Fun with a Friend

Posted on April 28, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

The reason I used to like Saturday Running Commentary is that I would get up, run, write the blog post, get on with my day. Oh, I usually showered between run and write (I knew some of you would be concerned about that). Well, I haven’t been running in a while now, and a singularly uneventful walk with Tabby this morning did not make up the deficiency. I postponed the writing of the blog and went off adventuring with my friend Phyllis. So this is both a Running Around Commentary and a shout out to Fun with a Friend.

We were on a mission to find things for Ilion Little Theatre’s next production, Dirty Work at the Crossroads (you may have read some posts I’ve written about it). First I had the difficult of trying to print out some Michael’s coupons from my computer, and of course, nothing to do with computers is easy for me. Then I had to search out the Hobby Lobby coupon I had clipped from last Sunday’s paper. Oh, there WAS a Micheal’s coupon in the paper. Well, now I had an extra. I put all the coupons into a notebook where I had a list of stuff I was looking for, which I put down while I found my jacket, picked up my purse, kissed Steven good-bye, etc. Then I had to stomp around the house trying to remember where I put down the notebook. Sometimes it’s just not easy being me.

I drove to Phyllis’ house to pick her up, a place I have been to several times. I really can’t tell you why I drove right by it and didn’t see it. I found a place to turn around and drove back, looking more carefully this time, to find Jim and Phyllis standing at the end of the driveway waving at me so I wouldn’t miss them again. Jim was still standing in the driveway, acting like Mookie Maguggins (his character in the play) while Phyllis and I drove away.

We drove around New Hartford, NY, in search of various things. Party City, Toys R Us, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s all helped us out, and my coupons which had caused so much trouble came in handy. We felt we were so successful, we deserved lunch out. Luckily we were right near Symeon’s, as it turns out, a favorite of both of ours.

That was the coolest thing about our morning: Phyllis and I get along so well. We like all the same stores. We got sick of shopping pretty much at the same time. We went to Symeon’s and ordered the same lunch, for heavens’ sake. Oh, one difference: Phyllis had a glass of wine while I had coffee, because I was driving.

I will probably do a post specifically on Symeon’s soon, because, yum. And I’ll talk some more about the stuff we bought for the play, especially as some of it will form part of a couple of projects I plan to undertake. For right now, though, I just want to say, I had a swell time with my friend. Thanks, Phyllis!

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Although, Technically, His Toes Did Not Twinkle

Posted on April 27, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t have a bucket list. I never even knew what one was till that movie (which I never saw) came out titled Bucket List. Like anybody, there are things I’d like to try or accomplish “someday,” but to make an actual list, so I can cross them off prior to kicking the bucket, is a practice in which I have never indulged.

I thought about this today when it occurred to me that I have never said to anybody, “Suck it up, Twinkle Toes.”

I’m not even sure I’ve even told anybody to suck it up, even not calling them Twinkle Toes. I feel it’s more of a thing to say about somebody as in, “Well, they can just suck it up.” Implication being, of course, that I am already sucking it up, but let us not probe too deeply into the veracity of that insinuation.

There was a time in my theatrical past when I was known within a certain circle for saying, “You’re an actor — deal with it!”

I think “Deal with it!” is a much better exhortation than “Suck it up!” “Suck it up!” (I think it needs the exclamation point each time) implies that there is nothing you can do about it, so quit complaining (as if anybody ever does that!). “Deal with it!” is more optimistic. I know that sometimes dealing with something comes down to just living with it, but the actual words “deal with it” sound more proactive, as well as a good deal friendlier, depending on your tone of voice.

I guess this means that I am not in a very friendly mood this morning, as I scan the floor, searching for an opportunity to say, “Suck it up, Twinkle Toes!”

I had written that much this morning (except for the first paragraph; I added that just now when I typed it in) (in the interests of full disclosure) and thought that it had been more amusing in my head than it seemed on paper. Break was over anyways. A co-worker had been on the phone with his wife, suggesting to her that he take a half day. She had told him not to do it, because he would no doubt want to take half days during the summer.

