Academy Awards

As some of you know, I used to have an Academy Awards party. I held it for twelve years and we always had a lot of fun. I mention this because I have just placed three poll questions here on my blog. You can see them to the right. Just an unscientific survey of who you think will win in the Best Picture, Actor and Actress categories. Have fun!

Oh, you were curious about who I think will win? Well, I think these will be the winners:

Slumdog Millionaire
Sean Penn
Kate Winslet

Who would I like to see win?

Milk or Frost/Nixon
Mickey Rourke
Kate Winslet

Happy movie watching!

Just Driving Around...

After our bi-weekly visit to the transfer station to get rid of our trash and recyclables and to say hello to the fellas there, Dana and I decided to go for a bit of a ride. We do this periodically, as I still feel quite new to the area and know that there are dozens of little roads that we haven't been down yet. I had my camera with me, which was cool, as we came across this lovely lady (photo above).

This pretty girl was on the other side of the house on our way by; I think she was taking advantage of the snow melt and grabbing at some of the grass at the edges of the house. It was, how shall I say, disconcerting to see a cow walking free like that in what pretty much amounts to a neighborhood. I saw lots and lots of this out west, but there are signs posted there, "Open Range", so you kind of know to expect this sort of thing there.

This is School Street in Essex. At the end of the road, as you get close to the end of the street as it dumps onto the main road in Essex, there is a schoolhouse. It's wonderful:

I gave Dana a grade of "D" for execution on this photo, as a little bit of cropping would have removed the sideview mirror from the frame, and given you a closer look at the building. But isn't it a great structure? I like to think it does get used in nicer weather; it clearly was abandoned for the winter.

I Just Want To Punch It

Every time I see that set of octuplets' mother's face. I have such anger and, dare I say, hatred for this person that I have never met. How dare she do this? Six children was not enough? She had six children that needed her love and care and she didn't feel satisfied with them in her life? And she didn't think that she might need to commit all of what clearly are dismal resources, in every possible sense, to the care of her existing six children. And now the number is fourteen.

She is an idiot. She may be mentally ill, as some bloggers and commentators and lots of regular folks say, but that truly does not make her less of an idiot.

I cannot stand people like this. She will end up doing one of two things: making loads of money that she doesn't deserve, or she will take as much money in handouts as she can manage, as she has proven so far with her "disability" payments and the payments from the government for food stamps and her three "disabled" children. And in an interview she said she plans to use her student loan monies to pay for the support of her children.

What? I trust no monies from student loans ends up in her pockets now that everyone knows her intent.

I know this is more of a rant (or is it a rave) than most of you are used to hearing from me, but I really and truly find this woman to be the lowest form of human being. I am heartened to hear that no large companies are lavishing her with gifts (free houses like some multiple birth families have had, free diapers for life for others), because there is nothing about this story that should make them proud to be affiliated with this woman.

My sister and I discussed just after we found out the details of this woman with the fourteen children that she was after some fame, in the same vein as Jon and Kate Gosselin and their children on the TLC television series "Jon and Kate Plus Eight". And not so coincidentally, someone from TLC said in an article that I read today that there would need to be something that people actually want to see in order for them to proceed with any interest in this wacko's story. Jon and Kate are a riot and would make good television on their own. But how they are raising their kids (a set of twins and a set of sextuplets) and showing it to the world is a great and beautiful thing. The show is funny and touching and charming and not afraid to show the ugly side of life. This California woman could not hold a candle to the Gosselins. Master's degree be damned. I don't see the point of this woman continuing her education...she doesn't seem to have learned much so far.

Winter Weather

I have always been of the mind that there was little point to cold weather if you didn't get snow along with it. This was the frustration for me of living in southern New Jersey in the last few years. We really didn't get any snow. The last snowfall of significance down there I remember pretty clearly. It was our first winter with Fred, and it was an amazing storm. I lost some really large branches from some of the many trees in my yard; others were laying on the ground for days with all of the snow on them. This is Bailey wondering where this snow-covered branch came from.

