Friday, March 15, 2013

RAIN PRYOR (RICHARD'S DAUGHTER)--A MUST SEE!

RAIN PRYOR STARS IN THE GROUNDBREAKING OFF-BROADWAY PLAY:
 
" FRIED CHICKEN AND LATKES"--A MUST SEE !!!
(at the ACTORS TEMPLE THEATER -NYC)

--FUNNY !!!
--CREATIVE !!!
--POIGNANT !!!
--BRILLIANT !!!
--AWARD WINNING PLAY !!!

"Fried Chicken and Latkes played to sold out crowds and standing ovations every night at the 375 seat Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA, and repeated that success at the Culture Project in New York, Chicago, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, and Scotland..." (WOODSTOCK FRINGE) 

I AM A HUGE THEATER FAN/SUPPORTER. I HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO SEE MANY GENRES OF THEATER; FEW, HOWEVER, HAVE BEEN MILESTONES- "FRIED CHICKEN AND LATKES" RANKS AS ONE OF THEM.

THE FIRST PLAY I EVER SAW ON BROADWAY WAS "GODSPELL". I WAS HOOKED ON MUSICALS AT THAT POINT. AT INTERMISSION THEY INVITED THE AUDIENCE TO COME ON STAGE AND DRINK WINE, (I'M SURE IT WAS GRAPE JUICE--SUSPEND I TOLD MYSELF, IT'S THEATER), WITH THE CAST. I WAS HOOKED. 

THIS FIRST MILESTONE LEAD ME TO NAVIGATE TOWARDS MORE & MORE MUSICALS-SEEING "A CHORUS LINE 5X; LES MIZ 4X, ETC. 

THEN IN 1984 I HAD A LIFE ALTERING EXPERIENCE, IN THE GREAT WHITE WAY, WHEN I SAW THE BRILLIANCE OF WHOOPI GOLDBERG IN HER ONE WOMAN SHOW. I THEN STARTED EXPANDING MY HORIZONS TO DRAMAS/COMEDIES AS WELL. MILESTONE NUMBER 2.

WHAT RAIN PRYOR DOES IS YET ANOTHER MILESTONE. NOT ONLY DOES SHE DO CHARACTERIZATIONS, AS WHOOPI DID, BUT THIS AMAZING ARTIST SINGS, DANCES AND USES BELLY ACHING HUMOR TO TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A JOURNEY OF HER UNCONVENTIONAL LIFE:  BEING HALF, WHITE JEWISH & HALF, BLACK (HENCE THE TITLE) AND HAVING THE EXTREMELY UNCONVENTIONAL FATHER, RICHARD PRYOR.

I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH OF HOW HER GENIUS IS ABLE TO EMBODY SO MUCH IN THE SHORT SPAN OF ONE HOUR. 

THE TICKETS ARE INEXPENSIVE WITH A PRICELESS RETURN. DO NOT MISS IT!

TREAT YOURSELF, YOU WILL THANK ME.

I HAD READ HER BOOK AND HAD SEEN HER ON TV BUT BOTH WERE UNDERWHELMING WHICH LEAD ME TO THIS PLAY WITH MEDIUM TO LOW EXPECTATIONS. I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE SURPRISED AND THANKFUL.
LUCKILY SHE IS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO THANK HER GUESTS IN THE LOBBY WHEN THE SHOW IS OVER AND I MADE SURE SHE REALIZED WHAT AN IMPACT IT HAD MADE ON ME. 

I'D GLADLY SEE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN...

 A BROADWAY HOUSE NEEDS TO COME CALLING. 
SHE DESERVES A HUGE SPACE, A NEW AGENT TO PROMOTE THE SHOW BETTER AND PERHAPS A TITLE CHANGE ( MAYBE INCLUDING HER FATHER'S NAME) ---THE AUDIENCES WILL FLOCK TO IT ! 


 GO TO:  BROADWAY.COM ---TO SEE RAIN PRYOR EXPLAIN IT BEST-------YOU'RE WELCOME---LOL



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( ONE PIECE OF ADVISE: EVEN IF IT'S THE QUESTIONABLE WIKIPEDIA, READ ABOUT HER LIFE PRIOR TO SEEING THE PLAY SO YOU CAN APPRECIATE THE TRANSLATION FULLY)

BTW, I OWN THE BOOK THE SHOW IS BASED ON IN CASE ANYONE I KNOW WANTS TO READ IT



Wednesday, March 6, 2013

MY FORMER STUDENT DRAFTED TO THE WHITE SOX !