“So I have to stay,” he said in a resigned tone of voice.

And you know what I replied.

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Giving Up On Godzilla

Posted on April 26, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

That sounds a little harsh, doesn’t it? If Godzilla’s feelings are hurt, please tell the big guy I’m not really giving up on him. However, the first Godzilla movie I actually watched kind of left me cold, and you know how I love to put alliteration in my titles.

Spoiler Alert! I am going to give away almost the entire plot of Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1954). That is, the stuff that is in addition to Godzilla stomping Tokyo, which you probably already knew about. Come to think about it, most people only watch these flicks for the Tokyo stomping or other mayhem, so I guess I’m in the clear.

When I saw a Godzilla movie was on TCM, I thought surely my search for cheese had found a prize. Not just a big monster — THE big monster! The king of monsters, according to the title.

Actually, I think that’s a little false advertising right there. It turns out Godzilla is the only monster in the picture. I was kind of hoping for a battle of the beasts, so Godzilla would be, you know, king of somebody. But, no, it was pretty much a straight Godzilla-stomping-Tokyo-what-are-we-going-to-do that one expects when one see Godzilla in the title.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Any number of delightfully entertaining cheesy movies have been made around just that plot-line: people meet monster, monster terrorizes people, people destroy monster. It’s not the tale, it’s the telling.

The telling of this tale is dull. It starts out promisingly enough: we open on a devastated Tokyo and a ponderous voice-over lamenting the destruction. We find it’s Raymond Burr, in the handsome leading man role, which was kind of refreshing. I’m used to seeing him as the heavy or as Ironside.

Soon we are flashing back to our story thus far (viewers such as my husband Steven will be happy to hear that the whole movie isn’t a flashback) (he hates that framing device). Burr is a newspaperman. I think. Oh, all right, I didn’t pay any attention to the story except for one plot point, which I am about to spoil for you.

It seems there is this scientist who has a beautiful daughter who does NOT turn out to be Burr’s love interest (he doesn’t get a love interest. I bet Burr was pretty miffed about that: finally gets to be the leading man, doesn’t get a love interest! What’s that all about?). She is engaged to some big shot scientist — some arranged marriage bullshit — but has fallen in love with another guy. Burr intones (I mentioned it was a ponderous voice-over, didn’t I?) that a love triangle is nothing unusual, but this one will have Implications in our story.

I was all agog to find out what the implications would be. Would the spurned fiance sic Godzilla on the usurper? Would he be bitter enough to CREATE Godzilla?

Once again, I should have had a job writing 1950s monster movies. My wild ideas of what might happen next are much more exciting that what the actual writers came up with. Or perhaps I flatter myself.

I did not see that there were any implications at all. The girl goes to break if off with the fiance — whom she has liked and respected all her life — but before she can, he shows her… something horrible. So she’s too upset to break up. Later on, when a gazillion volts of electricity (I didn’t make a note of the number) fail to kill Godzilla, she breaks her vow of secrecy to reveal that the horrible thing was a weapon the guy discovered quite by accident that will destroy EVERYTHING in the water within a certain radius.

So the girl and the third point of the triangle go to convince the scientist to unleash his powerful weapon. I forgot to mention that the reason he is keeping it a secret is so it will not fall into the wrong hands, because he didn’t invent anything to counteract or fight against it. The fact that the girl cheated on him and wants to break up with him does not even enter the conversation. My personal suspicion is that he was never all that into her to begin with.

I may be selling the movie short. It was obviously dubbed from the original Japanese, so perhaps things were lost in the translation.

