Sunday Post #amwriting #amjoy

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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things  received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

           LOOKING FORWARD TO AUGUST

This week I was house sitting .  

Earlier on Wednesday night, I had let the cat out and it didn't come home until midnight and got caught  in the storm.  The electricity went out on Thursday morning, and I had to get my car out of the garage, so I pulled the emergency cord and lifted the door manually.  Then the garage door wouldn't open electronically until I figured out a trick to get it back on track. Overall, my stay was fantastic and my son loved being able to play outdoors at any time of the day.  There's a big difference of living in an apartment vs a house.  

My son is turning Five tomorrow

This week I also talked to people about their  astrological signs.  I'm a Libra and their characteristics come with their vast stores of charm, intelligence, frankness, persuasion, and seamless connectivity.

I only gave a few rides for rideshare and several to Mall of America.  I picked up some business clients who showed signs of misogyny and were pointing out women they thought were beautiful.

I'm grateful for:

People who forgive.

Great yogurt (which helped me this week with heartburn

For poems

My brother babysitting

Rainy days that bring about nostalgia from childhood.

Please comment below

ON THE BLOG

This was a book recommendation from Peace Love Book(YouTuber) and it was very interesting. It talks about a Rabbi falling for an Intimacy expert. Not something you read everyday.

Sunday Post

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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things  received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

           LOOKING FORWARD TO AUGUST

This week we did improv in person and that was pretty great. I included more pictures from the rooftop below.  I'm writing a piece on improv that I hope to submit to Medium.  I spent a lot of time writing and talking with UBER clients.  

One of my  UBER clients was telling me how he likes his job working from home but explained how it's aggravating.  He seemed interested in this writers group called SHut Up and Write and how we meet every day on ZOOM.  "Everyday!" he said cheerfully, "Well except the weekend," I said.  "The host is pretty committed." I told him how the writers in that group have a lot of impressive writing jobs and will write grants and marketing and short stories, etc.  I took another person from the mechanic to the hotel and he  insisted on giving me instructions-- which was good because he put the wrong address in the app, and we would have drove fifteen minutes instead of five to the wrong hotel. 

(Me (bottom right) with Friday Delight improv Theater on ZOOM)

This week I also talked to writers about the post office and it being one of the largest employers of military officials and those with PTSD, and how they went into studying PTSD after a rage incident at the post office many years ago. And I never knew this but that's where we get the term "going postal." The post office is often under staffed as a state job and a lot of workers get sass from everyday people.

Doctor death is on Netflix.   Its based on a doctor (Christopher Duntsch), who injured Patients during surgery, even his own friend.

Pictures from my week

From the Rooftop in St pul where we do improv

From the George Floyd  Memorial site-(I took some tourists this week to see it).

My son, Zulfi, at Eagan Goodtimes Park

Please comment below

ON THE BLOG

Islander-Elision Playhouse

Photo by  Jessica Holleque

 

Will we be needing lawn chairs for this performance?

No. This musical is NOT going to be outside.

More than a year has passed since traditional indoor theater ceased to exist, but Elision playhouse in Crystal is just one of the few theaters that has opened its doors in July of 2021 with their new musical Islander, directed by Lindsay Fitzgerald.

This musical is set near the Scottish coast, and is based on a novel by Stewart Melton, and set to script by Amy Draper. The story opens with characters contemplating a leave for the mainland due to poor investments, a decrease in population, and insurmountable rain. The story draws from a Scottish folklore of the sea-bound “fin-folk”. Myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto the beach.

Deidre Cochran dominates the show with superb comic timing in a near perfect performance. She and Christine Wade make a fine duo as they sing conversational like Celtic songs.  

This 75-minute one act musical covers a lot of ground, and a short intermission would have have given the audience time to stretch their legs. The Scottish dialect could at times, be cumbersome, but the simple plot and acting makes up for this.

Scenic projections of islands and cliffs set the scene as the characters embark on their journey in the sea. Tension rises with the sound of a storm and I can't help think I hope the characters make it out alive.

