Happiness A-Z: C

If you don't know what's going on, go here, or just keep reading.  It's fairly self-explanatory. :)

C

1.  Cheese - I love cheese.  I've written before about how my love of cheese made me laugh until I cried.  I don't know what else to say.  I could live on cheese.  I  might not live long, but I'd live happy!

2.  Cats - I like the furry creatures, but I'm talking about the musical.  I know there are a lot of people that think Andrew Lloyd Weber is sort of the Stephanie Myer of Broadway, and I won't necessarily argue with them.  The play is based on the writings of T.S. Eliot.  I'm not really that familiar with T.S. Eliot, but I don't find the story-line of Cats all that compelling, I don't love all the songs, although a well-sung version of  "Memory" just shatters me at my core.  What I like about Cats is the production itself, all the people running around in their cat costumes and their fancy cat wigs and cat makeup.  I like watching the performers on stage-they've actually done quite a good job of turning themselves into cats, even, perhaps especially, the supporting cast.  If you watch the chorus of cats in the background while one of the stars is in the spotlight, you will see them all grooming, slinking, stalking, scurrying, and generally doing a great job of becoming lycra-covered, human-looking cats.  

This clip is of Elaine Paige, portraying Grizabella as part of the original London cast.  She's a washed-up, has-been cat who has been shunned by the rest of the cat community.  She's gone through about 8 1/2 of her 9 lives and is trying to come back into the fold.  

Here is Betty Buckley in the same role, performing at the 1983 Tony Awards along with the rest of the original Broadway cast.  If you want to skip directly to her part, it starts at about 3:47.  Personally, I think Elaine Paige's performance is far superior.  What do you think?

3.  Center Stage - Okay, this might be one of the worst movies ever made, but I love it!  It's about a bunch of kids at the American Ballet Academy.  They are all vying for some of the rare and coveted positions in the American Ballet Company.  Who will get those positions?  That all depends on how they perform at the year-end workshop.  There are staunch classicists, rogue dancers, a motorcycle on stage, and love triangles!  Okay, so "worst movie ever made" might be kind of harsh.  The plot itself is okay, but the acting is terrible.  To be fair though, most of the dancers are professional dancers, not actors, and the dancing is the part of the movie that I really enjoy, so I'm willing to overlook the bad acting.  The first time I saw this movie, I watched it, rewound it, and watched it again immediately.  A few days later, I was talking to my cousin and asked her if she'd seen it.  She started laughing and said, "Yeah.  And then I rewound it and watched it again!"  I hardly ever do that, and neither does she, but there's something about this movie.

4.  Comfort - In all it's forms.  I like comfortable clothes, being comfortable around people, sitting comfortably, being comforted when I am upset about something, being at a comfortable temperature.  I have had some great teachers along the way.  In case you missed yesterday's post, Basset Hounds are masters of comfort.  I guarantee that if you walk into a home with a Basset Hound, and the dog doesn't come running to greet you at the door, it's because it is lounging somewhere, comfortably, and does not see the need to come check things out.  That's what the humans are for.   

5.  Chocolate.  and Cake - Even better, chocolate cake, but I will take either one separately, unaccompanied by the other.

6.  Classic cars

7.  Cool Whip on pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving - I know it's not the real thing, but it's what we always had growing up, and that's part of what makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving for me.  

8.  Clydesdales - They're so big and strong and beautiful and sweet, like Clyde.  Also, they always make me cry during Super Bowl commercials. 

Awwwwwwww!  Go little guy!  You can do it, you can do it!  Yay!!!  He did it!  Wait, what...?  Awww, that's sweet.  I won't tell either.  :)  Gah!  Now I need a tissue!

9.  The Color Purple -  I've never read the book, but the movie was outstanding.  This one definitely holds up.  I think it's absolutely as relevant today as it was when it was released in 1985.  

10.  Color - Purple or otherwise.  I'm looking out at my yard now at the reds, greens, silvers, whites, pinks, and purples that show up so beautifully against the blue sky and the browns and grays in my rock wall.