Betsy Horvath

Category: Miscellaneous Ramblings

  • Two Of My Favorite Gene Kelly Movies

    I’ve been thinking about Gene Kelly lately. There are several reasons for this:

    1) I’ve been arguing with my mother about which Gene Kelly movies are the best. She says “Summer Stock” and “Brigadoon”. I say “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Pirate”. She tolerates “Singin’ in the Rain” and she hates “The Pirate”. I call her a cretin.

    2) It’s been raining at the Palatial Horvath Estate almost constantly for the past few weeks. Ergo, I have been, um, singing in the rain.  (da-DAH-dum)

    3) Gene Kelly was really hot.

    I shouldn’t argue with my mother too much about Gene though, because she’s the reason I developed a lifelong love for the man at the tender age of 14 or so. This was about the same time she introduced me to the old Harlequin romances. Mom might be misguided at times, but she does have good taste when she chooses to apply it.

    I think I love almost all of Gene Kelly’s movies. There were a few unfortunate choices in there, but even a movie like “It’s Always Fair Weather” features magnificent dancing. For example, that movie has Gene dancing with a trash can lid on his foot and, later, tapdancing in roller skates. Roller skates, people!

    Because I have a blog and my mother does not, I thought I would share two of my favorite Gene Kelly dance routines from two of my favorite Gene Kelly movies.

    First, “The Pirate Ballet” from the movie “The Pirate”. In this movie, Gene plays a wandering actor named Serafin who impersonates the ruthless pirate Mack The Black Macoco to impress a beautiful girl (Judy Garland). The ballet is her fantasy of Serafin at his most dangerous, with dancing of breathtaking athleticism. Plus, Gene wears tiny shorts.

    (PS – this clip includes the scene leading into the ballet.  The ballet itself really gets underway about about the 4 minute mark)

    (PPS – the title the person gave this clip when they loaded it on YouTube made me laugh)

     

    [tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gx7LoO_t44[/tube]

     

    Next, “Moses Supposes” from “Singin’ In the Rain”. In this movie, Gene Kelly is a silent film actor trying to make the transition to talkies. I went with this routine rather than the more famous “Singin’ in the Rain” one, because I absolutely love Gene’s dancing. Donald O’Connor’s no slouch either. By the way, if you’ve never seen “Singin’ in the Rain”, it’s very funny and well worth the watch (uncut and without commercials, of course).

     

    [tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tciT9bmCMq8[/tube]

     

    So there you go! Two of my favorite dance routines from two of my favorite Gene Kelly movies. And now I just want to DAHNCE!

     

  • One Of The Stupidest Things I’ve Ever Done

    For some reason I’ve been listening to the songs of my teens and young adulthood this week. That means Meat Loaf, Queen, Styx (the Tommy Shaw songs, not Dennis DeYoung), Steve Miller Band, the Cars, and of course, Bruce Springsteen. I still love this music, and I still know all of the lyrics, even the silly ones (and some of them are pretty darn silly).

    I think that I’ve already mentioned my young-adult infatuation with Bruce Springsteen. I don’t listen to him much anymore, though. That’s because listening him always reminds me of One Of The Stupidest Things I’ve Ever Done.

    Excuse me a minute – Hey, Margie – if you’re reading this, I don’t think Mom knows about this little incident. So maybe we could keep it between ourselves and the Internet, okay? Thanks.

    So, I was a very young adult – no more than 22. The Born in the USA album had come out and Bruce was touring. He hadn’t started to play the really huge venues yet, so he was still at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. Because Philly loved Bruce, he was there for six or seven nights. I went to see him on the second night of the run, and I was completely wowed.

    Another aside – if you never saw Bruce play live when he was in his prime, you really missed something.

    Anyway, as I said, a friend of mine and I went to see him, but our tickets were on the floor. Everyone stood on their chairs for the whole night and I couldn’t see a blessed thing. The fact that the concert was still awesome in spite of that says something. I really, really wanted to see him again.

    I had heard a rumour – probably more of an urban myth – that Bruce always held back tickets for his shows. He would make them available to people waiting in line who didn’t have tickets – you just had to be in the right place at the right time. I talked to another girl who was a friend of the friend I’d gone with, and we decided to try to see if we could get in.

    Let’s recap – I did not know the girl with whom I was making plans – she was my friend’s friend, not mine. I did not know if tickets would indeed be made available. I did not know if I had any hope in hell of getting them if they were.

    Okay, since this girl lived in Northeast Philadelphia. I told her that I would meet her at her house. I had never in my life driven to Philadelphia. I did not know Northeast Philadelphia. Better yet, I did not know the girl’s last name. I barely knew her first name. The only time I’d met her was the night we’d decided to do this. I might have had her phone number, but there were no cell phones back then and I wasn’t sure where I could go to make a phone call. But I agreed to meet her at her house.

    I got lost.

    So here I am wandering around Northeast Philly. I finally found her street, but I couldn’t find her house. Finally, as I stood staring at the houses and wondering what I should do, a couple walked past. They said “we think that house has a girl” and pointed.  I thanked them and went to the house they indicated.

    Again, a recap. I am in Northeast Philadelphia, a place I’d never been, to meet a girl who’s name I did not really know. I had asked strangers on the street to point me to a house, and on their word I went to that house and rang the bell.

    You know, just typing this is giving me the shivers. This was INCREDIBLY dangerous. And INCREDIBLY stupid.

