Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy

Fountain of Life Center in Burlington Township, New Jersey has opened up a Red Cross shelter for those affected by Hurricane Sandy.  Some displaced residents from Seaside, NJ and other locations, with nowhere else to go, are staying there.  The shelter is asking for donations, such as baby formula, diapers, wipes, food, A&D ointment...etc.  Along with toiletries and clothing.

If you live in Burlington County, NJ or just want to send a donation, here are the address and phone number:

Fountain of Life Center

2035 Columbus Road, Burlington Township, NJ

(609) 499-2131 ‎ · flcnj.org

I am heading over there tomorrow to donate items, but I know every little bit helps.  Most of the NJ shore was devastated, therefore there are thousands if not millions of people out there in desperate need of help.

PLEASE...spread the word.

If you can't help here, please think about donating to the Red Cross.

Thanks!

- Heather

Sandy - The Aftermath

Now that Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, things can finally get back to normal.  Or as normal as they can be anyway.

Most know by now that Sandy was a major bitch, bar none.  She knocked out our power for 24 hours, damaged a tree out front, ripped apart our back yard fence, and obliterated a pool toy box we had out back.  Granted the box should have been put away, but it's heavy and survived Hurricane Irene so we thought it would make it.  Instead, pool floaties and noodles flew out all over the place.  I guess if we are gonna pollute projectiles, pool noodles is the safest route to go.

Tree split - in front my house

Many trees are down all over my town and surrounding towns but even being without power for that long of time, nothing compares to what my fellow Jersey residents down the shore are dealing with.

The boardwalks of Atlantic City and Seaside Heights both felt the horrific wrath of Sandy.  The amusement piers at Seaside, which were famous long before Snookie took up residency there, were swept out to sea.  I have been going down to Seaside since I was a little kid. Walking up and down the boardwalk, playing the wheel games, playing in Lucky Leo's, eating Maruca's Pizza, having a water ice, salt-water taffy, and riding the rides.  All of that is tainted.  But its not even the fact its sad for me and my family/friends, it's the people who reside there all year round, who have lost homes and businesses.  My heart goes out to them.

Seaside's Boardwalk - Taking Sandy's wrath - NJ.com

The same can be said for Ocean City too.  I know the people who own Ocean City Coffee Company which is located on the OC boardwalk and hope everything is okay.

I also truly hope, that all those affected at the Jersey shore can pull through this. But right now, things aren't looking too promising.

A week ago, any talk of a 'Perfect Storm' hitting the mid-Atlantic states went in one ear and right out the other.  Especially when a hurricane was mentioned.  This time of year, yes we have our fair share of Nor' Easters but rarely does a hurricane hit at the end of October, in New Jersey.  So when the news people were spouting about the potential for a direct hit, I poo-pooed it, laughing it off.  Yeah well, I stopped laughing Monday.

The winds literally shook my house, the sound of trees breaking apart, and crap flying around, kept me on edge.  I may talk a good game, and keep things on the lighter side, but deep down, this storm was no joke and at times quite nerve racking.

One damaged section of the back fence

But me and my family survived!  YAY!

I just hope that kind of weather event NEVER EVER EVER EVER happens here again.  Once is enough for me.

- Heather

Review: Paranormal Activity 4

Last night, I saw Paranormal Activity 4 and here is my short review of it:

The premise isn't much different than the previous installments of the franchise.  But the filmmakers do a great job tying all four films together.

Original characters, such as Katie (Katie Featherston) always surface way one or another, along with the introduction of new characters. So I guess you could say they try to keep it fresh.

Paranormal Activity 4

I won't spoil it and can't really say too much without giving the entire plot away, so I will keep it simple.  Basically, the characters in these movies film themselves. And what started in the original Paranormal Activity with a single video camera placed in the couple's bedroom, has turned into the latest characters filming themselves ALL day and ALL night.  Via smart phones, actual video cameras, and computer webcams.  One scene in particular features the teenage daughter running around in a panic, yet she's lugging her laptop with her, all the while filming...HUH????

All I kept thinking was, if I filmed my life 24 hours a day, that would be some of the most boring shit ever.  And sadly more than half of this film can be classified the same.

Way too much lag time. I get that they have to set up the scenario but much of the film was the equivalent of watching paint dry.

