DO YOU EVER WATCH TV?

Not too long ago, we received a text message from a “reader” that asked us a simple and to the point question. The text message just read “Do you ever watch TV?”

First of all, we can’t state if this text message is something that is in line to this news service as this I don’t normally solicit any input to what we do through text. Emails for sure, but not text messages. Nevertheless, we will go ahead to reply to this curious mind that exists within the 747 area code.

To give you a simple answer to that simple question is “Yes”. However, it’s not in the same method as anyone else would within this domestic society.

As some of you may know, I am a media archivist. This isn’t something that can be called a “side hustle”, although it appears to be conceived that way. What I do is to catalog various videotapes I have received over the many months and years reviewing the content that was recorded on these tapes. What I do look at varies in content. Some of it can be home videos featuring subjects that are akin to a traditional home movie, such as families on vacations, meeting for holiday based events, kids fooling around with the camera, and with the occasional home made “sex tape”–a subject worthy enough for its own column. And there are the occasional recordings of feature films either recorded through an off-air TV source, or from a copy extracted from a commercial pre-recorded tape.

But what I look for is television programs that were for the most part, recorded off the air for either a later viewing or for something that was worth keeping. This method of time shift viewing (a name that media experts adapted) started as early as 1976 for the first Sony Betamax owners. A year later, the first VHS machines came on the market where folks were able to record a favorite program to view at a more convenient time. When (or if) the recorded program was viewed by the person who set up the recording, it would be eventually erased to use the tape again for the same purpose. If it was saved, it was either done with an intentional purpose, or the tape was tossed aside nearly forgotten.

These are the tapes I tend to deal with as many of the programs I have seen that were recorded from the late 1970’s well into the early 2000s. Some are monumental events, such as presidential debates or Princess Di’s wedding coverage. Others are sporting games either regular season or playoff matches, or maybe some kind of awards program. (Oscars, Emmys, etc.) But what I look for is obscure episodes of a series that was short lived. There are titles that only ran a selected number of episodes, only to have the network cancel the show. Syndication of TV reruns were usually not done if the series has less than 100 episodes. If a series created only a handful of episodes, that program would fall into oblivion, never to be seen again. No syndication packages, no home video releases, and no streaming anywhere!

And this is where I come in where I will watch an episode of a series long forgotten, to only make it available to anyone that holds the desire to view the program, either for research, reference, or for general amusement, although I tend to give access for the first two reasons.

Not too long ago, I watched an episode of the TV sitcom titled The Duck Factory. This was a series that starred Jim Carrey in his first leading role as a cartoonist who gets his big break working at a failing animation studio. It also featured character actor Jack Gilford as a fellow cartoonist, and Don Messick as a voice actor. Messick was in reality a cartoon voice guy who did a lot of stuff at Hanna-Barbera. The series itself ran on NBC in the spring and early summer of 1984 for only a dozen or so episodes. The show itself was amusing, but far from becoming a “classic”. It aired at the time when the TV networks were starting to have their audience erode due to the rise of cable TV. It won’t be for another ten to fifteen years when the “big three” (later “big four, five, and six”) would see cable TV as a real threat.

There are other titles, but The Duck Factory was just an example. So when I do watch TV, it’s usually based on a work assignment rather than for something I look at to “zone out!”

And does watching videos via YouTube count as “TV”? Yes and no, depending on who or what you ask. Smart TV devices will allow you to watch YouTube content via a big screen set, while it’s possible to view traditional TV channels once limited to a cable TV set up on a mobile device. So if one desires to view the latest antics presented by Mr. Beast on a 72” screen, or to catch a ball game through a hand held smartphone sporting a 7” screen, then that’s watching TV.

Well, I’ver got to get back to my work going through a load of videotapes I should have looked at already, even if I an attempting to catch of with viewing programs some 40 years after the fact! As they say, better late than never….!

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The Actors’ Gang Theatre of Culver City presents Tim Robbins in TOPSY TURVY, a musical take of a Greek tragedy and classic vaudeville that speaks upon a crisis and the aid from the gods to assist.

Set within a universe of the then and now, a Greek chorus is set among some sort of a disorder in the guise of a mysterious infirmity set among its people. Pandemonium is let loose, but only the gods of myth or mayhem are summoned to bring among to its people calm and sensibility, only to have such peace interrupted in the form of a frantic vaudevillian-esque troupe of players. They are at hand not only to bring humor, but to show that such a tragedy can bring healing. And that healing is created through the human spirit.

Tim Robbins, star of stage and screen, created this single act theater piece when he faced isolation while living in London, U.K. during the height of the pandemic. With an original music score composed by Robbins and Mikala Schmidt, he, along with a group of other performers as the chorus that consist of (as listed in alphabetical order), Fazeelat Aslam, J. Claude Deering, Willa Fossum, Stepanie Galindo, Scott Harris, Charlotte Hacke, Chas Harvey, Ayinde Howell, Mariana Jaccazio, Adam J. Jefferis, Molly Kirschenbaum, Mary Eileen O’Donnell, Luis Quintana, Adele Robbins, Tip Scarry, Megan Stogner, and Guebri Van Over (with Melina Fink, Maga Shukar, and Jimmy Berry serving as understudies), this troupe performs as they speak and vocalize upon the elements as faced, and how these mystic and sensible beings can come toward the aid of the humans that coincide, dividing themselves from the frantic mishaps that leads toward udder upheaval.

The musical score presented shows more of the calming effect. The musical accommodation consisting of Dave Robbins on guitar and percussion, Mikala Schmitz and Danice Pinner on cello, Megan Stogner on Melodica, Willa Fossum on piano, and Guebri Van Over of flute, bring more perspective to this production as presented, bringing what is depicted on stage to more modern times rather than the days when Greek culture was more profound in the western world that was known. Rynn Vogel’s costuming shows forth within the Greek chorus’ wardrobe as well as the vaudevillian troupe as witnessed. The latter is more 21st century than what could be found in the days known as “the ancient era”.

This entire production that holds the subtitle as “A Musical Greek Vaudeville”, is far from being another side show with second rate acts that sing, dance, and tell bad jokes. It’s more of a side where comedy does meet tragedy, all there with the sense of rising to the occasion no matter what.

And that is what this production does! It rises toward graveling from a state of miscontrol to a feeling of the soul’s reactions. Whatever one may see things, it always left to a Greek chorus telling it like it is, all within the sense of elegance and anima. It’s not “topsy turvy”, but depicted as an image in full along with a steady musical balance.

TOPSY-TURVY-A MUSICAL GREEK VAUDEVILLE, performs at The Actors’ Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City, until June 8th. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday matinees on May 26th and June 2nd, at 2:00 PM. Post show discussions take place with the cast and crew after each performance on May 24th, 31st, and June 7th.

For more information and to reserve tickets, call (310) 838-4264, or online at http://www.TheActorsGang.org

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IS TIKTOK’S TIME IS UP?

There have been plenty of reports going on over the final fate of TikToc, the Chinese owned portal where it boasts some 170 million users that places their short running videos to express what the user feels is something worth its while to post.

It appears that TikTok holds a huge fan base to those that are of the “Gen-Z” demographic, those born on around 1996 and later. The videos posted consist of many within this demographic (give or take) that do so for attention or related reasons. It’s a place where those “Gen-Zers” tend to receive their news of the day, hour, or minute!

Many of its influencers have reached “fame”. Others are still looking for it. And the rest are famous within their own rights. Some of these users are worth their creation done under professional settings such as a real media studio, complete with professional style lighting, sound, and visual effects. Others use the confines of a vehicle, usually seated at the driver’s seat while parked to have their say. A few even drive around in motion while making their piece. And the rest of them are the rest of them.

Many of these video pieces and their creators hold some amusement. The rest are their attempts to have their say to the world. And anyone can get access to it. It’s a wide open field.

This writer has seen a number of these short video presentations. Some are good, “ok” and just plain amateurish. However, it does give a great way to get one’s face out there in cyberspace for those to see what the content provider has to say.

This method of creating content and having everyone watch is a far cry from what yours truly did some generations ago, when I had to work my tail off (so to speak) and create video based content and have everyone watch. Actually, have everyone who has access to its portal see what you are doing.

