Month: March 2008 (Page 2 of 2)

Huh. So, my first thoughts were that this was an interesting take on the ballet. Neat costumes. The acrobatics don’t really have the same beautiful line and symmetry that good ballet has, but those are neat tricks.

Then about 3 minutes 45 seconds in my jaw dropped. That was INSANE.

Then I thought about it, and really it makes sense that of all people it takes a ballerina to execute that kind of balance. After all, their training yields the utmost in strength and balance combined with movement. So I guess it’s not surprising that when you combine ballet and acrobatics you can get something like that. Still. Wow. Strange production though. Did they only do these two scenes? What else is that large audience going to watch?

UPDATE: I have received so many comments on this video! Here are some more thoughts
-I can’t speak for their acrobatics, but their ballet dancing is just as high quality as any professional company in the states. The grace and performance of the main dancer would guarantee her a primo position were she to move here. She blows the Colorado Ballet dancers out of the water.

– On the other hand, if this is part of a larger full ballet, what an odd show that must be. I was totally annoyed that a spotter comes out to help, it ruined the theatrics. But then again, it seems necessary.

– The main swan is either the most skilled/trained/naturally gifted ballerina evah, or she is under a real evil spell by a real Rothbart/Devil. First, she does the incredible feute pirouette and STOPS IT in arabesque en pointe (which seriously, only really really good dancers can do that well).

– Then my mom pointed out that she rotates while in arabesque on his head. I can’t figure this out. It’s faster than a promenade but slower than an arabesque turn. I don’t think there’s any trickery to the guy’s hat – there’s no way a motor could fit on it and be strong enough to turn her that fast. I thought maybe he gave her a little push when he pulls his hand off, but I didn’t detect any. Also, she speeds up into the turn, rather than slowing down after a push. So maybe she’s just doing a fast promenade en pointe. But you HAVE to understand how freakishly hard that is – how few ballerinas can do that – and she’s doing it on his head?!?

So yeah, I’m pretty much as blown away as everyone else with this video.

(Ben wants me to post something so he can read it 🙂

This Gnarls Barkley video has been banned from MTV because it failed the Harding test. A quick net search explains “The Harding Test is the common name for the Harding Flash & Pattern Analyser developed by Cambridge Research Systems. The purpose of the test is to help determine broadcast flash patterns that may cause epileptic seizures in viewers.”

I’m surprised because the black and white doesn’t seem that bad. I found MIA’s Boyz video much worse, and there was no news of it being banned.

As a side note, who else is disappointed with the return of 90s fashion? Not so much because it was bad (although it is, and so is the 80s which we are phasing through) but because it lacks originality. Every couple seasons the fashion industry decides – yes, decides – that a decade is hip again. They reinvent the fabrics and colors, channeling the shapes. Blah. Why not something new? Will 2001-05 fashions be hip next year? Do I need to wait for three years for them to catch up with the current time? Or will they start over again with the 60s? You know, I read a few style blogs and more than anything they make me annoyed with fashion. I guess I read them so I can make sense of what I see on the racks.

Need a break? Take the Arrested Development Quiz. I’m ASHAMED I didn’t get 100% so I’m not posting my score. Seriously. Ashamed. I better start over again with episode one. After I finish Twin Peaks (Don’t tell me who killed Laura! I’m trying very hard to avoid spoilers).

Link

We had crazy Colorado weather last weekend. Saturday was 70 degrees and I think everyone in the metro area was out enjoying the warmth. We fought through the mountain bikers to hike up Green mountain. I took this picture of Ben and Jem in the same spot as the right hand picture, nearly one year ago.

Then Sunday we awoke to blustering winds and snow.

Sometimes you may hear me complain about Jem moping around the house. This is her waiting for Ben to come home. She stared at the door like this for 45 minutes.

I’m knitting a sweater vest. This is the biggest project I’ve done with yarn, more complicated than scarves and hats. Following the pattern will actually matter. I’m very excited about it. I used birthday money to buy the yarn and I want it to be put to good use, something I’ll actually wear. Miranda helped me pick out this lovely charcoal combination from the Recycled Lamb shop. I bought 6 extra large skeins.

This is the back piece of the vest, just before I realized I made a major mistake in counting inches. So I ripped it back to the light grey ribbing and started over again 🙂 I’m not too downtrodden, because I really really want to get this right. I’m more confident in understanding the pattern now and I think I have my gauge adjusted appropriately.

My sewing machine is fixed so when I finish this vest I can pick up my half-done sewing project. Apparently it just needed a thorough tune-up and a little tightening. It sounds beautiful now, no more clunking!

Tonight we indulged in a craving brought on by the snowy evening by going out to Woody’s in Golden with friends. I love their pizza buffet and giant sodas, especially on a wintery night. Now we have friends to play games and let the dogs play. I hope this gets Jem very tired so she just wants to sleep all day tomorrow.

Ben’s birthday present finally arrived! The XOPC is shockingly small. Ben is very excited to create programs for it. He plays with it almost as much as his xbox 😉