What remains, though, is deadly serious, and I think that was why the movie ultimately lost me. I don’t mind a movie that takes itself seriously; that often adds to the cheese factor. In this case, however, the seriousness leads to a dirge-like pace and one thing a monster movie needs is a good, brisk pace. In fact, the pace of this movie is so slow, I watched it in two parts. You know a movie is slow when you don’t mind pausing it to go to bed early. That’s what gave me the idea for today’s title, by the way.

To end on a positive note, the effects are very good, especially for the time. They used miniatures and pretty much kept people and Godzilla in different frames, so nothing looked obviously superimposed. It was good miniatures too: I never felt like I was watching a toy stomp dollhouses. Of course, that would have made the movie more cheesy, and you know how I love my cheese.

I discovered after I wrote this post that Godzilla, King of the Monsters was the original Godzilla movie. As such, perhaps some of you feel I should have treated it with more respect. Oh well, too late now.

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The Bio Blues

Posted on April 25, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was going to call today’s post “The Blurb Blues,” but I found the bl-bl awkward when I said it in my head. I figured anyone who moves their lips when they read would be really annoyed.

The blog is transitioning (temporarily, of course) into All Dirty Work At The Crossroads All The Time (or All Dirty Work All The Time for short) (I like that better). Today I have another writing assignment before I go on to my blogging chores. I have to write that little paragraph for the program which they print about all the actors. My bio. My blurb.

Naturally I’m stumped. Really, for a blogger, you wouldn’t think I would find it so hard to talk about myself. Isn’t that what I do every day in this silly blog? And there we have the reason: it is a silly blog. I can share my foibles and failures and be all self-deprecating about it. There’s something so toot-your-own-hornish (I almost said “horny” — insert adolescent snicker) about the program blurb.

Oh dear, now every theatre person reading this blog is saying, “Oh! So you think I’m tooting my own horn! I see!” I was about to get all apologetic about it, but, hey, is there not an element of “If I do say so myself”? Most manage to not sound like screaming egomaniacs. Largely because they’re not (the ones who are rarely recognize themselves as such) (of course I don’t personally know any raging egomaniacs, but I’ve heard).

I’ve read a few of the bios written so far for Dirty Work,and Imust say, I’m quite envious. They’re cute little self portraits — a snapshot of the person behind the character (not that anybody takes snapshots any more). As a character in a movie once said, “Why can’t I write shit like that?”

I even tried to get my husband Steven to write one for me. I kept saying things like, “Oh, if only somebody would write it for me. Somebody who used to work professionally as a copywriter. Perhaps in radio.” I even went so far as to throw in a few lines about somebody handsome, sexy, intelligent and kind. To no avail. Steven would only point out that I, not he, wrote the bulk of the press release that formed a major part of one of last week’s posts.

So this morning, after writing a couple of paragraphs of this post, I turned a page in my notebook and wrote down the paragraph I had been composing in my head ever since I realized I would need a program blurb:

“Cynthia has been a member of Ilion Little Theatre since 2009. She was part of the stage crew for Old Ladies Guide to Survival and appeared on stage in And Then There Were None as well as Harvey. Cynthia invites everyone to admire her hair while she has it, because on June 2 it will be shaved off for a St. Baldrick’s Day event to raise money to fight children’s cancer.”

I hope it will do. Do you suppose I’m too horn-tooty mentioning St. Baldrick’s Day?

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On With the Wine!

Posted on April 24, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Have I used that headline before? You know, I don’t think I have, and now that I look at it, it kinds of looks like the post is about how I spilled wine on myself. I did not. No matter.

When we last left our intrepid blogger (that’s me), I had obtained the correct location and time of the Crusader’s Wine Tasting Event in Herkimer, NY (I know I usually start that kind of sentence in the third person then switch, but I just wasn’t feeling it this morning). I was set for fun with friends.

Steven and I met the Mills (Jim, Phyllis and Kelly) in the VFW parking lot shortly after one. It is a very popular event; the parking lot was full. We had found a space on the street in the block before the building and grabbed it.