Of course, I wasn’t seeking fame, although if fame was ever offered to me, I would have taken it. I was doing what I did to show that I can be unique in an honored way, and have the respect that goes with creating content without being obnoxious or annoying.

Many TikTokers make some kind of living through their short pieces (or so they claim!) Others are seeking some “representation” to possibly grab an endorsement deal. And the rest place a piece for reasons ranging from another fun thing to do to because they can. As long as one has a phone, the TikTok app, and an internet signal, one’s good to go! I state upon using a phone due to the fact that many (or not all) of these videos appear to have a vertical screen ratio and these same creators tend to hold them up in an upright position. Many other pieces I’ve seen use a horizontal screen size and there is more use of video imagery as seen from left to right rather than up and down.

And even if an American based company or entry takes control of TikTok, it would be a big cash cow as whoever would grab it would have a load of subscribers, and even have access to the data it generates. And if anyone knows their smarts, especially in the tech sector, data is gold! And as long as the new owner(s) don’t “F” things up, TikToc will continue to tick as long as those followers keep on following.

Once in a while, we receive inquiries on why AccessiblyLiveOffLine.com doesn’t have a place within the TikTok universe? Perhaps the reason for that is because we need more time to state what we want to say. Besides, we would face a lot of competition. After all, we lost interest in our Facebook entries in recent years. And that place that was once a place for the “younger” generation to use has shifted to the “Baby Boomers” that use their place to inform those about the news the user feels is important, as well as keeping up with those they know of. Again, no offense to those of the age that remember life before everyone was wired 24/7/365, but as long as everyone is pleased in what they do and say to the world out there, we give it an emoji “thumbs up”. And that is until the next big thing comes around, perhaps by the end of the year. Stay logged on for more details!

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HOW I SPENT MY SPRING BREAK

Depending on what one calls a “Spring Break”, that specific period usually occurs sometime between March and April, it’s the traditional time where college age folks would trek down to a warmer location such as Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a week’s worth of beach coming during the day, and partying after hours. Or for those of post-college age, a trip to somewhere else may be in the cards, such as camping in the mountains, lounging along the aforementioned beach areas, perhaps trekking toward a desert location, or somewhere else just for a little “R&R”. Other folks may not go anywhere, but spend that week doing some serious spring cleaning, organizing their personal stuff that’s been accumulating around the house by putting it away, giving it away, selling the stuff online, or even tossing their junk in the trash! Again, it may not be a vacation of sorts, but it does give some folks something to do!

So pray tell! What did this humble writer do during my spring break? Did I head off to where the boys (and girls) are for some serious beachcombing along A1A and go club hopping after the sun set? Did I go on a camping trip far to the mountains? Did I head over to the Coachella Music Festival hoping that Taylor Swift may show up? Or did I spend the week in my garage tossing out the junk that I should have tossed out during last spring break?

I did none of that! I spent my week doing the be-all-to-end-all activity: I was in Hollywood watching old movies!

But not just any old movies! Yours truly attended the annual TCM Classic Film Festival, hosted by the media channel TCM that programs feature films created from the early days of cinema to the dawning of the 21st century. It was the 15th anniversary of this film fest, and the 30th anniversary of a cable TV channel once known as Turner Classic Movies, when this CATV channel first went on the air back in the spring of ’94. It would program features films that media mogul Ted Turner obtained when he bought the MGM studios a decade before for the sake of obtaining their film library, only to dump the studio to somebody else! (He also owned the RKO film library, as well as the feature films created before 1948 by Warner Bros.)

Anyway, before I spent four days in and out of darkened theater spaces at such movie houses as the Chinese Theater and the Egyptian Theater (with a spot at the El Capitan Theater) if not hanging around the Roosevelt Hotel that served as “headquarters” to the fest all located along Hollywood Blvd. viewing films from not so long ago, I spent the day before the fest began taking the newly revised studio tour on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. TCM, as this media channel is now called, teamed up with its parent company now know as Warner Bros. Discovery, to offer this tour looking behind the curtain (so to speak) of how this studio operates, as well as giving the behind the story of how four brothers from Eastern Pennsylvania decided to get into the moving picture business some one hundred years before.

What I was able to see while seated on a tour bus similar to those used on the Universal Studios Tour (minus the slightly tacky effects that the Universal tour offers) was the real working parts of this studio, such as the large and rather dumpy looking sound stages to the studio backlot with the facades of such locations known as “Brownstone Street”, “New York Street”, and even their “jungle” and “rose garden” areas that served as location shots supposedly taking place from South America to the American south.

Perhaps the most amusing stop on the tour was their prop department, where it was a warehouse loaded with big and little props that can be used (and rented out) for dressing any set one can imagine from interiors of spaceships to medieval castles to the oval office of the White House.

It was a far cry from the studio tour I first took way back in 1985 where I transported in a dumpy golf cart from one location to another on its lot. Not only did I got to see the same sights I first viewed way back when (including the prop department!), I even viewed an actual filming on the lot. It wasn’t a movie, but a scene for a now long forgotten TV series called Shadow Chasers, a ABC entry that attempted to cash in on the success of the feature film Ghostbusters. That show itself got ghosted pretty quick as it only lasted on air for two months!

Anyway, back to the TCM fest. There were a number of movies being offered. There were such gems as MGM’s Annie Get Your Gun that was taken from a nitrate print currently housed at the Library of Congress’ vaults, Columbia Picture’s Gidget with (“look at me”) Sandra Dee as the titled character, Paramount’s Rear Window with James Stewart and Grace Kelly, and even moving toward the 1960’s and beyond, from Columbia’s In Cold Blood with Bobby Blake and John Forsythe, Warner Bros.’ Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan sporting that .357 Magnum, and Sony Studio’s The Shawshank Redemption with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman as its leading players.

There were even some movies screened that were amusing in their day but serve as nostalgic pieces such as MGM’s, The Long, Long Trailer featuring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez as “Lucy and Ricky”-esque characters, Paramount’s Clue, based on the board game of the same name (and shown complete with its three endings!), as well as a long forgotten title, Heavenly Bodies, a 1984 B-movie release that attempted to cash in on the success of Flashdance and on the jazzercise/aerobics craze, and filmed in Canada!!! This feature once played in many drive-ins and neighborhood theaters that couldn’t book anything better!

And many of those involved in movies past and present were in attendance. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robins were there for a pre-screening of Shawshank, Seth MacFarland spoke about how his foundation working with the UCLA Film and TV Archive, restored a selection of animation shorts from the 1920‘s, 30‘s and 40‘s created by the likes of Dave Fleischer, Paul Terry, and George Pal, and Leslie Ann Warren spoke before the Clue Screening. (She is best known to play Cinderella in the TV version of Cinderella that CBS remade on color videotape in 1965 and reran for many years afterward!)

Of course, this writer is just skimming the surface as other events occurred. But for those four days (five, including the Warner Bros. studio tour), this humble reporter attended one of the biggest (and best?) movie orgy ever staged!

Although its theme was Crime and Justice In Film, many of the topics discussed and movie screend was far from just cops ‘n robbers. But it was just a place and event where fans of movies could gather together to embrace the form of media that like minded folks can entwine one’s self around without being labeled as “odd”, “out of touch”, or just obsessed over another form of media.

However, people still flock to movie theaters today to watch films far away from one’s home, or on a device that sports a video screen that one can carry around as long as that device is connected to an internet based connection. And during the pandemic where folks were forced to shelter inside away from everyone and everything, movies were one of the elements that people used to keep them from going nuts! And although the pandemic came and sort-of went, that habit still remains. This time, they are willing to plunk down as much as twenty dollars a head to sit inside a moving picture house to view the latest (and greatest?) that comes from Hollywood, USA and places adjacent.

For those that desire to attend the next TCM film fest (its 16th) as well as the Warner Bros. Studio tour, one can get the info online at https://filmfestival.tcm.com/ and

Home

Disclaimer: This writer isn’t getting paid by those through the Warner Bros. Studio tour, TCM, or Warner Bros. Discovery as an endorsement. This is a bonafide review for these events and activities. And if anyone out there did take advantage of either the tour and/or the TCM film fest, we would be honored to hear from you! Drop us a note via our email address and give us your take!

