Ok I am going to be the first to admit that this particular recipe didn’t exactly come out the way I had originally hoped or intended. It was good, don’t get me wrong, and creamy… but it was almost too cheesy and not creamy or milky enough… which was probably my own fault since I didn’t really use much in terms of milk and had too much cheese.
Ah well… you live and learn… right?
So first here are a couple of more legitimate recipes that I used as inspiration… because obviously I used neither of them!
Why is this particular panel getting its own post? Simple, because it was funny, crazy and entertaining… and I have a bad habit of heckling to the point that it is borderline flirting.
*sighs*
Story of my life.
So what happened? Well I am not sure… first there was some back and forth with a few people in the audience (myself included since I don’t really know when to keep my mouth shut sometimes). Then the creators asked if someone would be interested in joining them on the panel to which someone (RyanSainio) jumped up and joined them on the panel.
It came out that he has only read the first volume, and that he had already interacted with them the night before so he had trouble with coming up with a few questions…
Along the way it all came out that there is some obscure law in the Canadian Constitution that it is illegal to kill Will Shatner…
WHAT?!?!?!
And that plus a bunch of other things caused this to be one of the best panel discussions EVER!
Then the heckling continued.
*sighs*
Oh did I mention that Conor McCreery did the voice of Bane from Batman? And did an excerpt from the Bane Rap? Don’t know what the Bane Rap is? Let me rectify that for you:
A few things that I was interested in:
– stage adaptation of Kill Shakespeare
– expansion of the universe to include (more) characters from some of Shakespeare’s comedies
However, I am not going to provide the questions and answers because I didn’t keep any notes… I know silly me… instead just head on over to Ryan Sainio’s podcast and get his thoughts on that part of the panel discussion… Continue reading →
Another attempt on the savory menu during the Bake-a-thon was Artichoke Soup (though technically ours would be better described as Spinach-Artichoke Soup but who is really paying attention here?
Directions: 1: In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine the chicken stock, artichoke hearts, onion and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 30 minutes.
2: In a medium bowl whisk together the milk and yellow cornmeal. Whisk this mixture into the soup until it is smooth.
3: Add the remaining ingredients into the soup and cook 5 minutes before serving.
Remember in college when you went to all those clubs and bars and partied like it was the end of the world? Rolling out of bed at high noon to make it to your first class of the day?
Well this is where you and I deviate… because you may remember all the fun you had in college, but me? HA! What fun? Granted, my deciding to take on a fairly challenging (or demanding) major didn’t help me any…
Much like how I did with various Modern Adaptations of Shakespeare’s Classics here is a quick list of various modernizations of Jane Austen’s novels that I have seen and appreciated on some level (so this is by no means a comprehensive list by any stretch of the imagination): EMMA
Clueless
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Bride and Prejudice
I Love You Because
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Now the interesting thing to note is that I actually did a little bit of research about this and realized that out of six of Jane Austen’s novels only two have been modernized and adapted whilst still keeping the intergrity of the primary storyline and the majority of the characters.
Rather odd if you ask me.
Granted one of the major modernizations that most everyone would know about but I have yet to have seen would be Bridget Jones’ Diary. Now why haven’t I seen it? Simple, because all the clips and trailers I have found online haven’t lured me enough to have any kind of desire to watch the movie itself. It is simple not my cup of tea from what I have been able to see. Sad isn’t it?
So since I have already devoted several posts to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries I am not going to touch that particular modern adaptation in this particular post, instead just focusing on the other three…
Another recipe my friend and I worked on during the Bake-a-Thon was Cheese Bread… or more precisely: Brazilian Cheese Bread (aka Pão de Queijo). So how is this any different from a popover? Well in general:
– Popover is a light, hollow roll made from an egg batter typically baked in muffin tins
– Bread is prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients, such as butter or salt to improve the taste.
After sifting through plenty of recipes I settled on one that I found via AllRecipes.com.
Since there was no tapioca flour on hand traditional flour was used instead… what happened in the end was that our version of the about (though tasted fantastic) didn’t look like the picture. Hmm… How did ours look? Well from my friend’s Facebook Wall… Continue reading →
One of the recipes that me and a friend of mine tried during the Bake-a-Thon in late January was the Cheddar Cheese Popovers. I found several recipes on the internet but the one I ultimately decided to try was from Food.com
From the original recipe below…
I naturally made changes… like what? Well… Continue reading →
Six months ago from today I had flown back into the U.S. from what was probably one of the more emotionally draining trips of my life only to see in my “little black [calendar] book” that I had a very busy schedule ahead of me.
So what happened in the six months?
Well at first I was going to list everything major that went on… but then decided that a fair number of what has been going on is a private matter and what I have been doing that was “theatre-related” is more than enough to give a glimpse of how busy my life has been. But then I also thought of all the reasoning about other days or nights of the week that I had free time and decided that a basic breakdown would be a good starting point:
For a quick glimmer of what I mean:
– Weekdays: Day Job (really is that a surprise?)
– Weeknights: Rehearsals, or working late at the Day Job
– Weekends: Family
Now in between all the major things above there are also a series of personal projects and I have been working on, but there is no need to go through those either. So what theatre-related stuff was I working on?
I have a love / hate relationship with war dramas. I love them because I could relate to them… I hate them because I could relate to them.
