-
Well, you've read the notes, you are now up to your eyeballs in metaphors, and you are ready to post until the metaphorical cows come home.
-
I'm too tired right now even for metathrees. Tomorrow - which is today - I shall wax poetic.
Right now I'm going to eat popcorn and read about Marlon Brando and Wally Cox.
-
What I've been reading lately is cookbooks. I find the stuff facinating, a wonderful way of exploring culture, history and other bullsh**, not to mention how I regularly come across ideas for things to whip up in the kitchen. But they're rather lax on metaphors, sad to say.
:-\
-
I did come across a recipe for General Tso's Chicken, but it didn't contain even a single metaphor. Garlic, chili paste, hoisin sauce, grated gingerroot, coriander leaves, all there. No metaphor.
-
Will you accept metaphors in a song by a group that is comprised of surfers?
"Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead.
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken."
I am probably showing my age here but I am just a big fan of a band called Switchfoot. In an age when so much music has no real meaning behind it, they are a breath of fresh air to me. Their lyrics really make me think. I get so sick of the repetitive songs where its all about sex, drugs, relationship angst, my boyfriend dumped me, etc. I have followed Switchfoot since before they were even featured in A Walk to Remember. Their music was just so different from a lot of what I heard and it was what I was looking for. They don'ty have terribly many metaphors in their music but they have a lot of meaning. Ok enough of me pulling things away from where they should be! :)
-
I shall have to consider the metaphor(ical) question for now, it is too early in the morning.
My favorite surfing songs.....there are a few:
Surfer Girl - or as sung by Annette Surfer Boy.
Ride the Wild Surf by Jan and Dean from the movie of the same name.
Surf City.
-
Here is your Allison Hayes picture of the week - sent to me by DRMBARNUM. :o
Allison in the latest 1958 two-piece swimsuit obviously studying for the Law Degree she received from UCLA - at least according to the write up for her Gent Magazine photo layout. ;D
-
We're getting a sudden thunderstorm here in the wee hours of the morning. The curtains of showers have spooked poor Marty, the Labraball; he's been edging back and forth from one room to another, sticking close but unable to settle down.
-
When people react to my vocation as if it's anything unusual, I like to say:
Oh, you can't swing a cat without hitting a musical theatre writer around here.
Metaphorical cat-swinging (as opposed to real) is one of my favorite things.
Johnny Mercer set the following two quatrains to the recently-departed David Raksin's best tune:
Laura is the face in the misty light
Footsteps that you hear down the hall
The laugh that floats on a summer night
That you can never quite recall
And you see Laura on a train that is passing through
Those eyes, how familiar they seem
She gave your very first kiss to you
That was Laura, but she's only a dream
-
Metaphors? Hmmm...
All the world's a stage
Happiness is just a thing called Joe
I hope these count, because I am even worse at surfing songs! :-\
-
Here is your Allison Hayes picture of the week - sent to me by DRMBARNUM. :o
Thanks JRand and MBarnum for the weekly pic. It looks like Allison's getting ready to share a couple of pointers.
-
I imagine I'll come up with something loftier later in the day. But years ago our Toronto Star restaurant critic, Cynthia Wine, was describing how comfortable she felt at a particular establishment. "I walked in and it was as if I had removed my girdle," she wrote. I knew exactly (well, not exactly) what she was saying.
-
Good morning, all! Let's get the surfing song out of the way first because I haven't thought about the Beach Boys or Annette in her Beach Party phase for years, and I know I once arranged a Beach Party song she sang for the New York City Gay Men's Chorus around 1984, for a movie concert with Vito Russo. The only song that comes to mind is "Surfin U S A" this morning. Is it a favorite? No, but it wins by default.
I'm thinking Metaphor this morning and only getting similes like "My love's like a red red rose" so I think I'll do some channeling this morning and return later.
-
DR Elmore,
I think you're okay with similes. If I remember correctly, all similes are metaphors (but not the reverse).
-
An old English teacher's joke:
Q: What's a metaphor?
A: It's a place where cows graze.
-
DR Elmore you are not alone!
Charmed is one of my favorite shows. I am addicted to the WB, and watch most of its shows.
Congrats again DR Panni. I hope #3 is the charm. But I thought the other house was already yours? (or is it that before you sign the papers you can still change your mind?). Anyhow this one sounds great, especially if it's been a place you've been admiring. Sounds like fate.
-
DR ELMORE made an arrangement for ANNETTE!!!
Wow! She sang with the Gay Men's Chorus? Wow!
DiT - those couple of points were in fact the major thrust of Allison's career.
-
I don't know from metaphors...my mind is quite blank this morning...I do have a favorite surfing song...THE BIRD by the Trashmen.
-
Rain, glorious Rain!
The Bay Area is awash in rain, rain, rain!
The dry spell is over -- and the fires should be out now!
-
Well, I can't contribute a single surfing song, so I'll take an excused absence from that topic.
Metaphors? Oh, dear, I'm sure I have some favorite ones, but they're just not coming to my head.
All I can think of is a famous expression I used to tell my students when they would say they were scared about starting Shakespeare or scared of an upcoming exam. It's not a metaphor, but it's kind of in metaphor style:
"Courage is not the absence of fear; it's the mastery of it."
-
Going through my head:
Ethel Waters' glorious rendition of "Taking A Chance on Love" from "Cabin in the Sky."
It's my favorite version of that song. She invests it with true feeling/meaning...much more than any other singer I've heard.
-
Boy, must Nathan Lane be sick of THE PRODUCERS by now or soon will be. Doing it in NYC for a year, bringing himself back into it for three months this year, now going to London to do it for several weeks and then coming back to America to start the film version.
Even at the huge salaries he's earning for doing it, I think he must be getting tired of the grind by now. Earlier generations of stage artists seemed niot to have minded long runs, but I'm not sure today's artists are of a similar mind-set.
-
Favorite surfing-related song: "Wipeout."
-
Congrats again DR Panni. I hope #3 is the charm. But I thought the other house was already yours? (or is it that before you sign the papers you can still change your mind?). Anyhow this one sounds great, especially if it's been a place you've been admiring. Sounds like fate.
I'd been trying for 4 or 5 days to get together with the nice woman who owns that place, but with no success. (I was available, she wasn't.) Had she agreed to meet with me, that's where I would be living. Until a deposit is given and papers are signed, it's not a done deal.
-
Well. (oooh, a RAGTIME reference.)
So much upon which to catch up.
DR Panni, sorry to see you go, but glad to have you back. And the new(est) house sounds charming, though I liked your last find very much indeed.
DR DiT: So sorry to have missed your birthday. Hope it was splendid.
I know little of science fiction or surfer songs. My mind is not coming up with a "favorite" metaphor, though I like several.
DR Jennifer, I will go on record (along with theatre columnist Peter Filichia) in saying that I find MAN OF LA MANCHA to be one of the most over-rated musicals ever written. And to do further harm here, I will disagree with DR Noel in saying that I feel that the score is leaps and bounds above the mid-60s piece of pretentious claptrap that is its libretto.
As implied above, I do find much of the score glorious and moving.
Missed the Stokes revival, but was subjected to the Raul Julia/Sheena Easton one on three separate occasions (all work related). It was dreadful, and even though the show has traditionally been played withOUT an intermission (even though there is a most definitive act break written into it), I think part of the reason this particular production stuck to tradition was so that people wouldn't leave in droves during the interval.
I don't care for MAN OF LA MANCHA. There, I said it.
