend her body or fully go with the movement. It's the "Thriller" problem. Or the "Pairs Figure Skating" problem. When dancing in unison, the moves have to truly be in unison or they look sloppy. Extend the leg to the same angle. Jump to the same height. Spin at the same rate. Hard to accomplish in a week, but Lauren could have done much, much more to get to Neil's level.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
From:
no subject
Michael Vick and the dog fighting situation? Yeah, if I get into that I'll talk and talk and talk and probably drive you insane. All I know is if he gets off with a slap on the wrist, even if my voice won't be heard, I'll scream and rant to anyone and everyone.
From:
no subject
To me, there's great evidence that much care was taken to make sure they had all their I's dotted and T's crossed. Which is good. And yeah, he better not get off lightly. Frankly, anyone who fights animals? They're treating animals like things. And you know who else treats animals like things and does horrible things to those animals without any thought to consequence? Some serial killers.
From:
no subject
ILU ♥
Here's what happened in the Hometown of Borders: At 9am, they started handing out wrist bands and told everyone to come back at 9:30pm for the party or midnight for the release. ;) My husband said there was (and this is odd) a line about 150ft long when he turned up.
So we'll go back sometime between 9:30 and midnight but since we're not dressing up, I doubt we're the type you want to see. ;)
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
Most of the spoiler crowd are very delicate about not spoiling others, but there's always jerks. The nearest most spoiling should get, though, are references that don't relate directly to the book at all and only other spoiled people should get ... probably even after finishing the book.
From:
no subject
The jerks, I hope, are few and far between.
From:
no subject
I may deal with the craziness at B&N GSO if you're coming up - or Borders I guess.
Otherwise I'll probably do HT for a copy and home to read. Or a diner. IHOP! I don't know.
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
I just have Boo to blame it on. ;)