no opera singers for this meal tonight

"Hahahaha! You must still be jamming on Jason Derulo's performance last night!"

Actually, no. I had the second WNS tonight over at Asbury...

"Oh, right, no cooking on Wednesdays for you this month!" 

Correct. As I was saying, I dined over at...

"You know, I distinctly recall opera singers there on occasion. Were they presenting a concert for Savannah VOICE or were they part of a GOB performance?"

Would you mind holding down the interjections until after I've made my point? Please?

"Sure, sure, I can do that."

Okay, let's get to it right away before you forget. We had Tetrazzini tonight.

"And? You just wanted to talk about that casserole dish?"

Well, yeah. Bet you didn't realize it was named for a famous Italian soprano! She had a three-decade career on famous stages around the world.

"Do you think she ever sang with Sherrill Milnes?"

No, Luisa was about two generations before him. She'd been off the stage for at least forty years by the time he started singing.

"Hmmm. So, how was the dinner? Did you sit with Pam and Walt?"

The dinner was very good, though no one seemed to know if it was chicken or turkey. I didn't run into the Brit and her Sugar Daddy until we were all going to the Taize service. I made sure to tell her about the Bill Nighy movie.

"Oh, I know she'll like that one!"

Yeah, me, too, that's why I'm glad I ran into her. I sat with Kim and Steve Johnson and they talked about him running into a deer on his bicycle some years ago. Quite funny! The other two guys on their bikes hit the deer, too - and the deer just got up and walked off. Jim and Ann Green were there, too, and got a kick out of the tale. We got to talking about food allergies after Steve left and Jim was very excited to find out about the cheeses that are lactose-free. I got the impression he's recently been diagnosed with an intolerance to milk sugar, so I was glad to enlighten him.

"I'm sure you included the Muenster, too." 

Most definitely. Ever since I recently found it was lactose-free, I make sure to have my open-faced "grilled cheese" toast with it in the mornings. Such a nice change of pace!

"Just like the little services on Wednesdays are a nice change of pace."

Absolutely! I even told Rev. Billy afterward that I very much enjoyed these "islands of calm" after the WNS. He liked that, saying he thinks of them as oases. I liked that.

"And tomorrow you have the American Legion..."

Nope! I thought that was a done deal, but Doug started a textversation with several of us this evening and that wasn't even one of the proposed dates for the meeting. None of the alternates he suggested were going to work out, so I moved that the March meeting be cancelled and others agreed. That means I'm free and clear to do whatever I wish on Thursday! Not that I really know what to do, but at least I'm free!

"Hey, you could go to that play at the Lucas that you just found out about! "The Play Where Everything Goes Wrong - isn't that what it's called? "

I could... I really want to see it after that teaser we got in October... I'm just not so sure I should be out at night.

"Oh, no! Has the weather taken a turn for the worse?"

As a matter of fact, it has. Totally aggravating to me, too. This afternoon I tried to measure my blood pressure and found the A-fib was acting up. The machine couldn't get a bead on my heart rate. I tried three times and stepped away from it. I guess it's a good thing that I see the heart doc on Friday.

"Damn. I hate to hear that."

It's my own fault. I was still in my nightgown, with the windows still open as they had been at noon, and hadn't realized that the air had chilled down so quickly. It was already down to the upper 50's at 4 PM. My heart noticed, though, and reacted accordingly. Dagnabbit.

"Well, it's up to you, but maybe you should wait to see it on Sunday afternoon. That will give you time to get your amigas lined up to go with you."

Yeah, that's a good idea. Okay, "The X-Files" is about to come on, finally, and it has two of my favorites, "Kill Switch" - with the song "Twilight Time" - and then "Bad Blood". I just love the "he said-she said" versions from Mulder and Scully of the sheriff played by Luke Wilson! I just wish Comet would shift the schedule back to its 9 PM start time. Oh, well! Bye!

let's all party with jimmy fallon!!!

Seriously, y'all!

He knows how to have fun and having good clean fun is what he does best!