-
Again I slept later than I normally do. I really must set my internal clock because as much as I needed to catch up on sleep, I am now caught up and ready to rise earlier.
Lovely metaphors - let's have more.
Excellent surfing songs - let's have more.
My favorite surfing song is California Girls.
-
It was dreadful, and even though the show has traditionally been played withOUT an intermission (even though there is a most definitive act break written into it.
Question. Where is the break?
I was surprised they did it here without an intermission. I definitely prefer one.
This theatre is mostly older people. But I was very surprised. Not a single one of them got up during the 1 hr 45 minutes.
-
I'd been trying for 4 or 5 days to get together with the nice woman who owns that place, but with no success. (I was available, she wasn't.) Had she agreed to meet with me, that's where I would be living. Until a deposit is given and papers are signed, it's not a done deal.
That is strange that she wouldn't have jumped to meet with you. If I was the seller I would make sure to get that deposit right away.
I'm curious though. Does this sort of thing happen often (people changing their minds?). I am naive enough to think that if someone says they will take it that they will. Also I thought that getting a house was usually done through an agent. When my sis got her house this year, there were numerous people making bids thru their agents. And it was totally crazy.
-
My very favorite surfing song is "Surf City" by my very favorite surfing dudes, Jan & Dean!
-
BeeKays landlord, 3:
-
And one for Mahler.
-
That is strange that she wouldn't have jumped to meet with you. If I was the seller I would make sure to get that deposit right away.
I'm curious though. Does this sort of thing happen often (people changing their minds?). I am naive enough to think that if someone says they will take it that they will. Also I thought that getting a house was usually done through an agent. When my sis got her house this year, there were numerous people making bids thru their agents. And it was totally crazy.
The "nice lady" may have felt there was no hurry. She may also have been fielding offers. "Nice ladies" sometimes seize opportunities. L.A. is probably like the Bay Area, overall, in that it is a landlord's market, rather than a renter's market. She won't have a vacancy for long.
But she will have lost out on renting to Panni, and becoming acquainted with Panni, and that might be an egregious loss for her.
It would be for us!
:D
-
Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann!
Ba ba ba ba Barbara Ann!
Oh Barbara Ann, take my hand,
Barbara Ann!
You got me rockin’ and a-rollin’
Rockin’ and a-reelin’
Barbara Ann ba ba
Ba Barbara Ann!
-
Even when I was a teenager, I found songs about surfing rather silly. Also songs about cars. I never own a Beach Boys or Jan & Dean record. Never will.
Stuart, I also saw the awful Julia/Easton Man of La Mancha. While Sheena looks delicious, her Scottish acting was very strange.
Mostly, the problem with the show was that Albert Marre, the original director, did nothing new with it and kept it in a time capsule. It just looked very, very tired and phlegmatic. In fact, the guy playing Carrasco was the same guy who had played it when I had seen it in one of the road companies with either Keith Andes or Bob Wright, back in the sixties.
-
I had a similar house thing - I found a house I liked very much, on my same street just two blocks north. The landlord was trying to get his tenants out so I could have it. He'd already gotten a court order, but the law in this state is so on the side of deadbeat tenants that they'd been there since April without having paid rent. He couldn't quite commit to me. The week before I absolutely had to make a decision, he told me they were definitely out of there, they'd been packing, etc. That very day the other house (the one I'm in) was pointed out to me. I looked at it and loved it immediately. It was the same price and, for my needs, a better house. I filled out an application which I knew would be problematic (all stemming from the bad business with you-know-who from three years ago), but I wrote them a nice letter and that was that. Since the landlord's business manager was going to be dealing with the lease I had no idea what would happen. The leasing agent was one of these people who just don't care about leases - they don't make enough money. And so, she just didn't follow up and it was impossible to get her on the phone. On a Saturday I finally told the guy up the street that I'd sign the papers on Sunday morning (he'd already approved my application). That night, just before What If started, I got a call saying I'd gotten the other house. Needless to say, I took it. The other guy was upset but ultimately understood because I explained it well. Sadly, his house remains unrented.
-
Dan (the Man): For reasons best left unexplained, seeing those lyrics almost caused me to vomit on the ground.
-
Even when I was a teenager, I found songs about surfing rather silly. Also songs about cars. I never own a Beach Boys or Jan & Dean record. Never will.
DR Charles Pogue, say it AIN'T SO!
What a feast of rhythm and what a paean to a specific time and place this music has remained!
Of course it's silly. Most of us were when we first heard it and fell in love with it.
Didn't you ever feel/fall in love with something silly? At all?
-
Dan (the Man): For reasons best left unexplained, seeing those lyrics almost caused me to vomit on the ground.
Did it have to do with the person who wrote it, or the person who performed it, or the person who inspired it?
:D
-
Although the show doesn't open until Thursday, the Variety review of BROOKLYN, THE MUSICAL is already out. It begins
Oh dear. The caterwauling vocal callisthenics that are de riguer among "American Idol" contestants have planted their demon seed on Broadway in "Brooklyn, The Musical," a series of overwrought whitebread Gospel ballads strung together in search of a book.
Considering how the producers of this show treated BK, they deserve every word of it.
***
Supposed reason Richard Dryfuss was really let go from the London PRODUCERS: he gave a radio interview and said that people should buy tickets for shows starting in January because it wouldn't be ready in time for the October previews and November opening.
-
So.... the Bay Area is underwater today, it's LOVELY!!!! However the kids are going to be NUTS by 2:30 today, oh well, such is life. Favorite metaphor has got to be "Metaphor" from "The Fantasticks", it's all I can come up with at the moment. Favorite surf-like song is "Help Me Rhonda" and "I Get Around"... I also like "Be True to Your School" and "Ride Ride Ride the Wild Surf". Also fun trying to tell the difference between The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean, I always found Jan and Dean to have better diction!
-
It wasn't the person who wrote it, the person who performed it, or the person who inspired it. It's... the... name...
-
Donald's radio show this week is great fun! So far I have only guessed one of the shows before he played it (you have to listen to figure out what I'm talking about).
-
RLP, as a teen, I feel in love with the sounds of Cole Porter or Big Band music drifting in the background. Romantic music. I still listened to rock 'n roll but if I was going to fall in love to rock...It would have been Doo-Wop. And there can't be anything more silly than that. But cars and surfboards...sorry, as a kid growing up in Greater Cincinnati, I just couldn't relate to the lifestyle. Still can't. I'd rather swim in a pool than the ocean any day.
Speaking of Rock songs, what is the most misinterpeted lyric anyone has ever heard...Either one you misinterpreted or a friend of yours did. I had a friend who used to sing: "And Wendy has storky eyes..."
-
It wasn't the person who wrote it, the person who performed it, or the person who inspired it. It's... the... name...
Well, please don't take it as any kind of purposal assault. It just popped into me head. I shoulda gone with my first choice, "Do You Wanna Dance?"
-
My aforementioned California Girls: I always thought the lyric was "Lipstick on the seat California girls". I can't stand swimming in the ocean - never have, never will. Hate salt water. Still liked the Beach Boys, though, although I never cared about cars. I found and find their music lots of fun. I also love Girl Groups. Who are our favorite girl groups, now that we're talking about it? I adore The Shirells
-
Dan (the Man): Of course I don't take it personally. It's... just... the... name...
-
Speaking of Rock songs, what is the most misinterpeted lyric anyone has ever heard...Either one you misinterpreted or a friend of yours did. I had a friend who used to sing: "And Wendy has storky eyes..."
How about Creedence Clearwater Revival's "There is a bathroom on the right"?
