Saturday, November 28, 2009

Friday, November 27, 2009

Thanksgiving with Cookies and Folks

HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING
Well, I intended to do this Wednesday night, but as with all things that happen around the holidaze I got all tied up. So, to keep it short, I wanted to share with folks that I think we should be thankful this year because it seems things are going in a better direction in many facets of life for folks. We're still struggling, but we do have our health, talents, friends, family, shelter, food, clothes, work, money...the necessities of life. All of these, most especially friends, are gifts from a higher power above us. So, in my prayers I always thank God for what I have, but Thanksgiving morning I did without asking for anything!

SESAME STREET'S 40TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK

If you're like me and a fan of Sesame Street, this is an ideal book to pick up. I wasn't crazy about the front cover because it's like a hodgepodge collage of images, even including Bert and Ernie on it twice; but, the back cover is nice and should have been the front cover.

The interior covers of the book feature Cookie Monster rather than Elmo, which I expected, and I think Cookie was a great choice. I also liked that Cookie looks at the DVD and thinks it's a cookie!

Another thing I like about the book is the history, the making of the show, the characters, the actors, and bios about folks like Jim Henson (Kermit, Ernie), Frank Oz (Cookie, Grover, Bert), and Richard Hunt (Placido Flamingo, Forgetful Jones). I also like seeing the performers handling the puppets in such a nonchalant way--after all, Frank has Bert in a choker hold!

There were other behind the scenes stories and trivia which is neat, with photographs never seen before such as Snuffy in storage, or Carroll Spinney reading a newspaper wearing Big Bird's legs.

I also think it'll be a great opportunity for folks to SEE the first episode because it is included on DVD in the book. Wait'll you see the video about where milk comes from that is in the show--you'll want to slit your wrists!

Out of 100 jelly beans, I give the book 95 jelly beans--of the Jelly Belly variety--because this book is chock full of great images, a dvd, and reading with an SRP of only $40, and you can actually get it less costly online. Be sure to check it out for a low price of $21.60 at Amazon.com.

LOOKING FOR FOLKS I LOST TOUCH WITH
If you're reading this and your name is below, please contact me to let me know how you're doing:

Vernita LeSure from Holly Springs, MS
James Mullis, a best pal of mine from Munford, TN
Vincent or Angela Palazola, Memphis, TN

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Zeke by Kev

Not the farmhand who becomes the Cowardly Lion in Oz (the movie was never as proper as reading the book). But, from the sci-fi western book West World by Ed Crandell, I've taken his art and created a bit of fan art of one of his characters. Enjoy!


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Turtles, Music and Oz

Hello, folks!


After my prior post about my performance "assisting" the Mississippi Riverkings' mascot, Sheldon, I was asked about the drawing which accompanied it. Sometimes, I like to do a very quick doodle to put online with my posts--nothing fancy, nothing finished. Just a little something extra to go along with the reading.
Now, here are some updates:
SHELDON AT THE SOUTHAVEN LIBRARY
Sheldon the Turtle made an appearance Monday, November 9th, at 6:30 pm for Family Night at the Southaven Library.
a) Sheldon arrived in time to meet up with some of the kids who showed up, and they listened to a story told by Ms. Nettie about How The Turtle Cracked His Shell. Ms. Nettie said it was an ancestor of Sheldon's, but he wasn't sure what that meant so she explained it to him.
b) After story time, there were refreshments of lemonade and cookies followed by coloring. Sheldon drew a self-portrait and colored the turtle from the story with the kids.
c) Sheldon then posed with some of his friends: Uriel of the Mississippi Riverkings, Lin Workman, DaMarco Randle, and Ms. Nettie.
It was a very fun evening--unfortunately, as I was 'assisting' Sheldon I was unavailable to have my own picture with him this time. But, that's okay!!

(Photos by Lin Workman, DaMarco Randle).