The experience is enhanced by an onstage looping board that simulates the sensation of hearing sounds up close and far. 

Come and check out this show that the Edinburgh festival 2019 boasted as the best musical of the year.

Islander runs through July 31st. Tickets at https://www.simpletix.com/e/islander-tickets-68313

Sunday Post

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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things  received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

           LOOKING FORWARD TO august

 This week I went to a lot of Fringe Festival plays, and that was so much fun to see a lot of the actors I've seen in recent years gather in the same week.  I also got a new carpet and hopefully I'll find a vacuum that works.

We got together for our own underground improv group this week on the 23rd floor of a rooftop in Minneapolis.  We played improv games and laughed. I got into a rhyme about Bill Nye the Science Guy.

 I also took a few  UBER clients to the airport.  One of my passenger's son moved to North Carolina and they wanted to visit him. (her daughter also lives in Norway), and we talked about how much she misses her kids. And iItook another woman from the Radisson near Mall of America (MOA)  to Walgreens. The MOA doesn’t open till like 9am so UBER drivers often take clients to miscellaneous errands until the mall opens.

One of my ride share clients said there was a study done where researchers set up an intentional booby trap so that people tripped and were later interviewed. Most people said something along the lines of being extremely embarrassed and the passenger said, "It was just a trip. They shouldn't have been so embarrassed.  It goes to show how so many people think the world revolves around them, and how people take themselves too seriously.  'People' my wife says. If people just went with the flow and believed that everything would turn out okay, and not get so anxious about everything, the world would be a better place.

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This week in photos

I had a joke about how extra large this blended coffee beverage is from Caribou Coffee

This is where I have my Writer's group at Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis

A photo from "Channel" at the Fringe Festival (Crane theater)

Looking forward to fall leaves

Upcoming Shows

Minne-Musicals is a free-form, roving theatrical experience. Audiences will have the opportunity to see five 10-minute musicals – at their own pace, in whatever order they choose - spread across spaces in two buildings - The Hennepin and The Chambers Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Performances are Sep 10-12, 2021. Choose to reserve a FREE Pass and see as many of the shows as you can or purchase a VIP Pass and get guaranteed, preferred seating PLUS some other added perks.

Tickets at http://aboutmmt.org/

Charlie and talk with Joanna Schnedler with Minnesota Music Coalition. And Stephen Letnes joins us with Able Artist Foundation.(On YouTube) We discuss the relationship between the two organizations and what they offer for musicians with disabilities.

Please comment below

ON THE BLOG

I'd like to read a few of Daniel Goleman's books.  And I think this is relevant considering a lot of people seem interested in mindfulness and meditation.

Sunday Post #amwriting #amjoy

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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted  @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things  received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Review

           LOOKING FORWARD TO AUGUST

This week I went sailing with the Adaptive Sailing group again. The Lake Harriet Yacht Club’s Adaptive Sailing program encourages sailors with physical challenges to experience the sport of sailing and serenity of harnessing the wind on the water.  It was relaxing and I got to talk to some people about the theater stuff and people I meet.  I thought about going swimming in the St. Croix but its been one of those weeks where I've been like 'meh'.  We'll see..

I've done a lot of self care because my arthritis has been at an all time high.  I'll probably make a trip to Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO).  Which reminds me I had a talk with an UBER client who was taking a trip to the Viking Training Camp next to TCO because his daughter was to perform in a drum line alongside the Vikings band.  We talked about how big TCO has gotten and how people are flocking to Eagan and buying homes nearby the clinic.  This passenger was also from the Philippines, so I got to talk to them about his country winning a gold medal in weightlifting and the fact that my brother was adopted from there and my parents lived there for two years when my dad was stationed there in the military.

 I also got my tickets to the Fringe Fest.

