Miley Cyrus & Robin Thicke's VMA "Blurred Lines" Performance Not A Shock

Miley Cyrus & Robin Thicke's  VMA "Blurred Lines" Performance Not A Shock

Miley Cyrus' performance on the VMA's was gross but not surprising. After listening to every news show rant about Miley Cyrus' performance on the VMA's, let me add a little logic.

1) The performance was screened at rehearsal by MTV. It was no surprise to them. They generated days of free publicity. It generated more post-show talk than Lady Gaga's performance and the N'Sync reunion performance.

2) Miley is a multimillionaire 20 year old with an adult publicist who is "advising" her on how to lose her child-star image and appeal to a high school and college age audience. This was a planned performance built around the lyrics of a hit song about a man who has "blurred lines" when looking at a "good girl" he wants to have sex with.

3) Her performance, while risqué (and unappealing to me), fit the risqué lyrics of Robin Thicke's song. Why be surprised at a girl acting like trash when the lyrics are about just that?

Take a look at the lyrics of this cute tune  -

One thing I ask of you
Let me be the one you back that ass to
Go, from Malibu, to Paris, boo
Yeah, I had a bitch, but she ain't bad as you

So hit me up when you passing through
I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two
Swag on, even when you dress casual
I mean it's almost unbearable

Then, honey you're not there when I'm
With my foresight bitch you pay me by
Nothing like your last guy, he too square for you
He don't smack that ass and pull your hair like that

So I just watch and wait for you to salute
But you didn't pick
Not many women can refuse this pimpin'
I'm a nice guy, but don't get it if you get with me

Shake the vibe, get down, get up
Do it like it hurt, like it hurt
What you don't like work?

I know you want it
I know you want it
I know you want it

But you're a good girl
The way you grab me
Must wanna get nasty
Go ahead, get at me


So - - Miley Cyrus' performance was not something I enjoyed at all (and it grossed me out a little) but I think it served the purpose it was intended to. It fit the risqué lyrics of Robin Thicke's risqué song, it generated free publicity for Thicke and Cyrus as relevant "adult" performers, and it generated free publicity for MTV.

by Steven Skelley 

Steven Skelley is a published coauthor of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, recording artist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Why Do We Celebrate Mothers Day anyway? by Steven Skelley

Why do we celebrate Mothers Day anyway? 
by Steven Skelley

I am one of those people who wonders why we humans do the things we do. Every time I hear a phrase like “Don’t let the cat out of the bag,” or “It’s raining cats and dogs,” I wonder why we say something so crazy. 

I often wonder about why we celebrate certain holidays or why we have the traditions we do within those holidays too. One year, I was hired to create and perform a musical Christmas program. I put my inquisitive nature to work and researched the stories behind all our favorite Christmas songs: who wrote them, when, where, and why. The songs took on much deeper meanings once we all knew the stories behind the songs. 

(photo: Sherill May McWilliams Skelley)

I was recently hired to offer a lecture on Mothers Day Sunday. I had written a song titled Thank You God For Making Moms and I had co-authored a book titled Every Day Is Mothers Day. I could easily talk about both of those but I wanted to go deeper. So, I decided to also share the history, the “why” of Mothers Day. Maybe if we know a little more about how Mothers Day came to be, it will touch our hearts in a new or deeper way. 

This is what I learned… 

In 1819 in New York City, Julia Ward (Cutler) Howe was born. As she grew up, she grew to hate war and the devastation it caused to humanity. Her hatred for slavery was as strong as her hatred for war. 

She married Dr. Samuel Howe and the two of them founded the Perkins Institute for the Blind. 

Julia was a radically outspoken woman for her time. She was also a songwriter. Her most famous composition is The Battle Hymn of the Republic. 

After the success of her song The Battle Hymn of the Republic in 1861, Julia used her influence to issue her Mothers Day Proclamation against war in which she asked that women everywhere rise up and accept their responsibility to positively affect their society. Again, this was radical thinking in a time when women were not even allowed to vote. 

It is thought that Julia’s Mothers Day Proclamation greatly influenced another radical-thinking woman named Anna Jarvis and therefore laid the groundwork for what we call Mothers Day today. 

