Tag Archives: entertainment

Not Too Crappy to Contemplate Murder

I feel less crappy than yesterday!

But crappier than tomorrow!

You know,  to the tune of “I love you more today than yesterday.”   I didn’t know that was a song for the longest time.  I noticed that lots of people (girls, mostly) (not to buy into gender based stereotypes, but such was my observation) would use it in the Valentine messages you could put in the newspaper.  Imagine my surprise to learn they were quoting a song.

Be that as it may, my aching head is saying, “I can’t write a blog post!”  Yes, in a pathetic, whiny voice.  I am sufficiently disgusted with myself.  And I know for a fact that it isn’t so.  I just kind of sort of wrote something.  I could probably share it here.  For one reason, it would up my word count.

You see, our friends at the Herkimer County Historical Society asked us (meaning me and my murderous actor friends) to revive a murder mystery we did some time ago at the Herkimer Elms Lodge.  I think Caryl referred to it as “the one with Tucker and the bugs.”  Kind of sounds like an episode of Friends, doesn’t it?  Today she messaged me asking for a few specifics for their newsletter.

First I had to find the script, which I had unaccountably not saved in the same place as the other murder mysteries in my laptop.  It too some clicking, but eventually I located it.  Luckily I had already been thinking about some modifications to make the script more suitable for the historical society.  Here is what I managed to send to Caryl:

Eric O’Chevsky, who describes himself as an organizer and community builder (although some call him a shady wheeler dealer, or so I have heard), has discovered that the Herkimer County Historical Society recently received a major grant. He organized this dinner for his associates to pitch their ideas for good uses for the money. Some of their ideas may seem to have a tenuous connection to local history, but you know, people have to follow the money.

The people vying for a donation are:

Meryl Barrymore, a community theatre actress, wants to do a historical play (assuming she can find one with a glamorous enough lead). Flora Fortenza, who is something of a flower child, wants to plant lots of flowers around the Suiter House and perhaps all around the Historic Four Corners. Phoebe Larkspur wants to place bird houses all around, perhaps patterned after historic buildings. Dudley Turnbull wants to place poop bags for people walking their dogs. Isn’t that corner a popular dog walking place? Harold Greene, an environmentalist and brilliant scientist, is partnering with Dudley’s project and wants to invent a biodegradable poop bag. Renwick Spaulding is hoping to mount a display of bugs. Historic bugs of course.

The title is Donate to Murder.  It will be presented on March 27 at the Travel Lodge in Little Falls.  More information to follow!

Looks like a suspicious bunch to me!

 

 

Great Music, Great Food!

Yesterday at work, I noticed a co-worker’s t-shirt read, “Support local music.”  I thought that was definitely something Mohawk Valley Girl should do.  What I didn’t know was that opportunity awaited me that very night!

I had suggested another shop and dine evening, with the dinner part at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort,  NY.  When I got home from work, Steven told me Phil Arcuri was playing there from 6 to 8 p.m. Perfect!

We sat at the bar, right across from where Phil was going to play, and ordered wine and food.  I got angel hair pasta with a meatball.  Steven got the shrimp basket with fries. Yum! We both brought leftovers home, and I am really looking forward to eating mine!

He is a great musician!

Arcuri plays great tunes from the ’60’s and ’70’s.  I chair danced to most of them and sang along with the ones I knew the words to.  I was not the only one singing along.

Another angle.

I took a few pictures of Arcuri, but I did not manage to catch his smile.  It is a pleasure to watch such a talented musician who is so obviously enjoying himself.  I’m sure everyone there was having fun.

My delightful date for the evening.

I took a picture of Steven.  He tried to take one of me, but the Tablet would not cooperate.  I finally managed to take an ussie (I’m better at ussies than selfies, but not really good at either).

I guess we don’t look too bad.

We had a wonderful time.  I look forward to the next time we hear Phil Arcuri, and to our next great meal at Fratello’s.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484.  They are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday.  You can follow them on Facebook to find out when Phil Arcuri is going to be there again!

 

Slacker Sunday? Or Cinema? Whatever!

Is Slacker Sunday a thing or does this have to be a Sunday Cinema post?   I don’t know why I’m asking.  This is my blog and I make the rules.  Full disclosure: I have had a couple of drinks.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

We began the relaxing portion of our Sunday out on our deck, enjoying a lovely breeze and watching some laundry flap.  How I love my clothesline and am so grateful to my parents for giving it to me.

Eventually we went back into the house and pu in our DVD of Death on the Nile, one of our star-studded Agatha  Christies (ooh, that autocorrect burns my buns!  “What the” instead of “Agatha”?  And “buns”  instead of “burns”?  What the Hell?).

