Category Archives: Thought of the Day

December 4, 2013

Music Break on RitaLOVEStoWRITE

By ritalovestowrite

You may or may not know this, but I’m a bit of a music nerd.

I’ve been singing since, well, forever. One of my earliest memories is running around our neighbors back yard playing with my brother and sisters in the leaves of her massive oak tree. We had the best neighbor and she loved when we came over, so we totally had permission. Anyway she and my mom were at the fence drinking coffee and chatting and we are all jumping in the leaves, singing and screaming with joy… and Ms. Bess, the neighbor lady, said “You know I think Rita is going to be a Soprano.”

Yup.

This is me circa 1968. If I ever made a CD I'd use this pic and call it "When Girls Ruled Everything."

This is me circa 1968. Should I ever make a Jazz CD I’d like to use this pic and call it “When Girls Ruled Everything.”

I’ve always loved to sing. And the best advice my mom ever gave me was to “Go ahead and sing out!” Don’t be intimidated by all the Negative Nellies out there that might look at you oddly, or say you don’t know the words, or think that you are doing it wrong. Just do your best and sing.

A more modern photo of me singing the part of the Voice of God 2 in "Can You Hear Me Now?" with the Our Lady of Grace music group in 2011.

A more modern photo of me singing the part of the Voice of God 2 in “Can You Hear Me Now?” with the Our Lady of Grace music group in 2011.

To this day standing in front of an audience and singing is infinitely easier than standing in front of one and doing anything else (like talking).

So as we put a wrap on the Thanksgiving Season I’ll go on record as saying I’m very thankful for my instrument …  and for my family’s encouragement in using it. Thanks to for the lessons and the piano, guitar, bass and, most recently, the cutest little ukulele ever.

Me in a rather interpretive illustration by my daughter when she was in early elementary school.

Me in a rather interpretive illustration by my daughter when she was in early elementary school.

I know I’m a few days late to start an Advent Calendar, but I thought it might be nice to bring a little music to the blog this Holiday Season. So on days where I don’t have a Muffin Recipe or a Secondary Character Profile (or something else I really REALLY want to write about) I’m going to exercise my power as a BLOGstress and treat y’all to sounds of the Season.

Here’s one my friend Jane turned me on to, Angels We Have Heard On High by the Piano Guys:

I’d love to hear your favorites (songs of all faiths — and secular tunes — are welcome). Send me a link.

Cheers,
Rita

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Music, postaday, Thought of the Day

December 4, 2013

Julianne Moore 12.3.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

 

Julianne Moore at the premiere of the movie TH...

 

“Comedy is ridiculously hard. And if the rhythm is not right, if the music or the line is not right, it’s not funny.” –Julianne Moore

Julie Anne Smith was born on this day in Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 1960. She is 53  years old.

The eldest daughter of three children born to an army officer, Peter Moore Smith, and psychologist /social worker, Anne Smith, Julie moved a lot as a child (as the family moved from base to base for her father’s career). She considered medicine, but in high school she began to do theatre.

She earned a BFA in Acting from Boston University’s School of Performing Arts in 1983 and moved to New York. It was there, when she applied for her Equity Card, that she knew she’d have to change her name. With a “Julie Smith” and a “Julie Anne Smith” already on the roles she chose to honor her father by taking his middle name as her last name. She mashed up her first and middle names to make Julianne and “Julianne Moore” was born.

She paid her dues working as a waitress and in off-Broadway plays for a few years before landing a couple of gigs on day time dramas. Her tenure on The Edge of Night was brief, but her stint as  twins Frannie and Sabrina on As The World Turns ran for three years and earned her a an Outstanding Ingenue Daytime Emmy Award in 1988.

 

 

Her stage work included Ophelia in Hamlet at the a Guthrie Theater, and a workshop performance of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.

 

In 1990, she made her film debut in Tales of the Darkside. Moore, however, gained more notice for her supporting role in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992). [Biography.com]

 

She followed that with four movies in 1993:

  • Body of Evidence
  • Benny & Joon
  • The Fugitive
  • Short Cuts

She took on Uncle Vanya again in the movie version Vanya on 42nd Street in 1994.

