As anyone who has ever read this blog in the past knows SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE is one of my most favorite shows on television, and only one of the few reality shows I actually watch. I don’t often blog about it because there are so many bloggers out there doing such a wonderful job of keeping everyone posted about what is happening that, well, I figured I didn’t need to lend my voice to the throng, and since each of us have our favorites, well…there just isn’t any reason for me to add to the hype. This past week, however, something happened that made me so very angry and upset that I have vented to my husband and to my friends enough they said, “Enough is enough! Rage to the blogosphere!” So I am.
What happened is this: One of the dancers, Billy Bell, tried to pull a fast one, and the judges, I figured it was mostly Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman, we all know just how much Mia Michaels has her heart set on Billy winning this season, or perhaps Kent Boyd (anyone except Adechike Torbert); actually called him on it: Wednesday he said he had an injury to his knee – the doctors cleared Billy to dance, but he decided he wasn’t going to dance. Thursday he went automatically into the bottom three where two other dances joined him because of the votes from America.
When Billy stood by Jose Ruiz and Robert Roldan he stood there quite smugly. He wasn’t worried at all about going home whereas the other two were worried, frightened. To make it even and fair, the judges decided no one was going home this week but two dancers would go home next week. Those that were safe were stunned and frightened, those that were safe for one more week were also stunned and frightened – yes, they had a reprieve, but at the same time two people were now in danger of going home instead of two all because of Billy Bell.
Billy Bell didn’t care. You could see it on his face. Nigel said, “You have set a precedent on this show because you were cleared to dance and yet you didn’t….” That was the only time Billy stopped smiling because he realized he had been caught.
Billy’s ploy? Who knows at this point, maybe it was to rest up and be as fresh as he could be for the remainder of the competition. It is quite obvious when it comes to dancing with the female population he can’t do it: Billy is gay and uncomfortable around women. He doesn’t want to be masculine in any sense of the word and he is refusing to “butch” up to take on any of the masculine roles he is being asked to do. As long as he can hold on to the androgynous dance roles, the child dances roles, the roles where he can show his technical side and not his emotional side he is fine. He doesn’t want to show any of his emotions with a female. He has been called out on this repeatedly as well as not connecting with the audience. Billy is smug and completely centered on himself and his talent, not what he can share with the audience and with his partner (unless it is a male of course).
Every single male dancer there is SO much better in general than Billy at doing everything else – connecting with partners, connecting with the music, connecting with the audience, performing in general, even if they are not “technically perfect” that Billy really should have been gone several weeks ago. The only reason Billy Bell has remained has been tween girls and probably some tween gay boys who have voted to keep him there and Mia Michaels who simply is in love with him.
Adécheke has much heart as anyone else there in the competition and works so hard and yet Mia Michaels NEVER has anything constructive to say to him. Adam Shankman always gives constructive criticism as does Nigel. It’s as if Mia Michaels wishes they had never chosen the young man in the first place! Mary Murphy was always fair, even when she had bad things to say. She was fair. I don’t know why she isn’t on the show this season, but they need to bring her back for all future seasons. True, Mary had her picks, but she never had those that she absolutely hated on the show and wished had never been chosen. Adam is fair. Nigel is fair. Mia Michaels is not fair.
Billy Bell should have been automatically voted off of the show in my opinion, but Nigel had to be fair. We can only hope that he will be gone next week. The guy doesn’t deserve to be competing with the rest of those there that truly have heart nor does he deserve to go on in the tour. Actions such as his should never be rewarded – his nor Mia’s.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Is It Politically Correct to Censor Entertainment Now?
There is an article that caught my eye on Yahoo Music today that had me rolling my eyes because a disco group from the 1970s seemed to knuckle under to censorship for a paycheck, or perhaps to a threat. Maybe to both?
The group, Boney M, didn’t play one of their biggest hits at the Palestinian Music Festival because the “Palestinians often question the Jewish historical connection to the Holy Land.” Because of this it was considered “inappropriate” according to the organizers.