I AM ALWAYS SO PROUD WHEN I FIND OUT ONE OF MY FORMER STUDENTS IS ON A PATH TO SUCCESS. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I WAS BLOWN AWAY WHEN ANOTHER ANTHONY WAS ACCEPTED TO YALE LAW SCHOOL.

ANOTHER YOUNG LADY WAS ATTENDING F.I.T IN NYC INSPIRED BY A FIELD TRIP WE TOOK WHICH INCLUDED A TOUR OF THE SCHOOL & ITS EXHIBITS.

I WAS AT THE GYM RECENTLY WHEN TWO GOOD LOOKING, WELL MANNERED YOUNG MEN APPROACHED ME .

 THEY HAD SEEN ME THERE BEFORE AND WANTED TO SAY HELLO.

I WAS THINKING THEY WANTED TO WORK OUT ON THE MACHINE I WAS ON . INSTEAD I GOT ONE OF THE NICEST SURPRISES I'VE HAD IN A WHILE: THEY WERE EX STUDENTS OF MINE.
ONE OF THEM, DAVID ALICES,  STARTED SPEAKING FRENCH- HE SAID I HAD TAUGHT HIM LANGUAGES. HE HAS A FINE CAREER IN NJ NOW.

THE OTHER, ANTHONY  SANTIAGO, LANDED A MINOR LEAGUE DEAL WITH THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX (LIKE HIS BROTHER HECTOR, ANOTHER ALUM FROM THE MIDDLE SCHOOL I TAUGHT IN NEWARK, NJ).

THOUGH ANTHONY HAS TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY IN HIS YOUNG AGE, HE SAYS NEWARK WILL ALWAYS BE HOME. A HUMBLE AND GENUINE YOUNG MAN.

MY HEART IS FULL OF PRIDE! THEY MADE MY DAY, WEEK, YEAR...

GODSPEED BOYS!

HERE'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANTHONY:

"For Anthony and Hector Santiago Jr., playing baseball together is a black and white kind of thing.
The Newark brothers grew up playing together and even competed for county and state titles at Bloomfield Tech (with Anthony catching southpaw Hector Jr.).  They also played for Newark Little League teams and now, the two have the rare chance to reunite again on the diamond – this time in the big leagues.
Anthony, 23, inked a minor-league deal with the Chicago White Sox last weekend, the same team his older brother, Hector Jr., 24, was called up from nearly one year ago.
"Just to think that one day I might actually be able to (play with him) again, in front of 40,000 fans, I pray for that to happen," said Anthony sporting a black and white Sox cap and t-shirt. "My brother's like my best friend … He always told me, 'You can play at this level, you're definitely just as good as any of these players or better.'" (from "THE BLOOMFIELD PATCH")



 

BURLESQUE? QUINN LEMLEY "TEASES" TO PERFECTION

 

 
MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTION OF WHAT BURLESQUE WAS CAME FROM THE CLASSIC MOVIE "GYPSY" (1962), STARRING NATALIE WOOD & ROSALIND RUSSELL. THEN I SAW IT ON BROADWAY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
TO DATE, IT'S MY FAVORITE MUSICAL.

THE SEED WAS PLANTED AND I WAS HUNGRY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS ART FORM.
IRONICALLY I WAS LEARNING ABOUT IT IN FRAGMENTS OF THINGS I SEEM TO BE DRAWN TO (BETTE MIDLER , FANNY BRICE, FLORENZ ZIEGFELD, BOB FOSSE'S CHOREOGRAPHY, FASHION INFLUENCED BY BETTIE PAGE , FREDERICKS OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE MULTIPLE FILM HOMAGES, SUCH AS: LILI ST. CYR  IN "THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW"; LATER "CHICAGO" AND IN 2010 "BURLESQUE").

RECENTLY I FOUND OUT THAT EVEN IN UNION CITY, NJ, THERE WAS BURLESQUE: "THE HUDSON HOUSE", BLOCKS FROM WHERE I GREW UP; SADLY GONE BY THE TIME WE ARRIVED FROM CUBA.

