Over the many years I have been employed in retail, I have had several horror stories. Today, I had one involving a vendor and our restroom. The person who regularly brings in our daily supply of nation wide chain donuts had to use of facilities. Shortly after he returned, our assistant manager had to visit the lavatory. Minutes later, I was called to the front and was advised to go and look in the bathroom. I had my suspicions and said… that is ok, I can use my imagination. Shortly thereafter, I was informed that our delivery man must have had a weak bladder as there was a rather sizable puddle covering much of our rather small bathroom floor. To make matters worse, the sink was totally dry, no indication that he had washed after he missed the stool. The female cashier and I had a short debate concerning male and female bathroom practices. The result of the incident resulted in a phone call to the donut distributor. I wonder if this particular driver will be making any deliveries anytime soon or if he does, will he be able to look at the store in the same light. I feel sorry for the next stop on his route.  One thing is for sure, I will definitely not be eating any of their donuts for quite a while. Kind of reminiscent of a creamed chicken sandwich incident at a wedding reception. This deliveryman must qualify for a real genius.

One of the first truly interactive movies to hit theatres is being remade. My experience with The Rocky Horror Picture Show began while I was in college. Every weekend the Cla-Zel theatre in Bowling Green, OH had a midnight showing of the 1975 cult classic. I went once or twice a year ALWAYS on Halloween which was always a sell out.. For those of you who have experienced the phenomenon, you know all about the craziness, the kits handed out as you enter the theatre, the costumed audience members who look like they stepped out of some freaky side-show. For those of you who have never experienced it, mere words nor watching the DVD at home cannot do it justice. However, the movie was initially a stage production that began in 1973 and was incidentally staged a few years ago by our local community theatre. The original movie starred Tim Curry, future Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, and rock star Meat Loaf.

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It took nearly a day to come up with something intriguing to post for number 200 and it came to me while I was a church going over music that I will be singing at mass Sunday morning. The organist and I were trying to decide on a communion song. While going through our list of possibilities, my focus was drawn to the beautiful “Panis Angelicus.” I have always found it quite challenging yet fun to sing in a language other than English. Our church choir attempts to fumble through Latin pieces a few times a year with varied results. I would love to find a great arrangement of “Pie Jesu” (perhaps from the Andrew Lloyd-Webber “Requiem” that I have found to be my favorite version of the several I have heard). Call me a romantic in the classical sense.

One of my favorite performers is no stranger to singing in different languages. In fact, Josh Groban’s professional debut happened at the spur of the moment and was part of an English-Italian duet.. While employed as a rehearsal singer for the 1999 Grammy Awards, Josh (age 18) was asked to fill in for an ailing Andrea Bocelli on the live broadcast. He performed “The Prayer” with Celine Dion in front of a large audience while millions watched on television. A little luck never hurt anyone.

Almost overnight, the baritone/tenor (critics are still not sure what to classify him; Josh considers himself a “tenor in training”) appeared all over media. He made appearances on the television series Ally McBeal and on several talk shows. Oprah Winfrey named his holiday album, Noel, one of her Favorite Things. He has released a total of 4 solo albums all of which have been certified multi-platinum (selling at least 2 million units) and been featured on other recordings (the soundtracks to A.I. – Artificial Intelligence and The Polar Express). Mr. Groban has also recorded duets with the likes of Charlotte Church and Barbra Streisand. In March 2008, Josh performed the role of Anatoly Sergievsky in a concert version of the brilliant yet little known musical Chess. People may remember the cult 80s song “One Night in Bangkok” that originated in the show.

An excellent performer who is not afraid to challenge himself by going against the norm.

Closer By Josh Groban. Songbook for voice, piano and guitar (chords only). Text language English and Italian. 96 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.306860) See more info…

It seems that anything new that concerns Harry Potter entices me to revisit the literary adventures. In the coming months, we will have the cinematic version of the sixth movie as well as the publication of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I think that the most interesting device used in the whole series was introduced in the first novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone – 10th Anniversary Edition (or the Philosopher’s Stone depending upon which side of the Atlantic you live). The Mirror of Erised showed the young wizard and his best friend, Ron their most secret longing, their fondest wish.

In the mirror, the central character saw himself surrounded by his murdered parents as well as other relatives looking on him lovingly. He was so drawn to the image that he would continuously return to the mirror which was well hidden within the confines of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Later, Harry brought Ron along with him in order for him to see his parents. However, Ron only saw himself as Head Boy and winning the House Cup. Ron, the youngest male member of the Weasley family, has always felt like the low man on the totem pole. His pet rat had been handed down from brother to brother. His wand was horribly overused and taped together several times. His vision within the mirror showed that he longed to become something greater than any of his siblings and to be able to achieve something no one (maybe even himself) could have dreamed.

