by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 23, 2009
More Retro Cards @ Fenderskirts Vintage
Before heading off for a long winter’s nap, I thought it would only be fitting to send you into the holidays with visions of sugarplums and such. So, here is my Christmas wish for you all, and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, here’s hoping the Internet waves simultaneously translate my wishes and retrofit them to the holiday of your choice, whatever your faith or creed. Whatever holiday language you speak: May these days be merry and bright. And if it’s a little bit of fun you’re wanting, keep reading for some ideas on holiday Theatre, Film, TV, Books, Art and Music. You may find a few surprises …
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 17, 2009
Who wouldn’t want to read a book with a subtitle as searing and juicy (yes, I’m going for a steak vibe here) as “A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession“?
One part of Julie Powell‘s life has just been immortalized on film in “Julie & Julia“, but Ms. Powell has a lot more memoir in her, and Cleaving tells the tale of her marriage, her infidelity, and her journey to learn to cut meat (um … I don’t think I need to point out the subtext there) the way the experts do from the butchers at Fleisher’s Meats (“We follow a nose-to-tail cutting program so we use every part of the animal” their website boasts.)
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 30, 2009
The Man and The Music - Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse isn’t a name that immediately rings a bell with most people the way, say, Andrew Lloyd Webber does. If you say “the great musical composer, Charles Strouse” people don’t go “Ahhhh, right, of course”. But mention some of his iconic songs and right away the “wow, I didn’t know he wrote that“s and “seriously, that was him?“s come rolling in. So, for those of you who don’t know and need me to hum a few bars …
… Once upon a time a girl with moonlight in her eyes / Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so …
No? Not yet? How about
… Grey skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face! / Brush off the clouds and cheer up, put on a happy face!
Warmer? Well you’ve gotta know this one …
… Boy the way Glenn Miller played / Songs that made the Hit Parade / Guys like us we had it made … those were the days
Yeah? Starting to come together? Want the big finish?
… Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You’ll always a day away!
OHHHHH! THAT’S Charles Strouse! Yes … THAT’s Charles Strouse, writer of musicals such as Bye, Bye, Birdie, Annie, Applause and composer of movie scores and TV scores like “All in the Family”. With writing partner Lee Adams he penned half a dozen musicals, and even after that collaboration ended he went on to create a half dozen more with other lyricists (most notably one of my 2nd favorte Muscial Theatre Stephens after Sondheim — Stehen Schwartz for RAGS).
… Once upon a time a girl with moonlight in her eyes / Put her hand in mine and said she loved me so …
No? Not yet? How about
… Grey skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face! / Brush off the clouds and cheer up, put on a happy face!
Warmer? Well you’ve gotta know this one …
… Boy the way Glenn Miller played / Songs that made the Hit Parade / Guys like us we had it made … those were the days!
Yeah? Starting to come together? Want the big finish?
… Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You’re always a day away!
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 29, 2009
In the early part of the century (yes, that would be the year 2000) I became fascinated with Lidia Bastianich and made a point of telling everyone that I wanted to go to her restaurant, Felidia (243 E. 58th New York, NY 10022).
People tend to like me (what can I say?) so everyone made a point of trying to get reservations there. When I went for lunch with some co-workers my boss asked if Lidia was around and would she sign a cookbook? We were told that Lidia was back in her office, but the book was sent back there and arrived at our table at the end of the meal autographed, with a personal inscription, wrapped in tissue paper. We were thrilled.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 25, 2009
If you’re like me, you love cake. And the internet. And laughing at other people’s mistakes. So chances are you’ve come across Cake Wrecks already and I’m not about to tell you anything new. This tip is not for you.
This tip is for those among us who have technology-averse loved ones who say things like “I saw that secret code you sent me in your email, but it didn’t make any sense” … and you reply “That was just a link, dad. All you have to do is click on it.” And anonymous loved one says “Oh, I didn’t want to break the internet. Can you just print it out and send it to me in the mail? ” But how do you mail an ENTIRE WEB SITE of funny images? Well … now you can …
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by Kimberly Blozie on September 22, 2009
Last month, I had a conversation with my friend Jared Koch about his new book which he recently published called “Clean Plates”. Jared was born in Brooklyn, and currently resides in West NY, NJ. He used to own a high-end events/entertainment company, but he sold the business about 10 years ago and has been “entreprenuring” in and around the NY area ever since. He is currently building Clean Plates into a national brand with major online presence. He is also a serious spiritual practitioner and has sincere interests in forward thinking spirituality. I met Jared about 4 years ago, based on our mutual interest in EnlightenNext and we have been good friends ever since. What follows is a conversation I had with Jared in between book talks and signings.
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by The Happiest Medium on August 20, 2009
Keith Chow
Paolo Javier chats with Keith Chow about the inaugural Asian American Comicon in post-convention glow.
Asian Americans have been vital contributors to the American comic book since, well, its birth, a fact rarely acknowledged by an industry that continues to uphold a homogeneously white and hetero imaginary on the covers and in the panels of its mainstream and independent titles. With this in mind, I cannot thank the BSG gods enough for the editors of Secret Identities, the first-ever anthology of Asian American comics published earlier this year, who followed-up their historic publication with an equally groundbreaking event on July 11th at the Museum of the Chinese in America: the inaugural Asian American Comics Convention. The AACC felt more like a day-long celebration; I got to participate in the morning as a reader on the panel ‘Every Comic is Asian American’, then geek out in the afternoon and evening as a reader and fan. (During my panel, I shared excerpts from obb, my on-going poetry comic collaboration with artist Ernest Concepcion that’s partially inspired by our lifelong interest in underground comic art and artists.) And I loved AACC for all the reasons that Keith Chow, co-organizer of the event and co-editor of Secret Identities, gives in our post-convention interview below.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on January 15, 2009
Webster’s Dictionary defines Theatre as … come on. You really think I’d start off like that?
Theatre as concept, theatre as concrete structure, theatre as war … for the purposes of these posts, “theatre” is any time someone stands (sits or lays) in front of a group of others and entertains them. So today rather than review a play, I’d like to exercise that notion and take a bit of a turn.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 9, 2008
CIRCUMLOCUTION \sir-kuhm-loh-KYOO-shuhn\, noun: The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few.
I have been accused of circumlocution virtually since the day I started speaking. If you flip through the pages of my life and stop at almost any day, you’ll find a conversation like this one going on:
Random Teen from the Past: Karen and I are going to a party tonight. Wanna come?
Other Friend: I might as well … I’m only going to have to hear all the stories about it later, and it will take less of my time I just go along now.
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