Monthly Archives: September 2010

Hooked On … Decorator’s Tables

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Hey y’all! :-)

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these so I thought since the “hooked on” part of my blog is the most popular I’d entertain you with another installment.

I, for one, have these in my house and unfortunately when I tell people they make comments like, I hate those things… but then I continually see them used in magazines, etc. so I know I’m not alone in my use. And, I might add, when people see them in my house they totally understand and think it looks just fine.

Seriously folks, there isn’t a cheaper way to create an end-table then to use these… and if they’re tastefully done then it helps out a room that could have been seriously lacking. Y’all know that I have like zero dollars when it comes to decorating so I rely on hand-me-downs and cheap solutions.

Here are two examples without covering so you can see what I mean:

Those, my friends, are called decorator’s tables. The top is usually separate from the legs or base and they usually screw together. Sometimes they come apart like bookshelves to fold flat for storage.

My mother had a whole mess of them and has used them frequently and I always wondered why until a) I had a place of my own I needed to furnish, and b) I realized that she’s a realtor so they definitely help set up a place for a showing without great expense.

Here are some pictures showing them in use:

(Please note that none of these pictures are mine and that I found them whilst searching the interwebs… I do not try to pretend these are my own but I will try to show you mine once I finally get around to taking pics of my new place… I KNOW I KNOW… it’s taking me forever!)

And another…

And another…

And here’s one that’s square actually… very clever…

And here’s another example of how they’re used in a room…

And here… although I’m not usually a fan of the overlay atop a plain cloth unless the decorative accent doesn’t make it look like it belongs in your grandmother’s den…

And here, likely to hide electronic equipment…

And how cool is this decorative accent on one table!

Of course, I’m thinking the reason that I get so many blank stares when I say that I love using decorator’s tables is because so many of you might remember them as the ugly ones most commonly used in the 80′s that were absolutely hideous.

Take this lovely one for example…

Okay y’all… thoughts? Do you love them or hate them? Do any of you have them in your house? Am I the last remaining decorator’s table lover? ;-)

Queen’s English?

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OMG. I’m dying of laughter.

I know, I know, I also suck at posting on a regular basis… but I HAVE to share this with y’all.

My sister posted on Facebook that she’s now following a dude on Twitter that reposts tweets from 50cent in the Queen’s English. So, of course I had to check it out. I suggest you do the same. You won’t be disappointed.

WARNING… this site (and my post below) contains foul language.

Here are some of my favs:

…

50cent: Soulja and fab kicked it they cool now aint no more beef you cock suckers have a nice day lol

English50cent: Soulja and Fab have reconciled their differences, but have run out of meat. Warm regards to my homosexual followers. *laughs*

…
50cent: Mother fuckers always think its a joke till a nigga dead and they crying like that was my homie

English50cent: It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. After that comes remorse.

…

50cent: For the last time I’m telling you niaggs leave my nigga alone. hollow tips a make you spit more then a hot 16

English50cent: I’m serious. I will have you murdered.

…

50cent: Shout out to JoellOrtiz I see u nigga. Steady grindin

English50cent: Hello JoellOrtiz. My eyes are in perfect working order. And something about pepper.

…

50cent: Depression is a luxury I can’t afford so I see haters and just keep on working its cool I’m not here by accident shit

English50cent: I disavow mental illness. And the anthropic principle. Negative people spur me on. Faeces.

…

50cent: So I saw jayZ backstage at the show so I say What’s up nigga we gone kill each other or what he like And fuck up the money I aint witIt lol

English50cent: I confronted Jay-Z about our recent acrimony. He backed down. (And something about whittling.)

…

I just gotta dance…

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So, writing that post about dancing in the movies made me think a lot about how much I miss dancing. A lovely friend of mine also got me thinking and I remembered how much I loved dance, especially tap, and how much I miss Gregory Hines, and how awesome Savion Glover is… and so on and so forth.

So, today I’m sharing a few clips of my favorite tap dancing and tap numbers from movies and Broadway shows.