-
Charles Pogue said:
"I'd rather swim in a pool than the ocean any day."
Boy, I get flak for that one also. I do not enjoy (and I'm being mild) swimming in the ocean at all. I would rather jump into a pool any day or even a lake. I have never understood the pleasures of ocean swimming. Oh, well.
-
Question. Where is the break?
I was surprised they did it here without an intermission. I definitely prefer one.
This theatre is mostly older people. But I was very surprised. Not a single one of them got up during the 1 hr 45 minutes.
To me, the very definitive act break is right after "The Quest" (aka "The Impossible Dream"). Not only is this the favored "power ballad" that was so de rigeur for a first-act closer at that time (not to mention before and since), but you may have noticed that the following scene opens with the staircase being used (i.e. lowered, in a fully designed production), and another prisoner being thrown into the cell. It, of course, would re-establish the mood and setting after the audience had gone out for a cigarette or cocktail.
(Ironlically enough, as I am typing these words "Dulcinea" was being played on AOL's showtune station. Not to be misunderstood, I LOVE "Dulcinea")
As an aside, the thing with some intermissionless shows (but not this one) is that when they are played WITH an intermission it seems to fall in the wrong place for this audience member. And the two I will mention do not have an obvious act break: The Roundabout's 1776 placed intermission AFTER "Momma Look Sharp," which I think is far too deep into the show. My recommendation, should anyone have asked me, which no one did, would be to place it after Adams, Chase and Franklin leave for NJ. Not only does it leave you with a great first act closing line (which I paraphrase: "Wake up, Benjy. You're going whoring in New Jersey"), but lets the second act open with "Cool, Cool Considerate Men." The Paper Mill FOLLIES intermission seemed too late as well, after "Too Many Mornings" as I recall. If it must have an intermission, "I'm Still Here" might be more appropriate.
One intermissionless show that is also often performed with one is PIPPIN. It usually falls after (or sometimes during) "Morning Glow." I have no opinion on this one.
'Nuff said.
-
Charles Pogue said:
"I'd rather swim in a pool than the ocean any day."
Boy, I get flak for that one also. I do not enjoy (and I'm being mild) swimming in the ocean at all. I would rather jump into a pool any day or even a lake. I have never understood the pleasures of ocean swimming. Oh, well.
Make that three of us. I dislike sand, though I appreciate the kind of color I get at the beach, as opposed to the tan I get poolside.
-
One of my favorite all-girl groups is The Orlons. I also like The Mermaids.
-
I sure hope it's the "Barbara Ann's" of this world who make you want to vomit on the ground and not all "Barbara's".
Some of my favorite people are named "Barbara," including my mother.
But I don't know any "Barbara Ann's."
DR Pogue: Okay, I hear ya! Doo-wop, huh! Hah! I was in northeastern South Carolina (Greenville) during my teens...and had an endless fascination for California and all things Californian, especially in the L.A. area.
If only I'd known then what I know now! :D
-
Charles Pogue said:
"I'd rather swim in a pool than the ocean any day."
Boy, I get flak for that one also. I do not enjoy (and I'm being mild) swimming in the ocean at all. I would rather jump into a pool any day or even a lake. I have never understood the pleasures of ocean swimming. Oh, well.
I love swimming in the ocean. The rougher the water the better. To me there's something joyous about fighting against the waves and not being all together in control. I guess it goes back to my childhood--the ocean was generally the deepest water I swam in until I was 13 and joined a pool club.
-
I sure hope it's the "Barbara Ann's" of this world who make you want to vomit on the ground and not all "Barbara's".
Some of my favorite people are named "Barbara," including my mother.
But I don't know any "Barbara Ann's."
Barbara is a lovely name. I have many friends named Barbara. Swell name. Am I being clear enough? ;D
-
Just heard from "the nice lady." She was not thrilled, but accepted the situation politely.
Thank you for your kind words, RLP.
Jennifer - Sounds like your sister was buying a place. I'm renting.
As bk said, this kind of thing happens. That's why I went over last night to the home of the people who own the place I decided on -- to give them a check and sign the lease. They said it could wait until morning - but I wanted it ALL done. This is the kind of place I'm sure they'd get a million calls on (they were booked up all day for showings) and I wanted to get it signed, sealed and delivered.
BTW - the husband of the couple owns a good Italian restaurant not far from here. Yum.
-
Make that three of us. I dislike sand, though I appreciate the kind of color I get at the beach, as opposed to the tan I get poolside.
I've never actually done any swimming in the Atlantic...and the Pacific is so cold I've never been in that body of water above my knees...but I've done a lot of wave riding on rafts in the Atlantic...primarily at Daytona Beach, but also at Myrtle Beach and Jacksonville Beach.
Mind you, that will never happen again because of aerial footage I saw of Daytona Beach a few years ago...patrolling sharks were only yards away from the folks furthest out in the water...surfing or body surfing.
Huh-uh! I'm not on the menu.
But I've had some glorious swimming in the Aegean in the Athens, Greece area. Crystal clear waters, moderate temperature --- simply wonderful!
-
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?q3=h4z4Iz3R6S8%253d (http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?q3=h4z4Iz3R6S8%253d)
Why do you know if you click on the above right now, you can read all about Writer's Block and sample the first two pages? Do so and then post.
-
Jrand, you're just sitting there like so much fish. Tell us some fascinating thing.
-
DR ELMORE made an arrangement for ANNETTE!!!
Wow! She sang with the Gay Men's Chorus? Wow!
No, DRJRand54, I wasn't too clear. I did an arrangement of one of her songs for the Chorus. I wish she'd been involved!
Still thinking about metaphors . . .
I had a lovely phone call from DRPennyO. We have a dinner date for Thursday.
-
Ethel Waters' glorious rendition of "Taking A Chance on Love" from "Cabin in the Sky."
It's my favorite version of that song. She invests it with true feeling/meaning...much more than any other singer I've heard.
DRRLP, I concur! And what a fantastic song. I believe it and "I Can't Get Started With You" are my two favorite Vernon duke songs.
-
Mostly, the problem with the show was that Albert Marre, the original director, did nothing new with it and kept it in a time capsule. It just looked very, very tired and phlegmatic. In fact, the guy playing Carrasco was the same guy who had played it when I had seen it in one of the road companies with either Keith Andes or Bob Wright, back in the sixties.
DRCharlesPogue, if you saw it in Cincinnati, it was Keith Andes. That was my first viewing of a proscenium production after the glorious original.
-
No one is reading?
-
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]
PAGE 3! PAGE 3! PAGE 3! EVERYBODY DANCE! PAGE 3! PAGE 3! PAGE 3!
[/move] :) ;) :D ;D :) ;) :D ;D :o ::) :o ::) :-* ??? :-* ???
-
Just heard from "the nice lady." She was not thrilled, but accepted the situation politely.
DRPanni, which house are you truly renting? Is there a guest room?
-
Surfer music never did anything for me (surfers, maybe, but not the music ;)) When I was in high school show choir, we did perform a few surfer songs with arm-ography (which is choreography for the arms only). It was fun at the time, but I think it turned me off to surfer music because, as far as show choirs go, we were probably not too bad, but as far as musical performing in general (looking back at it now), it was quite cheezy. I don't know if I could really appreciate it now.
-
Did people miss my post or has no one gone to the linked website, yes or no?
-
Specifically YOU, elmore.
-
Girl-groups: I was always fond of the Crystals. Weren't they the ones who did HE'S REBEL & UPTOWN? I never much cared for The Supremes though...
