White Christmas

 

I lamented last year around Christmastime that Texas isn’t exactly the most “idyllic” of settings for Winter positioned holidays.   Now, you all know I’ve never really been one to let a silly thing like scorching hot temperatures keep me from expressing my holiday cheer and have oft been found with enough saltwater seeping from my pores to float a mid-sized barge but, damnit, it’s December and you can pry that soggy paisley scarf from around my neck only AFTER I’ve passed out from severe dehydration (and even then there might be some lingering synapses, so perhaps the “cold, dead hands” metaphor is a bit more apropos) [long sentence much?].  I’m also pretty sure my good friend, Television, agrees with me:

Modern Family’s Cam and Jay (my favorite plutonic May/December relationship) from the 2011 Christmas episode

 

 

from The New Adventures of Old Christine

This year there really wasn’t much to complain about because it was quite chilly (proportionally) and there was a fire in full blaze when I got to uncle Sid’s house in Lufkin. My fraternal grandparents had driven down from Midland and mom and dad had come over from Crockett for the festivities. I kinda took the day off from taking any pictures so Sid was kind enough to send me a couple of family shots!

 

 

Pheobe, Sid, Catherine, Liz, Hannah

 

 

Grandmother, Granddad, Mom, Dad and I

 

The cousins!!

 

Artist: Barbra Streisand / Album: A Christmas Album

Where the Music Comes From

 

Upon waking up this morning I was saddened to hear that composer Lee Hoiby passed away yesterday.  I have only sung one of his pieces (an aria from his operatic adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke) but have always enjoyed his writing.  After a bit of YouTube trolling, I came across some highlights from his operatic “monologue” Bon Appetit! based on, and including text by, Julia Child.

 

OMG I just had the best idea!  Someone should totally make a movie version of this opera!! If only I could think of someone who could pull of playing this role.  Hmmm… … …

 

In all seriousness, though, his contribution to the realm of music is undeniable and luckily for us his music will continue to live on for years and years to come.

“Singers, you can’t fool them,” he said. “When they hear a song, they can tell right away if it’s going to make them sound good. And mine do.”  Lee Hoiby [via The New York Times]

 

Artist: Peter Stewart/ Album: Continual Conversations with a Silent Man, Songs of Lee Hoiby

A Real Gourmet Kitchen

 

One of my must sees for this trip was an exhibit at the American History Museum:

 

 

I immediately texted a picture to my mother:

Me: Julia Childs had nothin’ on Joyce!!!

Mom: Isn’t the turquoise something! That exhibit is so fun to see.

Me: Well… it’s certainly no avocado or harvest gold.

Now, I couldn’t help but think while watching some of the clips from her cooking show that someone should make a movie about her life.  I mean… honestly, why hasn’t that happened yet.  OMG, you know who would be PERFECT to play that role, right?

That was for you, Jan.  (Well, mostly for me… but I knew you’d love it)

 

And, while we’re on a Jan kick.  I realize that I’m not exactly singing with them like you have requested in the past, but this is the best and the closest I could manage.

Get it little Muppets!!!

 

The museum is also home to a fabulous collection of presidential and first lady ephemera, including inaugural gowns.

  

Michelle Obama  And… for those of you foaming at the mouth, I’ve also included Nancy Reagan

 

Yeah, those are okay I guess.  However, the BEST gown they had on display was a couple of floors up.

This is for you, Jeremy!!!!

 

The other exhibit I would have been remiss to miss is Stephen Colbert’s portrait, once on display in the National Portrait Gallery (next to the restrooms) and now a part of the permanent collection of the American History Museum.  But seriously… I wasn’t going to get out of this town without seeing it. 

Point/Counterpoint

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Portrait Accepted - Brent Glass
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

And, finally, a picture of something many of you who read my blog with any consistency will feel I have lost:

“In 1884, the marble industry was born in Ohio when the first mass-produced marbles were made—creating a toy that many children could afford.”

Artist: Michael Giacchino/ Album: Ratatouille

The Ballad of Booth

 

Last Friday Houston was host to **SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011!!** that engulfed our fair gulf city, effectively bringing Beltway 8 and my mother (in town with dad for business) to a complete halt.  So when I got a call from Paul, Keith and Zach to see if I wanted to hang out, my evening was as free as Interstate 45!

I got over to his house and the first thing he says is:

Paul: So… do you know who Yann Tiersen is?

Me: The name sounds familiar, but that means nothing really.

Paul: He’s the guy who wrote the music for that French movie Amelie.

Me: *mouth wide open* OMGILOVETHATSOUNDTRAAACK!!

Paul: Oh, so then I guess the answer to “Would you be interested in going to see him perform at Fitzgeralds later tonight, then?” is going to be a… … … “yes”?

Me: YEESSSSSSSSSS!!

 

I don’t remember exactly when I first saw Amelie, but I do know that it actively changed the way I watched movies.  Suddenly I was noticing the subtleties of cinematography, the way shots were composed, how long scenes would last until being cut to a different camera angle, the use of color, and (more relevant to this particular post) how a score can effectively enhance the viewer’s experience.  As you can see from the poster to your left and the film trailer above, this movie is where color saturation goes to binge.  Think of it as Snookie at a Spec’s… but with ultraviolet tanning booths. 