After all, this is the stuff that dreams are made of, and we’ll always have Paris!

Note: Mary Borowy contributed to this article.

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LEAD ME TO YOUR TAKER

Not too long ago, the Department of Defense in Washington, DC released a report on the status of the discovery of life source that came from outside of earth. Generally speaking, if aliens from outer space really exist!

The report, entitled Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Volume I that runs some sixty nine pagers, summed up the findings if aliens are real, and any of them paid a visit from a small planet.

Without going through the government mucky-muck the reports writes about, it stated through its many words that those outer space creatures don’t exist. And if they do, they never made their presence known. The end.

Although there may be more to this story as this report is listed as “Volume 1” (a sequel is in the works?), this may be a disappointment to those fans of outer space antics hoping that there are those “little green men” out there that possess super intelligence that has their own idea of what to do with those earthlings that are in their eyes (or “eye”, or whatever they use to see stuff), are worthless and make great slaves since these “martians” are taking over the earth, and why not use those “earthlings” to do the heavy work while those from Mars can expand their universe?

Yeah, those sound like stuff one would find in a 1950’s-era sci-fi picture. But for many years, many folks did believe that the US government and the Air Force was hiding something. People flock to Area 51 in New Mexico to spend (waste?) their time attempting to get the low down on when (or if) anyone did find those outer space creatures and if any are being captive and preserved for future study.

Granted, yours truly found this report on the government’s take that there is “no such animal”, and again, if they’re out there, they haven’t been coming toward Earth’s direction. And even if they did, would they take over with an invasion of some kind?

I’ll admit one thing. If this did occur, you can bet that social media will be all over it. Just imagine that Facebook posts would form groups as “Moon Men As Your Neighbors”, or Instagram posts would feature pix and posts showing out those “flying saucers” bellowing down from the skies. And don’t get me started on those short videos all over TicTok. Maybe the Chinese were behind this invasion hoop-do-do??

Anyway, this kind of news was presented to distract other more important things that are presently going on such as the current wars, human conflicts and related strife, the US elections, sports book betting apps, and if Gloria Busheatre will pay off those credit card debts she owes. This episode is one of many that exist in the “naked city”.

So take off those hits made from aluminum foil and start using them to wrap those leftovers. You won’t be able to communicate with those outer space creatures out there. Besides, has anyone given the idea that if they are out there, they don’t want to communicate with us? Maybe they are in their ghosting phase. And that’s another topic as that stands!! (Meep-Meep!!)

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(MEDIA) IS DEAD! LONG LIVE (MEDIA!)

When a new(er) form of media is introduced to the public at large, sometimes this new media is set to replace an existing form of media that is closely related to the media.

When this happens, the media that is reporting this new entry will create a story that will have some kind of headline proclaiming that the “old” media is “dead”. To give an example (out of many), the usage and popularity of streaming media, the kind that is delivered via an internet based connection, will take the place of cable TV. Cable TV is delivered through a coax cable that comes from a wire from its source. (in many cases, from a wire strung from a telephone pole attached to a building (usually a home dwelling) through a connection embedded on a wall near the baseboard. That connection has another coax cable attached where on its other end is either a separate set top box that “reads” the signal coming through the wire, and yet another cable is coming to the “out” portion of the box and connects directly into the antenna input of the TV device. Newer sets were labeled as “cable ready” where the set top box is omitted and goes directly into the TV set.

Steaming has a similar connection where either an ethernet cable is attached to a smaller set top box that is the size and shape of a hockey puck and attached to a TV device through an HDMI cable. Newer sets were labeled “smart” sets, meaning one can connect the connection to the TV unit omitting the hockey puck sized box.

So this newer form of media means that cable TV is now “dead”. Not quite “dead” per se, but its usage isn’t as popular as it once was.

This is also in the form of any other media that came through the ages. When cable TV became the “new normal” in the 1980’s, a notion of “antenna TV”, the kind of media where TV signals are captured through an antenna from over the air sources, was declared “dead”. Nobody was going to get their TV signals from a broken down antenna sitting on top of a roof or through a rod antenna attached to the TV set. It will come from a coax cable. (Review paragraph two of this article for a brief explanation on how this works.

And long before that, TV was going to replace radio as a source for entertainment and information. Thus, radio will be “dead” any day now.

And even before that episode, newspapers, that media that printed and reported the news every single day, would be replaced by radio as radio will “read” the news to you! No need to glance at a newspaper to see what’s going on. Radio will tell you, sometimes as the news is happening, or “breaking” in more recent terms.

So whatever became of newspapers, radio, antenna TV, and cable TV? Are they dead and gone? Does anyone have to visit a cemetery to visit radio’s grave? Will newspapers be entirely gone and forgotten. And is cable TV just a memory?

Again, the answers to all of those questions are yes, and no!

First of all, newspapers ain’t what they were in terms of importance and status. Radio did report the news, only on radio’s terms. Unless something disastrous was going on, the only way to hear the news is when a radio station took the time to report the news. Unless the station was “all news”, one just has to wait. And even when any radio reported the news, it would report a happening based upon its importance and interest. If one wanted to find out about that earthquake in Upper Volta, one has to wait until the station reported it, assuming that it would.

Newspapers however, are still around, mostly as an online form through the “newspaper”’s website, or through other on-line sources. Do people seek traditional newspapers to read about what’s going on? Sure they do, yet not as many as it was once was. Though those of a certain age still read the paper whenever they can. Why? They are used to getting their news through that method rather than on one’s phone device. The method of newspapers delivering the news may be dying, but far from being declared as dead.

Getting TV signals through an arial is still possible. But few solely rely on getting TV just through an antenna. But it’s still possible. So antenna TV ain’t dead–yet!

Same for cable TV. Many of the cable providers still offer that form of service, but don’t advertise the fact. Ditto for getting TV programming through a satellite dish. But few request it for many reasons. One is the cost for a subscription, sometimes reaching as high as $200 per month, and the second is portability. Unless one can get programming through the carrier’s phone app, the only way to watch TV is through a large set in one’s dwelling space.

And radio is still around. For those that desire to hear music, stations still program such Same for news, and there’s a lot of talking of subjects around. And thanks to apps available through specific stations or conglomerates, one can still hear a station no matter where one is. Just as long as there’s an internet based connection, one is good to go!

So what’s the fate of streaming media? Nobody has declared that “dead” yet. The only thing that “dies” right now is one’s subscription to a TV channel. And many folks will unsubscribe to a channel when they find that there isn’t a program they wish to watch, or when the program the viewer was bingeing on watched every single episode, they will quit the service. Some folks even subscribe to a service for one or two specific programs. Once those are done, it’s time to move on to the next big thing! So right now, the only thing that’s dead is one subscription to any channel that’s name has a “plus” as its second title.

But then again, it’s nice to reminisce about one’s former love of the media remembering them well. They were born, they lived, and then they are dead. Just cry a few tears while wearing black. Then shift to that new series available on another channel, watch whatever your eyeball (or attention span) can tolerate, and move to the next! At least it was nice to know ‘em!!

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KING HEDLEY II, August Wilson’s play about a young man fresh out of prison who makes an attempt to get his life back together and the people within his family that face their own consequences, makes its appearance at Pasadena’s A Noise Within theater.

Aaron Jennings played the title character. It’s the middle 1980’s, and King has returned back to his neighborhood of the Hill District of Pittsburgh after spending a seven year stretch in the state penitentiary. Sporting a scar on his left cheek from a street brawl, he’s determined to get his own life back in gear and to find a job where he can support his mother Ruby (Varalyn Jones) and his wife Tonya (Kacie Rogers). He does get a job of sorts set up through his friend Mister (Christian Henley) selling refrigerators that may have come from questionable sources. But there are other things King must face. Ruby’s ex-boyfriend Elmore has returned to see if her son is indeed on the up and up, although Elmore himself is a player, and has been so for quite a while. And taking up this pack is the next door neighbor Stool Pigeon (Gerald Rivers), who serves as a streetwise town crier that insists that one must know what’s going on that relies upon a “new age”-esque spiritual force to proceed. With all elements to face, King tries hard not to fall out of grace as he has two others that rely upon him, and must distance himself from those that may have their say for better or worse.

