It’s My Imagination

Phantom for My Birthday

Last night we attended the Broadway production of Phantom of the Opera. This was a special treat and I took advantage of discounted tickets offered through my employer. I opted for this as my birthday present to myself and I have absolutely no regrets!

My husband and I had seen Phantom over 20 years ago in Los Angeles and I’ve always had such wonderful memories of the performance and had even told my daughter all about it numerous times. When the opportunity to buy tickets came up, I jumped on it. I even took advantage of paying in advance for our valet parking which really turned out to be a blessing.

The performance, while it didn’t quite live up to the LA performance, was fantastic. There were a few singing issues and the voices weren’t as strong as Michael Crawford, but still, extremely enjoyable. Our seats were very good and the view was excellent. I was disappointed in the theater because they allowed people to continue entering even after the performance had started. I don’t mean for just a few minutes after, but the entire show there seemed to be people coming and going. This was distracting and, at times, while people were walking down the aisle, blocked our view which was annoying.

So, the performance of Phantom of the Opera I give an A. The Music Hall at Fair Park in Dallas, I give a B.

Dancing With the Stars Has a Winner!

Well, I have to admit, I got hooked on watching Dancing With the Stars. I started mid season, mainly because my husband & daughter would be at softball batting practice and there was really nothing else to watch on t.v. I became enthralled with watching Shawn Johnson, the Olympic gymnast, perform. She is so very talented, but she’s also very shy and she seemed to struggle with the showiness of the dance floor. She really developed as a true competitor over the season and it was fun watching her come out of her shell.

James Whitmore Dies at Age 87

World War II Marine Corps veteran and actor James Whitmore has passed away at age 87.  The cause of death was lung cancer which he had only been diagnosed with in mid November.

James Whitmore began an acting career on Broadway and won his first Tony in 1948 for Outstanding Performance by a Newcomer for his role in “Command Decision”.  He went on to Hollywood where he won an Academy Award for his portrayel of a tobacco-chewing Army sargeant in the 1949 World War II drama, “Battleground”.  He has a long list of movies in which he has appeared, many of them are old favorites.  They include, “Tora, Tora, Tora!”, “Planet of the Apes”, “Kiss Me Kate”, “Oklahoma” and “The Shawshank Redemption” to name just a few.

Mr. Whitmore also made many appearances on television including shows like “The Law and Mr. Jones” in the early 1960’s.  In 2000, he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor for his guest appearance on “The Practice” and then won the same award in 2003 for his role on “Mr. Sterling”.   Yet, with all of his award winning performances, many will remember him as the Miracle-Gro spokesman.  Remember all those commercials?

Mr. Whitmore is survived by his wife, 2 sons, eight grand-children and five great grand-children.

American Idol Visits Puerto Rico

Amazingly Simple Home Remedies

I received the following in an email and thought I would share. 

1. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by
getting someone else to hold the vegetables while
you chop.

2. Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the
toilet seat by using the sink.

3. For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut
yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing
the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.

4. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will
prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep
after you hit the snooze button.

5. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of
laxatives. Then you’ll be afraid to cough.

6. You only need two tools in life – wd-40 and duct
tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the wd-40.
If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.

7. If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an
electrical problem.

Daily thought: some people are like slinkies – not
really good for anything …..but they bring a smile
to your face when pushed down the stairs!

American Idol – It’s Back!

It’s that time of year, time to see all those people who think they’re the next American Idol, line about for blocks around the country just to have their moment in the lime light.  That’s right, American Idol Season 8 premiers tonight.

It’s hard for me to believe this is actually the 8th round for this show.  My daughter and I didn’t watch it the first couple of seasons, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t seem like it’s been around for 8 years.  Nevertheless, it is airing tonight and I am going into the family room right now to set our TIVO for a season pass!

Movie Possibilities

It’s that time of year when the entertainment talk turns to the Golden Globes.  The winners have now all been announce and they include such names as Kate Winslet who won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress and said she was honored.  Mickey Rourke won the Best Actor award for his work in the movie Wrestling.

