Life art yarn & baby poop

Personality Plus: A Twin Takes Over – New York Times

Just had to blog about the utterly amazing Elisa DeCarlo.  I first “met” Elisa through the boards over at ebay, started to read her blog “Diary of A Mad Fashionista” and today I learn that she has been profiled in the NY Times!  (oh and we are both selling over at Specialist Auctions as well)

A new employee is hired at the Tickle Me Elmo factory.

The next day at 8:45 a.m. there’s a knock at the personnel manager’s door. The assembly line foreman comes in and starts ranting about this new employee. He says she’s incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up.

Sure enough, Elmos are backed up all over the place. At the end of the line is the new employee. She has a roll of the material used for the Elmos and a big bag of marbles. They both watch as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles, and starts sewing the little package between Elmo’s legs.

The personnel manager starts laughing hysterically. After several minutes he pulls himself together, walks over to the woman and says, ”I’m sorry, I guess you misunderstood me yesterday. Your job was to give Elmo two test tickles.”

Ahhh Steven Patrick Morrissey … the man who sang on the soundtrack to my teenage years. (hey, can’t forget my other favorite asexual Michael Stipe)…

Yes, I’m watching an on demand concert video of the Smiths.  I finally got the satellite hooked up to the internet so now we can watch stuff on demand (well… the stuff has to download first, that’s a whole other story).  I forogot how much I loved them… and how many of the songs I still remember.  Although I am resisting the urge to go through and paper the bedroom walls with photos of him…  I am being good and not subjecting the husband to the Smiths either (the husband was a “classic rock”/ “southern rock” kind of guy growing up)… the boy is ignoring the Smiths as well…  although he did like the Ozzy “Crazy Train” video I also downloaded (yes I have weird music tastes).

But to tangent back… ahhh The Smiths, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees… the music of the 1980s… the music that helped to make 4 years at Sacred Heart almost tolerable (almost because when one is stuck in an all girls high school filled with hypocrites  and liars… and that is the faculty… except for Mary Freeland of course)… Morrissey spoke to us who did not fit the mold- who were not “cute” and “pretty” and “rich”- it was OK to be yourself- to be a freak to reject the “norms” that the society you were in tried to force you to conform to. 

Ironic that I’m watching the concert the day after I got the tripe known as the Cordecho.  The Cordecho is the alumnae rag that gets sent out.  It has perky articles and updates on people.  I’ve been half tempted to write up a totally fake update, send it in and see if they publish it.  Just because I’m evil like that.

Barack Obama Is Your New Bicycle

Your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Countess-Palatine Beth the Unctuous of Witchampton Under Buzzard Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

The Buffalo News: Home: Studio Arena lays off more workers in struggle to survive

The cloud hanging over Studio Arena Theatre for the past year darkened Thursday as the debt-plagued Main Street stage took new cost-cutting steps.

Sources confirmed that several behind- the-scenes employees have been laid off, that others will be let go when “To Kill a Mockingbird” ends its run Feb. 24 and that unused stage props are being sold off to raise cash.

Daniel A. Dintino, president of the Studio board, and Kathleen A. Gaffney, chief executive officer and artistic director, did not return calls seeking comment. A news conference was set for today and then canceled.

However, Robert O. Swados, honorary board vice chairman, said the organization plans to issue “a comprehensive statement” Monday on Studio’s status.

Asked whether Studio Arena, reportedly $1.2 million in debt, is on the brink of closing, Swados said: “No — not in my view, anyway.

“There is a lot of work to be done; a lot of parties are working to solve the problem,” said the Buffalo lawyer and longtime board member. The staff layoffs “are not necessarily permanent,” he added.

Two productions remain on Studio’s 2007-08 schedule after “Mockingbird”: David Hare’s “The Vertical Hour,” March 11-30, and “Side by Side by Sondheim,” April 22-May 18.