This entry to playwrite August Wilson’s portfolio of plays that take place in every decade of the 20th century. This time it’s the 1980s where American black face their lives in a way where progress has changed little from the decades beforehand. And this play expresses through time. Aaron Jennings as King portrays his role that is far distant that anything royal. He holds good intentions, but life in the “hood” drives him to fall back. Varalyn Jones as King’s mother Ruby is the real “king (or “queen” in this case) of the “kingdom”, although she eventually finds her “king” through Elmore, as played by Christian Henley. Kacie Rogers as Tonya takes upon her mother who tried to have King follow her her ways as she is attempting to do the same. Perhaps the most outstanding character of this troupe is Stool Pigeon as played by George Rivers. He serves as a hold man of sorts who says he knows all and sees all. He may even know how King will even be a changed man, or as another homicide victim.

Gregg T. Daniels directs this play with the intense feel that shows how life was life for blacks in the latter part of 20th century America. (Even the term “African American” would not be coined until the middle 1990s.) And even though the play itself takes place in this period, there is nothing that shows that it’s in the 80s. (No rap or hip-hop music is ever heard or referred to.) The play itself is just as fresh and timely as it was when it was first presented to the domestic stage in the early 21st century! These aspects make this production worthwhile. Perhaps not as a history lesson, but as a history that hasn’t changed, and not necessarily for its better!

KING HEDLEY II, presented by and performs at A Noise Within, 3352 East Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, until April 28th. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM and Thursday, April 25th at 7:30 PM. Special “talk back” presentations with the cast takes place after every Friday night performance.

Tickets can be obtained by calling the theater at (626) 356-3100, or via online at http://www.ANoiseWithin.org

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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

is a presentation of Linear Cycle Productions

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CALIFORNIA THERE I GO AGAIN!

Not too long ago, there was a report that Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, have decided to leave Los Angeles for good, relocating to Palm Beach, Florida.

This news of those leaving Los Angeles is far from news. Many folks have been pulling up stakes to leave Southern California for some time, and those reasons for relocating vary. And for the record, “Southern California” tends to be an area of the state from Santa Barbara and points south, depending on what source is being used. But this writer will use the term “Los Angeles” as reference. That includes the bedroom communities that exist, and perhaps one can count Orange County, another area that holds a personality of its own!

So why are folks leaving Los Angeles? Costs tend to be the reason for the move. Granted, it’s quite expensive to live in the city based on various factors. Politics are noted as well. Folks tend to become dissatisfied with what the political landscape is all about. Other factors such as climate change, the housing situation, and attitudes with residences come into play. Whatever the case, the so-called “golden state” has seen its gold plate tarnish.

For those that are not native Californians, folks have relocated here and stayed for as many reasons why they are moving out. For those arriving, it was an opportunity. Weather also helped. Ditto for the natural spaces that the state possesses. There’s the ocean, the desert, and the mountains and forests areas. It’s quite possible to experience all of these three terrains in a single day. Of course, there’s the travel to and from one place to another, but it can be done. And a few folks that are known to this writer have done that. I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps it’s for bragging rights.

But getting back to coming and going. Yours truly did the coming in part. It was back in the “good old days” of the 1990s. Back then, the internet and cyberspace that is now a way of life was yet to be invented. I came out here to find something in the media. After all, Hollywood was the media capital of the nation, if not the world. And with the TV networks holding shop here, as well as those moving picture studios, why not start here and move up in the corporate world?

Well, I just did that! But in order to do so, I had to figure out what I can do, and how I can do it. To make a long story short, I did! And I learned a lot in the process!

But that was over thirty years ago. How things were in the area are different back then, and what was then are not now. That’s a good thing in some ways, and not too good in others. But as an old saying goes, change means that time is progressing. And that progressing can work for the better.

I have stated (hinted?) that yours truly may take that plunge. I recently have my eye in a community located in the Midwest. I took a trip there last fall, and I am still smitten. The area is far different to where I presently hang my hat. However, I have noticed that things that I do and see are also there. It’s just executed in a different method.

Of course, I came to Los Angeles for opportunity. I did find that opportunity. Not necessarily the same way I expected to find it, but I did. Although I still remain to keep the media at bay, I wish to embrace it within a different method.

So the questions remain. Will I leave the area that I fought tooth and nail to become part of back in the day, or will I sweat it out for a few more days/weeks/months/years? There is no right answer to that question. But from what I have seen and experienced, the way that it was versus how it’s now isn’t going to change. It’s the story of “what was then was then, and what is now is now!”

But hear me out, folks! I still have a lot of elements I must work with. Some are easy to do, while others are more of a challenge. Whatever the case, it’s going to be for the better! If I could make a change for me back then, I can still do it now. It’s just as easy as it’s tough. And it has nothing to do with playing pickleball! (Pickleball??)

Stay tuned…!

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Currently performing as a guest production at the Santa Monica Playhouse is Nick James in his solo show, UNSAVORY FELLOW, his personal tale about a transplanted youth from the Midwestern “rust belt” to freewheeling Santa Monica, where he experiences his share of punks, thrashers, hustlers, and his desire to become another star in nearby Tinseltown.

In his performance, Nick tells the true tale of being a kid from Cleveland who thanks to his stepdad, moves the family to the nearby shores of Santa Monica, complete with the promise of living the good life in southern California. When he arrives as an adolescent in the late 1970s, he experiences what any young male teens would get, taking little heed from his stepdad warning him not to hang with “unsavory fellows”, mostly the lower lifes that are usually found in this city by the ocean. There are the punks of his age, a few a bit older, the donut shop woman he meets that gives him a “gift” for his fourteen-cum-sixteenth birthday, and his wish to be a working actor in a town loaded with working actors. Nick emotes his mini sagas cramming a youthful, later young adult period in a tight seventy five minutes!

And what a tight seventy five minutes! Nick’s performance is funny, strightforth, and just mind blowing because everything he reveals is actually true–since you can’t make up the stuff he tells! Some of what he went through may be of questionable nature as some of what he did could get somebody killed, even worse! But Nick didn’t get killed, so he came out OK for what it was all about!

Speaking from a stage set consisting of a bar located stage right with a mini mockup of a donut shop on stage left, Nick’s stories come alive through these sets. The bar represents a tavern he hung around that was located off the Santa Monica pier, and the donut show is where he met his “love” of his life!

Although Nick did have his ups and downs, he did rise to occasion. He’s presently married with a son. (Not with the woman from the donut shop!) And although he had a few acting gigs here and there as well as being a “filmmaker”, he’s far from being a “star”. But he does shine in this show as performed in the town he made it big–Santa Monica!

UNSAVORY FELLOW, written, directed, and performed by Nick James, is presented at the Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth Street (at Wilshire Blvd.), Santa Monica, until April 27th. Showtimes are Thursday and Saturday nights at 7:30 PM.

Online ticketing can be obtained by visiting https://www.eventbright.com/e/unsavory-fellow-a-one-man-show-starring-nick-james-tickets-789781677257?aff=oddtdtcreator

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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

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DVDs ARE DEAD??

It’s been reported through the media that the Digital Video Disk a.k.a. DVD, that plastic-esquire disk seven inches in diameter with a hole in its center and is able to project audio sounds and moving imagery, is slowing on its way out. Last September, Netflix discontinued its DVD “rental” services–the same system that the company started on. The electronics retailer Best Buy will phase out their DVD selections this year, and of course, the classic neighborhood video rental outlets are nearly gone, but not totally forgotten. And on February 21st, The Walt Disney Company announced that they are allowing Sony to distribute (and perhaps stamp disks) their home video media, meaning that Disney will get out of the home video business. Warner Bros. and Universal has set up a joint venture to the creation and distribution of physical DVDs.

