Tag Archives: blogging

Facing the Music

A musical weekend awaits me.  Tomorrow, Steven and I will drive into Utica, NY (not a far drive) to the Stanley Theatre to see the band America (you don’t have to italicize band names, do you? I should know these things).  I have not been to the Stanley in over 20 years (yikes!  I just now figured that out).  It was beautiful then, and I believe they have made improvements since.

Just to give you an idea.

The event is a fundraiser for the Herkimer County Historical Society, one of my favorite organizations.

Saturday our friend Tracy is coming to visit, and we are going to see a folk group, Jam Crackers in Holland Patent.  We have seen them before; they are wonderful.  Tracy may get here earlier in the day, so we can get in a Mohawk Valley adventure or two as well.

Tracy’s visit is one reason I have been so distracted from my blogging duties this week:  we have been frantically cleaning the house.  Tracy nicely said that as long as she had a path to get through she was fine, but, well, we had to excavate the path anyways.  I utilized my old favorite cleaning protocol: the stuff-and-cram method.  We’ll worry about organization at a later date.

So this is my Non-Sequitur Thursday post for the week.  Or I guess we could call it a Preview of Coming Attractions.  Discuss among yourselves.

 

Still Blogging, But I’m No Blob

I am approaching my seventh anniversary of writing this blog (I may use “blogging” as a verb, but I shall not use the word “blogiversary”) (except, perhaps, parenthetically), and I am beginning to wonder if I am just not coming to the end.  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!  The fact is, I have been sitting here with the laptop on my lap for some time now, and I have no idea what to write a blog post about.  I just hate to have a Wuss-out Wednesday after a Bad Attituesday after a Monstrous Monday after a Wrist to Forehead Sunday after a, oh crap, what was Saturday?

“What do you mean another silly post?”

When in doubt, throw in a picture of a monster.  A natural monster this time, the great white shark from JAWS.  At least, I think this is the mechanical shark, Bruce, making it a depiction of a natural monster (I add in the interests of accuracy).

As usual, I meant to write a blog post while on breaks at work.  As usual, I did not.  My obsession with solving puzzles once again got the better of me.  I managed to write a little on a letter to my sister.  And I wrote entries in my food and headache journal (I’m documenting and looking for patterns) (no luck so far).  I do not know what is wrong with me.  However, as Scarlett O’Hara used to say, tomorrow is another day.  I’ll throw in a couple more monster pictures and call it a day.

It creeps, and leaps…

I would say this is me: a blob, but in fact it is not.  The Blob oozed around quite actively, causing all kinds of trouble.  All I want to do is sit on the couch and knit.

I forgot I had this one.

I thought I would close with a picture of my favorite, Nosferatu.  I love that guy.  Happy Wednesday, everybody.

 

George Zucco on Monstrous Monday

I had vague hopes (not high hopes, as you see) of making a real post, perhaps writing it while on break at work.  I also had what I thought were firm plans to exercise after work.  I should have known better.  Now here I am, in a monstrous mood, typing off the top of my head and hoping for a Monstrous Monday post.  I do like monsters.

“Y’see, dock, it hurts right about here…”

Here is George Zucco and… a friend (I bet you thought I was going to say his mummy) (you know who you are).  I had seen a picture of George Zucco and a gorilla in one of my movie groups earlier and thought I might download it.  I went back to Facebook and searched “Geroge Zucco.”  There it was!  At the last minute I thought, what if it belongs to somebody and I was supposed to get permission?  So I changed my search to “George Zucco public photos.”  I kind of like the mummy better anyways.  It is more monstrous.

I was introduced to George Zucco (it just feels right to use his entire name every time) in our 50 Horror Classics DVD collection.  He is described as “marvelously theatrical.”  I’m sure I’ve written blog posts about some of his movies.  I really must start doing movie write-ups again.  They are such fun.  For me, at least.

Spoiler alert: they do more than just walk in this flick.

I think this is one of the movies I wrote about.   If I was better about tagging, I could probably find it and link back to it.  And here we come to the ugly truth about me.

I still don’t know why the monster was so mad.

I actually do not remember if I saw this one or not, but I thought it would be nice to include another picture with George Zucco.  My new ambition for the week:  to watch a movie featuring George Zucco and write about it.  It is good to make a big plan on a Monday.

 

Various Movies on Monstrous Monday

I’m sure nobody expected me to get my act together overnight.  If you did, well, you realize you were setting yourself up for disappointment, do you not?  No matter.  We all have foolish expectations from time to time.

All this by way of introduction to another Monstrous Monday.  My only decision now is whether to use repeat monsters or search for new pictures to share.  I think I’ll look for old and try to think of new things to say about them.

Here’s a double bill I never thought of.

I do not remember why I downloaded this shot or when I used it.  Trog, for the uninitiated, is Joan Crawford’s last movie.  It is not my favorite cheesy horror movie featuring Crawford.  And before anybody hazards a guess, neither is Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.  I don’t think I have ever seen Taste the Blood of Dracula, although I have seen a few Hammer Dracula movies starring Christopher Lee.  I understand he kept saying each one was his last, but the studio would talk him into the next, often by pointing out how many people would get work thereby.  If that is true, it gives me quite a good opinion of Lee, even outside of his acting prowess.