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I've been taking it easy otherwise and counting my blessings which are plentiful.  There's a group on ZOOM who take like a half hour a week to make their grateful list.  Here's my grateful list:

Grateful for longeivity

for meeting a friend for lunch at Cecil's 

For people holding doors

And bringing me gifts from National Night Out.

For Saturday Happiness

Grateful for extra winks of shut eye

For stylish people and fashion

For rain

Photos from my week

This is a picture taken near the adaptive sailing center at Lake Harriet.  The Lake Harriet Yacht Club’s Adaptive Sailing program encourages sailors with physical challenges to experience the sport of sailing and serenity of harnessing the wind on the water. Sailors use our growing fleet of club-owned Mini Illusion boats (i.e. boat ownership is NOT required ).More info at https://lhycsailing.com/adaptive

ON THE BLOG

Reading 

I like this book because the main character is a news reporter and you can read about all the behind the scenes job anecdotes that you may not have considered. The MC is a little thorny and rough around the edges but I can enjoy a character like this from time to time.

This novel is supposed to be reminiscent of "You Got Mail" because the main characters exchange messages throughout their day and they are supposed to be arch enemies.  I like it.  I like the New York setting and business owners.

"Atomic Habits" by James Clear.  I had a book talk on this one.  A lot of readers were trying to understand what the difference is between the process and the goal and other motivations.  One teacher talked about how she often told her students that they were the best class she ever had and how this motivated them.  Lots of people were holding up graphs and charts to the ZOOM window and getting people to understand how they created habits.

Review: Oregon Shakespeare Festival returns with 'Water by the Spoonful'

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland is offering eleven plays in three theaters: Angus Bowmer Theatre, Thomas Theatre, and Allen Elizabethan Theatere. Water By the Spoonful is a play by Quiara Alegría Hudes and directed by Shishir Kurup.  

This play is about the things that hold us back and the people who help us move forward. It deals with crack addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as the advantages and limits of connecting through the Internet. Its available in-person and to stream through September 26th.

Elliot Ortiz,  played by Daniel Molina is every bit the soldier who has tried to protect and defend and is haunted by ghosts from his past. Vilma Silva as Haikumom, also known as Odessa is the mother and relapsed addict whose good intentions gain empathy. The supporting cast contained wonderful work from Nancy Rodriguez as Yazmin Ortiz, Bruce A.Young as Chutes & Ladders aka Clayton “Buddy” Wilkie and Celeste Den as Orangutan, Barzin Akhavan as Ghost , professor Aman and police, Barret O'Brien as Fountainhead, also know as John.

The show begins in what might be the present day with a support-group meeting with Odessa and two other recovering addicts. Each of the characters occupy their own square riser enclosing their cyber world.  I expect them to confess their drug of choice and goals for recovery. Since this is not traditional therapy, what the audience gets instead is an authentic retelling of their story. And their stories are breathtaking. All the characters describes their desires and hopeful outcomes. These are everyday characters with jobs and seemingly average lives. It's no surprise that two recoveries strike up an unlikely romance as the cyber world creates that fine line of perceived safety and eventual need for direct contact.

Director Shishir Kurup states, “I am moved by how the play reveals the many subtle ways people soothe themselves, how they find escape from their quietly desperate lives and how they deny the truth to keep it from affecting their cherished coping mechanisms.”

Along with a unique storyline, the play incorporates distinctive lighting by Geoff Korf. Nine blue lit squares are used to show the characters communicating to one another in different environmenst with black paths in between.The blue lighting suited Water by the Spoonful, and may symbolize the ever growing trust along with states of depression. Although more dynamic lighting may have reflected the varied emotions, the blue lit squares didn’t add much texture to the background but was helpful in showing the cyber support group, adding to visual aesthetic that may have not been achieved if the characters were sitting behind computer screens. The effect reminded me of Dance Dance Revolution.

Water by the Spoonful reveals life with PTSD and depicts the intense emotional ways people numb the pain. The dialogue stabs the heart and is quite relevant in a world where two million people struggle with at least one addiction and only ten percent receive help.