getting some culture, part 1

My Lunch Lady friend, Sarah Logan-Reynolds, encouraged everyone on fb to "go and take in some culture" last weekend.

The Savannah Book Festival was in town, plus it was the Free Museums Sunday, with a wide range of activities to take in.

I chose to wait until today, when parking would be easier and the weather would be more conducive to strolling downtown.

See what I mean?

I'm wearing sandals!!!

I would have been at there earlier, but I had the house wide open for warmth!!!

Every room, every closet, open and unblocked to air flow!

Now, for the first time in months, my house is up to 72.

My gratitude to God!!!

So just where was I?

At the Jepson Center, where the exhibit of a portion of the costumes that Glenn Close had from her movies is on its last week.

This was my first time seeing them.

I would have liked to have been able to touch them, too, as I am such a tactile person.

Fortunately, there was an area just for that kid in me: the Barbara Matera Ltd. zone, with large swatches to match - and touch!!! - for at least a dozen of the costumes.

Magnificent!!!

I couldn't help but think of Edna Mode, the fashion designer for the Parr family!

That's because Barbara also supplied costumes for superheroes - very nice!

I'm so grateful that tactile game was there to satisfy my craving for touch! 

After all, I'd just spent almost thirty minutes absorbing all the wonder of the "102 Dalmatians" section, with no touching allowed.

That set of clothing was, by far, the largest in the exhibit.

There were a total of eleven outfits!!!

 

However, as much as I loved the Dragon Suit, the Flower Dress, and the Gown of Flames, this trio not only tickled my funny bone, but told a story.

First of all, that fabric pattern is obviously an inside joke!

That checker style is called Hounds Tooth - get it?

Dressing 'Ella' in that probably even helped her to transform back to herself.

So, in the first outfit, on the left, she's been released from prison and has been reconditioned to being a lover of animals, not just their pelts.

Then she hears Big Ben chime - DONG! - and the white beaded necklace becomes a black and white one, her hair gets mussed, and the jagged shoulder pads rise.

Again Big Ben chimes - DONG!! - and the spell enforced by the prison is completely broken, as is her grip on being placid and her calm composure, as Cruella returns, full force!

Bwah ha ha!!!

Honestly, I'm going to have to see about watching "102 Dalmatians" again.

I may have only seen that 2000 film the one time. 

I'm not nearly as familiar with it as I am with the 1996 live-action version of "101 Dalmatians".

That one, of course, I knew the story of by heart, having grown up with the 1961 animated musical all of my life!

 

The next display that caught and held me was for "Dangerous Liaisons".

That 1988 movie about seduction and deceit, set in Victorian times, really grabbed the attention of my 30-year-old self. 

Such sensually rich and luxurious fabrics!

Such intricate designs!

Such opulence within every inch and every stitch!

No doubt that influenced my design of my wedding gown when I made it in 1992.

That gown also influenced Glenn Close a few years ago.

She was going to the Met Gala in 2023 and wanted something suitable for the affair, which was honoring the late Karl Lagerfeld.

I think she definitely hit the mark with this one!

My question would be: how much does that voluminous outfit weigh???

My guess is at least thirty pounds, maybe more with the jewelry.

That's most def not suitable for dancing!

(smile!)

Let me end with this much more slimline design.

This is what she wore as 'Nova Prime' from "Guardians Of The Galaxy" in 2014.

How wonderful to be able to look closely at that fancy inset pleating in the shirt!

How delicate those gold buttons are on the jacket, lending it a military flair!

How appropriate to spend my last bit of time with this design from one of my all-time favorite science fiction movies!

Now, to rescue my car from the meter!

hooray for the seahawks, again!

The last time that I recall the Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl was 2014.

Like this time, I shared that experience with my youngest brother.

Like this time, we weren't actually together for the game.

I'd been invited, all right, to come to their game-watching party, but I had to excuse myself because the weather was again in the 40's.

No worries!

As I told them when I called the first time, watching TV remotely 'with' Christina or with the ex or my stepmom had been a thing for me for several years.

This time, I'd be 'with Tony and Laura' as we all enjoyed Super Bowl LX!

No long-winded textversations though - phone calls were better! 

See that score in the third quarter?

Just over five minutes of play left, and the New England Patriots have zip.

Seattle has 12 points, but that's not two touchdowns... it's four field goals.

As I told Tony and Laura, that's been a  game of smash, smash, smash!

Certainly wasn't a good time to be a quarterback!

That all changed in the 4th quarter.

Barner caught a pass for a Seahawks touchdown... and Hollins did the same for the Patriots just moments later!

No more scoring by either team for seven minutes.

Then the Seattle kicker came out for another 3-point field goal - good!

Both teams were really scrambling then to try to scare up some more points. 

And then, justthatfast, it happened!

During the sack, the ball popped into the air and was nabbed by Nwosu, who promptly carried it off for a touchdown!!!

How very exciting for the Seahawks!!!

But the next bit of excitement came for the Patriots.

The pass looked like it was going to be incomplete.

That is, until Stevenson managed to scoop it up at the last possible microsecond and get it in for a touchdown... holy cow!!!

Wow, what a rush of points in that fourth quarter!!!

I actually watched the entire game this time, too, instead of just tuning in for the half-time show and last two quarters.

After all, a football game takes four hours to run 60 minutes of play.

Maybe someone needs to Banana Ball that sport!

But please don't get rid of the Super Bowl 'mercials.

My very favorite was the Budweiser one with the friendship of the young colt and the fuzzy, ugly, gray baby bird.

I'd already seen it in the TV show last week, so I was watching for it.

I was watching, camera in hand, to get that magical money shot...

of the moment when the Clydesdale looks like a Pegasus...

and then the American bald eagle rises above its head...

and we realize it's the two very different friends, all grown up.

That made me cry this time, just as it had before.

Not that I'm going to go buy Budweiser... which I cannot, due to the A-fib... but I sure do appreciate their marketing department.

That commercial will make me stop and watch every time.

easter soup to warm me up!

I have been nearly drooling for almost a week, thinking about that dish!

Ever since I realized I had all the ingredients, I've had a taste for it.

Ham to dice up? Yes, indeed!

Sauerkraut? In a can in the pantry!

Boiled eggs? Two left in the bag of 6!

Horseradish? Just the white, not the pink, but it'll do just fine, thanks!

Polish sausage? I've got some pepperoni that should suffice!

Sour cream? Bought it on the way home from the double feature at AMC!

I finished up my A*List, leaving it as a trio since the weather tomorrow is gonna suck, yet again, barely to reach 50 F.

Here's the interesting thing about that movie list.

The first was in Big-D, the second was in 3-D, and the third was regular... but not actually watched, as I'd seen it yesterday.

I just wanted AMC to know that I deemed "Shelter" worthy of watching.

(smile!) 

In fact, all three of these were very good!

"Send Help" was not akin to "Romancing The Stone", as I'd mistakenly guessed from the previews. 

I should have known that Sam Raimi would have more twists embedded in the darkness of this comedy!

Kudos to Rachel McAdams - I hadn't known she had such ice in her blood!

Bwah ha ha!

The Chris Pratt film, "Mercy", was the one I'd really looked forward to, as I knew it would be science fiction.

What a superb look at the capabilities - and limitations - of Artificial Intelligence!

I already knew of its worth as a search engine... but I also knew that not all of those search results might be true.

I already knew of AI's speed with finding and retrieving information... but I also knew it could not find data that was on the dark web.

I loved the message of the movie: Everyone makes mistakes, whether human or AI.

That's true of meteorologists, too, much as I wish it wasn't. 

Just two days ago, the forecast called for a weekend in the 60's.

Now, those temperatures are to be at least 5 degrees cooler.

Poor Smitty was so looking forward to golfing on Sunday!

I'll keep my fingers crossed that the outlook might improve... but I certainly will not be holding my breath.