Ann Jarvis was born in West Virginia in 1864. She claimed to have been greatly influenced by her own mother and by the teachings of Julia Ward Howe. 

Anna’s mother had bore 11 children but had watched 7 of them die. She then turned her grief into the catalyst to do many charitable works. Anna’s mother died in 1905, sparking something within Anna. 

In 1907, Anna had a plan. She held a memorial to her mother and embarked upon a campaign to set aside a specific day each year for families to remember the mothers who had influenced them. Anna’s desire was for a personal, family celebration. 

Anna promoted her idea by sending out over 10,000 letters to newspapers, church leaders, businessmen, and politicians until in 1910 the governor of Virginia made Mothers Day a state holiday and in 1917 President Wilson made it a national holiday. 

Anna was adamant that her idea was for a special personal family day where children honored their own mother so she requested that the apostrophe in Mother’s Day be placed between the r and the s to remind us that this is a personal family celebration. 

Soon, though, the holiday became very commercialized. The apostrophe was moved from between the r and the s and placed after the s making it Mothers’ Day (a day to honor mothers in general). 

Anna came to hate the very holiday she had worked so hard to create. She hated how it had been corrupted by commercialism. It was no longer the personal reflective day she had envisioned. 

Anna Marie Jarvis spent the rest of her life and her entire family inheritance fighting against the holiday she had worked so hard to create. She was actually arrested for disturbing the peace as she protested what her holiday had become. How sad. 

Even though Mothers Day did not turn out the way Jarvis had planned, it still had a positive effect on many including a prominent American spiritual leader named Myrtle Fillmore. 

Myrtle is considered one of the founders of Modern Thought teaching which leads us to think that we ourselves control the circumstances of our lives for good or bad. Her teaching affected thousands in the 19th century, the 20th century and today. She was called the “mother” of Modern Thought. 

Every Mothers Day, Myrtle would go sit silently beside the hundreds of letters sent to her from people all across the country. She would thoughtfully consider her role as a spiritual “mother” to these hearts she had touched in some way as she read each and every letter from them and then she would close her eyes and “radiate” positivity back to those who had wrote to her but also to the mothers who may have been forgotten by their own children. 

I hope this glimpse into the “why” of Mothers Day gives you a little deeper understanding of the holiday and of the people who gave so much of their lives to bring it to us. 

As for me, I was born in Canton, Ohio in 1963 to Sherill May McWilliams Skelley. She taught me the amazing value of hugs and smiles and laughter. Mom’s mom, Virginia Margaret Wheatley McWilliams was her best friend as well as instigator and partner in their many silly and fun adventures. They modeled for me how great family can be. 

I hope my daughter Steffany and I carry on their legacy of love, friendship and shared adventure. 

by Steven Skelley 
www.SunnyHarborPublishing.org 

Steven Skelley is a published coauthor of Every Day Is Mothers Day, several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, recording artist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Seussical: The Musical review by Steven Skelley

Seussical: The Musical
A theater review by Steven  Skelley

With more progress being made each month toward LGBT equality and acceptance, LGBT families are looking for entertainment options. "Seussical: The Musical" is an excellent and empowering production that is a delightful blend of characters we have come to know and love and the important theme that anything is possible if you are true to yourself.

"Seussical: The Musical" by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty debuted on Broadway in 2000 and is based on a mixture of characters and storylines from the iconic books of Dr. Seuss. After its’ Broadway run, "Seussical: The Musical" enjoyed two national tours and a United Kingdom tour. Because of its’ positive theme and familiar characters, it has become a favorite for regional theaters, community theaters and schools.

If you enjoy community theater, you will definitely find yourself smiling often throughout the Emma Parrish Theater/Titusville Playhouse production of "Seussical: The Musical." The team at the Titusville Theater seems to thrive under the energetic and charismatic leadership of General Manager Steven Heron.

The Titusville Playhouse production of "Seussical: The Musical" was the first full-scale musical production directed by Director/Choreographer Michael Biggs, who has an M.F.A. in Musical Theater from the University of Central Florida.

