Friday, July 5, 2013

End o' week musings

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July.

Last Saturday I went to El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood and saw the musical "ModRock." It's a star-crossed lovers story set in 1965 London at the height of the clashes between the Mods and the Rockers. Honestly, the script could have worked with almost any two different groups, as the identities of the factions were slightly glossed over. This means if you're looking for a history lesson, don't look to this show.


On the other hand, "ModRock" is one of the best shows I've seen performance-wise. The live band is tight, the vocals are terrific and spot-on, the choreography is fun and inventive, the costumes are wonderful and the acting was good. The music of the '60s is presented freshly, yet perfect for nostalgic fans who will be hard-pressed not to sing along. My recommendation is go with an open mind expecting a fun light-hearted night at the theater and you'll come away wowed.


The rest of my week was busy, filled with interviews, writing and living life. Then we get to yesterday,  I started my morning at the Sierra Madre 4th of July parade. That city knows how to put on a good hometown event. My favorite parts were seeing the tractor club rolling down the street and the Pasadena Humane Society's mobile pet adoption RV with dogs wearing patriotic hats and bandanas peeking out the windows and doorways. It was a flag-waving party for all.


I got to dance as part of the Wicky Wacky Wahines for Irwindale's 4th of July Fiesta. We did an hour show featuring 17 dances and I was in nine of them! I was surprised how many choreographies I actually know now. It was fun putting on the costumes provided by my teacher, Tavana, and performing for a crowd that cheered us on.


From there, I headed out to Carin and Tom's for a nice swim in the pool. We'd been planning to get Ivan the Terrier used to the pool, but with all the pops and bangs from fireworks in the neighborhood, we thought it might be too much for the little guy.  (By the way, you can follow Ivan's adventures on Twitter @ivantheterrier1 ).

We watched the fireworks when it got dark, but there seemed to be less that usual, although they seemed to go on longer than usual. I got home around 12:30 a.m. and the skies in my neighborhood were still sparkling!

The coming week promises to be full of adventures so stay tuned....


In rotation this week: Luna, Owl City and Michael Buble.


Photos we got 'em: Two animal pics- one funny, the other one sweet (Peekaboo at the World Bat Sanctuary comforting a new rescue bat), a shot of a pretty bloom on my desk and a photo of me and my friend and class dance partner Sushi before shaking our groove things on the 4th of July.


Thought of the week: Common sense. I'm sure you've heard that common sense is not so common. That rings pretty true. One obvious example is the Ivan situation. We could have gone ahead and made him get in the pool despite the fireworks every few minutes, but we erred on the side of caution. We discussed him not having a collar on, getting spooked and making a run for it. He's tiny and can get under the fence, so he would chance ending up in traffic. It just wasn't worth it.


Sometimes it's better to put the breaks on a plan rather than forge ahead. Yes, there are times to take risks and plenty of times you should swallow any fear and do something new. But there are also times when common sense speaks up and you should listen.

Keep on rockin'
Mickie



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