Double Whammy - Carmen

Two posts in the same day. This one also a video clip but in a much different genre. I am not even sure what to classify it as. Moulin Rouge meets Lady Gaga at the Opera. All I can gather is that it is by an Austrian tenor named August Schram and it is his take on the classic Carmen. It starts rather pedantic and then proceeds into something bizarrely fantasy that defies explanation - but is worth the time spent viewing.

Dog Eat Dog

This is an incredibly charming short film starring wunderkid Zachary Quinto in his quest to find the perfect dog at the shelter. It is a 10 minute clip, but filled with much heart and humor. He plays a character ironically named "Oliver Katz." Most of it takes place in a shelter that looks strangely like our Humane Society kennels and I have visited often. It features an adorable little pit bull that he calls Rizzo and his quest to bond with the dog and bring her home. For anyone that has walked this path before...

Cookie Party

All who know me are aware that baking is a large part of everyone in my family. Something we enjoy and have a natural knack for. Whether it is cherry pies for the 4th, pickles and jams in the Fall or dozens of cookies during numerous holiday seasons. Some fail in the recipe, but most taste well in the intent.

The annual cookie party has been going on for more than a decade now. It has seen great entries pushing the envelope of cut-out creativity. The last two years have extended beyond the Christmas season and it is seeming to be a good enough fit, that we will likely roll it forward. It is a chance to reconvene after the onslaught of the season. And it also gives us chance to use those rare cookie cutters that don't fall into the categories of Santa, bells or gingerbread men. Instead we can explore butterflies, frogs, teapots and even a map of the USA. I love that it continues from year to year with good friends.

Happy Birthday James!

I have always been a fan of our Mpls/ Hennepin library branches. Whether "borrowing" some fabulous music to add to my collection, picking up a Museum Pass or even a book sale @ the Friends of the Library. It is a great resource to us all at our finger tips.


Recently it has been a small point of frustration since my home branch, the Walker is now closed for a two year renovation. I have toyed with a few other branches to decide which will be my adopted home until then. None are horribly awry, but most are far enough away that they don't cross my normal beaten paths. This has resulted in more than a few overdue fines and missed reserves. 

However the one I am partial to is the very small Hosmer branch on 36th in S. Minneapolis. It is so small and quaint with its concrete lions out front and grand wooden stairs that it reminds of the vintage library I grew up with in Erie PA. Today was an especially sweet visit when I stopped to hunt up some work CDs. I was greeted by a friendly face asking me if I wanted to attend a birthday party. It seems that James K Hosmer, the namesake, would have been 179 years old today. There was a great archive display telling me all about his days in the Civil War, as a Universalist minister (a plus in my book), and a very early and distinguished head of the Minneapolis Public libraries at the turn of the century. He threw lavish dinner parties of lobster and pastries. And this branch, a Carnegie building, was named after him in its very first decade of existence.

It was very sweet to be greeted with balloons, cupcakes and punch by a very eager staff who were delighted in sharing the knowledge with me.

Julia Roberts Obstacle Course

More film insanity to fuel the Oscar season. This one comes to me via Billy On the Street - another web series from Funny or Die. It consists of Billy Eichner and crazy antics with celebs and passer-bys along the street.

This mini-sports event has the always game and hilarious Rachel Dratch (give the girl her own show.) In it, she is racing through a relay race with momentous film trivia from Julia's varied career. Crawling thru the slime of a contaminated park in Erin Brocovich. Burrowing through a burrito tunnel for the Mexican. Sliding into a bowl of pasta and meatballs for Eat Pray Love. All laughable! I love the details like her snorkeling goggles and attached digital cam on head - which is never even used. Please watch.

Inauguration Day

I'm not usually one to wear my flag on my sleeve as far as Patriotism goes. I fly my flag on National holidays and honor it during opening ceremonies at the many events I judge over the year - even if I don't bother to mumble out the national anthem when sung. But I was especially proud to be following the ceremony today via a streamline while at work. There were many moments declared that we so often take for granted. Richard Blanco's poem looked at simple things like the onset of every day, but did so with an elegance that can be seen through the eyes of everyone one of us as Americans. National treasures like James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson & Beyonce sang our anthems with dignity and talent that we are blessed to nurture - please support the arts amongst youth. The President is bold in his charge and statements as we approach this new year with what I hope to be optimism.


I was following many likewise sentiments coming in over Facebook during the ceremony. But the last one I read made me chuckle: It was someone I know who misheard the press comments. They were saying that Obama's speech was a "bit shorter" this time around. But what his ears heard with a "bitch order" which made me reel. Long live the President.