After Death on the Nile, we enjoyed Rope, an Alfred Hitchcock,  but not one of his more prominent films. Now we are watching The Giant Gila Monster, from our collection of 50 Horror Classics. I can’t say I am particularly enamored of the flick, but I’m the one who picked it.

I feel sorry I can’t share pictures of these movies, but it is not so easy on the Tablet as it is on the laptop.   We all know I am not as technologically adept as one could wish.  However, this is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I swoon on my metaphorical chaise lounge and hope for a better post tomorrow.

 

To Doodah or Not to Doodah

I thought of that title while I was running this morning, and I like it.

The Doodah Parade is part of the Ilion Days festivities in Ilion, NY.  Full Disclosure: the Days have been going on since July 13, and I have missed them all so far.  What the heck was I doing last weekend? Probably drinking wine.  Judge me if you so choose.

Anyways, for the last three years I have participated in this deliciously named parade with Ilion Little Theatre.   Last year I was a wizardry witch.  That is, I wore the silly wizard costume I had worn in May for a March of Dimes event but paired it with a silly witch hat I have had for some years.  And I had two wands, because my friend Kim gifted me one that day.

Me at last year’s parade.

 

The previous year I dressed as Dorothea Doodah, a character of my own invention.  The first year I participated I dressed as a pirate.  I don’t have any pictures of the other Doodahs, but I may have one of me as a pirate, when I revived the costume for a parade in Little Falls.

I’m the one on the right.

Clearly my main problem with being in the parade tomorrow is that I must come up with a costume. Of course it is perfectly acceptable to repeat a costume, but it is more fun not to.  I could probably come up with something.

Also on the Don’t Do It side is my desire to run in a 5K in Ilion on Saturday.   Many people can do both.  I am not of their number.   Again, judge me if you will. I felt after my run this morning that I am in fine 5K shape.  And so I dither.

My silly wizard costume, which I include for your further entertainment.

I have really been enjoying running lately.  But I always enjoy dressing up in a costume.  Could I do both?  Will I end up doing neither?  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Diamond Days Are Coming!

I just got back from a meeting with the Business and Professional Association of Herkimer about the Herkimer Diamond Days Festival Aug. 2 and 3, 2019.  I may be a volunteer.

All kinds of events are planned, most of which take place on North Main Street in Herkimer, NY.  There will be food trucks, vendors and live music. Events run from 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday and from, 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturday.

The festival will feature lots of entertainment.  Jenny & The Buckshots play from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday.  On Saturday, Scott Raymond is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Lauren Quail from 3 to 5 p.m., and The Dead Bolts from 8 p.m, to midnight.  Additionally, the Happy Haggs and the Dance Center will perform.  Other groups may yet be added (maybe a group I am involved with, but no promises).

Further up Main Street the Herkimer County Historical Society will offer tours of the museum and a book sale in the Eckler House.  The 1834 Herkimer County Jail will also offer tours.  In Meyer’s Park, just two blocks from Main Street,  the Herkimer Elms Lodge will host their annual car show from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

I am still wondering how I can volunteer, and deciding which attractions I want most to enjoy.  If any of my local readers want to get involved, as a volunteer, vendor or entertainer, you can contact the Business and Professional Association of Herkimer at www.HerkimerBPA.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/herkimerspoppin/

 

William Castle, Can You Help Me Now?

So there I was, groping for a brain cell left alive in my head to make at least a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  Nothing was happening.  In desperation I went to Facebook to a page about William Castle: Godfather of Schlock and downloaded a few pictures.  This could work.

“What do you mean, you can’t of a blog post? That’s scary!”

I love William Castle, producer of such classics of House on Haunted Hill (1959) and Straitjacket (1964).  I wonder when I will have time to sit down and watch movies again.  I have rehearsal again tonight. In fact, I should probably be studying my lines instead of typing in what I am afraid is turning out to be a singularly foolish blog post.

“Who wants a piece?”

Maybe I could just relax and have a piece of cake.  Nah, that would mess up my slow progress toward my weight-loss goals.  If I could get somebody to chase me with an axe, I would be motivated to start running again.  Just a suggestion.

He was a great director.

Full disclosure:  I have not seen all that many William Castle movies.   I’ll have to work on it.

“You weren’t going to make a post about William Castle and not include me, were you?”

 

Psycho to Snapped on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

I have not watched enough movies for a proper Cinema Sunday, yet I am having too good a time for a real Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Not an unmitigatedly wonderful time, mind you.  But let us not dwell on the negative.

