GJ Willis' Art Notes

trixrabbit2, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is a picture of what I saw at the supermarket taken at a very safe distance.

This morning I went to Metro Supermarket which has recently changed it’s name to Shoppers Food Warehouse, previous to that they were called Basics. I don’t know why they keep changing their name. It seems kind of fishy...

As you may or may not recall SFW/Metro/Basics is located in the county so I have to take a bus to get there. I haven’t been there in several weeks. Instead I’ve been grocery shopping at my local Giant Supermarket. I don’t like going to Giant because to me everything is grossly overpriced and the check out aisles seem to be designed to induce claustrophobia.

So I decided to change my routine and hop on a bus heading into the county. As I’ve said before I hadn’t been there in weeks. Imagine my surprise when I headed in the door and saw a giant bunny in the produce section! I was frightened out of my mind. Then I relaxed as I realized that the bunny probably wasn't going to attack me. He was probably there for some sort of a Easter promotion. Just to be safe I did avoid direct eye contact with the bunny and his female handlers who were taking pictures of him with customers.

Then I walked out of the produce section towards the dry goods section. As I was walking towards the aisle I kept my eyes on the bunny. He seemed kind of shifty. You never know with bunnies they might just attack you out of the blue for a bowl of cereal or something... Then as I got nearer to the dry goods aisle I saw a giant red headed cartoon head bobbing up and down in a green costume. What the heck does a giant red headed man have to do with Easter???What the hell is going on in this store!

trixrabbit1, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

This is another picture taken at a very safe distance. As you can see the bunny is very friendly with it's handler...

To assure myself of sanity and to obtain proof of what I saw. I took out my camera from a safe distance and took pictures of the bunny. Unfortunetly, my batteries were running low so I couldn't tave any pictures of the big headed man. Then as I looked further down the store towards the baked goods aisle I saw a pudgy life size dough man wearing a chef’s hat. When I saw the giant dough man I felt better. It all began to make sense.

The rabbit wasn’t just an Easter Bunny it must be the Trix cereal rabbit! That poor rabbit has never eaten a bowl of his own cereal. He’s been shamelessly discriminated against for years. Constantly taunted by the children in the commercials that, “Silly rabbit! Trix are for kids!” I feel for that poor starving rabbit!

The big headed man must be the Lucky Charms Leprechaun for Lucky Charms cereal. The tag line to his commercials when he sings, “They’re magically delicious!” Frankly, I’ve always found the Lucky Charms Leprechaun a bit annoying. I find his over the top Irish accent a bit too much. However, I do like when he sings that Lucky Charms are Magically Delicious. I don’t know it just makes me smile... If only he’d just shut up and sing!

The dough man wearing the chef’s hat was of course
Poppin’ Fresh aka the Pillsbury Doughboy. I’ve adored Poppin’ Fresh all my life! I love how in tv commercials someone always tickles the little dough man’s belly and he lets out a giggle. He’s so cute and adorable. I’d know my beloved Pillsbury Doughboy anywhere! Ahhhh, Poppin’ Fresh!

I still can’t believe I was getting freaked out by seeing guys dressed up as American advertising icons. I still didn’t get close enough to them to see what the in store promotional campaign was about. All I could see was people either ignoring them or gawking and taking pictures with them.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a black Doctor Who sweatshirt. Under the sweatshirt I have on a white turtleneck pullover. I’m also wearing blue jeans and white Nike tennis shoes. Oh, my god I’m wearing shoes that have a recognizable brand name!! Stop the Presses!!

Today, everything was on time! The bus, the light rail, and the light rail shuttle bus. Instead of feeling worried, I think I’ll rejoice and say, Hallelujah!!

CONCERN OF THE DAY
I first began to notice flakes of snow falling to the ground around 5:33am. I saw the flakes as I was standing at the light rail station waiting for the train to come. I suppose I’ll have to wait and see if the flakes I saw were the beginning of the snowstorm of the century.

There is supposed to be a big snowstorm today. One thing that’s always irked me is that in the Baltimore-Washington area the weathermen tend to go overboard when snow is forecast. There’s constant scrawls on the bottom of the tv screen, frequent updates breaking into tv shows. They treat snow as if it’s Armageddon or the beginning of a new ice age. Get your bread, milk, and toilet paper! The end is nigh!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
In honor of a possible snowstorm today I have on my heavy duty warm sweater. It’s blue chenille and very long. Under it I have on a long sleeve denim shirt along with blue jeans. I’m wearing the brown lace up shoes because they are very heavy and sturdy. In case it snows I’ll feel more secure walking around with them on. They’re rock solid shoes. The blue suede shoes are not suitable for snow even though they are booties.

This morning all modes of public transportation that I take to work were running smoothly.

CONCERN OF THE DAY:
Will I be able to function at work today? I went to bed much, much, much, later than usual last night. I did this because last night I watched the One Day At A Time Reunion Special.

Ever since the light rail has been shut down at the North Avenue stop I’ve developed a unique sleep/wake cycle. I usually go to bed at 8pm. Then I wake up again at either 11pm or 12am. After I’ve woken up the second time I usually take a shower and go back to sleep for another 4 to 5 hours. I then find myself waking up to a new day at around 4:20am. I know it may be hard to believe but when I wake up I feel refreshed. I suppose that’s because overall when you break it down I get 8 hours of sleep a night. I know it not contiguous sleep but it’s 8 hours none the less.

Last night I got just 5 hours of sleep. Right now I’m feeling pretty tired. Today, at work I imagine I’ll be drinking a lot of Mountain Dew to keep me up. I have to be careful with caffeine because it gives me heart palpitations if I over do it.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on the dark multi-coloured v-neck sweater. Under the sweater I have on a turquoise long sleeve cotton shirt. I also have on blue jeans and brown leather lace up shoes.

oneday, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

Every single mode of transportation I take was on time this morning, even the light rail shuttle bus. To be honest with you guys I’m not used to the Baltimore MTA being this efficient.

ONE DAY AT A TIME REUNION
I’ll probably be watching this tonight on television. As I’ve probably written before it’s rare for me to watch anything on tv other than DVD’s.

The reason I’ll be watching this tonight is simple. I liked watching the show as a kid. This was one of the shows that my family would gather around to watch. Well, to be more precise, the female members of my family liked to gather around and watch it. For some reason the show was like kryptonite to my dad and brother.

>One Day at a Time ran from 1975 to 1984 on the CBS network. It was the first series on American television to be about a single divorced mother raising two teenage daughters on her own. The show starred >Bonnie Franklin who played single mother, Ann Romano. Her character after the divorce took on her maiden name of Romano and preferred to be called, Ms. Her two teenage daughters were Julie and Barbara Cooper.

The rebellious eldest daughter, Julie, was played by Mackenzie Phillips. Phillips previous acting role was in American Graffiti. Infamously, throughout the show’s run she was on and off the show due to various substance abuse problems. Also Phillips as everyone probably knows is the daughter of John Phillips, the founder of the 60’s pop group, The Mama’s and The Papa’s.

Barbara, the level headed younger daughter, was played by >Valerie Bertinelli. This was Ms. Bertinelli’s first ever acting job. It should be noted that Bertinelli has appeared nearly annually in made for TV movie’s since 1979. Bertinelli went on to marry a man who looked just like her, Van Halen guitar god, Eddie Van Halen.

My all time favorite character on the show was building superintendent, Dwayne Schneider played by veteran actor, Pat Harrington Jr.. To the best of my knowledge Harrington never had a substance abuse problem or married a rock star. He was a solid comedy actor.

The only disappointing thing I can think of as far as the reunion show is concerned is that Howard Hesseman who played Sam Royer will not be appearing on the show. Hesseman’s Royer character married Ann Romano late in the series run. Also Boyd Gaines who played his son Mark Royer will not be appearing. Gaines’ Royer character married Ann’s daughter, Barbara. I suppose Gaines is busy on Broadway appearing in something. Over the years he has won a number of Tony awards. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I saw on stage a million years ago when he had the title role in Center Stage’s production of Oscar Wilde’s, The Importance of Being Ernest.

Despite these two no shows I will still be watching the reunion special. I can’t wait to see all the old show clips and to see how everyone has aged over the years.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a blue, yellow, and white fair isle knit sweater. Under the sweater I have on a blue flannel long sleeve shirt. I’m also wearing blue jeans along with blue suede shoes.

thompson, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

From the way the weather guys were talking I was expecting snowy verion of armagedon when I woke up. All day yesterday there were non stop scrawls on the tv screen about the impending snowstorm. All there was on the ground when I woke up was water from the rain.

Hunter S. Thompson:

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone," he once said, "but they've always worked for me."

I was saddened to hear today that 67 year old writer,Hunter S. Thompson died this weekend. He died of a self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. It wasn’t a shock to his family. His suicide was planned well in advance. From all that I’ve read he gathered them together for one last weekend as a family. So they all knew that it would happen but not when. Apparently, he was suffering from immense pain from a broken leg and a hip replacement.

I can not begin to imagine the amount of physical pain he must have been going through to drive him to take his own life. This in a way makes me afraid to grow old. I feel that more should be done in the treatment of physical pain for the elderly. Afterall, hopefully, one day, we will all live to ripe old ages. Hopefully, by the time I get to be a senior citizen there would have been great advances in pain treatment.

In case you don’t know Hunter S. Thompson was the perpetual National Affairs Desk editor at Rolling Stone magazine. I’ve been a subscriber to Rolling Stone since the age of 11. When I was 11 I went through a phase when I didn’t like my first name. So the name on my subscription is my middle name. In all the years that I’ve received the magazine I’ve never bothered to change the name on my subscription. The only constants in my life besides my family has been receiving Rolling Stone each month.

I first became aware of Hunter S. Thompson through Rolling Stone. Although, he rarely wrote for the magazine on a regular basis, I enjoyed the articles he wrote about his adventures on the campaign trail.