There are many other categories that I won’t go in to here, the winners are posted all over the internet so I don’t want to sound redundant.  I do have to say though that the Best Picture award in the drama category went to Slumdog Millionaire, a movie I have never heard of.  Not that I’m always in the main stream of things, but it got me to thinking about other potential future films.

Just one example would be the story of Holodomor, the great hunger and famine that affected a majority of the then Soviet Union during the period of 1932-33 and caused millions of people to suffer and even die.  This is truly a story of not only human sufferin, but the affects of communist government, possibly showing it at its darkest.

I’m not really sure why that particular subject popped into my head, but I do think it’s an important time in history that should never be forgotten so that it is never repeated.

Hook ‘em Horns!

Okay, I have to admit, I don’t really watch that much college football and I definitely don’t keep up with all the games, scores and standings.  But, that being said, I have to tell you that I watched a very exciting Fiesta Bowl last night between the Ohio Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns.

The game didn’t look like it was going to be worth watching when my husband turned it on.  The first quarter was so boring that we all went into the other room and played on our Wii until it was time for my daughter to go to bed.  I was turning everything off in the family room when I checked the score of the game, just as the Longhorns scored a touchdown by having their quarterback, Coyt McCoy, carry the ball across the goal line showing some nice dance moves as he did it.  This put Texas in the lead and I decided to watch a little bit more before going to bed.

Well, the game was really just getting going and the 4th quarter was so great to watch.  The Longhorns were up a couple of touchdowns at one point and then, the Buckeyes began to dominate.  They scored, not once, but twice.  Then it was time for the Horns to show their stuff.  At one point, the Buckeyes and their fans thought they had stopped Texas and the game was basically over.  But, leave it to the refs to be involved, the made a measurement and determined that the Longhorns had indeed gained enough yards to make a critical 1st down.  Even thought the Ohio coach challenged the placement of the ball, the play call stood up to the challenge and on the very next play, with only second left on the game clock, Texas scored the final, winning touchdown to take the win away from Ohio.

This is one of the few really good football games I’ve seen this year, college or professional.  Although, I do have to say, we did watch our local high school team in December as they won the Texas State Division 5-A Championship in a game that was very similar in its excitement.

Remember The Night

We’ve had Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on most of the day today watching classic old movies while we’re getting things done around the house. I love that channel because they show the classics, commercial free. I also like the way they give you interesting facts about the making of the movie and the actors involved. As my husband is a huge movie buff, we’ve seen many of the movies that they show on TCM which is why we can seem to get other things done while we’re watching.

I was busy today cleaning bathrooms and the kitchen. I could hear the voice of Fred McMurray in the background, he had such a distinctive voice. It dawned on me that this was a movie I’d never seen before and next thing I knew, I had to sit down and watch “Remember the Night”.

“Remember the Night” stars Fred McMurray, as a New York district attorney and Barbara Stanwyck, whose character is caught shoplifting on Christmas Eve, you guessed it, in New York city. McMurray somehow manages to have her released in his custody and takes her home to Indiana with him to spend the holiday with his family. One thing leads to another and they end up falling in love.

The movie, written by Preston Sturges, was produced in 1940 and is a romantic comedy. I really enjoyed the bantering between the characters and look forward to watching it again sometime.

TIVO Guilt?

My husband and I were watching television (live) the other night and a story caught my attention – TIVO guilt.  This is a fairly new phenomenon affecting many television viewers who subscribe to TIVO (or DVR).  Personally, while I do believe TIVO is the greatest invention since sliced bread, I don’t suffer from TIVO guilt.

TIVO guilt is described as being the guilt a person feels after recording shows and then never getting around to watching them.  I think the only shows I have yet to watch are the final 3 episodes of Alias, one of my all time favorites.  I don’t really feel guilty about not watching it though, I know I will watch it, eventually!

You see, for us, we are sort of forced to watch the shows we record because our TIVO is somewhat full.  My husband likes to record movies from the commercial free channels and they tend to fill up our recorder.  He never deletes those movies, drives me nuts, but he does watch them every now and then so, I just deal with it.

How about you, do you have TIVO guilt?