Support the Cause!

Just wanted to take a second to let ya know about a really cool charity. Millions From One helps to bring clean water to those in need in other countries. Every 8 seconds a child dies from unclean water. In order to help prevent that you can buy one of these really cool leather bracelets. For just 10 bucks you get the bracelet and that money goes toward providing one person with 30 years, yes 30 YEARS, of clean water. It's sooooo easy to order and for such a small amount of money you literally can change someone's life.

Go to millionsfromone.com to get your bracelet! (I got the black one!)

I got rhythm, I got music...

mmmkay. So I just finished watching one of my favorite movies for the million and fourth time, Singin' in the Rain. In the midst of singing along to Moses Supposes and putting Visine in my eye on account of the fact that one forgets to blink when Gene Kelly's feet start to move, I started to seriously think about just how talented he is. I mean, think about the stars of today. You have George Clooney who can make conning seem cool in the Ocean's movies or bring the Batman comics to life but can the man sing? I'm guessing no. Dance? Not so much. How about Brad Pitt? He doesn't do much except look pretty on the silver screen (although Burn Before Reading had me cracking up and Fight Club, well, enough said.) Now Gene Kelly, not only could the man act, but he could sing, dance, choreograph, and direct--not to mention being extremely charasmatic and handsome.

Who hasn't seen the iconic image of Gene hanging off the light post or tap dancing in a downpour in Singin' in the Rain. That piece of cinema magic wouldn't have had the lustre and staying power if Gene hadn't lent his dancing genius to both the chroeography and performance. And how about the classic moment when Louis Armstrong serenades Barbara Streisand in Hello, Dolly! Yep, Gene Kelly directed that film. Or how about the number in Always Fair Weather when he tap danced in roller skates. Yes, I do mean roller skates. Then there's the number in Cover Girl when he dances with his own conscious (a mirror image of himself). And it was pretty clear that Gene was destined for stardom from the moment he first appeared on the silver screen with it's biggest star of the time, Judy Garland in For Me and My Gal.

Gene took any business seriously where dancing was involved. When his family could barely scrape by, his mother made sure that enough was save so that Gene and his siblings could have their dancing lessons. At the age of 16 Gene was teaching dance to neighborhood kids at his family's dance studio named after him. After playing the "cloops," (what Gene called the clubs he and his brother performed early in his career. The name is a cross between the work "club" and "coop" as the clubs were very dingy and dirty and the patrons unable to appreciate his talent.) Gene crossed over into the movie industry because it offered him more opportunities to dance and have it be truely appreciated appreciated.

In Hollywood, Gene was a known for his relentless work ethic and perfectionist style. This often caused tension between his co-stars and the crews he worked with. One of my favorite stories is one that Debbie Reynolds told about when she was filming Singin' in the Rain. Despite not being a dancer, Reynolds was cast for the part of Kathy Selden. She worked long into the nights trying to learn Gene's choreography and often had two bleeding feet at the end of the night. One day Fred Astaire was walking past one of the rehersal stages when he hear someone crying. He went in and saw Debbie crying underneath a piano. Apparently Gene had been particularly harsh on her that day despite all her efforts to accurately perform the dance steps. Fred went in and comforted her before helping her to learn the steps. Isn't that fabulous! Only in Hollywood!

But feuds or not, Gene's hard work and forward-thinking approach to his craft has forever changed dancing. I think that it's time that Hollywood takes a cue from its past and starts to resurrect some of this old magic and to put more multi-talented people on its screens.

Watch the magic for yourself:
Singin' in the Rain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmCpOKtN8ME&feature=related
Dancing on roller skates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aus1PA5-SyI
Mirror Image: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exCp_6T8J9Q&NR=1

Just life and stuff, ya know.

Hello people of the internet world!
So, I have to say that I would never become a blogger. I had this picture in my mind of teen girls carrying on about boy drama, friend drama, and how "nobody understands me!" (come on though, haven't you ever thought about that) Now you're probably all thinking, "Marcy, then why are you even doing this blogging thing?" Well, I have to say that I have found that not ALL bloggers are hormonal teenagers...there are actually some pretty talented, funny and insightful, people out there in web-land. I don't know if I'm funny or insightful but...I sure am going to try.

