Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jan 29, 2012, 9:59 pm
These colors don't run, but they do fly. Going Rate: Worth matinee price Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate Parker Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: World War II aerial combat injuries, mild language George Lucas modeled the space battle sequences in Star Wars after World War II aerial dogfigh...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jan 23, 2012, 7:47 pm
... Black Stallion. Yet director Steven Spielberg clearly wants to add to his roster of epic war pictures, which includes Empire Of The Sun, Shindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and unfortunately, 1941. So we get a picture that's never completely about either war or a horse but a mixed mash-up ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 28, 2011, 7:14 pm
All for one... and if they'd only stopped at one. Going Rate: Worth matinee price Starring: Milla Jovovich, Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Matthew MacFadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Ye olde swordplay, mild language I keep waiting for somebody to come up with...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 16, 2011, 2:34 am
True primary colors. Going Rate: Worth full price admission Starring: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti Rated: R Red Flags: Strong language, one sex scene The Ides Of March is a 100-minute game of political chicken or no-limit Washington hold-em centered around a pr...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 13, 2011, 5:28 pm
Four years ago, I appeared on "The Price Is Right." Now I take on "Let's Make A Deal." And this time, I got the eligibility questions out of the way up front, so game-show fanboys, you don't get to hate on me this time. 5:30am – Wake up. Get into my Royal Stewart kilt. Chug some hot cocoa and ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Oct 11, 2011, 3:10 pm
Steve Jobs was a Buddhist, not a Christan, but GOD made him. GOD uses people even if they don't know HE'S using them, and HE'LL use non-believers, too. HE used a lady of the night to help Joshua fight the Battle of Jerico (Joshua 2), so why not Steve Jobs to help us deal with technology? In a comm...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 23, 2011, 4:30 pm
A favourite of many English dancers who love Pride And Prejudice is this dance from the ball scene with Mr. Darcy: Mr. Beveridge's Maggot. It's a little too advanced for newcomers, which is why you won't see it at the Pride And Prejudice Ball, but it's beautiful to watch. By the way, the term "mag...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 22, 2011, 6:41 pm
Every year in Bath, England, a recreation of a Regency-era ball takes place, in full period costume and merriment. Of course, you don't have to go all the way to England -- just come to the Pride And Prejudice Ball this Saturday!
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 21, 2011, 3:30 pm
"Let's all get up and dance to a song That was a hit before your mother was born." --The Beatles As I pointed out earlier, many dances popular in the Regency era go back at least 100 years earlier, although I've seen one dancing expert argue to the contrary. Why would people want to groove to their...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 20, 2011, 5:14 pm
I offer you another Regency-era dance in celebration and anticipation of the Pride And Prejudice Ball. This one is called "The Physical Snob." I have no idea how it got that name, but what makes it interesting is all the weaving the dancers do amongst themselves:
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 19, 2011, 2:24 pm
My Most Honourable Dancing Friends, never mind what the calendar says. It's almost time for the Pride & Prejudice Ball, which means your humble servant shall be offering a week-long sample of period dances for your diversion and enjoyment. Here's a dance from the Leicestershire Victorian Dancers' R...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Sep 4, 2011, 6:36 pm
Payback is a... well, you know what. Going Rate: Worth matinee price Starring: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson Rated: R Red Flags: Bloody violence, sexual situations, a throwaway sex scene in a newspaper office The Debt is an espionage-action film that drags more than thrills and nearly forgets its marq...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 29, 2011, 10:28 pm
Coming home from work this evening, I heard Jeffrey Kuhner of The Washington Times -- filling in for Michael Savage -- rip into "the media" for its Hurricane Irene coverage, griping about how it turned out to be tropical storm instead of a hurricane. And it gets better: he then accuses "the media"...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 28, 2011, 8:21 pm
Featuring the photos of Mr. M. Cynecki And now, some photographic memories from this year's Highland Ball, presented as always by We Make History. I've written so many words on so many balls that I think I'll just let the pictures do most of the talking. Madame Noire with her Highland bodyguard... ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 19, 2011, 8:30 pm
I can't finish this weeklong Highland Ball tribute without paying homage to that most famous of Scottish dances, the Highland Fling. Here is the traditional caper from the Dunedin Dancers: Now, a modern interpretation from some creative Lasses who mashed it up with Queen and Survivor: And here's s...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 18, 2011, 9:44 pm
Somewhere in Eastern Europe, here you see some Scots and not-so-Scots enjoying one of my favourite Scottish dances, the "Gay Gordons." Here's another version of it from a wedding: Some of you know it better as the "Carolina Twirl" after it got to the states and got changed a bit: Naturally, I'm...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 18, 2011, 1:58 am