But that being said, there were a few "AHHH" moments.  And after numerous mundane scenes, the last 10-15 minutes were a pretty decent pay off.  Not sure it was worth the money I paid to see it, but the ending sort of validates it...kind of!

The movie's run time was about one hour and 20 minutes, which for that type of movie, definitely didn't need to be any longer.

I saw it with three of my best buds, so we would have had fun regardless.  And I have to confess, if they make a 5th, I will be the sucker who goes to see it.

Did I think it was scary?  Not really.  Couple of jumpy moments that to me don't really constitute horror, but the directors of these films, Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman know what they are doing.  Cause whatever that is exactly, is a pure moneymaking machine.

Side note on Joost and Schulman.  They were both involved with the documentary/movie, Catfish which may or may not have been a true story.  Now that movie, was just awesome.  Even if it was all bull, they along with Schulman's brother Yaniv, made a terrific movie that's very much different from the Paranormal Activity series.

- Heather

My Hurricane Sandy MUST HAVES!

McDonald's Sweet Tea - going to buy a few of them, without ice, so I have a few days worth JUST IN CASE!  It's my vice and I refuse to apologize for it.  HAH!

Food - this is an obvious one.  Since I'm a carb junky anyway, I can easily survive on chips, crackers, dry cereal, and Ramen noodles.  If we lose power, we have a generator and a wood burning stove, so we can cook someway.  I guess we need water too, which we have so we're good there.

Food & Treats for Missy (my puppy) - all stocked there.  Cause she's the diva who never goes without being pampered, hurricane or no hurricane, this pup lives high on the hog!

Electronics - this includes iPhone, iPods, iTouches, iPad, and family member's phones.  If I have no internet access or wifi, I will at least have it through the iPhone.  Which in a pinch can be charged in my truck.  I can't be without music, so thankfully I have enough devices that should be suffice for a couple of days.  Oh...phones are good in case of an emergency too!  LOL!

Notebooks - I have an abundant supply of composition notebooks that I have accumulated over the past few years.  I have them stored everywhere and take one everywhere I go. Never know when the urge to write will arise.  So if my Mac Book dies out on me, I have no excuse not to write.  Unless of course I no longer have a house to actually write in!  It's good to have a great sense of humor...in ALL situations!  

Just a 'few' of my notebook collection! 

Migraine meds - as a sufferer from these horrible and debilitating annoyances, having my Imitrex is a MUST!  And come to think of it, my Medco shipment hasn't come yet, so yup I'm screwed there.  I have one pill left.  Mail already came today, no mail on Sunday and Monday is the Hurricane.  New Jersey's governor has already issued a state of emergency, so yup I'm REALLY screwed.  Oh well, crack it up to yet another life lesson learned.  

Candles - I have got tons of those (matches and/or lighters too).  Flashlights and a rechargeable camping lantern help as well.  

To those who will be riding out and dealing with Hurricane Sandy along with me, please STAY SAFE and try to make the best of this pain-in-the-ass situation. 

Keeping the fingers crossed! 

- Heather

Auntie Em, Auntie Em!!!

Ahhh yes Mother Nature has decided to mess with us on the East Coast, or more importantly New Jersey.  I'm inland, closer to Philadelphia than I am the shore.  However, the news people keep stressing how those living inland will take the brunt of the heavy rains and damaging winds.

So why the famous "Auntie Em" words uttered by the Wizard of Oz's Dorothy?  Because my house doesn't have a basement.  And when there is a threat of tornadoes, I'm pretty much toast.

We only have a downstairs closet as our place of refuge. Which is such a joke. That closet is small, filled with food, and any other crap that I don't want seen or room for.  So how three people and a dog would fit in there is something we have yet to attempt.  It would be taking a clown car reference to a whole new level.

Anyway, a few years ago we had a tornado warning for our area and I called my husband at work to see what I should do.

His response:  "Put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye!"  That was his way of being funny and to be honest, it was. Obviously I survived, because the tornado never came to fruition.

In August of 2011, during Hurricane Irene, tornado warnings were going off left and right, but again we were fortunate that none ever hit our town.  Though there have been a few tornadoes reported in locations not too far from us.  But still nowhere near like the ones the midwest folks deal with.  Which props to those people cause I wouldn't live in 'Tornado Alley' if you paid me.

