Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Room



My spare bedroom will be available soon and I can transform it into my dream room. An art studio/office! The room has great light and an eastern exposure.

I want a room where I can have my art supplies available and create to my heart's content. I also want it to serve as an office for my writing and movie projects.

Here's my task list:
Paint the walls
Lay floor tile (You don't want carpet in an art studio. Not practical)
New computer desk (Perhaps an "L" shape with lots of desk area for my computer monitors, printer and writing space)
Book shelves
Floor lamp
Papasan chair (I've always wanted one!)



My shelves will be low so I can use my wall space to hang artwork.



Maybe a decorative table water fountain for relaxation and inspiration.




Don't talk to me about Feng Shui. I'm pretty sure I'll be breaking every rule in the book. I like mirrors and they supposedly bounce the Chi out of your space. Like bullets off Superman's chest.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Pedal Pushers


I'm inspired by the old Victorian bicycles and am doing preliminary sketches for a painting. There's something truly beautiful about the design of these bicycles with the big front tire and the small back tire. I'm trying to imagine what it was like to ride something like this down the street. Seems like it would be hard to climb on and off. Take a look at these beautiful images:

















How old were you when you learned to ride a bike? I was about 10 or 11. But once I got going I rode all the time. I remember at age 17 I got a bright yellow ten-speed for my birthday. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 20.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Tuesday Tunes: Prelude Bach Cello Suite in G Major

The film series, Inspired by Bach, features the beautiful interpretation of Bach's Cello Suites performed by world class cellist Yo Yo Ma. The series comprises six short films, each showcasing one of the cello suites and focusing an a different artistic element. This clip is from The Music Garden (the cello suite in G Major), a documentary about creating a music garden in Toronto.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

A Hot Night in Bedrock



Today we strike the set for "Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon." I had so much fun in the show, meeting new people and rekindling friendships. I've also acquired new followers on my blog and thought you all might get a kick out of my humorous short story that I posted a while back called "A Hot Night in Bedrock." It's a parody of The Flintstones, 1960s cartoons and Sam Spade.

A Hot Night in Bedrock

It was a hot night in Bedrock. Sweat was pouring down my back and the monkey that pedaled the fan motor decided to take a banana break. When you’re a private investigator, you sometimes have to burn the midnight oil, and this was one of those nights.

It had been a long day and I was just about to mosey down to the local watering hole for a tall glass of pterodactyl juice on the rocks before heading home to watch the match between the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Bugs, my bookie, had given me a tip that tonight the bird was gonna lose . . . and lose big. I’d bet 100 clams on the coyote. The odds were high, but if Bugs knew what he was talking about, I’d be swimming in oysters for a month.

I grabbed my hat and walked toward the door when a dame walked in. Dames are a dime a dozen in Bedrock, but this one stood out like a cherry on a vanilla cone. She was tall, slender, and her red hair was pinned on top of her head with a little dinosaur bone. Her sexy white dress looped over a shapely shoulder and a single strand of pearls enhanced the curve of her neck. I could tell she was nervous and a little flustered.

“Are you Rocky Feldspar? Private Eye?”

“That depends on who wants to know.”

“My name is Flintstone. Wilma Flintstone.”

Flintstone . . . Flintstone . . . the name was familiar. I knew a Reuben Flintstone who worked out of Jellystone Park undercover as a bear, staking out picnic basket thieves. I’d also heard of a Seymore Flintstone, an informer that had testified in the Bullwinkle Moose trial and was now in the witness protection program. But one look at Wilma’s baby browns told me I was sniffing around the wrong fire hydrant.

“Have a seat,” I said, and offered her a chair next to my desk. She crossed her legs and her skirt slid up a few inches, but she quickly pulled it down over her dimpled knees.

“So, what’s your story,” I asked.

“I think my husband is trying to kill me.”

“What do you mean?”

She started to tear up and unsnapped her turtle purse, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

“Fred’s a foreman at the Rockhead Quarry. He’s not much in the brains department … or looks either, for that matter . . . but he’s a good provider.”

“Go on.”

“He’s a simple man. A member of the Royal Order of Water Buffalos. He goes bowling on Friday nights. And all he wants from me is a rack of barbequed spare ribs ready for him when he comes home.”

“Sounds like a great guy.”

She picked up on my sarcasm right away and a smile played at the corner of her mouth. “Yeah,” she said. “Fred’s one in a million.”

“Then why do you think he wants you dead?”

She unsnapped her purse again and pulled out an envelope, which she passed on to me. “I found this in his bowling bag. An insurance policy worth 500,000 big ones.”

I opened the envelope. The policy was legit, all right. Looked like Flintstone was in like flint . . . if he could pull it off. But something in my gut told me there was more to the story. I looked up and Wilma was standing next to me. She took the bone out of her hair and auburn tresses cascaded down her back.

“I’m pretty sure Fred is having an affair,” she said in a sultry voice.

I’d been down this road before. A dame finds out her husband has a lover, so she goes after the first guy she finds to prove she’s still desirable. I’d learned that lesson the hard way with Jane Jetson. Her husband George came after me one night with a loaded forty-five. Lucky for me his aim was lousy and he just riddled the wall behind me full of holes. What do you expect from a guy who walks his dog on a treadmill.

“Look, sweetheart,” I growled, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her back into the chair. “I’m not gonna play your reindeer games.” She looked hurt, but got over it faster than you could say “yabba dabba doo.” She pinned her hair back up with the dinosaur bone and smiled.