THERE HAS BEEN A HEAVY RESURGENCE REGARDING BURLESQUE STARTING IN 1992 WITH DITA VON TEESE. 

SPARKING SUCH DESIGNERS AS  JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, VICTORIA'S SECRET AND LA PERLA TO DRAPE -AND AT TIMES CINCH- THEIR MODELS WITH  BURLESQUE INFLUENCED FASHION. 

THANK YOU QUINN LEMLEY FOR BEING THE NEXT ONE TO CARRY THE  "TEASING" TORCH USING THE COSTUMES OF FEATHERS, SEQUINS AND TASSLES & MAKING THEM "POP" THROUGH WORDS, MUSIC AND DANCE, MAKING ALL OF US WANT MORE, MORE , MORE!

 MS. LEMLEY REMINDS THE AUDIENCE, "IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEASE"!
HER SHOW  PUTS THE TEASE BACK IN STRIPTEASE.
 IT'S ALLURING.
THE  SHOW'S VISUALS MAKES THE HEART HAPPILY PALPITATE (AND MAYBE A FEW OTHER ORGANS AS WELL-LOL).

WHILE EDUCATING THE AUDIENCE WITH THE HISTORY OF THIS GENRE, QUINN LEMLEY IN "BURLESQUE TO BROADWAY"  KEEPS THIS FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT CURRENT WITHOUT LOSING ANY OF ITS INTEGRITY.
.
 I THINK LEMLEY'S STRENGTH IN MANY OF THE SHOWS SHE HAS STARRED IN  ("THE HEAT IS ON" FOR ONE ABOUT RITA HAYWORTH) IS HER CAPTIVATING ABILITY TO  EDUCATE  HER AUDIENCE ABOUT THE SUBJECT WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY AND FULLY ENTERTAINING HER GUESTS: "LET HER ENTERTAIN YOU, LET HER MAKE YOU SMILE".

AS BIG AS THE MAJESTIC "STATE THEATER" IS QUINN EMBRACES THE AUDIENCE IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT  FEEL PERSONAL.
WHAT A GIFT!

ANOTHER THING THAT MAKES QUINN LEMLEY UNIQUE IS HER PERSONAL  AFFILIATION TO BURLESQUE. IT'S INFORMATIVE AND RIVETING!
THE CHOREOGRAPHY IS TOP NOTCH-AS ALWAYS.
 THE BAND? AMAZING!
HER TWO "GIRLS" ARE PURE TALENT. A BEAUTIFUL COMPLIMENT TO LEMLEY; SHE IS GENEROUS IN ALLOWING THEM TO SHINE ( A SIGN OF A SECURE AND TRUE PROFESSIONAL).

THE SHOW MAY HAVE BEEN PERFORMED IN NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ BUT THE FEEL WAS TOTALLY BROADWAY. THERE WAS NO SKIMPING HERE IN QUALITY OR QUANTITY.

WHILE THAT FRIDAY THE COUNTRY WAS WORRYING ABOUT THE POLITICAL/FINANCIAL SEQUESTER THOSE OF US HOWLING & ENJOYING "BURLESQUE TO BROADWAY"  WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE FAMOUS BURLESQUE HOUSE, "MINSKY'S",  WHERE LEMLEY CHANNELED ALL THE GREATS FROM MAE WEST TO GYPSY ROSE LEE.



Monday, March 4, 2013

HIV VIRUS DISAPPERS IN 2 YR. OLD

Researchers: Toddler cured of HIV




(CNN) --" It's a potential game changer in the fight against HIV, and doctors say it happened almost by accident.

A baby with the virus that causes AIDS was given high doses of three antiretroviral drugs within 30 hours of her birth. Doctors knew the mother was HIV positive and administered the drugs in hopes of controlling the virus.

Two years later, there is no evidence of HIV in the child's blood.

The Mississippi girl is the first child to be "functionally cured" of HIV, researchers announced Sunday. They said they believe early intervention with the antiretroviral drugs was key to the outcome.

A "functional cure" is when the presence of the virus is so small, lifelong treatment is not necessary and standard clinical tests cannot detect the virus in the blood..."
HIV girl's 'cure' a breakthrough
'Huge' implications in HIV treatment
The finding was announced at the 2013 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

"MOMATH MUSEUM" (NYC)THE MUSEUM OF MATH

MO ROCCA JUST HAD AN INTERESTING SEGMENT ON  THE CBS  NEWS SHOW, "SUNDAY MORNING",  REGARDING THE FIRST EVER MUSEUM DEDICATED TO MATH--IN NYC-OF COURSE-11 EAST 26TH STREET , TO BE EXACT.

I SEE IT AS A COUNTER MUSEUM TO  JERSEY CITY'S  Liberty Science CenterA field trip to Liberty Science Center helps reinforce in-classroom learning for all ages. ... Liberty State Park 222 Jersey City Boulevard Jersey City, NJ 07305

(THERE'S EVEN A MUSEUM IN NYC-"MOSEX"-DEDICATED TO SEX NOT FAR AWAY--BUT I DIGRESS)
 
 "MOMATH MUSEUM":


"MoMath is not what you might expect. At first you might not even guess its subject. There are a few giveaways, particularly if you recognize the symbol for pi on the door or discover the pentagonal sinks in the bathrooms.

 But what is that cylinder constructed of plastic tubes stretching toward the ceiling with a seat inside (“Hyper Hyperboloid”)? Or that transparent wagon that slips along multicolored acorns in a trough (“Coaster Rollers”)? Or a tricycle with three square wheels, each of a different size, rolling along a bumpy circular track (“Square-Wheeled Trike”)? 

And what is that screen on which you paint electronic designs with a brush (“Polypaint”)? The two adjustable sloping paths on which you race objects (“Tracks of Galileo”)? The pixelated illuminated floor that responds to your movements (“Math Square”)? 

This is not a museum, you might think, it is a high-tech playground, some 19,000 square feet with 30 attractions on two floors. I stand in front of a screen, and I see myself as a tree sprouting branches of mini-me’s (“Human Tree”). I cover a wall with interlocking monkeys (“Tesselation Station”). I dip a paint roller into water and map footprints on a blackboard (“Water Frieze”). Child’s play or something else?"... (THE NY TIMES ARTICLE)

Welcome to the National Museum of Mathematics

Mathematics illuminates the patterns and structures all around us. Our dynamic exhibits and programs will stimulate inquiry, spark curiosity, and reveal the wonders of mathematics. MoMath is geared towards kids in grades 4 through 8, but there is plenty to engage younger kids and adults!

The Museum is located at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week, 364 days a year (MoMath is closed on Thanksgiving Day). Please be aware that MoMath will be closing early on March 6th, at 3:00 PM.

- See more at: http://momath.org/#sthash.kACdPJS7.dpuf
  HERE'S THE CAVEAT, ACCORDING TO THE TIMES: "The problem is that we don’t get enough guidance to be led deeper. The exhibits offer touch screens that can display three different explanations, the appropriate level sensed from a coded card provided each visitor. But these explanations are the museum’s weakest part. The most basic are often stilted or overly elaborate; the most advanced, not sufficiently suggestive.."

Welcome to the National Museum of Mathematics

Mathematics illuminates the patterns and structures all around us. Our dynamic exhibits and programs will stimulate inquiry, spark curiosity, and reveal the wonders of mathematics. MoMath is geared towards kids in grades 4 through 8, but there is plenty to engage younger kids and adults!

The Museum is located at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week, 364 days a year (MoMath is closed on Thanksgiving Day). Please be aware that MoMath will be closing early on March 6th, at 3:00 PM.
- See more at: http://momath.org/#sthash.kACdPJS7.dpuf
The Museum is located at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week, 364 days a year (MoMath is closed on Thanksgiving Day - See more at: http://momath.org/#sthash.kACdPJS7.dpuf
The Museum is located at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week, 364 days a year (MoMath is closed on Thanksgiving Day - See more at: http://momath.org/#sthash.kACdPJS7.dpuf
The Museum is located at 11 East 26th Street in Manhattan and is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week, 364 days a year (MoMath is closed on Thanksgiving Day - See more at: http://momath.org/#sthash.kACdPJS7.dpuf

