[Miscellany]

Meme

Ms Diane tagged me and it was an interesting meme which I am going to ignore the rules of. And you know... I don't really tag people so if you like the meme then do it, if not then don't.

Archive Meme Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five (err...or more in my case) favorite blog posts that you’ve written. … but there is a catch: Link 1 must be about family. Link 2 must be about friends. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about. Link 4 must be about something you love. Link 5 can be anything you choose. I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone had written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments

1. Family: photos is about coming across an old photo of my father one day and my feelings about that. Nonna which was a post about my childhood and my grandmother who lived with us, her strained relationship with my mother and the powerlessness of being a child.

2. Friends: country/city is a favourite of mine - a trip taken one afternoon with a group of girlfriends. It was a fabulous day. How to Make a Pre-Wedding Quilt - girlfriends on the eve of a marriage. Today Is - #1 and I take a trip to visit our friend F just before she's about to give birth.

3. I rock: Open Letter to myself and to you - about me and a promise I'm making to myself. The Personal Ad Experiment Well, I had fun, learnt a bit about myself (and men) and had a laff.

4. I love: Recipe of Me is exactly that - you are what you eat, so therefore I am what I watch, read and listen to too. These are some of the things I love. Hugs I also love hugs - but not ALL kinds of hugs. Fly on the Wall Melbourne, you know I love her.

5. My favorite post(s).
* Cinema Under Stars on a Balmy Night - a picnic with a twist.
*Guest Post - who can forget when Mark Philippoussis wrote an guest entry on my blog! Wow.
*Cowboy Wave Riders of Torquay where I stood and watched the surfers for a while one evening.
*I'm Paid Good Money not to be Ignored My Musical Monday on Courtney Love. I loved writing it.
*God is a Dum Cunt and the follow up

Musical Monday

Today's musical Monday comes via inspiration from the tele - in particular dance on the tele and if you like more specifically boys who dance. Now being a girl who danced when younger I can appreciate the heartbreaking determination and soul that goes into dance. But girls who dance are everywhere. Boys who dance, however and those in particular that pursue it as a career are not. They face a lot of obstacles. At the school I work at we have a very strong dance ethic. We have a fabulous dance teacher who inspires her pupils. Indeed almost 1/3 of the school gives up 2 to 3 lunchtimes a week just to dance. A large percentage of that is made up of boys who dance. In promoting the activity we spent a couple of years really selling the idea to boys. I had a few in my own class back then who I recruited. These boys were football playing, sport loving, cool beyond words boys - but they gave dance a go for a laugh. Their involvement in the arts gave other boys a reason to come along too. These boys did not stick around for one dance routine...indeed they were still doing it five years later when they left the school and even if they never take it any further than that - they still got a lot of out it. Hopefully, if nothing else they learned that's it's okay to be a boy who has rhythm and be a boy who can express himself through movement.

I guess boys who actively take up dance are often thought of as sissy or weak. They might be picked on by other boys who are exclusively into sports or be ridiculed by their own fathers or brothers who are afraid they might turn out "gay". The truth is that there are a lot of men who dance who ARE gay, but there are also a lot of men who dance who are straight too. Just to add some perspective - there are a lot of rugby players who are gay too. I'm not sure why male dancers get such a raw deal. They aren't weak or sissy - if we're looking at adults then men who dance are among the most athletic of ALL sporting professionals! They are also in many cases stronger and fitter. They have stamina and bloody hell do they have courage and heart. You don't go into dance without suffering enormous blows to your ego (like every time you audition) as well as have your body beat up especially your knees, ankles, feet etc. The arts is also a difficult area to pursue for men and it actually takes a man of integrity and passion who is going to do it properly. These are people who have fought tooth and nail to make it. They know what it's like to work hard against the odds and to work for their goals even when everyone in the world is against you. I have amazing amount of respect for men who dance.

So in celebration of Billy Elliot which is on the tele tonight and all those boys who have the courage and determination to go against the grain here's a couple of favourite songs of mine from the film soundtrack (which incidentally is one of my favourite film soundtracks for many reasons)

London Calling - The Clash



Town Called Malice - The Jam (I've already featured this one in my "T" musical Monday but yeah, worth a reprise).



Children of the Revolution - T-Rex



(yes, you read right, T-Rex! <3<3<3<3)

Labels: meme, memories, musical monday

posted by M at 6:17 pm 11 comments