WOW.  I was totally amazed today by a phone call I received from my brother.  He works at a nearby school in a town in which their local community theatre is having auditions for their production of Meet Me in St. Louis.  The director asked him if he thought I would like to audition so he called me at noon to ask.  The call was brief so I did not get to ask a lot of detailed questions but enough to know that I am excited about the opportunity.  How the director knew me, I do not know but something tells me that big brother had something to do with it.

I know very little about the stage production, but have seen the Judy Garland movie it is based upon.  Both tell the story of the Smith family from St. Louis.  The time is 1906 and the St. Louis World’s Fair is about to begin.  The family is content, love is in the air and then, financial devestation hits the family and it is decided that they will need to move to New York.

In researching the show, I found the role of the patriarch, Mr. Alonso Smith, to be quite appealing.  He is described as a “charming yet commanding lawyer.”  I am also told that he stomps around the ground a lot.  A father with a wife, a son, and four charming daughters.  Well… at least there is the son.   Now if they can just age me about 5 years.  I don’t think they can make me look like a teenager-early 20 year old.  But whatever part I fit.. if any.

Featuring some classic songs (“The Trolly Song” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”) I am told that the musical is very fun and I am looking forward to another audition.  Maybe not with my normal group, but as a wise woman once told me… “Don’t hide your light under a bushel basket.”  Sage advice.

School Picture Guy- a recurring guest star in Lincoln Peirce’s comic strip Big Nate, a strip nearly as old as the Simpsons.  He doesn’t appear much these days in his primary role meaning I had to go back to 2007 to find this one, skipping past roles as a deejay and a news photographer.  But weren’t school pictures in the fall you ask?  You are correct.  However, graduation pictures are apparently the currently happening thing.  Armed with equipment photographers never had when I was in school- a digital camera and color printer for instant samples to be exact, the photographers (there were two) invaded the gym space at the school I subbed in today.  Ordinarily this would be a sidebar, but since I was subbing for a gym teacher this became quite important.  In fact, two of the three gym teachers were out.  If you would be guessing by now that I was at a middle school you would again be correct.  Due to the pictures, an otherwise ordinary day became a lot more interesting.  Think of a middle school gym with room for a basketball court and pull-out bleachers.  Reduce this image by half, the amount of the gym in use by the photographers.  Now cram three classes of 30 plus each into this one side.  Now add two dozen dodgeballs into the mix and you can see what made this day interesting.  The sixth and seventh grade kids got to play backboard bombardment (AKA basketball dodgeball) on this special day where only one of the teachers was their real teacher and half the gym was otherwise occupied.  The rules had to be slightly modified though due to an abnormal playing field- one side was deeper than the other to keep the baskets/backboards equidistant from the “center” line (remember the space for the bleachers when pulled out?)- and the number of kids playing- 45+ per team.  Hence, the catch rule was discarded so no getting out by having your ball caught because we couldn’t keep our six eyes on the backboards, students getting hit, and the throwers of caught balls so something had to give.  Everyone had fun though.

How about eighth grade?  Well, for some reason the school designated gym time as picture taking time, though students came in other periods as well during their tutorial periods if they had them since there were far too many eighth-graders to get them all done in their two gym periods.  So, no dodge-ball for them.  Instead they just sat and chatted, and so did we.  The one real gym teacher took care of sending the kids to the photographers as needed.

Gym aside, I had a similar experience today as I did last week.  Last week, two Sundays ago, I had told a boy that one day he might see me in his classroom.  Three days later, there I was, in his classroom. 🙂  This last Sunday, I ran into a former student of mine and mentioned that I had seen no sign of him last time I was at his school and subbed for sixth-grade math, meaning he must have had the other math teacher.  So naturally two days later I had him in gym right at the start of the day!  I should keep doing this, but of course now that I realize the connection it won’t work anymore. 😉

So what will tomorrow bring?  Who knows- I’m still trying to find a job.  That’s how it goes in a sub’s life…

