I’m not a big graphic novel fan but I couldn’t resist Teenboat: Angst of a Teen, Thrill of Being a Boat by Dave Roman. The main character literally turns into a boat – sometimes at will, sometimes by accident. Fascinating.
You can choose to become an inanimate object at will. What will you choose?
As many of you know, I am fond of Sherlock Holmes stories. Not the first fictional detective, he is the most popular and has the honor (sometimes dubious) of having been written as a character more times by authors NOT his original author than any other character. Sherlock also holds the Guinness World Record as the “most portrayed movie character” – more than 70 actors in more than 200 films!
So I was intrigued when I learned that Park Square Theatre was doing The Hound of the Baskervilles this summer. From looking at the website I could see that Holmes and Watson would be played by women and it didn’t look like it was being billed as a serious production. A woman playing Sherlock didn’t bother me; if Ghostbusters and Dr. Who can be women, why not the most famous fictional detective.
Park Square is known for occasionally messing with your expectations but I was really unprepared for the audacity of the production, the sheer silliness. There were just five actors; if you’ve ever read or seen Baskerville, you know there are many more characters than that. Normally this bugs me a little when actors play multiple roles, but I quickly got over it and in fact, they used it for comic fodder. At one point towards the end, the actor playing Lestrade and Henry Baskerville did a “half and half”, turning from one side to the other – hysterical.
There was a lot of laughter; a few times so much so that I needed to wipe my eyes. Of all the different ways that I have seen or read Holmes, I have never experienced him as “camp” and I loved it.
If you have the chance, the production is playing for another week or so and I highly recommend it.. ESPECIALLY if you’re a Holmes fan.
When have you ever laughed until you’ve cried?
August 4 has been pretty busy through the centuries, so I am leaving this blog post pretty open for the weekend for Baboons to comment on three pretty fun things.
In 1693, Dom Perignon is said to have invented Champagne.
In 1777, Retired British cavalry officer Philip Astley established his riding school with performances in London, a precursor of the circus.
in 1919, The Rodin Museum opens in Paris in The Hôtel Biron containing works left to the state by the sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Say what you will about Champagne, circuses, and sculpture.
There are lots of retro tv stations these days and they do seem to occasionally be scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill their programming slots. Yesterday afternoon I found an old movie that I had never heard of – The Wasp Woman. And now I know why. It was truly dreadful – a poor premise, scenes that didn’t connect to each other, sad special effects and outrageously bad acting. It was one of those movies that is so bad that you can’t look away.
The head of a cosmetics company finds a bizarre scientist who is using wasp royal jelly to create a fountain of youth. After testing it for just a few days on one cat, they start testing it on the company head. She also secretly injects herself with more serum late at night. Of course, the cat turns into a wasp and then the woman intermittently turns into a waspish creature, but only at night. She doesn’t remember these episodes (although you’d think she’s be tipped off by the blood that ought to be all over her clothing) and is eventually killed by being shoved off the balcony of the tall cosmetics company building.
I’m still not sure why I kept watching, perhaps a fascination with the reality that something so terrible actually made its way onto film.
If you turned into an animal/human hybrid at night, what animal would you be? Or what is the worst movie you’ve ever seen?
Even though it was Saturday, I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. I had directions to Canterbury Downs already printed out, a fully charged phone for photos and a huge wad of one dollar bills. That’s right – time for my favorite stamp show!
I don’t really need to go to a stamp show. Let’s face it, I already own more stamps and paper and ribbons and ink pads than any normal person needs. All the companies represented at the stamp show have websites (and you know I have them all bookmarked). But there’s something about being at a convention full of your hobby/passion, surrounded by folks just like you, who understand your desire to see the stamps and paper up close and in person. And who get all your stamping jokes.
The Early Bird line (for those who purchased their tickets ahead of time online) queued up pretty early. I showed up 20 minutes before opening and was about 40th in line. They actually counted down the last 10 seconds on the sound system before opening; for those of you thinking it, yes I did yell along with the others during the countdown.
This is the stamping show that’s I like best; there are several of my favorite companies there and almost every booth does a “make `n take” (unlike that other not-as-good show that was in town last month). I had my dollar bills in my pocket so I was ready whenever there was a free chair to make a sample; most make `n takes are $1 but a few are $2. I spent about 5 hours at the show, made 12 cards, chatted with folks either at tables or in line. I even met the designer who made a 6 x 6 calendar template especially for me back in February! Didn’t win a door prize (no surprise there) and blew my budget (no surprise there either) but had a glorious time.
What kind of mud does your pig like?
Many babooners will remember in Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant Massacree from the late 1960s. One detail that always tickled me was that The Police located them after finding one of their names on an envelope at the bottom of the pile of garbage they’ve thrown over a cliff.
Well, laugh all we want: I found this recently in the Police Blotter from the Winona Post (our twice-weekly rag also called “The Shopper”):
Husband and I have been reading the Police Blotter lately, mainly for comic relief from the grim and alarming news that we encounter elsewhere. Here are some gems (italics are my own reactions):
And my personal favorite:
Anything fun or interesting in your paper’s Police Blotter report?
When have you noticed that life imitates art?
After a really busy week, I spent half of Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday binge-watching Tarzan. So here’s my question. If Tarzan was raised by apes, who do not wear clothing, why does he wear a loin cloth? When he was a child, who sewed that loin cloth? When he returns to Africa after his stint in England, what tailor does he go to, to get his loin cloth? OK, I guess that’s three questions.
What’s your favorite piece of comfort clothing?