This made me roll my eyes.
The State of Palestine didn’t exist until 1988, but the area itself has been The Holy Land as far back as history itself!
No matter how some people would like to re-write history to suit them, Judaism was before Christianity in the area, and Christianity was before Islam. It is a fact. You can’t re-write history to make it different.
Judaism comes from the Jews and the Hebrews and thus the nation of Israel, which means they have a very important place and part to play in The Holy Land and thus they have a very important “connection” to it!
In the song that was scrubbed, “the song's chorus quotes from the Book of Psalms, referring to the exiled Jewish people's yearning to return to the biblical land of Israel” and is titled Rivers of Babylon.
Maizie Williams, the lead singer for Boney M said at the conclusion the little article, "At the end of the day, politics is one thing and entertainment is another thing and when I got into the entertainment business I didn't get into it for politics. I got into it to make people happy,”…. And I agree with her – you get into the entertainment industry because you do want to entertain (and make money), but there must come a point to where you stand up for singing your music for yourself and your fans. This smacks of censorship to me. At the same time I wonder what would have happened if the group had sung the song. What repercussions would have happened then?
To read the entire article, click on the title above and it will take you directly there.
The group, Boney M, didn’t play one of their biggest hits at the Palestinian Music Festival because the “Palestinians often question the Jewish historical connection to the Holy Land.” Because of this it was considered “inappropriate” according to the organizers.
This made me roll my eyes.
The State of Palestine didn’t exist until 1988, but the area itself has been The Holy Land as far back as history itself!
No matter how some people would like to re-write history to suit them, Judaism was before Christianity in the area, and Christianity was before Islam. It is a fact. You can’t re-write history to make it different.
Judaism comes from the Jews and the Hebrews and thus the nation of Israel, which means they have a very important place and part to play in The Holy Land and thus they have a very important “connection” to it!
In the song that was scrubbed, “the song's chorus quotes from the Book of Psalms, referring to the exiled Jewish people's yearning to return to the biblical land of Israel” and is titled Rivers of Babylon.
Maizie Williams, the lead singer for Boney M said at the conclusion the little article, "At the end of the day, politics is one thing and entertainment is another thing and when I got into the entertainment business I didn't get into it for politics. I got into it to make people happy,”…. And I agree with her – you get into the entertainment industry because you do want to entertain (and make money), but there must come a point to where you stand up for singing your music for yourself and your fans. This smacks of censorship to me. At the same time I wonder what would have happened if the group had sung the song. What repercussions would have happened then?
To read the entire article, click on the title above and it will take you directly there.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Reba Sue
I feel as if I have been punt kicked out of the stadium and far up onto another mountain not of my choosing. The wind is out of me and the tears have flowed like twin creeks to matching rivers somewhere deep within my heart.
Someone very close to me has died unexpectedly.
She was my cousin and older than me by several years, a teenager while I was still a child, but she is one of those people, like her entire family, who matter. She matters to me, just as her sister and brother matter to me to the depths I often don’t, and sometimes can’t, express.
A day would hardly go by without us sharing an e-mail, and two or three weeks would not go by without us talking. She mattered to me because she was my cousin, my family, my blood, but more importantly she was my friend. She matters to me and because I know she isn’t going to be there to talk to and to laugh with and to share things with it hurts so very deeply.
My pain is nothing compared to her husband’s pain and her children’s, or her sister’s and brother’s. I have lost enough people to know I cannot make their pain less in any way, nor can I ease their burden of it; but I can hurt with them because Reba Sue is one of those people who matter to the people around her. That’s just the way God made her.
Someone very close to me has died unexpectedly.
She was my cousin and older than me by several years, a teenager while I was still a child, but she is one of those people, like her entire family, who matter. She matters to me, just as her sister and brother matter to me to the depths I often don’t, and sometimes can’t, express.
A day would hardly go by without us sharing an e-mail, and two or three weeks would not go by without us talking. She mattered to me because she was my cousin, my family, my blood, but more importantly she was my friend. She matters to me and because I know she isn’t going to be there to talk to and to laugh with and to share things with it hurts so very deeply.