Thompson will probably best be known for being the originator of Gonzo Journalism. However, to me he will best be known as the inspiration behind >Doonesbury cartoonist >Gary Trudeau’s infamous Uncle Duke character.

Even though I’m sad to hear he’s gone I think it’s cool that he wants his ashes shot out of a canon.

WHAT I HAVE ON:
Today, I have on a bright blue sweater that I haven’t had on in years. It’s so big that I’m not wearing the sweater! The sweater’s wearing me! Under the big sweater I have on pink long sleeve turtleneck like pullover. The pants I have on are blue jeans. The shoes on my feet are brown leather lace ups.

Yesterday, after I got back from the supermarket that was being invaded by life size advertising mascots I went out and saw the Saturday matinee production of Two Gentlemen of Verona at Center Stage.

When I got to the theatre I was surprised to find that the production was being held upstairs in the Head Theatre. The Head Theatre is pretty much general admission meaning there is no assigned seating. You can sit pretty much were you felt like sitting. I was surprised to find when I made it upstairs that for the the first time ever in the Head Theater, they now have reserved assigned seating. I was also surprised to find that I was again seated next to the tiny elderly woman with the jheri curl and the oxygen tank. This is the same woman that I sit next to downstairs in the Pearlstone Theatre.

I also noticed that the elderly black woman who usually sits in front of us was sitting in the front row. I could easily pick her out because she always wears a gold metallic baseball hat. Hmmm, I wonder how come she’s sitting in the front row and were not seated in the second row like we are downstairs but instead about 4 rows back. Also the lady with the oxygen tank and myself are not seated near the aisle like we usually are. If there’s anyone that need an aisle seat it’s the lady with the oxygen take. Hopefully, this new seating arraignment is not set in stone and changes can be made.

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA
First off it wasn’t a play but a musical based on a work by William Shakespeare. The musical originally debuted in the early 70’s. So it has a hippie flower child vibe to it. The show was originally produced in the 1971 by the legendary Joseph Papp in conjunction with The New York Shakespeare Festival. The play was adapted by >John Guare and Mel Shapiro. Shapiro also served as director of the original production.

The libretto to the musical was also written by Guare. Guare would in subsequent years go on to write, The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and the screenplay to Atlantic City. The composer of the play was Galt McDermott. McDermott is noted for being the composer of the Broadway musical Hair.

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing this production of the musical. It is very hard to describe the plot of the musical. So thought it would better if I just included a link to the script.

The production had a 60’s filtered through the 80's look. The women in the first act looked like 80’s Jem dolls come to life. While the men were costumed like escapees from a gay country and western bar. In the second act the background was an 80’s Keith Haring-like painting. The only character who didn't seem to fit in costume wise was Proteus. I don't understand why his this character was dressed head to toe in black like Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The show I saw had two African American female leads. However, according to the program guide another woman (white female) was supposed to be playing Julia. I’m not sure if this was a typo or something happened to the original Julia. The only thing I know for sure is that I could not figure out Proteus’ motivation. At first he’s so in love with Julia then he has to go to Milan and falls out of the blue in love with Silvia after his pal Valentine falls for her. I just don’t get it. If what I've just writen didn't make one iota of sense to you then I would advise that you quickly go over the script. It's not that long I swear. Scripts to musicals are widely known to be quick reads.

The stand out performers in the production were, Angela Robinson who played Silvia and Rodney Hicks who played Valentine. They both had lots of energy and could to put it bluntly, sing their asses off. After they got finished singing I almost felt like getting up out my seat and applauding and saying, while throwing my fist in the air, “You Go Girl!”, “You Go Boy!” I guess I should say right here that Hicks was in the original Broadway production of RENT. So he is already building somewhat of a track record.

Toni Trucks who played Julia in my opinion is the most perfect looking human I’ve ever seen on stage. The celebrity she most resembles is former ER cast member Michael Michele. For a while I thought I was seeing Michael Michele. Then I noticed that her Julia had a very southern accent and well to the best of my knowledge Michael Michele isn’t from the south. Despite her breathtaking beauty she doesn’t have a very strong singing voice. In comparison to Angela Robinson’s vocal range she sounds like Minnie Mouse. Then again I’m sure that Beyonce would sound like Minnie Mouse next to Robinson’s voice. The same could be said of Ivan Hernandez who played Proteus. The combined talents of Rodney Hicks and Angela Robinson just blows everyone out of the water.

Another standout performer in the production was Kingsley Leggs who played Silvia’s father, the Duke of Milan. He was simply stellar in this role. Also appearing in the production is longtime Center Stage comedic favorite Robert Dorfman in the role of Launce. He gave a broad comedic signature Dorfman performance. Another Center Stage returning actor was Andy Patterson. He was back on Calvert Street in the role of Speed. Speed was another character along with Proteus that I just didn’t get.

Overall, I would definitely recommend that you see this production and bask in the vocal talents of Angela Robinson and Rodney Hicks and to see the prettiest person to ever appear on Center Stage, Toni Trucks.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Right now I have on a lavender night gown with my big fuzzy purple slippers.