I think Friday will be the night for a musical... I hope! 

tina tuesday with a twist

 

This time, it wasn't AMC hosting my movie-viewing.

It was NCG Cinema.

They promised me an instant 300 points for watching Jason Statham's latest, "Shelter", so that's where I was earlier.

Of course, the title made me think of the missed Florida trip with cuzn Jeff a ouple of years ago.

So, why not go see it for free with my A*List?

Because I knew I would be at this cinema for "Anyone But You" at 4:30 PM, so Carolyn and I could continue our fun with the Rom-Com Film Fest!

If I was already there, then I wouldn't let the chilly weather stop me.

That's the way to do it, right? 

(smile!) 

What a great movie combo that truly was, too!

"Shelter" had been set in cold climes, with everyone bundled up, but the Glen Powell movie had him butt-naked several times and nearly so several more, there at the tropical beach resort.

Oh, yeah, that got the blood running in my veins!

In fact, both of us were pretty warmed up by the end, so off we went to dinner, with mi amiga choosing OD Crab House again.

I had the platter with eight of those great shrimp and three very good chicken fingers, taking half home.

Carolyn had the same as last time, but added a side of grilled onions and zucchini.

Those were so good!!!

Next time, I plan to get the grilled shirmp appetizer and that veggie dish - oh, yeah!

Then, as I dropped her back at her car, she gave me two boxes of cereal and a bag of cookies, courtesy of her housemate Bill.

I gave her something, too: the collage of photos Hai Dang made for me back in 2014, from our trip to Jacksonville and other locales.

I know she sees him from time to time.

Well, so do I, but here's the difference: the barefoot hobo hasn't spoken to me in well over a decade.

No need for that collage to be on my hall wall.

Good to have that gone! 

I kept the frame, of course.

Now, let me see if I can find that 'serenity song' that everyone was singing at the end of the beach movie... 

"Unwritten", wasn't it?

(smile!)

looking for my groundhog

Was it here, hidden in the WSAV weather song?

Kinda sorta!

This was a sunny day, so the rascal would certainly see its shadow.

I know Smitty has been missing out on golf with his buddies.

He mentioned that on Friday, too.

I sent him this bit of the weather song to lift his spirits for the upcoming Sunday outing.

Let's hope the weather stays at our normal, as shown there!

Then Elissa texted to call off Music Bingo tonight.

Just she and Sandy went last week and they didn't like being that cold.

To her, I sent the forecast for today through Wednesday, as per Pat Prokop.

One more brutal freeze tonight, then two days in a row of near 60!

That sure brings a smile to my face!!!

This lunch brought a smile to me, too.

How so?

It isn't soup!!!

It's ham steak alongside Cranberry Pomegranate Brioche Stuffing.

So nice to eat with a fork, on a plate... so I had the same for dinner!

i had not-soup for breakfast, too: a scrambled egg wrap with Swiss.

Three meals with no spoon required!

In between lunch and dinner, I moved my trash can and the recycling bin to the curb.

I meant to do that two weeks ago, but I held off because it was cold that night.

Today, I went ahead and did it!

That's when I took a good look at my Japanese magnolia tree.

It's always been my groundhog, bursting with pink blooms to let me know warmer days were just six weeks away!

Those blooms from mid-January are all frostbit now.

I know it will be okay, though.

It recovered beautifully from last year's snow and ice, which lasted much longer.

So I celebrated its soon-to-be bounce back with a reward movie from Comcast: "Rush Hour"!!!

This one with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker has so many laughable moments, and a very nice story, too.

Then, after dinner, CBS had something special for me: 'mercials I actually enjoy!!!

I even texted around to family and friends to let them know it was on!!!

This was the 25th "Super Bowl Greatest Commercials" show, so there were lots of old favorites from the years past that were eligible for their 'Hall of Fame" - LOL!

Clydesdales! Pepsi! Doritos! Sheep singing Queen's music! Even one about herding cats!!!   