Vanya on 42nd Street

Vanya on 42nd Street (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Julianne moved to bigger roles in bigger movies, including the blockbuster second installment of Jurassic Park — The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.  She picked up  her first Oscar nomination the same year for her role of Amber Waves in Boogie Nights.

She took on several more sequels and remakes, like the 1998 remake of Psycho, and the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal.

Never afraid to swing from comedy to drama she’s been in movies as diverse as The Big Lebowski and Children of Men.

Children of Men

Children of Men (Photo credit: nata2)

She has been nominated for 4 Academy Awards. Besides Boogie Nights she’s gotten the nomination for After The Affair, Far From Heaven, and The Hours.

She can currently be seen the reboot of the Stephen King classic Carrie.

English: Actress Julianne Moore - 66th Venice ...

English: Actress Julianne Moore – 66th Venice International Film Festival (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Coming up Moore will be seen as:

  • Jenn Summers in Non-Stop (2014)
  • Havana Segrand in Maps to the Stars (2014)
  • Mother Malkin in Seventh Son (2015)
  • President Alma Coin in The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay (Part 1 — 2014, Part 2 — 2015)

 

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2 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Film, Julianne Moore, postaday, Thought of the Day, Today's Birthday

December 3, 2013

Muffin Monday: Apple Cranberry Almond

By ritalovestowrite
Apple Cranberry Almond Muffins ready to go into the oven.

Apple Cranberry Almond Muffins ready to go into the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 3/4 cups Brown Sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup plain Yogurt
  • 1/4 melted Butter
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 cup Chopped Cranberries
  • 1 cup chopped Apple
  • 1 cup choppedAlmonds

TOPPING:

  • 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
  • 3 tablespoons Flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare 18 muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl combine Flour, Brown Sugar, Baking Powder, Ground Cinnamon, Salt, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and Baking Soda.

3. In a medium bowl beat the Eggs, combine the Yogurt, melted Butter and Vanilla.

4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

5. Fold in the Cranberries, Apple and Almonds.

6. Divide batter evenly into the 18 muffin cups.

7. In a small bowl combine the TOPPING ingredients using a pasty blender or two forks.

8. Top the muffins with the Topping mix.

Apple Cran Almond 2

9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until muffins pass the toothpick test.

These muffins were nice and moist, but not too dense. A smidgen on the sweet side because of the topping and the apples, but the fresh cranberries help bring them around with a kick of tartness.

Apple Cran Almond beauty

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November 30, 2013

In case you didn’t know…Winter is HERE, but Christmas is COMING!!!

By ritalovestowrite

Actually that “!” should be ! x 1,000,000. At least that’s the way if feels when I look at either my email inbox or my physical USPS mailbox. [That’s right, rita is about WRITE a rant.]

English: DC USA, Target, Black Friday

Is it me or has the Christmas Rush buying season really ramped up this year?

I’m on the email list for a cute little American Girl Doll accessory shop and they’ve been emailing me EVERY DAY since the beginning of November to let me know how many shopping days are left before Christmas!!!

Here in America Thanksgiving is a national holiday. People are supposed to gather with their families, eat a big meal and say thanks. Some folks go to church, some catch a football game or parade… but the big meal (usually featuring a turkey) is pretty much the mandatory event.

The next day (today) is called Black Friday and is supposed to be the beginning of the Christmas Shopping season. Stores have big sales and people line up to get to early bird specials. Some stores open at Midnight to get a jump on those early bird shoppers.

