Haunted items…

While surfing for stuff to put in our haunted house, I came across this site that has a lot of FX that we may be able to use. Fake hands, heads, zombies, and some other cool stuff.

I wasted a good bit of time just checking out the FX. Most can be done on our short budget too. We have the wood, but we would need some of the other items to make molds and finish off the projects.

So any of the people working on the haunted house, check this out. I will be adding different sites to this blog if I find anything else we can use.



WHAT THE HUSK IS A RUSK?!

I’m glad you asked.  A rusk is a rectangular, hard, dry biscuit or a twice baked bread, commonly called zwieback.  These biscuits are often used in child weaning.  They also, apparently, go quite well with garbanzos.  The dish plays a pivotal and hilarious role in our fast approaching production of The Nerd.  The cast had their first practice run through the entire piece tonight and except for about a page and a half being jumped over.  It went EXTREMELY well.  Although, a certain nephew of mine could stand to jump on his entrances a bit quicker.  I’m not one to shirk blame since I was beside him and missed telling him of one of his upcoming moments.  But for it being only his second time on stage, he is doing quite well.

I have failed to mention one of my cast mates from  Little Women who has also had limited stage experience.  She plays the role of Clelia Waldgrave, the dim bulbed wife of Warnock (Worncock, Ticky, Tocky, Tacky, whatever his name is) and mother of the precocious Thor.  Clelia has some funny moments herself, not the least of which involves dishes.

One of my other favorite parts is played by that guy who has a name that reminds me of an omelet (not to worry Colorado).  Axel is one of the characters who shares the secret of the show (to find out what the secret is you have to get your reservations in soon).  Some of his on screen antics are sure to bring down the house.  “Hideous pagan ritual” indeed.

So… just over a week to go before our production of Larry Shue’s side-splitting comedy The Nerd makes its debut, be sure to reserve your tickets soon.



You are what you eat?

Well, I am no stranger to trying new and, what for some would be, exotic foods. I generally enjoy trying new things to eat, even when I don’t enjoy the taste. There have been a large number of foods that I really like, that if I had failed to try, I never would have known the taste sensations.

From A (for Ants), to Z (normal zoo animals — Hippo and crocodile), I have tried many different foods. Other than zucchini, I can’t really recall any Z foods, maybe someone could enlighten me. After the extreme recycling I wrote about I didn’t think I could see an article about food that would just turn me off. But I found one. The problem for me is that I have tried almost everything else, why wouldn’t I try this. I have eaten bugs, so why not rats? I guess that would be one way to make sure the rat population stays in check. They would no longer be just pests, but a food source. Maybe I’ll have to try some… Can’t be any worse than squirrel can it? After all a Squirrel is just a rat with a fuzzy tail right?



That Darn Cat

I love animals…  all animals, even ones I’m afraid of like frogs.  I can honestly say I would not want to see harm come to a frog even though I don’t like them.  I really love cats, even though I’m allergic to them.  When I was growing up, I always wanted a cat, so as soon as I moved out of my parents’ house I got one.  I had her for over 10 years, her name was Mally, and she was a sweetheart.  She passed away last January, and I miss her very much.  While she was alive, I couldn’t pet her as much as I wanted to because of my allergies, and that’s the only reason why I haven’t gotten another cat – I really like them.  Except for my neighbor’s cat.

When we moved in 2 years ago, we saw Phoebe the neighbor’s cat roaming around and we thought it was kind of cool to have a neighborhood cat.  That was before we saw how mischievous she can be.  Phoebe likes to sit on our window sill because she knows it makes the dogs crazy.  She also sits on the kids’ slide in the backyard which is just out of the dogs reach, further aggravating them.  One day, our dog Charity got loose and treed the cat.  I felt a little badly although part of me enjoyed the surprised (and pissed) look on that cat’s face when she was in the tree because she wasn’t expecting the dog to get loose and chase her.  One time, I noticed the front door was open and she was peeking in our house!  Don’t know how she managed that one; maybe one of the kids left the door open or something.  I used to have a bird house and a bird feeder in the tree in our side yard.  I would go out there and sprinkle seed, and we had a nice menagerie of creatures that would visit, giving our parrot some friends to look at out his window.  But then I saw Phoebe out there stalking the squirrels and birds that frequented the tree, and I stopped putting seed out because I no longer wanted to lure animals into her lair.  One day, I saw her playing with a baby bunny.  The bunny was alive, but not moving, so we scooped it up and took it to this lady who rehabs wildlife nearby.  Her place is really neat; she has raccoons, bandicoots, squirrels, rabbits, geese, ducks, and even a few bears!  Anyway, she said the bunny looked to be in bad shape and she didn’t expect it to survive.  Hopefully it defied the odds…

Being an animal lover, I was really sad when Phoebe hurt the baby bunny.  I was even more sad when I saw what she did the other day.  I was outside with my daughter, and Phoebe started to climb the tree in the front of our house.  I thought it was really cute, so I pointed to her and showed my daughter the cat.  But then I saw what she was doing – there were 2 doves sitting silently in the tree, and she was stalking them.  Suddenly one of the doves flew off the branch or at least tried to.  He flapped to the ground; I don’t know if he hit his wing on a branch or if he was hurt before he tried to fly away, but he landed on the ground, and Phoebe chased him.  He got lift a few more times, but he couldn’t fly.  Phoebe was chasing him until they both disappeared around the side of the neighbor’s house.  I grabbed my daughter and followed them, but I didn’t see anything.  When I got back to the front of the house, I saw the other dove in the tree, just sitting there waiting for her mate to come back.  She was there all day, just waiting, and it was the saddest thing because I didn’t think he’d be coming back.  The next day, she was gone, so I don’t know if she just gave up or what.  Maybe he survived the cat attack and they found each other again…  doubtful, but I am hopeful that’s the case because I don’t know what happened.  What I do know is that I don’t like Phoebe the cat.  She’s not even friendly; she never lets my kids pet her.  I’ve considered leaving a note on the neighbor’s door asking them to please corral their cat a little better…  but I don’t want to be one of those people.  For now, I just hold onto the hope the neighbors will move and take Phoebe with them, and when that day comes, I will promptly set up my wildlife area once again.