The use of reds, greens, blues and yellows was inspired by Brazilian Artist Juarez Machado, and it’s actually something that always comes to mind when I’m decorating my apartment.  I know it sounds rather, I don’t know, pretentious to say that “this movie changed the way I see the world,” but it kinda did in both a literal and metaphorical way.

Also, don’t believe me about my apartment? CHECK OUT BELOW!!

 

We had a couple of hours to spare, so we watched the most recent episode of 30 Rock, a couple of backlogged  How It’s Mades, and grabbed some Tex-Mex for dinner.  As we were pulling up to the place I realized that I had been here before when I first moved to Houston and hung out with Brad and Michele the first time.  Except… it has two different stage areas and we sat downstairs for about an hour listening to a god-awful rock band wondering where the hell the act we came to see was.  (The answer is: upstairs in the main stage).  Needless to say, I wasn’t going to let us make that mistake.

We found a pretty good spot to the left of the stage near the (quite paltry) merchandise station. The guy manning the table absolutely looked like he didn’t want to be there and we all started joking around that it was probably Yann’s nephew, who, after his father died in a tragic bus accident, was shuttled away by his mother (Yann’s sister) so that he could have a good father figure in his life.

 

Dani Tiersen: Drifter of the first order (Also, I’m not sure why this looks like a still shot from The Shield)

 

We also all agreed that, if ever there were to be a movie made about his life, that Meryl Streep should be cast.  Need I remind you?… I think I shall!

The opening act was S. Carey, whose sound we can best equate to music written by a pod of whales trained by Rufus Wainwright in an aquarium run by Philip Glass. 

Me: What did you think about that first act?

Paul: I mean it was nice, I guess.  Very “chill”. I could have a conversation during the performance without A.) straining my voice [always a plus for singers] and B.) having to feel guilty about it.

During the long intermission (that’s what it’s called at a concert, right?) we took the chance to eavesdrop on the clientele.  Or as Zach put it: “Geez, I feel like I'm in an episode of Skins—the British version, of course. Not that bastardized new MTV one.”

WATCH OUT TEENS!!!! The Parents Television Council is after you!!!

One Christmas I went to Wal-Mart with my sister-in-law, Joanie, and while waiting in line she of the statistics background asked: “I wonder what percentage of people here are shopping for Christmas presents and what percentage are just here for every-day items.”  I had never really thought of things that way (my non-sequitors are generally seen through a pop-culture tinted lense).  Now when I am in large groups of people and trying to kill time I will ask a similar question.

Me: How many people here do you think watch How It’s Made.

Paul: Oh wow, probably not many.  How many people here do you think are teenage couples awkwardly holding hands?

Me: Hmmm, definitely more than my question.  OOH, I wonder how many people here both watch How It’s Made AND are a teenage couple awkwardly holding hands.

 

If only there were some way that we could visualize that raw data.

 

The break also gave us an opportunity to peruse the scenery, noting that the barn-turned-concert-venue feeling would lend well for a dinner theater experience, which quickly spiraled into our planned mounting of a musical version of the 30 Rock episode we had seen several hours previously.

It’ll be this decades The Producers, I promise!!

 

There was much excitement when Yann made the stage, the most emphatic being a fellow Frenchman screaming out something in their native tongue.  I really wanted to yell something out as well but my French isn’t that good.  About all I could muster was: “JE M’APELLE JOSEPH!!” “ICI-BAS!!!” “LE SANGE ET SUR LA BRANCHE!!!!!!!” 

At one point he pulled out a violin for an intro to one of his pieces, which always reminds me of my friend, Clinton, who said every time he used to play at his church in Lake Jackson someone would inevitably come up to him afterwards and say something like: “Yeah yeah, that Mozart was real nice BUT… can you play “The Devil Goes Down to Georgia?!?!”

 

HOE-DOWN!!!!

As Zach noted, it was interesting to see what music he performs when not in the context of a certain character or cinematic mood (ie: the whimsey and fantasy of Amelie’s Paris).  The whole time I was there I kept wishing that my former roommate, Lembit, could have been hanging out with us.  I always loved when he would just stroll around the house playing his accordion and sing-narrating whatever was happening: “Your saaaaauccccee needs more cummmiiiiiiiinnnn” or “Joseeeeeepphhhh, your laundry [dominant chord] is *dramatic pause*… FINNNIIISSSHEEEEDD [minor tonic chord]”.  Basically he was our very own wandering Amelie soundtrack long before Yann was even in the picture.

So once again a fantastic evening (and yet another shattered mirror of a blog post) was birthed from equal parts free evening and social happenstance! Unfortunately I once again forgot to get pictures of the four of us for the blog… so in our final WTF?!? moment, with the magic of photoshop and the pilfering of facebook I’ve taken some pictures from my dear friend, Heather’s, wedding last year when she had a photo boot at the reception and made an Amelie homage.  (Note to former brides—DO THIS!!!!  It was fantastic!!)  Also, as I am not friends with Zach and Keith on the fb I had to do the best I could…

(With special guest star body, Nancy Brooks!)

