The holiday weekend was replete with joyous gatherings and happenings but two events seemed to have drawn a dark curtain upon its close.  One was the passing of one of my all-time favorite slap-stick comedy performers. Leslie Nielsen was known in his later days as a master of deadpan antics in such classic spoofs as Airplane! and the Naked Gun trilogy of movies.  However, did you know that he got his start as a serious actor mainly as guest spots on Golden Age television?  It was 1980s spoof of the airplane disaster movies of a decade earlier that put him into the comedy spotlight.  Shortly after that came the short-lived Police Squad! television series which led to the films.  Mr. Nielsen lost his life Sunday after complications from pneumonia.  He was 84.

Another event hit much closer to home.  Three young boys have been missing from their Morenci, Michigan home since Thursday. An Amber alert has been issued for young Andrew (9), Alexander (7), and Tanner ( 5 years old) Skelton.  They were last seen with their father who now is in a mental health facility undergoing treatment after an apparent suicide attempt.  The search led to the small town of Pioneer and the surrounding communities, a mere 25 miles from my own small town.  Very little is known at this point about the whereabouts of the youngsters.  I’m sure that any prayers offered up to the family of these three little ones would be more than appreciated.

Please, someone remind me to ask for this weekend OFF next year.  It may not have been a very exciting game for non-Buckeye fans, but I must say (from what I heard from the radio) it was OUTSTANDING! Running back a kickoff following a Michigan TD.  An interception.  Hearing that Nick Swisher was honored.  Wonder if his fellow Yankee, Captain Jeter (a Michigander… nobody’s perfect) was at the ‘shoe.  And the FINAL SCORE: OSU 37… UofM 7.  WOO HOOOO!!!!  It sounds like a tie for 1st place in the Big Ten which I believe gives Wisconsin the Rose Bowl berth… correct me if I am mistaken.  Next year will see the Big Ten decided playoff style; however, the tradition will continue for the Buckeyes and the team from the North.  GO BUCKS!

I must agree with several of my family members and co-conspiators! Michigan should KEEP RICH RODRIGUEZ as head coach!  7 in a row for Coach Tressel and his men  and 9-1 since the man in the sweater vest came to the helm.

O-H

I hope all of my faithful co-tangenteers, readers, lurkers, and (maybe even) spammers had a blessed Thanksgiving Day spent with loved ones celebrating all the wonders and gifts that He has bestowed upon us.  As has been the tradition at the home of Jamiahsh and family for the past 29 years (I believe) we had the noon meal with the parents, siblings, and their children.  Alex offered up a prayer of Thanksgiving before we dug in.  Noah offered up his own take as he lifted up his forkful of food.

After lunch, SOME of us took naps.  I dunno how anyone managed this as 8 children do tend to create a lot of (at times) happy noise.  At other times (when the three oldest went upstairs to get away from it all and the other 5 wanted to go), we encountered the cries of the littlest who got her fingers caught in the door.  Later, I tried to organize a game of UNO… thinking that this would alleviate a bit of the rambunction. It kind of worked… especially when a 5 year old kept winning.

For the evening meal, we had another crew join the rest of us.  Since my mother’s mom passed away nearly 30 years ago, we have served leftovers for my maternal aunt and uncle and their families as well.  Every year it seems to get more crowded.  Maybe that community center idea is getting better.  Of course, it would be kind of had to gather around the television to watch the Cowboys get beaten… poor Chad!  Finally, after the game and the annual feast of popcorn, buttered toast, pretzel sticks, and jelly beans of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the festivities came to a close for another year… well for a month, anyway… wonder who gets the honor of hosting the big Christmas bash?  I guess Uncle Bob and Aunt Lu.

I did forget my part in the day’s festivities.  I was asked to go to my oldest brother’s house at 8:30AM to pick up his crock pot.  I figured that everyone would be up and about so I did not grab the spare set of house keys.  When I arrived, I found the house locked up.  I went back home to discover that Jeff had decided to hit the stores early.  I grabbed the keys and went back and grabbed the pot.

Now let the fun, hustle and bustle, and celebrating take us to 2011.

What a Super day!  It began after game night with just a few of us late comers Friday night… more intimate but great fun as always.  But today was a GREAT day.  Went to see Harry Potter with my brother, nephew, niece, and new little friend.  I must say I have a new favorite in the cinematic adventures and it was only the first half.  It is definitely the most emotionally impactful entry as well as the most thrilling yet.  Absolutely NOTHING was taken away from the absence of 3D (I even think that like Dan, himself it would have hindered it).  The film crew made a marvelous decision on where to divide the two chapters… definitely the moment of highest dramatic tension.