Now onto the reasons that I'm diving into this nut-so world of blogging (dun, dun, duuuun). Recently, I've discovered that I want to be a writer. Right now I'm going to school to become a special ed teacher. While I really love working with these amazing kids, I can't see myself doing it for a lifetime. I am a counselor at a special needs day camp and I coach Special Olympics gymnastics. On some days I love what I do and on other days I wonder why I got myself into this. I used to get such great self-gratification out of this kind of work but recently, I've gotten burned out. Instead of getting re-energized from it, I'm just getting tired. I feel like I'm just spreading myself thinner and thinner. Sooooo, I started to do some self-reflection (this sounds so cliche) but I have to say that it was immensely helpful. I started to think about all the people that I admire: Jason Mraz, Tarina Tarantino, JK Rowling, Reese Witherspoon, Annaleigh Ashford... And man, all of their jobs sounded so amazing! But how would I ever achieve that kind of success? And if I can't reach that success, will that mean that I'm just wasting my time at any other job?

I'm sure that lots of other people have faced this same dilemma, because, well, life just does that. It has to be all difficult and frustrating. I kept having this conversation in with myself for a couple weeks. The other day I was in Michael's looking at beads when I found this pendant with a quote on it from the fabulous and iconic Judy Garland. It read, "Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else." And then it hit me; why was I trying to find a way to imitate someone else's success? What I need to do is embrace and go after my own talents. And so, that's what I'm doing. I want to be a writer. I'm not sure what kind of writer (a fiction author, a journalist, an editor?) but I figure that the best way to figure out all that jazz would be to just try it all. So, alas, I find myself starting a blog.

Why a blog you ask? Well, based on what I've read on other people's blogs, life just sounds a lot more interesting when you post it online. I have no clue why that is...maybe it's because you can edit and paste together parts that you want and omit things you'd rather not revisit. And if you ask me, this has a two fold benefit. Firstly, it's just plain interesting to read other people's blogs (not ALL blogs, but only those that have the blogging gift). I guess it's just the innate human quality that we all want to know each other's business. And secondly, it's just plain helpful. You can organize your thoughts, entertain others, and hopefully it'll help me to figure out all this writing business.

So, I'm hoping that eventually all of this will really take off. But for now, I guess I'm doing it all for my sanity because, let's face it, life in a blog is just plain entertaining (I hope).

Our Girl Barbie

Well, it's that time of year again! As you probably know, Barbie turned 50 years old this March and so naturally, this will be the focus of this year's National Barbie Doll Collector's Convention in Washington D.C. This will be the sixth convention that I will be going to. Each year my aunt (and one of my BEST friends) and I attend these conventions. They are so awesome! It's like fantasy week for us. Barbie fans from around the world, one-of-a-kind artists, sellers, and even the fabulous Mattel designers gather in a U.S. city to celebrate our girl for four days. The conventions last from Wednesday through Saturday. Each convention has a theme. The past five have been "We Are Family," "Midnight Masquerade," "Lights! Camera! Barbie!" "Denim to Diamonds" and "Barbie on the Runway." This year's theme is "50th Anniversary Gala" and let me just say, that it's going to be INSANE!

I can't even begin to describe the fun that goes on at these things! There are room sales where all things Barbie are sold out of hundreds of hotel rooms. Each day of the convention consists of a themed meal event where you sit at a table with all of your Barbie friends and receive fabulous table gifts. The themes this year are Beach Party (in honor of Barbie's legendary black and white striped suit), Through the Years (celebrating decades of fashion), Barbie Goes Traveling, and the last night is the Gala. There is also a limited edition convention doll that is given to all conventionees. They go for big bucks on eBay after the conventions....although I love mine and keep them for my own collection. My favorite part of these conventions is the fashion show. The participants create a human-sized version of Barbie outfits and model them for the entire convention group (between 800 and 1100 people) My aunt is a seamstress so our outfits are always amazing! We are know for them amongst the Barbie community. SO COOL. There is also a competition where people can enter one-of-a-kind (OOAK) dolls and dioramas based on a theme or vintage outfits.

Anyhoo...as if Barbie's 50th isn't exciting enough, the local of the event (D.C.) makes it that much better because D.C. is home to the Smithsonian Museums, which in home to one of the legendary pairs of RUBY SLIPPERS!!!! I have yet to see any of the pairs known to exist so this will pretty much be a dream come true!!!!!! I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it!

But here's the thing--I still have SO much to do to get ready! It happens every year. We have a year to prepare and yet everything always ends up coming together at the last minute. And upon all of this convention prep I need to get done, I have to work all week! : ( YIKES!

Wish me luck!

Pilot

Hello to you all out there in the blogging universe and beyond.
Well...this is my first time blogging...ever. I'm still figuring out what it's all about. I just want this to be the perfect place to house all my thoughts and ideas that my brain can't possibly hold. I want to create a world here that is bright, open, sparkling, and where anything is possible--a place that is over the rainbow! I can't really say where all of this will be going. I guess it'll be a lot of "playing it by ear" but with a little work, I think it will take on a fabulous form and will really catch on!
xoxo
ShinePixie