However, the mirror is not all good. Professor Dumbledore tells Harry that thousands of students had discovered the mystery of the mirror. But, many of them became so enthralled that it drove them insane. So powerful was the attraction of the device that it was to be moved far away; yet, not before Harry asked his mentor what he saw in the mirror: Socks. Was he being truthful or teaching the 11 year-old a valuable lesson?

Everyone (young/old; rich/poor; male/female) has dreams and one desire that we choose to share or to remain hidden. The people to whom we decide to reveal them demonstrates a powerful sense of trust and loyalty. Yet, we all have to be careful how we handle our dreams lest they control our lives.

Let’s have a little fun. Tell me how the name Mirror of Erised came about.

I am all for the reinterpretation of a popular character over time to make him more appealing to the masses, but I have found one such instance a bit beyond what I consider plausible. I speak of the up-coming 8th season of Smallville. It not only seems that most of the traditional Superman canon is a MAJOR part of the young adult life of Clark Kent, but it seems that most of them know of his “secret.” Over the last two seasons, both Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were introduced to the series as recurring characters which would be entirely understandable IF it were a series about the ADULT life of Clark after he had assumed the guise of the superhero. Last season, The Man of Steel’s arch-enemy Lex Luthor discovered the truth about Clark. There have been some interesting action-packed episodes with guest appearances of future Justice League members Green Arrow, The Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, and Black Canary. However, I think the show’s creators may have driven the final nail in the coffin. For season eight, the monstrous destructive force known as Doomsday will be introduced. Instead of the inhuman monster who was responsible for killing the Last Son of Krypton, a troubled young man will eventually transform into the character. The new addition will also be involved in a love triangle with Jimmy and his girl friend. GREAT… more twenty-something angst. I think that it is high time that the BOY of steel grew up. I think it will be interesting how they plan to explain a way in which everyone who knows Clark’s secret will forget it (aside from the Kents, Pete Ross, and Lana Lang).

Well… at least Mr. Lucas has done something right. He recently acknowledged the fact that any future adventures of Indiana Jones MUST have Harrison Ford in the titular role. There will be no passing of the fedora and whip to his son “Mutt” Williams in the near future. The final scene of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull alluded to that when THE hat was seen blowing into the church and Dr. Jones snatched it away from the young upstart. Of course I would say that as much bad press as Shia LaBoeuf has been getting as of late, he may find it difficult to find work if he continues on what seems to be a downward spiral.

In this article, Mr. Lucas also speculates on the future of his other cinematic series of films including the opening of Star Wars: Clone Wars this weekend.

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In all honesty, I have to say that the current production I am part of is the most difficult time I have ever had and I do not have to memorize one line of dialog. There are several roles both on stage and off in any show. It just so happens that my presence for The Nerd is strictly off stage. Not that it has not been and continues to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I get to sit back night after night and watch the thespians on stage create their roles. All eight of them are doing a fabulous job developing realistic personas not only through the written word but through movement and (to me) most importantly facial expression. Not only are the lines significant, what goes on along with those words may be even more so.

The character playing Rick is just bewildering. Even when he is not speaking, he is doing something that is just soooo hard not to focus your attention on, making the other characters on stage that much more uncomfortable. His mouth open, staring at a character one minute, wandering around paying no attention to someone yelling at him the next. The eyeglasses add an even greater effect. Once he gets his script away, I know that he will be able to take it to an even higher level. I cannot wait to see the costumes. And that voice?! 😯 Plus, I am so excited to be watching HIM on stage.

I have also been impressed by the gentleman playing Tocky (… or is it Ticky?). He has some of the best lines in the show and is very strong characterwise. Audiences will howl when he gets angry at his young son or becomes flabbergasted by the nerd’s constant nerdiness. Thor (Ticky’s son) is a very close relative of mine and he can be as bothersome as the character on stage.

Everyone else is doing great; I will make it a point to focus on others in future posts as soon as I can find intriguing things to mention about them.  I stilll have a bit of time.