Nobel Peace(?) Prize Winner, LECH WALESA, against LGBT


 User avatarFormer Polish President Lech Walesa at the 20th anniversary of the founding of Solidarity, the first independent trade union in the Eastern Bloc, August 30, 2000.
 "Walesa said in a television interview on Friday that he believes gays have no right to sit on the front benches in Parliament and, if represented at all, should sit in the back, "and even behind a wall."
 "They have to know that they are a minority and must adjust to smaller things. And not rise to the greatest heights, the greatest hours, the greatest provocations, spoiling things for the others and taking (what they want) from the majority," he told the private broadcaster TVN during a discussion of gay rights. "I don't agree to this and I will never agree to it." "A minority should not impose itself on the majority," Walesa said.
 Wałęsa was born in Popowo, Poland.
His father Bolesław was a carpenter who was arrested by the Nazis before Lech was born and thrown into the concentration camp at Mlyniec. Boleslaw returned home after the war but lived only two months before succumbing to exhaustion and illness - he was not yet 34 years old.
His mother Feliksa, born Kamienska, has been credited with shaping her son's beliefs and tenacity..."





BTW;  Over the years, Wałesa has been accused of having been an informer for the Polish secret police Służba Bezpieczeństwa .

FURTHERMORE:
 Following the June 1989 parliamentary elections, Wałęsa was disappointed that some of his former comrades-in-arms were satisfied to govern alongside former communists. He decided to run for the newly re-established office of president, using the slogan, "I don't want to, but I've got no choice".
_____________________________________________________________________________

I HAVE NEVER UNDERSTOOD HOW OPPRESSED PEOPLE RESOLVE TO OPPRESS OTHERS.
 BASICALLY,  WALESA  APPARENTLY FEELS IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH HIM, HE WILL TRY TO CREATE A NEW REALITY AS HE DID IN 1989.

 IN THE 1930'S HIS FAMILY WAS PERSECUTED AND INSTEAD OF SHOWING EMPATHY TO OTHERS, HE IS ACTING LIKE HIS OPPRESSORS.

MAYBE MR. WALESA HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE. ( "The lady doth protest too much, methinks")

 MAYBE  HIS EGO HAS HIM BELIEVE HE CAN RE-ESTABLISH THE ENTIRE WORLD'S EVOLVING VIEWS ON THE LGBT COMMUNITY.

 LUCKILY, THE STRIDES BEING MADE FOR THE  LGBT COMMUNITY ARE NOT IN TUNE WITH THIS UNIFORMED, EGOMANIACAL, IMBECILE, HOMOPHOBIC, POWER-HUNGRY HYPOCRITE ...




Friday, March 1, 2013

"THE SUPREMES" COSTUME COLLECTION EXHIBIT

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM IN PHILADELPHIA PRESENTS
COME SEE ABOUT ME
The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection
 Presented in cooperation with Blair-Murrah Exhibitions
An exhibit made possible by funds received from the PNC Foundation through PNC Arts Alive
PHILADELPHIA – (August 8, 2012) Nearly a half-century after American female singing group, the Supremes, conquered the airwaves and rose to international stardom, the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP), in cooperation with Blair-Murrah Exhibitions, will celebrate the group’s historic imprint on American culture, women’s history, music, and fashion through a ground-breaking new exhibit.  "Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection" will feature over thirty of the Supremes’ most glamorous gowns.


 “The gowns tell the story of an important era:  the Supremes and the society that the Supremes helped to transform.  The Supremes embodied style, class and integrity at a time when those were some of the only things that African-Americans could legitimately claim in American society.  The grace and confidence that the Supremes personified would inspire a nation and continue to serve as a shining example of modern Black womanhood—American womanhood,” says Dr. Neal.


COME SEE ABOUT ME!

OPENING January 25, 2013!!! “Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection" is a showcase conceived by Mary Wilson, an original member of the Supremes. In addition to the group’s stunning gowns, “Come See About Me” will feature rarely seen video footage, gold records and album covers, historic photographs, and contemporary magazine and news articles. Wilson’s determined journey towards self-actualization—a story of universal relevance for women of all ages and backgrounds—will be a key theme of the presentation as well. Includes Access to entire Museum Jan 25th through June 30th 2013.

$14.00

 





 LOCATION:
701 Arch Street
Philadelphia,
PA 19106

HOURS:
Wed thru Sat:
10am - 5pm
Sunday: 12 Noon - 5pm
Open MLK Day for Day of SERVICE!!!
Closed New Years' Day, Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas Day