"As for my first full scale production, it was a blast. I had the opportunity to bring the childlike wonder of Dr. Seuss to the stage in a bright, colorful, over-the-top fashion and I felt like I had the support of all 60 actors, designers, and technicians. This team was goal oriented and accomplished all I had imagined and more," Biggs told Edge.

Biggs believes that what made "Seussical: The Musical" really special was the cast. "This show not only has powerful voices, great actors, and talented dancers, but stilt walkers, jugglers, and demonstrations from a third degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do. There is such an incredible variety of people in this production as well ranging from elementary students, high school, college, teachers, and friends of the theatre. I was blessed with an amazing cast, not only for their talents but their personal contributions as well."

The "Seussical: The Musical" storyline follows the adventures of Horton the elephant who discovers a speck of dust where the tiny Whos live. Unfortunately, no one can hear the Whos but Horton.

Sunny Gay, a senior at Titusville High School, s the perfect choice to portray Gertrude. Her vocals are the best of the show.

A separate plotline follows the trials of a young Who named JoJo who lives on the speck of dust. JoJo is constantly berated for "thinking too many thinks." JoJo’s habit of letting his imagination explore all possibilities lands him in trouble with his parents and he is sent off to military school where he is meant to conform to society’s way of thinking and to fight those who do not conform.

Horton’s community does not believe his story that there is a tiny community of Whos living on the speck of dust and sets out to destroy it and put an end to Horton’s foolishness. It is only through JoJo’s discovery of self confidence and the Whos recognition that JoJo’s "thinks" may be their salvation that the Whos are able to make themselves known and avoid destruction.

Even though the plot may seem a tad heavy, there are many Seuss characters and laughs along the way.

Sunny Gay, a senior at Titusville High School, portrays a bird named Gertrude who is in love with Horton and tries endlessly and hilariously to make her feelings known to the clueless elephant.

Sunny Gay is the perfect choice to portray Gertrude. Her vocals are the best of the show. She has a seemingly effortless comedic talent. She is a natural!

Horton the elephant is portrayed by Junior Thespian State Director Rodney Savickis. As a local educator, Savisckis believes "Seussical: The Musical" offers a very important message to society.

"As a theatre educator one teaches the tools of the craft on a daily bases. It is very important to take those tools and sharpen them by performing. Horton is such a great role model. Regardless of how big you are, bullying occurs. But one must stand up for one’s self and well as those who cannot defend or protect themselves. Horton is a real superhero," Savickis told Edge.

"Seussical: The Musical" is a family-friendly production that teaches its’ audience that every person is unique and that uniqueness is an asset not a weakness.

"Seussical: The Musical" runs through March 17 at the Titusville Playhouse, 301 Julia Street, Titusville. For info or tickets call 321-268-3711 or visit http://titusvilleplayhouse.com

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

(This review published in EDGE magazine at http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=theatre_reviews&id=142539)

Willie Nelson & Family Concert Tour by Steven Skelley

Willie Nelson & Family Concert Tour by Steven Skelley

This article originally published in EDGE magazine at http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=music&sc2=reviews&sc3=performance&id=140256

The Willie Nelson and Family concert tour is exactly what you would expect from one of popular music’s iconic artists -- hit after hit that had the audience singing along like old friends around a campfire.

With 10 Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, nine CMA Awards and more than 40 million albums sold in the U.S.A., there is no doubt that Willie Nelson brings a tremendous talent and decades of musical insight to the stage. 

What is surprising is how, at age 79, he can still put on a show that rivals any of the current crop of young guns in the music business today.

When he took the stage at the King Center, Willie looked frail and pale from the flu battle that has caused the cancellation of his previous concert a day before but he hit every note in every song in a pitch-perfect demonstration that younger artists would be wise to emulate.

In addition to a seven piece band that included his son Lukas, Willie’s sister Bobbie Lee accompanied Willie on piano.

Whenever Willie appeared to need a rest, he called on Bobbie to lead an instrumental piece while Willie sipped from a plastic cup that had been placed near his guitar amp.

Willie and his son Lukas joined forces for a bluesy duet of "It’s floodin’ down in Texas" complete with dueling lead guitar solos.