While playing a game, the question was asked: “What is the saddest movie you have ever seen?” I said the first thing that came to mind: E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial No fooling. It still gets to me. Then we went farther and started naming movies that were so bad they were sad. Titanic being one of them. I actually laughed when the ship slit in two, and the people slid to their doom. Forgive me if I give any SPOLIERS, but the ship crashes into an iceberg and sinks. The lovey-dovey story between the young artist in third-class who chances upon his aristocratic muse was added to give some dramatic oomph. It also added about 90 minutes to the already 2 hour long movie (and some people say that Dark Knight
was too long). Myself included, but, eh… whatever.

Two of the original cast Star Trek movies fall into the so terrible they are sad. I will save the first feature-length film for another post.Star Trek V – The Final Frontier is the WORST film in the 10 movie franchise. It features the crew of the good starship Enterprise being hi-jacked by a renegade Vulcan who is on a quest to literally “find God” on a planet that lies beyond what is known as the great barrier. The Vulcan, Sybok’s, connection to Mr. Spock is entirely ludicrous. His ability to relieve his “followers” pain by simply touching them is laughable. Sybok even manages to convince most of the Enterprise crew to “see the light.”

The only plausible excuse I can come up with for this mess is the fact that it tried to follow up one of the most lucrative and entertaining films (and in fact, one of the best moments) in Star Trek history. It also may have had something to do with William Shatner’s much publicized ego. The previous 2 installments had been directed by Leonard Nimoy and of course the captain could not allow his first officer to become more powerful than himself. Bill directed this pitiful excuse for a movie and also was credited as a contributor to the screenplay. Of course, the star has placed blame on everyone else and has frequently stated that the finished product was not “his vision.” Ok, Bill …. twenty years from now, you can go back and find your missing footage and attempt to redeem yourself. But, for anyone who has seen only the best of the series, you need not bother with this debacle. Also…. check out the ridiculous poster promoting the movie. And, I almost forgot about the dispenser that Spock used to toast “marshmelons” with while on shore leave at Yosemite with Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy. If I had collected one more proof of purchase from Kraft Marshmallows, I would have had my very dispenser. Would that have been something to say that I was embarrassed to own? Or is the DVD enough?  “Life is a dream.”

A friend drew my attention to one of her summer traditions (Tradition, Tradition). It seems that the World’s Longest Garage Sale begins today (August 6) and runs through August 9th. I asked how long it is and discovered that it runs 654 miles from West Unity, Ohio all the way to Gadsden, Alabama (or vice versa). This event draws people from all over the world. I think it sounds rather fascinating just to see how many stops you can make in the four-day event. Apparently, vendors from all over participate and there are even sponsors for the event. It would be fun to go and watch expert hagglers attempt to find a treasure and get it for next to nothing. The website (YES… there is even a website) has interesting links that go into detail about how to plan your treasure hunt and other useful information. One question asks if there is an admission charge (honestly, has anyone ever been to a garage sale and been charged to enter?). Then, they offer a very helpful tidbit about watching for other cars. Driving along the route, looking for your next stop and suddenly WHAM! CRASH! POW! then, it is Holy Traffic Jam, Batman! So… if you are in the mood for a loooong road trip, you can travel along US127 all weekend long in search of buried treasure…. AAAARGH, Matey!

I have previously discussed the number of famous (and infamous) celebrities that have gone through the revolving door that is the long-running revival of the musical Chicago. I still have my suspicions that the sole reason it is still continuing to attract crowds is its ability to draw tourists to see the latest headline grabber or long since faded has been attempting to step on stage. The latest addition is almost enough to make one lose their faith in the theatre (i am not one but…). Paris Hilton was offered the chance to assume the role of Roxie Hart. However, she has been swamped with so many other Broadway roles that she had to graciously turn down the offer. Some of those include (but are not limited to) The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and The Great American Trailer Park Musical. I’m sure that there are other shows befitting the millionairess.

In actuality, the hotel princess had to decline when she found out that she would actually have to do something and learn lines that contained words that she never knew existed. Words beyond her usual utterances of: “That’s HOT… He’s Hot… She’s Hot… Everyone’s Hot.” She also found the six-day weeks quite rigorous and couldn’t possibly fit them into her active schedule. Poor Princess.

But can the producers come up with any better (or not so much better) casting decisions… please give your advice, someone may actually read the blog and follow it (even those reading from Sweden, Japan, and other far off countries) It seems to me that nearly everyone has had a tour of the windy city.

Artist Song Name Composer Composition Instrument

Strangely enough, Miss Hilton is reportedly being featured in the newest edition of Guinness Book of World’s Records  as “The Most Overrated Celebrity.”