    But then miracles occurred. It turned out to be the right house. The girl and I went to the Spectrum. Tickets were not available. so we bought scalped tickets. But the scalped tickets were not counterfiet. We did not get arrested for buying them. Although the Spectrum held at least 20,000 people, and the tickets were in completely different, separate sections, we managed to find each other at intermission, and then again after the show was over. (Oh, and the show was awesome – it was the best seat I’ve ever had for a concert).

    Wow. I have done some REALLY stupid things in my life, but this is right up there at the top of the list. Looking back, I realize that anything could have happened at any point along the way. I have to tell you, seriously, that when I need evidence of a divine presence in my life, I only have to think about this little adventure. My guardian angel was drinking whiskey straight from the bottle after this one was over.

    And that’s why I have trouble listening to Bruce Springsteen now. Because listening to him makes me feel stupid. I still like some of the music, though. However, now that I’ve told you this story, I’m going to switch to classical until my nerves settle.

    And I have absolutely no explanation for this –

     

  • Photos From The Estate

    It was a beautiful day here at the Palatial Horvath Estate. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Betsy was mowing the lawn because she got tired of waiting for Philippe the houseboy to do it.

    The upshot of the whole thing was that I didn’t write a blog post.  Instead, I thought I would entertain you with photographs taken today around the estate.  So, here we go –

    First, a happy seedum…

     

    Oops, here’s a very UNHAPPY clematis –

     

     

    But here, on the other hand, is a very HAPPY clematis –

     

     

    This clematis is so happy, that it is climbing into the pussywillow tree next to it, entwining itself admist the pussywillow branches –

     

    It has climbed up and up into the sky.  The pussywillow is resigned to its fate.  But the advantage of the situation are the beautiful white flowers spread through the tree –

     

    Elsewhere, there are happy primroses –

     

     

    and happy hostas –

     

    and happy Bob, the blue spruce –

     

     

    And a happy Betsy, because the lawn was mowed –

     

     

    I hope that you all had a happy Sunday!

     

     

     

  • Wisdom from SIMS


     
    Oft times I find myself the object of ridicule or friendly good-natured mocking for my devotion to my SIMS (I play SIMS 3 and have most of the expansion packs). Say what you will, but those little bundles of computer pixels sure can offer up a lot of good advice about living life. Don’t believe me? Here are some random examples of wisdom from the SIMS:

     

    • Not many people actually have fun cleaning.

     

    • You can ignore your friends, but then they’ll all go away and you’ll be sad.

     

    • Don’t even think about woohooing until the relationship is high enough on the grid.

     

    • You really can live on nothing but cereal.

     

    • There’s just not a lot of time to do fun stuff when you have to worry about making money.

     

    • Everybody watches a celebrity.

     

    • If the relatives move in and there aren’t enough beds, nobody’s happy.

     

    • Appliances break.

     

    • You can’t please everyone. Some people just won’t like you. It’s all in the character traits.

     

    • People rock out if you know how to play the guitar.

     

    • Laundry accumulates.

     

    • The house isn’t finished until the walls are painted and it has a roof.

     

    • Shower after you work out. If you’re smelly nobody will talk to you.

     

    • Most people only work so they can buy more stuff.

     

    • It’s only fun until somebody sets the room (or themselves) on fire.

     

    And, perhaps most importantly –

     

    • Never, never, NEVER pee yourself in public.

     

    See? Wisdom. And here you thought I was just wasting my time.

     

     

    Being in love is like peeing in your pants… everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

    Unknown

     

  • Spring!

    This week the forsythia bushes at the Palatial Horvath Estate decided it was spring.

    The feline occupants of the Estate decided it was spring about three weeks ago when they began merrily shedding all over everything – including me. The ducks and other wildlife visitors to the grounds of the Estate decided it was spring about two and a half weeks ago when they began their various mating rituals. The pussywillows on the Estate decided it was spring about two weeks ago when they burst into full catkin glory. But last week was the week of the forsythia.

    When I moved to this house, there was one big forsythia bush already in residence.  Over the years I’ve been here, I’ve made an effort to propagate it.  And the reason I went to the trouble happened last week.

    I did it for this:

    And this:

     

     

    And this:

     

     

    And this:

     

     

     

    As with all good things, the forsythia blooms don’t last forever.  In fact, I can already see their green leaves starting to push through.  But for the few days that the forsythia bushes are at the height of their bloom, they’re absolutely gorgeous.  And they make me feel pretty sunny.

     

    Happy spring everyone!

  • Toy Spending

    Today I’d like to share an infographic I received from frugaldad.com. I think you’ll find the information as interesting as I did. I will admit that I haven’t checked the sources listed, but I don’t have any problem believing the numbers. Hey, I was in the Target toy department at Christmas. I was lucky that I didn’t take an elbow to the ribs trying to buy non-slutty clothes for Barbie.

    So, here you go (my own thoughts follow the graphic) –

    toys

    Source: frugaldad.com
    I know you’re dying to know what I think about all of this, so I’ll tell you. First, I’ll say that I don’t have any kids, but I think giving children toys to play with is a good thing. There is NOTHING I enjoy more than seeing my little niece’s face light up when I give her a toy she’s been wanting.

    But…

    1. I think toys are big business. I think that big business controls most media advertising. I think children are targeted for a lot of advertising simply because the big business behind toys knows that parents and other adults want to give kids toys and make them happy. In other words, friends, we cave.

    2. I think that having too many toys might keep kids from using their imaginations and creativity. After all, why should you try to build a fort out of toothpicks if you already have a pre-made plastic fort to play with?

    3. If kids are only taught to receive, then they will become selfish people. Kids should not just get, get, get. They should also give, give, give. So, yeah, buy kids toys. But get the kids involved in giving something away too.

    Just my opinions. And we all know how much they’re worth.