A group of ladies who looked about my age (middle) were on their way in and noticed a sign that said no one under 21 was permitted.

“I can’t go in,” one said.

“I’ll be 21 tomorrow,” another said.

“Just flirt with he guy at the door,” I suggested. “He’ll let you in.” It used to work in the ’80s. Um, not that I ever did such a thing.

When the Mills showed up, I found them a parking space in the lot across the street. I walked over, pointing to it. They were pleased with the “valet parking.”

Donation was $10. The paper had said the first ten people got a free wine glass. I suspect that was a typo, because we all got wine glasses and there were far more than ten people ahead of us. Naturally we got in on the 50/50 raffle. While Jim and Steven filled in our names and numbers, Phyllis, Kelly and I started sampling wine.

I love this event, because you find such a variety of wine makers, from professionals to professional-looking to gallon jugs with handwritten labels that look like something my Italian grandfather would have made (if he had made wine; Grandpa was more of a beer drinker) (but I know a fellow whose Italian grandfather makes great wine).

I had remembered to wear my lanyard with a wine glass holder, purchased at a previous Crusaders event from Bottom of the Barrel. This is a store in Oneida that sells wine making equipment and other fun accessories. I must make my way to Oneida sometime to visit their store for a blog post all their own.

Canal Side Inn from Little Falls was also represented. We sampled some delicious biscuits as well as pate on French bread. Another place for Mohawk Valley Girl to visit in the future.

I was especially pleased to see Domnhall Vineyards, Herkimer’s very own winery located on Shell’s Bush Road.

“When are you opening your tasting room?” I asked. “My sisters want to know!” The guy said he would be sure to advertise when he did. Phyllis told him how I had brought a bottle of his Baco Noir to her house and how much we had enjoyed it. We enjoyed a sample of that as well as his Vignole, which Phyllis liked even better.

The event also had a food table, which I sensibly visited several times. Steven bought tickets for the Chinese Auction (or are they called something different now?). I helped him pick a few things to try for.

Imagine my delight when I got a phone call shortly after we got home. I won the necklace and earrings from Weisser’s Jewelers! When we had put in the ticket for that one, I had shown the ladies at the table the anniversary ring Steven had purchased for me there. Weisser’s is located on North Main Street in Herkimer. I think that’s yet another subject for a future blog post.

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Getting There is Half the Battle

Posted on April 23, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

On re-reading this post (before I hit Publish), I realize the lead isn’t really about what the post is about. I mean, I don’t exactly write in the inverted pyramid of newspapers, but still, I also don’t want to have any false advertising. This is actually the first part of a two part post about a community event I attended Sunday.

Every year the Herkimer Crusaders put on a wine-tasting event that is a lot of fun. Area wine makers — amateurs and professionals — get together and have their wine judged by professionals and amateurs. At least, lots of people come in, drink the wine and vote for the one they like best. That’s the category I fall into.

I saw an article in the paper about the event a couple of weeks ago. I made a mental note of the date but neglected to cut the article out (which I often do for blog planning purposes). Last week when a few of us were making plans to go, I thought I’d better double check the time.

Do you think I could find anything on the internet?

Other people seem to find whatever they might be looking for and not even on a real computer. They whip out their smart phones (or whatever device they happen to have; I can just hear somebody saying in that smarty-pants tone of voice, “It’s not a smart phone, it’s an Android.” Or an iphone. Or a blackberry. Or that new thing they’re lining up in front of the Apple store for) (it really does seem sometimes that I live in a cave) and in a short time, give you the answer (usually in the above-mentioned smarty-pants tone of voice). Sometimes they go on to read several paragraphs of what the internet had to say about the subject. I try to avoid those people.

Where was I?

Oh yes, looking for information. It seems all I could find was information on past Crusaders Wine Tasting events. What’s that all about, internet? I even went to the web pages of the two local newspapers and searched their calendars. Nada. (I shan’t mention the names of the papers, since that was not exactly a plug.)