English: DC USA, Best Buy, Black Friday

English: DC USA, Best Buy, Black Friday (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Only now it seems that even opening at Midnight isn’t bringing in enough cash to the corporate coffers. So as soon as the pumpkin pie has been put away the Wal Marts and K Marts and Targets and Toys ‘r’ Us  and Staples opened their doors to the consumer hungry hoards. They advertise “DOOR BUSTER SALES” to hype up the buying frenzy. And sure enough people have stated to get injured (and even killed) in the crush to get inside to shop!!! But if  you didn’t get to the store last night or today, don’t worry, most of the sales last until Sunday. (So why call it a Black Friday Sale? )

Not to be outdone the online market, which is always open, started their Black Friday sales early. I’ve gotten emails starting as early as last Saturday inviting me to Pre-Black Friday sales (25 in the last two days). (I got one Black Friday Sale offer from GARMIN — I guess that might come in handy if I needed directions to the mall.) These “special sales” last at least to Cyber Monday (Dec 2nd).

It is all so consumer driven and so force-fed (and tacky).

Can we please just dial it back a bit and maybe remember what the Holiday Season is all about?

I realize I’m coming at the rant as a practicing Catholic and a Christian… but it’d be nice if people would start the “Holiday Buying Season” with at least a passing glance at an Advent Calendar.

The only thing that I think could tick me off more about this hyper-stuffed-goose-liver of all marketing schemes is if I WASN’T a Christian! I don’t know what I’d do if I had to put up with all this contrived merriment / shopping extravaganza in the name of a god I didn’t follow. (Well, I’d probably write a strongly worded BLOG about it!)

Some children looking at a selection of Christ...

Ahhh the good old days when people actually had time to window shop, and there was physical space between shoppers.

Nestled in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday where one is encouraged to patronize small locally owned shops. This is one tradition I will participate in. I have several people on my list who are wonderfully suited to LOCALLY SOURCED gifts bought at boutiques. However, since I try to buy from these shops anyway I don’t really need a special DAY to go through those doors.

OK. Rant over. I’m going to go eat some left overs.

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November 29, 2013

Quick before the triptophan kicks In…

By ritalovestowrite

…pass me another slice of pumpkin pie, hon, its Thanksgiving here in America.

Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Weir a c...

Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Weir a copy is also located in the, United States Capitol rotunda, Washington, DC (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are lots of myths about Thanksgiving… like…

… the first Thanksgiving in America took place at Plymouth Colony in 1621. … Actually, there were Spanish and French celebrations of Thanksgiving in the New World long before the Pilgrim’s 1621 feast.  In 1565 Pedro Menendez de Aviles celebrated a mass of thanksgiving with native Americans near what is now St. Augustine Florida.

Turkey Dinner

Turkey Dinner (Photo credit: LonelyBob)

…the tryptophan in the turkey makes you want to curl up and take a nap after the big meal …  While turkey does contain L-tryptophan, you’d have to eat it on an empty stomach (and with out sides) before you got drowsy.

…Other foods contain as much or more tryptophan than turkey, … including chicken, … pork, and cheese. [About.com]

…The Pilgrims wore black and had buckles on their hats… If you were rich in the 17th century you could afford to wear black, but the Pilgrims? Not so much. They wore brown, green, beige, violet, gray, white, dark red and dark blue. And the buckle? That’s a 19th century artistic creation.

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Polymer Clay Magnet

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Polymer Clay Magnet (Photo credit: Jennie Ivins)

…Thanksgiving is an American tradition, and it has been celebrated every year since 1621… Nope. Although “National days of thanksgiving were held sporadically through the 18th century” [education.com] the traditional date of the last Thursday in November wasn’t established until 1863 when Abraham Lincoln made it a federal holiday. Even then the date was played with to boost the Christmas shopping season between 1939 and 1940. But by 1941 it was firmly planted on the fourth Thursday of November.

[Image courtesy: http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/interactives/thanksgiving-by-the-numbers]

[Image courtesy: History.com ]

… Everyone ate turkey and pumpkin pie at the 1621 Thanksgiving … turkey, maybe. A hunting party did go out to shoot fowl and it is likely that they bagged turkey as well as duck, goose and swan. But the protein on the table probably came courtesy the Wampanoag Native Americans in the form of venison (deer).  Although the Pilgrims would have had pumpkin it would not have been in pie form. The Pilgrims were very low on both sugar and flour, and they didn’t have a way to bake a pie.

…The original Thanksgiving took place in November, that’s why we celebrate it on the 4th Thursday of November now. … Actually the 1621 feast took place sometime between September 21 and November 11 and was three days long.