Confused?
Well to start, later this week I will be going to see the Opening Night of “Full Circle” out in Wheaton Drama. Typically because of my bias towards war dramas I wouldn’t go, but since so many people I know personally were a part of the production, it would be a shame not to go.
So as is typically for me I started thinking of how to start my inevitable post of my thoughts of this particular show when it dawned on me…
I would not be able to create a completely unbiased opinion about a war drama. There is simply no way. It is not possible…
Why is that?
Because I am too close. Sure I may be a generation off, but by all respects I am technically too close to the emotions and lasting effects of what a war can do to a family, to a person, to a community that my expections for a war drama on stage (and don’t get me started about films) are crazy.
For anyone that knows me, you would know that my favorite Shakespeare comedy would be “Much Ado About Nothing” (with “Twelfth Night” being the sentimental second). So when word got around in late 2011 that Joss had completed filming an adaptation of said Shakespeare comedy… let’s just say I got all obsessed about it very very quickly.
Why? Because Joss not only adapted my favorite comedy, but he also brought on board a vast number of actors from his previous projects… and considering how big of a fan I am of the science-fiction / fantasy / comic feel that Joss tends to create… well what do you expect.
That and the fact that I am a MAJOR Nathan Fillion fan (though you probably wouldn’t know it at first glance).
So why am I in such a tizzy? Well because of this:
Ask any thespian on the planet about shows, movies, etc that they are most proud of and I am sure they have one. Not that they have to… but chances are they do.
For a long while I was most proud about a role in a musical theatre production that people still remember to this day. However, after having been blessed with the chance to run lights for Ken Kaden’s adaptation of Nick Hornby’s “A Long Way Down”, I find it mildly ironic that the role I played in this production wasn’t onstage (not that I would have wanted it… hits too close to home) but rather off. Not only that, but it happens to tie in with my day job.
Figures doesn’t it.
But enough about me. This is Ken’s show, Ken’s production and for his first time in adapting a book in such a way that makes sense for stage and doing it well… Not only that but directing for the first time and putting all this together for the first time, yeah, it is a job not just well done… but WELL DONE. Continue reading →
Sometime last year I posted a list of musicals that I would be more than happy to be a part of no matter the role. After a year of going through shows and productions and doing more researching and listening and watching I decided to expand on that list.
So what other shows are there that my desire to audition is driven by a particular vocal piece that I want to be a part of? Well considering that “What Was a Woman To Do?” from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was on the list… here are a couple more: Jekyll & Hyde – “Girls of the Night”
Ever since the latest concept soundtrack of Jekyll and Hyde came out I found myself singing along to this piece over and over and over again… there is just something that resonates with me that I can’t help but want to be a part of this number, can you blame me?
With such an upbeat opening number about why one has to work a “9 to 5” job… story of my life… well anyone’s life that involves a “9 to 5” job that is. 😀
Why in the world would I want to learn more about this off-shoot of… well I don’t really know how to explain it.
Let’s put it this way, a while back I wrote something that when I did some research and background prior to writing it involved being in an enclosed community that a couple of characters escaped from.
However as time wore on I started to feel unsure as to the legitimacy of what I was trying to do. So I decided to shelve the project until some smidgen of inspiration came for me to look at it again and rework it.
Well that moment happened and I found myself researching the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and their world which led me to look into the autobiographies of those that have escaped that particular world and their reasons (which tended to have similar reasons).
Thus how I found myself listening to the audiobooks of Elissa Wall (Stolen Innocence) and Carolyn Jessop (Escape and Triumph). As thus this post will begin with the first of the three audiobooks that I started listening to in an effort to understand the inner-workings of a community that I knew nothing about and suddenly have a desire to use as background information for a character and to use as realistically as possible.
Health Kwest is Genghis Grill’s Healthy-Influenced campaign where we adopt one contestant per location to eat Genghis Grill once a day, for 60 days all while losing weight, exercising and completing social media tasks.
My friend applied and is now representing the Wheaton Genghis Grill… and I am very proud of him.
He keeps up a Tumblr with various blog posts about what bowls he has put together, the various social media tasks and other odds and ends and thoughts and promises to do so from now until at least the end of the 60 day journey.
So, naturally, as a friend I will do what I can to help him out and well… join him in various group classes because I am cray cray like that. Well that and the fact that it is far more fun to workout with friends than by yourself.
As per the norm for the Oscar Party… it is preferred (though probably not required) to come in dress in costume that emulates a film that is featured during the Academy Awards.
In case you have been sleeping under some sort of rock here are the nominated films for Best Picture:
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty
So out of the above list I immediately crossed out Amour, Argo and Silver Linings Playbook due to the more contemporary nature of the content… well that and the fact that I was just too lazy to think of something really worthwhile that would be inspired by either of those films.
I also crossed out Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi because the only costumes I could come up with dealt with animals featured in either production and I just wasn’t in the mood to emulate a version of The Lion King.
Zero Dark Thirty and Argo were also crossed out for personal reasons… aka I was just not in the mood for war dramas… I lazy…. and they tend to hit too close to home.
So that left the following:
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
LIncoln
All righty then… so who, or what, did I decide to dress up as? And why?… Well I would break it down… but when I did so I came across something rather interesting between the three…
