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quirkdotcom · 4 years

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The Arrangement //

Shoto Todoroki x Fem! Reader

Part One: The Mall Incident

Part Two

Summary: Your father is a particularly strong pro hero, and owns his own agency, however, he seemingly has picked an opportunity for you to be the tie between his agency, and pro hero Endeavor's agency.

Authors Note:

One; I'm planning this to be a three part fic, my next update hopefully on Friday May 15th ! Let me know if you'd like to be on this specific taglist, or even a taglist for anything I post !

Two; I wanted to have a little fun in this, so I added in an OC of mine! I made the reader attend an unnamed school, where her friends wouldn't be main characters from MHA, and decided to throw in Maiko (my OC) anyways, I hope you enjoy !

"A student from UA? Is father okay? I thought he hated that school?" You had to stop yourself, had you really heard your mother right?

She sighed heavily, shaking her head slightly, "He does, however, your father is willing to look past the fact as long as everything goes according to plan"

This time, it was your turn to sigh.

This 'plan' was one of you meeting some student, your parents meeting, and at the end of the day, agreeing to a marriage after graduation.

You knew that you really had no choice in the matter, which is why you had never put up a fight about it, but it didn't mean that you were particularly happy about it.

Quietly, you stood up, excusing yourself from the table and your mother, leaving the dainty tea cup where it sat.

"Well, since the meeting with this student will be this weekend, I'm going to go out and buy an outfit for it." You bowed your head slightly before turning and leaving the room.

Now out of sight of your mother, you stretched, stifling a yawn as you made your way to your room, grabbing your phone from your pocket, sending a quick message to your closest friend, asking if she'd accompany you to the mall.

The two of you attended a private academy focused on teaching it's students to not only strengthen their quirks, or accelerate their academics, but also in etiquette and manners. Everything was about being proper and elite.

It was the very same school that your father had transferred to after his time at UA.

You personally didn't quite like it there, at times some students tried to pick on you, or the teachers would reprimand you for even the slightest mistake.

But, just like the marriage arrangement, you had no choice in what school you attended, your father was hellbent on you following his steps, and staying the hell away from UA.

Regardless, you had eventually made some friends, and for the first few years, you scored in the top of your class.

"Oh, (Y/n) while you're out, would you mind picking up a few things for me?" Your mother's voice rang out from behind your door, breaking your train of thoughts.

"Just make me a list, and leave it on the counter!"

It didn't take long for you to change out of your uniform and into something comfier, or for you to grab your messenger style purse, or to find the list from your mother. With your father gone, there were no distractions or unnecessary lectures.

What took the most time was getting to the mall. You could have driven, but it was nice out, the sky was clear of clouds, and there was a light breeze that flowed through the leaves in the trees.

So, you took to walking. Though, when you got to the mall, your best friend was standing with her arms crossed and a bored look on her face.

"(Y/N)! There you are! I've been waiting for hours!" She gave a dramatic sigh as you walked over.

"Calm down Maiko ! " you chuckled, she was almost always over dramatic, something that had drawn you to her in the first place.

She gave you a playful wink, and nodded her head to the doors, starting to walk inside, "Whatever, we both know that I can't calm down," she paused, giving small jazz hands, "I've got constant anxiety"

"Ah, the curse of having a third eye quirk," You followed behind, then moved to the side of her.

"Oh! What's the occasion for today's trip?" Maiko tucked a piece of light brown hair behind her ear, eyeing you as she waited for a response.

You hesitated, she still didn't know about the whole arranged marriage, and it had been about a month since you had found out.

"Oh...my family and I are meeting another family for some business thing, so I needed to get a new outfit in case they have a son or daughter our age, " You spouted off a lie, knowing that she'd fall for it, only because she trusted you.

"Ooooh another potential merger for your dad's hero agency?"

You nodded, pausing as your stomach gave a quiet rumble.

Despite the lunch you were having with your mother earlier, you didn't really eat.

"Hey, let's get something to eat first," You point to the nearest food outlet.

Before you know it, Maiko and you are each tossing fries to the other, both failing to catch most in your mouth, but you are having a good time regardless.

Once out of fries, you and her are left with your milkshakes, hers chocolate, and your's strawberry. Something kind of impulsive as you haven't had one strawberry flavored in a few years.

"Hey, I think we could probably take these with us to go look for an outfit," Maiko picks hers up, already a third of it gone.

With a nod, you stand up, grabbing your shake and bag, waiting for Maiko before heading off to your favorite store.

"Hey what about this?" She held up a pleated, light blue skirt, it would stop just above your knees, and complimented you very well, "It even has real pockets!"

"And I could wear it with this shirt...and maybe the jean jacket we found earlier?" You smiled happily, holding up a plain white t-shirt, a small v neck cut, nothing too extreme but not too plain.

Your friend placed the skirt into your basket, and you followed suit with the shirt. All that was needed now, would be to grab the jean jacket from earlier.

However, as you turned, you ran into a...hard surface and along with you, came your half finished milkshake.

You stumbled back, eyes wide as you realized what had just happened.

"Oh my gosh, I am so-"

But the male cut you off, his voice monotone as he did, "Save it, just move out of the way, I need to clean my shirt,"

You quietly moved to the side, watching as the moody stranger walked away, leaving you and Maiko to recover.

He had red hair...well only half of his hair was red, and the other half was white, leaving you to wonder how much hair dye it had taken to get it to look so perfect.

"Well...I wish I could've helped you see that coming...but uh..I got the jacket?" She smiled sheepishly, causing you to let out a nervous laugh, releasing the tension you didn't know you had.

"Okay, cmon lets go pay!" You turned, still reeling from the encounter with that guy..but hey, at least you wouldn't be seeing him again!

So, with that thought in mind, Maiko and yourself brought your chosen outfit to the front counters, paid and left the store.

"Hey, are you doing anything tonight?" You turned to Maiko after some five minutes, a thought in the back of your mind, nagging at you since you had left the house to meet her.

"I don't think so! Why, is your mom cooking tonight? Anything she makes is always better than your dads...or yours," she poked her tongue out at you.

"Wha?! Hey! Im not that bad of a cook!" You pouted and crossed your arms, turning away from her, "Well I did have something to tell you but now its not happening,"

She immediately moved in front of you, "Wait no! Your cooking is good! Just tell me the news!"

"It'll have to wait for my house, it's kind of big news…"

And with that, the two of you set off for your house, Maiko calling her mom and letting her know where she'd be for the night.