So as Hurricane Sandy is about to turn into one bad-ass Nor'easter aka Frankenstorm (since its happening Halloween week) aka the Perfect Storm, I guess I should hope for the best.  Or you might just see me and my house floating around the sky.

Levity is good!

- Heather

(Cheesy) Movies That I Love....Part 4

A Night in Heaven

Starring:  Christopher Atkins and Lesley Ann Warren

This 1983 movie is just plain, old bad. But what it had going for it was Christopher Atkins as Rick Monroe aka Ricky the Rocket, male dancer/stripper extraordinaire.  I’m sure the producers thought this movie was pure genius. Atkins, riding the wave of the hit Blue Lagoon albeit sans curls, was the teen idol du jour.  So it was understandable why Lesley Ann Warren's character Faye Hanlon, was so easily tempted.

  

The plot goes like this. Faye was a college professor, with something lacking in her marriage to her husband Whitney (Robert Logan).  Ricky was one of her students, but wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.  So one night her sister and friends took Faye to a male revue ala Chippendales, where she was stunned to find Ricky as one of the dancers.  Basically, he was Magic Mike when Channing Tatum was still just a toddler.  But I digress.

Ricky, who is failing Faye's class, was a tad smarter than we gave him credit for.  When he spotted his professor in the audience, he decided to take full advantage of his 'charms' and seduced her.  With the excellent and perfect (for the scene) song Obsession by Animotion playing in the background, the whole seduction was Faye's undoing.  Obviously frustrated from her husband's non-attentiveness, she lapped up all that Ricky was offering. And boy did she ever.

You knew it wasn't going to take long for the two of them to take their "thing" at the club to another level. And needless to say, once they go into full blown affair mode, she's a hot mess. All she could think about was Ricky, as her marriage went further into the toilet. And you just knew the husband was gonna find out and that Faye was gonna end up screwed over (no pun intended) by Ricky.  Of course, that is exactly what happened.  

One day, Faye went looking for Ricky, because she couldn't get enough of the young stud.  But what she got instead was a HUGE reality check.  She caught him showering with the town skank, who was aptly named, Slick  (Sandra Beall).  Of course that devastated Faye and his dalliance in the shower, brought the student/teacher affair to an abrupt end. 

But the movie wasn't over just yet.  Whitney (the hubby) figured out what was going on and threatened Ricky with a gun.  But he had no intention on killing him or even shooting him for that matter.  He just wanted to humiliate Ricky, by making him squirm, naked on a boat.  Not sure I understood the whole naked part, but I kind of think the director just wanted one more scene of a nude Atkins.  Who knows.

Whitney then headed home to join Faye at their kitchen table and drink Scotch.  The end.

The love song, Heaven by Bryan Adams, played during the opening credits.

This movie bombed and I do not own it on DVD.  I did however, catch it on cable a month or so ago and watched it again. What can I say, it’s definitely a guilty pleasure.

- Heather

True Crimes...Not the Fake Stuff

I've always been intrigued by true (real-life) crimes and forensics.  I find them absolutely fascinating.

Before I had my son in October of 1999, I had gone back to college to study forensics. But having a baby nixed the college idea but didn't deter my interest.  Which thanks to television and books, I could at least get my fix that way.  A real fix that is. I don't watch the fake C.S.I. or any of those other faux crime shows.

One of the first ones that hooked me was HBO's Autopsy. Which detailed various crimes investigated by famous forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Baden.  Then I was hooked on 48 Hours Mystery on CBS and Dateline NBC. Both documented true crimes.

Which leads me to today, where there is now a channel, Investigation Discovery that airs older episodes of 48 Hours and Dateline NBC programs.  But also shows newer versions as well.  Along with new programs called:  Sins and Secrets, Scorned: Love Kills, Fatal Encounters, Blood Lies and Alibis, Deadly Affairs, Nightmare Next Door, Unusual Suspects, and I (almost) Got Away With It.  And that's just some, there are tons more that air all day and night.  My DVR is in continuous recording mode.  

