Happy Boxing Day

(pictured -- A Victorian gang)

Boxing Day may be a British tradition, but it sounds better than "Leftover Day," which for many folks it is. We did the family thing in Rowlett and Southlake, including one ham dinner and one turkey supper. Joy prefers the turkey, but I'm neutral since I don't have to cook anything. I got to talk with Steph and Hunter who have both gone back to school ... Lucky dogs, except they have to work at the same time.

Yesterday also was a Doctor Who night. BBC America, which cuts the show terribly, made arrangements to show the Christmas show on Christmas night. (Imagine that!!) The commercials of the Doctor and Amy in America, complete with a Stetson hat, were rather humorous. Even River Song, villainess and heroine rolled into one, sent Christmas greetings. If I'd wanted, I could have watched various Doctors (in the rebooted seasons) celebrate the season. The "Tooth and Claw" episode ended with a joke of a royal family werewolf; however, it reminded me that Torchwood began in Victoria's reign -- which gives rise to a steampunk companion. Mid-1800s seem to be a favorite time period -- close enough that people recall some details yet far enough away that the writer can work in his own details. Hard to believe sometimes that Jane Austen now is 2 centuries old ... though if you look at the costumes, it's a reminder of how much male fashions changed with the industrial revolution. The gang above would be mocked for the plaid pants and stovetop hats, but once they removed the accessories, the men could pass ... not so, for the fashion plate ladies with their hoop skirts (though the corsets are back for some fashionable ladies).

We decided to give Ikkicon in Austin a miss in 2011 -- Skittles has become a geriatric kitty with special needs, and there are 6 Christmas kittens in the cat carrier ... We could be gone overnight, as long as I come back on Sunday morning to check on everyone; however, the 36 hour absence might not be a good choice ... right now, Skittles is lying atop the computer monitor -- the day is so cold that the wintry sun isn't putting out much heat. Let me settle on the sofa, and he'll become a lap kitty for the duration.

The King's Speech & Other Dark Matters

Occasionally, Cheri and I have common tastes in men ... she generally prefers the super-buff athletic types such as Van Diesel in XXX -- and dated professional athletes -- so it came as a surprise that she loves Colin Firth. (Really? since when?) Joy likes Geoffrey Rush since his stint as Barbossa in the Pirates trilogy. A date to the Angelika to watch an arty film was in order.

Oh, yes, the Angelika is an arthouse in the northern part of Uptown in Dallas, on the other side of the DART rail line. It's near some very trendy loft apartments, the type that have murals painted on the side and ooze attitude. (I may look plain, but you can't afford the rent!) Cheri went on and on about how it reminded her of New York or San Francisco, two places that -- as Joy reminded her -- we haven't seen, and probably will never get the chance to see. But Cheri, in the midst of reminiscing, overlooked the side comments. I kept quiet ... Whenever there's a monologue in session, you might as well listen and keep silent ... and observe the scenery.

The Angelika Theatre definitely was plain on the outside -- and a challenge to approach from the street. You parked in the DART parking lot (very tiny) or in the 3-tiered lot across the street and walked across the DART station, which is a 2-tiered station; you get your tickets on the street level, where we were, then descend to take the train ... The Angelika's interior has many arty posters, ranging from Charlie Chaplin to foreign films. There's a wine bar (very expensive) on the ticket level, and regular concessions upstairs near the auditoriums. We headed upstairs. Yeah, you need to dress up for this place -- even the quartet of teens were upscale, though I wonder which movie they were there to see. The remake of The Tempest with Helen Mirren as a school project? Who knows ... I didn't think they would find any films there to their tastes.

Still, we had time to kill and ate nachos and hot dog and popcorn while we waited for our film to begin ... oh, and the pre-movie ads were classy, too. What can I say? Still, Cheri and we could count on our fingers the times we'd been in an arthouse -- We'd gone to the Magnolia in Uptown Village with Cheri to see 13, and she had gone to 2 others, all to see Jeremy Sisto, one of her favorites, in a rather depressing film about a teenager who gets into cutting herself and drugs.
Angst and indeterminant endings are hallmarks of a well-made art film for the thinking man.

I guess The King's Speech didn't haven't to meet those criteria since it was based on history. I'm sure there were liberties taken -- no movie gets the official blessing from Buckingham Palace -- but all the actors did an impressive job. Naturally, the movie centers around Bertie, the unwilling King, and Lionel, his practical speech therapist. For Americans raised on the romance of "the woman he loved," the portrayal of David and Wallis is rather biting. Both are intent on their own pleasure, and everyone else be damned. It's enough to make you want to research the era a bit more ... although it's a bit before my time, pre-WWII times are as alien to me as the 60s are to my students ... the world before Hitlet changed everything.