I've swum in the Pacific about twice...when I first came out here. I swam in the Atlantic a few years ago when we and two other couples were staying in a beach house on the Island of Palm in Charleston, South Carolina. That experience taught me you don't so much swim in the Atlantic as just get beat up by it.
If I want to swim, I want to swim...in a clean,placid, properly chlorinated pool free of debris...both natural and unnatural..., salt, wet sand, and slimy, strange creatures, some dangerous, swimming in close proximtiy.
I love the beach though, for strolling, the breezes, looking at sunsets, staring out at its endlessness from a verandah while imbibing alcholic beverages with good company and good music close at hand...
-
Is Arthur Myerson any relation to Miss Bess Myerson?
I am intrigued by the opening paragraphs of Writer's Block, a Mystery by Bruce Kimmel.
Yes, I feel as if I am there....and like Arthur and his puddles - it is an attention getter.
-
I didn't mean to sit like so much fish. I have a couple of projects going on here at work and the computer (an Apple) is not cooperating with me.
Ahhh...well....
OIC - DRELMORE - yes it is too bad Annette wasn't there....but I am sure that the boys more than did justice to her tune.
-
I have swum in the Atlantic, and in the Black Sea off the coast of Ireland, and in the Gulf of Mexico, but I've never been to me.....
-
Woah... started reading the excerpt, didn't realize it took place in the theatre.. I'll finish it later, gotta go teach 3rd graders about nonesense words like "Da Do Ron Ron" and "O Wem oh weh" and "dum dum dum dum, dum de do di dum"... they just don't get it!!! :)
-
Just heard from "the nice lady." She was not thrilled, but accepted the situation politely.
Jennifer - Sounds like your sister was buying a place. I'm renting.
As bk said, this kind of thing happens. That's why I went over last night to the home of the people who own the place I decided on -- to give them a check and sign the lease. They said it could wait until morning - but I wanted it ALL done. This is the kind of place I'm sure they'd get a million calls on (they were booked up all day for showings) and I wanted to get it signed, sealed and delivered.
Yes, you're right my sister was buying.
I think the "nice lady" will have definitely learned something. If she hadn't put you off for 5 days then she wouldn't have this problem. :)
Sounds like a crazy business. You were right to get everything done ASAP, cause otherwise maybe they would have shown the houe to someone else. Oy.
-
Elmore, I saw both Keith Andes and Bob Wright in Cincy, both at the Shubert Theatre. Andes, first, in high school. Wright, when I was in college (the Andes version was certainly the stronger of the two). I just can't remember which production the same Carrasco from the Julia show was in without trolling through my old theatre programs...
-
Finally, someone took a look. Thanks, Jrand. Yes, Matthew, the book takes place in the world of the musical theatah circa 1969 (while the date isn't mentioned in the opening chapter excerpt, it is mentioned on the page before the opening chapter in a press release).
-
I like girl solo singers more than I like girl groups.
Lesley Gore, Connie Francis, Annette (of course), Sandy Posey, Jackie Ward, Diane Renay
-
I like what I see so far of Writer's Block. While the entire excerpt gives me a pretty good idea of what kind of guy Arthur Myerson is, the first paragraph alone gives a nice promise of the tone of book--there's a show tune reference in just the second sentence.
And I need to go get a cup of hot coffee now to chase away the cold and misery I'm feeling after reading about Arthur's walk through the rain storm.
-
This morning I went for a walk at the zoo. While I was sitting by the lake, the keeper came by and fed the migrant ducks that make the zoo their winter home:
-
Love the preview to Writer's Block! How long will it be before we can place an order? I've bookmarked the page.
-
Is there a guest room?
Yes! Hoo and Ray.
I'll check out the WRITER'S BLOCK site later (I've read the book and it's GOOD). Have to get ready for a lunch meeting.
-
As for Girl Groups, Janis Siegel (alto of The Manhattan Transfer), Cheryl Bentyne (soprano of The Manhattan Transfer) and Laurel Massé (original soprano of The Manhattan Transfer) have performed together as "Moxie." A couple of years ago (early last year?), they were on an Internet radio show and I was able to record the four or five songs that they performed.
Last month, Janis Siegel was on a radio show from St. Louis that was broadcast on the Internet (which I also recorded) and I called in and was able to ask a question! I asked if Moxie would ever record and Janis said that they (Moxie) are doing a concert in January and MIGHT record! That would be a very, very, very (three verys) good thing! They are all great as soloists (and with The Manhattan Transfer) but as the trio they were just fabulous!
-
Specifically YOU, elmore.
Dear Friend BK, I'm embarassed that I missed the post the first time round! I just read it, and I liked what I read, but since there's something specifically for me, I feel I've missed something! I can't wait to read the rest of it.
-
I have swum in the Atlantic, and in the Black Sea off the coast of Ireland, and in the Gulf of Mexico, but I've never been to me.....
You're a tramp and a scamp and a bit of a vamp.
-
When I was in high school show choir, we did perform a few surfer songs with arm-ography (which is choreography for the arms only).
DRGeorge, I believe that in the GALA Chorus movement (Gay and Lesbian) it's called choralography.
-
From that VARIETY review that WEL quoted:
"Oh dear. The caterwauling vocal callisthenics that are de riguer among "American Idol" contestants have planted their demon seed on Broadway in "Brooklyn, The Musical," a series of overwrought whitebread Gospel ballads strung together in search of a book."
What idiocy! Melisma was certainly part and parcel of Heather Headley's Tony-winning vocal stylings in AIDA, and there's more than a little of it in RENT, too.
-
I want to check out WRITER'S BLOCK, bk, but I am really rushed for time right now. I'll remember that the link is on page 2 of today's notes and try it tonight after I return home from my performance.
-
George, the official Writer's Block website should be up by November 1 (maybe even sooner), at which time you can place your order.
Elmore, I figured you missed the post - I only meant specifically that you would understand the world of the book immediately.
-
BK, I read...I liked...and I am awaiting the release so that I will have something good to read whilst I cardio away at the gym!
-
You're a tramp and a scamp and a bit of a vamp.
That goes without saying, DRELMORE.
-
George, just to be clear - you'll order from our official site, not from the site you bookmarked. At least if you want a signed copy. I'm still not sure about doing a CD for the book - I want to, but Grant isn't available right now and I'm not quite certain how to do it without him and without it costing a fortune. We shall see.
-
Elmore, I figured you missed the post - I only meant specifically that you would understand the world of the book immediately.
Dear Friend BK, I have a vague memory of being in Broadway Arts before, early in my NYC life, but can't recall for what.
-
So far, so good, BK, can't wait for the rest. I love your style of writing, it's very unique and I for one am glad you kept writing after the Kriitzer trilogy. One can not seem to get enough of your style!!!
-
So far I have had an interesting day. This morning, due to the high winds, we lost power so I just stayed in bed snuggling with Bogie until 8:30 and the return of heat. The half a valium I took last night for my back certainly helped. I even skipped Echo’s walk though I will now have to take her this afternoon, rain or not.
Off to the vet I went with Bogie. He is such a good cat and stayed very still while I poked a needle into him. With the help of the vet and her assistant I gave him his fluids. :D Keith asked if they had to pick my up off the ground. ;D
Thursday the vet tech, and our pet sitter, will come to the house and help walk me through it again. I will decide then if I want her one more time-just to be sure I’m doing it correctly.
I have been saying all along “I can do this”. It really is a simple thing but I’m still proud of myself. RLP you must be laughing at me. I bet you are an expert at treating Miss Vickie.