Nice to have so many high notes today!

i thank You, God!

weekend of hell: tv shows

Although the case could be argued that several of the movies yesterday might have also fallen into this category, I choose to differentiate.

(As I'm the one trapped in this weather hell, I get to make the rules.) 

The phrase "TV shows" refers to those aired productions that are episodic and part of a series.

 

Take this first one: a filmed live stage production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" from 2012. 

This was on as part of the filmed annual Stratford Festival, held each summer for the past 70-plus years in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.

This particular one was part of the 2011 season there.

Of course, my attraction to it was my recent encounter with this favorite, courtesy of SavArtsAcad!

But I had another reason to watch: I recognized one of the actors!

That's Brian Dennehy cavorting as Sir Toby Belch, and clearly having a lovely time doing so!

(That's almost three decades after he played the sheriff in "Silverado".) 

I was sure, too, that Michael McKean was right there with him as Sir Andrew... but IMDB listed someone else.

Still, it was a lot of fun to see again! 

Next up were three British television shows which I've recently taken a fancy to.

"Sister Boniface Mysteries" features a woman of the cloth with a knack for using chemistry and other sciences to help the local police solve crimes.

This episode, "There's No I In Slaughter", s4e7, was about a team-building exercise that turned into a real homicide to solve.

The town's name, Slaughter, still brings a smile along with a favorite memory.

(smile!)

I chased that shot down with two hits from a man of the cloth named "Father Brown".

Interesting sidenote: the woman in this photo, 'Mrs. Isabel Devine", reminds me so much of 'Alice' from "The Vicar Of Dibley" that I actually looked up the actress (Claudia Blakley), only to find she was ten years younger than the one who was 'Alice' (Emma Chambers).

Both characters are adorably sweet and innocent, with a slight lisping quality to their voices.

Anyway, the first episode I watched was "The Battle Of Kembleford", s12e1.

That featured a reenactment of a medieval fight, but gets complicated when a historian gets killed.

After dinner, I followed that up with "The Lord Of The Dance", s12e6.

Brown's young assistant has become a competitor on a ballroom dance show when an accident befalls a dancer.

More accidents soon occur, as it becomes clear someone's life is in danger.

But in this 'cozy crime caper', the culprit is soon caught, of course!

Time for a change of pace.

Yes, dance pun intended!

"Great Performances" classical series, "Now Hear This", enticed me with "Boccherini: Night Music of the Streets of Madrid".

The synopsis seemed to promise a travelogue along with the tunes of the Italian composer.

Not only did Scott Yoo and his musicians deliver, but they revealed the emotional longing and homesickness that Boccherini had felt in 1780 when he was sent out of Madrid to a smaller town after ticking off King Charles III.

The composer had loved Madrid, the lively Spanish city which he'd called home for more than a decade.

"Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid", Opus 30 No. 6 (G. 324), was his love song for that home.

Having traveled around to Panama and Okinawa for several years, I can relate to that.

Right now, I'd like to be back in Panama, where the temperature hardly ever dipped below 70F. 

Time now to wash soup bowls and pots and warm the bed.

I do believe I'll crash a little earlier than usual.

This day that set a record low temperature of 18F warrants an early end.

weekend of hell: movies

Most of the movies were on PBS channels, of which I have access to seven.

Those are truly a Godsend.

I have made steady use of them ever since the pandemic limited my access to external forms of entertainment and knowledge.

 

Now, with the weather 

stranding me in Hell,

yet again, 

I express my gratitude 

to PBS, to GPB, and to SCE-TV 

for helping me stay sane.

I'll begin this post with a documentary about a strong woman and end with one about more strong women, with some men in between.

"Olympia", released in 2018, featured interviews and film clips with actress Olympia Dukakis.

She was in her mid-80's, talking about her career and life, mostly.

Toward the end of the documentary, she was back in Greece, and one of the things she did was attend the release of a turtle back to the Aegean Sea.