CHURCH GOINGS ON: Music and Oz!
Well, lately I've been going to First Congregational Church on Cooper Street (in the historic Cooper-Young district) in Memphis, TN. They are a very nice church with lots of outreach programs that I think are worth participating in, such as Food for Families. They also are really supportive of the arts.
















If you know me, and I bet you do, you know I happen to love Wizard of Oz. The church allowed the Memphis Ballet company to come in for open rehearsals for their Wizard of Oz Ballet. I didn't get any of the performers' names, but these photos show them. The choreographer was there and said he'd spent over a year searching for music to which the dancers would perform. It was pretty awesome to watch them all gracefully dance. In this image, the characters are here, but not in costume. I'm sure you can figure Tin Man and Dorothy, but can you guess which of the other two are The Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow?
What else do I love? Classical Music. The Eroica Ensemble performed that same Saturday in the sanctuary of the church. In an earlier post I mentioned Anthony Gilbert, now you can see the whole orchestra! The performance was seamlessly beautiful, and I really regretted seeing it end as my ears were filled with the most beautiful sounds they'd heard in a while.


Finally, I was asked what I did for
HALLOWEEN!!
I actually celebrated in different ways:
1) MSCA 10/2/2009 "A Nightmare On Broad Ave." art show as part of the Broad Avenue Art Walk. I had several paintings, including Cookie Monster which I showed in a prior post.
2) Lisa's Halloween Party. It was held for fellow employees, but I had an opportunity to go, as did my roomie, Marco.
3) Lin Workman's "Famous Villians" art show, in which he displayed his larger-than-life airbrushed portraits of some of the greatest villians in movie history.
My costume was, obviously, a Scarecrow (albeit not the one from Oz). Marco made his costume called "James D. Crowe," playing off the name "Jim Crow." And then Lisa was there dressed as...that. :)

Friday, November 6, 2009

Kevin Supports Sheldon


Monday, November 9th, Kevin Williams will be helping Sheldon of the Mississippi Riverkings hockey team...from the inside out.
The performance will be for "Family Night at the Library" from 6:30 pm until 7:30 pm at the Southaven Library at 8554 Northwest Drive in Southaven, MS.
It is a free event, so feel free to come join in the fun!
For more information, contact Nettie Moore at 662-342-0102.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Spacey Monkey!!


Well, I found this picture of Sam the Rhesus monkey online and suggest that you click on the image to learn more about him, but I was inspired to do a little more with it after the way it looked because it cracked me up. See the video below that the monkey inspired!

Monday, November 2, 2009

That Darn Cat!

Well, everyone knows that I hate cats. I've never liked them. They make me itch and sneeze, and watery eyes and sinuses are horrible. They gross me out to see them eat, and when compared to many dogs they are just plain ugly. Everyone knows this, right?


Well, not long ago my roomie and I came back from a jaunt to the local store. We pull up into the driveway and unload the car, and on one trip to the car I notice a kitten looking out from underneath it. This kitten has decided to see what the humans are up to! So, I kneel down and click my tongue and meow trying to get his attention. Some many minutes later, here he comes.

I play with the kitten a bit, and so does my roomie. The kitten climbs up into my lap and just purrs and loves on me, and I keep petting him while photos are taken. But, a storm is brewing and I don't want to just leave this kitten outside.


So, I tell Marco, my roomie, that we can probably put him in the back bathroom, but just for tonight, because I don't want cats in the house. I hate them. Later in the evening, Marco comes to the back bathroom and looks over the cardboard wall I had constructed to keep the cat from getting loose in the house, and there he finds me on the floor petting this kitten.


"How's the cat doing?" He asked.


I replied, "Casper is doing fine."


WHAT?! I just named the cat. WHY?! Why did I do that? And you know what they say about any animal you name...


"Oh, heck," I said, "get your shoes on. We need to go get him a collar, food, bed, and toys."


When you name, them, you have to keep them. Here is a few recent pictures of my pet cat, Casper.



















And now, just because I think it's cute: