Off Topic!, For all our "general" off topic tendencies Options

[stefanl]

I saw the Mummers at a festival in southern NY but it was many years ago. Maybe they were trying to recruit or expand their tribe. I knew about them from when I lived in Delaware so they didn't seem strange to me, but now that I think about it, that one time was the only time I've heard of them in New York State. Thanks for the link.

The Mummers can be a little off putting when you don't know why these grown men look like they've raided Liberace's closet.

[Flatpack]

Ha! Mummers everywhere!
At the end of the performance do yours open a bag for money or pass round the hat? Ours do. Guess there has always been that link between Drama and commerce!!!! Those early actors were outsiders,moving from village to village,and very eager to explain that they were not beggers or vagabonds.There was something a little dangerous and uncontrollable about these people who were outside the known community.

[abfirefighterchi...]

Did anyone participate in the National Night Out campaign this evening(Tuesday)? There was a church in town that organized one for our area, and the our fire company was there.

[Flatpack]

What is that,Abfirfighter?

Oh i forgot...all you GERARD DEPARDIEU fans! Guess what,we are in luck. there is a day devoted to his work on Sky Indie channel...but you have to live in UK or thereabouts! one of his latest,"36" is on,made in 2004. I am not a fan of his post 2000 work,prefer the earlier stuff,however this one is about cops and robbers so may interest others.

This post has been edited by Flatpack: Aug 8 2007, 02:29 AM

[Rose Bush]

Regarding the Night Out, my inner city neighborhood (which has had 4 shootings in the last 8 months--one death) had a parade at 9 pm on the street we need to take back. Of course, the dry weather ended Tuesday afternoon and we had a downpour but it had stopped by 9 and I heard a bunch of kids whooping and hollering. I'm eating dinner at 9 and I'm off to work at 10:30 so I didn't see much, but a lot of people had their porch lights on. I'll hear about the events in a couple of hours when the early news programs go on.

And regarding Mr. Depardieu, Lincoln Center is showing all of his films in the month of August. I thought of you, Flatpack, when I saw it listed on their website: http://www.lincolncenter.org I superstitiously have not posted the fact that I am going to New York City for the first time in this millenium. My sister's health was good when I bought my tickets and booked my hotel (The Algonquin--no beating the Irish for class, eh?) and then my sister had a setback and I thought I wasn't going to be able to go. But her wonderful surgeon has set her right, for a while, and I am going next week, the 14th through the 17th. I wouldn't have picked August to go but the two plays I wanted to see, Nixon/Frost and The Year of Magical Thinking are both closing this month so it was now or never. Say a little prayer for this being the coldest August in NYC history for me, please.

I'm taking the laptop so I can post while I'm there. I don't think I'll go to Chelsea Piers because of my fear of having a psychotic break if I were to see the object of our obsession. But who knows who I might see in New York, certainly I'll see Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Langella and I was a fan of both of them before I'd ever heard the name Vincent D'Onofrio. And I have a ticket for Regis and Kelly for the 15th so I'll see them and their guests too.

Flatpack, I've bought a little notebook to write my thoughts and observations on my Manhattan adventure and I did it because of your descriptive posts on life on the West Coast of Ireland. I'll try to channel your creativity and see The City through an artist's eyes and post some just for you. The rest of you can read them too but don't expect me to be as illuminating as Flatpack at first.

[Flatpack]

Id really be interested in that JMI....your New York observations. Will you be going to that spot they used in the filming of Blind Spot,that subterranean street with rock facing. Somebody said it was near Wall Street?
Anyway you are a writer arent you,so you will see all the nuances.

And Depardieu as well? What a treat!
All you need now is a sighting of LOCI filming.

I am going now but good luck with that visit

This post has been edited by Flatpack: Aug 8 2007, 03:21 AM

[DonnaLJo]

Oh JMI, have a wonderful time in NYC!! .

If you want to feel close to VDO but be assured you won't run into him, do the NBC Experience Tour, or just visit the Store at Rockefeller Center. Hard to explain, but I felt connected to the show there, seeing where they had the DVD signing (it takes so little for me....... )

This post has been edited by DonnaLucy: Aug 12 2007, 09:46 AM

[hullbound]

Hope you have great time JMI!!!
Re: Chelsea Pier-does anyone remember a movie (or it might have been a TV show) involving a kidnapping. I think the kid was taken when they were at Chelsea Pier.

[krodgers]

JMI, have a great and safe trip!!

[CI fan]

Regarding the Night Out, my inner city neighborhood (which has had 4 shootings in the last 8 months--one death) had a parade at 9 pm on the street we need to take back. Of course, the dry weather ended Tuesday afternoon and we had a downpour but it had stopped by 9 and I heard a bunch of kids whooping and hollering. I'm eating dinner at 9 and I'm off to work at 10:30 so I didn't see much, but a lot of people had their porch lights on. I'll hear about the events in a couple of hours when the early news programs go on.

And regarding Mr. Depardieu, Lincoln Center is showing all of his films in the month of August. I thought of you, Flatpack, when I saw it listed on their website: http://www.lincolncenter.org I superstitiously have not posted the fact that I am going to New York City for the first time in this millenium. My sister's health was good when I bought my tickets and booked my hotel (The Algonquin--no beating the Irish for class, eh?) and then my sister had a setback and I thought I wasn't going to be able to go. But her wonderful surgeon has set her right, for a while, and I am going next week, the 14th through the 17th. I wouldn't have picked August to go but the two plays I wanted to see, Nixon/Frost and The Year of Magical Thinking are both closing this month so it was now or never. Say a little prayer for this being the coldest August in NYC history for me, please.

I'm taking the laptop so I can post while I'm there. I don't think I'll go to Chelsea Piers because of my fear of having a psychotic break if I were to see the object of our obsession. But who knows who I might see in New York, certainly I'll see Vanessa Redgrave and Frank Langella and I was a fan of both of them before I'd ever heard the name Vincent D'Onofrio. And I have a ticket for Regis and Kelly for the 15th so I'll see them and their guests too.

Flatpack, I've bought a little notebook to write my thoughts and observations on my Manhattan adventure and I did it because of your descriptive posts on life on the West Coast of Ireland. I'll try to channel your creativity and see The City through an artist's eyes and post some just for you. The rest of you can read them too but don't expect me to be as illuminating as Flatpack at first.

I hope you have a wonderful trip to NYC. I laughed right out loud when I read your comment about having a psychotic break if you saw VDO. I think it's worth the risk. Psychotic breaks are highly underrated. A good one can get you lots of rest and dreamtime. Enjoy the city!

[kathsmith06]

Sorry to invade your space folks, I did not find a forum for the marvelous show Raines, so I decided to ask this here, seeing that it was off topic and such. Why did NBC not decide to continue with Raines? Has it been officially shelved or just blown down the crapper completely? I thought it was well written, very smart, and a well rounded great show. I even DVR'd the ones I could. I even posted a comment here at NBC back in the late spring when there were rumors of not renewing it. Can anyone give me an answer? Thanks.

[Flatpack]

Still raining here,but the music festivals go on regardless! We are off to hear stone age music today! Apparently we will be transported back to hear the sounds as they would have heard them!!!!! I will have to suspend disbelief i think! Anyway it will be fun.

[AstonMartin]

Sorry to invade your space folks, I did not find a forum for the marvelous show Raines, so I decided to ask this here, seeing that it was off topic and such. Why did NBC not decide to continue with Raines? Has it been officially shelved or just blown down the crapper completely? I thought it was well written, very smart, and a well rounded great show. I even DVR'd the ones I could. I even posted a comment here at NBC back in the late spring when there were rumors of not renewing it. Can anyone give me an answer? Thanks.

Hi, Sorry, I have no idea, but I'm sure some of the boffins here will know.

[stefanl]

Hi, Sorry, I have no idea, but I'm sure some of the boffins here will know.

I always thought it was just a mid-season replacement that was only meant to go for 8 or so episodes and it ran its course. Whether or not it is brought back is up to NBC and I haven't seen anything either way.

[DonnaLucy]

Hi, Sorry, I have no idea, but I'm sure some of the boffins here will know.

I read that the ratings weren't good enough. It's a shame, the network never gave it a chance to build an audience. NBC was reeling with quite a few clunkers, and needed a quick hit. They did the same thing to The Black Donnelly's & Andy Parker. PI.

Too bad. Maybe someone will write Jeff Goldblum another series. He's great.

[AstonMartin]

Still raining here,but the music festivals go on regardless! We are off to hear stone age music today! Apparently we will be transported back to hear the sounds as they would have heard them!!!!! I will have to suspend disbelief i think! Anyway it will be fun.

So how was the stone age music then?? We went to Wales last year and - quite unexpectedly - ended up listening to a lunch time concert by this amazing band (ContraBand) who played medievel music with authentic instruments. It was - for me anyway, not sure about my boys - the highlight of the trip.

[kathsmith06]

I read that the ratings weren't good enough. It's a shame, the network never gave it a chance to build an audience. NBC was reeling with quite a few clunkers, and needed a quick hit. They did the same thing to The Black Donnelly's & Andy Parker. PI. <_<

Too bad. Maybe someone will write Jeff Goldblum another series. He's great.