Another one that is really good is SNAPPED on the Oxygen network.  This one is solely dedicated to women who have essentially snapped aka lost it.  Wives, girlfriends, sisters, moms, this show doesn't discriminate when it comes to the murderesses.  The best thing and most ironic about the women on this show is that 99% of the time, they get caught.  Finding one who got away with it is a rarity. Another interesting tidbit is the amount of women who kill their spouses/lovers with anti-freeze, whose main ingredient, ethylene glycol is more often than not...lethal. I can't tell you how many cases (on other shows as well) where anti-freeze was the poison du jour. And apparently the medical examiners won't find or even look for it unless a special request is made by family or police.  I would hope that eventually it would become routine, since it's use is on the rise.

I am also fascinated by the mind of a serial killer.  Which I think I missed my calling by NOT being an FBI criminal profiler.  One of my favorite movies of all time is The Silence of the Lambs, which the character of Jack Crawford is based on former real-life FBI profiler, John Douglas. This movie is all kinds of awesome. The ability to get inside a killer's mind and figure out what makes him/her tick, has got to be both enlightening and frightening at the same time.  I read a book written by Douglas called Mind Hunter:  Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit.  He talked about his long FBI career, which included interviewing famous serial killers such as, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and Ed Gein.  The latter was used as inspiration for the character of Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs and Norman Bates of Psycho fame.  

I also read a book called The Ultimate Evil:  The Truth about the Cult Murders: Son of Sam and Beyond.  And I'm just going to flat out tell you, this book scared the shit out of me. It was written by Maury Terry and once I began reading it, I couldn't put it down.  But afterwards, I couldn't shake it either.  I read it back in 1999 and still to this day, if I think about it, I get a chill. The book eludes to a possible connection between Charles Manson, Son of Sam aka David Berkowitz, and satanic cults.  Don't know how true it was, but it sure made me think.  And stuck with me.

End note:

These two books are fascinating reads, both excellent.  Just somewhat disturbing, especially if you are easily spooked or faint at heart.

And if you have never seen Silence of the Lambs, I wouldn't necessarily call it scary, just a creepy yet effective thriller. And though Anthony Hopkins' Dr. Hannibal Lecter is the epitome of evil and amazing in this film, the character of Buffalo Bill aka Jame Gumb, played by actor Ted Levine was terrifyingly terrific.

The I.D.  (Investigation Discovery) shows are well done and even when the same crime is detailed on two different shows, its still interesting to watch how each one plays it out.

- Heather

Wild Cherry Pine Brothers - Throat Drops or Candy?

They are called throat drops and they may even work as a throat drop but I wouldn't know, cause I never ate one for that reason.  And some of you might not even know what I'm talking about. Especially if you were born after 1985.  

Candyblog.net

Because for many years, they weren't available.  My Dad always had them back in the late 70's and early 80's.  They came in a small red box and were labeled as Wild Cherry softish throat drops. My Dad would kindly share them with me and my sister, and me being a little kid, I thought they were candy.  Each box had about 15 drops inside.  And my Dad could make one drop last an hour, I on the other hand, could down an entire box in seconds flat. 

PineBrothers.com

But sadly, this tasty 'treat' suddenly disappeared. Years of searching the internet and obscure places, turned up bupkiss. 

Until about a year and a half ago, when my mom found a website called OldTimeCandy.com, who shockingly sold Wild Cherry Pine Brothers.  That was a serious NO FREAKIN' WAY moment.  My inner child instantly emerged and I couldn't order them fast enough.  And they weren't exactly cheap, but so worth the price.  The downside, they had to be shipped, so I had to wait for them.  Impatiently I might add.

Check out this link to the Pine Brother's official website for the whole story explaining how and why they returned.  

About a year ago, CVS Pharmacies began selling the Wild Cherry Pine Brothers in their stores. Jackpot!!!  There are a few CVS's where I live and I tend to buy out all of their supplies. Can you say addicted much?  Here in New Jersey, the little plastic puck containers that they now come in, cost $3.59 each.  Each puck contains 26 of those delectable chews.  They also come in bagged versions which hold 32 for the same price as the puck.  And you might be thinking, does the difference of 6 PB's (as my sister and I affectionately call them) really matter.  To that I reply, hell yes!  BUT the bags are harder to come by, so the pucks are suffice in a pinch. 