No snidely snark, no blue shock, just lots of positive vibes and belly laughs!

What a nice change from the other shows on the late-night circuit!

The 48-year-old was absolutely beside himself to have Mickey Dolenz singing "Last Train To Clarksville" back on February 28th.

And how did he convince that 77-year-old to do so?

He handed him a tambourine!!!

It was fabulous!

 

Last night, he had Maude Apatow from the new production of "Little Shop Of Horrors" that's on Broadway now.

Anyway, in true form, he had another special guest from that musical.

Wanna guess who?

It was Audrey Two!!!

I was dancing right along with them as it sang about "the guy sure looks like plant food to me", urging Seymour to feed him!

Very nice!

Tonight, Jimmy showed up as a mystery guest on another show. 

That made me very glad that I've been watching "The Voice" for the Blind Auditions this season.

I've backed off from the show the last few years, as it just seemed to be very competitive between the judges and I wasn't digging that gnarly vibe.

This time, it still has Kelly Clarkson as well as Blake Shelton, with this being the last season for him.

But there are two fresh faces, with decidedly different fresh - and younger - perspectives on the auditioning artists.

Those new guys would be Niall Horan - he'll be 30 in September and was part of One Direction, a boy band not of my ken - and Chance The Rapper, who'll be 30 next month.

Chance was the first to turn his chair when he heard the voice singing "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" - he had just been on Jimmy's show, playing peanut butter and jelly Tic-Tac-Toe!

The others turned around in fairly quick succession, all except Blake.

He said he knew it was Jimmy and he didn't want to encourage him to keep singing - so Jimmy walked over as he was finishing the song and hit the button to swivel Blake's chair!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

Now, pardon me while I go back to "That's My Jam", the music show hosted by Fallon, with a fabulous list of real musicians willing to make fools of themselves while doing covers of other people's songs.

I love this improv show!

Jason Derulo just did "The Thong Song" as if it were an opera number... and he rocked!!!

I can't wait to see who wins the gold boombox!

(smile!)

hungry like the wulfe

Finally I had the chance to finish off this dish!

It's fish and it's been waiting in the fridge since Saturday...

that's three days...

so I needed to polish it off or let it swim off.

Nope!

Mahi Wulfe is my absolute favorite at Carrabbas, so no way was it going to go to waste!

Artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, basil...

such delectable flavors!

(smile!)

Bet you're wondering why I hadn't eaten it yet, right?

Ordinarily, I probably would have scarfed it right up at the restaurant, but I had an appetizer.

You know what that means, right?

I didn't have room for my dinner.

But I hadn't wanted my DineRewards freebie to expire, so, as there were three of us for supper, I trotted out that treat to share.

Let me just say that Barbara and Kaye ate it up!

No, not just the calamari, but the sheer delight of having someone gift them such a treat.

(smile!) 

That certainly made me happy, too, to be able to share that with them.

(smile!)

We'd all gone to the matinee at the Savannah Children's Theatre on that lovely afternoon, which gave us the option for an early dinner, before the dinner rush.

That was very nice!

The place had been packed with folks waiting to be seated by the time we left.

Yes, yes, that was definitely good planning on our part!

I do hope this experience bodes well for more matinee shows in our future!

I do hope mi amiga Sandy will be able to join us, too.

She enjoys these plays at the SavChTh, but wasn't quite up to this one.

That's okay, we all laughed and had fun with "Mr. Popper's Penguins"!!!

I would have enjoyed it if it hadn't been a musical, but that pushed it over the top!!!

No, I am still not familiar with the children's book, but I had adored the Jim Carrey movie (back in 2011), so I knew I wanted to see this.

I'm so glad to have had friends with me this time...

it's no wonder that I wanted to share my lagniappe with them!

(smile!)

And why did all of that come rushing back to me today?

Well, it's because of the Bill Nighy film I watched yesterday afternoon.

Titled "Living", the 2022 film is actually a near-copy of "Ikiru", a 1952 film from Akira Kurosowa, with the locale changed to England instead of Japan.