I sense that Cheri might indulge in a bit of historical reading -- she does more history than fiction. I may take a visit to the local library to pick up a few books myself ... I need something that's the total opposite of what I'm trying to write. Back to the movie -- Joy commented that this one was mainly talking heads, but what expressive heads they were! As Bertie struggles to find his voice, the audience empathizes with him -- after all, the #1 fear of many people is speaking in public. The knowledge that this first wartime speech will be the first of many -- and Bertie's comment that he fears this is only the first in a long conflict -- adds solemnity to the triumphal moment.

And, on our exit, I noticed that there was a sign for "Teens Who Stutter" -- maybe the girls were coming to our movie. Who knows? We swept outside into the chilly winter day as a larger audience began to enter. I hope that "the boys" get those Academy nominations in 2011 ... They deserve it. (That means I have to follow the awards next year ... Jeff Bridges did out Colin Firth in 2010 ... True Grit won the Academy for the Duke, but I wonder if it can do the same as a remake in 2011.

All in all, if they ever show anime as the Angelika (they did, once upon a time), we may have to head northward once more.

Winter Solstice

The lunar eclipse occurred on the winter solstice ... and I didn't set the alarm to see it. By the time I made it outside this morning, the moon had set. I'd slept so late that I barely beat the garbage men to the pick=up site. (Mundane, I know, but when pick-up happens once a week, you don't want to miss anything!)

(Pictured -- Sir Dustin at Four Winds Faire 2010)

On the writing side, I located the 2007 edition of "Stealing Cinderella," which was set at SHS -- with a cross-rip going to the Undying Lands, AKA Fairyland. It's a much better beginning than the stuff I wrote last month for NaNoWriMo ... Gwen has a cutting 'tide towards the fairy knight, who has his own agenda. No doubt it'll turn into some sort of romance novel -- I never quite finished the anti-romance of Harry and Alma years ago ... everyone insisted that it followed the romance tropes (and it did -- however, the hero and heroine were NOT destined for each other in a physical romance), and the continual rewrites halted the creative forward-moving juices. Unlike Pat Elrod and Theresa Patterson, I can't re-write the first 30 pages over and over while finishing the plot ... I have to write the whole thing, THEN go back and revise. Otherwise, It's another manuscript for the drawer ... well, jump drive nowadays. I still don't know where the plot will go -- I assume eventually they'll cross the borderlands into the Undying Lands to confront the Queen who plots to destroy both of them ... but that's for the coming holidays.

For now, it's time to close ... My mom and I are doing a "duty visit" to her sister. Old age and infirmity do not mellow people, I've learned. It tends to set whatever behaviors they possessed -- if they were pleasant, they remain pleasant despite calamity. If they're autocratic, they become tyrants ... Mom doesn't want to see her by herself, and I've been drafted since the boys are working. Imagine -- I get to dress in school clothes and wear make-up so Mom doesn't hear catty remarks later on my appearance ... I dress so casually that such remarks may be inevitable. Still, I'll do my beast.

Avanti!

Christmas Kittens, Oh My!

Back in late October (or early November), our smallest cat Fiona got out while we visited our friend Mar ... when we got home, it was a dark, moonless night -- and only 3 cats greeted us. We went through the house, calling her name, no answering mews. I went out the front, Joy went out the back, and we called again. She said she heard Fiona, so I came out back with a flashlight -- and spotted two orange eyes waaay up the tree, near the roof. Now it was tuna time order to lure her down ... and, a month later, Fiona looked like she'd swallowed a melon ... and the melon was growing larger and larger.

(pictured -- Fiona's outside cousin)

We eventally started putting her in the big cat carrier to sleep ... but Friday morning Joy took a nap without locking Fiona in the box ... and she woke up to -- you guessed it!! A wet spot and 2 little "meeps." I called at noon, and all 6 were in the box. One tuxedo, 3 red and whites, 1 grey with white socks, and (maybe) a Siamese cross. None are calicos like their mother ... I suspect that every male cat -- well, at least the 2-3 that I know hang around -- mated with her. If they survive, we must ask friends, family, and faire folk: anyone want a kitty?

These kitties will be fur folk, since their two-legged caregivers have handled them since they were less than 24 hours old ... and Fiona seems to have taken to motherhood, unlike Pitti-sing who ignored her offspring. Sadly, the beautiful Lady Orchid is not alive to become their "aunt." She loved taking care of kittens, whether her own or another's. The rest of the cats -- Skittles, Margot, and Bojangles -- aren't sure how to react to this noisy sextet.

On a different note -- I'm done with school for 2010!! Amazingly, I did not kill or put the beatdown on any students, even my annoying males. (Believe me, I have some silly boys who wanna be men in my classes!) 8th period got candy, even though they didn't deserve it ... well, to quote Hamlet, "If we got what we deserved, which one of us would escape whipping?" The fire alarm wailed at 4 o'clock ... and we escorted the kids out. They're getting accustomed to the routine, so they knew the drill. It's a legal way to force everyone out of the building without arguments ... those come when kids want to get back inside. (They'd better have a pass!)

This morning is the last ballet class for 2010 ... I'm behind in tuition, so I'll find the DVD-player TV for a down payment ... House taxes, alas, come first. "Mundane matters are such a bother!!" she declares in a very posh accent. Then, I get to work on thank you gifts for a doll donation and Joy's Christmas owls. Later, when we set up the printer, I get to print off the minac for a tiny fantasy APA that we've rejoined. Those NaNoWriMo novels can be dusted off and others can read them.

Have a blessed Christmas -- and enjoy the holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas itself.

Holiday Cheers

Tonight Joy & I returned to SHS to watch the Christmas Music Festival. Alas, the theatre folks won't follow them on the morrow because Ginger, the theatre director, broke her heel during a tech rehearsal for a play in which she would've performed ... It seems the light guy took the lights to black too early and Ginger mis-stepped off the stage. I feel her pain -- Back in '95, DISD was supposed to seal the stage footlights at RHS; they did ... from stage left to center stage. I walked about three more feet stage right, and the footlight opened up. My foot got caught, and I fell off the stage onto the concrete auditorium floor ... Concussion, bruises, and a dislocated collarbone ... but I was young (and stupid) enough to return to school within 48 hours. Now? I'd take the time off to heal, just like Ginger.

Tonight, Mrs. Smith (band) and Mr. Sarver (choir) put on a concert ... some of the past ones were more colorful -- I haven't forgotten his Elvis impression, yet I can understand why they combined efforts. In this way, they could divide and conquer the songs.

The beautiful Lady Orchid We'd heard several in previous concerts ... and,

this year, I didn't join the "Hallelujah Chorus." We sat and enjoyed the show ... though I noticed that there weren't many faculty members there. (Yes, we had to stand -- I think the two administrators stayed seated.) Still, I saw many students -- some, I didn't know were in the band or choir. (Bad teacher! I'm supposed to know such things ... that's why they make us use the computers, right?)

We came home (yawn!!) to hungry kitties. Best of all, to a hungry elderly cat. Skittles, Lady Orchid's brother, has been rather peckish lately. He had the sniffles and generally refused to eat most canned food ... So, we got him stinky sardines. (Yuck!! and I like sushi.) Some days, he liked them; other days, he wanted Something Else. It was our jobs, as good human servants, to intuit what he wanted. The younger cats got the leftovers ... the Dancing Cats (Margot, Bojangles, and Fiona) enjoyed the sardines or red tuna or Fancy Feast. Since he's eating regular canned food, I suppose he's feeling better. At age 14 1/2, he deserves whatever he craves ... I just wish the stuff smelled better!!

One more day ... 8 hours ... and we are done with school for 2010. January 3rd will come all too quickly, I suspect.

Babes, Ballet, & Bling

The countdown to the Christmat holidays has officially begun. Last night, Mar, Joy and I went to see the panto produced by Theatre Britain. Each December, we visit the land of fairy tales with the principal boy and dame, the innocent hero, dastardly villain with his inept minions ... You get to laugh, to talk back to the actors, to sing along with the other folks and generally have a good time. You can't go wrong.

This is our 5th panto -- I think our first was Cinderella at the KD Studio Theatre ... If you Google, "British panto -- Cinderella," you might find Entsheawful and her sister menacing poor Cinderella.

This show is based on an old English ballad about two children who get lost in the woods and die of exposure, even though the birds covered them with blankets of leaves ... well, THAT ending won't fly in a panto, so it's the principal boy (Paige Turner) and the dame (Governess Amplebottom) to the rescue, with the help of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Baron von Nasty Chap and his minions got some good musicals numbers -- and lots of heckling from the kids in front of us. Of course, we boo and hiss along with everyone else. That's the point of a panto!! The old "4th wall" just doesn't exist ... while we were heckling the Baron, however, I had a flashback to my 3rd period class who cannot shut up. Luckily, it's part of the script, so the actor took it in stride and sneered at all of us ... until he revealed his sad past and got reformed, another traditional part of Jackie Mellon's scripts. I think the only villain who didn't get reformed was the evil magician in Aladdin and the ogre in Puss in Boots last year ... but, technically, they weren't human -- or part of the hero's family. It isn't Shakespeare or high drama, but you'll have a great time. To see a expert critic's comments on the panto, go to

http://frontrow.dmagazine.com/2010/12/ever-seen-a-british-panto-babes-in-the-wood-is-alively-audience-loving-romp/

After the show, the audience gets to meet the actors. We did that when I performed at the Dallas Children's Theatre (which now has its own building in North Dallas.) We let the kids talk with the actors while we made our way out ... and spoke with the Box Office Manager/Producer. He recognized us as repeat offenders -- and we talked about the show. I commented that we'd first seen a panto when John Nathan Turner, who was the producer of Doctor Who in the 80s brought a filmed panto to a convention. We watched it ... and laughed .... and wondered what world we'd wandered into. When I saw an ad for the panto years later, I talked the girls into going -- and we've gone ever since.

We're preparing for the ballet show in January 2011 -- most of the costumes are finished, except for little extras to make them "pop" in a larger auditorium. Still, we won't have any marathon sessions like we did this year (YAY!). I got the news that my balance was better, but my energy levels are flagging ... need more vitamins, I suspect. "5 Hour Energy" just won't cut the mustand when you're doing pirouettes. I've basically maintained my weight, even though I'm eating more or less whenever and whatever I like ... not a good thing, since I tend to like salty and sweet foods ... but I can still climb those 3 flights of stairs every day ...

Today we work on the bling, along with the dolls ... We sell "blinged out" pointe shoes to support the studio, and I may have a lead to sell one or two. I get to learn how to manage the digital camera. Telling me, just point and shoot does not help -- I never mastered the point and shoot reflex cameras! But I do love to take pictures -- the technology, however, got away from me, as often happens. (Don't ask me how to take a picture with my cell phone; I never knew the feature existed until I tried to adjust the ring tone!) More pictures to follow ... 5 days, and we're done for 2010!

Rings & Things

Ring on her fingers,

And bells on her toes --

She shall have music

Wherever she goes.

That was the story of yesterday's church bazaar. The weather was mild (for December), and we saw more people than in 2009. However, everyone's watching each penny, so we only sold about $100 of rings (and earrings). Hope sold 3 OOAK toe shoes. As a student, I encouraged several ladies who expressed interest in adult classes to check out the studio. They live near St. Bernard's church, so they aren't far from the Heritage School.

About 1 PM, we started our Christmas performance, the "non-Nutcracker," as Hope titled it. We had a much larger audience than last year -- Sabrina had her peeps bring in extra chairs so people could watch ... fewer family members (except for the girls' families) and more public. We opened with a classical piece "In the Flower Garden," followed by a demo with the littles from St. Bernard's with "Miss Hope." We had dressed the girls' hair behind our table -- I got to do their "big girl" red lipstick. (Just call me "Miss Kate," costumer & stage manager.) While Hope changed clothes, I got them calmed down and backstage ... Oh, they have so much to learn!! I know I must have been just as shy and awkward when I began, but hopefully by 4th grade I was better ... Then our junior high girls did a duet on demi-pointe, followed by the "Can-Can" by the company. Yep, we had ladies from all ages on that stage ... which may (hopefully) bring in a few new students and (maybe) a dancer for the company.

A final word on NaNoWriMo -- I handwrote about 20,000 words on my fantasy novel. Joy commented that the heroine was too introverted and not active ... I need to go back (I have about 30-50 pages.) and re-examine the pieces. I know the basic idea, but I'm not fond of the execution. Perhaps that's why most heroines are 30-ish at most ... by age 50 we get more introspective since we've been around the block a few times. Adolescents are easier since they have more possibilities ... Still, if I can locate the original chapters, where she confronts a monster in the Wal-Mart parking lot (it follows her home), I can salvage more pages than I have now.

In SHS, we're studying the Holocaust through Elie Weisel's experiences (and his Nobel speech). The kids are turning very anti-Nazi ... and still can't understand why people didn't "jump" the guards or fight back. The reading class will check out MAUS -- yes, graphic novels will make an appearance in the 10th grade. I suspect some folks won't enjoy how dense the writing can be ... these aren't the usual superhero comics.