The walk was spent talking about anything and everything, and at one point Maiko tripping and you having to catch her, but hey, that's what friends are for.

As you approached your house, you spotted your fathers car in the driveway, causing you to screw your face up in dread.

Hopefully he didn't have a lecture for you, especially if Maiko was here. You had always hated how he seemed to pick on you whenever your friends were over.

And much to your dismay, when you walked inside he met you with a sour look, "(Y/n), where have you been? Don't forget about this weekend's meeting, not to mention the exams coming up,"

You bit back a response about how the exams were two months away, and instead just nodded your head, busying yourself with slipping your shoes off, "I was buying a new outfit for our meeting. I told mother before I left."

He paused, now eyeing you and Maiko, "And came home with...Fujino was it?"

She nodded, even though she practically lived at your house for a week at a time due to the amount of sleep overs you had, your father had barely bothered to remember her name.

"Im sorry for not telling you ahead of time, Sir." She bowed her head slightly, only really apologizing because she knew that if she didn't, it would come down on you.

"Make your way to (Y/n)'s room, I still need to have a few words with her," he commanded, waiting for her to go up the stairs before he continued.

"And (Y/n), do not forget how important this marriage arrangement is. The Todoroki family is powerful, Endeavor is rising in his ranks as a hero, and his son will follow suit. You have to make sure that you are seen as exemplary, no mistakes can be made. Do you understand?"

You paused, heart hanging heavy, "Yes father…"

Once he let you go, you made your way to the top of the stairs, seeing that Maiko was waiting for you, a worried look in her eyes, "So...a marriage proposal?"

"Welcome to the news I had for you…"

You two moved into your room, the bag of clothes dropped onto the floor, and you climbed onto your bed, grabbing an orange bunny plush, hugging it to your chest.

"Okay so I wanted to tell you about the arrangement but...I dunno, its hard. I'm having my choice taken away from me and for what? So my father and this other hero to have a more powerful agency?"

"(Y/n)...im so sorry that you've been going through this alone. I'm here for you, whatever you need!" She moved to a swinging chair you had, sitting in it carefully as she thought for a moment, "So, you've never met this guy or his family?"

"At most I know his family name. But Im too busy focusing on school work to pay attention to how his father is "So high up the ranks" or whatever. Its like my father thinks that this 'Endeavor' guy is the number two pro hero or something…" You puffed out a breath of air, pursing your lips as you thought quietly.

Maiko stared at you for a few minutes, blinking a few times as she tried to break the news to you.

"Uhh..Endeavor...as in Enji Todoroki?"

You looked up, nodding quietly at her puzzled look.

"(Y/n) he is the number two hero...or wait..if All Might retired a few years back... then number one actually!" She hummed as she herself started to think but eventually shook her head, eyes widening.

Maiko quickly pulled out her phone, typing hurriedly into it and gasping, "(Y/n) wait! His son goes to UA! His son is reportedly one of the Big Three of his class!" She stopped, scrolling, "uh oh…"

At this, you scrambled from your spot to her, pulling the phone from her hand to look at what the cause of this 'uh oh' was.

It was a picture. A picture of Endeavour's son. He had red and white hair, and a glare so deadly it probably would kill someone on sight.

But what got you more was the fact that this was the guy from the mall earlier. You had totally spilled a strawberry shake all over the number one hero's son, and the guy who you would be marrying after graduation.

"This is...this is fucked. Im so screwed! Not only did I embarrass myself but now I've probably made it seem like im a clumsy girl who likes to shop all the time and now this...Todoroki guy is going to tell his father about me and then it'll ruin the arrangement and my father will kill me." You spouted off more worries until Maiko grabbed your shoulders, shaking you lightly.

"Hey! We aren't planning your funeral yet! Maybe we can meet up with him before you have to meet with his dad! I think I know one of the students at UA!"

You looked to her, your breathing returning to normal as you nodded along, maybe that could work after all.

"Okay so, we ask whoever you know to get his number and text him about how it was me who spilled the drink and I wanted to apologize...and that Im also the girl he's meeting this weekend!"

Maiko punched her fist into the palm of her hand, "Okay, lets set this plan into action! I'll text Kirishima!"

You eyed her, realizing that you had never questioned how she knew anyone at UA, "While you do that, mind explaining to me about whoever this Kirishima is?"

She only smiled for a moment, putting her phone down after sending him a message about Todoroki, "Oh! He and I work in the same coffee shop! Not everyone is super rich you know, but he's pretty nice guy, kinda cute too. But, you know how my mom is. Im surprised that she let me be friends with you, I swear, she's scared of anyone!"

You gave a 'Mhhm' to her, knowing full and well that this was the coworker who she tended to talk about but never named, knowing that you'd probably show up to her work to try and get more information. But hey, you'd leave it at that for now.

"Well...I guess that now we wait for Kirishima to hopefully send us Todoroki's number?'

"Now we wait! And with our good luck, by Wednesday we can smoothen out what happened at the mall…"

You nodded once, as much as this plan seemed rickety, you were willing to take the chance. While you hated the idea of a marriage to whoever this young hero may be, you know that if you messed it up, your father would never let you live it down.

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captawesomesauce · 5 years

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Thoughts at 220pm

My blog has devolved into an animal reblog blog...

That sentence has too many blogs in it... but you get what I mean..

I'm never around anymore, I'm rarely on tumblr at all, I don't use any other social media. This year has been a year of great change... some good some bad.

I've struggled at times, I've failed a lot, I've done my best every day.

Health wise, my pain levels are at the worst they've been in a long time because I've avoided the surgeries I need in exchange for focusing on other priorities. Was it a foolish thing to do? Medically... probably... Quality of life... Not at all...

And that's what I want to talk about... quality of life.

Life isn't special, life isn't important... quality of life is. You would not look at a man trapped in a prison cell being tortured day in and day out and smile, pat his hand, and wish him a long life. Yet we do that with people in chronic pain and with chronic illness. Everyone says health is the most important thing, but for those who have poor health, we then change that to hey... at least you're still alive!

But being alive with poor quality of life, it's a hell that cannot be described. It's a torture that is constant.

Thankfully, my quality of life has been improving. School is going well, the EOC project has been kicking my butt and I'm really working hard on my FEMA certs. The wildfires turned everything sideways and I spent a lot of time setting up RAWS units which are weather stations, and working with the Forward Observers to help track the fire, as well as keep everyone safe. I got a 94 on my midterm exam, and while no score has been returned on my essay, she said it was nearly perfect when I spoke to the professor.