After returning and hearing the the Buckeyes won their game against Iowa, I went to mass and then over for another gathering where some of us got to meet Alex Trebek, himself.  I do enjoy Jeopardy!  just not sure I enjoy it THAT much.  Courtesy of Miss Mare, we celebrated the betrothal of Prince William and his Kate.  We offered up any number of “proper English toasts” to not only the happy couple but also to the Queen, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens, and several other British celebrities.  Quite an entertaining evening if only one of us was not under the weather but the jukebox full of Beatles, the Who, Culture Club, Monty Python, and other Invaders made for quite the event.  All while SOME of us insisted upon playing text tag (unfortunately, I could not as for some reason my signal keeps being lost in the gathering place).

Thanks everyone for a fun weekend!

Last Easter prior to watching the first 3D movie I have seen since Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (but of course it wasn’t), I saw the trailer for part the first of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  As the summer swept by, I kept seeing television and movie ads proclaiming the same.  About a month ago whenever a promo came on the air, I noticed something missing… no mention of the 3D concept.  Finally, this morning, I did a bit of research.  As I had feared, the penultimate chapter in the cinematic adventures of the wizarding world would only be shown in two dimension.  I look at it this way: if the movie is going to suffer from a lackluster 3D experience, sacrifice the gimmick for quality of the overall experience.  I have been for the most part, quite pleased with the transfer of the tale from the printed page to the big screen and cannot wait until Saturday afternoon to see the newest extravaganza.  However, the article I came across promised that the climax would indeed be shown with the added dimension on July 15, 2011 (a few short days after someones celebrates their birthdays)



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October 10th, 2010 by Castina

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Harry Potter and his pals won’t be using magic to combat evil in 3D after all.

On Friday, Warner Bros. Studios announced that the first part of the film in the blockbusterHarry Pottter film franchise will only be released to standard and IMAX theaters in 2D — not the eye-popping 3D technology as was originally planned.

Hollywood bosses say they simply don’t have enough time to convert the film to 3D before its Nov. 19 release date. Warner Bros. had hoped to be able to transform the film into 3D format, but trashed the idea after taking inventory of their timetable.

“We will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date
window,” read a press release issued by The WB last week. “Despite everyone’s best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long-anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey.”

“This decision, which we completely support, underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first,” says director David Yates.

At least there’s one bright spot: The studio says Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will still be released in both 2D and 3D on July 15, 2011.

Interestingly, the announcement was made a month ago.  I am surprised that it has not been better publicized.  Perhaps in order to not detract viewers who would rather see the 3D even if it is done in less than spectacular fashion.  Wonder if the PTB will continue to perfect it in time for a re-release next summer.

Way, way back may centuries ago (ok…. 1968, if memory serves) two young men composed a 15 minute cantata centering around Joseph, his 11 brothers, and the Amazing coat of many colors given to Joseph by his father, Jacob (aka Israel, or as his sons and their wives used to call him: Dad).  Some 42 years later, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has grown into a full-blown musical extravaganza, a grab bag (if you will) of old time rock and roll, powerful ballad, country, calypso (my favorite piece), and other genres. It was the first to join the ranks of American Idol in that a televised contest allowed the British television viewing public to assist in determining who would don the magnificent garment for the 2007 London revival.

For the newest incarnation, a new song was written for Pharoah, who if you are among the uninitiated, bears a slight resemblance to the king of rock and roll himself.  If memory serves, Lord Webber even offered the role to Presley.

Here is a video of the new song.  Comments please…

At the official website of the show, you can delve into a history of the show, clips, photos, and even try your luck at a quiz devote to the show.  Questions range from the really simple to the outrageously difficult.

Well… since I do not have a play to be in this holiday season, I will try to hit a few of the blockbusters coming to the multiplexes in the next few weeks.  I have already mentioned the runaway train movie that I CAN NEVER remember the title of but it stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.  Denzel always seems to be at the top of his game.  Does anyone know of a less than great performance he has delivered?  Also curious to see if Mr. Pine can go beyond his role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (that is the first role I have seen him in)  UNSTOPPABLE! THAT’S IT!  Opens Friday, November 12 (my day off, hmm).

Also Opening up this Friday is Skyline which looks like an entertaining alien invasion flick.

Next week’s major opening is a definite must see!  In fact, I have already made plans to see this next Saturday (it is my week to work Friday night).  If you have not read/seen book/movie 6 in the Harry Potter series… may I suggest hunting out one of the two before heading out to see the first part of the final chapter.  I have always thought that The Half Blood Prince was more of a transition to The Deathly Hallows.  Although, I found the previous film to be somewhat of a letdown, there are some elements that I recommend discovering before going into what I anticipate will be GREAT!

TRON:Legacy will probably be best experienced on a good cinema screen and hopefully, I will be able to make a viewing.  Twentysome years is an awfully long time to wait for a sequel.  However, with the technological advances made since 1982(?!), I’m sure it will be spectacular!