My pain is nothing compared to her husband’s pain and her children’s, or her sister’s and brother’s. I have lost enough people to know I cannot make their pain less in any way, nor can I ease their burden of it; but I can hurt with them because Reba Sue is one of those people who matter to the people around her. That’s just the way God made her.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Unexpected News of a Sad Nature
I just found out some horrible news. I poured out my heart into a beautiful post that will make it here to The News, but, for now, the news I just found out is too fresh and too painful. Although I am not ashamed of the little piece I have written, it is quite honest and very open; too real to go down here. Just for the moment. Perhaps I am just being overly sensitive. Heaven knows I have not been over-sensitive with death in my family before, but this one, this passing, is still making me weep.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Friends & Tai Chi
It has practically all day today. A moment ago the sun peeked out and gave a beautiful beam that shown on the house next door that I could see from my window here in the office. It was spectacular, and it helped my spirits to raise some. What is it the song says about “rainy days and Mondays”?
A friend of mine has begun taking tai chi class with the Hubby and me on Sundays. (This Sunday I had a nice stomach bug so I wasn’t able to go this past Sunday, which really made me sad.) I have also begun showing him some qi gong breathing techniques as well as exercises.
This friend is one of those people who have a total Western mentality who genuine believe that very little can come from somewhere off of American soil. He refuses to watch martial arts movies because he says they “glorify” culture not American and that nothing like that can truly exist. However, he has taken wing chun in the past and truly loved it. He believes martial arts themselves are good for fighting, but that other than this there is little else they can be used for.
This friend says this, but has done each and every qi gong exercise faithfully I have said and it has helped him quite well. Now that he is doing tai chi he wishes to come by the house and practice because he doesn’t wish to forget what he has forgotten in his first class. This makes me quite happy, but, at the same time, I can’t help but wonder how long this is going to continue. It also makes me wonder if he is ever going to change his mind about tai chi and qi gong in general. He doesn’t believe the internal martial techniques can do anything, yet when *I* say they are beneficial he nods and seems to believe me. Is he doing this out of friendship only, or does he see something positive I’m telling him?
One thing I can actually say has changed has been my awareness: something fell in the house yesterday, a small something; I felt it fall before it hit me and was able to block it away! Tai chi and qi gong practice have mightily increased for me now because I know it works. Even Hubby, is quite proud of me.
A friend of mine has begun taking tai chi class with the Hubby and me on Sundays. (This Sunday I had a nice stomach bug so I wasn’t able to go this past Sunday, which really made me sad.) I have also begun showing him some qi gong breathing techniques as well as exercises.
This friend is one of those people who have a total Western mentality who genuine believe that very little can come from somewhere off of American soil. He refuses to watch martial arts movies because he says they “glorify” culture not American and that nothing like that can truly exist. However, he has taken wing chun in the past and truly loved it. He believes martial arts themselves are good for fighting, but that other than this there is little else they can be used for.
This friend says this, but has done each and every qi gong exercise faithfully I have said and it has helped him quite well. Now that he is doing tai chi he wishes to come by the house and practice because he doesn’t wish to forget what he has forgotten in his first class. This makes me quite happy, but, at the same time, I can’t help but wonder how long this is going to continue. It also makes me wonder if he is ever going to change his mind about tai chi and qi gong in general. He doesn’t believe the internal martial techniques can do anything, yet when *I* say they are beneficial he nods and seems to believe me. Is he doing this out of friendship only, or does he see something positive I’m telling him?
One thing I can actually say has changed has been my awareness: something fell in the house yesterday, a small something; I felt it fall before it hit me and was able to block it away! Tai chi and qi gong practice have mightily increased for me now because I know it works. Even Hubby, is quite proud of me.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Immovable Objects
Have you ever had a moment where you have just had to step away from what you were doing and take a serious look at it and what you knew about what you were doing, re-analyze it before taking a very big deep breath and start again? I have had to do that a couple of times in the past couple of months just to keep my head semi-clear on what I am doing with life and qi gong and how it is affecting my life and actually keeping me going in more ways than one.