Having busted your Thanksgiving bubble… I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Now bring me some figgy pudding.

Thanksgiving

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November 26, 2013

Muffin Monday: Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins

By ritalovestowrite

I love how certain foods cost next to nothing certain times of the year… That’s the case for Sweet Potatoes or Yams around Thanksgiving. So I picked up a few for today’s blog post.

Sweet Potato Muffin

Mashed Sweet Potato Muffin

Mashed Sweet Potato Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/4 cups packed Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Cooking Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Eggs
  • 4 cups mashed Sweet Potato
  • 1 cup finely chopped Fennel
  • 2 1/2 cups Flour
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare muffin cups with baking spray. (I did 18 muffins)

2. In a large bowl combine Brown Sugar, Cooking OIl, Vanilla Extract and Eggs.

3. Mix in the Sweet Potato and Fennel.

4. In a smaller bowl stir together the Flour, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Salt.

5. Mix in the dry with the wet a little at a time until it completely combined.

6. Divide the batter evenly into  18 muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes or until the muffins pass the toothpick test.

Ready for the oven

Ready for the oven

7. Remove muffins from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

These muffins are delightfully moist, almost to the point of being creamy. Taster Bill called them “delicious and addictive.”

I think they’d be the perfect solution for left over Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes.

 

Ready to eat

Ready to eat

 

Just in time for Thanksgiving (or Thanksgiving leftovers)!

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November 24, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Roger Hamley (Wives and Daughters)

By ritalovestowrite

Anthony Howell as Roger Hamley [Image Courtesy: BBC Video]

Anthony Howell as Roger Hamley [Image Courtesy: BBC Video]

WHO: Roger Hamley

FROM: Wives & Daughters

BY: Elizabeth Gaskell

Elizabeth Gaskell, in portrait of 1851 by Geor...

Elizabeth Gaskell, in portrait of 1851 by George Richmond (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PUBLISHED: 1865

PROS: Earnest, hardworking, intelligent, honorable, ruggedly romantic, humble and handsome, he’s quite the Victorian hero.

CONS: Unfortunately for Roger he is the second son. His older brother Osborne outshines him in pretty much everything (especially expectations) at the beginning of the novel. Osborne  is “…full of tastes” [Chapter 4 of Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell]  has talent, and has grace and refinement in his appearance. He is sweet-tempered and affectionate and does well at school. While Roger was …

clumsy and heavily built, like his father; his face was square, and the expression grave, and rather immobile. He was good, but dull, his schoolmasters said. He won no prizes, but brought home a favourable report of his conduct. When he caressed his mother, she used laughingly to allude to the fable of the lap-dog and the donkey; so thereafter he left off all personal demonstration of affection. [Ibid]

He can’t help being a second son, but there you have it. In a society where the first son will inherit everything, there’s not much our boy Roger can do.  Another CON for Roger (this one he can do something about) is the way he swiftly falls for Cynthia. He’s gobsmacked, head-over-heals in love with this humming-bird of a woman, when we all know he should be falling for Molly!

One of the final pages from the manuscript for...

One of the final pages from the manuscript for Wives and Daughters (The Works of Mrs. Gaskell, Knutsford Edition) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BEST SHINING MOMENT: His kindness to Molly on her first visit to the Squire’s. Gaskell died before she finished the novel, so we never get to read her intended ending (having Roger return a dried flower to Molly when he proclaims his love just before leaving for a second scientific expedition to Africa.  But if one were to go by The lovely 1999 BBC miniseries of the novel (with Anthony Howell as Roger) I’d say the the best shining moment was the ending…

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: Choosing Cynthia over Molly. D’oh!

WHY I CHOSE ROGER: I’m a sucker for the underdog.

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November 22, 2013

Rene Magritte 11.21.13 Thought of the Day

By ritalovestowrite

“Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see.” — Rene Magritte

The Magician Self Portrait With Four Arms [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

The Magician Self Portrait With Four Arms [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

René François-Ghislain Magritte was born on this day in Lessines, Belgium, in 1898. Today is the 115th anniversary of his birth.

