Psychotic Times

Last night, I went to my normal Wednesday night dance class. As usual, I had an absolute blast. This summer has been great review for me. We've had a lot of new students in class, which means that Christine has really slowed things down and worked on reviewing technique. This has given me an opportunity to take a few steps back and work on my own technique.

Of course, this has been somewhat of a challenge, as well. To be honest, some of the dance exercises are actually more strenuous when done in slow motion. While I was able to quickly execute certain movements and be done with it before, I now have to move through the motions more slowly. This means that my muscles have to work harder to suspend a leg in mid-air for several counts in some exercises.

Of course, a couple of the new students have decided to watch me during a lot of the exercises. They've decided that I know what I'm doing, which I actually think is somewhat of a mistake on their part. I've certainly improved over the past six months, I grant you. However, I still make a good number of mistakes, and my technique still needs work. More importantly, I need to work on doing things well consistently.

Of course, Christine doesn't seem to mind the fact that the other students watch me. in fact, when it came time for us to do our phrase while she watched, one of the women said something about keeping an eye on me so she could follow along. So Christine decided to move me to front and center of the group so everyone could watch and follow. Oh dear. The good news is that the phrase we are working on right now is rather slow, so I've been able to do really well. (It takes me longer to really get some of the more upbeat phrases.) And the fact that we're currently working on a phrase that I learned back in January when I started the class helps a lot, too. (Of course, I don't think the other students realize this.)

The real excitement, however, came for me when I decided to stick around and take the jazz dance class too. I had previously talked to Marina, who teaches that class, and got permission to take it. I was a bit nervous because I was concerned about confusing myself with two different styles of dance. Then there's also the fact that originally, the Wednesday night jazz dance class was intended to be an intermediate class, so I was concerned about being able to keep up. Then there were just my concerns about taking two dance classes back-to-back. After all, two and a half hours of almost non-stop dance is quite the workout.

Fortunately, everything worked out fine. The class was challenging, but that was mostly because I'm not used to the warm-ups and exercises that Marina does in her class. And like many dance instructors, she tends to give a long list of exercises we're going to do over the course of an entire song, then start the music and have us go to it. This meant that I got lost more than once, but I was generally able to recover.

The differences in styles also turned out to be less of an issue than I expected. Certainly, there are differences and I had trouble adjusting to a few things. (For example, I kept wanting to turn out when doing tondus, whereas some of the tondu exercises Marina uses require the feet to remain in parallel position. It takes a bit of mental adjustment.

As for the length of time dancing, that proved to be a minor issue. Other than a blister on my right big toe and a leg cramp last night, I made out quite well. As a result, I've decided to attend the jazz dance class for the remaining two weeks in this term. After that, it'll be time for the Fall sessions to start. Marina said she plans on trying to start up another beginners jazz dance class on Saturdays, and I'm thinking about registering for it. I'd stick with the intermediate class, but I already have other obligations on Wednesday.

Besides, a Saturday class will have me dancing three days a week, which would be good.

I'm too lazy to repost this.  So instead, I'm giving you a link.

For the past few years, Fred Clark over at Slacktivist has been doing an in-depth critique of the book Left Behind by LeHay and Jenkins. I began to read through this review about a month ago and have enjoyed Clark's analysis, which has covered literary, theological (Clark himself is an evangelical Christian), and political perspectives alike.

Yesterday, I ran across this installment, where Clark takes a step back from the book's plotlines to discuss one of the concepts touched upon by the book, evangelism, in a broader context. Primarily, he speaks of a shift from evangelism as hospitality to evangelism as a sales pitch, expanding upon a familiar (or at least familiar to anyone who's been involved in the evangelical Christian community) metaphor:

...it is not "one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread," but rather one fat man trying to convince another fat man that he's a beggar in order to close the sale on another loaf.

The rest of of the post goes on to talk about how this approach to evangelism amounts to a sales pitch with little or no product to go with it (in fact, the title of my post references another great comment made by Clark). I highly recommend reading the whole post, as it's quite insightful.

Today, I ran to Dick's to buy a new pair of walking shoes. Now that the weather seems to be generally warm, I've decided it's time to start taking my monthly seven mile walk along the canal again. As I started wearing my "dedicated walking shoes" from last summer all the time during the winter, I figured I best get a new pair.

Once I had my new shoes in hand, I immediately put them on and decided to take the first step in breaking them in. So I drove downtown (well, a bit east of downtown, really), parked my car outside of Psychic's Thyme, and set out for my first real walk of the year.

I decided that being a new year, it was time to increase my "short" walk. So rather than walking the circuit of Park Avenue, Alexander Street, East Avenue, and Culver Road, I decided to walk the circuit formed by Monroe Avenue, Union Street, East Avenue, and Culver Road. Estimating my brief bathroom break and tea purchase at five minutes, I would say that my walking time was an hour and fifteen minutes. That's up fifteen minutes from last autumn. Further more, now my "short walk" takes more than half the time of my seven mile walk!

I fared the trek quite well, really. My feet were aching by the time I got back to my car, but I think that was mainly due to the fact that I was wearing the new shoes. Overall, I'd say the dance class has kept me in the same shape I was in when I quit walking for the winter.

I've also come up with my tentative weekly exercise regime (or I should say "plans to have fun while getting some exercise without really thinking about it" regime):

• Tuesday night: Beginner's Contemporary Dance Class
• Tuesday Night:: Floor Barre Plus Class
• Sunday Mid-Day:Walking the Circuit Downtown. (Alternative: Seven mile canal walk one weekend each month)

I'm also thinking about adding another walk on Thursday night, but I figure and wait to see how everything goes.

Tonight, I decided to finally watch Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. To be frank, people who are raving over this movie either have never seen the original musical (especially the 1982 version starring Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett) or did not truly appreciate it. I watched the Tim Burton movie tonight and, while I can certainly appreciate that everyone in it were great actors and the movie had some compelling parts, I can say that it came nowhere near to the musical which inspired me when I watched it live at Mansfield University (no, that production did not star Angela Lansbury, sadly) or the 1982 stage performance on DVD since.

I think that the least offensive change I noted was Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of Mrs. Lovett . Carter transformed the familiar senile character with no sense of right or wrong to a more aware and somewhat dark cynic of a woman. This made the character more aware of what was going around, forcing who to react to it on some more serious level than the frivolity of a more spacy baker. I also think this hurt the sense of utter and mindless devotion to the vengeful barber that is so key to the character. But if this had been the worst of the changes, I concede that it might have actually worked.

I think the greatest offense in the movie was Johnny Depp's portrayal of Sweeney Todd. Todd is an excellent actor and while many of his lines were well developed, I felt that overall, he played the character poorly. For starters, it was difficult to believe that the man on the screen had just spent fifteen years of a life sentence in Australia only to make a harrowing escape, get lost at sea, and finally rescued by sheer luck. I would expect a man who has gone through such a rough life to look far more haggard.

This was further complicated by the fact that Depp played a far more brooding Todd rather than a man who was becoming completely consumed by grief and a compulsive lust for vengeance. While he showed some excellent sparks of anger (the scene where he tossed Mrs. Lovett into the fire was phenomenal, I grant you), he more often seemed to be more prepared to write emo poetry than explode in murderous fury.

Burton's decision to cut the chorus and any number they would do from the movie entirely also hurt the production over all, in my opinion. The chorus plays an important part in the musical in that its numbers help to build up the atmosphere of intensity and fury. Without that aid, this movie did not crescendo well into the final climax, proving the point of the final words of the musical (which again, were cut from the movie):

To seek revenge may lead to hell, But everyone does it, though seldom as well As Sweeny, Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

And that brings me to the crux of my problem with this film. Sweeney Todd is not just a musical with a grim plotline. It is a morality play demonstrating in frightening detail the dangers of becoming enthralled by thoughts of vengeance. The main character serves as an example of how one bent on revenge will become so consumed by the quest and the negative emotions involved that one can ultimately destroy everything one holds dear, and ultimately, oneself. In my opinion, while the movie got the grim plotline down, it failed to deliver the ultimate message of the drama with any real force.

I will note, however, that I was pleased with both Alan Rickman's portrayal of the judge and Ed Sanders's performance as Toby. (In all reality, I found the choice to have Toby quietly and quickly slice Todd's throat and walk away one of the more interesting changes, and I wish the rest of the movie had been done better so I could get a clearer idea of how that adaptation might have worked.) I'd like to also compliment Laura Michelle Kelly on her performance as Lucy, though I'll note that they cut way too much out of that role for her to truly show her skill at playing what is actually a surprisingly pivotal role in the whole musical.

Earlier this week, I tried on a pair of my old shorts from last summer. Trying on shorts with a 46 waist does not work out well when you dropped down to a 42 waist (more or less) over the past nine months. I looked at how the waistband bunched up around my belt and decided it was time to go shopping for the beginnings of a new summer wardrobe.

I found a nice pair of khaki shorts from Harbor Bay and ordered a black denim pair from the same company, as they didn't have the black denim in a 42 waist. I also found a nice pair of dark blue denim shorts that I purchased. (I got those in a 44 waist, as something about that brand caused them to feel pinched at the waist.) I also commented to the girl that I drop much more weight (and I plan to), I'll have to stop shopping at the big and tall store. She laughed and agreed, saying that I'm actually wearing the smallest size they sell. I told her I was glad to be shrinking, but would miss the quality of service they offer at the store. I mean, this girl spent ten to fifteen minutes helping me, including two searches through catalogs to find specific items I wanted (but they didn't have).

This evening, I also ran to JC Penny's in search of polo shirts in light colors. It drives me batty that a lot of stores only sell men's polo shirts in darker shades. So on Cathy's suggestion, I ran to JC Penny's (she also suggested Macy's, which I may hit in a couple weeks). I managed to find polo shirts in pearl pink, dusty blue, and paradise pink. Now I just need to find one in lavender and another in a nice mint green and I'll be all set.

It's funny how buying nice clothes for yourself can have such a powerful effect on one's state of mind. I'm worried I may be getting a bit vain, though. (And no, this doesn't mean I'm giving up the tacky tee shirts. )

Tonight, I went to Red Lobster with Michele, Belinda, Amy, and Michele's younger daughter, Claire. We were served by a young man named Josiah.

Towards the end of our meal, one of the hostesses approached our table with a survey. She handed it to me and explained that it was regards to the meal I ordered, which is one of their new menu items. Someone (it might've been Michele) asked her if they had a comment card we could fill out in regards to Josiah. The young lady indicated that she didn't, but asked us if we were happy with him.

As I was feeling quite good and a little adventurous, I decided to have a bit of fun with my reply. I smiled and said, "I'd say he's a perfect ten. And he's done his job pretty well, too."

The hostess laughed for a second and then replied, "The irony is, he's actually my boyfriend." We all laughed, and Michele commented on both Josiah's and the hostess's good taste. Personally, I was inclined to admire the young lady's ability to take the whole situation in stride. (She didn't even hesitate or anything.)

Of course, wouldn't it just figure? Only I could get adventurous and make some comment about a guy, only to discover I'm basically telling his girlfriend I'd like to take him home with me. Oy!

Let me start off this post by announcing the very good news.  As of yesterday, I've found it necessary to tighten my belt by another notch.  As I was walking through the office in the morning, I felt my jeans start to do the "let's wiggle down the hips" dance.  This rather excited me.

Granted, I'm mystified by this discovery, as the scales at the mall announced two weeks ago that I haven't lost much if any weight.  It says I'm still at 277 pounds.  (Which might be down by five to eight pounds, but that's it.)  And yet, I'm tightening my belt.  And this is after going from a 44 waist to a 42 waist.  And to be honest, I don't care what the scales say, as long as I continue to inch towards the physical dimensions I had back in high school.

This past weekend, I had a pleasant time at my parents' house.  I left work a couple hours early so that I could pack and give Precious time to settle before I put her in her kennel for the two hour drive.  I ended up getting to PA around 8pm.  That evening, my parents and I just sat around the house and had a pleasant chat.

Precious spent the first twenty four hours or so having issues with the presence of the (increasingly mis-named) barn cats.  She apparently felt threatened by them.  But eventually, she figured out that they'd run away from her if she chased them, so that became a sport for her.  I'm waiting for the day the barn cats decide it's time to chase her!

Saturday, we ended up watching a couple of movies, but otherwise just spent the day enjoying each other's company and chatting some more.  Apparently, they'd never seen "A Series of Unfortunate Events" before, which shocked me.  So that was one of the movies we watched.  They both enjoyed it, and it was good for a few laughs.

Sunday, we had the traditional ham dinner for Easter.  I even brought home some leftovers.  (I plan to make a ham sandwich to bring to work for lunch, but I keep getting home too late to do it.)  Sunday evening, my aunt and uncle came over to visit, so I ended up leaving for Rochester later than I planned.  However, it ended up being a nice visit, and I got to find out how some of my cousins are doing.  I even got to see video clips from Chris's one mile race at the Division II National Championships for indoor track and field.

Overall, it was a pleasant weekend.

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Back in November, I wrote in my blog about noticing a picture from my past while visiting my parents. While at my parents' house for Easter, I decided to scan a copy of it. So now, you can all see how incredibly good I looked back in the Summer of 1991.

I'm actually quite pleased with how well the scan came out. I commented to my parents that if I had made the printed copy I made the same size as the original, I could've just about swapped them without anyone noticing.

One thing I did note about the picture is my eyes. I didn't go in for the second surgery (the reasonably successful one) to correct my lazy eye until my late twenties. So if you look at this picture closely enough, you can make out where they were misaligned at the time. It's something I never thought about back then unless someone asked me about it. But now, it just seems so strange. It makes me wonder how much it actually did effect my feelings about myself on a subconscious level at the time.

I can still see a lot of myself in this picture, really. I have a receding hairline now, and my stomach is considerably larger, though I'm slowly working on changing the latter. (I think I'm on the brink of dropping another waist size.)

And for anyone who wants to know, the tee shirt says, "In the market for a new brain." It was my favorite shirt back then. Of course, that was also back when a lot of my classmates would ask if they could have my old one.

Oh, this picture also proves that my love for "tacky" tee shirts is not a new development by any stretch of the imagination.