I finished the paper that was consuming my life, but now I'm supposed to be writing the talk that goes with it. And when I sat down to Powerpoint, I found that all of my work ethic has already taken off for the weekend.
So I'll send the following puzzling question out to the great electronic ether. Andrew and I watch a lot of musicals, especially old ones. Last week we were watching Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (and let me pause to say... Meh.) There was a scene in a nightclub (a lounge? a cabaret?) where the two heroines are singing in fancy, sparkly gowns to a crowd of well-dressed patrons sipping cocktails. You see scenes like this all the time in movies. My question? Did people really do this? I mean, did they get all dolled up and go out and drink Manhattans and watch people sing swingy songs? It just seems like something Hollywood invented. And I don't know anyone old enough to ask, except my Mennonite** grandmother, who probably couldn't help me much with this one.
**Because Mennonites, even the liberal branch I come from, don't drink, dance, or listen to much popular music.
1 comment:
liberal mennonites, sounds like a contradiction in terms :)
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