Artist: Stephen Sondheim/ Album: Assassins

BONUS ROUND!! As I was leaving the concert I spotted a classmate of mine  from High School, James, across the dance floor.   We were headed out the door at the time and I wasn’t able to say hi to him, but in a bit of serendipity he was actually at Heather’s wedding as well and got a shot in the photo booth.  So, sorry I couldn’t chat, but I’m giving you a blog shout out!!!

Heather and James Dean Franco Rains

A Little Brains, a Little Talent

There are a lot of performers careers that I really admire, not only for their acting ability alone, but for the breadth of genres that they cover as well (Audra McDonald anyone? And, as Cameron from Modern Family would vehemently agree with me, Meryl Streep…)

Don’t even get me STARTED on Sophie’s Choice!

Which brings me to another actor I would want even half the career of: Christopher Lloyd.  Some of you may be thinking, “what does that have to do with Modern Family?” Well:

*Update 1/23: So… apparently I’m an idiot (this may not surprise many of you), but my sister-in-law pointed out to me this morning that not all Christopher Lloyds are created equal and the creator of Modern Family is not the same, dear Professor Plum I know and love.  Lame! STOP WRECKING MY LIFE, FAKE CHRISTOPHER LLOYD!!!! [It’s okay, though, I’ll make up for it in my next post.]
And that’s not even the START of it.  He was in two of my absolute favorite movies:

        

   I’ve already waxed (not so) poetically about it here!!       You’ve no soul if you aren’t a bawling mess by the end 

However, what prompted this particular post is that last night he appeared on my current ub-session of a TV show, Fringe.  I’ll basically follow J.J. Abrams down any conspiratorial rabbit hole (Alias, Lost, Undercovers) so it’s no surprise I’m transfixed by this modern day X-Files.

I’ve yet to actually watch the episode, but based on this still from the episode alone I am hypothesizing he plays an Andy Warhol inspired, S&M loving shape shifter from the other universe.  That’s probable on that show, right?

Oh yeah, and he was also in some rarely seen trilogy from the ‘80s about a time traveling teen and his wacky mad scientist cohort.  You’ve probably never heard of them though so it’s not really worth discussing.

Artist: Richard Adler/ Album: Damn Yankees

Random nerd fact: Eric Stoltz was actually supposed to play Marty McFly because Michael J. Fox was busy filming Family Ties, but midway through shooting the film makers decided he wasn’t quite right for the role.  Blog full circle moment?: During an episode of Fringe in the alternate universe this can be seen in the background…

STOP BLOWING MY MIND, CHRISTOPHER LLOYD!

Sexy Lady

 

Once again I am poaching a topic from Jan’s blog. (At this point we should just go on and create a joint one.)  To paraphrase:

Not a fan of The New Scooby Doo's "upgrade" of Velma. Velma doesn't need (nor would she want) fringy bangs, new glasses, or a bow in her hair!

I can’t help but read this and think about my friend, Nate’s, abhorrence at what he calls the slow sexification of Strawberry Shortcake.  He loves his alliterations, that Nate. 

Let’s just take a quick look at the evolution of an American (Greetings) icon:

 The first, and still the most delicious, incarnation

 

 

Lil’ miz Shortcake actually began as a greeting card character and then grew into the children’s cartoon.  Seen here in her ‘80’s incarnation with her beloved cat, Custard

 

2002 re-launch: Taking a page pagina from Dora the Explorer it appears

 

2009’s new Strawberry: Where is Custard?! Why are you lounging like that? And most importantly, WHERE IS YOUR DIGNITY!?!?!?!?!?

 

If you keep going in this direction I fear this is your future:

 

DON’T DO IT, STRAWBERRY!!!!!!! You’re hair’s not even red any more you little tarte.  Pretty soon you’ll be sharing a jail cell with another high-profile former red-head *cough* La Lohan. *cough* (Yeah, still not fixed from the other day).  Was life in Berry Bitty City really that bad?

A few interesting side notes (as if I haven’t embarrassed myself enough):

• My favorite pet from the franchise is Marza Panda, for obvious reasons. Deal with it Apple Ducklin
• My favorite foreign version of the character is “Frangelica Dolcecuore” which I’m pretty sure translates to Strawberry Sweetheart but I also feel sounds like a really fantastic drink of the alcoholic persuasion
• Nate does a pretty fabulous impersonation of the Peculiar Purple Pie Man of Porcupine Peak (told you he liked alliteration)

 

And, although it is unfortunately too late to save other classic children's characters like Rainbow Bright and a 2011 live-action/CGI Smurfs (full disclosure, I’ll see anything with Alan Cumming, Neil Patrick Harris or Modern Family’s Sofiya Vergara), I’m still holding out hope that they’ll keep their filthy paws off my Tail Spin!

Artist: Susan Graham/ Album: At Carnegie Hall