In fact, my sister and I (when we first discovered CVS carried them), used to text each other when we'd score a few bags at one particular CVS location.  Because there were many times I'd go to buy some and they'd be sold out.  I had to ask the manager when their shipments came in because it was obvious there was someone like me who was scarfing them up too.  The one thing CVS does do (if you have a CVS store card) is they email coupons such as 25% off and give out CVS rewards where you basically shop for free. Which I know the 'free' is debatable, cause I'm sure I've spent a ton just to get a few bucks back free.  But whatever, it still makes me feel good to get a discount of some sort.

Pine Brothers are also sold at other stores besides CVS, though they still seem hard to locate.  They also come in other flavors: Licorice, Honey, and Lemon Citrus, however the Wild Cherry is the only flavor I like. 

PineBrothers.com

Not only do they taste good, each chew has only 5 calories and is gluten free.  The main ingredient is glycerin so one warning I have to add...they can wreak havoc on your stomach, IF you consume too many in one sitting.  And I can attest to this.  But that's all I'm gonna say about that.

The truth is, I just love these little buggers. And just as I did as a child, I can kill an entire bag/puck in a matter of minutes.  That's good stuff!

- Heather

Breaking Amish...More Like Already Broken

Anyone watch this so-called reality show Breaking Amish?

Image source: TVRage.com

It's on Sunday nights at 10 PM on TLC (The Learning Channel).  And the premise is simple enough.  Five young men and women, who happened to be Amish and Mennonite, leave their respective, isolated worlds and head to New York City.

I am in no way an expert of the Amish community and won't claim to be. But I had heard about how young Amish folk can choose to leave for a year and try living life in the (real) English world (as they call it).  So the show peeked my interest.

Now I am not naive when it comes to reality television.  I know more often than not, the shows are scripted. BUT I honestly had a good feeling about this one.

Well color me surprised, its fake and not just a little bit either!  My sister is the one who clued me in. She had Googled it and found tons of information on it's abundance of fakery.  So of course, I had to Google it myself.

And what I found was:  DUI arrests, divorces, domestic abuse, etc.  Which last time I checked none of those were very Amish-like.

Breaking Amish Fake - Dailymail.co.uk

Breaking Amish Fake - Starcasm.net

Breaking Amish Fake - HuffingtonPost.com

Breaking Amish Fake - TheExaminer.com

Breaking Amish the Expose - Facebook.com


These people, who supposedly have been sheltered from the English world their entire lives, swear like truck drivers and toss around pop-culture terms too easily for me to believe they just acquired this way of life.

Kate, the resident loon of the show, is an aspiring model.  But she already had modeling photos of herself, up on the internet prior to filming.  Ummm...Amish have access to the internet???  Jeremiah, is the resident doofus. Who allegedly beat his ex-wife and neglected his three kids.  In one episode he got a tattoo on his upper arm, with three names of his favorite people.  We never saw the actual names, but later deduced they were his children's names, you know the ones he never talks about and never even uttered that they existed.  Way to treat your fave people there Jeremiah.  And then there's Sabrina, the lone Mennonite and pot stirrer who has issues with Kate and has a thing for Jeremiah.  According to numerous reports, Sabrina is married. But she hasn't once mentioned that little tidbit on the show.

Abe and Rebecca portray the show's star crossed lovers who 'knew' each other in the Amish world but NEVER dated and hardly spoke.  Well according to Starcasm.net, not only do they know each other, they already have a baby together.  The kicker on the show, Abe was so shy and coy with Rebecca when he asked her out on a date.  A date???  I think they are already passed that point, don't you agree?  TLC duped the viewers into thinking that Abe and Rebecca just met and fell madly in love in New York.  What a crock!

And I'm not picking on Abe and Rebecca but their alleged deer in headlight reactions have become quite laughable.  One of the best examples of this is when they went out for Mexican food.  They 'innocently' ended up at a Chinese restaurant, where they ordered and ate CHINESE food, but didn't figure out that it wasn't Mexican until the end of the meal.  Even better was the impressive use of chopsticks.  Rebecca expertly handled them as if she had eaten Chinese take-out many times before, and yet she had NO clue that what they were eating wasn't burritos or tacos.  I have been eating Chinese food my entire life and I still can't master chopsticks.  While these two Amish kids have it down pat.