The main thing is that I'm staying out of the house. I'm leaving most days before noon and getting home around 3 or 4am. I'm finding ways to stay occupied, stay busy, and exploring so many new things. New student clubs and organizations, new groups, new sports even. I've seen a South African Jazz Concert and the UCLA Philharmonic, I have gone up to the top of parking structures and taken photos of the city at night, I've seen panels and speakers on a variety of topics from science to politics. Tonight I'm going to see a sneak preview of a new Nat Geo documentary!

Also, as some of you know... a very special person has come into my life. A person that reminded me what it was like to feel supported, feel loved, feel respected. A person that is on my same wavelength to the point where time with them isn't a struggle, a fight, but it recharges my soul and is such a huge positive to my quality of life. I miss Mystic so much, not a day goes by that I don't... I went from having a wonderful woman to love and a cat that was my heart and soul... to being alone. Completely alone. For the first time in my adult life, I had no one... nothing. I'll be blunt, I am not meant to be single, I suffer and struggle so much when left to my own devices. But now... now there is an amazing woman who just talking to her, spending time with her, reminds me that life is pretty amazing with the right people in it :) She makes me laugh, she laughs at my bad awful horrible jokes. She is affectionate, she is not stingy with her time or attention, she cares, and she is understanding. Her thoughts, her words, her actions.... everything about her makes me feel like I need to consume it all. We talk about everything and nothing, and yet it feels like hours go by in a blink as I lose all track of time with her. She is cute, she is adorable, she fits so perfectly into my life and I am happy... and she is happy... and we're both happy we found each other. It just feels healthy, it feels natural. More than anything, I feel like i have someone in my life who wants to be there and isn't just using me.

Those last few relationships have left me bruised and battered. Monica hurt me so badly by running away right after I lost my eye sight ... she never really explained, but it was obvious that she just didn't want to be with anyone who was disabled. She made me feel like shit in so many ways by her actions, because I had always been there for her, always given and supported and loved with all I had... and in the end, she was gone. Erin was a shitshow... and ended badly, and I still burn about that. The way I felt so used and manipulated. There were others too, especially Shannon. I still have so much baggage from her bullshit... it took a long time for me to feel comfortable being me again, and not having who and what I am used against me and weaponized.

I'm not perfect, but i know how to be in a happy, healthy relationship. I have done it long term for many many years and Sally taught me so much about giving, loving, and respect ... and when she died, I knew it'd be a long time before I found anyone like that again.... I just didn't realize how shitty other people would be... how they'd use me for my money, use me for my attention, and just try and destroy me as often as they could. The ones who cheated on me, the ones who tried to make me ashamed of who I am .... they're the past, and they left their mark....

But now... now I'm taking my time to just remember what it's like to be in a healthy relationship based on good communication, shared joy, no games, no bullshit, no lies.... no one has to be right, no one has to put down the other... no ego bullshit. It's just two people who enjoy being with each other - good days and bad.... with the shared goal of just loving each other as best as we can, regardless of the circumstances around us.

That... has made my quality of life so much better and I'm very thankful for having that person in my life and in my heart :)

So until this quarter ends, and winter break comes, I'll probably just be posting music and cats for a bit... y'all can still message me 24/7... you know I never sleep, but i might be out and about and busy :)

And that's a-ok! lol

#thoughts #relationships

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sachirou-senpai · 3 years

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hi idk what you're up to, but how are you? have you been doing good? did something you like recently? taking care of yourself?

hi, i'm doing pretty well, thank you for asking. :D

i have a big exam coming up, so i'm a little (lot) worried about getting a good score. oh well, whatever happens will just happen.

i have been studying jazz and listening to bulgarian music... so yes. i've been doing stuff i like. and i recently started dance again since quarantine happened. very nice.

i like to think i take care of myself. school is very stressful, though. so i am definitely struggling a bit with that. i will definitely find a happy medium.

#the most peculiar thing has happened to me though #i don't even know how to explain it #but the guy i currently have a thing for could very easily end up being my stepbrother in the future. what the fuck.#ahhhhhhh #ellie's anons 💌

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trentteti · 6 years

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The Morning Cometh: The June 2018 LSAT Recap

Last night marked the beginning of the 2018-19 LSAT year. The Law School Admission Council, which writes and administers this exam, decided long ago in its infinite wisdom that it would use a June-to-May calendar year instead of the classic Gregorian calendar we use for pretty much everything else. Apparently, the knowledge that many law school candidates plan several months of their years around the test wasn’t enough for LSAC — it wanted the gravitational pull of the LSAT to be great enough to completely rearrange how we all understand linear time.

So it’s a new year, law school hopefuls. And it’s going to be different — LSAC also spent the last year telling us that this 2018-19 Year of Our Lord Kellye Testy would be unlike any year before. The test would be become friendlier to test takers. They announced that for this year and all future years, test takers could take the test as many times as they’d like. There would be a new schedule of six exams this year. Or actually, screw it, seven exams. There were other changes announced too, both minor, logistical changes and slightly less minor changes that could have a big impact on the amount of stress test takers experience.

Look, I know this is a lot of preamble to a post about last nights’ test, but there was a lot of news last year, particularly for a test that hasn’t changed all that much since its 1991 inception. It’s been exciting times for us assigned to cover the LSAT beat, and it had us wondering: would there be changes to the actual LSAT, too? Maybe some minor changes to the exam that would make the test itself slightly more test taker-friendly? Like the return of using two prompts for some Logical Reasoning questions, which would reduce the overall amount of reading in that section? Or maybe some small-but-in-retrospect-head-smackingly-obvious-formatting change, like when they spread each logic game over two pages in 2012?

But, from all reports we’ve heard, there were no such changes to the June 2018 exam. What test takers far and wide were given was a normal, maybe slightly-more-difficult-than-usual exam. Which, in the end, might be the most test taker-friendly move LSAC could make. Just give everyone an exam that’s similar to the last few exam, and there will be, in the parlance of Thom Yorke, no alarms and no surprises.

With all that said, let’s dive in to some of the details about each section of the June 2018 LSAT, to see what test takers were given on this exam.

Logical Reasoning

It’s never easy to get a clear picture of what happened on a Logical Reasoning section. Test takers will get about 51 LR questions, about all kinds of topics that they did not care about before the exam and certainly do not care about after the exam. On a given exam, there are about 18 or 19 different types of questions that they have to juggle throughout the section. Even the most plugged-in Millennial test taker — who has spent a lifetime absorbing an unceasingly onslaught of information online — will have trouble remembering much from these LR sections. Anything we hear about LR beyond “it was kind of a blur” is sort of surprising.

