Some Serious Shagging

South Carolina is the Land of Shag and not just because Nailed is filming there.

While some states have a state flower, a state song, even a state cookie, South Carolina has a state dance. The Shag is official state dance of South Carolina.

We know that Jake has some moves, but can the man shag?

The Shag came from the Myrtle Beach (SC) and Wilmington (NC) beach communities in the 1940's and is still popular in both the Carolinas and Virginia. A form of swing dancing which has some steps similar to a jitterbug, it originated as a way for the white youth in the then segregated south to dance to predominantly African American Rhythm & Blues music ( early basis for Rock -n-Roll).

The basic Shag moves are an eight count dance where the upper body remains still and all movement is done with the lower half of the body. As partners dance the basic Shag the man holds just one hand of his partner as he leads. He is the center of attention and in more advanced shag moves his partner not only mirrors his moves but spins and twirls around him. A basic shag leaves one hand free for each partner and while very frowned upon in competitive shagging events, it is well known that your free hand is to hold your drink as you shag in the sand. The shag is one dance that you can do and never spill your beer.

Yes there are shag clubs, shagging contests, junior, amateur, novice and pro shagging divisions, and Shag : The Movie.

There is no doubt somewhere in Columbia there is some shagging going on. Wonder if Jake will get his shag on? Now that's "Dancing with the (former co) Star"!

Save it for a Rainy Day

....we're walking, we're walking, ha...ok, alright....go over tomorrow's pages...email David my "suggestions" wait for that explosion... what's at craft services today, this coffee isn't cutting it... ice cream... no, no more ice cream...text Mags... maybe she sent new pictures of Ramona... ice cream.... what's in my tooth......will Jeter be in the lineup for Yankees tonight....Youk on third for Lowell...Go Sox! ....make sure they get both the NBA package and the MLB package to catch the Lakers and Sox while I'm here...gotta work out tonight ...block scene with Jess....don't call him Pee Wee it's Paul... not Pee Wee.....da dada da da da TEQUILA... what the hell was Tracy talking about at the table reading this morning...I think I need a toothpick....make bet with Chris on Celtics and Lakers in the finals....bucks... my Buck.... remember Kristin's comments on the scenes between Howard and Alice...Howard, Howie? would he be a Howie...gotta check my emails....this umbrella thing is driving me crazy...brella, brella, brella, ...definitely time to text that big Buck..oh yeah



PA walking behind...is that drip? is that umbrella dripping? that can not be dripping! have to get a new umbrella and get a back up

Umbrella holder... we're walking, we're walking...I'm union, I'm union...we're walking, we're walking.

Southern Comfort

Sounds like Jake is settling down just fine in South Carolina and enjoying the fine Southern charm. Not that he hasn't been touched by the Texas twist on it. But South Carolina will do their best to show them how charming they can be too.

What will he find in the Palmetto State? As they say, "smiling faces, beautiful places". South Carolina is full of natural beauty from the waterfalls in the west to their famous coastline. Including a Spring Break destination at Myrtle Beach. And not mention South of the Border, the rest stop and road side attraction, just "south of the border" between North Carolina and South Carolina in Dillon. Any road trip down I-95 has to include South of the Border, in all its camp glory. Fireworks, you need fireworks?

But there is more to SC than that and much more to explore over the coming weeks.

There is a proud Southern culture steeped in tradition in South Carolina. People proud of their Southern roots and their state. You will find many with South Carolinian roots or deep transplanted ones, like writer/director Alan Ball, musician Dizzy Gillespie, author William Gibson, James Brown, Jesse Jackson, baseball legend "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, actress Andie McDowell, author Pat Conroy, and singer Darius Rucker, who most would call Hootie as in Hootie and the Blowfish, which came out of Columbia and the University of South Carolina. All are proud Carolinians.

So for the next few weeks Jake will get to enjoy the sounds of southern drawls, great food, great times, and lots of sweet tea. And surely the attention of many good southern belles and maybe a few beaus too.




The South might not rise again, but with Jake there you never know what might rise.

Headon

Apply directly to the Forehead

It is back to work for Jake with Nailed starting principle filming today in South Carolina.

And it may not just be Jessica Beil that gets the headache. While the satirical dark comedy is controversial, so is the filming of it. Just last week the Secretary of Commerce for South Carolina tried to block the filming because the script didn't "jive" with his morals. Despite the scrambling to try to get around him, things got so bad it ended up that a special committee meeting was convened with members of the SC Film Commission, the Commerce Department, and David O. Russell and others from the film.

What is Nailed about? Well there are a few different synopsis out there. What is known is that is "loosely" based on the novel by Kristin Gore entitled "Sammy's Hill" and adapted by David O. Russell and Gore.
Sammy Joyce, a socially awkward small-town receptionist who has a nail accidentally shot into her head by a clumsy workman, eliciting wild sexual urges. Who heads to Washington to fight for better health care. Now here's where things start to get a little fuzzy.

Look at the current snyopsis at IMDB. "An original romantic comedy about a naïve small town waitress who accidentally gets a nail buried in her head, causing erratic and outrageous behavior that leads her to Washington DC. There she falls for a dashing, but clueless, Congressman who searches for the courage to save her."

And look at what the synopsis was when it was announced back in November. "Biel, 25, would play Sammy Joyce, (now renamed Alice Eckle) a socially awkward small-town receptionist who has a nail accidentally shot into her head by a clumsy workman, eliciting wild sexual urges. The uninsured Joyce goes on a crusade to Washington to fight for the rights of the bizarrely injured. She meets an immoral congressman ( Howard Ryder) (Gyllenhaal, 26) who takes advantage of her sex drive and capitalizes on her crusade as Joyce heads into her own career in politics."

Which movie will it be? Knowing Russell it will be the latter and not the former. The watered down synopsis may be because of the recently personal scandals of many U.S. politicians. Jake does have the knack for picking roles that are relevant at the moment.

And can a nail to the head change your personality? Yes it can. Phineas Gage is proof. Well it was more than a nail. In 1848 Gage was working on the railroad in Vermont when a blast happened "the powder exploded, carrying an instrument through his head an inch and a fourth in circumference [sic], and three feet and eight inches in length, which he was using at the time. The iron entered on the side of his face, shattering the upper jaw, and passing back of the left eye, and out the top of his head." This seemed to destroy the frontal lobe of the brain, but amazing Gage survived the injury. Miraculous for health care in 1848, but even more so for the severity of the injury. Friends said he wasn't the same Gage. Who would be after a metal rod goes through you skull.

Pictures: Capital, Flowers, Bird - Special K
Jake - IHJ