Yesterday (Monday 12-Jan) at this time we had winter storm warning forecast for this afternoon into the morning and a Blizzard watch for Wednesday afternoon into the evening.  The winter storm warning has been canceled, but we still may have blizzard conditions tomorrow.   This is on top of the 8 to 12 inches of snow that fell over the weekend.    It is only January.   Tomorrow or this evening it is supposed to get very cold. The forecast is calling for single digit highs (F).   Reminds me of some past winter in NW Ohio. Back during my Freshman year of College we had some winter weather that really closed down most of NW Ohio for days.  People around here still talk of the Blizzard of ’78.  A local radio station as an annual on air auction event to remember that storm.  It is the 30th year of  that auction (started 1 year after the storm).  A local PBS station produce and re-runs annually a documentary on that storm.  I remember being snowed in at College and we were wondering if we would be able to get food at the cafeteria.   I also remember going out in an old Volkswagen Beetle equipped with dune buggy wheels. Classes were canceled for the only time in the 4 years I was at the school. 

Then back in 1984, I got married.  The day after our wedding (the night/morning of) set a record for low temperature that, as far as I know is still a record. For the next few years, the days surrounding our annivesary were always very, very cold (Highs were below zero F). We always looked forward to those cold days in January.

Then there was the January of 1993, I had just started at my current place of employement the September before. We started having work canceled (I work at a school) because of extremely cold temperatures. I felt bad taking off work and getting paid for it. I never worked at a place that canceled because of cold. My employer no longer does this, since we are not in charge of getting the buses running (Gelling diesel fuel was the cause of all the closures). After few years, I wasn’t so rough on myself for those weather related closures, now that we don’t have it, I kind of miss it.

So this year, we’ve had ice, snow and are forecast for more snow, blowing snow and cold temperatures. While I really don’t want much more snow (Sorry daughter #3), I don’t mind the cold temperatures in January. Those temperatures bring back many fond memories for me. January and cold weather always went hand in hand. What will we get in the next few weeks, who knows. Stay safe, stay warm is my winter motto.

For further enjoyment, the winter of 1982 was interesting too. There were blizzard conditions in April. 8 inches of snow fell overnight. My new boss, (I started in February), was on vacation in Florida. He was wondering where everyone was. I arrived at work around noon (start time was 8:00) and was the only person in my department. I had to travel farther than anyone else too. For some reason my boss didn’t seem to believe the April snow storm happened, at least not until he checked out the news. Massive Ohio snow storm did make the national news in 1982. Fun winter stuff.

Enjoy this video of an acapella group and violinist one guy doing five separate parts in his own musical arrangement of highlights from Legend of Zelda.  I did. 🙂

Yes, tomorrow night begins the drama that has become known as American Idol.  This season promises to be as memorable as the past how many ever it has been (I’ve lost count).  There is going to be an added female judge joining Simon, Randy, and Paula.  Maybe she will inject added controversy with the often addled-appearing Paula Abdul.  I enjoy watching the first few weeks of the audition process when the producers put the worst of the worst before millions of television audiences.  Honestly, who can imagine this unfortunate soul singing(?) Like a Virgin being taken seriously?  I guess one should not scoff at someone attempting to fulfill a dream, but… Somehow future seasons saw contestants like William Hung and Sanjaya Malakar advance a few stages.  Curiosity will lead me to watch some this season, but it definitely does not have the appeal it once did.[poll id=”12″]

Yes, our president-elect is a self-proclaimed comic book aficionado.  Mr. Obama is such a fan of the Amazing Spider-Man that he is being featured on the cover of an upcoming issue as well as a story within its pages.  This is not the first time that comics have met the real world.  Many heroes took part in stories following the events of September 11, 2001 especially the web-slinger since his home turf is in fact Queens, New York.  Presidents are not new to comic book pages, either.

• President John F. Kennedy was seen in the pages of Action Comics #309 which was published months after the assassination.
• President Clinton and Hillary were part of the World Without a Superman
  in the pages of Man of Steel.

• President Ronald Reagan (or some artist’s rendering of him) was seen in the ground-breaking series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

Yes, sometimes the worlds of fantasy and reality do merge.

I love a good scary movie and I was recently sent a list of the 20 Scariest Movies of All Time according to Entertainment Weekly.  I must say I agree with a large portion of them.  I think during the 80s and 90s, the scare went more to slash with popular endless series such as Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street (the series became so popular that Jason and Freddy eventually combined into one film… by that time I had long lost interest).  I did enjoy the original Nightmare though.  I think Wes Craven was appalled by the rather comedic silliness that plagued the later sequels and eventually returned for the rather creative Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.