Kids Write the Darndest Email Forwards

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like
sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the
chips and dip coming.


stuck with.
 

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?
Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by
then.
 
HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
 You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the
same kids.
 
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

 
WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
 Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each
other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
 On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets
them interested enough to go for a second date.
 
WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
 
WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?


that.
 The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them

 
IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

to clean up after them.
 

 
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump
truck.

DOA Disposal

Sunday I had some dishes full of dip to clean that had been left sitting out from our game night Saturday night.  I began to rinse them out in the sink, flipped the switch for the garbage disposal, and – nothing.  Not a peep.  My husband looked at it and found there’s a little switch underneath the sink that turns it on, so he flipped that, and it now makes a little bit of noise at least, but it still doesn’t work.  A call to the plumber found that they charge $300 to put in a new disposal.  That’s not really an option right now since we’re trying to save money to be able to take the kids to Disney World before baby Christopher is old enough to add to the trouble in our already crowded car.  So if anyone reading this knows anything about disposals or how to fix them, please, please tell me how and hurry – the dishes of dip are starting to smell!



More on Superman…

And then I find this link. An interesting look into the creation of Superman. I will admit that I never looked into the two men that created the Superman character. I knew the names, but never any back story behind it. I guess it never really grasped my interest, but a comic I read started a story line about one of the authors. I’m not sure if anyone here reads Funky Winkerbean, but there is a current story arc about the Seigel home.

All interesting stuff for the 70th anniversary of Superman.

And a special link for a friend about a discussion we had recently. Here it is, Red Son. Have fun, if you find the actual books, let me know….



Oh say it ain’t so…

I just ran across this article and was stunned. Cher as Catwoman? Maybe a few, ok quite a few years ago, but now? With plastic surgery and all she doesn’t look too bad for 62, but still, a 62 year old comic book villain/heroine? That would be quite a difference from most of the comic books stories I know about. Now if this were just an animated film, why not. I think she would have a distinct and wonderful voice for Catwoman. Oh well I guess I shouldn’t get too worked up.

But the same rumor mill has Johnny Depp as the Riddler. Now that may be an interesting casting decision.

We will see



Have truck, will deliver

Or the continuing story of 1 guy and his truck.

I have a small bed pickup (2004 Chevy Colorado, crew cab), and I do use this thing as a truck. I bought it to be a truck, and to move people (hence the crew cab), and that is how I use it.

A couple of weekends ago it was used to carry 5 people to an animal park and haunted house. Approx 4 hour drive (not including the animal park) and everyone got home safe. Today it was used as a truck. Moving a few pieces of furniture needed for the latest stage production, I visited 3 houses and pick up 1 coffee table, 1 stereo rack, 1 couch, a couple of posters and 1 folding table. Not all in one trip, the couch took up the rear bed with the gate down.

This is not the first time I’ve used my truck to move various things for the theater, or myself. Over the past four years, I’ve moved lots of firewood, plywood, refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, stuff from my daughter’s apartment, equipment needed for a magic show, stage flats, and almost anything else that could fit in the bed.

After 4 years, I still like this truck. Even with gas being $4.00 a gallon, I like this truck.

I hope to keep the truck for a good long time, and I plan on driving it until it drops. Still get around 25 miles to the gallon on the highway (no load), so it isn’t really too bad to drive to and from work. And I guess for the next few years, the people I know will say, I know somebody with a truck, and he doesn’t mind moving things….



Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready To Play

While chuckling through one of the daytime serials that my mother insists upon DVRing while she drives the school bus, a newsbreak came on and announced the following: “A little league player is told that he can no longer pitch because he is too good. He throws a 40mph fast ball.” Nine-year old Jericho Scott is like many a young man who enjoys playing baseball in a summer league in Connecticut; however, he finds himself in the middle of a full blown controversy. Opposing teams have forfeited games when they see the pitcher on the mound. Officials for the league have threatened to dismantle Jericho’s team, and either redistribute the players to the other teams, or offer the kids a refund of the $50 sign-up fee. However, Jericho’s coach has not given up and refuses to disband the team.

I suppose there are two ways to look at this. I’m not sure that at nine years of age, I would like to face an opposing pitcher who threw at 40mph. Parents may not want to face the outcome if their child is hit by a ball of such velocity. However, it was reported that Jericho has yet to have his pitches hit even one batter.  Would this not make the opposing teams WANT to work even harder?

If you ask me, the one who is really suffering is Jericho, himself. He misses doing what he loves to do: pitching. Although he has played different positions, should he have to suffer when he has been told that he is really good at something? While thinking about the article, I began to see similarities to Jericho’s dilemma and adults in the work place. Many times, a person is told that he is OVER-qualified for a position because they have received advanced training in the field for which they have applied. Am I correct in assuming that this often boils down to the prospective employer not wanting to pay the person for time learning the trade?

I just think that this is a sad tale and a terrible position in which to place a nine-year-old. Punishing a child because he is “too good” is a horrible message to send to a child.

Ironically, this came to light mere days after a team from Hawaii defeated their Mexican opponents to capture the Little League World Series crown.