vacay in georgetown, making time for bella

"Hey, girlie! I think you got the name wrong. The dog is Stella, remember?"

You are correct, but so is what I wrote. Today was the preview of JinHi's play, "Bella", up at the Historic Savannah Theatre. I've been waiting to see that for months! It's definitely part of my bday68 celebration!

"That's right! You got a special reward in the kickstarter campaign so your ticket to the play would be included. Well, good for you! How was attendance?"

Amazingly good! I had looked at the kickstarter page to try to guess, and I was way off. The downstairs at the theatre was nearly full!!! I sat over to house left and had a fabulous view. Inessa Purple - remember her from the Lucas volunteer days? - caught me in the lobby and we sat together. So great to see her again!

"She hasn't changed at all! Same curly blonde hair as always! But why so many chairs on stage? I thought this was a one-woman show... right?"

Oh, it was. JinHi was the only one up there during the performance. After all, this was the story of her life and her battle against cancers and tumors that began when she was 14 years old. That's when her family found out she had the bone cancer in her left leg. Her dad had been PCS'ed to Italy and life was glorious! She loved the people and the gelato and the fact that everyone there would greet her with "Ciao, Bella"!!! All of that made her feel so beautiful!!! She had a year of bliss before the sarcoma took her leg.

"How brutal for a teen to have to deal with that."

I know. Mama had a problem with fibrous cysts that led to her losing half her palate and all her upper teeth when she was just 15 years old. The doctor did the surgery during summer vacation, so she wasn't around school kids, but, still. She spent most of that break waiting for the dentures and then getting used to them. I never, ever, saw my mother without her teeth in place.

"Yes, I know. You didn't even find out about that until you were in high school. That was probably about the time the doctor found a fibrous cyst in your right breast."

That sounds right. JinHi had recovered from her leg amputation and was in college before the next hit from her body. Headaches led to the discovery of a tumor in her brain that took two surgeries to remove. Fortunately, it was benign, but it did have hair and teeth, so that was unsettling. That was during her 20's. In her 30's, growths in her reproductive organs were found. She and her husband were trying to have a baby, but instead she had to have a hysterectomy. 

"Damn."

Yeah, that's pretty harsh. So she started Muse Arts Warehouse as her way of taking care of the artistic community. Then, in 2012, a growth appeared in her right lung, a beast she called a "moonmallow" due to its shape on the CT scan. Fortunately, it was Stage 1, and was handled by a partial removal of that lung, along with chemo. And all seemed to be well again, for two years. She has been battling Stage 4 lung cancer ever since.

"Damn!"

This show was born from that extended battle. A friend suggested she go back through her fb posts and gather up all that data. So, that's what she did. She refers to "Bella" as "43 years in 45 minutes" and that's about right. In August, she'll be going to the Fringe Festival in Scotland. Tickets for her show at that venue are already available. I wish I could be there, but the airfare alone is a staggering expense.

"Heard. Hey, I just noticed something. You never addressed all of those chairs on the stage!" 

Oops. Sorry, I forgot. Those were for the post-play question and answer session with JinHi and her crew, plus a live auction of memorabilia. There will also the results of the silent auction held before "Bella". All auction proceeds will go to help fund meals and such for the trip. I placed a couple of bids, but lost out.

"How was the Q and A?"

I couldn't stay. I need to get back to Georgetown so the dog can have her play time. Glad I got to have this 'play' time for me! Like that pun? (smile!) Good to see so many I knew! Inessa, Pam Sears of Armstrong, the Soucy clan, Bill Dawers, and even several from Asbury (Cheri and Billy Hester, Tom Lewis). Nice turnout for JinHi, Savannah's theatre royalty!