It appears that streaming, a method of offering a title of media program through an internet connection, has been the rave from the last few years. Perhaps the reason why streaming tents are the way to go is because it is easier and cheaper to offer a title to those that desire to consume it (sometimes for free, other times for a subscription fee) through their electronic device that can connect to an internet based connection.

That’s great for cutting corners for those media owners and/or distributors in terms of getting their titles out to a public that holds interest. However, how long the title can become available is yet another reason. One of the grabbed that subscribers to those streaming services out there, the ones with a “plus” next to their name or not, stated that titles tend to come and go, many times without any warning or notice. Some folks subscribe to a specific service just to gain access to a TV series and/or selection of features with the idea that it’s always going to be at their disposal, no matter what. Then one day when they are hankering to view, let’s say, another episode of Sex In The City for the first or 67th time, only to find that it’s not available, not accessible, and just plain gone! And just like that!!

When it comes to physical media, be it a DVD or even a VHS videotape, it will be there for the life of the disk/tape. And since the days of home video, going back as far as 1977 when Magnetic Video, a company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, made a deal with 20th Century Fox to distribute fifty or so of the studio’s best tiles as The King And I, The Sound Of Music, Patton, and others, this form of media was the only way to watch these titles when the viewer wanted to, no matter when or where. That is, assuming one has access to a VCR and TV set to watch what they desired.

When home video exploded in the 1980’s, just about every major studio and those of lesser ranking including Allied Artists and Avco Embassy, offered titles from the hits to catalog titles all on pre recorded VHS videotape, including Beta.

What made this notion of distribution was the fact that well known titles, as well as those lesser ones, were accessible. And if a title never really made an impact on the market, it became “out of print”. However, if one desired to look for it, it could be found either through an independent video rental outlet, or through the used VHS market–down to and including spots as the Goodwill and garage/estate sales!

There were Laser Discs, a format consisting of disks twelve inches in diameter and offering better audio and video quality than what a VHS videotape can provide, also has their titles. Some were specialty titles, but many were movies that were available on VHS.

DVDs eventually phased out videotapes. Since DVDs were smaller in size and a lot cheaper to produce, more of them were created, including boxed sets of feature film series, and even TV shows! Now it was quite possible to binge on one’s favorite series. And it was all there at one’s disposal.

Again, if streaming times come and go, physical media is there for the media’s lifetime. And no matter what one may state. As long as the media is kept in a cool and dry place, it will remain solid for good. This writer has VHS tapes going back to the later 1970s and plays fine. Since DVDs were available from 1997 onward, my title released in the 1990s also came out fine. (Ditto for my 12” Laserdiscs from the 1980s and 90s!!) Unless the DVD is a Blu Ray version, all can be seen as standard resolution.

And yes, my own out of print titles that can’t be viewed no matter where or when. Some of what I have is unique, such as obscure movies, short subjects, and vintage TV shows once distributed by Reel Images of Sandy Hook, Connecticut, to commercial titles from the major studios. Again, the movies I have are semi forgettable, such as Metro, a 1997 Touchstone (Disney) action/comedy release starring Eddie Murphy that resembles a “Beverly Hills Cop” wannabe, Burn Hollywood Burn, another 1997 release from the same studio under Hollywood Pictures that starred Ryan O’Neal, Chuck D., Coolio and Eric Idle that brought the term “An Alan Smithee Film” into the mainstream, and Partners, a 1982 Paramount feature that also starred O’Neal and John Hurt that according to Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, it’s an offensive comical satire version of Cruising another movie title that was released two years before. As far as this writer knows, none of these titles are available in any media or via streaming. But don’t worry if you can’t watch these titles while I can. None of them are very good to begin with!

It will be a while until DVDs are totally gone in terms of newer and existing releases. However, if one desires to have access to a title or titles the consumer desires to have and to hold, then physical media is the only way to go. Again, streaming is easy and convenient, but don’t necessarily expect to be there forever.

So if those are fans of feature films, television programs, or any title that can be captured, make sure you keep your media. Because they will be there forever. (Or almost forever!) Ditto for those that collect records and/or CDs! That long forgotten musical band that has promised to become the next (fill in the blank) but never got there is still at your fingertips for you to enjoy! (Boom Crash Opera anyone…?)

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Theatre Palisades presents for their second program of the 2024 calendar year, Arthur Miller’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, a drama about a working class family who takes in a pair of distant relatives from the “old country”, and the conflict between one of these relatives with the family niece.

The setting is the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York, a working class community where many of its residents are of Italian descent. Many of the abled men work as longshoremen who can earn a good living being strong bodied. The setting opens in 1955 with the Carbone family. An attorney that works with many of the people that reside here, Alfieri (Jason Culp) narrates this saga where he introduces the audience to Eddie (Andrew Chase), his wife Beatrice (Maria O’Conner) and their niece Catherine (Isabella DiBernardino). They all live together in their small yet comfortable dwelling. As part of having strong family bonds, they finally await for the arrival of two of Beatrice’s cousins Marco (Monty Renfrow) and Rodolpho (Darren M. B.) will be arriving from Italy to seek work as longshoremen. As they are “fresh off the boat”, both Marco and Rodolpho have everything they want for their arrival to America, all except their “papers”. As Marco has family back in Italy, Rodolpho has none. But he sports a charming personality that attracts the attention of Catherine. Soon they become a couple. This leads Eddie’s deep concern to protect her from Rodolpho who wants to take Catherine for his own. These aspects become more challenging that leads toward intense grueling conclusions.

This play by one of America’s leading playwrights conceived this story based on what domestic life was like within many of the working class boroughs of New York shortly after World War II where the so-called American Dream was a reality to many. In this Theatre Palisades production, it shows the same spirit to this method of life where hard work, hope, and a bit of faith can bring out success. The players that appear on stage are true to this form of inner being. Andrew Chase as Eddie is the working class joe that is the head of the household that knows better, or should know better. Marie O’Conner as Beatrice is the good wife that stands a close second to Eddie. Isabella DiBernardino as Catherine is a woman ready to take on adulthood as learned by her uncle and aunt. Darren M. B. As Rodolpho is the charming lad that holds better looks and grace than anyone working on the docks can possess, even sporting a decent singing voice. And Alfieri as played by Jason Culp serves as an authoritive figure, and the “bridge” between the working class residence that strives toward a better life ahead.

Not only the characters that perform in this production shows how life was like way back when, the setting also gives that portrayal the same elements. Sherman Wayne, Theatre Palisades”’ resident set decorator, creates a scene consisting of the Carbone home with some well worn furnishings just a decade or two old that makes their living comfortable. It’s the time of middle class life where opportunities are always abound.

In addition to the above noted cast members, David Downs (alternating with Eric Shaffer), and Joshua Farrell appear.

Looking at this play, it shows some of the features of a working class family that the media used to show life of this domestic class, ranging from The Honeymooners (minus the laughs), The Life of Riley (without the comedy), and even On The Waterfront. (For this title, it maintains the heavy drama!) For a stage play of this kind, it only gets better through the ages as this view from its bridge comes from a real theatre community located just a short distance from beaches, rather than from the waterfront docks!

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, presented by Theater Palisades and performs at the Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Road (off Sunset Blvd.), Pacific Palisades, until April 28th. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM.

Ticket reservations can be obtained by calling (310) 454-1970, or through the Pacific Palisades Theatre website at http://www.TheatrePalisades.com

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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

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ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK!

I started to get around to do some well needed Spring Cleaning. This is where I may go through an area of my dwelling place to clear out some of the stuff I accumulated over the many days, weeks, months, and years. Although I’ve lived in my place for some time, I have yet to reach the timeline where I have been living (or keeping stuff) for decades. But give me time, and maybe I’ll reach that plateau.

Anyway, I was going through a closet area where I tend to house my physical media. And what I call “physical media” consists of video and audio tapes, compact disks (CDs) as well as other forms of transcribed visual and/or sounds. Some of the things housed in this closet I actually consumed. A lot of it I haven’t. And based on what is stored there as well as what is recorded onto this media, I may never get around to it.