So why had that brought the penguins to mind?

It hadn't; it brought Mr. Popper to mind, and his dealings with City Hall.

You see, he'd phoned to get a license to have the birds as pets.

That launched a truly hilarious song in which the three receptionists gleefully - but oh-so-politely - transfer his call from one department to another, each time greeting him with "hello, it's City Hall, we're so happy that you called" before he would speak just a few words of his request and have it translated as more appropriate for some other department to handle, not the one he'd reached.

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

Sure, I realize that isn't so funny when you're the one calling in... 

but dealing with bureaucracy is one of the rites of passage to adulthood, n'est-ce pas?

For real.

Well, in the movie yesterday, the main character is Mr. Williams, who has served in the Public Works department for decades, maintaining stacks of unprocessed requests for this building permit or that construction project, without any of those ever making any progress off his desk or the desks of his colleagues.

Enter three women, trying to get the eyesore trash dump in their neighborhood transformed into a playground for the area's children.

The folks in Public Works, when the ladies' petition arrives to them yet again - as it seemingly has on a regular basis - dutifully sends them around to the other departments - Safety, Parks and Recreation, Children's Affairs - and then, when the threesome again arrive at day's end right back to them, the petition is taken in by Mr. Williams and filed away for later.

Again, it's funny to watch because it wasn't happening to me and because I've gone through similar rigamaroles numerous times in my life, right?

Then, Mr. Williams receives news from his doctor; the cancer has progressed and is terminal.

That's when he realizes his life "as a gentleman, waiting on the train to go to his office", the life he had thought was so grand as a child, has no meaning.

After a couple of false starts at living, he determines to help the three ladies in their quest, even though it means much of his time will be spent waiting in others' offices for the sign-offs from their departments.

Quite a touching performance from Mr. Nighy.

I just may have to see it again.

(smile!)

singing to herself... wow!

She has, at long last, reached an age where she can entertain herself.

That age, apparently, is 4 years old.

Christina and I were at the adjacent table, settling our tabs and chatting.

I had noticed the girl had sat down apart from us after the bathroom break.

What caught my attention, though, was the fact that she was singing softly.

I couldn't make out the words, so I can't hazard a guess as to which song it was -

for me, that song would again be "Octopus' Garden", whistled, not sung -

but I'll be sure to ask her the next time she's doing it.

I wonder if she'll be like me, not even conscious at the time that she was doing that.

I wonder if, like me, she'll have to think about what tune it might be that came so naturally to her.

I wonder if it might change over time, or if, like with mine, it will be a constant in her life.

I wonder.

 

Today, Chloe was off from school to go to the doctor's office to see about a rash on her throat and shoulders and the itch that was the real problem for her.

My first niece was off from school, too, to take her to the doc in Richmond Hill.

That brought an opportunity to have lunch at Jalapenos with me!

Hooray!

Such a beautiful to sit on the patio, too!

I'd arrived a bit before them, so I'd taken a walk around the area.

Then I noticed the swirling flight of six raptors above.

I found myself watching them, their dark forms accentuated against the light gray of the clouds...

could I capture them?

See them, on the left near that bright vertical area?

Me, neither, but I know they were there.

(smile!)

 

What a lovely way to start a week!

Now, how can I fit in a soccer game this month, on top of all else going on?

Hmmm... I'll definitely have to try, now won't I?

Next Wednesday may work to let me travel to see both girls in action...

and have the luxury of staying over with nothing going on the next day... 

we'll see!

(smile!)

dear santa, i know it's early but,

Dear Santa,

 

I know exactly what I want for Christmas this year!

 

Yes, I realize this is terribly early to have already decided, but kindly remember that I haven't asked for anything in a long time.

 

And, it isn't that I'm asking for the person himself, as that would be a violation of his free will, and I certainly don't want to do that.

No sirreebob.

 

I had thought I would like just a poster, but that won't quite do.

 

Remember?

I like to be able to touch things, and a flat two-dimensional surface is going to be right.

 

I'm also a bit of a klutz, though, so, please... nothing breakable.

 

And just what image has me all agog?

 

This one.

 

That's Ram Charan, running in orange silks, tousled dark mane flowing out behind him as he runs, wielding a bow and arrow like an Indian god version of Cupid...

my, oh my, oh my!

Isn't he utterly magnificent?

 

Not that he wasn't also a good-looking fellow in mufti, especially when he and N.T. Rama Rao, Jr. (on the right), were dancing up such a storm that all the English ladies at the gala had to lift their skirts and hit the floor -

yes, oh yes, that was mighty fine!

 

And when the 38-year-old was astride a horse, as his 48-year-old friend raced alongside on a motorcycle, hair whipping about and their voices full of life -

yeah, that was quite a fabulous sight, so full of male energy that I could smell the testosterone wafting off the silver screen!

I could, I swear I could!

Fire and water they were, respectively, each a pure embodiment of those elements of life!

The release of "RRR", aka "Rise Roar Revolt", was originally slated for summer of 2020, but the pandemic greatly slowed production.

The makers had then chosen a time in 2021... but the pandemic had reared back up, making it not a good time to pack the cinemas with fans of Tollywood.

How about 2022?

Well, that had worked for a limited audience in Pooler, but not here.

But this spring, with the swirls of yellow plant sperm visibly casting about in the air, as if it was time for the celebration of Dilwale?

This spring, with the new roster of students at SCAD clamoring for arthouse cinema?

Yes, yes, this would do very well for this paean to the heroes that helped India break free of British rule so long ago!

And where better than at the Trustees Theatre on Broughton Street?

Most fabulous!

I applaud that the friendship between Alluri Sitarama Raju and Khomaram Bheem was from the imagination of the two scriptwriters, and not factual. (The two men had been contemporaries briefly in the 1920's, though Raju died in 1924, more than a decade before Bheem was killed. Both died young.)

Imagination plus facts: that's how legends are created, and this was all about the many heroes of India's history.

The students knew it, too, standing and cheering as each legend was shown on the screen during the closing credits!

Their energy was contagious, prompting me to stand and dance along with them!!!

Wow!!!

 

Good thing Barbara was so determined to have Indian fare afterward.

Sitting at Naan On Broughton allowed me to sit and chill in its cool air.

That respite from the action on the screen, and the contained heat of the Channa Masala, combined to quell the fire within me to glowing embers...

at least until I was home again, and found the above images to stoke it back up.

My, oh my, oh my!

So, my dear Santa, may I please have tangible versions of the men of Fire and Water?

 

And, if I can only have the one and not both...

than please let that one be  Ram Charan in the orange silks, with the bow and quiver (sigh!) of arrows for the win! 

I promise to be good, I do.

with hopes and kisses,

as always

thank you, mrs. ansley

Those are the very words with which I began the description of my new cover photo.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ansley, for planting these gorgeous azaleas so many decades ago, for me to enjoy today!"

That family had bought the house back in the mid-1950's, when the neighborhood was brand-new.

Today, I have azalea bushes with four different colors - fuchsia, pink, coral, and white - of blooms all across the front yard.

This huge bunch of blossoms is right outside the dining room window, keeping me company and brightening my day on those mornings when I eat in there instead of in the sun room.

I can watch the rotund bumblebees flit from flower to flower, with an occasional wasp buzzing between them.

A female cardinal is again considering building her nest within those branches, so I am treated to her hopping amongst the slight limbs as she searches for the right spot.

Such a lovely way to start a day...

so, again, thank you, Mrs. Ansley, for this gift that continues to bless others.

(smile!)

mona lisa - no, not that one

What do you get when you mix a very young Korean child with a new country that's foreign and where she cannot communicate with anyone?

You get a person who ends up spending twelve years in a sanatorium after several years in a foster care system that failed her.

Ironically, she had been brought to the States for political asylum, to shelter her from a homeland where she was in danger.

That didn't quite help her, did it?

Now, she's 22 years old and practically illiterate and uncommunicative because of so much time in a straitjacket and in isolation.