Isn’t she pretty?

We just watched Psycho (1960). For being so popular, I must say it is one of my least favorite Hitchcock movies.  It is so ponderous.

It is a pretty creepy stare, no?

However, it is an entertaining enough flick.  We enjoy it once in a while.  I wanted to watch The Birds (1963), because this morning, a veritable horde of birds was making a lot of noise in our back yard.  A few were flying around, but most were perched in the tree just behind our deck.  They were luckily quiet when I left for the grocery store later on.

The birds I saw this morning were not so large.

But rather than watching another movie, I want to watch the new episode of Snapped, which I am in fact missing as I type this.

Who doesn’t love Snapped?

I couldn’t find my Snapped logo in my Media Library, so I just went to their Facebook page and looked for a Snapped picture.  This was the first one I saw.

And now I see I am over 200 words.  Score!  And I am making Sunday’s post ON Sunday (Freudian typo:  I first put “Sinday”).  Can I have broken the habit of late posts?  Time will tell (time is certainly a blabbermouth).

 

Monstrous Friday?

“You’re asking ME for a blog post idea?”

It’s that sad moment when I do not even feel up to making a Friday Lame Post.  I just sat here, alternately scrolling down Facebook and staring at a blank WordPress Add New Post page, and I really, truly, got nothin’.  I thought if I opened with a picture of Noseratu (1922), it might spark something.  So far, not much.  However, I am up to 50 or so words, so that’s something.

Quick: which one is me?

I throw in a pic from House on Haunted Hill (1959), just to keep the picture-and-nonsense theme going.  We do love House on Haunted Hill.  William Castle, Vincent Price, what’s not to like?

I’m a little cleaner that this chick, at least.

Carrie (1976) is a bit more graphic than either Nosferatu or House on Haunted Hill, but I include the picture, because I feel just about as stunned as Sissy Spacek looks in this shot.  This is one reason that Lame Post Friday is looking increasingly like Monstrous Monday.  How mortifying.  I can’t even think of a good headline incorporating the word “lame.”  Maybe if I add one more monster picture, something will come to me.

So why am I NOT howling?

Yes, what is it with me? Friday night, and I’m not howling.  I’m not out partying heartily till the wee hours.  Is this what getting older is like?  Damn!  Then again, if I stop trying to type something entertaining (or at least) coherent into my blog post, I can sit here with my knitting, and perhaps my Friday will become a little more enjoyable.  In the meantime, thank you for tuning in, and I hope to see you all for Saturday’s post, whatever it turns out to be.

 

A Little Help from Elsa

Hello, and welcome to another Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I am tired and discouraged, but there is no point in going on about it.  For one reason, somebody is sure to point out that other people have way worse problems than mine and I should just be grateful that… something or other.  I hate it when people tell me to “just be grateful that –”  I’ll be grateful when I’m good and ready!  Right now I’m complaining!

Only right now I am trying not to complain but to make a half-way decent blog post (cue jokes about the usual quality of my blog posts).  I was going to do my usual Sunday Cinema;  we started the movie watching portion of our day shortly after noon.  However, I cooked an actual Sunday dinner and we put the television on Snapped while we ate.  It’s still on, but the current episode is one I’ve seen more than once.  Maybe I can mention the movie we did watch and list a few others we might watch next.  After I hit Publish.

Doesn’t it look mysterious and spooky?

We wanted something scary but one we had not seen recently, so I suggested The Spiral Staircase (1946), which we have on VHS (just to show how old school we can be).  I was hoping to find a picture with Elsa Lanchester, but her part isn’t all that big.  Still, we love Elsa Lanchester, so I suggested we have an Elsa Lanchester film festival.  We could continue the spooky theme with Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

I should have had such a ‘do on my wedding day.

After that, we could watch Witness for the Prosecution (1957).  Elsa Lanchester’s role in this film is neither in the short story nor the stage play, but she is the best character in the flick.

This is also Bride of Frankenstein. Isn’t she pretty?

That is the picture I was looking for when I mentioned Bride.  I got tired of scrolling and looking through my Media Library so used the other one.  Then I found it when I was looking for the next picture. Just a little insight into my blogging methodology.

Spoiler alert: He doesn’t murder her.

Next we might go color with Murder By Death (1976).  That is a star-studded romp, and the first video I ever gave Steve, back when we were dating.  We have it on DVD now.

How many can you name?

Well, we won’t have any time to watch any movies if I don’t finish this post and hit Publish.  At least I’ve typed myself into a better mood. Happy Sunday, folks!