One element that is stored are the CDs. These disks that have recorded sounds on them consist of mostly music, but I have a few spoken word disks there mostly as “talking books”! And the music ranges from commercial releases of albums of various musicians and bands from a number of genres that are sung in English unless they were instrumentals. And the reason behind why I own a lot of the CDs is the fact that they were all given to me. A few that I have may have been purchased at a garage or estate sale now long forgotten. But most of my collection I received for the incredible price of free!

And one genre of music I tend to own or soundtracks to feature films released in the 1990s and 2000s (known as the “aughts”), There even a few from the 2010s. As far as I can find, I have little to no soundtracks from features released in the 2020s.

I receive a number of these soundtracks so I may consider them to be eligible for an award of some kind, usually for a movie based award that tends to be fobbed out in January through March of a given year. And many of these disks have on their covers, “For Your Consideration”, meaning that these were not commercially released versions. They were created to those industry folks that may choose this soundtrack for the best in their respective category.

Every year, starting around October and lasting through early January, I would get these disks delivered via standard mail from either the studio or group that distributed this title to theaters, or through a PR firm that handles the publicity of the movie Some of these disks feature the music score that is played under the dialogue or action scenes as mood setting music. It’s the kind of sounds that are there, but one doesn’t necessarily notice. And a few consist of an anthology album, with various artists and their tunes that were part of the movie as instrumental music, or played as a mood setting piece. Some soundtrack releases feature additional pieces that never appeared in the movie, but were placed as filler material and listed as “inspired by” whatever the movie called for. One album I have was for the 1996 Warner Bros. release Space Jam that also featured artists whose song isn’t on the film’s soundtrack but is more hip-hop influenced.

I pulled off from its storage place, a black lacquer finished four foot high CD tower shoved along a back wall of a closet that consisted of shelves where CDs can be stored like books on a bookshelf, three CDs. These were the soundtracks for Atonement, a 2007 Focus Feature release with score composed by Dario Marianelli, EasternPromises, another 2007 Focus Feature release with score by Howard Shore, and The Last Mimsy, a New Line Cinema release from 2007 with a score also by Howard Shore.

The first two titles were from commercial releases, meaning one can pick this title at a Tower Records outlet or wherever CDs are sold as new, and the third title, The Last Mimzy, is a version sent to those who vote in movie based awards. That version consists of a cover with the title of the movie decked in the same style and font one would see on its ads, and has For Your Consideration-Best Original Score-Howard Shore on its front. The backside lists the titles of the music scores used in the movie (”Cuddle”, “Under The Bed”, “Help!”, etc.) as well as the title for Best Original Song-Hello (I Love You)” performed by Roger Waters. Each disk was wrapped in cellophane. The Atonement disk has a sticker on its front stating that the music was performed by renowned Classical pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and is the big screen adaptation of Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel.

It’s pretty obvious that I never heard any of these scores as transcribed on these CDs as they are still wrapped up in their cellophane packages. And I don’t even recall seeing any of these movies, let alone remembering them when they were still circulating in movie theaters. So I pulled off my bookshelf, the 2015 edition of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide to get an idea of what these flicks were all about.

According to Maltin and his staff of writers and editors, “Atonement” is a British and US co-production that stars James McAvoy and Keira Knightley and directed by Joe Wright. It was given two stars, and states that Dario Marianelli won the Oscar that year for best original score. “EasternPromises” (no space between the two words) featured Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts and was directed by David Cronenberg. It’s a Canadian-British co-production, and was given three stars. “The Last Mimzy” stars Chris O’Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, and directed by Bob Shaye who, according to Maltin and company, ran New Line Cinema at the time. That film was given one and a half stars, one half star ahead of being rated as BOMB.

As far as this writer knows, none of these titles are available for streaming anywhere, and may be still available on DVD. The soundtrack disks are probably out of print.

I’m sorry that I was not able to hear the soundtracks back when they were in competition for the best in their field. And the reason why I never got a chance to see these films back then are now long forgotten.

This ploy of force feeding film award voters with soundtrack albums continues to the very day. However, the tracks are provided as a collection of MP3 audio films one can download somewhere, or through a streaming service that only available until the end of awards season where they disappear, never to be accessible again. It’s too bad on the latter as I really liked some of the music pieces heard in the 2022 Paramount film Babylon. At least it was fun while it lasted!

So what am I going to do with the unused CDs? I could sell them for whatever I can get for them (as little as $1.00 each), or perhaps give them away. I actually did that last Christmas where I found an “FYC” disk of a single song appearing in a 2015 movie release (whose title is long forgotten) but was performed by (hold on to your hat)…Taylor Swift!! I gave the disk to a friend’s fifteen year old daughter who is a die-hard Swifty!! From what I was told by her mom, her daughter appreciated the disk, but had no access to a CD player! To her, CDs were already outdated media!

That’s Gen-Zers for you…!

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Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills presents INTO THE BREECHES, George Brant’s comic drama about a theater troupe attempting to perform a Shakespearian play and presented with a unique twist, all done for their part in the war effort.

The setting is the Oberon Play House located somewhere in Los Angeles. It’s 1942, and the world conflict now known as World War II is taking its toll. Many of the able bodied men have since been enlisted in the armed forces, including many of the acting troupe that’s part of this theater company. Maggie Dalton (Caroline Westheimer) whose husband was recently called for duty, was set to direct their next production, Shakespeare’s Henirad. With her husband away along with much of their repertory company, she decided to present the show with her directing and using a mostly female ensemble. At first, Ellsworth Snow, (David Datz) a man of means and serves as a backer to this theater, objects to this idea. When his wife Winifred (Jean Mackie) joins the team, he gives his blessing, though a bit hesitant. So with a team of well bodied players with minimal acting experience, their show does go on through their efforts serving for the cause–both for the nation as well as for their own circumstances.

This play that acts as both a comical drama or a dramatic comedy, creates an example of how to deal with a situation that has its own issues but winds up as an idea that rises to the occasion with humble efforts. The cast of players and their characters that appear are Kevin Dulude as stage manager Stuart Lasker that wanted to serve in the war effort but couldn’t for various reasons, Nakasha Norwood as Ida Green, the “colored” costumer for the theater, and Tricia Cruz and Grace Richards as June and Holly respectfully, as the two actresses/actors that round out the theater company.

Jeff G. Rack, Theatre 40’s residential set designer, creates a rather simplistic set that consists of a few furnishings along with a backdrop of hanging vertical banners one would find in a royal castle–very Shakespearian indeed!

Directed by Louis Fantasia, INTO THE BREECHES shows how a pateractic duty gave a chance to show off one’s best efforts, and how these efforts gave support to those that had challenges of their own. The real spirit in this play is teamwork. That was the real result of what World War II did as its theme was “we’re all in this together”. And what better way to show support for the theater is to present a stage play presented on a real stage in a real theater! They’ve done it before, and they’ll do it again!

INTO THE BREECHES, performs at the Mary Levin Cutler Theatre, located within the campus of Beverly Hills High School, 241 South Moreno Drive (off little Santa Monica Blvd.) Beverly Hills, until April 27th. Showtimes are Thursdays, April 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th, Fridays, April 12th, 19th, and 26th, Saturday, April 20th and 27th, all at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, April 21st at 2:00 PM. Additional performances take place Monday, April 1st, Tuesdays, April 2nd and 9th, and Wednesday, April 3rd and 10th, all at 7:30 PM.

For further information and for ticket reservations, call (310) 364-3606, or via the website http://www.Theatre40.org

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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

is a presentation of Linear Cycle Productions

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THE RETURN OF TIFFI PUREWHITE

A few years ago, we created our experiment on posting a number of phony entries on Facebook to see if we were able to obtain personal information from others without prompting this information.

This was long before the notion that is was quite possible to list such details before the scammers, bots, along with those A.I. bandits would eventually take over. But out of the many names we created, only one of these we were able to keep up with: Tiffi Purewhite.

This was enough were we ran a column called Tiffi’s Friends Say.., that consisted of blurbs and one-liners as posted through the “friends” that Tiffi made during her existence. It was a rather popular column, bring our subscription rate through high levels.