The fresh turmoil follows months of behind-the-scenes negotiations to plot a new course for the regional theater amid reports that board members are sharply divided on whether to move forward or simply shut down.

Studio’s problems spilled into the open in January 2007, when 14 staff and production employees were fired to stem what were characterized as “grave and potentially life-threatening” losses that totaled $1 million over the previous two seasons.

Leaders unveiled an “entrepreneurial” approach aimed at reducing the annual budget from $5 million to about $3.5 million. It included hiring fewer outside directors; employing one artistic team — lighting director, stage manager, costumer and others — instead of changing teams after every show; and adapting some of the same sets for different productions.

July brought a new three-phase strategic plan that called for further cost-cutting, restructuring, shortening the season and paying off debt.

Michael S. Piemonte, chairman of the board at the time, said he was “a little more confident” about the theater’s prospects but added: “If we find ourselves in six months not having done that well, boy, we’re going to find ourselves in a pile of trouble.”

And then, in November, came word that Studio Arena and Shea’s Performing Arts Center were discussing a deal to merge some of the Studio’s off-stage operations with those of the big Broadway rental house just down the block.

Those talks are going slowly, said Anthony C. Conte, Shea’s president.

“We have been working with them in trying to solve some of their problems and essentially restructure the theater for the future,” he said, “but the existing financial problems have really gotten to the point where they’re kind of in the way of doing anything.”

Conte said the discussions have yielded “good ideas for the future for Studio, but they’ve got to get past this financial crisis first, because you really can’t do anything as long as they’re in this financial mess that they’re in.”

Others, including award-winning television writer-producer and Buffalo native Tom Fontana and the Buffalo Theatre Alliance, said they are eager to help Studio Arena.

Fontana said he stands ready to help with fundraising and urged the theater board to reconsider a reorganization plan involving a long-term partnership with Buffalo State College, his and Gaffney’s al-ma mater.

“There are a lot of ways to save this thing,” Fontana said.

If Studio Arena is unable to finish its season, the Theatre Alliance, comprising more than a dozen area working theaters, may let Studio subscribers exchange their tickets for seats at alliance productions, said Randall Kramer, artistic director of MusicalFare Theatre.

“We want to make sure in all of this that people have viable options,” he said.

Figured I would let people know- I worked there one season. Sadly I think this is going to be a situation where Kathleen Gaffney is going to be blamed for the mess that she inherited.

This is really a case of where the theatre spent many years spending like they did in the past- never minding the fact that over the years many long term corporate sponsors had shut down or been bought out by companies with no ties to Buffalo (and headquartered elsewhere so no reason to take tax write offs for arts organizations in other cities).  Add into the mess the lack of money in local government (literally in one year the amount allocated for arts fundings was cut 75% or more- I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me).

Meanwhile the area (government) is trying to find a way to lure Bass Pro to town (as in giving them millions of dollars/ paying the millions to demolish a building)- because Bass Pro is going to “save Buffalo” the same way K-mart “saved the east side”, a way to build a new football stadium to maybe convince Ralph Wilson’s family to not sell the Bills when he dies (because let’s ignore the fact that the arts have a higher attendance rate then Bills football games without the drunken vomiting, fights and DWI’s).

Technorati Tags: studio arena, theatre, theater, buffalo,

This is just a clip of the 10 minutes following the accident.

Technorati Tags: buffalo, sabres, richard zednik, hockey, accident, zednik

Powered by ScribeFire.

Post game interview with Florida Panthers head coach

Technorati Tags: Buffalo, hockey, sabres, florida panthers, zednik

Powered by ScribeFire.

I missed the game last night (was watching the Grammy’s instead) but from the news reports this morning it looked pretty bad. 

Luckily it looks like he got fast medical care and is doing well.

Lindy Ruff’s post game comments:

Ryan Miller’s post game comments:

Technorati Tags: buffalo, hockey, florida, injury, zednik

Powered by ScribeFire.