With that caveat out of the way, what did we hear about Logical Reasoning? Apparently, continuing with a trend that began in 2017, there were quite a few Disagree questions. But we live in an age of division and argumentation — and our adversarial legal system involves two parties disagreeing over stuff –so maybe it makes sense that the LSAC wants future lawyers to accurately characterize a point at issue between two speakers.

Other than that, there were a lot of questions on some of the LSAT’s favorite topics: birds, dinosaurs, and washing machines. There was a questions about loons competing over mating spots in ponds, about aggressive song birds, about dinosaurs that glided from tree to tree, about T. Rexes who scavenged for food, and about the elimination of in-house washing machines in hospitals. Scintillating stuff.

From what we’re hearing about the experimental LR section, it seems it ended on a question about Balinese death metal — which, like, I didn’t know I wanted to read an LSAT question about Balinese death metal until today, but now I absolutely need to read an LSAT question about Balinese death metal, except it was in the experimental section, so now I may never get to read a question about Balinese death metal. So thank you as usual, LSAT.

Reading Comprehension

The general consensus, as was the case in both July and September of 2017, was that Reading Comp was the hardest section. But that shouldn’t be surprising. RC has consistently been the most difficult section on the LSAT for years now. If there was anything surprising about this particular exam’s RC section, it was that the comparative passage wasn’t about the law, as has been the case for the last several sections. Instead it was about an Argentine writer with a knack for genre fiction.

The first passage was about global warming and sulfates. It seems like this one was generally manageable, at least for the inevitable science passage. But according to reports it only had five questions, which could have led students investing way too much time into it, not leaving enough time to complete the later passages. Which would have been a total man-made disaster of epic proportions on your exam … that around half of the population would dismiss as not a big deal. The second passage was about police interviewing techniques, which seemed to advocate for the use of cognitive interviews, a technique also advocated for by the police procedurals like Criminal Minds. The third passage was the dreaded comparative passage about Jorge Luis Borges and genre fiction. Apparently, this on involved a lot of complicated, twisted, and knotty theorizing on literary genres … befitting a writer who elucidated on a labyrinth or two in his day. The final passage was about raw food and our biological evolution. Which was also tough for many test takers. But that just tells me they don’t have anyone in their lives who went Paleo, since this is a familiar argument among that sect of dieters.

On the experimental side, it sounds like topics ranged from Latin American jazz to more intellectual property (both the February 2018 and December 2017 exams had passages about IP) to tectonic plates to voice recognition in court cases.

Logic Games

Like most recent exams, this Logic Games section had three fairly straightforward games and one tough game. And, also like most recent exams, this section put that tough game last. And, as on all the exams in the last LSAT year, there weren’t any crazy curveballs, like the trade buildings game from December 2016 or the computer virus game from September 2016.

So the first game was a basic 1 to 1 ordering game about flower deliveries. The second involved four architects completing four projects, which by most accounts was a tiered ordering game. The third involved nominees for four office positions, which sounds like a stable grouping game with an out group, or just a normal in and out game.

The last game involved whether certain companies would receive five- or ten-year bonds. This sounds like a straightforward grouping game, but test takers described the deductions as challenging and the name of the players as being overly convoluted and distracting.

The hardest game, according to most reports, was a game in the experimental section about breweries. So hopefully, if you got the Logic Games section as your experimental, this didn’t ruin your preferred post-exam elixir.

Take-aways

So in all, the [extreme air quotes] “new year” didn’t bring any major changes to the LSAT. With the general feedback I’m hearing from this exam, I would expect the curve to be roughly similar to the December 2017 exam, which also had a ton of Disagree questions, a couple tricky passages, and one very difficult game. On that exam, you could miss 12 questions and still earn a 170, or you could miss 29 questions and earn a 160.

What to do now? If you’ve read all this and still feel like it went poorly, you may be considering whether to cancel your score. You have a few days before you have to make that decision. Before electing to cancel your score without seeing it, try watching this video.

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The LSAC’s official cancelation policy can be read here. According to LSAC, you have until 11:59 pm EDT on the sixth day after the exam to cancel using your LSAC account. Translating that into intelligible English for your poor, fried brain, you have until Sunday at 11:59 pm Eastern to cancel. Take the next few days to think it through. Sleep on it. Consider whether a section that went poorly was an experimental section.

A couple things to consider about cancelation, though: First, nearly every law school will simply use your highest LSAT when constructing your academic index, or whatever calculation it uses to assess you as an applicant. Although schools will be able to see every score you register on the LSAT, the vast majority of schools won’t hold having multiple LSAT scores against you to any significant extent. For most test takers then, it makes the most sense to roll the dice, elect to receive their score, and see if they’re satisfied with it. Even if they aren’t happy with their scores, they’ll at least be able to see what went wrong on the test, and can use that to help guide their review for the next exam.

Second, LSAC announced last week a new policy that will apply to June test takers who sign up for the July LSAT. If you took the June test but also signed up for the July test, LSAC will give you a full refund of the July registration fee if you decide you don’t need to take July test after receiving your June score. You just need to email LSAC by July 6 to secure that full refund. Scores are due out on June 29, so you’ll have a week to make this decision. However, if you cancel your June score, you won’t be eligible for this refund. We’ll have more on this new policy later today.

So, if you’re happy with how it went, we hope you are basking in the post-LSAT glow of a rapidly approaching summer. If you weren’t happy with how it went, there’s always next time, starting with the July 23 exam. You have until this Wednesday, June 13 to sign up.

The Morning Cometh: The June 2018 LSAT Recap was originally published on LSAT Blog

#june lsat #LSAT #morning cometh #trent teti #lsat

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supereee27055-blog · 6 years

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A Musical Web!

Cool (West Side Story)

This song is so much more than the audio recording. It has to be viewed as a full performance with the musical's actors and dancers otherwise you will never appreciate it the way Leonard Bernstein intended for you to, I'm positive. The full scale choreography with that goes along with the lyrics and melody is so impressive. The way each of the dancers move mirroring one another is so in sync. You can really feel the movement of the rhythm and the musical notes in their steps, and watch their bodies reflect each instrument played in the song. I loved reading that West Side Story is one of the only musicals to be directed by a choreographer. That fact is very evident in this performance in particular.