Lets start with both of my fav performers at once… demonstrating some tap improvisation just in case you’re wondering what the heck tap dancing is and what exactly I’m talking about.

OR, even better, here is a clip of Savion Glover on Dancing With The Stars:

If you have never tap danced before you may not know how INCREDIBLY hard it is to do those moves. Having danced for a very long time I still struggle with repetition and rolls and some of the timing. I’m very out of practice but watching him dance makes me want to do it again like you wouldn’t believe.

This link shows a clip of Savion Glover on The Colbert Report discussing the origin of tap dancing, explains its decline in popularity and then performs on the show.

So, without further adieu, here we have the movie (but was first a Broadway show) that started it all for me:

One… singular sensation every little step she takes.
One… thrilling combination every move that she makes.
One smile and suddenly nobody else will do.
You know you’ll never be lonely with you… know… who…

Seriously folks. I think I have that whole movie memorized. That movie made me want to be a Broadway dancer and sparked an interest in acting. I wanted to be a ROCKETTE. Yes, a Rockette. I wanted it so bad. Of course, once I never got above 5’2″ and they never would give me adult roles like I wanted… I realized that I could never really make it and gave up on the dream.

Moving on…

Here, we have the Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather performing what Fred Astaire once called “the greatest dance number ever filmed.”

And for fun… let’s watch Gene Kelly tap dancing in roller skates from the movie, It’s Always Fair Weather. Now that’s what I call talent!

Here is Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell in Begin the Beguine from The Broadway Melody of 1940.

From the Tony Awards back in 2001 (I think) here is a clip showing a compilation of dances from 42nd Street. My sisters both performed in this musical at a little dinner theater in Orlando one year. It was quite good for being WAY off-Broadway.

How can you watch that and NOT want to dance!?! I mean, it’s hard for me to just sit still in my seat watching the clip. Especially knowing a lot of the moves, time steps, etc. SO GOOD.

Okay, well, that’s all I’m going to show on here. Feel free to browse the internet for more lovely tap dancing and I will leave you with what I never thought would happen but evidently has happened… there is an actual Wii game called Dance on Broadway. Interesting.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Dancing at the Movies

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Saw this on Dooce… a collection of dance clips from almost 40 movies. This video is set to the song “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins and I don’t know anyone who can listen to that song and not want to move… even if it’s just in their seat. The movie, itself, is pretty awesome… but the song is even better.

Speaking of Footloose… let’s watch the prom scene and laugh at the dancing… shall we?

And probably my one of my favorite movies that strictly centers around dancing has got to be Flashdance. I mean, I have it on VHS people… and I don’t own a VHS player anymore. But I can’t let go of that copy. I’m surprised it even plays anymore because I’ve watched it so much you’d think it was worn out!

Now, some of my favorite dancing scenes come from movies such as West Side Story, “When you’re a jet you’re a jet all the way from your first cigarette to your last dying day!” I mean who doesn’t know the words to most of the songs in that movie, for real.

Or, if you want something more contemporary there is always that movie Save The Last Dance, with Julia Stiles, where she learns hip hop.

Or, how about the twist contest from Pulp Fiction where John Travolta and Uma Thurman rock out. Such a good one!

Speaking of John Travolta… how about Saturday Night Fever. I mean, come on… I always wanted to be able to boogie down like they do.

Of course I can’t forget to mention Grease. I mean, seriously… that movie is referenced all the time… and not only when people sing karaoke.

Then, you’ve got movies like Singin In The Rain where the iconic scene in which Gene Kelly is literally dancing and splashing in puddles is so revered that it is copied and used for commercials, etc.

Of course, you then have probably my favorite movie of all time… Dirty Dancing. I mean seriously… Patrick Swayze is gorgeous (R.I.P.) and I know you KNOW that nobody puts baby in a corner!

I’ve had the “time of my life” watching these clips, have you? :-) Do you have any favorites that I’ve failed to mention? There were a bunch of movies referenced in the beginning video that I didn’t show…