Fame or Famine

A holiday check-in
The beginning of the As Always, Ella series may be found by clicking here

It’s been quite a while since we last spoke to Ella. Both her series and the About the Author series have stalled. I think it’s safe to say the stalling is due to the fact that the questions are about to get very personal. I was gearing up to ask Ella about her experiences with mental wonkiness and being medicated, and I thought that before I did that I should offer up my own mental wonkiness story.
It turns out that I am …read more

Comments Off

This is a warning to all music teachers. If you receive an email like this, it’s a hoax:
Hello Teacher,
Good day to you.
My name is Raymond Prentiss Shaw based in Netherland.My son(20years of age) will be coming to the state for a 3(Three) month holiday but will stay with my elder brother.While he his there,i want him to attend your teaching class on any of the instrument you could best teach .I want you to e-mail me the modalty of the programme,rate/hr,number of hours a day,your location ,duration of the lesson and other things necessary for a smooth learning.Please get …read more

3 Comments

Not too long ago in my Exhaustion Post I brought up possibly seeing Star Wars III, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or Shaun of the Dead.
This weekend we watched Star Wars III on Friday night, Shaun of the Dead last night, and I’m about to go and finish watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory right now.
I thought SWIII did a good job of making up for the first two abominations, and what I’ve seen of Charlie and the CF so far is good, but it does feel a little ripped off from the Gene Wilder version.
Sean of the Dead is …read more

1 Comment

No, not really. Not that last part.

Crowe Pleads Guilty to Phone Tossing
By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK – Russell Crowe pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree assault, admitting to a judge that he threw a phone that hit a Manhattan hotel concierge in June.

But officer! Officer! He stoled my hart!
No, not really. Violent weirdo. Why must you be so appealing in so many films and so repulsive in real life?

Comments Off

opened yesterday and I HAVE NOT SEEN IT YET

What the hell kind of fan am I?
At least I’ve had some fun tooling around the Harry Potter website and speculating as to its possible wonderfulness.
If you’ve seen it, please take this poll. I want to know what I’m in for:
Poll deleted for stupidity
Whoops! It opens tomorrow!
Nevermind. I’ll change the poll…
Take this one instead!
!++51++!

Comments Off

Or: Sorry, we were down for the count
The “teething” that I spoke of in the last post turned out to be a COLD FROM HELL that still has it’s lingering suckers upon my child and I. I have an ear that’s in fairly bad shape and I’m only just now rejoining the land of the living. Thank you all for your patience.
However, while I was home sick Andy and I did take the opportunity to sit together on the couch and watch a movie. One of our former favorite pastimes that has gone the way of the …read more

Comments Off

This is just a quick update to inform you all that due to Charlie’s neverending teething and the fact that we all got about three to four non-consecutive hours of sleep last night, tonight we will be ordering a pizza and renting a movie.
Will it be Star Wars III?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?
Shaun of the Dead?
I’ll let you know whenever I join the land of the living again.

2 Comments

Our son is the son of a musician, the grandson of a musician, and the great-grandson of a concert pianist. Charlie is devoted to music of any kind and his current dance involved what I call the Dying Chicken. To do the dying chicken simply:
Place your arms straight out at your sides

Bend your elbows slightly

Leave your hands limp

Bend your knees slightly

Stick your butt out a bit

Bounce through the house one small step at a time, letting your whole body judder with each step and your hands flap
Congratulations! You’re doing the Dying Chicken!!
We’ve often wondered, Dying Chicken aside, …read more

Comments Off

Are soon screwed apart

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband is a self-employed jazz musician. He’s taken jobs teaching at Elmhurst College and Northwestern University, but while he enjoys teaching and likes the kids he still considers himself a jazzman. He plays on evenings and weekends; he plays on albums and in improv bands; he travels and jazzes and is basically self-employed; and not a week goes by that someone doesn’t try to screw him out of money.
We are, or at least have been, in a unique position where my salary covered the rent and the bills. This …read more

Comments Off

Very, very bad
Reviewing the arts, whether theatre production or concert, is an artform in itself. If the reviewer is interested in getting people to see, purchase, or participate in something they must always consider the audience when writing. Will the reader stick with them through the review or wander off? The reviewer can often singlehandedly turn someone on or off to an artistic experience prior to the reader actually experiencing the art.
Some reviewers (such as myself, for example) prattle on and on and could use a good editor. Some reviewers keep it short and sweet short, …read more

Comments Off