“No games, Feldspar. I just thought it would help the case if you knew what Fred was up to in his spare time. Not that I care. Our marriage has been dead for years. We’re only staying together for the sake of Pebbles.”

“Fruity Pebbles? The cereal?”

“No. Our baby daughter.”

“So who’s the dame?”

“Betty Rubble.”

I wrote the name down, but it was just for show. I knew Betty. A slinky brunette with big brown eyes and legs that wouldn’t quit. Fred didn’t know what he was getting in to, the poor sap.

“How do you know he’s having an affair?”

“He comes home late from work with lipstick on his collar. And I found some pink panties in his pocket. Not mine.”

“Maybe they’re his.”

“Not a chance. They were monogrammed ‘B.R.’ I know they belonged to Betty.” She showed about as much emotion as an accountant reciting the tax code at an IRS conference.

Like I said, I knew Betty very well. But I also knew about her dopey husband Barney and the double life he led. Those panties were his or my name wasn’t Rocky Feldspar.

“Can you help me, Feldspar? I heard you were the best P.I. in Bedrock.”

I couldn’t argue with her there. I was proud of my record. If it wasn’t for me, Mr. Magoo would still be jaywalking. And thanks to my efforts, Speedy Gonzales was locked up in the slammer without parole for running guns in Mexico. In fact, because of my deft detective skills, Boris and Natasha were nabbed for trying to skip the country with that nuclear warhead. Now they were waiting their turn at the gas chamber instead of knocking back vodka shots in Minsk.

I walked over to Wilma and put my arms around her. She didn’t resist. Despite her cavalier air, I knew she was in pain. I don’t usually get personally involved with my clients, but there was something about her that aroused my inner caveman.

“Sure angel, I’ll take the case.”

“Can I call you Rocky?”

“Call me whatever you like.” I turned off the desk lamp and we embraced in the moonlight. Tomorrow I would get to work, but first I had a bone to pick with Wilma Flintstone.

THE END

Friday, May 25, 2012

Friday Flicks: All the President's Men

I was 17 when President Nixon resigned in 1974. I remember sitting with my family watching his address to the nation on TV. Everyone was stunned. I wasn't really following politics at the time - I was more into clothes, Linda Ronstadt and the Sonny & Cher Show, but I'll never forget that day.

When the movie came out a few years later, I was older and wiser. Married with a child, politics moved to the front burner pretty quick and I wanted to learn all I could about Watergate. All the President's Men remains one of my all time favorite films.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

My Hollywood Rant



Find out what I think about Men in Black 3D. Just visit my movie blog at Skating Buffalo.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Tuesday Tunes: Radar Love

One of my favorite radio songs from the 70s. Great road trip tune!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Cheyenne International Film Festival



This weekend was amazing. My movie, The Bear Switch Project was screened at the CIFF and it was amazing to see the audience laughing and enjoying the movie. I saw some fantastic films and met some wonderful people. I was even on a filmmakers panel fielding questions from the audience. So surreal! I feel like a "reel" filmmaker.

I appeared on our local TV channel a few days ago to promote the festival, which was also amazing. We had a reception almost every night of the festival which took place May 17 through May 20. I also had my photo taken with a couple of other women filmmakers, one from Boulder, Colorado and one from Latvia!

It's Sunday night and I'm exhausted. But it was the craziest, whirlwind weekend of my life!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tuesday Tunes: Good Day Sunshine

How about kicking off the day with this fun Beatles tune.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Friday, May 11, 2012

Friday Flicks: Marathon Man

I first saw this movie on VHS back in the early 1980s when I started running. At the time I was studying WWII history as a hobby, particularly the Third Reich. This movie knocked my sweaty running socks off! After I saw the movie, I read the novel by William Goldman. I was impressed with this fascinating story of a former Nazi hiding out in South America, then getting mixed up with a Jewish grad student who is writing his dissertation on the McCarthy era when his black-listed father committed suicide.

Terrific performances by Dustin Hoffman and Lawrence Olivier.

The theme of the movie is best expressed in Olivier's famous line to Hoffman: "Is it safe?"

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Tuesday Tunes: Tomorrow Never Knows



So I'm watching Mad Men last night and Megan Draper tells Don to listen to the newly released Beatles Album, "Revolver." As she walks out the door, she says "Play the last song." Don puts the record on and sits in a chair with his bourbon as the tune fills the room. The song continues to play as we cut to Peggy who is working late at the office and smoking a joint. Cut to Peter in his car watching the woman with whom he had an affair, getting in the car with her husband.

Revolver is one of my favorite Beatles albums. And it goes without saying that the artwork is amazing. This album was a turning point in their musical journey from pop/rock to psychedelic.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Ryan Rocks!

So I found out something cool about my co-worker Ryan. Not only does he look like Tom Hanks, he is also an amazing guitar player! And not just any guitar player, he rocks with the best  -  Led Zeppelin, Cream, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Rock on, Ryan!

Ryan jamming with a local group Mo Diggin.

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Just a few questions . . .



If you could write a personal slogan that you live by, what would it be?
Be passionate about all that you do.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Are you kidding me?"

What is your secret dream?
Playing Norma in "Plaza Suite."

Who or what always makes you laugh?
Bob Hope.

What is always at your bedside?
A book.

What do you collect?
Hats, puppets and book marks.

What is your obsession?
Going to the movies and Starbucks.

What book or movie can you read or watch a million times without ever getting tired of it?
Movie: You've Got Mail. Book: Watership Down

What is always in your refrigerator?
Moldy cucumber.

Which song is the soundtrack for your life?
Help by the Beatles.

What about you?