rabbit holes

Today, I jumped into a rabbit hole, figuratively.
Here's the problem with rabbit holes: there's no way of knowing how deep they are until you're already invested in the journey.
This morning, after breakfast, I decided to finally watch a DVD.
I've had it for almost two years. It was one of the rewards received for my role as Fliss of Kickstarter.
As you may recall, late last year I began catching up with my responsibilities as that persona. I firmly believe I need to give feedback to these valiant creators, these brave souls baring their hearts to the world.
It is not a responsibility I take lightly.
So, it has taken quite a bit of time.
However, the process has been rewarding for me, too, in a way that I had not expected. I have returned to kickstarter many times, researching the projects I backed, and I have found that flame still burns brightly.
The flame of discovery of new talent.
I completely understand why Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are still serving as judges on "The Voice".
So, today, while in beautiful Daytona Beach, I listened to the steady rush and ebb of the Atlantic, admired a clear and blue sky, and wrote about four of the successful kickstarter projects I helped support. I had only intended to write of one of the projects, the one attached to the DVD, but then I found I had not yet written about two others.
I had thought for sure that I had.
I have to wonder how many others I may have not yet completed in my reviewing process, even though I have crossed them off of my "to do" list.
As luck would have it, today was a bit too cool for walking along the shore. You could say the weather encouraged me to stay inside, exploring this very deep rabbit hole, and work on finding my way clear of it.
But isn't "work" too strong a word for what I was doing?
It isn't like anyone is going to pay me for it.
No, I certainly will not be paid for these hours of research, review, and writing. My reward will come from sharing my words with those who did the work, those who have shared their brain-children, their precious idea-fruit, with me.
Feedback is very important.
It's always good to know someone else cares.
It's always good to know someone is listening.

make my, make my, make my day

OH superhero Fliss, if you could see just how quickly reading your blog post turned me from practical getting ready to go run errands Rachel to a squishy happy sniffling smiling Rachel!
I am so happy to hear from you and I can't wait to read the rest of your blog when I get home tonight!
Thank you so much for your energy, your continued support, your belief in the wonderful.
That is the impression I get from you; that you are willing against the odds to live on the belief that something wonderful is about to happen.
It's a quality I rarely see and it always leaves a trail of, well, stardust.
So I suppose, thanks for being what you are.
See I got all sappy...hahaha I needed that!
talk soon, Sun, rain, oceans....Rachel Strickland 4:22pm Jul 30 2014

Wow... I think she gets me.
Anticipating delight.
Now I'm all sappy...
Thank you, Rachel.

drifting into time passages

Yeah, I think Al Stewart would have said that we were doing that tonight. I had actually told the bfe that the theme of the films included in this Fliss Film Festival, Dos, was time passages. As you will see, they all deal with a span of time betwixt now and then.
One reminder to self: do not show films which are mystical to the physicist. Point 1: he's a magician, thereby prone to dismiss such things. Point 2: he's a physicist, making him doubly prone to dismiss any concepts dressed in supernatural meaning.
Ah, well.
Next time, right?
Meanwhile, for tonight's showing of kickstarter rewards, I had four physical copies and one to watch online. I again asked him to set then up in the order he wished to view them, with me giving brief intros.
So, here goes!
The first to be viewed contained the briefest elapsed period of time (only 14 years) and concerned the return of an errant mother to her daughter's home. "Curse of the Sunset Starlet", with its retro bookends of old photos, was beautiful and mystical and featured sunset moths, among other lovely winged insects. I knew within the first ten minutes that he was not happy with it. Drats. Its running rime is 25 minutes. At the end, he said he felt as though he had been beat around his head with butterflies.
It really made no difference that the film had been a winner at several film festivals in the world and had even made it into consideration for an Academy Award. Nope, that made no impact on him, it was not his cup of tea at all.
Next, please!
"Red Thread" considers a political activist after thiry years in prison. The film now carries the subtitle "The Prisoner and the Painter and has an operatic score and lyrical interludes. This was more to his liking, as there was no supernatural element in it and it was straightforward. What you see is what there is, with no allusion to forces beyond our ken at work. I think, also, that he rather liked that the prisoner had no remorse for her acts of terrorism. That's okay; she still has 45 years left on her sentence in Bedford Hills Prison.
The third film was chosen because it teleported us back in time to January of 1945, the story of a flyguy trapped behind enemy lines when his plane went down. For "12:15 Sunday", I don't own a hard copy, but I do have access to the film on VIMEO. [Sadly, I cannot give you the private link to the full-length video.]
This film, he did like. With its method of cutting back and forth between now, with the old man telling his tale, and then, when the even occurred, interest was guaranteed! It also segued quite nicely into the next film, also featuring a veteran of World War II.
Back to the television for this fourth film! The time is now, I told the bfe, but the setting is grade school, with an elderly veteran accompanying his grandson for a session of "show and tell". "Chalk Talk", I had also said, was a very sweet film that I really like, too. I think Chris Durenburger has a fine eye and a fine heart - the bfe agreed, even though he favors film with unhappy endings. I think this one's finale may have been unresolved enough to still be quite pleasing for him.
It probably should be noted that these last two films were made by local film students. Both films were honored with SCADemy Awards, too. "12:15 Sunday" won for Best Undergraduate Documentary, whereas "Chalk Talk" was awarded the Best Undergraduate Narrative. They took home other awards, too. Pretty fine achievements!
Oops! I got a little sidetracked there, didn't I?
On to the fifth, and final, film of the Fliss Film Festival, Dos.
As I had told him, this deals with an enormous span of time, millenia in the past. It's also quite beautiful to watch. "Genesis: Air, Water, Life" tells the story of the evolution of creatures from the water to the land, using dance and music. Madame Rex, aka Rachel Strickland, transforms a container of water onstage into a petri dish full of beings struggling to explore and be free. I very much love this film! He rather enjoyed it, too, and I think it was more than just the thirteen-year-old boy watching the nearly naked, and wet, pretty girl.
(smile)
After all, this line-up of films was his choice.
I would like to think he was mindful of my likes, as with the first FFF.
Yes, that is the story I will tell myself!
If you have another version, write it in yer own blog!
(smile!)
Meanwhile, I need to go through the films not yet shown and see if there is just one more Fliss Film Festival in the works, or possible two Especially if I can obtain a few of the others that are owed but not yet received...
Later, 'tater!