-
I have been saying all along “I can do this”. It really is a simple thing but I’m still proud of myself.
NURSE JANE ALERT!!!! Paging Nurse Jane! :-* :-* :-*
I'm proud of you, too!
-
Which corner of 50th and 8th? That's what I want to know.
I spend most of my mid-week in the bowels of the building on 50th between 8th and Broadway, north side of the street.
-
DRNoel, my memory is that it was on the west side of Broadway above a long gone car dealer.
-
I'm going to see a reading of a musical today by a composer who's still in high school. Talented kid.
At ASCAP, this lady I know severely scolded him about making jokes about Eastern European girls. Can you imagine?
Where would we be here without Panni jokes?
-
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?q3=h4z4Iz3R6S8%253d (http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?q3=h4z4Iz3R6S8%253d)
Why do you know if you click on the above right now, you can read all about Writer's Block and sample the first two pages? Do so and then post.
Good first page (two pages?). Nice to meet Arthur, even under trying circumstances, and I am assuming the cold will be with him through at least part of the book, at least as a character point if not part of the plot.
Also, I like that Arthur's part in the musical's production (lyricist, director, star's best friend in the tradition of Cosmo Brown) hasn't been revealed as yet.
-
The hot dogs of Chicago
Have a certain savoir faire,
And the bar-b-ques you find in Texas,
Hey, they're really great when I'm down there.
The po' boys of New Orleans
And the crabs of Eastern Shore,
I go to Maine for lobster, Buffalo for wings,
You know I'll always want some more.
I wish they all could be California grills
(Wish they all could be California grills)
Wish they all could be California grills.
-
Couldn't resist. ;D ;D ;D
-
Panni what a pleasant surprise. :o
JRand-great Lucy story. :)
-
8-D
-
DRGeorge, I believe that in the GALA Chorus movement (Gay and Lesbian) it's called choralography.
One time I was the stage manager (and I do mean only ONE time) for a local production of Nunsense 2 (they were VERY desperate). The director/music director/choreographer was named Troy and did "Troyography."
-
George, just to be clear - you'll order from our official site, not from the site you bookmarked. At least if you want a signed copy.
I think I did understand that. I just bookmarked the page to remind me of it and to be able to tell others about it. I have some friends who love murder mysteries...library people, you know! ;D
-
I think I did understand that. I just bookmarked the page to remind me of it and to be able to tell others about it. I have some friends who love murder mysteries...library people, you know! ;D
Getting pointers?
-
RLP you must be laughing at me. I bet you are an expert at treating Miss Vickie.
Not "at you" DR Jane. "With you."
Many a time I have done the saline thing with Miss Vickie and noticed her squirming and looking at me as if to say, "What the HELL are you doing?" And then I note that saline is pooling on the floor underneath her as the needle has found an "exit". I was told this might happen from the git go, so I didn't go into trauma over poking holes in and out of my cat for no good reason.
But I've yet to find the needle poking through anywhere...it's always like Miss Vickie simply sprang a leak.
:D
-
Glad you're all enjoying what you read. Here's the latest: I've approved everything, so I will actually have a test copy of the paperback and hardcover in the next week to week-and-a-half. I'll then be able to place my order and have books here very close to the time we start taking orders on the site. VERY happy.
-
Getting pointers?
:-X ::)
-
Yes, on the west side of 8th and 50th and indeed above a car dealership. It's basically where that big building and movie theater complex is, if I remember correctly. Also, in the film All that Jazz, the rehearsal studio (done as a set) is an exact duplicate of Broadway Arts.
-
But she will have lost out on renting to Panni, and becoming acquainted with Panni, and that might be an egregious loss for her.
It would be for us!
:D
Well said!! :D
-
Yes, on the west side of 8th and 50th and indeed above a car dealership. It's basically where that big building and movie theater complex is, if I remember correctly. Also, in the film All that Jazz, the rehearsal studio (done as a set) is an exact duplicate of Broadway Arts.
Wait a sec.....not to give anything away (like how I might know....), but wasn't 50th and 8th the location of the Adonis?
(i'm sorry......in my mind's eye, i kept seeing 50th & bway, which I believe was the Pink Pussycat, or whatever the name of that theatre was, which is also on view in All That Jazz.....)
-
Topic One: Corny they may be but I alwasy liked "The Elusive Butterfly" and "Both Sides Now".
-
Topic Two: Preferred the Surf Instrumentals like "Pipeline", "Wipeout" and "The Lonely Surfer".
Songs that came straight to mind were "Please Don't Talk To The Lifeguard" and "Surf City".
There were quite a few successful Australian Surf songs - well in Sydney anyway! No doubt the rest of world did quite well without hearing "He's My Stomper Womper Real Gone Blonde Surfer Boy" (or something similar) which was a major hit in Surf City Sydney.
-
No doubt the rest of world did quite well without hearing "He's My Stomper Womper Real Gone Blonde Surfer Boy" (or something similar) which was a major hit in Surf City Sydney.
I, for one, would love to hear this.
Can you cite the lyrics?
-
Correct title: "He's My Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy" - Little Pattie (Amphlett) - 1963.. Maybe you can find it on a download somewhere. Will copy it for you if you can't live without it but please remind me in a few weeks when I am back in the real world.
Little Pattie's sister Joanna was in "Miss Saigon" in London and Sydney. "Ampil" is listed as the surname. Think she was also in the ORIGINAL cast of "The Boy From Oz".
-
My very favorite surfing song is "Surf City" by my very favorite surfing dudes, Jan & Dean!
With Brian Wilson helping on vocals!!
-
Yes, on the west side of 8th and 50th and indeed above a car dealership. It's basically where that big building and movie theater complex is, if I remember correctly. Also, in the film All that Jazz, the rehearsal studio (done as a set) is an exact duplicate of Broadway Arts.
Dear Friend BK, wasn't it higher up, like Broadway and 56th Street or so?
-
This is where Mr. Walton and Mr. Schimdt and Mr. Willison told me it was.
-
I, for one, would love to hear this.
Can you cite the lyrics?
HERE (http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/hampton/155/aussie/aus-st3.htm) is a website for Australian Rock 'n' Roll stamps and there was one for the song "He's my Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Real Gone Surfer Boy!" It also includes a one minute clip (in Real Audio) of the song. Here's the stamp:
-
I found this artwork for the song that was, I believe, on an Aussie stamp:
-
Much classier, IMO, is this:
-
Trying to post pics of the new casa...
-
More? Did someone say "Please, sir, I want some more?"
-
And...
-
And for animal lovers everywhere:
-
Looking at the house from across the street. The upstairs will be mine.
(The car is NOT mine.)
-
The view from the balcony...
-
Great digs, Panni!
I know that view will be terrific on snowy days!
:D
-
that is one adorable house Panni! And nice looking neighborhood. When you said it was on Ventura Blvd I thought it would be a busy street...or did you say it was on Ventura Blvd??
-
Stamps: I have the stamp set for the Australian Rock and Roll series - there was also a CD released to promote the series of OZ icons of the era. As is usually the case, the selections were Sydneycentric!! Pattie could not make the top 40 in the Southern states! Naturally I have the CD!! A second series was released a couple of years ago - "Men At Work", "Midnight Oil" etc.
-
that is one adorable house Panni! And nice looking neighborhood. When you said it was on Ventura Blvd I thought it would be a busy street...or did you say it was on Ventura Blvd??
No, MB, it's south of Ventura. A short walk to Ventura, but not on it.