Willie’s son Lukas Nelson wowed the crowd with his own set of songs including a rocking, electric guitar rendition of Neil Young’s "Homegrown" that had the audience cheering and laughing at the ongoing joke about the Nelson family’s world famous appreciation for marijuana usage and decriminalization.

Lukas has his daddy’s voice and rock star good looks. As Lukas played and sang in a voice reminiscent of a young Willie, I overheard a college-age young lady beside me tell her friend, "He is gorgeous! I want to have his baby!"

Willie and Lukas joined forces for a bluesy duet of "It’s Floodin’ Down in Texas" complete with dueling lead guitar solos. There was a fair amount of improvisation from both performers who were obviously feeling the blues vibe of the tune. The song was one of my concert highlights.

For those audience members who love Willie’s music and sang along word for word, he effortlessly segued from one famous hit to the next. He sang "Crazy," "Beer for My Horses," "Mommas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys," "On the Road Again," "Always on My Mind," and for country fans hoping for a trip down memory lane -- a Hank Williams medley launched with "Hey, Good Lookin’."

Willie Nelson may be a country music icon but his music embraces a variety of styles. He has a unique and inimitable way of melding the diverse nuances of country, jazz, folk, rock and blues music into a surprisingly engaging fusion that shouldn’t work but does. It not only works, it is incredible!

For more information about the Willie Nelson and Family 2013 tour, visithttp://willienelson.com/story/willie-nelson-and-family-old-farts-and-jackass-tour-2013.

Willie Nelson and Family appeared on Feb. 1 at the King Center for the Performing Arts at Brevard Community College, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL 32935. For upcoming King Center performance info or tickets, call 321-242-2219 or visit http://www.kingcenter.com.

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Hit & Run movie review by Steven Skelley

Hit & Run movie review by Steven Skelley

What happens when an actor/car enthusiast decides to write and produce a movie and casts his girlfriend and closest friends? Love it or hate it -- Dax Shepard's pet project ”Hit & Run”  is exactly what happens and exactly what you would expect from such a project.

Shepard plays Yul Perkins. He is a former bank robber and getaway driver who testified against his gang and is now hiding out in a small town in the Witness Protection program.

Kristen Bell, Shepard's real-life girlfriend, portrays Annie Bean - - his college professor girlfriend who has been offered her career dream job in Los Angeles where Perkins committed his crimes.

Perkins decides to risk his own life in order to fulfill his girlfriend's career goals. He just needs to get her to Los Angeles in time for her job interview. Luckily, he has kept his hot rod getaway car locked in the garage ever since he entered Witness Protection.

When Annie Bean goes to her ex boyfriend’s house to get the conveniently forgotten teaching certificate she needs for her interview, he notifies Yul Perkins’ former gang members that Perkins is on his way to L.A.

The rest of the film is a never-ending series of car chases.

According to IMDb, Shepard used cars from his own collection in the film and even did his own stunt driving.

There are car chases on country roads, in fields, at an abandoned airport and anywhere else one could be inserted whether there was a compelling reason for one or not.

Dax Shepard’s real-life pal and sexiest man in the world Bradley Cooper portrays Alex the very unsexy, dreadlocked bank robber who is out for revenge and the loot that Perkins hid before he ratted them out to the cops.

Kristen Chenoweth, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Beau Bridges appear briefly in various plot contrivances.

The film cost only $2 million dollars to make and took in about $14 million at the box office making it a fairly successful venture and investment for Dax Shepard.

How believable is “Hit & Run?” Tom Arnold portrays a U.S. Marshall who spends more time accidentally discharging his gun into the public without consequence and searching his smartphone gay sex hookup app than he does anything else. If you can believe Arnold as a U.S. Marshall, the rest of the plot is a piece of cake.

“Hit & Run”

Blu-ray Combo Pack

$19.99

http://www.universalstudiosentertainment.com

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

STOMP theater review by Steven Skelley

The following Steven Skelley review appeared in EDGE magazine at http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=theatre_reviews&id=140258

Stomp
by Steven  Skelley
EDGE Contributor
Sunday Jan 6, 2013

What happens when you combine innovative theater, modern dance, rhythmic music and the eclectic energy of performance art? "STOMP" is what happens, and it is an amazing experience.