The turtle's name was Lola, so of course Olympia regaled us with a few lines from the campy 1955 song about a headstrong woman. 

Very amusing!

I felt a kinship with her during that segment, as turtle release events are something I hadn't known that we shared.

(smile!)

Shortly afterward, Smitty came by to change out my porch light.

It burned out sometime in the fall.

I'd mentioned it a few weeks ago, but let the matter drop.

He brought it up last night at the S&K Friday Fiesta.

"Did I still need that done?"

He arrived just before noon, at the door with the extracted dead bulb already in hand.

All he had to do was reach up to get to it!

I would have had to drag out the ladder and I didn't trust myself to do that with the inguinal hernia still active.

Knowing he was to come, I had the replacement (Ecobulb) ready for him, and he even cleaned the light globe and stayed to make sure the new light worked.

Then he was off to drip pipes at the shop and I went out into the low 40's and did the same here.

Good to know I won't have to be concerned about my front porch light for another seven years.

Thank you, dear brother! 

(smile!)

Then I watched a 2019 music documentary titled "Secret Song". 

Notice the red letters in the piece of music from Alban Berg's "Lyric Suite"?

Those notes indicate his initials, plus those of his mistress, Hanna Fuchs., and appear repeatedly throughout the "Lyric Suite".

In other words, as George Perle determined in 1976, the entire piece from 1926 documents the affair the couple had when Alban was almost 40 years old and she was almost 30.

The documentary was from the point of view of the modern-day musicians - the Emerson String Quartet and Renee Fleming - who were determined to play it with all the emotion and passion the Austrian composer had intended, acknowledging the heat behind the messages meant for his lover.

I found it all quite fascinating!

I wonder if they might be enticed to perform it in its entirety at a future Savannah Music Festival concert?

I'd love to see them perform again!

(smile!)

I decided to watch a movie from the reward stash that Comcast has bestowed upon me: "Love Actually", from 2003.

Alan Rickman, nearly two decades after his American film debut in "Die Hard", is a man in his mid-life crisis, much as Berg was, and, much as Berg did, he had an affair with a younger woman.

Perhaps Olivia Dukakis' character was right in "Moonstruck": men have affairs because they are afraid of death as they slide down towards it.

Nice segue, wasn't it?

Here's another: the movie I was watching was set at Christmas, with snow on the ground, snow falling... and then my first niece called.

She was watching snow fall in Hinesville.

Within an hour, I was watching snow fall here.

I tried to take photos, since that's what I do.

This one is the clearest.

Look closely at the tree trunk and its limbs...

there's a fine draping of white lines from snowflakes dashing through the air.

Sure, a magnifying glass helps, but the snow fall was still evident.

I decided to switch to something set during a warmer season.

Grit TV had a Kevin Costner movie from 2003 that I'd somehow missed!

Like with the Alan Rickman movie, "Open Range" has him almost twenty years after he was kissing a girl in "Silverado"... and he kissed a girl (Annette Bening) in this movie, too.

Robert Duvall didn't do any kissing, as he was busy trying to keep his men and free-grazing cows alive in cattle country.

This was another I know Daddy would have enjoyed.

Time to switch this film festival's focus back to women with a new documentary, "Coronation Girls".

This was amazing as it followed fifty young Canadian girls and women chosen to travel to England in 1953 for the crowning of the 27-year-old Elizabeth II as she, of a similar age as they, began what would become 70 years of her reign.

What an amazing time those girls all had on their 7-week trip that summer!

The movie looks into several of the reunions the group had as the 50-year mark was passed, then concludes with a dozen of the women, now in their 80's, unexpectedly having tea in 2023 with King Charles II on a second trip to England.

Wow.

That's one of those once in a lifetime events...

just as their earlier trip there had been.

I recently had one of those myself this year.

Those are to be treasured.

This view, however, is not.

Once upon a time, when snow fall was rare here, I did enjoy it, because it was not a common thing.

Now, for the second year in a row, there is snow on th ground in January.

Definitely not a treasure.