In some ways qi gong has begun to re-write the pattern of my life, of my world. Strangely it fits in very well with my belief and helps me to organize my thoughts easier about my belief. Of course, when everything begins to fit nicely, the *human* in me rebels and simply refuses to accept that some things can be just as *simple* or *easy* as this or that, and then a nice big hole opens up for depression to form and then I start wondering when everything is going to end and whether or not anything I am doing is worth it at all, even, at times, faith wise.
This past week I had a very hard and cruel wake-up gong. I brought it upon myself because I was being simultaneously “stiff necked” and “weak kneed” in how I was handling certain situations and relationships in my life. Very important relationships in my life. *Passive aggressive* doesn’t come anywhere CLOSE to what was (is) going on with me, especially this past week.
This past week has been one of those times where I have wanted everything and nothing all at the same time. The main thing I have wanted is peace. I have wanted moments where everyone and every life-force around me to get along and be non-confrontational with each other, and, of course, it hasn’t happened, because people can’t be that way for very long.
Because I am married, I am the person who should be making everything better in my relationship with my husband, or at least making a huge effort to make his life easier than it has been. I admit I haven’t been the greatest wife in that department in the years we’ve been together and especially not here of late. Add into this particular combination that I have to also take into action my own rehabilitation and keep my physical strength up through water exercise the husband has fallen through the crevasses. PLUS keep my mind and outlook positive so I can achieve all of this – when do I get to rest from all of the labor? Trust me, it truly is labor: Sometimes I feel as if I am giving birth to myself, and it is a very difficult birth!
SO…this week, or more particularly this weekend, I have had to step away from everything and take one of those good deep looks at me and decide how to keep going and just where to go from this point forward. Even though it is Monday and I don’t truly have the entirety of the direction figured out, my faith, my husband, and qi gong are firmly in place and, for the first time in my entire life there truly are immovable objects in my life and it feels remarkably wonderful to have them.
In some ways qi gong has begun to re-write the pattern of my life, of my world. Strangely it fits in very well with my belief and helps me to organize my thoughts easier about my belief. Of course, when everything begins to fit nicely, the *human* in me rebels and simply refuses to accept that some things can be just as *simple* or *easy* as this or that, and then a nice big hole opens up for depression to form and then I start wondering when everything is going to end and whether or not anything I am doing is worth it at all, even, at times, faith wise.
This past week I had a very hard and cruel wake-up gong. I brought it upon myself because I was being simultaneously “stiff necked” and “weak kneed” in how I was handling certain situations and relationships in my life. Very important relationships in my life. *Passive aggressive* doesn’t come anywhere CLOSE to what was (is) going on with me, especially this past week.
This past week has been one of those times where I have wanted everything and nothing all at the same time. The main thing I have wanted is peace. I have wanted moments where everyone and every life-force around me to get along and be non-confrontational with each other, and, of course, it hasn’t happened, because people can’t be that way for very long.
Because I am married, I am the person who should be making everything better in my relationship with my husband, or at least making a huge effort to make his life easier than it has been. I admit I haven’t been the greatest wife in that department in the years we’ve been together and especially not here of late. Add into this particular combination that I have to also take into action my own rehabilitation and keep my physical strength up through water exercise the husband has fallen through the crevasses. PLUS keep my mind and outlook positive so I can achieve all of this – when do I get to rest from all of the labor? Trust me, it truly is labor: Sometimes I feel as if I am giving birth to myself, and it is a very difficult birth!
SO…this week, or more particularly this weekend, I have had to step away from everything and take one of those good deep looks at me and decide how to keep going and just where to go from this point forward. Even though it is Monday and I don’t truly have the entirety of the direction figured out, my faith, my husband, and qi gong are firmly in place and, for the first time in my entire life there truly are immovable objects in my life and it feels remarkably wonderful to have them.
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