2 days ago

2 days ago

Awards Season

Tis the time of the year for Grammys, Golden Globes, the inevitable Oscars and the whole slate that either follows behind or precedes. For those not familiar with our local scene in the Twin Cities; we have our Ivey Awards. The premise here is a bit different. Instead of being a performance competition - it is marketed as a celebration of the year in theater, noting what rose to the top and a giant party where for one night a year, we can hang out with friends at a decadent bash! Our event is months away in September - when most theaters start their subscription season.

They get their name from a turn of the century restaurant called the Ivey, where the touring musicians and vaudeville would congregate while on the circuit waiting for reviews to come in.

But, I am excited that I am now one of the evaluators for what will become recipients next year. I had been approached and wanting to participate for a while now, but never had the time to invest in the training until now. Also, previously being more active as an actor, there would have been many instances of conflicts of interest. What this means is that over the next 12 months I will be lucky enough to take in a number of outstanding shows around town and voice my thoughts on what made them stellar (hopefully.) Or what made them fail miserably. The idea is not to become God's voice on theater, but to give an honest response. I am looking very forward to it.

Jodi Foster was Here

I did not watch the Golden Globes - although I am inclined to that sort of pomp and notoriety. But I did tune in this morning to check out the hits and misses, the musings of Miss Fey & Poehler. And of course, I stumbled onto the huge press that Jodie is receiving in terms of her public coming out during her acceptance of the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime award.

After watching the clip, her words ring even more true in light of the inevitable spin that the press and gossip mongers put on her speech. Her eloquent words contained SO much more vital information and inspiration than a mere coming out. But that has always been the target she has eluded. She talks at length about coming from a different era where privacy was revered over paparazzi - being a young 3 year old thrust into a commercial world of tabloids. And of course her true intentions are naturally misinterpreted and skewed, as this revelation again proves. She jokes that coming out in today's standards involves a "press conference, a new fragrance, and a reality TV show" and that would never be true to herself.

No one seems to be talking about her quest to keep her life real and honest. About the "lifers" in the back of the auditorium that have remained steadfast in her small and unacknowledged "posse." About change being constant and embracing the "what next." Her most impassioned moments were to her partner and two sons sitting at the front table. And a most heartfelt shout out to her ailing mother with 3 very simple "I Love You's." I was truly inspired and grateful for who she is and what she stands for.

Last minute addition

.... since we are going with humor for the day. It seems to be a common theme in many friends FB postings. This one I had to share from my dear friend Beth Desotelle. It was found in the drain to her bathtub. They had been thinking it was just an old piece of ceramic that drained slowly by nature. Never underestimate the power of Tele-Tubbies. I love what appears to be after-birth smeared all over him. I am betting he is glad for the breath of fresh air in spite of his obvious bruises.

Shameless Humor

I thought it was time to put some mindless chuckles on the blog after the deep end of the year musings. These are two I found in my morning reads. Both are videos.

The first is from a small video blog that I may have to check out in full. It seems their brand of humor is pushing the social issue envelope far to the edge. They are called Nice Piece Productions and this particular one is called Would You Rather? It spoofs a corporate merger deal on the table and sides them with difficult, awkward and explicit choices that become bargaining chips. Not real life at all, but great production values!

The second is a ridiculous stupid people kind of thing. It is a simple magician who rigs a false car seat in his vehicle that becomes a costume he hides inside. He then proceeds to drive up to fast food windows where we get the expected inane reactions from minimum pay workers. I admit, I did laugh at it much.

Useless Knowledge

I just found this and posted it on my work blog as well. Everything you never really needed to know.

1) Odd mating habits of koalas, kangaroos & octopi. Check!

2) The economics of iPhone sales vs the Rubics cube. Check!

3) Bacteria growing on the crotch of your unwashed jeans. Check!

Fun, but not likely to even yield a winning answer in Trivial Pursuit. But you will know and that has to be enough.

Eating Crow

I have no idea what is going on, but every day for the last three, I am greeted by this huge gaggle of crows that are just hovering in the trees on my block. The days have been very dark and dreary in that sort of mid January winter funk. But it has been even more alarming with the presence of these birds. Hundreds of them in the bare trees just cawing and flapping their wings. I believe a large gathering is called a "murder" of them - not totally reassuring. This morning Waylon came across a dead one down the street just laying there stiff in the white snow. Bizarre. I am hoping they are packing up and heading South real soon.

ps. - a day later, the sun is shining and the cardinals are calling from the top of the tree branches.