I loved Andy Barker PI also. Thanks for answering my question.

This post has been edited by kathsmith06: Aug 11 2007, 03:50 PM

[lolatreee]

thanks for the salsa verde recipe. I'll try it this weekend.

The Mummers can be a little off putting when you don't know why these grown men look like they've raided Liberace's closet.

I've seen this sort of acting troup. It's quite popular ( ok, not hugely popular but if your interested in finding it, there are quite a few troupes around the Philly area. Not the same as busking. The ones I've seen take great pride in staying true to the period. they would only wear costumes and makeup found during that era - middle ages or maybe earlier.

Very fun if you get the chance you should go to see it.

[Just my imaginat...]

Okay, I'm back from my 4 days in NYC. I did not go to Chelsea Piers but I did see it as the plane circled Manhattan as we arrived. Doesn't count though, right? I did ask my neice who lives on Staten Island if she had seen them filming the movie Staten Island. She said she hadn't seen any movie crews recently but Law & Order filmed around her a lot. She said her neighbor had just gotten pictures of THE ITALIAN GUY! I asked calmly because we were in a crowded restaurant--VINCENT D'ONOFRIO? She said yes and seemed confused as to why her usually sane aunt was throwing a fit over her gnoccis. After I calmed down I asked her if she would let me know by e-mail in the future as to whether they are filming anything anywhere near her. She asked me what I would do if they were filming (I think she's afraid I'll jump in my car and drive the 7 hours to see them) and I told her I'd post it on the NBC Boards for all my fellow fanatics who live in the NYC area.

She also told me that a lot of The Soprano cast members live on Staten Island. She has met Michael Imperioli and his twin brother. I was not a fan of The Sopranos and only knew Michael from movies and when he filled in for Jesse L. Martin on the mothership. I'll keep on her to tell me when she sees things being filmed and post them here.

NYC in August is way too hot for me and the throngs of people around Midtown was ridiculous. I will never go to NYC in the summer again! Of course, that's what I said after my nephew got married in Queens in July 11 years ago. I did enjoy a few hours in Central Park and The Paley Museum of Media and The NY Historical Society. I'm glad I caught The Year of Magical Thinking and Nixon/Frost before they left Broadway. Vanessa Redgrave was so wonderful and Joan Didion's writing was the best she's ever done. I started crying 5 minutes into the play. It's a one-woman show and Redgrave's continuous monologue with difficult medical terminology and with an American accent just blew me away. Langella was very good too playing Nixon too. That has to be the hardest real person to portray and I think Langella, like most of us, was never really sure what Nixon was feeling from his words. I remembered the interview as a close-up of Nixon's face and the man had learned from his Chinese friends to be inscruitable. Langella got to use his whole body and let us see the nervousness and tension that you couldn't see on television. The end affected me strangely. I started to cry as he finally (sort of) admitted his wrong doing. I actually felt sorry for Nixon by the end of the play, but not as sorry as I did for America having to live through that era.

As I recall the 2 plays that were the reason for me going to NYC, I see that I was setting myself up for depression, but visiting The Paley Museum and viewing Signs of Life and a This is Your Life Betty White and Dick Van Dyke and a really young Johnny Carson and Tuesday Weld on What's My Line cheered me up after Magical Year, and cocktails at The Algonquin and Smith and Wolensky Grill (3rd and 49th where my nephew works--ask for Bernie) cheered me up.

And for the real adventure of my vacation, my flight Friday night was cancelled because of a lightning storm North of NYC. And what did I do--rented a car and drove home alone at 10:30 at night, through a thunderstorm in a strange car, when I had been awake since 6 am. I got to my house at 6:40 a.m. Saturday feeling like Wonder Woman. I think I can do anything now. Thanks USAirways for building my self confidence.

Sorry for the long post but I don't get out much anymore.

JMI

[AstonMartin]

Okay, I'm back from my 4 days in NYC. I did not go to Chelsea Piers but I did see it as the plane circled Manhattan as we arrived. Doesn't count though, right? I did ask my neice who lives on Staten Island if she had seen them filming the movie Staten Island. She said she hadn't seen any movie crews recently but Law & Order filmed around her a lot. She said her neighbor had just gotten pictures of THE ITALIAN GUY! I asked calmly because we were in a crowded restaurant--VINCENT D'ONOFRIO? She said yes and seemed confused as to why her usually sane aunt was throwing a fit over her gnoccis.
........................

Sorry for the long post but I don't get out much anymore.

JMI

Sounds like you had a terrific time. Thanks for the long post!!! "That Italian Guy" People just don't appreciate it do they?!