Tag Archives: blog post

Just Another Monster Day

It seems as if I just had a monster day, and looking back (I am not always too lazy to do so), I see I had Mid-Week Monsters last Wednesday.  Well, today it is Monday and I need monsters.  I just changed my Facebook profile picture to the Bride of Frankenstein.  I commented, “When I take a little trouble with hair and make-up, I’m a whole different person!”

This is not the picture I used for my profile, but I love the saying.

Can I just say, sometimes it is difficult to find the picture you want. Oh, quit playing that miniature violin!  Everybody is allowed to complain once in a while.  Perhaps I take a few extra turns.  These things happen.

Scary!

To continue my post, I went to my Media Library and added the next picture that caught my eye.  Some of the older movies made excellent use of shadows.  And it just occurs to me:  lots of people are scared of the dark, but when it is pitch black, at least you can’t see any frightening shadows.  I’m just saying.   Another observation: I seem to have a lot of pictures of Nosferatu.  Some of you already knew that about me.

I’m with you, Boney!

I see by my word count I am over 200 words.  Miller time!  Figuratively speaking, of course.  I am actually sipping seltzer with lemon and feeling fairly virtuous about it.  Will my virtue last?  A little suspense adds interest to my evening.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

Sunday Cinema

I think I am going to change my Sunday feature to Sunday Cinema, because our favorite thing to do on Sunday is to watch movies.  We have been enjoying a few flicks today, and I will list them, with illustrations.

Hugging with eyes open is, of course, movie and TV shorthand for being up to no good.

We DVR’d The Bad Seed some time ago (oh, Sept. 9, according to this poster I found on Facebook) and finally got around to watching it today.  What a disappointment!  We are longtime fans of the 1956 movie with Patty McCormick, although we have problems with that one too.  I may write an entire blog post about it, but, um, not today.

Check out the psycho eyes!

Next Steven suggested we watch Murder on the Orient Express (1974), because yesterday was Agatha Christie’s birthday and today is Lauren Bacall’s.  We have yet to catch the 2017 remake of that. Rats!  This could have been Remake Sunday!  It lacks alliteration, but I like it.

There’s the birthday girl, with another favorite of ours, Albert Finney (I don’t know who the fellow in the background is, although the one cut off is Martin Balsam).

Next I got to pick and I chose Psycho (1960), because it is a Halloween movie.

“We all go a little mad sometimes.”

After Psycho I put on Snapped, but Steven preferred to watch another movie.  He decided to continue the Agatha Christie theme with Witness for the Prosecution (1957).  I am delighted to see this old favorite again.

Two more of my favorites: Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton.

So now I must stop blogging and go back to movie viewing. After all, it is Agatha Christie.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

Getting Ready to Kill!

Just when I thought I was going to have to make a fast, foolish post before getting ready for our show tonight, I checked my email and found pictures!  My friend Matt  took these pictures at last night’s rehearsal.  Now I can talk some more about Donate to Murder.  This will be great!

Donate to Murder, regular readers may recall, is the murder mystery LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, is presenting at the Herkimer Elks Lodge tonight.  I really need to be showering and getting ready, but of course blog posts must be made (or else they are not blog posts).  So here are the pictures and a few brief comments by me.

Now when a woman has a flower in her teeth, they say it’s sexy.

This is Renwick Spaulding, a lover of bugs.  When I gave him a rolling cockroach I just happened to have (a relic of another murder mystery), he immediately adopted it as his best friend, Edward.  Now Edward is my favorite character in the play.  Good playwrights are not resistant to script changes.

Personally, I think plaid is sexy.

My husband, Steven, is also featured as Dudley Turnbull, a lover of dogs but hater of dog poo.  My character, Miss Phoebe Larkspur, cringes when he mentions “poop” instead of saying the dogs “do their business.”  The other lady is Flora Fertenza, a kind of a flower child.

It’s a dramatic moment. Take my word for it.

 

I have a little hostility towards Flora at first.

Yes, one of these people is a murderer.

Here is the whole crew: Phoebe Larkspur, Meryl Barrymore, Flora Fertenza, Harold Greene, Dudley Turnbull, and Renwick Spaulding.

And now I have to jump in the shower.  Crap, I hope I can remember my lines!

 

Looking for Lame Inspiration

I tried hard to make a “real” post yesterday, because I knew I would be strictly lame today.  Then again, it is Lame Post Friday, and I have been known to post lame even after a whole week of stinkers.  So I will drive on, even though quite frankly, I feel like I got nuthin’.

“Nothing, you say? But you have BLOOD!”

As I often do, I look to Nosferatu for inspiration.  As I typed in the caption, I remembered a quote often repeated and I have no idea who said it: Writing is easy; just sit down and open a vein.  That is probably not even the right quote.  But I get the idea that I am supposed to bleed. Quite frankly, I have almost never found writing to be that painful.  Perhaps that is why I am a silly blogger and not the winner of some prestigious literary award.

I almost put “only a silly blogger,” but I do not feel it is nothing to make a blog post every day, even if many of them are lame.  I can always build on this and write more.  I always intend to.  In the meantime, how about a blog post now.

Since I wrote about Shattered Angel‘s dress rehearsal yesterday, it would be nice if I mentioned Donate to Murder‘s dress rehearsal tonight.  Of course, our murder mystery is by no means as vast an undertaking as Angel, and it lacks Angel‘s historical significance.  However, I expect to entertain a number of people.  We have certainly enjoyed our rehearsals.  If only I had taken some pictures.

Once again, Donate to Murder is to be presented at Herkimer Elks Lodge tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $25 per person and are available at the downstairs bar at the Elks lodge, 124 Mary St., Herkimer NY, or by calling 315-866-1439.

 

Another Shattered Shout-Out

This was printed on a post card I sent to a few people.

As I sit here typing in my blog post, the cast and crew of Shattered Angel are at Ilion Little Theatre enjoying their final dress rehearsal. I’m just happy all of them are going to be actually dressed, since my name is in the program under “Costumes.”  Full disclosure:  I personally did very little in outfitting the cast.  I like to think I helped, though.  I like to think I can also help publicize the event with my little blog here.  So here is another shout-out to our play.

Shattered Angel, as you may have read in this space, tells the story of the murder of an area school teacher by one of her students in 1914.  It is a sad story, and a fascinating one, because the defense was not guilty by reason of mental defect, a new idea at the time.   The staging is interesting, too, because although all the action takes place in the courtroom, it is not a straightforward depiction of the trial. Through the use of flashbacks and strategic condensation of testimony and arguments, we get a fuller picture in a shorter time.

The lady in the black dress is not actually in the courtroom, if you see what I mean.

Director Stephen Wagner wrote the script, based on the book Murder of a Herkimer County Teacher: The Shocking 1914 Case of a Vengeful Student by Dennis Webster, and courtroom transcripts.

This is one of my favorite shots.

I stole these pictures from the Herkimer County Historical Society’s Facebook page.  Historian Caryl Hopson took them at rehearsals.  I suppose I should have stayed at dress rehearsal with my Tablet and taken a few pics of my own, but Caryl does such a good job at it.

Once again, performances are Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14, 15 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday Sept. 23 at 2 p.m., at Ilion Little Theatre, 13 Remington Ave., Ilion, NY.  For tickets, contact the Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

One more picture I found on Facebook.

 

Add Monsters and Stir. I Mean, Hit Publish

How about some Mid-Week Monsters?  It’s a new feature, for when I forgo Monstrous Monday.  It is, in fact, another Pre-Rehearsal Post (I guess that could be a category, too), because we are soon to leave for rehearsal for Donate to Murder, the murder mystery dinner theatre LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, is presenting at Herkimer Elks this Saturday, Sept. 15.  Steven and I are wearing our costumes, although I do not have pantyhose on (I’m certain my character would wear pantyhose).  Also, I could not find my grandmother’s pearls, which I thought would work for my character (full disclosure: they are not real pearls, but they look nice).  Luckily I have TONS of beads, vintage and otherwise.

What a long first paragraph.  I do babble on, don’t I?  I thought this was going to be a monster post.  Let’s see what I can find.

Not the best depiction of Julia Adams, but a pretty cool poster nonetheless.

Look, I can also include a foreign language lesson.  Sometimes I can so multi-task (although most days I barely manage just to task).  Steven and I just watched Creature from the Black Lagoon on Sunday.  Perhaps you read my blog post in which I mentioned it.  And while we’re visiting foreign countries…

I think this one has better artwork, but I like the lettering in the Spanish version.

And look at me, over 200 words on a Wuss-out Wednesday (I guess this post fits multiple categories).  I do like to include three pictures, so I will pull something from my Media Library.

“Love! Exciting and new!”

I never knew the Creature guest starred on The Love Boat. I suppose he is quite an actor. Perhaps I could use him in a murder mystery sometime.

 

Yet Another Pre-Rehearsal Post

My heart is sore.  There, I’ve said it.  I don’t want to go on whining about my ills.  It’s tiresome. People will become bored and impatient or, worse yet, will worry.  Or they might give advice.  Sometimes advice is hard to listen to.  You know it is the right thing to do, but you already knew the right thing to do; you just didn’t do it.  Or it isn’t the right thing to do, but you know they mean well.  Or they are just being officious, and you want to throat punch them.  But I’m sure none of my readers fall into the last category.

One reason I feel wrong about dwelling on my problems is that it is Sept. 11.  I wanted to dig out my TV Journal from 9/11/2001 and share some of the things I wrote at the time.  I was home recovering from a bunion operation and sat glued to the television all day.  What a terrible event.  But I’m too tired and ill to brave the mess we call a library.

I just looked up at the television and saw something about the latest hurricane soon to make landfall.  I feel terrible for everybody in the path of that.  I do appreciate that I am not currently dealing with any severe weather, under the heading of Count Your Blessings.

In the meantime, I have a blog post to make, and I must make it before I head tofirst dress rehearsal for Shattered Angel, being presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society in cooperation with Ilion Little Theatre.  Opening night is Friday. Yikes!  It is Sept. 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22 and 23.  Performances are at 7:30 on the 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22; and 2 p.m. on the 16 and 23. Tickets are $15.  For more information, contact the Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

Tomorrow I have rehearsal for Donate to Murder, the murder mystery LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, is presenting at Herkimer Elks Lodge on Saturday, Sept. 15.  Yikes!  That’s close too, with fewer rehearsals left!  It is dinner theatre with $25 tickets including a turkey dinner by Brian Hess of PK’s Pub.  Yum!  For more information, contact the Elks at 315-866-1439.

I guess I’ll call this a Tired Tuesday post and drive on.  At least I plugged two plays.

 

Movie Memories on Non-Sequitur Thursday

I was sitting here trying to think of what to make my blog post about and thought to myself, “I’ll have my Throwback Thursday early!”  And then I remembered:  it IS Thursday!  I love it when that happens instead of, you know, the opposite.  I wonder what I have in my Media Library that I have not used recently.

I think he likes her.

I was looking for something from my life, but here is a movie almost as old as I am: Mary Poppins (1964).  It is a meaningful movie in my life, actually.  It is the first movie I saw in a theatre.  I had previously seen Goldfinger (ooh, also 1964; I just looked that up) at a drive-in, although I was a little kid and did not pay much attention.  My Mom took all us kids to the Capitol Theatre in Rome, NY, to see Mary Poppins.  I was as impressed with the theatre as I was with the movie.  This was also the first movie my husband, Steven, saw in a theatre.  He credits it with beginning his lifelong love of movies.