-
Looking at the house from across the street. The upstairs will be mine....
Pretty darned snazzy! ;D
-
Thanks, George and MB. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with all the boxes of scripts, etc. in the garage here.
-
Finally caught up with the WRITER'S BLOCK preview. Very nice! Congrats.
-
I use to love swimming in the ocean and riding the waves. Swimming as far out as I could without the “water patrol” sending me back in was fun. Twice I made it out to the end of the Santa Monica Pier. I also enjoy pools, especially if the chemical used is not chlorine.
I loved the Beach Boys, though I agree with Bruce on Barbara Ann. It’s the Ba ba’s that bother me. I still remember when all I wanted for my birthday was a Beach Boys album. I still have it too.
My favorite Beach Boy song is MONTEGO BAY.
CALIFORNIA GIRLS and SURFER GIRL are other favorites.
I am not a fan of girl groups.
-
DRLaura, darling pic.
Thank you dear elmore. ;D
Panni do you have photos of the inside? Are there still people living there and when do you move in?
-
RLP the first thing the doctor said to me, after I got the needle in, was look to be sure nothing is leaking. ;D
We set up a Bogie area on the washing machine, placing a floor mat with a rubber backing on it. Then Keith put a hook in the cabinet above the machine to hang the fluid bag from.
Now if Bogie is just as good at home as he is in the vets office, and I don’t make him leak, we are set. I’m putting Keith in charge of watching the bag and letting me know when he has been given the correct amount. It is hard for me to see that far.
When I look at something close up I need my glasses off and get my face up close to see. Once I leaned forward over Bogie my long hair fell in my face. ::) Thankfully I remembered to take something to the office today to tie my hair back. :)
-
Lovely abode, DRPANNI. Here in my ranch house in Indiana, I am jealous!
And I was WRONG.....yes, I was wrong, you heard it hear first. So, I hear you ask, what ELSE is new? BUT for years and years and YEARS I have avoided the movie BRIGADOON because I don't like Gene Kellly (though I know he is the berries around here to lots of people) - BUT today I watched it.....and I liked it very much. I was WRONG to deprive myself of this lovely musical.....but now I will make up for lost time.
As I have said, I don't mind Gene (too much) when he's hoofing, but when he puts on stretch pants and a beret - OH BA-RUUUUUTHER!
-
I spoke to Tom Jones' wife, Janet Watson, and she thinks it was at 55th and 8th! But then she said, maybe I'm confusing it with Matt Mattox' studio.
-
Thanks, George and MB. Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with all the boxes of scripts, etc. in the garage here.
I didn't see any photos of the guest room?
-
Matt Mattox was Caleb Pontipee!
-
And that new DVD of "Seven Brides..." is fantastic!
-
I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!
"What do I need manners for, I already got a wife!"
-
Hey, everyone I am going to ask you all for some extra strong vibes. Not for me but for Mr. Cal Bolder.
I just got off of the phone with Cal as he had been feeling poorly ever since he had pneumonia a few weeks back. He just found out today that he has cancer...I don't recall the name of the cancer, it was something I had never heard of, but it is very serious. He goes up to Spokane tomorrow for more tests and to start chemo. Cal is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing and I was so looking forward to getting together with him in November for the mini Star Trek affair in Portland. He is still hoping to attend but doesn't know how things will go. I am hoping for the best and so is he. So please...any and all vibes are most welcome! And as we know they work very well!!
And here is a new shot of Cal that he just sent to me last week to use for his interview (a portion of which will be in the December issue of the on-line magazine Horror-Wood.com...just the portion where he talks about his role in about JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER)
MR. Cal Bolder
-
! ! ! ! ! VIBES OF HEALTH FOR MR. CAL BOLDER ! ! ! ! !
-
Elmore, all I could do was go on what the three of them told me, and their memories seemed to jibe. I could find no information at all on the web and the one mention of it in Ted Chapin's book didn't have a street. Harvey, especially, recalled it quite clearly, as did Tony. If it's wrong - oh, well, too late to change it now.
-
HEALING VIBES FOR CAL BOLDER!!!!!!!!!!!
CALLING NURSE JANE!!!!
-
I went outside to check something at the front of the garage - it was pouring (brief - about two minutes worth) and as I came out the back gate my foot slid on the slippery ground. I almost took a really bad header but stopped myself from going down. However I did that my elbow bumped into something and it is so painful right now I can't stand it. I'll try icing it in a bit.
-
Congrats on the crib, DR Panni! There's something vaguely familiar about it, though. It's like I've seen it as an exterior shot for some sitcom or other. Do you know of any of its history yet?
-
Ouch!
-
Elmore, all I could do was go on what the three of them told me, and their memories seemed to jibe. I could find no information at all on the web and the one mention of it in Ted Chapin's book didn't have a street. Harvey, especially, recalled it quite clearly, as did Tony. If it's wrong - oh, well, too late to change it now.
Dear Friend BK, don't worry about it. I thought I'd been to it, but Tony, Harvey, and Walter would know more than I. I suspect it's my memory that sucks! There are so many rehearsal spaces that have moved around. I remember one in the 40s with a deep and narrow stairway (Ed Kliban must have been there as well), so don't let me clearly vague memories steer you wrong.
-
Elmore, all I could do was go on what the three of them told me, and their memories seemed to jibe. I could find no information at all on the web and the one mention of it in Ted Chapin's book didn't have a street. Harvey, especially, recalled it quite clearly, as did Tony. If it's wrong - oh, well, too late to change it now.
Bruce, if it is wrong, then it's not really wrong, it's "dramatic license." ;)
-
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]
PAGE SIX DANCE!!! DANCE, PAGE SIX, DANCE!![/move] ::) :P :-[ :-\ :-* ??? 8) :o :( >:( ;D :D :-* ::) ???
-
I went outside to check something at the front of the garage - it was pouring (brief - about two minutes worth) and as I came out the back gate my foot slid on the slippery ground. I almost took a really bad header but stopped myself from going down. However I did that my elbow bumped into something and it is so painful right now I can't stand it. I'll try icing it in a bit.
If it's still painful tomorrow, please have your Dr, not a DR, look at it, in case there's a hairline whatchamaycallit.
-
I have to go out and get some ice soon, since there doesn't seem to be any in my handy-dandy refrigerator.
-
They do shoot a major sitcom on that street - they're their at least twice a month. I'm thinking Malcolm in the Middle - is that still on? That or something like it.
-
MORE HEALING VIBES FOR CAL BOLDER!!!!!!!!!!!
Bruce if you have frozen peas or anything similar you could use that on your arm. Hope it is better by moning.
-
*****Healing vibes for Mr. Cal Bolder****
-
Ouch is right. Elbows can HURT.
Healing elbow vibes, bk!
-
Panni do you have photos of the inside? Are there still people living there and when do you move in?
I'll have photos when I go in on Thursday to measure and do the walk-through. The place is empty. The owners of the house lived there and they moved to another state. The people who bought the house (escrow just closed) are using it as an investment property.
The downstairs tenants are staying. I met the woman today and she was very hospitable. They're both in the business (of show, that is.) Not actors though, thank goodness.
-
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]~~~ Healing Vibes for Mr. Cal Bolder!! ~~~[/move]
-
DanTM - as bk said, something (Malcolm?) shoots around there regularly. Plus, the street, itself is, I think, sometimes used (leaving out the Spanish-style homes and palm trees) because it could be a small-town-anywhere-in-the-USA street.