But it was time to move on. However, we decided to revise that column one more time for Tiffi’s “birthday”-March 17th. This column will reprinting a number of those series of blurb that were posted through various times in the early teens. (2010s)

For the record, we decided to put Tiffi to death. When you do a search on Facebook, you’ll see Tiffi still there along with a message announcing her “death”. You may give your condolences there if you desire.

Anyway, enjoy these posts as they were originally posted, complete with typos and/or spelling errors. Again, we didn’t write this stuff ‘cuz you can’t make it up!!

I’m getting too old for late night study sessions….

-Emily

torqued my knee – ouch, ouch, ouch!! Gotta MOVE it!

-Jan

I’m suppoed to run five miles but am highly unmotivated. Wish me luck!!

-Cara

My poor baby, Jackson. Cancer all over body and this leg is gigantic. It gets bigger each day. He doesn’t seem to be in pain. Turned 15 this past October which is amazing for a Jack Russell. He’s tough like his mom. 8^)

-Cindy

Wish I liked coffee… tail’s dragging this morning…

-Jeanie

Hmph. I smell a rat. The item I was bidding for on Ebay was removed from auction 1 hr. before the deadline. I guess the fix is in. 😦

-Laurie

What are the chances I would end up in a hotel with a highly intoxicated man in the next room singing at the top of his lungs? He keeps going. . .and going. . .and going. . .just like that energizer bunny. Strangely, he keeps singing the same song over. . .and over. . .and over. I would turn on the A/C to drown out the sound, but the A/C is broken. (Called the front desk and they tried to intervene, but he wouldn’t answer the door when they came.)

-Janice

Listening to the sound of hail hitting my roof…

-Winnie

Any suggestions on where to shop for a dress for a wedding. I need it by Friday so no time for shopping online or out of town

-Renee

My spelling is so bad, spell check cannot figure out what I mean. I need to know how to spell the touchy feely Christian song that I phonetically spell kumbyea. please help!

-Marita

Why is it when I’m in a bad mood I crave sweets?? All I want is a hot brownie with ice cream and hot fudge….

-Cristie

Major meltdown here by one child – another chair destroyed. *sigh* So not fun. All because I insist that homework be done before computer time is granted.

-Susan

I cannot think of a name for my new blog, all the ones I come up with are taken. Any ideas? I want to use allieration, all words with the same beginning sound. Like Georgia Justice, sounds the same with different letters.

-Gail

Sooooooo grateful! Have rotten cold and wonderful daughter and son-in-law brought over delicious meatloaf dinner! Thank you Greg and Mindy!!

-Melody

Sixteen years ago today my Bob broke free from the temporal and was again received into the eternal. I wonder if they have birthday parties in Heaven.

-Sue

Tomorrow at 7 am the twins leave on a two day school trip. Rob and I will have extra time on our hands. It’s been almost twelve years since we’ve been ‘home alone’. Not quite sure what to do.

-Bobbi

I’m pretty sure it okay for me to make an announcement now. (Since everyone should have been notified.) But…I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER!!!!! Danny and Shaen are expecting. She’s 8 weeks along! I am sooooo excited!!!!! (Can you tell???)

-Nancy

WOW! The power of Facebook! I put on my status that I’m out of chocolate and my fabulous neighbor–waving wildly at Ruth York!–brought over a plate of CHOCOLATE cookies!!! Whooohoooo!! Thank you, friend!!!

-Dianne

Wish I could live on the lake. Back to concrete and grass. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. :()

-Brenda

Making my 10 year old son happy is easy. All I have to do is say “poop”. His 15 year old brother isn’t quite as easy to please.

-Gina

I am trying out a new carpet deordorizer for the carpet and upholstery…Nice stuff but awfully had to get it vacummed.

-Heidi Jo

I am going to have to pay $125 to see my daughter dance at a U. game. if you know of anyone who has tickets for the U game that can’t use them, PLEEEAAAAASSESEE let me know.

-Natalie

Weekend overflowing with divine appointments. Heart is full…

-Betsy

Hubby: “Did you know there’s a pencil in the oven?”

-Lisa

A night in the dorm room with muh roomie sounds good to me (:

-Kenzie

27 years ago today, I married my soulmate : ))) Going to spend the weekend at the beach to relax!

-Cathy

note to self: not good enough to simply charge camera battery; must actually install it. Glad to have a backup. Blonder than I pay to be.

-Candice

Smokey the Bear really hands out an unfair amount of pressure. Only I can prevent forest fires? All of them?? Not ready for that responsibility… 😉 -Betsy

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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

is a presentation of Linear Cycle Productions

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RETIRE THE RETIREMENT

When a person starts to reach a certain age in their life, the attention of reaching an age of significance tends to trigger a few marketing programs that the marketer believes that the person may have an interest in, and does their damnedest to hook that person into whatever they are selling.

Thanks to technology, it’s a whole lot easier for those marketers to hawk their goods and services to those that may have a need in said goods and services. Where one “visits” through an online portal and other forms of high tech software based on A.I. Techniques make this marketing more precise to the marketer, and more annoying to the person or persons that receive such news.

To give you an idea of what this writer is expressing, next year, I will be reaching an age that was for a long time, an age where one person (usually male, but females are also being considered but to a lesser degree) considers going into retirement. That is when one decides to end a long time career in working for a company, or working in some kind of position in a professional capacity because they could! Thanks to pensions, retirement funds, and to a lesser extent, social security, one can live the life of riley while drawing an income in the process. Take this as a reward for the “hard work” one did over those many decades of service.

That tradition came from when one decides to end their lifelong track in working, they would take the rest of their lives into something called “leisure”. So instead of coming to the office each and every day, they would do what they wanted to do, rather than something they were required to do. The man (again, it always tend to shift toward the male working figure) would spend their newly acquired free time playing a sport (golf mostly, but some other sport that was not strenuous), or traveling with their spouse to exotic locations around the nation and around the globe, or to even make a bold decision to relocate to a retire community located in a warm weather claimant (Florida mostly, but some other warm weather state of the union would do) to live in such a community with other retirees to engage themselves with hobbies, events, and other activities just to keep them busy and engaged. Some folks would live part time shifting between their new retirement home and its location and to their home base where they came from (“up north” or “back east”), while others would remain in place until the end of their lives. (These folks would call themselves “frogs” with the notion that they will remain within their communities until they croak i.e. die!!)

But getting back to my situation. I have been receiving notices through emails or standard mail a.k.a “junk mail” solicitations from these retirement communities inviting me for a tour. To make this invitation more of an incentive, they would offer me lunch or dinner in one of their fine dining eating establishments that exists onsite. Of course, I am invited (actually, encouraged) to bring my spouse along on the lunch/dinner date and to tour the facilities, showing me what is available and how I may take advantage of this place.

These solicitations started when I turned the age of 55 i.e. the “double nickel”. These communities are known as “55+ communities”, meaning at least 80% of those that reside in these locations on a full time basis must be at least aged fifty-five and up. There are other factors behind these restrictions, but for the most part, it’s 55 and up.

I recently received yet another solicitation from one community located not too far away just west of where yours truly hangs his hat. This community consists of a series of three story apartment-type facilities that resemble a quaint area. It features a part-type setting where one can stroll or walk their dog. Although this place does allow and perhaps encourage pets, mostly cats and small dogs, it doesn’t have a dog park where one can let their dog roam free. Some places have dog run parks, but this particular place doesn’t.

Last year, this facility hosted a lecture program about the art of downsizing, the notion of getting rid of the stuff one obtains in one’s household for years. I was intrigued by this lecture, but not so much for learning how to downsize. I wanted to attend because I am associated with a company that offers estate sales of goods found in one’s household. And yes, not only this facility would offer me a tour of the place, they would even host a lunch to enjoy while listening to the speaker (or speakers as there was more than one participating) to get an idea of what this place was all about.

When I arrived that day in late Spring, I did notice the place resembled a combination of a resort hotel and ski lodge, although this place was located where little to no snow falls and the mountains where one could ski were located a few miles away. The place had the vibe of a ski lodge, and that was about it.