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in December, too.  I really was not aware that this had been completed until I saw a preview a few weeks ago.  This is the third movie based on C.S. Lewis’ classic 7 book series.  I really enjoyed the previous installments…primarily since they were some of my favorite tales growing up.

I think that is about it!  It almost seems like summer with all of the action-packed popcorn movies opening up.  I thought the last few months of the year were geared toward the Oscar worthy features.  Maybe someone thinks that Yogi and BooBoo will be “contendahs” 😀 or the return of the Fockers?

So… hopefully with all the hustle and bustle the holidays bring, everyone can take a few hours and escape.

One more rehearsal and then I will have the Thanksgiving break.  All is Well.  I got to my lesson today and there was an anthology of Christmas favorites on the piano.  Oddly enough, I have been getting in the festive mood just a bit.  Perhaps it is the facebook friend who has taken up the mantle left by Emily who always had her house ready by the beginning of November (not exaggerating). On to the lesson:

I decided to focus on some of the more serious songs this week.  The first went well… some lyric problems but nothing monumental.  The second is one of those traditionally, deceptively simple pieces… beautiful but deceptive.  We decided that this piece is a study in when and when not to breathe.  More of a pick the song apart and put it back together.  I can’t breathe in the middle of the word “loooong… iiiing” when it is held for 6 beats.  Phrasing, breathing, don’t forget to breath… fill up the belly.  HEHEHE!

“No Breathe… No Life.”  Wise words Miyagi-san.

Halloween… my SECOND favorite holiday.  I guess you could say that it began last Monday when I ran into my very good friend at Wal*Mart where we decided to get coordinating costumes.  I’ll share a photo or two later.

Friday evening was the quite festive game night… ALWAYS A TON OF FUN!  My niece and nephew have had a pretty tough couple of days so I invited them to come along with me.  Alex was his normal crazy self in his “professor who just graduated” costume.  Poor Shelby, I think, finally came out of her shell as the games began.  Later, I took them back home and returned in time to enjoy the very haunting Exorcism of Emily Rose.  A very good mix of The Exorcist and  courtroom drama.

Saturday night (or SUnday morning) I was awakened about 4am by my cell phone.  Oh, great!  What joker is playing around when I am trying to get my beauty sleep.  Somehow after I found out who the culprit was, I did manage to get a few more hours of shuteye.  All good!  I did get a good chuckle out of it 😀

After getting off my shift on the big day, itself, Dad, my second oldest brother and assorted nieces and nephews ventured to a relatives yard of terrors.  Year after year, they transform their house and yard into a fun, family-friendly fright fest complete with touring train.  After having your fill of frights, you are invited into the house to sign the guest book and  each family is invited to take a plate of treats and goodie bags for the kiddies.  All this for the exorbitant amount of $0.  Certainly is amazing that they can operate this year in and year out for the entire month and not charge a cent.  Most of the items that are on display are generously donated.  In fact, just the other day, a tombstone was given that had some defect which caused the original buyers to turn away.  Visitors even bring along bags of flour and sugar for baking help.  But leave your checkbook at home.  They may take donations in form of decorations but never monetary.

Even more amazing is the number of people who have signed the book in just the last month.  Over 2000!  From word of mouth and flyers passed around the area.  We were shocked to learn the distance travelled by some of the visitors: Louisiana,  “New” England (from “across the pond”),  France, Germany.  WOW!  So… when next October creeps its spooky head around… be sure to visit the Geren’s.  I have not visited the site after daylight hours for more than a few years but I do remember that after the sun sets is when the real frightful fun begins.  Unfortunately, some of the little ones are a little young for that.  Even some of the older ones were a bit fearful of the maze in the daylight.  OH, Puh-lease!

Hope you all had a Ghoulishly fun holiday weekend!

AHHHH…. Thursday!  It is my favorite day of the week (After I get done at work, that is… today’s 6 hours is another blog entirely).  My voice lessons are progressing quite nicely and my coach and I are REALLY pleased with the progress I am making.  I just have to wonder what the heck I was thinking in choosing some of the songs I am quickly perfecting.  I think I have three (maybe 4) serious selection… the rest are my favorite types:  CHARACTER driven pieces.  Not only character-driven but requiring different accents.  I think we counted three different distinct accents.  What do you think… should I reprise a love/hate character?

We have also been brainstorming a bit about staging these songs and some of the ideas we have make me think that a slightly larger stage is going to be needed.  I’ll leave those ideas on the drawing board for now and mull them over to see if any of them are viable.  But the possibilities intrigue me.  So while I am memorizing, polishing, and otherwise perfecting each piece the pictures in my mind are beginning to take shape.

But 3 DIFFERENT ACCENTS!  WHAT WAS I THINKING! 😀 Ah, well… if I didn’t think it possible, would I have done it?  Probably.