I can absolutely hear the Latin, jazz, classical, and rock influences in this song. I especially loved the jazz aspects. The orchestra in the background gets louder and more dramatic as the song progresses, which makes for a much more exciting dance performance and song. The strings and the saxophone are my favorite aspects of the score. They bring so much life and drama to this ensemble. I also love that the characters are snapping their fingers throughout the song. It adds another instrument all together because the combined sound of their snaps creates a light beat for the rest of the orchestra to follow. It is so exciting to listen to the back and forth between the soft snaps without and other background music, to the full scale orchestra. This was one of my favorite listening logs to do!

Maple Leaf Rag by: Scott Joplin

This song is so light and lovely to listen to over and over. I realized after listening to it again today, that one of the reasons I am so drawn to this piece is because I used to learn and play a lot of Joplin’s music on the piano when I was younger. I learned how to play "The Entertainer” early on as a kid, long before this class, and long before I understood who Scott Joplin was and why he was so significant.

The piano in “Maple Leaf Rag”sounds so upbeat and exciting throughout the song. This is not only one of my favorites, but it is one of the first and most influential ragtime hits. Scott Joplin gained tremendous success for this song and you can tell why by listening to it. The melody is catchy and makes you want to dance or move around, and never stop. The quick-paced rhythm is is a classic example of typical ragtime patterns. The syncopation of the melody on the right hand, higher notes, compliment the left handed steady playing of the lower notes very well. It grounds the composition of the song, and is one of the things that makes ragtime so satisfying to listen to. It’s crazy to imagine that this style of music was once a national craze, without any lyrics!

The Murder (Psycho)

This song makes me cringe every time I hear it. I appreciate it more now that I know that those high pitched screeching noises are coming from a violin, and played by a man who was classically trained at New York University and Juliard. However, I can't listen to it more than a few times because it makes me so uncomfortable. Even re-listening to it now for this final exam post, I couldn't hear it more than once!

I could completely see this being a shocking piece to have had composed during the time period it was released because it is still shocking to listen to to this day. I have never seen Psycho to it's full extent, but this scene is extremely famous so of course everybody knows this song and the images of black and white blood spiraling down the shower drain. The many layers of the strings in this song are helpful in adding to the anticipation. I like the lower sounding bass level strings the most, but that is probably because they provide relief to my ears after hearing the opening! You can tell as this song progresses that something violent or extreme is happening in the beginning, and as the song slows and hits lower notes, whatever it was has ended. The lower notes being played are less aggressive and come off as more sad and accepting of defeat. This is without a doubt a classic piece that isn't necessarily something that should be performed on a stage, but is perfect for the cinema, and perfect for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

The Imperial March (Star Wars) by: John Williams

I think most of us have heard the Imperial March in some context atleast once in our lives. This is an iconic score that creates the perfect amount of thrill and anticipation. With it's slow build ups in the strings and the quiet flutes (my favorite part), leading into the strong and powerful brass section that carries the famous melody we all know, this song could create a cinematic masterpiece through sound alone.

I think the drum section (and symbols especially) compliment the melody perfectly. It creates the marching sound of an army, which Darth Vador (the central character this was created for) leads in the Star Wars films. As the song progresses, it gets more complex, with more variation in the way that the chorus is played, adding more instruments and more build up. However, for the most part this song repeats the same melody over and over again. That isn't a problem because the melody is so powerful, but I like that the song as a whole differentiates each repetition of that melody. I would love to see this performed by a live orchestra! I've only ever seen it played in the background of the movies, and that is amazing, but I think that this song is fantastic and would be so exciting to see performed by a team of extraordinarily talented musicians live! In my opinion, John Williams is a musical genius.

Rhapsody in Blue by: George Gershwin

This is one of my all time favorite classical pieces to listen to. As a child I watched Fantasia 2000 every road trip my family ever went on. I think that Rhapsody in Blue will always remind me of the big city because of the way Disney illustrated this classic piece. Its interesting to then read about Gershwin being inspired by the 'steely rhythms' of the train, and of the 'vast melting pot' of America at the time he was composing this.

One of my favorite things about this song is how different it is at so many parts. Its long, and that allows for so much variation between sections of the orchestra. I love the piano solos, which I now know are played by Gershwin himself, and the fact that each instrument seems to take a turn showing off what it can bring to the table. I also love that the rhythm of this piece flips back and forth between fast paced and slower. While the sound gets slower, it sometimes gets softer too, and I imagine someone crouching down and hiding. Just when it gets to the quietest moments, BANG! The brass section blares and you are startled back into reality. Its pretty obvious that this is a full orchestra telling a story through music. The song is so dynamic and beautiful, it will always be exciting to listen too.

A musical web definitely connects many genres and pieces of music we have studied over the course of this semester. Music is very fluid, and no new piece of music can ever be created (especially today) without having slight influences from performances before it. As many genres of music are being developed, they are continuously evolving from variations of other styles before their time. One of my favorite things about music (that I think is important to mention now) is that there are thousands of different sub categories and styles within larger genres. So many musicians are so unique in their sound, it’s hard to peg any one artist with an umbrella genre, especially today.

Looking back, I think Rhapsody in Blue could easily connect within the musical web with Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag, and many of his other ragtime pieces. Of course the two are similar because of they feature the piano, but I think their similarities truly lie within the light heartedness of the way they are played. Rhapsody in blue has a very long, up and down, story telling-like way of piano playing. However, at many points during this song the piano is used to create an exciting and up beat moment that has a similar overall sound to Joplin’s happy ragtime. Another artist I could connect would be Blind Lemon Jefferson’s Prison Cell Blues and Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”. Country and Blues are another example of genres that have evolved a great deal over the years and had significant influences on one another. Early country, like with Hank Williams’ style can be a lot slower and more emotional like Blues typically is. Both of these performances include slow rhythms with the strumming of the guitar, and an equally as slow singing style. The lyrics from each song also pull from stories of personal struggles with each of the artists.

There are so many examples of connections within the musical web. With my featured Listening Logs, you can hear the same style of jazzy brass in West Side Story’s Cool, in many swanky and exciting parts of Rhapsody in Blue. You can easily compare John William’s genius way of scoring Star Wars, always to fitting perfectly with the mood of the plot and character(s), to Bernard Herrmann’s thrilling and terrifying mood of his strings that was a perfect match for it’s scene in Pyscho. I think music styles and artists will always have connections with one another when you break it down to the individual song level. That’s one of the many things that makes music so great! I have learned a lot of lessons from this class during this semester, and that is definitely one of them. Many of the things I’ve learned will probably stick with me forever, but I can’t thank you enough for reminding me to slow down and try to understand and appreciate a song in every possible way.

