a hip-hop singing in the rain: gene kelly pops & locks

so much for my weekend plans. i was iced in, drinking hot tea as sleet pelted my window. the ground was too glazed over to go tubing at wintergreen, or to meet a friend for drinks at the jabberwocky. but i made a delicious pea soup from scratch! the recipe can be adapted to please anyone b/c it can be made vegan, vegetarian, or w/ ham (i might post it sometime). this soup is perfect for winter. but wouldn't it have been nice to get an ice storm tonight instead? our monthly monday morning staff meetings are more painful to sit through than a root canal (though i wouldn't know about the latter first-hand, thankfully). meetings are such a time drain. maybe the streets will still be too slick to go to work early tomorrow, but eh�don't count it. kids better do their homework tonight for sure, b/c a snow day ain't happenin' here.

isn't singing in the rain one of the best movies ever? my mom used to sing to me when i was a baby, and one of the tunes i can recall hearing as a toddler was "singing in the rain". i don't even know how old i was, but i definitely recognized that song long before i ever saw the movie! well, have you seen or heard about the new Volkswagen golf commercial? it supposedly debuted last week. i'm not sure if it's out in the u. s. or canada yet, or if it's only in the u. k., but in the ad, a computer generated image of gene kelly breakdances through his "singing in the rain" movie number. some people are reportedly horrified that this vw ad essentially destroys a classic movie. now, i took a peek at the video and i must say, it did amuse me�even if the dancer's body and footwork was too eerily reminiscent of Michael Jackson's "thriller" moves. according to an article in the UK Guardian:

�(the Volkswagen GTI ad) was a result of months of negotiations with gene kelly's family, the movie rights owners, and record label EMI. it re-masters the scene using masks, wigs, and digital techniques to impose kelly's face on the dancers. the idea of doing this wasn't disrespectful. if he were around, it is the kind of thing that he would do. he was very innovative.(according to a London ad agency).

so, go see the hip hop gene kelly vw ad here & judge for yourself. (5MB Quicktime format).