Just Fun

Book Meme Tag

/ still a dreamer / 4 Comments

Ahhh – that Sheri – tagged me again! Problem is – I still don’t know anyone who has a blog!

But I’m going for it and I have an idea … here’s what Sheri’s site says –

To play blogger tag, here’s what you have to do.

Grab the nearest book.
Open to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the next three sentences.
Tag five people and post a comment to Sheri once you’ve posted your 3 sentences.

I’m in my office so chose something from a bookcase downstairs. It’s from a short story, “The Little Room”, written by Madelene Yale-Wynne in 1895. The story is from a favorite collection of mine called “Haunted Women.”

5th Sentence: “I know you will like Hiram, Roger; he is quite a character in his own way.”

Next 3: “Mamma said she remembered, or thought she remembered, having been sick once, and she had to lie quietly for some days on the lounge; then was the time she had become so familiar with everything in the  room, and she had been allowed to have the shell to play with all the time. She had had her toast brought to her in there, with make-believe tea. It was one of her pleasant memories of childhood; it was the first time she had been of any importance to anybody, even herself.”

Now since I am not in the larger blogging community, what I can do is e-mail 5 people who write, (but have no blogs), and ask them to add to my site if inspired. And we’ll see what we see!

Good TV Music

/ still a dreamer / 3 Comments

Music has the phenomenal power to totally alter our moods, to make us laugh or cry, and to make us experience what a director in movies and TV want us to feel. Only because there is just one current show where I feel the music is truly memorable do I write this today. (But there were others in the past.)

That show is Boston Legal. Each time I watch it, I am always struck by the blues-y singing bringing us back from commercial or leading us in, the soulful guitar solos underpinning the points a cast member is making in court, or the yowzy upbeat notes when Gerry does a happy dance. For me, the music just underscores the juxtaposition of wackiness and dead serious attention to compelling issues that makes Boston Legal the show it is. I think it’s actually part of why I watch — the music is an extraordinary element of the show itself.

Perhaps no coincidence that the producer of Boston Legal – David E. Kelley – was also the producer of Ally McBeal, another show that was a favorite of mine, and again totally immersed in music. The unforgettable dancing baby that appeared in hallucinations to Ally to “I’ve Just Got A Feeling”, (or whatever the real name might have been), has made history, but her dancing to the song was every bit as memorable. Music was totally integrated into Ally McBeal and in part, why it was such a draw. Vonda Shepherd made a name for herself from Ally McBeal, but again, well-chosen music underscored the wackiness of the show and gave it tremendous appeal.

The unforgettable image of the stoplight swinging in the wind in Twin Peaks.But perhaps the most memorable use of music in a TV show for me was in Twin Peaks; I can hear the opening music to this day, 18 years later. The music was all written by Angelo Badalamenti, and while dark and brooding, it set the tone for a mystery set in an eerie town with unusual, (to say the least), characters in bizarre situations. Twin Peaks was far ahead of its time as a television show, but again, the music created a mood that deeply enriched our experience of this series.

I keep listening, but I’m not hearing much nowadays on TV where the music is drawing me to a show the way these did, and how Boston Legal does currently. Then again, I don’t watch a lot of TV, so don’t bother with scores of cable stations. I’d like to think there’s more innovation and creativity out there in engaging our ears as well as our eyes.

What the WGA Strike Did For Me

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

In 6 words? It gave me my evenings back!

WGA strikeI don’t suppose I’m terribly different from anyone else when I say after working an average 10+ hour day, having something to eat and feeding the small fry, all I really want to do is relax for a little while. It’s not unusual for me to catch a couple hours TV before hitting the sack if I’m not elsewhere for the evening. I’m not a TV addict at all, but I do enjoy some well done shows a few nights a week. Not too much to ask, right?

And then came the writers’ strike. OK, for awhile some of the shows still had some episodes in the can to play out, and then it just flat out came to Repeats. I’d check online to see if anything good might be on on a given night … more Repeats. Hey, this was getting boring.

Next thing I know, I was picking up that novel I was usually reading at 10:30 or 11 pm at 8 pm. I was doing the artwork I thought I was too tired to do curled up on the couch away from my work desk. I threw in some laundry; cooked something a little more involved. Hey! I remember this! It used to be my life! What’s most amazing is that I really didn’t think I had this energy in the evening until someone took away my quiet, drool time in front of the TV.

I hear that the strike is in the process of being resolved. Figures. Just when I was starting to enjoy it.

How`Bout That? – I’ve Been Tagged

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Animal ArtworkHmmmm … blogger tag, eh? I’ve done this kind of thing via e-mail, but never via blog. Truth is, I don’t know a whole lot of people out there with blogs to tag! I have all I can do to keep up with my e-mail, my own web site and then add to my blog as much as possible. Being a part of the larger blog community – well, it has just eluded me. But I have a plan …

5 random things about me …

– Almost all the art in my home is animals – in my office alone I’m surrounded by wolves, horses, a carved duck, mice, a cat, brass duck book-ends, a bunny tea light holder, a cat, a pig, 2 small stuffed dogs and a few gargoyles for good measure. I’m in the best of company!

– I have been in love with animals since I was a small child, fearless and always excited about meeting new animals (or old friends). They were then, and continue to be, the subject matter of my writing, artwork and photography.

– I’m extremely grateful for the many wonderful and enlightened people who have guided me on my path.

– I miss cooking, baking and even just plain decorating the house and sewing. My Domestic Dolly has had to take a back seat to earning my own income and developing my creativity. But there was a time when hours in the kitchen was a peaceful commune with myself .. its own meditation with a yummy ending.

– I love snow. Everything looks so gorgeous when dusted or coated with new fallen snow – the almost eerie quiet after a snowfall when there’s not a footprint in sight. Or a deer drifts through with such stunning grace. Just don’t ask me to drive in it!

Now here’s where I get crafty – I’m linking back to Sheri, (I think I can do that), and Leeza – both are fellow writers – Sheri the organizer of our writing group and Leeza also an illustrator AND … someone who I suspect knows a whole lot of bloggers to keep this going – Brooke, who’s my friend’s daughter and another very talented writer. and that’s it!

How to play – tag 5 people after you’ve written 5 random things about yourself on your own blog by providing links at the bottom of the post Let your blogger friends know you’ve tagged them so they can keep the game going. Then it’s their turn. Go back to each person’s blog and see what they’ve written!

See? If I don’t write, someone will give me an excuse!