"STOMP" is the creation of Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. After working together in the UK as members of the street band Pookiesnackenburger and the theatre group Cliff Hanger in the 1980’s, Cresswell and McNicholas created "STOMP."

It previewed at London’s Bloomsbury Theater and premiered at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. It was an instant hit earning the Guardian Critic Choice Award and the Daily Express Best of the Fringe Award.

"STOMP" soon went on world tour to sold-out venues earning even more accolades and setting attendance records. It even broke a box office record no one had touched since it was set by Frank Sinatra in 1972.

After more than 5000 "STOMP" performances, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas built a $28 million theater specifically for the production.

With HBO specials, IMAX movies, Presidential performances, Royal performances and more awards than they can reasonably list already in their pockets, Cresswell and McNicholas reworked and added new material to "STOMP" in 2008.

They have worked their magic again -- the current production is simply stunning.

"STOMP" takes the audience on a journey through the symbiotic relationship between music and dance. The show opens with one man sweeping the stage floor with a wooden broom. One by one, other cast members sweep their way on stage.

As the audience is introduced to the ensemble, the floor sweeping turns into a multi-player rhythmic symphony. At least four brooms snapped in half during the energetic and increasingly frantic opening number. New brooms were tossed to the performers on stage that didn’t miss a beat.

When this number ends and the audience has been attuned to rhythmic complexity, one of the performers leads the audience in a simple clap-response session. He claps. The audience attempts to mimic his cadence. He varies his rhythm and encourages the audience to follow.

At least four brooms snapped in half during the energetic and increasingly frantic opening number. New brooms were tossed to the performers on stage who didn’t miss a beat.

The mime performance progresses as both the instruments and rhythms become more complex. The audience is exposed to the unique tonal qualities of such familiar items as shopping carts, brooms, dust pans, newspapers, shopping bags, inner tubes, hub caps, trash cans, trash can lids, barrels and cigarette lighters.

The ensemble cast includes Alexandria Bradley, Eric Fay, Andre Fernandez, Cammie Griffin, Mike Hall, Lance Liles, Guy Mandozzi, Andre Meggerson, Nancy Rubio, John Sawicki, Mike Silvia and Carlos Thomas.

Even though the performance is done in mime with no dialogue, each cast member portrays a distinct character different from the others. This uniqueness is highlighted throughout the performance as each one is given a chance to express himself in at least one musical number.

Each performer brings a special talent to the stage. Rubio, Griffin and Bradley are experienced dancers and choreographers. Sawicki is a percussionist who has performed with Tommy Lee, No Doubt and Limp Bizkit. Mandozzi is a trained actor who provides hilarious comic relief to the production.

Just as the odd assortment of objects work together in the music and dance, this diverse cast both works together and lifts each other to a sum that is greater than its individual parts.

In viewing "STOMP," I believe that Cresswell and McNicholas want us to see the overlooked beauty in the everyday life sounds that we usually block out or ignore.

"STOMP" reveals the beauty in the diversity of the human individual. Each solitary human carries a talent, tune and flavor that furthers the whole of humanity. Each singular and often disregarded noise can become part of an amazing symphony.

Throughout the performance, the audience is invited to participate. At the beginning of the show, a cast member teaches rhythm to the audience through a basic clap-response session. As the show progresses, he periodically challenges the audience to more complex cadences. By the end of the show, the newly attuned audience completes a very complex and energetic clap-response session that they never would have been able to accomplish at first. Their ears have become accustomed to complex rhythms. Objects and sounds that may have once just been viewed as noise and irritation are now seen and heard in a new light.

That is what Cresswell and McNicholas want their audiences to experience. They call it the "exploration of rhythm in all things" and the presence of stomp in the "rhythm of life."

"STOMP" may be one of the most engaging, amazing and exhilarating shows you will ever experience.

"STOMP" continues its North American, South American and European tours through 2013. Tour dates and information can be found at http://www.stomponline.com/tickets_tour.php

"STOMP" was performed Jan. 4 and 5 at the King Center for the Performing Arts at Brevard Community College, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL 32935. For info or tickets for upcoming shows, call 321-242-2219 or visit http://www.kingcenter.com

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.