I mention this because we have a fair amount of snow on the ground right now but we don't have a forecast up here in Willsboro for any significant snowfall for the next ten days. And there are some days in these coming couple of weeks when the daytime temperatures are heading towards 40. In fact, on Saturday when I took the boys out for their last walk it was 41 degrees at midnight. It was downright balmy.

I'm not complaining yet, but I like snow with my cold. I think we might be heading toward the end of the snow for this year. Maybe. Who knows, though. The one good thing about the warmer temps over the weekend is that most of the snow that had accumulated on the roof came tumbling down. That was a good thing.

R.I.P. James Whitmore

Oh, I do hate to hear when a wonderful actor passes away. James Whitmore was a marvelous actor, comfortable in drama, comedy, re-creating historical figures, even in musicals. I don't recall the name of the actor who worked with him in "Kiss Me Kate", but Whitmore's turn as one of the mobsters was just classic, with those riotously brilliant and clever lyrics from Cole Porter:

Brush up your Shakespeare,
Start quoting him now.
Brush up your Shakespeare
And the women you will wow.
Just declaim a few lines from "Othella"
And they think you're a heckuva fella.
If your blonde won't respond when you flatter 'er
Tell her what Tony told Cleopaterer

He was great in this and in his other major musical performance in "Oklahoma". Great casting altogether in both of these movies.

James Whitmore gave us so many performances to admire in his long career. And he was one of those actors, a truly exceptional actor, relegated to character parts. Too fine an actor to not get leading roles, but boy did he make the best of it. Here is just a short selection of the gems that he left us:

The Asphalt Jungle - as Gus, one of a group put together to pull off a heist. Sort of "The Usual Suspects" of its time, with a great cast, multi-award winning film co-written and directed by John Huston.

"Oklahoma" - as Andrew Carnes, a wryly frightening man who wielded the shotgun that nearly got Ado Annie married off to the wrong man.

Television guest appearances - on so many shows, the reason why James Whitmore is a face we all know. Playhouse 90, Studio One, The Law and Mr. Jones, The Twilight Zone, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, The White Shadow. He finally won an Emmy Award for his multiple appearances on David E. Kelley's series "The Practice".

Give 'em Hell, Harry! - as Harry S Truman, the standard against which any portrayal of the former president will be compared. Academy Award nominated.

The Shawshank Redemption - as Brooks Hatlen, one of the oldest inmates at Shawshank Prison, he was the prison librarian. A lovely role for the great character actor in a film that has become a classic.

I think the thing about James Whitmore that I admired most was that all of his work seemed so true. Integrity, he oozed boatloads of it. And the great thing about that was that even when he did turn to do a television commercial, as he did for Miracle-Gro, he used the product in his extensive gardens at his home in California. He was quite the gardener, as it turns out. I know Cornell doesn't recommend Miracle-Gro necessarily (my Master Gardener Volunteer status with the Cornell Cooperative compels me to make the disclaimer), but it seemed to work for Mr. Whitmore.

In reading about him I found one more thing to admire about him. He was an early and ardent supporter of Barack Obama. He was campaigning for our new president long before my choice was knocked out of the running. I like that we both voted for him.

I for one will miss James Whitmore's passion and intelligence on the big screen and the small screen. We were lucky to have him around for as long as we did.

Bravo!

Celebrity

I posted this in email form, but I thought I'd put it here, too.

Not all that much goes on up here in Willsboro, New York. Well, this is not altogether true. Lots goes on, really, and in the winter it has a lot to do with snow!

But even up here in my little town, we have a celebrity. And a pretty big one. George Hearn, the great Broadway star, two-time Tony Award winner, Emmy Award winner and all-around talented fellow, lives just down the road. His house is not more than 10 minutes from mine (yes, I am practicing my stalker skills and took a drive by). Nice house. :)

Here is some more information about him at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hearn

You can also see assorted recorded performances of his if you search You Tube.