film fest with the physicist

What a fabulous day today! I awoke late, but right on time for my first niece to call before breakfast and lure me away to a Mexican brunch! Muy bueno, chica!!! She and I had fajitas and conversation for two hours! Very nice way to start my day!
Then, I managed to get the front yard and almost half of the back yard mowed before the battery ran low in my mower. Yeah! After all, I had hoped to get at least the front done before the rain came.
Oh, blue sky day, you say?
(smile.)
True, the day began that way. But, as time approached for my dinner at Chez Secrest, I knew the rain would, too. You see, it's become a bit of an inside joke for us. Fortunately, we both like rain.
This time, it held off until after we had dined on Garlic-Ginger Shrimp Couscous. We were inside, enjoying the Fliss of Kickstarter Film Festival when the rains came. All comfy cozy were we, with cats in laps!

Oh, I see I lost you with that film festival reference. Sorry 'bout that! No, it was not an advertised event, it was a viewing of six of the short films I have backed as Fliss. Fliss of Kickstarter.
(smile.)
Best of all, for me, was the bfe's active embrace of the event. Truly.
Yesterday, I had first suggested my bringing some of my swag to share, instead of him supplying a movie. He had agreed and today I had picked out six shorts for us, being mindful of his tastes.
Tonight, after dinner was done and we adjourned to the living room, I brought out the films. He encouraged me to give him some synopses, then he arranged the films in the order he thought would be best...being mindful of my tastes. Meaning, he was sure to place an upbeat film as the finisher. I must say, I think he did an excellent job with the scheduling!
(smile!)
First up was "Allegheny Creek". I had told him it was about a fellow released from prison and trying to reconnect with his son and ex-wife. After the film was over, he remarked on its ending, that it felt real, leaving things unresolved and unsettled. Good!
Next up was the Reichard brothers' film. I had billed it as a robbery of a diner, with a twist. (Pretty much the same way I had titled my review of "The Restaurant Job".) Big hit! The bfe loved its professional feel and the way the story played out. Good! I had hoped he would!
"The Flight" did not quite suit his fancy. My synopsis had been that it was a post-apocalyptic tale with a lesbian lead, but was not an LGBT film. At the tale's end, he admitted that the steampunk-flavor lent a prettiness overall, but the plot was fairly tame. I added the background of the local library's summer of 2011 program which had been centered on Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451', which had no doubt had an impact on this project. I had attended several of the events and totally enjoyed the science fiction. (Note: it was NOT 2011, but 2008 for that Bradbury book.)
Yeah, yeah. Next film, please!
(smile!)
So, on to the story of the girl-crazy boy who gets cursed by a gypsy! Oh, wait, that isn't PC! But the title is "Gypped", so the term stays. So there! This humorous fable of a fellow with hubris was a fine mental palate cleanser, offering a quick and bubbly bit of distraction before the more sober tale to follow.
"Billy Brown", the film about the would-be comedian in search of the right audience, was to be the fifth and penultimate film in our festival of shorts. However, it only got halfway in before technical difficulties interfered with out viewing. Perhaps that was one of my angels looking out for me. After all, I had cautioned the bfe that I had cried all three times that I have watched this film. Still, I will try to upload it for him, as I think he may like the realness of its title character.
And so we reached the sixth of six films. I had spoken of "Assisted Loving" as a love story in a nursing home, done beautifully by the talented Sam Queen. With its professional touch and zany characters, this film was definitely the perfect dessert to enjoy as our evening neared its end. Like the physicist, I anticipate more good works from these craftsmen.
Such a lovely evening, I tell you!
And look... the rain had even stopped.
(smile!)