Do you wonder why I was impressed?

This is the inside of the Capitol Theatre in Rome, NY.  Magnificent, no?

I don’t know what he’s looking at, but she’s giving him the side-eye.

I add this picture to make this more of a Non-Sequitur Thursday.  However, I don’t know how much of a non sequitur it is, because it is another meaningful movie.  The Brain That Wouldn’t Die  (1962) is one of my favorite movies of the cheesy variety.  But the way it gets here is kind of random:  I downloaded the picture of the Capitol.  When I went to put it here, I transposed two numbers and almost put in this one instead.  I fixed the error, then said, “Hey!”

Now there’s a spray tan!

Since I mentioned Goldfinger, I looked for a picture of that, too.  I did not even realize it was Goldfinger I had seen at the drive-in till years later.  I just remember during one of the few moments where I was watching the movie, my father told me that a guy had killed a girl and spray-painted her gold.  I thought it was an odd thing to do but figured I had not been paying enough attention for it to make sense.  I’m thinking Goldfinger was the only movie where that happened, although I daresay I could be mistaken.

So here is my silly Thursday post.  Full disclosure:  I’ll probably get even sillier tomorrow.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

All Wet on Wednesday

Feeling yet unable to write a real post and noting that I did not indulge in a Monstrous Monday, I thought I would let a few of our creepy friends cheer me up a little.  Since I adore alliteration (see what I did there?), I declare today Watery Wednesday and I search for creatures from the deep.  Or even the shallow, to match my mind.

“Oh, THAT’S where I left my lady in a bathing suit!”

Who doesn’t love Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)?  Oh, I suppose YOU don’t (you know who you are).  Julie Adams (pictured here with the green guy) (I’m guessing he’s green; the movie was black-and-white) is one of my Likes on Facebook.  She comes across as a very gracious lady.

“Am I interrupting?”

Less gracious but still all wet is the title character from JAWS (1975). I loves me some JAWS.

The alligator is off camera asking his agent why he isn’t in this shot.

This is Lake Placid (1999), a movie I really like.  I was looking for a shot of the alligator but could not find one.

My mood is, alas, not improving, so I shall close with a darker but still wet movie.  Carnival of Souls (1962) begins with a rather horrifying scene involving a muddy river.

 

The look on her face is about how I feel.

I got this shot from a Facebook page about the movie, https://www.facebook.com/carnivalofsouls1962/.  I like to give credit whenever I use it.

So it seems I am having a Wuss-out Wednesday after all.  These things happen to a daily blogger, at least to this one.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Blogger’s Sad Day

It is how I feel, but a bit less melodramatic today.

No, it is not Wrist to Forehead Tuesday.  It is in the nature of a blogger’s day off, because I am too sad and distressed to make a proper post.  However, I think if I put a few of my thoughts down, it will make me feel better.

Community theatre lost a great asset, and I lost a friend today with the passing of Ilion resident Julianne Allen.  I am profoundly shocked as well as saddened, because she was about my age (you know, not ancient) and not sick that I knew of.  The above picture is from our dramatic scene together in Dirty Work at the Crossroads at Ilion Little Theatre in 2013.  My husband, Steven, directed.  Julianne and I worked on several productions together, and she worked on many more that I was not involved in but enjoyed watching.  She was always willing to do what she could and what was needed.

In fact, in Shattered Angel, she took a part that was originally written for a man.  Director and writer Stephen Wagner originally cut the part but then decided to change the role to the man’s wife and cast Julie.  It was going to be a great bit of comic relief, because Stephen was really utilizing Julie’s attitude.

At her first rehearsal, she was already showing us the attitude.

 

Julie on the left, me on the right, ILT president Kelly Stone in the middle.

Just to end with another picture including me, here we are in Harvey from 2012.  Rest in Peace, Julie.  I hope you’re putting on a great show for the angels.