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zillowcondo · 7 years

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This & That: May 5, 2017

Beauty

—Bastide

Fréderic Fekkai, the man known for taking care of our tresses, has stepped into the beauty business with his wife Shirin, taking the reins of a 25-year old treasure in Aix-en-Provence, the Bastide beauty business. Bastide is the beauty brand somewhat similar to L’Occitane offering luxuriously simple beauty products each created from the gifts of the south of France region of Provence. You may remember his family’s home being featured in this post, and it was upon their relocation and remodeling of the family estate that the couple decided to invest even further with the rejuvenation of Bastide. Be sure to peruse all of the offerings from lotions, body washes, bath crystals, candles and more. Available at reasonable prices and perfect for a Mother’s Day gift if you are still on the hunt.

Books

—The H Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness by Jill Filipovic

Released this past Tuesday, I was introduced to Jill Filipovic’s new book upon reading her op-ed in the newspaper this past week (see below). Contemplating the realization that it was surprising only until recently in the late twentieth century that women were openly able, as a large majority, to pursue what truly made them happy and not have to out of necessity, or out of guilt or pressure from society take on jobs and responsibilities that were merely to make ends meet. The article is worth reading to get a taste of what the book dives far deeper into. The takeaway initially for me was how fortunate I feel for having the opportunity to not adhere to rigid societal or familial restraints due to the support of laws and freedoms I have been afforded. In so knowing, it has also reaffirmed and reminded me to not rest on my laurels and assume such abilities and protections will always be granted. In other words, I was reminded to remain active, informed and to use my voice.

—The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Life by Lynne Twist

If you’re looking for a stronger and healthier relationship with money, no matter how much you do or don’t have, perhaps The Soul of Money is just the book for you. The author Lynne Twist was recently on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday (have a look at a clip below), and going beyond balancing the budget, she reveals how we can thrive rather than feel as though we are just surviving when it comes to our relationship with money. Have a look.

—The Weekend Effect: The Life Changing Benefits of Taking Time Off and Challenging the Cult of Overwork by Katrina Onstad

Released just this past week, discover the importance of cutting off from work regularly and protecting your weekends. With time and research into companies, countries and people who resolutely protect the weekly 48 hours in order to cultivate joy, contentment, pleasure and purpose in their life, as if we needed an excuse, this book is further evidence it is absolutely necessary to strike the healthy balance between work and living well.

Music

—Diana Krall’s Turn Up The Quiet

As mentioned in this week’s Petit Plaisir on the podcast, Diana Krall’s latest album is released today. Returning to her jazz roots, Krall covers the classics like only she can with her sultry, melodic voice and talent on the piano. Her tour is kicking on this June, first throughout the states and then heading to Europe. Have a look at the dates here.

Television

—Great News

Tina Fey’s creativity has returned to NBC. The new comedy series Great News premiered on April 25th and airs Tuesday nights at 9pm. Created by Tracey Wigfield who wrote for 30 Rock and Kimmy Schmidt, and produced by Tina Fey, critics are quite pleased with the comedic chops of the cast. Centered around a news producer (Briga Heelan) who hires her mother (Andrea Martin from My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame and much more) as an intern at the station, the comedy flows from what one can only assume would be an awkward, hysterical situation. Have a look at the trailer below and read more about the series here.

~how to build a crostini station to make your mouth water~

As I type, my eyes are about to wig out as this past week is the annual week of extensive grading as my students gear up for their AP exam. However, as the students have worked tirelessly the entire year, their effort is the motivation to power through scoring their end of the year final assessment. Needless to say, I am exhausted, mentally so, which is why on Wednesday with the temperatures reaching ideal numbers (seventies), I made the short trip to the river with my paddle board and went for an escape for the mind on the water. It was lovely. And as hoped, the beauty of the outdoors was the precise fuel for finishing yesterday’s final bunch of papers. Which means the arrival of this first weekend of May is sweet.

I do hope your first work week in May went well. Below are a more than few articles I think you will enjoy: some food-related, some political, some regarding current news in the publishing world and just some worthwhile thought-provoking reads to live your best life. Until Monday, bonne journée!

~Looking for a classic scone recipe for the weekend . . . wait for it . . . from Mark Bittman? Check this one out.

~Or maybe you’re in the mood for Restaurant-Worthy French Toast

~So the relationships we have with our smart phones: Most of us know we need to reduce our time, but how??? Read this article – Phones We Love To Much

~Yep, it’s happening! GOOP will soon be a quarterly magazine as Gwyneth and Anna (Wintour) are teaming up. Stay tuned!

~More inspiration to meditate daily, even if for 5-10 minutes. Discover what this yogi found out after just a week of daily mediation practice.

~An interesting read to understand the media bubble and how it came to be. Awareness is key.

~From now on, I am only buying organic strawberries. 11 Things to Always Buy Organic

~10 Mistakes Smart People Never Make Twice . . . we all want to be the smart people!

This & That: May 5, 2017 published first on http://ift.tt/2pewpEF

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mtwy · 7 years

Photo

Record

UK March 1985

Maybe She’s Good - 10 Theories on How Madonna ‘Got It’

By Laura Fissinger

Usually it takes a while for a pop star to earn heavyweight hatred from a significant percentage of the press and public. But like everything else in her (very) young career, fear and loathing have come quickly indeed to singer/ writer/ dancer/ hot number Madonna. Loathe her or love her, it’s interesting to try and figure this one out. Theories abound, including a few from the lady herself.