People regard her as dangerous, even though she barely talks.

That's because she has mastered one cool trick: if she can catch someone's gaze, she can take control of their mind and make them do whatever is needed to set her free.

Nice defensive mechanism, right?

Now Mona Lisa is on the lam in New Orleans, in late September or early October, a time which is certainly best for such things, in regards to the weather.

That's good, as she only has on that straitjacket, at least until a group of young folks getting high give her a pair of sneakers and, a bit later, a "sometimes" drug dealer named Fuzz gives her his T-shirt.

Those are folks on the fringes of society, like her.

She only has problems with authority figures, like the cop that makes it his personal mission to return her to the asylum, especially after she gets him to shoot his leg when he tries to forcibly handcuff her, just for wearing a straitjacket.

Silly sap, he should have known after that first encounter with her that he needed to leave her alone, but he persists.

Good thing that the pole dancer leads her to a helpful, if slightly bent, 11-year-old boy.

"Mona Lisa And The Blood Moon" is one of the best movies I've seen with Cinema Savannah.

Thanks, Tomasz, for bringing this 2021 here for us!

And thanks, Cameron Frost, for the raku firing demonstration afterward!

I'm so glad he was wearing all the right safety gear for such work, too.

He made sure folks knew I had been his chemistry teacher, once upon a time.

(smile!)

He had been a rare art major who wanted to take chemistry for the sake of knowing more about the world around him.

I can't say I remember his grades - but I will say that I always enjoyed talking with him!

I look forward to doing more of that, as he is the ceramics instructor there at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center.

That means he knows Tomasz' movie schedule and knows to look for me there.

(smile!)

Here is the finished sculpture, after a few hours of cooling.

He calls it "ossified amalgamation of hands".

I preferred my take on it: a faded tattoo of maps for favorite places.

(smile!)

I'm glad dos de mi tres amigas were there to witness that event, too.

Barbara and Sandy had never been to a raku firing, either, so it started a nice discussion about ceramics in general and our personal experiences with it.

Maybe I'll have to look into having Cameron teach me for a change!

(smile!)

coming in like a lion - RAWRRR!!!

No, I'm not referring to the weather!

It's been positively balmy and so pleasantly warm that I might think I was in Panama again.

The weather has been utterly delightful.

The cultural schedule, on the other hand, has gone stark raving mad!

Yesterday, I found out that the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival has started - as of February 25th, in fact - and spent some time trying to figure out how to fit its ten remaining movies and four days of film shorts into my life.

You see, I already have a full weekend, with Cinema Savannah on Friday, a play at SavChTh with mi amigas and dinner after, and a rare Bollywood at the Trustees on Sunday.

Also this month I'll have my first live Banana Ball with Scott by my side...

and three medical appointments...

and at least two events to usher at the Savannah Music Festival...

and Savannah Repertory Theatre's first play of the year...

and Christina's bday40...

and who knows what I'm overlooking right now...

for real!

Busy, vibrant, woman... I guess I better shift into high gear!

I'm just a bit out of practice, right?

Between three years of pandemic and the A-fib last year?

Mentally, physically, I'm just out of practice with juggling so much stuff in person.

Hey, one breath at a time, one day at a time, one event at a time...

I got this.

Starting with a table full of New Yorkers and a plate full of falafel at noon30 today.

And just where was I?

At the Savannah JEA, starting with the "Food For Thought" luncheon -

it remains the best meal in town for only $7.

Four balls of falafel, two pitas, plenty of tzatziki sauce and "Israeli salad" -

think pico de gallo with no heat -

and lots of conversation about Brooklyn and the Bronx and Broadway!

Very nice!

Then came the movie, "Israel Swings For The Gold"... and it was all baseball, baby!!!

What a grand opener for my SJCAF!!!

Compiled from the handheld video cameras the ballplayers were given upon arrival at their quarters at the 2020/2021 Olympic Summer Games, it was a lot of boys being boys... and I do love that silly stuff!