16 tons, and what do you get, another day older

Ever since my housemate left for the big city, I've been a bit blue.
I've even been thinking about getting a dog, but for purely selfish reasons: so I would have a warm body to pet and cuddle and keep me company. If I were more stationary, that might still be okay.
But we all know I like to travel. Not just to out of town destinations, but all over this town and across the river and to the west and the south.
The dog would spend a lot of time alone or in a kennel.
That is no life for a dog.
I grew up with dogs, so I know.
Over the winter break from school, when I had little money and plenty of time, I also had plenty of thoughts. Thoughts of mortality, thoughts of experiences not yet had, thoughts of events important to me but not yet shared.
Hold up, a minute - what's that last thing you say? "Important events not shared"?
As some know, after my stepdad's death in fall of 2011, (my oldest brother and) I came into a little "free" money from Mama's retirement portfolio. I have already witnessed (and still see with the stepfamily) how unearned funds can pit family members against each other. I have known too many to have died this last decade, and last year in particular. With each death, the living squabble, or stop conversing, over division of the stuff left behind.
I didn't want to be part of that scene. Stuff is stuff. This time, the loss adjustment would be the use of the funds for the good of others. Not all of the money, of course. But I decided that at least 25% of the funds (roughly half of what I received, after the IRS took its share) would do to help better the world at large, rather than my tiny speck.
Some went to my fraternity, Alpha Chi Sigma. In addition to the friendships and help during my college years (in the Gamma Beta chapter), both as an undergraduate and as a graduate student, their work continues. "To strive for the advancement of chemistry as both a science and a profession." You bet I beleive in that goal! Since 2012, I have been a professional Brother for life; in return, they have used my donation to the Reserve Fund for scholarships and education programs.
Chemistry lives on!
I am also a member of the Florida State University Alumni Association for life. Again, that has been true since 2012. Why did I do so? Well, it is my grad school alma mater. Also, I have been very pleased with its projects for education, not just sports. I know the first thing many folks think about are the Seminoles football team, but there is also the circus and the opera and so many other facets to the brilliant life there on campus and open to the community at large!
I also renewed my pledge to Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church's Renovation Fund. I had first made a three-year pledge toward the refurbishment of the sanctuary. The congregation had been exposed to the beautiful original colors of the space when a SCAD team had worked on one corner of the church. Now was the time to bring back the sunlit peach and glossy white, to expand the stage, to replace the sagging pews! So, I made my pledge and kept my word. Then, when the air conditioner needed to be replaced, I looked to my new "free" money and opted to continue my pledge for an additional year. Good money, well spent. My last pledge payment was in March 2013; the church held a ceremony to burn the promissory note just a few months later. Now, everyone has the benefit of a beautiful place of serenity.
What else? Well, I started living as Fliss. Sure, I had already had a small taste of that lifestyle prior to my influx of funds after my stepdad's death. A friend was trying to encourage and engage more people in the writing and performing of short plays; he started a kickstarter fund to bring in the needed cash. It was close enough to my birthday that I could justify lending my support in a big way - and, after attending the event and gaining my reward, I was hooked.
Anyone who really knows me knows my tendency toward altruism. Kickstarter and Kiva both allow me to help strangers, and some friends, attain dreams that are just out of reach of their straining fingertips.
I really like that A few dollars from me can be of such good use.
So, I had created Fliss, but I became quite remiss about announcing the projects to others. Then, as I began receiving my rewards as a backer of these projects, I forgot that I should give feedback to the creators of these projects, to let them know how much I appreciated their hard work and their commitment.
These were all events which were important to me. But I had not yet shared them.
So, with the thought that I would not want to leave this Earth without having written about these creative projects, I have been catching up. From the 14 postings at the start, I now have 146 entries. I have had to do some research so these entries are in chronological order, as nearly as possible, as I if I had not been my usual disorganized, procrastinating self. For the most part, that has worked seamlessly, but the time lag really shows in the comments portion in the blog.
That's fine. Some of those comments truly are recent. As I have completed writing about a project, from my initial support of it on kickstarter to my receipt of the reward, I have searched out the creators online, on facebook, on LinkedIn. I have shared my blog entries with them, late though they may be... and have been met with thanks and joy! After all, these projects, like all creations brought to life, are very dear; to have someone else also find them dear is very positive and is reaffirming proof of the validity of the dreams.
The writing and reviews of my endeavors have been a positive force for me, too.
So, pardon me, but I still have work to do here...