Finally, in desperation, I went to the cardboard box on my living room floor, where we pile the newspapers destined for the One-and-Done recycle can. And found a little blurb printed in one of the local papers earlier in the week. Phew!

Information in hand, I continued to plan my outing. Which I will talk about tomorrow, because I see that I am over 300 words and once again this week, I must try to keep it short.

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Scattered Saturday

Posted on April 21, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, once again it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday. Yesterday it was a headache, today it is heart palpitations. At least, I don’t know if it’s heart palpitations or what it is, but I am dreadfully uncomfortable and at the risk of being a horrible kvetch, I mention it. It is the reason today’ post will be brief.

Yesterday I began my day at Ilion Little Theatre, helping to paint the set for Dirty Work at the Crossroads. It is coming along splendidly. I must check with the folks responsible to see if they mind having their names mentioned in my blog, especially the extremely talented lady doing the painting. You know, the real painting, of the backdrop and such. Not slapping on solid colors as best as one can, as I was doing Saturday.

I left the theatre and went in search of props and costumes for the play. I went to thrift stores, consignment shoppes and one garage sale. I drove from Ilion to Herkimer and back to Ilion, because, as regular readers know (Hi, Frieda!), I am not the most organized of people. I must confess, I did not find much.

For the play, I mean. For myself I found a bundle of unused post cards, four books and a vampire made of bells. He’s cool. I gave him to Steven for a present.

As I drove around, the weather went from raining, to dark enough for headlights, to so bright it irritated my headache (that I complained about yesterday). Then when I was coming out of the Moose Lodge in Ilion (where the garage sale took place), it was SNOWING! What was that all about?

I had just been lamenting my inability to do any gardening. At least, I thought, I need to clean out last year’s dead leaves from around my perennials, to give them room to breathe. Now it seems my procrastination is a blessing, because maybe the dead leaves are offering some insulation from the cold. Anyways, we’ll go with that thought.

So that’s my post for today. As always, I’ll try to do better tomorrow. I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Chicken Anne Boleyn

Posted on April 21, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, I started the day having Mohawk Valley adventures, until I got sidelined by a sinus headache (could have been a migraine; I don’t know from headaches). After taking a nap and lamenting my wasted afternoon, I managed to fix something for dinner that I thought might make an acceptable cooking post.

First I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees, then sat back down to read my book some more. A wise woman once told me you can’t rush into these things (I think it was my mother). Finally I rousted myself back into the kitchen, where I put some frozen pre-cooked chicken strips into my cast iron frying pan to heat (it always takes longer than the package says). I covered it with a glass lid that just happens to fit the pan perfectly (the pot the lid went to broke a long time ago).

Then I took some fresh asparagus, rinsed it, broke off the tough ends, broke it into pieces and put it in a glass baking dish. I had some oil in the refrigerator with garlic and spices in it, which I had used the last time I roasted vegetables. I poured some over the asparagus and put it in the oven. Set the timer for nine minutes, although I figured it would take longer than that.

I put some water on to boil for some cheese tortellini, then read my book some more. I stayed in the kitchen reading it, though, to keep an eye on the chicken. It’s a biography of Anne Boleyn, which I’ve read before, but these history books always bear re-reading.

After a while I thought to put some frozen spinach in with the chicken. I poured some of the garlic/spices oil over that and kept it covered. It took even longer than expected, but that was OK, because the tortellini water took a long time to boil. The asparagus, too, took longer than expected. I kept taste testing it. I love asparagus.

Eventually everything was done. I put it in a metal bowl, added some pepperoni, feta cheese and Italian salad dressing and stirred well. I had actually meant to do all this at least an hour before I did it, chill it and call it salad. As it turned out (we’ll blame the headache), Steven was due home any minute. I decided it could be warm salad. Leftovers will be regular.

Perceptive readers may have noticed I did not cook with wine, as I like to do. Well, I knew I had a blog post to write. I didn’t want it to be full of typos.