“Did you think I would not pop in?”

What’s a Monstrous Monday without my favorite guy, Nosferatu?

He only looks harmless.

I end with a monster of the human variety, Robert Walker as Bruno in Strangers on a Train, on the right.  The other guy, looking a little apprehensive (and no idea yet how right he is to be so!) is Farley Granger as Guy Haines.  Good movie.  I’ll have to give it another watch soon.  But not on a double bill with Trog.

 

No, I Do Not Have My Act Together

It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday indeed.  I have been alternately looking at my blank “Add New Post” page and scrolling down Facebook.  I can’t say I was looking for inspiration.  For one reason, I can write a blog post with inspiration (so those of you gearing up to give me a lecture on the hollowness of waiting for inspiration can just stand down).

The murder mystery last night went pretty well.  The audience enjoyed themselves and the actors had fun, too.  Now I plan to take a long break from theatre.  It is time to get my act together, clean my house, and write, write, write.  I mean more than silly blog posts and murder mysteries.

I confess, today was not the first day of Getting My Act Together.  Then again, I have never been able to accomplish much on a Sunday.  That is one reason I started having Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  The feeling that I ought to be getting something done but yet am not getting anything done is very distressing.

Wow, I am not even having an easy time writing a silly blog post.  Can I save the day with a monster picture?

“You say I look like whom?”

I downloaded this beauty a couple of days ago in case of just such an emergency.  It is Alec Guinness in The Lady Killers.  I have never seen the movie, although I hope to catch it sometime.  I love the picture, because I think he looks

like Nosferatu.  Regular readers know of my affection for Nosferatu.  I’ll have to watch that movie again soon.  I have it on two different DVD collections.

I guess that isn’t really a monster picture, so I’ll finish with a repeat.

“Just popped up to say hello!”

I have no idea who this handsome fellow is.  I must have downloaded him one day when I was trolling the internet for monster pictures. Get it?  Trolling?  Because a troll is a kind of a monster.  I know, you aren’t supposed to explain puns.  Cut me a break on Wrist to Forehead Sunday!

 

Remembering to Breathe

Oh, this is bad, this is not good, this is a problem.  OK, breathe, Cindy, breathe.  And drink some coffee.  I think I will have to call this a ScatterBrained Saturday post.  All I have done so far today is have a headache, wash some dishes, and feel nervous about tonight’s murder mystery.  I came up with the headline just now when I was messaging my friend Kim on on Facebook, whining about my flustered state of mind.  I typed, “I am trying some coffee and remembering to breathe.”  Only when I typed “remembering”  I missed the “b”  (could have been clumsy fingers, but let’s blame my laptop keyboard; I hate for EVERYTHING to be my fault).  I sat there saying “remember” in my head to figure out where the “b” went.   So I added, “And how to spell remember.”

Maybe my headline should have been, “Where Does That Damn B Go Anyways?”  Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself.  Who forgets how to spell remember?  It does lighten things up when you can see the humor.  And a cup of coffee doesn’t hurt.

I have half my costume on and, as I had feared, my pants don’t want to stay up.  They are fancy silk-looking purple pajama pants. I daresay they look fabulous, but there is no place to put a belt and anyways,  I have them pulled up too high.  Maybe I could tuck them under my bra (oh goody, I just made myself laugh again) (until somebody says “TMI” because I mentioned my bra; you can’t say anything to some people).  My shirt is real silk, a black sleeveless blouse I rarely ware (YES, I remembered to shave!  Talk about TMI: what a personal question!).  I think my earring choices are good, but which socks?  Decisions!

So I guess this is my blog post today:  me dithering and whining.  But what is a blogger to do?  I have a show tonight!  I hope I break a leg.

 

Looking for a New Throwback on Non-Sequitur Thursday

So last week I did a Throw Back Thursday with Non-Sequitur overtones.  Then I realized I had used the same photos together in a previous post.  I suppose these things happen, but I hope to avoid such a thing today.  I am posting in haste (posthaste is a word you don’t here much these days, but I like it).  I have rehearsal for Spring Into Murder later, and I am doing laundry now.  You know, that murder mystery we are doing at Morning Star Methodist Church on Saturday, April 28.  I wonder if any tickets are still available.  I should share the Facebook event again, in case local readers are interested (see what I did there?).

“I don’t always do Shakespeare plays, but when I do, it’s with LiFT.”

This is Tucker just before a performance of The Tempest last summer with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  Tucker is in Spring Into Murder as the trophy husband of Holland Mills, CEO of Two Lips Cosmetics.

“Whoooo says Cindy can’t write a blog post?”

This cute little owl caught my eye.  As I type this, I see part of the title of the book he’s sitting on:  I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie! by Roger Ebert.  I just love reading unflattering reviews, although I disagree with Ebert on some of his assessments.

Here’s to hasty blog posts!

I end with a shot of Steven and me doing what we do best:  hanging out and having a good old time!  My sister, Cheryl, took this picture at Woodland Farm Brewery in Utica, NY.