a tale of dance and romance

Oh, how I enjoyed this play!
This afternoon was my first time in attendance, but I know I will be back for a second show.
I definitely will!
Bryan Pridgen, of Savannah Stage Co., had invited me for this opening weekend. I had not been able to make the show on Friday, but I did make it to the after-party, meeting his mom, as well as the choreographer and some other folks. I was even video-interviewed about my continuing, post-kickstarter support of the theatrical troupe.
(smile!)
"Syncopation" takes place about a hundred years ago, in New York City. There are only two characters: a man who dreams of having a dance partner and a woman who wants to learn to dance.
That's it, that's all. It's perfect in its simplicity.
As is common for this theatrical troupe, the stage is almost bare. Two chairs, a sweater that comes and goes. No more.
This is as character-driven a performance as you will ever see.
And the music... and the words... and the romance that takes hold as they find each others rhythms and follow each others steps...
Yeah, I'll be back...

life is a cabaret, redux

I feel so cherished! The wonderful folks with the Savannah Stage Company have always made sure I knew how special I am to them and tonight was no exception. I had scarce arrived when Bryan announced my presence as an original backer of the theatre group, via their Kickstarter campaign. That has been a year ago!

Tonight, one of the fine venues downtown was hosting this song-and-dance fundraiser, supplying an open wine bar and fine finger foods, including three different paninis. Yum! After Bryan's introduction of me, the servers were quite generous toward me and even made sure I knew when the fresh, hot, panini was available.
I made sure I had bids in on quite a few of the silent auctions, but I only "won" one of them. Just as well! Spirits were high and several of the attendees caught the "giving" fever! They were quite generous and the budding group is now funded to bring their live shows to more school children!
Success!

Please note: this is a repeat from my other blog.

starfish

This post has been relocated to my other blog.

Please visit it there, as well as other posts.

Thank you!

birth

This post has been relocated to my other blog.

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Thank you!

celebration of women

I know this would be a project Mama would have supported. The book will chronicle the stories of twenty strong women, women who did what they had to for their families and their communities and their selves.
The book is titled "Celebrations in the Garden" and that reminds me of a piece of embroidery Mama had made when I was a kid. The embroidery consisted of a poem, with flowers and birds and a sun. She had framed it and it hung in the hallway of our home. The poem went like this:
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than any place else on earth.

time travel in GA

This post has been relocated to my other blog.

Please visit it, and others, there.

Thank you!

lady in red

This post has been relocated to my other blog.

Please visit it, and others of its ilk, at that site.

Thank you!

losing my religion

I've done it again! Having contributed to the delinquency of adults this past summer in the 24-Hour Playfest, I'm now doing so for a film. One of the best things about doing so? I'll have a film that I can share with others who may, in turn, help fund other creative efforts. That's a win-win for everyone!