They were new to the world of the Olympics...

they were new to the game of baseball...

and many were even new to being Israeli citizens.

So, add it all up and there's a bunch of missteps along the way, but also a lot of heart.

I guess I missed the fact that they were novices when I heard Israel was one of the six countries that would play baseball on that world stage.

Honestly, I couldn't say I would have seen their games on US television, except for their second game, when they played against this country and lost badly.

But I would have missed their first game, versus South Korea.

That's when their starting pitcher blew out his arm in the first inning.

Not good, especially as they didn't have another starter.

Still, they gave it a good try, actually making it past the first elimination round.

What a good movie!

(smile!)

Now, I hear the back yard calling for its turn beneath the Ryobi...

here I come, weeds!

(smile!)

no cooking for me on wednesdays this month!

The Wednesday Night Suppers have returned!

Hallelujah!!!

It feels like forever since they've been gone, honestly.

Nope, just four months, or so.

Tonight started off with beef stew over white rice, with Italian green beans, plus a make-your-own salad.

Oh... and these delectable, scrumptious, corn muffins!

I told Pam and Walt that I was saving mine for breakfast tomorrow.

That's what I meant to do, too.

But, at dinner's end, there were leftovers.

I came home with four, not just one, so no need to ration it out.

These got peanut butter smeared on them for dessert, just as my stepdad... or Elvis!... would have done.

Magnificent treat after my walk on the Planet's treadmill!

(smile!)

First, though, I went to the Taizé service.

It's fairly brief, meant to promote unity and peace, through meditative contemplation and the use of chant-like phrases and song.

Asbury Memorial Church started having these during the pandemic, as I recall, but their origin is with a monk in France.

Pam and Walt were going, so I did, to check it out for myself.

I must say, it really was calming to sit in the candlelit sanctuary, as the sky darkened from dusk to night.

Will I go next week?

Maybe, maybe not.

I can always find it on the youTube channel.

(smile!)

So, have I mentioned the all-new movies of my A*List?

I haven't???

Well, let's start with the one which was celebrating its 25th anniversary, shall we?

Hey, I said "all-new movies of my A*List", did I not?

That is to say, I had not yet viewed them at an AMC Cinema, now, doesn't it, chickie?

(smile!)

Pam is a Brit, and, as Walt says, her way of speaking does leave a residue.

(smile!)

Ahem, back to the 1997 movie, "Titanic", that caused such a stir when it first came out.

As it is, it's been playing locally for at least three weeks...

ever since the day Christina and I grabbed us some Magic Mike, in fact...

and had been her first choice for movie, but the times were wrong.

I had resisted seeing it, but, having seen the etched glass windows from the ship's ballroom - while on a visit to the Mariners' Museum in Yorktown back some ten years ago or so, I felt compelled to try to find footage with them in the film.

Sure enough, I finally did espy those elegant panes!

That was a highlight for me.

I loved the esprit de corps of the band, too, playing on as chaos erupted around them.

As for the "love story" between the delusional 17-year-old girl (played by a 22-yo Kate Winslet) and the slightly jaded twenty-something ex-patriate returning to the States (played to age by Leonardo DiCaprio), I recognize lust and rebellion when I see it.

The science was most excellent, though!

(smile!)

The other two movies were new to the silver screen, and were, like that first one, of the one-and-done variety for me.

Sure, I'll watch most anything once - ONCE! - but the true tell is if I go a second time.

Once is plenty for "Marcel The Shell With Shoes On" and "Cocaine Bear".

Yeah, I know, I know -

the titles are ludicrous, right?

Surprisingly, the one that was claymation and aimed at kids was pretty serious, dealing with death of a loved one and isolation from a middle-school point of view.

And the one that was meant to be scary felt just like a 1970's made-for-TV, animal gone wild, flick from my youth, with sections that were unintentionally hilarious.

Hey, at least it had Ray Liotta, no doubt in a role he relished as a drug kingpin, wearing the clothes and bling from the mid-1980's time frame.

I'm glad he had some fun "reliving his youth" in that last-ever role for him.

(smile)