Good night, all. 

grease is the word... is the word... is the word!

Here's one of my favorite shots!

I just love this whole "Stranded At The Drive-In" vibe - with 'Danny' telling 'Sandy' that "No one walks out of the Drive-in!"

Guess he shouldn't have pushed his luck with copping a feel - hahahaha!

My thanks to The Historic Savannah Theatre for the loan of "Greased Lightning" to Savannah Arts Academy for this production - very nice move!

How did I manage to get a photo, anyway?

Well, I'd asked David Poole at intermission and he gave me permission, as long as I didn't use flash.

Major coolness!!!

I really wanted a photo of that car, and I got one!

Here's another one that I loved getting!

I snapped this right at the start of Act II. 

Yes, this is the dance contest at the high school, with 'Vince Fontaine' (Benjamin Watts) as the TV celebrity officiating as judge.

That's him, on the bandstand, in the hot peach suit with his hands on his hips - good one!

Then there's 'Doody' (Trey Wilner) dancing in the center with 'Frenchy' (Asa Clark) as 'Rizzo' (Maisy Oliver Smith) puts the moves on 'Danny' (Desmond Chaney) in the forefront on the right.

A moment later, I caught the second dance, "Born To Hand-Jive", 'Danny' burning up the floor with 'Cha-cha' (Constance Zaller).

Wow, that was some mighty fine dancing going on!!!

One thing this image drives home is the huge cast for this production - wow.

It reminded me of the time the Armstrong Masquers put on "Amadeus", which had forty actors and crew members for it.

We had all thought John Suchower would have had an easier time herding cats than all those in the cast and crew!

My guess is Becky Lieberman, the new director, had at least that many.

Good for her for keeping it all tight!

And I don't know who was in charge of getting Roger Moss to guest star as 'Teen Angel', but that was a superb choice!!!  

The man was such a hoot, thriving off the energy not only of the cast, but of the audience.

I made sure to hoot and holler and let him know I was enjoying his James Brown-esque spin on that character!

"Beauty School Dropout" was fresh and new, and perfect!!!

Then there's "Rock'n'Roll Party Queen", a song which truly was new to me!

Yes, that's my guy, Trey, strumming the guitar and singing along with 'Roger' (Richard Nguyen) in a scene set in "Jan's basement", where the Pink Ladies and Burger Palace Boys have gathered to listen to albums on Sandy's record player.

Yeah, that wasn't in the movie, but it was a great scene!

There was another song that Trey sang as 'Doody', "Those Magic Changes".

That was about him just learning to play guitar and trying to explain the chords to the other guys.

That reminded me of his starring role last summer! 

Really fun song!

But time to get back to the movie songs, right?

Here we have 'Roger', 'Kenickie' (Austin Bradford), 'Doody', and 'Sonny' (Jonah Rendon) on the left, backing up 'Danny'...

as he faces off against a revamped 'Sandy', with support of 'Jan' (Eden Sinoff), 'Frenchy', and 'Marty' (Hanna Richmond), as she tells her summer love that he needs "to shape up"!

"You're The One That I Want", she tells him, in no uncertain terms...

and he echoes that sentiment right back at her!!!

Super fabulous!!!

And what a great set design!!!

David Poole can always be relied upon for innovative pieces that serve multiple purposes and for this musical, those pieces are the letters that spell out the name of the production.

Wow.

I mean, W-O-W!!!

I'm so glad that I've been watching the weather.

I had an event already scheduled with One Hundred Miles for this evening, but the musical won out over an advocacy update.

Of course, that decision was made easier when OHM sent an email about posting the meeting on youTube later...

but I still would have come to see "Grease" tonight.

Yes, even though the temperatures would be in the low forties by the end.

I'm glad Linda Runge - the woman from my Lucas Theatre volunteer days, who I run into all over town - was there for this opening night, too!

She saw me and sat with me the whole time.

Yes, I will definitely see about coordinating my schedule with hers!

Right place, right time!

(smile!)