TLC wants us to believe these five people are legit. But with SO many reports disputing it, it's hard to take this show for anything other than pure entertainment.  And its not even good entertainment.  So why do I still watch this drivel?

I keep asking myself that question.

Oh wait, probably so I can bitch about it on this blog.  Yeah that's my answer.

- Heather

Politics and Religion....UGH!!!

Two things I avoid like the plague...Politics and Religion.

Now don't get me wrong, I like a good debate but these two particular topics drive me up a wall.  And social media outlets just perpetuate my agitation.  Yes, I know I don't have to read what people spew but it's almost unavoidable in this day and age.

I am a firm believer of everyone having a right to his/her opinions but let me stress, I DO NOT want to be preached to about these two subjects.

For instance, you know the people that walk around the neighborhood, handing out pamphlets about  whatever religion or belief they are in to...hoping I will give them a minute of my time. Can you guess my response to them?  I either don't answer my door or hope my puppy chases them away.  Why?  Because I don't care what or whom someone worships.  He/she can worship a tree and that's fine, just don't tell me why I should be worshipping it.

I also avoid getting into what religion I do or don't follow or believe in. Cause guarantee it will piss off at least one person.  No matter what it might be. So I stay mum on the subject.

Same goes for politics.  I absolutely loathe this time of year.  The constant phone calls and all those damn signs, "Vote for this person or vote for that person" plastered EVERYWHERE.  Seeing a name 8,000 times a day is not going to make me vote for that person.  In fact, it tends to do the opposite.

And then there's Facebook.  Ahhh yes, Zuckerberg's master creation is a major breeding ground for heated political debates.  What I've witnessed the past couple weeks with family, friends, and strangers duking it out over Obama and Romney is kind of scary.  The comments have been downright nasty and eye opening to say the least.

I keep political opinions to myself. Whether it be in real-life or on the internet.

I know this year is important being that it's a presidential election.  But other people's opinions won't sway me one way or the other.

Will I vote on November 6th?  Of course I will,  but won't tell a soul who I voted for.  It is what it is!

- Heather

(Cheesy) Movies That I Love...Part 3

Staying Alive

Starring:  John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, and Finola Hughes

In 1983, this was the sequel to the blockbuster hit Saturday Night Fever.  But this time, Travolta's Tony Manero wasn’t winning Odyssey 2001 dance contests or chasing a cougar, he was auditioning for Broadway. 

So here’s the plot. Tony was dating Jackie (played Cynthia Rhodes), who was a fellow professional dancer and also sung in a nightclub with Carl (played by Frank Stallone) aka Sylvester Stallone's brother.  And speaking of Sylvester, he directed this movie....go figure.

Anyway, Tony wasn't a commitment kind of guy, so poor Jackie kind of got the shaft when Tony met another dancer named Laura (played by Finola Hughes).  She was beautiful, British, filthy rich, and a stuck up bitch.  She treated Tony like crap.  But apparently he enjoyed it, because he continued to pursue her, even when she was constantly dissing him.  And then he dumped on Jackie in the process.  Tony certainly hadn't gained any common sense or brain cells from his disco dancing days in Brooklyn.  Although he gained one hell of a body!  Yes that was shallow but seriously, Travolta never looked better (except for maybe Grease).

Back to the story...Laura was hired as the lead dancer in a Broadway show called "Satan's Alley" which I thought was a cool name.  She encouraged Tony to audition but since she was already banging the show's director, it was a given she'd get Tony hired. Though he was just a back-up dancer. Jackie also earned a spot, but she too was relegated to the back because no one would dare upstage the bitch Laura.  And though Laura was a good dancer, I thought Jackie was better.

So after auditions, Tony and Laura went sight seeing around Central Park. And then they ended up at her swanky penthouse, for some afternoon delight. But when Laura was through with him, she kicked him out. On his way home, the louse called Jackie, checking to see if she was alone. Tony had some serious cojones, being that he just left Laura's bed.  Shady much?

Jackie eventually figured out Tony was screwing around with Laura and told him she was DONE being his doormat.  Hallelujah she grew a backbone.

