greatest of ease...

[saturn]

There's so much to talk about!

• Big first! The So You Think You Can Dance tour was incredible. They're so all amazing but Danny is still the most beautiful, effortless dancer I've ever seen. They performed all of my favorite routines including the Viennese Waltz which actually moved me to tears. It was a perfect 2 1/2 hours.
  
  
  
  You and me (Viennese Waltz) - This is my favorite dance of the season. I never expected to be so swept away by ballroom but Danny and Anya blew me away.
  
  
  
  
  Hip Hip Chin Chin (Samba) - At my tour show, Anya filled in for Lacy in the samba. She's not as sexy as Lacy but she does the footwork better and Danny is still the sexiest thing on two dancing legs.
  
  
  
  
  Also, Danny's tour solo and, for fun, Lauren and Neil's jazz routine choreographed by Wade Robson.
  
  
  
• I saw American Gangster yesterday afternoon and loved it. Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is Jewish and my grandmother was wondering whether they'd address it in the film. I didn't how (or why) they would but Roberts wears a Star of David throughout the film. I don't know if most viewers noticed it but I did and I thought it was a nice touch. It acknowledged his religion without forcing it into the script and also made it clear that Judaism means something to Roberts.
  
  
• A one sentence review of SGA 'Tabula Rasa': I loved the episode but I don't see the chemistry between Rodney/Katie at all.
  
  
• I'm not sure what it is about seasons but I tend to slack off over the summer and hit the gym hard as soon as the temperature drops. October after October the pattern is the same. At this point, I should probably just accept it. Anyway, one of the areas I always focus on - even if it's at home - is core strength and I'm inclined to share two of my faithful favorites.
  
  The best exercise I know of to develop core strength is a simple plank. Instructions here. I do three sets as part of rotation of a number of other exercises starting with 45 seconds, then moving to 60 seconds, and finally to exhaustion. For increased difficulty, balance your feet on a Bosu balance trainer.
  
  I'm also a fan of simple push ups. I know they're for your arms and chest but they develop your abs well, too. A few sets of push ups, rotating with planks and crunches, go a long way on the days I'm too damn lazy to get to the gym. Video demo. I never thought I could do push ups but I started on my knees and worked my way up and now I love them.
  
  
• Instant HP rec: faint indirections by girl_tarte (neville/percy, snape/potter - sort of, PG-13) Oh, oh, this story. Written for the snape_after_dh prompt, Professor Longbottom converses with Severus Snape’s portrait, it’s absolutely stunning.
  
  The passage below is among the most gorgeous I’ve read in any HP fic and it’s just one of many times girl_tarte will take your breath away:
  
  A couple of lengths of the Potters’ living room, Harry shushing and jiggling, and the baby quiets down. It’s still a surprise to see Harry gentle like this: Harry, whose life has always been made up of violences – violent convictions, attachments, hatreds. Neville’s own brief and uncomfortable flirtation with violence had ended the same day as Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort’s snake, but he could never imagine himself owning the confident tenderness that Harry embodies with a baby held against his chest. He looks at his own hands, imagines them lacing carefully into cool strong leaves, and feels heartened.
  
  
• I'm not anything near a football fan and even I have the Patriots/Colts game on. Addai's touchdown was insane.