I. Phyllis and Bob Theory As Madonna puts it, “I seem to be the girl they hate to love.” No kidding. Private citizens tap their feet to “Lucky Star” or “Holiday” while wondering aloud if anything short of exorcism will get her off their radios and MTVs. The press file reads like she’s a ghoulish maidservant of notorious anti-libber Phyllis Schlafly and notorious Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione, sucking all the feminism and IQ points from the fragile neck of popular culture. Fans and foes alike seem to agree that she’s an ’80s incarnation of the “It” girl – blessed/cursed with a charisma that makes skin goosebump as well as crawl, something beyond her prettiness or infamous tummy. It makes her videos, records and (soon) movies impossible to dismiss. It’s there in person, too. She comes down a corporate hallway in a big black jacket and modest red-knit dress, looking like the video Madonna sans the bare belly and excess Catholic iconography. There is absolutely nothing solicitous in her manner of greeting, nothing straining to charm, nothing yanking at you for approval. Her handshake (a tiny red glove conceals the hand) is firm, and brief. Even so, the force is with her; it swallows her little frame as she walks toward a vast conference room like a sixth grader going to a hard math exam. Undoubtedly, her mind is elsewhere. Just this week, “Like A Virgin” has gone to Number One on the pop charts, and its namesake LP to Number Three, only five weeks after release. Her first LP took almost a year to happen, but once it did it sold two million-plus copies. It’s not quite finished yet, either. Nor is the fallout, which so far includes the four hit singles, three videos, one starring film role and one small part in a movie for which she sang three tunes. Oh yeah, and the lousy reputation. Part of that reputation says that Madonna is simply not a nice person, but superb at appearing so when someone‘s approval could be useful. On this particular day, anyway, she is kind of bristly. A little sharp-tongued and self-satisfied. But she makes no effort to hide any of the warts. More than a few rock stars are downright oily and self-protective when they need nice press. Madonna answers questions straight out, is only pretty nice most of the session, and leaves the warts right out there. If she’s such a master at showbiz politics, where’s the politicking? Where’s the manipulation? II. The Wedding Dress Theory Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Detroit on August 16, 1958. Veronica is her Catholic confirmation name, chosen because St. Veronica “wiped the face of Jesus and then carried around the cloth with his blood and sweat on it — it was so passionate and weird.” The French-Italian family had five boys and three girls who lost their mother when her namesake, Madonna, was six, Madonna didn’t much like the stepmother that appeared two years later; no doubt the woman felt it. Even in grade school, Madonna apparently had extraordinary intensity; it both scared and fascinated her. “I felt overwhelmed by it at points in my life. People didn’t understand me, especially when I was young; I’d realize I’d just alienated someone and scared them away, a boy or a friend or whoever. I handled it in a number of ways — either I’d get more arrogant and say ‘I don’t need you, I don’t care if you understand or I’d get upset and cry. You can get hurt by it, or you can give them the finger. But it still hurts.” She learned to be defensive then, and still practices, frequently, “It’s easy for me to come out and say stuff. I think I was naturally a verbal and defensive kind of person, but I think I really developed that aspect of my personality growing up in my family, not feeling happy, feeling like I had to defend myself and make a statement, you know? It’s about insecurity? There are mementos of that time. “Just the other day I found a photograph of me dressed in my mother’s wedding gown when I was five years old. It was very strange.” III. The Barbie Doll Dishwashing Theory “Oh yeah, I played with my Barbie dolls all the time — I definitely lived out my fantasies with them.” Madonna lets loose a naughty chuckle. “I dressed them up in sarongs and mini-skirts and stuff. They were sexy, having sex all the time. I rubbed her and Ken together a lot. And they were bitchy, man, Barbie was mean.” She hoots. “Barbie would say to Ken, ‘I’m not gonna stay home and do the dishes. You stay home! I’m going out tonight, I’m going bowling, okay, so forget it!’ You know? She was going to be sexy, but she was going to be tough” A quote from a recent story is brought up in which Madonna had claimed sexual awakening at age five. “Made it sound like I masturbated all the time, didn’t it?” she says with a raised eyebrow. “I really do remember from when I was very, very young, being really attracted to men, and being real flirtatious. The power of my femininity and charm, I remember it was just something I had, that I’d been given, you know what I mean? From the age of five I remember being able to affect people that way. I felt something but I didn’t know what to do with it. I was just very aware of it.” IV. The Boyfriend Theory In the teenage years, two things were pure pleasure — dance and music. Madonna studied ballet as much as her father and her legs would allow. As for the music, it was on her radio, and the more radio-perfect, the better. “My favorites when I was little were Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, the Motown sound. But then I really like ’60s pop songs too — “The Letter” by the Boxtops, “Sugar Sugar” by the Archies, Gary Puckett, Bob by Sherman, “Happy Together” by the Turtles. I loved all those innocent little pop songs. No hard rock, no heavy metal, no jazz. Pop and soul were it.” Dance won her a four-year free ride at the University of Michigan, but the prognosis for toe-shoe stardom was lousy. As would be the ease for years to come, Madonna saw no reason to follow rules, and that rubbed the rulemakers the wrong way. After one school year, she moved to New York City. Hometown friend Steve Bray had started her on drums and singing and a little songwriting. It didn’t take long in New York before dance stepped aside to make more room for music. The next teacher/companion was Dan Gilroy of Queens, whose adoration of the Beatles and their melodies shaped Madonna’s sense of how to construct a song; Gilroy also had the instruments and the patience to start her with the C chords. Madonna left for a frustrating European tour singing and dancing behind a disco singer, then came back to spend a valuable year in the Gilroy brother’s band and home. Eventually she wanted things in the band her own way, although that way wasn’t entirely clear yet. Manhattan and new compatriots beckorted. Bray came out to work with her through two rock ‘n’ roll bands. They didn’t turn out to be the way either. “I didn’t want to go in a rock vein, and that’s what created the schism between my manager of that time period and myself. I was really being influenced by the urban radio stuff that was starting to be everywhere, on the streets and in the clubs. I love to dance in clubs, and I love all the music they play. It made me really want to dance, it was so soulful. I thought, why can’t I do that? I wanted to make music that I would want to dance to when I was out at the clubs.” Logically, New York nightclubs is where she went next. It came down to peddling R&B demo tapes done by her and Bray, at the places where the songs’ magic would get their roughest test. If the songs made people dance in New York’s hippest hothouses, that would be the sign that her way, finally, was the right way. DJ boyfriend Mark Kamins remixed one tape and then took it to Sire, where a deal was made. But neither Bray nor Kamins got to produce the first album, a job they each felt had been promised, and earned. Instead, Madonna was done by veteran R&B producer Reggie Lucas (Stephanie Mills, Phyllis Hyman). Madonna knows it didn’t seem right. She also knows what else it seemed like. She looks the reporter straight in the eye: “If anybody wants to know, I never f*cked