As I continue our dance countdown to the Highland Ball, the legend of the Sword Dance is that you can show off as much as you want, but if you step on the sword, you will die on the battlefield. This young Highlander has no problem with facing death: That's hard enough when you're doing it solo, bu...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 16, 2011, 10:38 pm
The Highland Ball is one of my favourite balls, not just because of the colourful kilts, but also because we dance it in a beautiful ballroom on the Northern Arizona University campus. But you don't always need a ballroom, or even lights, as this group demonstrates. According to the YouTube descript...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 15, 2011, 10:33 pm
The Fourth of July is so last month, but the Scots have a dance for it: the Firecracker Reel. I'm not sure how it got that name, and Google doesn't provide any answers. Maybe you can? In the meantime, enjoy it from Plateau Scottish Dancers:
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 15, 2011, 2:48 am
Dearest Dancing Friends, can it be true? The Highland Ball is nearly here! And as is tradition, your humble dancing servant is devoting a week to Scottish capering. First up, a lively dance from the Dunedin Dancers of Edinburgh (which is pronounced "Ed-in-burro," not "Ed-in-burg," like the city in...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 8, 2011, 11:36 pm
Monkey see, monkey do. Going Rate: Worth full price admission Starring: Andy Serkis (motion-capture), James Franco, John Lithgow Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Intense action sequences, mild profanity No apes were harmed in the making of this picture. In fact, no apes were used in the making of this pict...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Aug 8, 2011, 11:06 pm
My only desire for the evening was that I might honor a lady with a dance, but GOD had other plans. “Every time I come here I'm wearing a tricorn,” I tell my other Sons of the American Revolution compatriots as we approached the entrance to the Desert Diamond Casino. I was referring to previous...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 31, 2011, 6:12 pm
Well, maybe you didn't, and it's likely you're just as disappointed and angry as I am at Congress right now. I am not about to blame you, the voters, for the debt debacle currently occupying this nation, but you get what you vote for. What you voted for was partisanship, because you voted for peopl...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 31, 2011, 3:28 am
Riders in the sky. Going Rate: Worth matinee price Starring: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Western violence, mild profanity, one partially naked lady Until now, the closest mashup I've seen between the wild west and a wild visitor from outer space was that time the 1st Virgini...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 24, 2011, 8:47 pm
After a hot, sweaty, opening skirmish, the 2nd Virginia gets an invitation to take the lead role, and this time, your humble servant is along for the fight. Darkness envelops the camps, pierced by a stray headlight from a vehicle delivering supplies to the moonlit tent cities. Police and security b...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 23, 2011, 5:26 pm
I was expecting a heated battle on the first day of the First Manassas 150th Anniversary skirmish. I didn't know that battle would be against my system. Everything is looking up. I have a few hours of decent sleep on my side, some breakfast, and now I'm out the door in the rental car with an 18-pa...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 22, 2011, 9:01 pm
From Tucson to Manassas in 24 hours or less (preferably less): 3:40am: Wake. Still getting used to change in hours from a change in work assignment. Fortunately, I didn't have to produce last night's 10pm news. 4:15am: At work. Yes, work. Work before play. Work before battle. Yes, work can b...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 17, 2011, 10:15 pm
It all comes down to this. Going Rate: Worth full price Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Dark fantasy violence, one mild profanity Oh Harry, how you've grown up. In 2001...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 9, 2011, 7:15 pm
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is closing down London's 168-year-old News Of The World after a phone-hacking scandal. Reporters broke into voicemail accounts of soldiers and dead children -- among some 4,000 people -- looking for nuggets they could blow up into headlines. As I go to press this aftern...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 9, 2011, 6:35 pm
The rage and grumbling over the verdicts in the Casey Anthony trial should remind us all why sworn jurors decide guilt or non-guilt, not the news channels, not the bloggers, not the crowds outside the courthouse, and especially not Nancy (Dis)Grace. In the jury room, the standard for proof is "beyo...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 4, 2011, 1:36 am
It took nearly a month to sort things out, but I can finally reveal the contents of a bottle sent to me by Captain Bartholomew Burgundy containing several pictures from last month's Buccaneer Ball. Unfortunately, water leaking into the bottle washed out the good captain's notes, so I'm forced to add...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 2, 2011, 4:28 am
Close encounters of the Kodachrome kind. Going Rate: Worth full price Starring: Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Language, sci-fi violence, some gross scenes Producer Stephen Spielberg had to see a little of himself in this film, which he produced for writer and director J.J. Abr...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jul 2, 2011, 3:37 am
We're running a little hot tonight. Going Rate: Worth full price (3D not necessary) Starring: Voices Of: Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Eddie Izzard, Emily Mortimer, John Turturro Rated: G (but may be too intense for younger children) Red Flags: Cartoon action gunshots, some mild...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 19, 2011, 3:01 am