-
I'm now off to my parents' house. Dinner will be schnitzel (breaded pork chops). Free food is always good!
-
George did you see the article on LOST in TV Guide? I haven't read it yet but Keith says it is, surprisingly, good and I must read it.
-
When people react to my vocation as if it's anything unusual, I like to say:
Oh, you can't swing a cat without hitting a musical theatre writer around here.
Metaphorical cat-swinging (as opposed to real) is one of my favorite things.
I was always partial to metaphorically swinging dead science teachers, but that usually led to my having to explain what that meant, so I've since replaced it with "You can't throw a can of soup without hitting a..." which is pretty self-explanatory.
One of my favorite similes is, of course, "like so much fish." Or "as though it were a rather large quantity of fish."
I don't know so much from surfer songs.
-
Well, I read through the notes twice and I STILL didn’t see the link. That makes me feel like Lancelot. Link that is.
I like reading Cookbooks too, SWW. I love enjoy many of the recipes I find.
I can’t think of any surfing songs that I like.
Congrats on the new home, Panni! Can’t wait to see the pictures of the inside!
Healing vibes to Mr. Cal Bolder! Be well soon!
I have to agree that I like swimming in pool much better than I do the ocean. You never know what is going to come up and take a chunk out of you or if you forget to do the Sting Ray Shuffle (no joke) you can get a nasty sting. I speak from experience on both counts. I think the chunk was a fish of some type (not sure) and I stepped on a Sting Ray. After that, it was pools only for me!
I do, however, like walking along the beach and picking up shells.
Jane, you very brave to take on such a task for Dear Bogie. I don't know if I could do it.
I have to tell you my work story from today. Someone looked me up on the computer directory at work and noticed that my title was wrong. It still showed me as a Clerk III. I sent an e-mail to the help desk to ask who would change it to the correct title.
I got an e-mail back stating they would do it but what title should they put? Now, as a HHW God, what else could I say but “God” but I was also known as a Senior Personnel Assistant. The email I got back from him stated that “God” was a little beyond his ability but would I settle for the Sr. Personnel Asst. title. I told him it would be a let down but “We” would accept it. Sigh. Such is life.
The house was torn down next store. It feels so odd to see the pile of rubble where it used to stand.
-
Danise I will email you the link. I enjoyed your work story. ;D
Does anyone watch the Food Network? The show $40 A DAY with Rachel Ray is coming to Ashland to sample three of our local restaurants.
-
Bogie seems to be feeling better after his treatment today. In two weeks we will find out if his blood work also improves.
-
Hooray for Bogie (and Jane)!
-
It's raining quite heavily in the City of Studio.
-
I'm supposed to be getting ready for a story meeting tomorrow morning - but I can't concentrate.
-
Just a quick note to let you know I am still alive. More tests tomorrow, so far they haven't found the cause.
-
Test vibes for Michael Shayne. ~~~~~~~~~
Get-well-sick-kitty-cat vibes for Jane and Bogie. ~~~~~~~~~~~
-
Michael,
Thanks for keeping us posted. Wishing (and vibing) you the very best of health.
-
Best of health vibes to DR Michael Shayne!
-
City of Studio weather report... It's raining big time!
-
Sorry to hear the news about Mr. Bolder's diagnosis. Of course I wish him the best.
-
DR Panni, the digs are diglicious! I'm sure you will be very happy there.
-
bk, I'm going in a few minutes to the site where the preview for WRITER'S BLOCK is. I'll be back later with comments.
-
I just got around to seeing last week's LOST today! It was another sterling episode. What a fascinating and engrossing series. Every single character is intriguing, and I can't wait to find out the back stories on all of them as they struggle to stay alive on the island. What a super show!
Again,k tomorrow night, I'll have to record it since I'll be AFOOTing.
-
Going through my head:
Ethel Waters' glorious rendition of "Taking A Chance on Love" from "Cabin in the Sky."
It's my favorite version of that song. She invests it with true feeling/meaning...much more than any other singer I've heard.
RLP, I agree with you about Ethel Waters' "Taking A Chance On Love." But I also hold a special place for Rosetta LeNoire's version. I saw her in the 1964 revival - and she gave encore after exuberant encore. The audience wouldn't let her get off the stage.
-
The words flowed smoothly, and I quite enjoyed this introduction. The (I'm assuming) flyleaf summary was also nicely worded. Should make a great read.
-
I saw Shall We Dance? this evening, Dear Readers. Yes, it is filled with Hollywood gloss and yes it stretches the extent to which we might suspend our disbelief and yes, Miss JLo's character's story is vapid, at best, perhaps to keep it in line with the actress' thespian ability. All the aforementioned notwithstanding, this picture will likely win the "Best Feel-Good Movie of the Year" award, and deservedly so.
Mr. Richard Gere is lovely, and I wish Miss Susan Sarandon's part were bigger, as she is delicious in each scene in which she plays. Mr. Stanley Tucci and Mr. Bobby Cannavale are both wonderful in their roles, as is the entire supporting cast. The dancing and music are quite enjoyable.
I did not see the Japanese film on which this movie is based, so I have no point of reference in that regard. Still, I give Shall We Dance? a big thumbs up.
P.S. If the scene with Mr. Gere riding up the escalator does not melt your heart, you don't have one.
-
Thanks for the review of SHALL WE DANCE, DR Jay. I saw the Japanese version and fell in love with it and I was curious how good this one was. Judging from the previews it looked good.
-
DR Jane, glad that Bogie is feeling better after his treatment. Does he blow up like a balloon after the saline is injected? My Buford did...just like a water balloon. I did not, fortunately, have to do the injections myself. The vet did it just a few times to hydrate him. But he always seemed more like his old self afterwards!
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Bogie vibes :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)[/move]
-
And Michael Shayne vibes, also!!
[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%] :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D [/move]
Hoping whatever it is, it is nothing too serious!
-
Thumbs up for the Broadway miniseries on PBS, even if I am having to explain some of what they're talking about to der B. I thought he already knew all this stuff!
Healing vibes.
And, back to TOD: A new shipment of books has come in, including Mimi Sheraton's Eating My Words: An Appetite for Life, about her career as a restaurant critic. Here's an example of a verb as metaphor, from the introduction:
"...As chef's ego's have souffled..."
A logical choice of words, and pictorially perfect, in my opinion!
-
Just finished watching two episodes off of the GREG THE BUNNY disc that I got via Amazon.com today. What a hilarious show! Did anyone else besides myself get to see this program when it aired?
-
I, too, saw the Japanese Shall we Dance (when it came out, and then recently - I wrote about it here) and there is no way I'm going to see the redo of it, because I know it will be everything I hate. I can't stand Miss JLo and don't think much of Mr. Gere either. And, despite the predictions of someone I know, the film did not light the box office on fire and will surely drop fifty percent in its second week.
-
! ! ! ! ! HEALTH VIBES FOR DC BOGIE ! ! ! ! !*
*Which are most assured under the able and steady hands of Nurse Jane.
-
! ! ! ! ! VIBES OF HEALTH FOR DR MICHAEL SHAYNE ! ! ! ! !
-
I also watched Broadway The American Musica tonight and I thought it was wonderful! True, not a whole lot in the way of new information, and some of the talking head interviewees tend to go into hyperbole mode. But otherwise the doumentary is breezy, fun to watch and occaisionally touching. I can't wait until part two tomorrow night.
-
I like reading Cookbooks too, SWW. I love enjoy many of the recipes I find.