My sisters, Deb, Dana, and I saw him on Broadway in his Tony Award winning performance as Max in Sunset Boulevard (the character played by Erich von Stroheim in the movie version).

And last year, not too long after Dana and I moved up here, we saw him in a reading of Samuel Beckett's Endgame. It was a benefit for restoration of the Whallonsburg Grange Hall and it was fabulous. And I saw him one day at the meat market, which is just a couple of buildings down from my house. I was so shocked to see him that I didn't say anything (damn). He smiled at me and I smiled back, and then he took his two gallons of milk (he has two sons at home) and headed to the checkout.

So, the actual news and the reason I am posting today is that Dana has auditioned for a part in a performance of "Mame" up here in Willsboro. The stars of the show you ask? Why George Hearn and his wife Leslie, who was also a perfomer on Broadway. Dana has been cast as Cousin Fan. She also has been given a prime bit part as the third performer in a song with Leslie and a secondary lead. Dana has a long and varied resume in community theater and a very good singing voice. She says that she thinks she's the "go-to" singer for when they need stuff.

I just think it's so cool. I have instructed Dana that should there be an opportunity at any point during rehearsals to get George or Leslie or both of them over here to the house, she is to do it. :) I have been a fan since seeing him on Broadway. His voice is amazing, and based on seeing him before the performance of Endgame and at the meat market, he seems like a right nice fellow.

Not to be outdone by Dana and her news, I have been busy selecting seeds for my vegetable garden. :|

I hope everyone reading this is well and enjoying your winter, whatever weather it has brought you. This has been a grand and enjoyable winter so far up here in the north country of New York State. We have loads of snow, the dogs are loving it so long as it stays above about 15 Fahrenheit...any colder and they zoom out for a quick pee and are back on the porch in a flash.

Hear hear

We were just discussing this yesterday and I agree wholeheartedly with Andrew Sullivan's little rant here:

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/the-gateway-to.html

Indeed...grow up, people.

Bruce Rocks!

I've never been a big rock music fan and thus was never a big Bruce Springsteen fan. But being a New Jersey girl, I always knew of him, and who could not know of some of his biggest hits: Glory Days, Born in the USA. I have always admired him even if I haven't always been a big fan of his music. I must say that the performance during yesterday's Super Bowl was pretty impressive. Bruce and the E Street Band put on an electrifying show. I think he's at the top of his game, and boy did he look good. I was impressed.

Snow!

I know that so much of the country finds the snow irksome, to say the least. I was just saying the other day how happy I am with my first winter in upstate New York. I guess a big part of why I like it so much is that I'm not working right now. I get to enjoy all the good things about the snow. First and foremost: Fred is riotously funny when he really gets going out in the back yard. I've shoveled paths throughout the back yard because the first snow we had was pretty substantial and I couldn't imagine how the dogs were going to get anywhere in it. I was especially concerned for Miller, as he is 15 1/2 and not as steady on his feet sometimes as the other boys. But Fred LOVES the paths and he zooms up and down and across the yard and it's so fun to watch. And sometimes he decides he wants to bounce through the high snow, and that's fun to watch, too.

The second thing is that it's just so damned pretty. I'm surrounded by trees in my wonderful yard and we have had small snowfalls in amongst the big storms and there is always new snowfall that just cleans everything up. Very beautiful. I have had no issues keeping up with the shoveling, no thanks to Dana. Dana has definitely not done her part in the shoveling department. And I've got a guy here who comes to plow the driveway and the car area for $25 a shot. That is a bargain, especially compared to what it cost me to get my small driveway plowed in Glassboro. So far this winter I've only had to pay $75 for plowing. In New Jersey, for ONE plowing of my driveway, I paid $175.

So, my day today will be a little reading and a little writing, watching the snow fall and watching the dogs play. And shoveling. And cooking beef stew. It should be a nice day.