A great scene in the movie was when Tony told Jackie that Laura's (British) accent sounded so smart.  To which a highly agitated and hurt Jackie replied, that if having an accent made someone smart, then Tony would be Einstein. HAH!

Moving along...the show's rehearsals were in full swing, but the lead male dancer was royally stinking up the joint with his lackluster performance.  Cue Tony.  (Did anyone seriously think he wasn't going to end up dancing that lead?)

But before Tony spoke up about wanting it, he had the gall to ask Jackie for help.  He wanted her to practice the routine with him.  Because by that point, Laura had dumped Tony.  But Jackie still had a soft spot for him, so she agreed to help.  The dance between the two was beautifully done and just further proved that Jackie was the right girl for him.  The song they danced to was "Never Gonna Give You Up" and it was sung by Rhodes and Frank Stallone.

Later that night, after Tony walked Jackie home, he professed his love for her.  Personally, I would have made him beg a little more but it was a sweet moment.  The next day, Tony told the director that he wanted to give the lead a shot.  Much to bitchy Laura's chagrin. But Tony's first attempt was god awful, prompting him to bail.  He just needed a minute to cool off and soon returned, determined more than ever to prove he could do it.  So now the stage was set and after weeks of practicing, the show made it's Broadway debut.  The music in Satan's Alley was called "(We Dance) So Close to the Fire" by Tommy Faragher and it fit perfectly. The show was flowing beautifully, until at the end of the first sequence.  Stupid Tony kissed Laura.  Needless to say, she was pissed and dug her nails into the side of his face (around the eye area).  And of course Jackie witnessed this interaction. Tony offered up some lame excuse and Jackie quickly forgave him.  But before the big finale, Laura apologized to Tony and suggested they hook-up after the show.  Tony shockingly declined. Well, you know Laura wasn't used to being turned down, so with her oversized ego bruised, she hit Tony where it hurt.  She told him that he "didn't have what it took" to be a great dancer.  That was all the ammunition he needed to kick some major ass on the dance stage.  He tossed Laura aside (literally) and performed a solo dance (which wasn't a part of the show).  He chose to include her at the end but it was crystal clear that he WAS the show, not her.  OUCH!

Happy ending! Tony was vindicated and had Jackie at his side.  But the only thing Tony really wanted to do was....STRUT.  And of course one cannot strut in New York City without the backing of the Bee Gees.  Yup, another movie with the musical stylings of the Brothers Gibb.  Their signature "Staying Alive" which was the main song in Saturday Night Fever, was used once again. And smartly so.

The Bee Gees contributed a couple more songs on the soundtrack, "The Woman in You" and "Someone Belonging to Someone." Both good songs. But the huge hit off the soundtrack was Frank Stallone's "Far From Over" (see first You Tube video in post).  I have the soundtrack on CD and in my iTunes collection.  In fact, the song was playing as I was typing this. And of course, I own the DVD as well.

Director Sylvester Stallone had a brief cameo, in a scene where Tony was walking down the street, they bumped shoulders.

The infamous white suit from Saturday Night Fever made a special appearance. However, Tony jazzed it up with a blue t-shirt instead of the black.  Which kind of looked like he raided Miami Vice's Sonny Crockett's closet.

  

And last but not least, there was a scene where Tony and Laura argued after one of the show rehearsals. She shouted “Everybody uses everybody…don’t they?”  Her tone was pure bitch and the reason I mention this is because one of my best peeps, Melissa and I used to repeat that line constantly, British accent and all.  Ah the memories!  

Decent acting, good music, great dancing and Travolta dancing around in nothing but a small loincloth, yeah its a must-see!

Color of Blog

I apologize for the constant color changes.  I am trying to find one that I really like.  But I'm having a hard time deciding.

Of course, I should be working on the 'book' instead of worrying about the color palette of my blog.  But if you read my earlier post about me writing a novel then you are already aware that I get distracted easily. Obviously a little too easily.  

Anyway, I am kind of digging the red.  But I also don't want the readers to have serious eye strain from the strong color.

I'm partial to the darker colors myself, such as black or navy blue.  So don't be shocked to see it revert back to the black or me try something else.

And that my friends was the big dilemma of the day.  Yup, I have my priorities straight!

*lowers head sheepishly*


- Heather