Shadow Puppets Gone Wild

Just a quickie to tide you over. I've been sick as a dog these past few days and am just starting to feel like I'm recovering. Had to go back to work today because I could just feel it all piling up. Sad huh? Anyway, here's some cool shadow puppetry by a group called Pilobolus on the Conan Show. Is this modern dance, acrobatics or street art?

Paper or Plastic?

Los Angeles, one of the most polluted cities in the U.S., has announced that it's banning all plastic bags from retail stores beginning July 1, 2010. L.A. joins San Francisco in its effort to decrease pollution. This is an interesting move, and I wonder if/when Hawaii will follow suit?

You'd think that someplace like Hawaii, which lives on tourism and an idyllic representation of the land, would be first on the list to do this. It makes sense financially and ecologically, but I think it'll take a while for us to jump on the bandwagon. It always takes a while for things (ideas, fashion, technology and change) to make it across the Pacific and into the minds of islanders.

But, is this lack of desire for change or extreme loyalty to tradition good or bad?

Naked Boys Singing!

Don't ever accuse me of false advertising or extreme exaggeration (well, not about this anyway). Fresh out of my dvd player is a musical theater performance-turned-movie called Naked Boys Singing! (2007). I stumbled upon it while browsing through random dvds on Netflix. Of course, the catchy title drew me, just like those darn Brangelina twins and the Madonna/A Rod affair.

After reading the first three reviews, I realized that the movie was marketed to about 82 percent gay men, 13 percent closeted gay men and 5 percent straight women. We'll, I'm proud to say that I indeed fall into that 5 percent so I quickly added it to my queue and waited anxiously for it to come on over.

When the dvd arrived, I ripped open the package and shoved it in. Interestingly enough, the dvd label was of a naked guy with the center diecut discreetly over his junk. This may well be the only discreet thing about the film.

The opening number, called "Gratuitous Nudity," quickly got the show swinging, and I really do mean swinging. After the initial shock of seeing 10 naked men dancing and singing wore off, I have to say that I really did like the cleverness of the lyrics. The songs were equally funny, touching, poignant and outright in-your-face (as was every anatomical part of the male body).

The show spared no expense and cast actors who could definitely let loose vocally. By the end of the first song, the show wasn't so much about naked guys but more about the art of it all. The message of being naked (physically, emotionally, psychologically) and setting yourself free to live and love was communicated loud and clear.

I'm not sure how gay men would view the film, but as a straight woman I'd give it two thumbs up. The performers were all attractive and very fit. There was a wide range in ethnicities so I guess you could say there was a flavor for everyone (I swear one of the cast members looks like Doug Savant of Melrose Place, another looks like Mark Espinoza of Beverly Hills 90210 and one even looks a bit like Rob Schneider).

The guys weren't hulking with muscles (like Chippendales performers) but many were definitely ripped. Their performance ability was definitely ten times better than any "male revue" out there, which I totally appreciate. I mean, can you believe they actually sang on key and their dance numbers were in sync? And there wasn't any of that corny hip thrusting or crotch grabbing; no unnecessary snake-like undulating or smokey, bedroom-eye gazes. It was basically a good theater number that happened to be about nakedness where all the performers were, well, naked.

As a side note, I attended a Chippendales performance when they were in Hawaii a couple years back when we went out for a friend's hen party. While those guys are good to look at, they couldn't sing or dance worth a damn. They had no rhythm and probably no soul either. I was definitely disappointed. You come to be entertained, but unless you throw yourself into their arms and have an outrageous number of dollar bills for lap dances, the show is not worth its weight in gold. Naked Boys Singing!, on the other hand, was a gem, even with a small budget and limited production time (as noted on the "Making of" video that can be found on the Special Features).

Naked Boys Singing! Trailer

Image sources:

http://www.impawards.com/

http://www.offbroadway.com/