anyone to get anywhere. Never.” V. The Trickle-Down Theory Stories about Madonna’s method of career advancement started to circulate shortly after the debut LP came to life on the pop charts. How did this woman with no band or playing credits on her record and no known credibility connections score such a surprise hit? Awfully, uh, juicy looking, isn’t she’? “Some of the things people say are so ridiculous, it’s not even worth defending yourself. The guy who wrote one recent long story, – he got his facts right, all my boyfriends’ names right and how they helped my career, but he wrote the article from just one corner of the room. He just talked about what he saw from that one corner.” She speaks with a tiny shade of sadness, but no rancor. “Yes, all my boyfriends turned out to be very helpful to my career, but that’s not the only reason I stayed with them. I loved them very much.” A pause, then a smile and a shrug. “I’m not Alexis from Dynasty. And going around in corsets is not all I am either. People hone in on what they want to hone in on. They rarely go for the sum total of someone’s personality.” Madonna is not the only one who got helped. Gilroy’s debut with his band, Breakfast Club, is due soon. Kamins is collecting royalties from Madonna and working on new projects. Bray is working with the Breakfast Club; he also had four cowriting credits on Like A Virgin. And Lucas, who lost his slot to Nile Rodgers on LP #2, is reportedly busier than ever. VI. The Bathroom Theory “Reggie was about one thing,” explains Madonna. “He did R&B. He’s a good producer, very open and sensitive. But Nile has worked with so many kinds of musicians, and every record he’s made is a great one as far as I’m concerned. He has the pop thing in him really strong, and he’s done great dance stuff with Chic and Sister Sledge and all those others, and he’s worked with a lot of female vocalists like Diana Ross. I identified with him, too. He’s a real street person, and we hung out at the same clubs. Even before I started to interview producers I thought he was the one I wanted for the second record.” Rodgers is getting to be a popular interview these days for people writing about Madonna. The implication is, of course, that Rodgers is legit, see, and if he likes Madonna without being her boyfriend, then maybe she’s not a total bimbo. Rodgers is affable and willing to talk, even with a mean head cold and a long airplane trip only a few hours away. “Someone like Iggy Pop can get out there and be super-sexual and wild and that’s great. But Madonna is a woman, so they say she’s sleazy? Madonna is blatantly sexual and sensual, but not sleazy, not even a little bit. In my opinion, she’s an excellent natural singer, a natural musician, a serious artist. It would be real nice if some ostensibly smart people who know about music would get past the image and get into the music. I’m hoping she can just ride out all the crap people are saying about her. I think a lot of the real nasty stuff is coming from men. And all that arrogance bit — she sticks to her guns, that’s all. It’s that attitude that comes from growing up in a huge family, you know, always having to fight and yell for things like time in the bathroom.” VII. The Chauffeur’s Friend’s Theory “I was making this movie, Desperately Seeking Suson. One of the drivers that took me to the set every day was this kid, and one day he said to me, ‘I have this bet going with my friend, he told me that all the music you do was done by someone else and they picked the songs and did it all, and all they needed was a girl singer and you auditioned and they picked you. And Madonna isn’t your real name and all of it is fabricated.‘ And I said, ‘WHAAAAATT?? Are you out of your mind??!’ But that’s what his friend told him, and it suddenly hit me that that’s probably what a lot of people think. It hit me.” VIII. The Phyllis and Bob Theory, Part II Here’s the catch for the modern girl: you can be self-determining. You now have the right. You should be self-determining, you must. But. If your self determines that it wants to be smart and sexpot at the same time? You got the power to choose, honey, but you chose wrong, “I thought the Gina Schock quote was pretty funny,” grins Madonna, referring to Schock recent statement to the effect that Madonna makes it hard for people to take women seriously but that Schock loved the record in spite of it. “I think people want to see me as a little tart bimbo who sells records because I’m cute and record companies push ’em because they know they can make a quick buck on my image.” Madonna gives another eyeball to eyeball look. “People don’t want to like me. And that’s because you’re not supposed to be flirty unless you’re an airhead. And they say I do all this stuff to my appearance and look the way I do because I want to please men.” The blue eyes roll toward the ceiling. “I’m doing it because I like it. If I don’t like it, no one’s going to. I do it because it turns me on.” Any female role models or heroes? She sighs. “Carole Lombard. She’s my all-time idol. I love her so much. She’s real sentimental and vulnerable, and funny, and sometimes she’s real bitchy and tough, too. She’s it.” IX. The Sheet Theory You gotta pay if you wanna play, says the firm set of her mouth. “I try to have a thick skin, but every once in a while I read something that someone says about me and it’s so slanderous and moralistic, and it has nothing to do with my music. There was this one review that said things about me that boys said to me in the seventh grade.” For instance? “For instance – ‘slut.’ Yep, they called me that in this review. And ‘cheap coquette,’ a girl who made her way into lots of back seats in the drive-in theater, the kind of girl that made your father slip you a Trojan and pat you on the back and say, ‘Have a good time, don’t stay out too late.'” Her eyes focus across the room as if she’s watching a movie. “I remember guys saying that sort of stuff to me when I was really young. I thought suddenly that the whole experience was repeating itself all over again. Those boys didn’t understand me, and they didn’t like me because I wasn’t stupid, and I was blunt and opinionated, but I was a flirt at the same time. They took my aggressiveness as a come-on. They didn’t get it. And they didn’t get it, if you know what I mean, so I guess they had to say things because they knew that was the only way they could hurt me. That review felt like junior high all over again. And check this out! This reviewer also said that every guy across the country is stroking himself under his sheets thinking about me.” Madonna’s face creases in mischief. “Maybe he’s doing it himself and he feels guilty. Or maybe he asked me out on a date five years ago and I snubbed him.” It’s not out of the question. X. The Time Theory Madonna has to vamoose in 15 minutes, cover story and unanswered questions notwithstanding. This week preceding a needed vacation is crammed with band auditions for the boys who will go on the “Virgin Tour.” The trek will start around March and cover the States as well as Europe. Before and after and probably even during the tour there are TV tapings, fashion layouts, photo sessions, videos, commercials, movie scripts to consider and on and on. And then, “I’ll check into Bellevue, or maybe the Betty Ford Clinic, huh?” Any positive press along the way will be nice, of course, but serious reputation repair can only come if she keeps going, going, going. And she knows it. “The fact of the matter is that you can use your beauty and use your charm and be flirtatious, and you can get people interested in you. Maybe at the start they’re only interested in your beauty. But you cannot maintain that. In the end, talent is the only thing. My work is the only thing that’s going to change any minds. The videos, the records, the movies are the things that will eventually make them think that I’m more than just a girl with a pretty face who’s had some pop hits. It’s just going to take some time.”

Photo Credits: Deborah Feingold, Laura Levine

#1985 #thevirginera #magazines

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