That being said, I enjoy a fright more than seeing people being mindlessly chased by some psycho that is the work of some idiot out to make a few dollars with a movie that appeals to teenagers.  I like the classics more than most.  Hitchcock’s best: Psycho (the shower scene is still brilliant… not seeing is definitely scarier than seeing).  The original Exorcist still freaks me out.  Funny how many times the originals should have stood on their own.  Rosemary’s Baby is one I have not seen in sometime.

Moving on to more modern fare.  The Silence of the Lambs is in my top three scary movies.  Not too wild about the sequel, and prequels (I actually prefer Manhunter to Red Dragon) but Anthony Hopkins scares the jeebies out of me.  I also liked The Ring a lot.  I have not yet watched any of the Saw movies which seem to be going the way of past franchises although the series still continues yearly.

Of course, I haven’t forgotten the real classic movies: the numerous versions of Dracula, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and all the classic misunderstood monster movies.  Those are good, too.  However, that is only scratching the surface.  Nothing better than sitting back in a dark room, popping on a good suspenseful yarn, and getting that heart pumping. [poll id=”11″]

As everyone knows the world famous WCCT does an big, important, annual awards show called The Willies.  Well, it seems Hollywood / Television has it’s own cute little version of the Willies called the Golden Globes.

Although the awards may not have as much meaning as the Willies do, some people in Hollywood make a big deal out of it anyhow.  So, I have decided to make some picks.  I made them the old fashion way — I guessed as fast as I can so I could actually get the post done.  Make you picks in the comments below!

Best Motion Picture – Drama

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

The Reader

Revolutionary Road

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie – Changeling

Meryl Streep – Doubt

Kristin Scott Thomas – I’ve Loved You So Long

Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road

Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn – Milk

Brad Pitt – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy

Burn After Reading

Happy-Go-Lucky

In Bruges

Mamma Mia!

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy

Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky

Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading

Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia!

Emma Thompson – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy

Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Colin Farrell – In Bruges

James Franco – Pineapple Express

Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges

Dustin Hoffman – Last Chance Harvey

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams – Doubt

Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis – Doubt

Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder

Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder

Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt

Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Animated Feature Film

Bolt

Kung Fu Panda

Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)

Everlasting Moments (Sweden, Denmark)

Gomorrah (Italy)

I’ve Loved You So Long (France)

Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

Best Director – Motion Picture

Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Stephen Daldry – The Reader

David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon

Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Written by Eric Roth

Doubt
Written by John Patrick Shanley

Frost/Nixon
Written by Peter Morgan

The Reader
Written by David Hare

Slumdog Millionaire
Written by Simon Beaufoy

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Composed by Alexandre Desplat

Changeling
Composed by Clint Eastwood

Defiance
Composed by James Newton Howard

Slumdog Millionaire
Composed by A. R. Rahman

Frost/Nixon
Composed by Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song – Motion Picture

“Down To Earth” – Wall-E
Music By: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel

“Gran Torino” – Gran Torino
Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum

“I Thought I Lost You” – Bolt
Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele

“Once In A Lifetime” – Cadillac Records
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street

“The Wrestler” – The Wrestler
Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

Best Television Series – Drama

Dexter (SHOWTIME)

House (FOX)

In Treatment (HBO)

Mad Men (AMC)

True Blood (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama

Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order

January Jones – Mad Men (AMC)

Anna Paquin – True Blood (HBO)

Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama

Gabriel Byrne – In Treatment (HBO)

Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)

Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)

Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers – The Tudors (SHOWTIME)

Best Television Series – Musical Or Comedy

30 Rock (NBC)

Californication (SHOWTIME)

Entourage (HBO)

The Office (NBC) — WIN BABY!!!

Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy

Christina Applegate – Samantha Who? (ABC)

America Ferrera – Ugly Betty (ABC)

Tina Fey – 30 Rock (NBC)

Debra Messing – The Starter Wife (USA)

Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds (SHOWTIME)

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (NBC)

Steve Carell – The Office (NBC) 🙂

Kevin Connolly – Entourage (HBO)

David Duchovny – Californication (SHOWTIME)

Tony Shalhoub – Monk (USA)

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television

A Raisin In The Sun (ABC)

Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Cranford (PBS)

John Adams (HBO)

Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Judi Dench – Cranford (PBS)

Catherine Keener – An American Crime

Laura Linney – John Adams (HBO)

Shirley MacLaine – Coco Chanel

Susan Sarandon – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Ralph Fiennes – Bernard And Doris (HBO)

Paul Giamatti – John Adams (HBO)

Kevin Spacey – Recount (HBO)

Kiefer Sutherland – 24 (FOX)

Tom Wilkinson – Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Eileen Atkins – Cranford (PBS)

Laura Dern – Recount (HBO)

Melissa George – In Treatment (HBO)

Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Dianne Wiest – In Treatment (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

Denis Leary – Recount (HBO)

Jeremy Piven – Entourage (HBO)

Blair Underwood – In Treatment (HBO)

Tom Wilkinson – John Adams (HBO)

Did you hear the one about the Chinese man who found himself in a dilemma?  His son’s toy fell into the panda enclosure at the zoo, so he jumped in after it.  The panda attacked him, and because the creatures are so coveted in China, he didn’t fend off the animal because he feared he would injure him.  He survived the attack, as did the other 2 victims of this particular panda.  But as the below article notes, in China, there is no “3 strikes, you’re out” policy for pandas because they are so highly regarded.  Particularly amusing is the tale of the drunken tourist who was also a victim of this malicious panda.  Read about Gu Gu the not-so-nice panda here:

(CNN) — Gu Gu is not your typical soft and cuddly giant panda.
Zhang Jiao was attacked by Gu Gu the panda when he fell into the pen at the Beijing Zoo on Wednesday.

Zhang Jiao was attacked by Gu Gu the panda when he fell into the pen at the Beijing Zoo on Wednesday.

For the third time, he’s tasted the flesh of an unwitting intruder in his pen at the Beijing Zoo.

His most recent victim was 28-year-old Zhang Jiao, who told CNN he fell into the panda pen Wednesday while trying to catch a small toy thrown by his young son.

“My son and I were playing with a panda doll, throwing it to each other, when I dropped with the toy” into the pen, Zhang said.

The barrier around the pen is about 5 feet tall, but on the other side is a drop of 9 to 10 feet, and Zhang says he could not climb out.

That’s when Gu Gu went on the attack.

The 240-pound giant panda sunk his teeth into Zhang’s left leg before moving on to the right leg.

“The panda is a national treasure, and I love and respect [him], so I didn’t fight back,” Zhang said. “The panda didn’t let go until it chewed up my leg and its mouth was dripping with my blood.”

Zookeepers needed to use tools to pry open Gu Gu’s jaws.

Zhang said he never imagined a panda could be so vicious.

“I always thought they were cute and just ate bamboo,” Zhang said.

According to Dr. Wang Tianbing, who treated Zhang, his wounds were severe, especially the damage done to the muscle and ligaments in his left leg.

“Normally, we think the panda is very tender animal, but actually it’s a bear, not a cat. If the animal thinks it will be hurt by human beings, it is very dangerous.”

Wang should know. In 2007, he treated another one of Gu Gu’s victims, a 15-year-old boy who climbed into the pen to get a closer look. A year earlier, state media reported that a drunken tourist tried to hug the panda, who bit him. In an odd twist, the tourist reportedly bit back.

But being an endangered species and much-loved national icon means there’s no “three strikes and you’re out” for Gu Gu.

In fact, there’s a possibility Zhang may face charges for entering the panda pen.

Zoo officials did not respond to CNN’s request for an interview but are reportedly considering new measures to keep tourists out of Gu Gu’s pen.

A panda’s mouth dripping with blood?  That sounds like a horror movie!

Our new pet rats are great, and Oreo is becoming a real friend.  Bobby Jack, however, seems very nervous all the time.  He squeaks and sneezes a lot, and he uses his nose to try to burrow into my hand when I hold him.  We are thinking he might be blind.  I don’t know that much about rat behavior; these are my first pet rats.  But it just seems like Bobby Jack can’t see.  Are there vision tests for rats?  I guess I have some research to do about rat blindness, squeaking, and sneezing…