Well, three pictures and over 250 words, I call that good enough for a pre-rehearsal post.  I hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday!

 

I’m a Fool for Tired Tuesday

Tired Tuesday it is!  I have been rushing around like a fool since I left work, and all I want to do now is crochet and watch Dateline.  That gives me about 30 seconds to make a blog post or miss the introduction and perhaps the first couple of scenes.  Yes, missing the beginning!  Damn!  Oh, it is an episode we’ve seen.  And one I don’t like.  A teenage boy is coerced into confessing to a crime he did not commit.  Well, that give me plenty of time to make a decent blog post, doesn’t it?  Or rather, shouldn’t it?

I worked out after work today.  I have been keeping kind of quiet about this, but I started going to the YMCA in Mohawk, NY.  I am not as consistent as I would like to be about these things, but one has to start somewhere, after all.  The important thing is: when you miss a few days, you do NOT say, “Oh to hell with it, this isn’t working!”  You begin again, much the same way I do with my running (and writing).  Begin again.  And again.  And again.

After getting home, enjoying a recovery beverage of chocolate milk, checking Facebook and email, and showering, I headed out to the store.  I ran out of healthy, not fattening things for lunch.  I got some good stuff.  Believe it or not (I was a doubter myself), I actually made the salad, and chopped radishes and celery.  I eat the celery and radishes on a break and the salad on lunch.  In case anybody was interested in my eating habits.

One thing I have not done is the laundry.  I hope I have sufficient clean clothes for tomorrow, because I am quite done for the day.  Except for a little crochet.  I am making a baby afghan for a co-worker and I want to finish it before the kid gets too big for it.  Happy Tuesday, everybody.

 

Murderous Mental Meanderings.

I do not think it is any too early for this blog to become All Spring Into Murder All The Time.  I have six days to get my act together!  AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!  OK, got that out of my system.  I have just time for a fast Monday Mental Meanderings post before rehearsal.  And I just thought of my headline. I bet I’ve used it before.  Well, these things happen.  We must make the best of them.

I just walked to the library to print out a sort of a program for Saturday night’s performance.  I say a sort of, because it only lists the character’s names with a short identifying phrase.  No actors’ names, not even the title.  After all, WE don’t know there is going to be a murder.  It is always a little disconcerting when an audience member says, “So there’s going to be a murder tonight”  or, worse yet, “We’ve never been to one of these before, what are we supposed to do?”  I don’t want to break character (as we actors say), but I also don’t want to leave people in the dark and/or rudely not answer their questions.  We find ways of dealing with these things.  That is part of the fun of live, interactive theatre.

Yes, I am tired and definitely feeling Monday.  Luckily, I am not driving to rehearsal but bumming a ride from my friend, Kim.  She is very tired too, but I hope to keep her awake enough to drive with chitchat.  I am rarely too tired to chat.

The murder mystery, once again, is Spring Into Murder, at Morning Star Methodist Church at 36 Second St., Ilion, NY, 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28.  $20 includes a delicious roast pork dinner (I know this, because they feed the actors and this will be the third one we’ve done there).  Advance tickets must be purchased by Thursday by calling 315-894-4093.  You can go to the Facebook Event for more information.

 

 

Fast Post on a Sunday

Every Sunday it is the same thing.  I start the day thinking I’ll get all sorts of stuff done. Sometimes I even do a thing or two.  But at some point, I remember, because my body reminds me:  there is no point in trying to get anything done on a Sunday.  I had rehearsal for Spring Into Murder (MUST write an entire blog post about that!).  Steven and I have a dinner date later.  Having gotten a couple of things done but feeling inclined to accomplish nothing further, I thought, “I’ll do my blog post.  Easy, fun, and useful.”  Of course the usefulness can be debated, but you may discuss that among yourselves if you are so inclined.

To make a long story longer (I bet you thought I was going to say, “make a long story short,” and you were taking a breath to say, “Too late!”  Gotcha!), I could not do a blog post earlier. I just sat there scrolling up and down Facebook and watching the clock till it was time to go to rehearsal.

Rehearsal went pretty good, by the way.  We discussed costumes.  I had brought what I intend to wear:  loud purple pants and a louder jacket.  Actually I had two colorful jackets to choose between, and one cast member insisted I must wear the louder one.  I agreed.  Kim had brought every glamorous black dress in her wardrobe for our inspection.  Oh come on, like none of you has more than one glamorous black dress?  I personally have none, but I’m weird. We all know that.  I am unusual among women in that I do not long for the elusive little black dress.  Be that as it may, Kim has some wonderful frocks, and we all enjoyed voicing our opinions.

More importantly, we ran the scripted part of the show a couple of times.  I think it is coming together nicely.  We discussed the black tulips, which are so important to the plot. We discussed the next rehearsal.

The murder mystery, Spring Into Murder, will be presented next Saturday, April 28, at Morning Star Methodist Church, 36 Second St., Ilion, NY, at 5 p.m.  $20 tickets include a roast pork dinner and must be purchased in advance by calling the church at 315-864-4093.

Now I must get changed for our dinner date.  Perhaps I will wear black, but not a little black dress.