My brother and I briefly flirted with model rocketry back in 1986, several months after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and not too long after a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Dad bought us both a starter kit from Estes, consisting of an easy-to-assemble rocket, launch base, igniters ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 13, 2011, 7:35 pm
Last week, while wildfires and talk of one congressman's private parts dominated the news cycle, the Supreme Court issued an opinion clarifying the Armed Career Criminal Act. The majority ruling says using a vehicle to flee from police counts as a "violent felony" under the act, which is targeted a...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 11, 2011, 2:25 am
And finally this week, I have to show you this clip, which answers the question, "Suppose a group of pirates held a prom?" The Plundering Pirates of Paradise did, and they came up with a night of eclectic dancing that included salsa, disco, and a Virginia Reel. I can't say we'll be doing the Electr...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 10, 2011, 2:45 am
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, or so we're told. But then I came across this video snippet from a wedding reception at Treasure Island in Vegas (only they call it "TI" now). What follows is an anachronistic display of old circle dance to modern tunes. Furthermore, the YouTube uploader says...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 9, 2011, 2:35 am
If someone had staged Pirates Of The Caribbean as a contemporary ballet, perhaps it might have looked like this noble attempt, staged at the Mid Valley Mega Mall... wherever that is. But I prefer the Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert & Sullivan's classic. This clip features Kevin Cline: Eat your heart...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 8, 2011, 2:20 am
Now in our celebration of piratical prancing preceding the Buccaneer's Ball venture to the Western Pacific, where we find some Korean buccaneers have created that new teen-heartthrob sensation: The Backwater Boys.
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 7, 2011, 2:40 am
You wouldn't think a bunch of mangy seafarers would have enough discipline to pull off an interpretive display of movement, would you? I don't know the name of this group from Dover, but they defy the averages: Ditto for this group, the Arts In Motion Irish Dance Class: I'm sure we'll see some ins...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 6, 2011, 2:40 am
Ahoy! With the Buccaneer's Ball quickly approaching, it's time for another week of dance tributes to pirates. We know that some of them were gentlemen, but many weren't. We also know that their fleetness of foot did not lend itself well to artistic purposes, beyond jigging and maybe a few reels. B...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - Jun 5, 2011, 8:23 pm
Groovy powers, baby! Going Rate: Worth matinee price Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Action violence, mild profanity, some mild sexuality My admiration of the X-Men franchise comes not from its action but from its altrui...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 31, 2011, 3:52 am
Dear Mrs. Sarah Palin, Watching your bus tour and photo-ops and the buzz that surround them, and reading you answer "Don't know," when people ask if you're running for president reminds me of a scene from the closing minutes of The Godfather: Michael Corleone is confronting the traitor Carlo when h...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 29, 2011, 7:54 pm
I never asked my Grandfather Francis what he did in World War II. At most, I knew he was stationed in Egypt, and he told me about the incessant grumpiness of camels. He used to show me a Bible he'd bought in Jerusalem, and I thought it odd it was written in English instead of Hebrew. When I explo...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 29, 2011, 7:10 pm
Pleading for civility in politics degrades into a Sisyphean effort, but every now and then I see a wee bit of promise. The National Institute for Civil Discourse, formed in Tucson in the aftermath of the January 8th shootings, is slowly but steadily coming together. I'm not expecting miracles, even...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 23, 2011, 12:26 am
"Captain Jack will get you by tonight, and take you to your special island..." Going Rate: Worth matinee price, without 3D. Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane Rated: PG-13 Red Flags: Ye Olde Pirate Violence & Swordplay, Some Scary Supernatural Effects Joining us once again on this e...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 11, 2011, 4:56 am
I'm beginning to wonder if Tucson will ever see a normal meeting of the Tucson Unified School District board ever again. This week's edition came refreshingly free of mob scenes, lines of police and general boorishness... mostly. What is incomprehensible to me is how the student protesters supporti...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 8, 2011, 3:40 am
Every time I go home to California, I know I'll gain at least five pounds over the course of a week. I eat better at home than I ever do on my own, and that's largely because of Mother's refusal to see me get any thinner. Brother Michael used to joke about Mom "pushing food" when we were younger. ...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 2, 2011, 12:54 am
Osama Bin Laden is dead. Does this wipe out Al Qaida? Does this end terrorism? No and no, and none of us should be under the impression that it will. We are not dealing with a snake, where cutting the head kills the body, but with a multi-headed dragon, where two heads grow for each one we lop of...
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Christopher F. posted an article on FrancisPage - May 2, 2011, 12:48 am
For those of you who can't understand the obsession with the Royal Wedding, a friend gave me the best explanation I've heard yet: "This is the Super Bowl for women!" She's right. What's more, it doesn't happen every year. Oh yes, we still love fairy tales; that explanation still holds water. But...
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