He was the eldest of three boys born to  Leopold and Regine Magritte. He liked drawing from an early age and began to take lessons  at 12.  At 14 his world was turned upside down when his mother, who…

suffered from depression… fled to go to throw herself over a bridge, into the river Sambre. A few days later, her body is found floating, her face covered by her nightgown; René… was deeply scarred by the image, which was later going to reappear in some of his works (The Heart of the Matter). [famouspainter.com]

In 1914 he entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels to learn traditional painting techniques.  His “plan was to master these techniques before breaking free of them.” [Ibid] While at the Academy he was influenced by the Futurist, Cubist and Surrealist movements.  Because of the later, “Magritte decided to make each of his painting a visual poem.” [Ibid]

He began to work professionally and by 1927 had joined other Surealist artists (like Salvador Dali) . His first one-man show in Brussels was not a critical success in conservative Brussels, and he moved to Paris.

What set him apart from the other surrealists was his technique of juxtaposing ordinary objects in an extraordinary way; while Dali would “melt” a watch, playing with the consistency of an object (amongst other things), Magritte would leave objects intact, but play with their placement in reality, playing with logic. This technique is sometimes called Magic Realism. [famouspainter.com]

His witty and thought-provoking images and his use of simple graphics and everyday objects”… gave  “new meanings to familiar things.” [Biography.com]

Magritte died in Brussels on August 15th in 1967 at the age of 69.

Gonconda, 1953 [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

Gonconda, 1953 [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

Son of Man [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

Son of Man [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

The Two Lovers [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

The Two Lovers [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

The Month of the Grape Harvest, 1959 [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

The Month of the Grape Harvest, 1959 [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

This is Not an Apple, 1964 [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

This is Not an Apple, 1964 [Image courtesy: rene-magritte.net]

 

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November 20, 2013

Thinking about Neo the 8″ tall antelope

By ritalovestowrite

Sometimes it seems like nothing but bad news comes across my feed. Even an optimist like myself has to sigh and shrug and give in to the realization that the best one can hope for is that tomorrow will be better.

But this morning I came across something so unimaginably adorable that I forgot all my woes and found myself smiling at the computer screen.  And so, in the name of much-needed cuteness and a gentler world I bring you… Neo the 8″ (20 centimeter)  tall Kirk’s dik-dik antelope.

Neo lives at the Chester Zoo. [Image courtesy: The Examiner]

Neo lives at the Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, England . [Image courtesy: The Independent]

Little Neo weighs in at about 3 pounds (1.3 kgs). He will grow to be about twice as big as he is now. But at about 16″ the Kirk’s dik-dik is the smallest antelope in the world. They are native to “Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia” [Chester Zoo.org] where they live “in a variety of habitats such as woodlands and grassland.” [Ibid] The Chester Zoo has had a dik-dik exhibit for six years.

Unfortunately life has not been easy for month old Neo (he was born 10.10.13). His mother rejected him as she did his eight-month-old sister Aluna. According to Zookeeper Claire McPhee:

“Dik-dik mothers do not always take to their young and unfortunately Neo and his mum didn’t quite hit it off. …But happily his not-so-big sister Aluna … is drawing on her own experiences and is being a real calming influence on him. They spend lots and lots of time in each other’s company and she’s really helping with his development in his crucial early days. …Little Neo is … a little bit shy, nervous and jumpy around other dik diks. But Aluna is dishing out lots of special care and attention and it’s helping him integrate into the wider family group. She’s helping him to settle in nicely and it’s lovely to see.” [Ibid]

Neo and Aluna. [Image courtesy: Chester Zoo.Org]

Neo and Aluna. [Image courtesy: Chester Zoo.Org]

Between socialization tips and confidence boosting lessons form Aluna and hands-on care by the the staff at the Chester Zoo Neo’s prospects look good.

Neo does a fact check [Image courtesy: twimg.com]

Neo is very popular in the Zookeeper’s office.  [Image courtesy: PBS.twimg.com]

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