From what I did see, many of its residents looked like folks that were aged 70 and up. I saw little to no people who could pass as their middle 50s or 60s. Either they were there and I didn’t notice, or they looked older for their age. And most of the people I did see were older women. This is reasonable since women as a whole live longer than men of their age. But those that were coupled (or I assume they were coupled) were still north of 65 than anything else.

I did take advantage of their lunch (this event took place in the early afternoon) and it was pleasant for what it was. The dining area resembled a hotel dining area that was decorated as “legacy classic”. It was ornate, a bit fancy, and it was dressed if it was set around the early 20th century, but was dressed this way sometime in the 1990’s. Call this look “classic retro”, a style that is not necessarily of my taste.

The tours that this place offered were not available on that day due to scheduling conflicts. But the sales person that I was able to meet (they actually found me), offered another tour for me and my spouse. All I had to do was to contact them to schedule a day and time of day when I could arrive. And yes, they did offer to feed me again.

I took the person’s business card, thanked them for the invite to the lecture and lunch, and informed the person I would call once I knew when I could show up. As you may guess, I never called that person.

But they didn’t forget me. I do receive on occasion a notice in the mail about their place (and another tour and lunch), as well as an email offering the same thing. Although I was pleased to see this place in person, it would not be a place I would ever consider to move to.

To this very day, I still receive soloists from other 55+ communities, some located within a fifty mile radius and a few others located out of town offering the same incentives. And there are pictures of “residence” of these places within their ads. I call these people pictured as “residences” since they seem to look like those that are aged 70 and up, smiling and dressed up in casual but nice outfits, and are mostly white! They could be models, but I’m not sure of that. Then again, why would I even care?

As for now, I hold no interest in relocating to any of these communities as I have a place of my own. I don’t mind doing basic maintenance as long as I can handle it by my own ability and knowledge to maintain the place. (One incentive that these 55+ places offer is that they are “maintenance free”, meaning that somebody else will keep the place up as the homeowners association fees paid monthly will cover those options! And I don’t need a prearranged list of things to do as I have enough stuff on my plate, so to speak. And one other incentive is that it will give the residents to make new friends. This is important since those of an older age find it difficult to meet others for friendly socializing. It’s a way to make new “old friends”!

And yes, I also receive information about some services that offer burial and even cremation services as well. And yes, their occasional “meetings are not at the funeral and/or cremation facility, but at a nearby restaurant where they will offer to feed me while I hear their pitch. Ditto for investment and financial groups offering a similar approach where for their dinner, I can hear how and where to place that wad of cash that Baby Boomers accumulated over their many years slaving on the clock for some 40 years!

But that is what I get for reaching a selected age in life. However, I’ll just go through the days staying where I am while spending my invisible adult children’s inheritance. After all, you can’t take it with you! Or can you…?

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Performing at the Michelle Danner Acting Studio in Culver City is HISTORICAL RECORDS, an improv program done with a hip-hop twist.

A group of nine performers consisting of Abby A-O, Stephen Cannon, Andrew Hendren, Nikita Francois, Ryan Foust, Derek Jeremiah Reid, Maria Sweeney, Keshav Venkat, and Io Zeimar perform in a series of short skits and sides that tell a bit of a story based on a historical figure as suggested from the audience. With the aid of Rory Valdez as DJ playing beat tracks, each performer gives a bit of this historical figure through verse based upon freestyle hip-hop. The historical figure can be a former US President, a person in ancient culture, or even a character from the world of historical literature. It’s done at the moment with no script to fall back on. The only source is through the talents of this crew trained on how hip-hop functions.

Derek Jeremiah Reid conceived and directs this show in a condensed presentation. There are no sets or props used on stage, only the rhyming and rhythmic words as spoken by its players.

The only way to conceive this idea is to see a performance itself as it proves that speaking in sing-song street beats can happen while paying tribute from a figure that made its own history for its better or otherwise.

HISTORICAL RECORDS, performs at the Michelle Danner Acting Studio, 10820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, until March 30th. Performances run on Saturday nights at 8:00 PM.

Tickets can be obtained online at https://HistoricalRecords.brownpapertickets.com

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The Victory Theatre Center in Burbank presents the world premier of Jon Klein’s FAITHLESS, a dramatic melodrama about a blended family quest to discover what is faith in terms with its “father”, “son”, and related spirits, and why should it be of anyone’s concern?

Taking place in a suburban community at the tail end of winter, adult siblings Claire (Melissa Ortiz) and Calvin (John Sprik) are settling in with their stepfather Gus (John Idakitis) in his home. Calvin is a “man of the cloth” within the Presbyterian church. His sister came from a failed marriage just getting her life back in order. There is yet another daughter, a stepdaughter Rosie (Josee Guardine) who was adopted at a young age and is now an adolescent. She reveals to her family that she has decided to become a nun within the Catholic Church. Gus was raised in that faith but abandoned it many years before since he came to terms that what the church teaches was a bunch of myths. While Calvin, named after the founder of the Presbyterian church, has his own teachings to deal with, a sudden change is made when Clair is involved in an accident that could have killed her but eventually didn’t. From that point, it brings up the uncertainty of what to believe and follow in terms of religion, faith, and the notions if there is a heaven, or will all of these aspects are just going all to hell.

This single act play by Jon Sprik does touch upon these aspects of what to believe in terms of God, god and son, and everything else in between. There is not preaching any ideas toward its audience by the characters, yet brings some elements to ponder upon. All four players that appear in this work portray their roles in a very believable stance. And the term “believable” doesn’t necessarily mean what they believe in terms of a church-esque setting. It just means that their notions can be found in folks in so-called real life based upon their status as depicted.

Marie Gobetti, the artistic director of The Victory Theatre, directs this play in a tight viewpoint. Its pacing movies with each idea stressed, never being offending to what faith idea is expressed. In short, there is nothing down toward following one church idea to another, or even not believing at all! It goes toward what is farther and why one should be concerned–or not!

Special kudos goes to Evan A. Bartoletti’s set decoration that shows Gus’ homestead in a cozy setting where its hearth is in its centerpiece. In addition, Michael Mullen provides the costume design, Carol Doehring provides the lighting, and Noah Andrade contributes the sound effects presented.

Playwright Jon Sprik, who serves as The Victory Theatre’s Playwright-In-Residence, created the role for Gus for the late Tom Ormeny, who with his spouse Marie Gobetti, founded The Victory Theater some forty-five years ago. It serves as one of the longest existing community theaters not only in the San Fernando Valley region, but for Los Angeles as a whole. And with his long association with keeping community theater alive and well, this production is dedicated in his memory and honor.

FAITHLESS, presented by and performs at The Victory Theatre Center, 3326 West Victory Blvd.(off Hollywood Way), Burbank until April 14th. Showtimes are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 PM, and Sunday afternoons at 4:00 PM.

For tickets and for more information, call (818) 841-5412, or via online at

http://www.TheVictoryTheatreCenter.org

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On Sunday, March 10th, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences presented the 96th Academy Awards presenting the Oscar for the best films of the 2023 calendar year, held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

Cillian Murphy won Best Actor for the feature release Oppenheimer. Emma Stone won Best Actress for Poor Things. Christopher Nolan won Best Director for Oppenheimer, and Oppenheimer won as Best Picture.

For a list of all nominees and winners, visit the official web site at http://www.Oscars.com.

The day before, March 9th, the Golden Raspberry Foundation presented the 44th Razzie Awards awarding the Razzies for the worst films released in the 2023 calendar year.

Jon Voight won Worst Actor for the feature Mercy. Megan Fox won Worst Actress for Johnny & Clyde. Rhys Frake-Waterfield won Worst Director for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, and Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey won as Worst Picture.

A special Razzie Redeemer Award that awards a previous Razzie winner from being a “worst” to a “best” went to Fran Drescher for her effort as the current president of SAG/AFTRA for her part in bringing the strike between the members and the studios successful in terms of negotiation the rights and privileges toward working conditions and salaries.

For a listing of all nominated films and people as well as its “winners’, visit the official Razzes web site at http://www.Razzies.com

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ACCESSIBLY LIVE OFF-LINE

is a presentation of Linear Cycle Productions

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Details@LinearCycleProductions.com

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