Whatever Wednesday - & Juliet

Treated myself to another excellent  Broadway touring production - & Juliet at Dallas' Fair Park Music Hall.  I had an orchestra seat with a grand view of the stage. 

Big twist on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet with current pop tunes to  help the tale.  Basically Anne is not happy with the ending to her husband Will's  latest play. Options  and rewrites are explored. 

Rachel Simone Webb (Juliet) was  stunning - gorgeous young  lady with a fabulous voice.  The whole cast was tremendous.  The  songs (example - Larger Than Life, Show Me  the  Meaning of  Being  Lonely,  Oops...I  Did It  Again, and so many more) applied well to the situations that Juliet  explored.

Just a clever take on an old love tragedy.  The audience left the theater smiling.  Sunday matinees are THE best. 
 

Monday Moments - Love

 Sending some Love on a Monday.    We all need it. 

Hope  that March wind doesn't  blow  us away. 

Finally Friday - Donuts ...

 Donuts and Other Proclamations of Love by Jared Reck is a delightfully sweet book. Such a surprise treat.  I bought this for two dollars at our local library book sale.  It was worth the  price and more. 

Oscar, our  narrator, is a hoot and a wise young man. His voice is rich, his story is one of pluck and verve.  I loved that  it took place in Gettysburg PA - home turf for me.  I  enjoyed the tone of the book and the location settings. 

Oscar and his Swedish grandfather run a food truck together.  Lou, a high school "frenemy" hijacks Oscar's life, so to  speak. Together they use wasted cafeteria apples to spread delicious apple  crisp, apple cider, apple muffins and  more into the town.   (cover blurb)

Oscar never expected this relationship.  His future is uncertain.  His strong grandfather is a fan  of Lou, and then the unthinkable happens. 

I can't say more.   Read this really sweet book and root for the characters.  It's an immigrant tale, a love story, and search for one's future.   And....yum...donuts!  The book makes you hungry! 

Whatever Wednesday - Irving Arts Center variety

A little stir crazy from  some cold blustery Texas days. Where  better to go for a little jaunt than the Irving Arts Center? They put on the nicest displays and  it is free to stroll the galleries. 

Rachel Black's oil painting are lovely. I  felt as if I was in the  various  state parks she visited to paint  nature scenes.   Vibrant colors and nifty perspectives. 

Sudeep Kumar - Invisible Spaces: Watercolors and Drawings.   His urban works brought an old fashioned tone to modern day utilities and such. I liked his watercolors. Almost a sepia  touch.  Very subtle colors. 

LeUyen Pham's illustrations are SO FUN. Huge variety of characters for  various series. She  worked at Dreamworks, then went  on her own to  award winning works.  Over  one hundred books (as an illustrator) bring joy to  children.  She's also written and illustrated her own stories. This  whole gallery was  delightful to peruse. 

On the serious  side,  in honor  of Black History Month, the center featured works from the  Arthur Primas  Collection.   Charles White's  work captured my eye.  His etchings like Cat's Cradle above are fantastic.  He is deceased, but his  works live on fortunately. 
 

And a little  humor as February comes  to  a close.  Weather  has been wacky!

No  doubt March will  throw  us some curveballs  too - Lion  or lamb?

Monday Moments - Pioneer in News

 I was perusing the library memoir stack, and plucked out Connie - a true  treat of a memoir.  What a story and, frankly,  an inspiration. Connie Chung, at age 23 (a daughter of immigrant Chinese parents - and yes, she was born in the USA and is American), began working in Washington  DC as a CBS correspondent. 

Cover blurb - Chung describes her career as an Asian woman in  a white male-centered world. Overt sexism was a way of life, but she  stayed tenacious in  her pursuit of stories.  She made history when she achieved her dream of being the first woman to co-anchor The CBS  Evening News and the first Asian to anchor any news program in the U.S. Nothing is off limits- good, bad, or ugly.  

I enjoyed this memoir and Connie Chung's humor shines through. She herself says she was viewed as a "China doll" until she opened her mouth and blasted old white dudes with frank answers.  Fortunately, a hero of hers, Walter Cronkite, was a true stand up guy and supported her climb in the ranks.  Let's say Dan Rather - um, not so much.  She names names, she discusses the frustrations she encountered and how she just had to work harder.  She had dreams, and pretty much achieved them. 

She is also married to Maury Povich, the longtime daytime talk host. She discusses having a late in life marriage, being a step-mom, and the difficulty in becoming a mother, and thus pursuing adoption. 

Quite the life story. I enjoyed reading Connie Chung's memoir, and would no doubt enjoying sitting down for tea and a chat with her.  

Finally Friday - The Survivors by Jane Harper

 Jane Harper is a very reliable mystery murder writer and I like her Australian settings.  The Survivors is a page turner and Harper kept me guessing up until the grand reveal. 

Kieran Elliott's life changed forever on the day a reckless mistake led to devastating consequences. (cover blurb)

Kieran, his partner Mia, and baby girl, Audrey are back "home" to help his parents move to an assisted living. His mother is worn down caring for his father dealing with dementia.  Lingering overhead is the death of Finn and other close friends back on that fateful storm day. 

Now a body has been discovered on the beach. Long held secrets emerge.  cover blurb - a sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away...

A memorial statue called The Survivors sits out from the beach, near the caves. It's a constant presence haunting so many other survivors of that fateful day. As the waves crest, as the police question, tensions rise...Whodunnit?   

Whatever Wednesday - oh my goodness

 I am writing up this post in January after a whole lot of  shock and awe. 

I reflect on the Holocaust Remembrance Day in January and I wonder if anyone in the current administration even remotely has read The Diary of Anne Frank,  Night by Elie Wiesel, etc, etc, etc. 

Has anyone considered the "small jobs" that have been carried on forever that do keep the nation running?  Just a mass obliteration without any thought whatsoever seems a tad extreme. 

Sure, review jobs, dollars, etc.  I agree there is waste and that should be addressed - line by line.   But just a slash and burn......seriously?

Read Michael Lewis's The Fifth Risk about the first Trump admin.   It is a scary assessment. 

I worked for  a company that provided satellite support for  NOAA.  It's one of those behind the scenes operations that is actually important for the world.  To have that dropped...out of science ignorance - OMG. Duh. 

I could go on, but the folks that should be reading and thinking are NOT.     Huge Sigh! 

Carry on, folks.   Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling......