Sunday, August 08, 2010

Inspired by

While I was getting ready for and then enjoying my trip to Orlando, I wrote a few posts that were so random that they needed to be numbered. Most of them were 10 things...and then that's where the train left the station.

10 things made me think of the movie "10 Things I Hate About You" starring Mr. Heath Ledger. It's one of those movies that are not musicals but that the music is so important to that they feel a little like musicals.

It's based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"

I dislike Shakespeare's plays. I figure the street cred bar is pretty low for English majors and I'm OK to let it go.

I do like things based on Shakespeare, namely this movie and the musical "Kiss Me Kate" starring Mr. Howard Keel.

When I was young, I liked to watch Cubs baseball on Saturdays and the musicals played sometimes on one of the cable stations. It's OK. I know I was a weird kid. I'm OK with that now.

I first loved Howard Keel as Adam in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." When I think of that movie, I have to sing "Bless Your Beautiful Hide" for days.

And I did then as I do now and I watched everything I could find Howard Keel in: "Kismet", "Showboat" as Gaylord Ravenal, and my very favorite of all "Kiss Me Kate" as Fred Graham and Petruchio.

And then I had a conversation with a friend about my college days and this boy that I remember very, very clearly. I first saw him when I was in highschool and he was in the college production of "Oklahoma"...playing Jud Fry. (And now I have to sing...poor Jud Fry is daid...)

I think in my mind he was John Bender come to life...and singing in musicals.

And then I went to this college and I remember this boy: tie dye, arguing with a Philosophy professor in one of the classes we shared. I think there might have been a beret at one point. That might be a figment of my imagination though. And he was in the theatre (standard American spelling is er, standard British is re so unless you're a pompous American...anybody know that movie?). I was a weird young woman, too. I'm hoping to grow out of this soon.

And then there's the single creative writing course I took. I squeaked by with a B because I couldn't turn in all the assignments...they included critiques, by the class. And this boy, upon critiquing my poem, said, "I think you should have called it 'Metallurgy'" and I have remembered that as what that poem should have been called since.

So Saturday I was doing my best to put off looking at anything I've written, and I decided to Google him.

And a video turned up of him singing this song from "Kiss Me Kate" performed here by Howard Keel.

And the train pulled back in the station. It runs on a circular track.
For you: "Where Is the Life that Late I Led?", sung by Howard Keel (And also "Too Darn Hot" or "Any Tom, Dick, or Harry" or "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" which are fun songs but not performed by Howard Keel if you get the chance.)

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