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I Didn’t Edit Out the Lame

Posted on April 20, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

An interesting phenomenon has been happening with some of my blog posts lately: I edit.

Of course I’ve always edited to a point. Whether I write it first then type it in or compose (NOT compost, Ron) at the keyboard, I read it over and change a word here and there. Lately, however, I’ve been deleting, moving and completely re-writing entire paragraphs. Even adding paragraphs. It’s kind of fun.

I’m sure there are some “real” writers out there rolling their eyes. “Of COURSE you have to edit!” they are saying, with or without a sniff. “Editing is an important part of writing — maybe the MOST important part. Did you think your stuff could stand as written?”

Two schools of thought there. Others believe you should NEVER edit. You must be spontaneous and fresh, sticking to your “first thoughts.” “First thoughts” is an expression I got from Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones. For Goldberg, as for many creative souls, the Editor is that bad voice that lives in your head and says things like, “Don’t write that! That’s stupid! Why are you even writing at all?”

Regular readers (Hi, Sherry!) know I have conversations with a similar entity in my own head on a regular basis. I would submit that it isn’t only writers that hear such a voice. I think a lot of people who suffer from low self-esteem hear an unkind voice telling them they are ugly or stupid or worthless.

I don’t want to stray into psychiatry over here. Half-baked philosophy is my bailiwick. And I didn’t start out to write out about self-esteem; I meant to do a post on writing.

Well, how about some half-baked philosophy on the relationship between writing and self-esteem?

Or not.

Full disclosure: I wrote this last week (yes, while I was stressing over the silly weekend) with no real notion of when I would use it. Today, I thought it would fit right in with Lame Post Friday. And it will have to do, because I have nothing else, least of all time to come up with an alternative.

Further full disclosure: I did very little editing on this when I typed it in. The irony is not lost on me.

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“Dirty” Update

Posted on April 19, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I seriously intended to write an update on how our play is coming along. Well, theatre people know, when you are working on a play, things get real busy, real fast. I spent my blog-writing time this morning working on a press release that Steven (the director and my husband, in case you didn’t know) started but got stuck on (see previous post about Writer’s Block, I suppose). In lieu of a regular post, I offer that release.

Enjoy an evening of romance, intrigue, music and mayhem when the Ilion Little Theatre (ILT) presents Dirty Work at the Crossroads, a gay ‘90s melodrama by Bill Johnson May 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18. Performances are at 8 p.m. May 10, 11, 17 and 18 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Mother’s Day. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for students.

Audiences can cheer the hero and boo the villain during a tear-jerking story in which, after many vicissitudes, good triumphs over evil. Like all 1890s melodramas, Dirty Work features extreme situations and an exaggerated acting style. At times the characters address the audience in an “aside,” unheard by others on stage. According to notes in the script, the play was adapted from a melodrama written in 1867. The original script featured many scene changes and far more actors.

“This script makes for a more ‘doable’ production without losing the flavor of an old melodrama,” says director Steven Quackenbush. “This kind of play is just a lot of fun to do and to watch.”

The production features several newcomers to the ILT stage as well as old favorites. Newcomers Stephanie Chimento and Chuck Carr play the innocent country lass and stalwart blacksmith’s son, whose idyllic romance is threatened by the machinations of the villainous Munro Murgatroyd, played by ILT veteran Ron Creighton. Murgatroyd is assisted by the viperish and vampish Ida Rhinegold, played by Julianne Allen, another ILT favorite. Newcomers to ILT also include Penny Zugner as the Widow Lovelace, Kayla Morrell as Leonie Asterbilt, Olivia Klein as Little Nell, and pianist Caroline Gardner. Jim Mills as Mookie Maguggins and Cynthia Quackenbush as Mrs. Upson Asterbilt round out the cast.

For more information on Ilion Little Theatre, you can visit their website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org.

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