Of the trove of books that just came in today, only two have recipes, Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook and David Rosengarten Entertains. The latter may not have as much content as I'd like; he's talking about cooking for parties of twelve, so there's not much I'll be able to use directly in my kitchen, cooking for just myself and der Brucer. I never can tell, however, since even the suggestion of a combination of ingredients can get me experimenting in my kitchen.
On the other hand, Bourdain is a danged good writer on his own, even if he would look at my use of "danged" as too prissy. All right, he's a f***ing good writer, with no explitives deleted. He writes crime novels. He writes about food. If you were watching Nova on PBS a few nights ago, most of their show about Typhoid Mary was based on a nonfiction book he wrote. He's a culinary bad boy who isn't afraid to say what really goes on in a kitchen. Call his book an exploration of cultures, both of professional kitchens and French bistro food.
I've already mentioned Mimi Sheraton's Eating My Words. Again, this counts as a book about culture, this time from the other side of the restaurant, the dining tables. Like other books I've found written by critics, I'm expecting what I learn from Sheraton to also explain criticism in general, and make me more aware of what good criticism involves (something BK will agree is in short supply on the Internet).
Fourth tome: Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. This book has been out for twenty years already; I don't know why I've never picked it up before. And yes, it's a book about science. Physics, chemistry, biology, all the stuff that makes food (and our reaction to it) tick.
I'm still working on Rosengarten's It's All American Food, which arrived a few days ago, about half-way through. This gears more towards history, pointing up how the various immigrant groups altered their cuisine because the ingredients from their homelands weren't to be found when they came to America; how the differing regions of the USA, with their differing abundances of foodstuffs, shaped our regional cuisine; and how some items have become American staples no matter where you go. And it's packed with recipes.
Like I say, there's a lot that can be learned from cookbooks, and from food-related books. And for me, this kind of reading is fun!
-
I also watched Broadway The American Musica tonight and I thought it was wonderful...breezy, fun to watch and occaisionally touching. I can't wait until part two tomorrow night.
Also of note: the restoration of the vintage film, and particularly of the recordings! I was amazed at the quality of the sound, having heard some of the recordings from other sources.
I'm so glad everything else I want to watch tomorrow (except for Lost, of course) is repeats, so I won't feel like I'm missing anything.
-
Good Evening!
-I finally made it out of/escaped from the pit...
Sorry to have been errant and truant the past couple of days, but it's a tech week, and with the way this schedule is scheduled, we have four 10 out of 12s in a row! But since the orchestra rehearsals are scheduled outside of that 12 hour window, and then I have to program the keyboard outside of that 12-hour window... Let's just say I'm looking forward to having my life back after we open this weekend.
I also "forgot" just how much music there is in A CHORUS LINE, and how there's no real extended break - time to rest - until Paul's monologue.... So... The other night, my left hand was literally cramping while I was playing - but I guess playing about eight hours straight - and on a crappy rehearsal upright - can do that do you. -That was such a strange feeling. I've been fatigued before, but I was literally feeling my arms and hands starting to shut down. So, in my off-time, I've been in conservation and preservation mode in regards to my hands - my "instrument". Thankfully, the orchestra comes in tomorrow, so that means less "pounding" for me. Whew!
But the show is going well, and we should be in great shape by the time our first preview starts at 8:00CDT this Thursday.
So... I'll most likely be errant and truant through the weekend... We go right from tech, to opening, to double shows Saturday and Sunday. Whew! -Oh, and then next week the cabaret rehearsals start... Ah, well... Life below the wicked stage... ;)
I hope everyone is doing well.
Good Vibes to those who need them.
Happy Birthday to those who've had Birthdays.
Happy Anniversary to those who've had Anniversarys.
Etc., etc., etc...
I'll be back...
Laters...
-
DR Jay - Glad you enjoyed the remake. But you owe it to yourself to see the original SHALL WE DANCE?... It's a truly wonderful film.
-
I saw Shall We Dance? this evening, Dear Readers. Yes, it is filled with Hollywood gloss and yes it stretches the extent to which we might suspend our disbelief and yes, Miss JLo's character's story is vapid, at best, perhaps to keep it in line with the actress' thespian ability.
Are you talking about Jennifer Lopez, thespian extraordinaire, privileged to be asked by Mr James Lipton to offer advice and help to young performers on INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO? What was that idiotic buttkisser thnking?
-
Am watching Broadway, but really must get the DVD. Haven't been able to pay full attention. Trying to do research on divorce, do notes and stay awake (not in that order).
-
What was that idiotic buttkisser thnking?
Simple: "Ratings."
-
It's raining so hard I can't take Abie out to do his business. Maybe my morning meeting will be cancelled.
-
Simple: "Ratings."
Well, that's a relief! I was terrified it meant that Mr Lipton had finally oiled his way through every great actor and actress living and we were now down to performers of Ms Lopez' ilk.
-
We've passed the 200 mark!
It's still coming down like crazy. I'm building an ark. Or since I'm in Hollywood - an ARC.
-
Panni, we are expecting the remnants of your storm, so don't keep it all to yourself!
-
I meant to mention that one of the trailers I saw this evening was for Phantom of the Opera. I can't tell you how well the parts are played or sung or what's been done with the story, but it appears that the production values are rather lavish and the cinematography quite strong.
Perhaps Dear BK can tell us all about it since he seems to be able to judge the quality of cinematic releases before he sees them.
:o
-
You can have the storm, DRLaura. I just took Abie out through the lake that's forming next to the pool in the yard. It a wet one out there.
How is it out your way, DR Jay?
-
I just looked into the bedroom. There's a very wet dog on my bed. That should smell pleasant.
-
I don't judge movies before I see them, but I do avoid the ones that sound bad to me. I sometimes catch up with them on DVD and I don't recall a time when I've been pleasantly surprised. I simply see no reason to see this redo since I don't like the cast and I've read enough to know they've subverted and Hollywood-ized one of my favorite films of the last decade. Leave me to my memories.
-
And I'll actually see POTO with no preconceived notions or judgments because it might just be okay. Might not, but since the stage version is not something I find especially brilliant (although I enjoyed it) I don't really care if they've futzed with it. Also, I don't dislike anyone in the cast, at least those I've heard of.
-
Watched the Broadway thing on PBS. It's perfectly fine, would like more vintage footage from archival Broadway footage, less film footage, but I guess any Broadway footage is scarce. Don't think it's as compelling as Broadway: The Golden Years.
Re: Lipton and Jennifer Lopez and Panni's answer: Ratings. This is what really pisses me off about so many of these cable channels anymore. They originally started out with a concept and a mandate...and now, as they've gotten bought by conglomerates, they've abandoned those mandates of programming for specialized interests to get into the ratings game. Bravo, A&E used to show some really interesting theatre and film and other arts programming...but now all they do is program the same mediocre fodder that everyone else does. There is no need for 200 channels if they are not going to program something original and different. When was the last time The Learning Channel actually programmed anything worth learning. It's all cheap rip-offs of British shows that the British did better or tripe like monster trucks or junkyard wars. The Travel Channel is bikini and vegas. Bravo...A&E, blech!
-
BK, I think folks our age know our tastes well enough that we can make judgements about whether we want to go see something or not. I can just tell by certain trailers or ads that certain movies ain't for me. I don't have to give 'em a chance.
-
50th & 8th, now home to Worldwide Plaza, which has, in its basement, what was built as a Cineplex and is now the legitimate (!) Dodger Stages, was, in my youth, Madison Square Garden.
Still, that famous edifice may have been knocked down by the time Writers Block is set in.