MARY POPPINS

I remember seeing the Disney movie, “Mary Poppins”, as a little girl, and loving it.  Everything about it, Julie Andrews as Mary; Dick Van Dyke as Bert; all the songs, dancing, everything.  It truly seemed like magic to me back then.  And of course as a child, just trying to say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was fun. 

When the Broadway touring production of “Mary Poppins” came to Portland, I was excited.  A friend of mine, (who’s a big Disney fan), and I decided we had to see the musical on stage.  We got tickets for the second night of the run, and waited for the magic to begin.

And was there magic?  All I can say is, WOW!!!  The story grabs your attention from the start, and things just take off from there.  Not only were the actors excellent, all the props, music and special effects were fantastic as well.  You really felt like you’d been transported to England, and were right there with Mary and the Banks family; going through everything they were going through.

Usually I’m pretty up on where things originate from.  For instance, I knew the play had been adapted from the movie, “Mary Poppins”.  For some reason though, I never realized that there are books where the movie actually came from.  I found this out when reading the booklet for the play.  It’s adapted from the movie, and the first three “Mary Poppins” books.  In some ways I wish I’d known that before seeing the play.  On the other hand, not knowing made the experience new for me, all over again.

As a rule, movies and plays of things, like “Grease”, “The Lion King”, “Mary Poppins”, etc., usually differ in a lot of ways.  Scenes are rearranged, songs added or deleted, any number of things are changed.  A lot of times this has to do with what can and can’t be done on a stage, as opposed to a movie set.  Other times, it has to do with what’s portrayed in the movie, to give that movie a certain appeal, or whatever. 

“Mary Poppins” is like that.  As I said, I remember it as a little girl, all magic and fun.  The play, having been adapted from the movie and the books, took on a bit of a darker tone.  A perfect example of this is the character, “Miss Andrew”, who was George Banks’ nanny when he was a child.  The other name Miss Andrew was known by was, “The Holy Terror”, because of how strict and cruel she could be.

There was a scene when Mary explains to the children, Jane and Michael, why they should take better care of their toys. The toys come to life, full grown, and taunt Jane and Michael.  As my friend said, it was kind of creepy to watch.  I remember thinking at the time, if I was a little kid, I’d be afraid to go home to my toys.  

The scene that features the song, “A Spoonful of Sugar”, is also different from the movie.  I don’t know if it’s because I’m an adult now, or what, but I found myself watching the play, hearing the song, and watching Mary give the children and Mrs. Banks medicine, and I suddenly had the thought, “that’s Mary’s secret, she just drugs the family!”

The scene featuring the song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" made me feel like I was watching a 1900’s version of “YMCA”, crossed with the Macarena; at least that’s what *I* was seeing.  It made me giggle. I couldn't find a clip of the cast with the current "Mary Poppins", Steffanie Leigh, so I've put a clip from the Broadway production here.

On a side note, Steffanie Leigh is a native Oregonian, having grown up in Talent, in the southern part of the state. Steffanie joined the touring cast earlier this year, and makes a "practically perfect”, Mary Poppins.  (I say that, because in the play Mary is “practically perfect” in every way.)  

Over all, despite the darker tones of the play, it was well worth seeing.  It made me want to read the books to see what was left out of the play. 

If you’re interested in seeing the show during its Portland run, it’s playing at the Keller Auditorium through July 10, 2011.

THE 12 MONTHS & SHOWS OF REALITY CHRISTMAS

Wednesday on "Simon in the Morning", they had a segment asking listeners what type of reality show would they be best at.  For the life of me, I couldn't think of anything for myself, except maybe "Useless Trivia 24/7". 

What I did think of though was something I wrote a few years ago.  I don't remember how I got the idea, however, since I still have it, I've decided to share it on my blog.  I know it's been awhile ago, since some of the shows aren't on the air any more. 

With that said, I now present, "The 12 Months & Shows of Reality Christmas".

(Names of shows below represent what each Christmas show is patterned after; actual names will differ.)

(Shows run concurrently, starting the day after Thanksgiving and ending on Thanksgiving Day of the next year.)

   1.      Manhunt—To find the perfect Santa Claus.

    2.      The Bachelor—The new Santa picks his perfect Mrs. Claus.

    3.      Pimp My Ride—To customize Santa’s sleigh.

     4.      Extreme Makeover—To make the new Mr. & Mrs. Claus even more

                                            believable.

     5.      The Apprentice—The new Santa chooses which teams of elves-{hundreds,

                              but only show key elves}-continue on and which gets fired.

6.   Fear Factor—Elves must prove their abilities in various ways.

7.      The Amazing Race—All elves from the winning teams must split into new

                                            teams, then race to the North Pole.  At each pit stop Santa

                                            will eliminate a team of elves.

      8.      Survivor—All elves not eliminated will have to prove their survival skills at the

                           North Pole, or be eliminated.

9.      Big Brother—All remaining elves, along with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, have to prove

                                      they can survive together when snowed in at the North Pole.  Will

                                     also have to learn how to care for reindeer, make toys, etc.  More

                                     eliminations.

    10.  What Not To Wear—All final winning elves, along with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, get

                                               a complete fashion makeover.

       11.  Monster House—Santa  & Mrs. Claus, along with the elves, get their living

                                            space made over into the ultimate Christmas themed home.

          12. The Ulitmate Reality--All winners from the previous 11 shows
                                                      appear together in the Macy's Thanksgiving
                                                       Day parade.

                                            

Bonus Show—Unlucky #13

   13.  Cops--Santa and the elves are arrested for passing out black market toys to little children. It's a federal offense crossing state and international lines.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Claus is taken in to custody for putting a little too much "joy" in her brownies.

           

                             

       



Wedding Bell Blues

 Today’s “Simon in the Morning” show focused primarily on the upcoming wedding of Scott Simon’s daughter.  Scott said he wants his daughter to have the wedding she wants; however, he wished there was a more inexpensive way to do it.   He didn’t understand why there had to be a full, sit-down dinner at the reception, instead of just cake and punch.

Jake, on the other hand, saw no reason why there shouldn’t be a full dinner served.  He said that people come to weddings to eat.  

Maybe it’s like Jolynn said, it seems those of us in the older generation have no problem with just cake, or a potluck; while the younger generation seems to want more.  I have no problem going to a wedding and just having cake and punch.  Then again, I don’t go to that many weddings, and when I do, it’s not for the food; it’s to see the couple getting married. 

Honestly, isn’t that why it’s called a “wedding”?   People have weddings to share their special moment with friends and family.  The reception comes later, as a courtesy, (in my opinion), of the couple.  It’s a way of thanking everyone for coming to the wedding. If it was called a “reception”, THEN you could have the big, fancy, sit-down dinner, open bar, the works; and for extra entertainment for the guests, throw in a wedding. 

A suggestion I had was that having a wedding is all in the timing.  Schedule the wedding after lunch, but early enough before dinner; it would eliminate the whole, “feeding everyone”, problem.  People would be full from lunch; feed them punch and cake at the reception; they’re good to go until they get home for dinner.

Another topic that came up in the discussion this morning was where did all these traditions come from?   Some were easy to explain, like the parents paying for the wedding.  It probably evolved from when brides used to have a dowry.  To honor a suitor wanting to marry a man’s daughter, the man’s family would throw in a “bonus”; usually a goat, or something useful like that.  

Things aren’t like that now however.  It seems as the times have changed, so have the traditions.  Nowadays, the family of the bride is expected to pay for the wedding; while the groom’s family is responsible for the rehearsal dinner.  Well, at least that’s how it was when *I* got married.  Not sure it’s even that way anymore.

Then again, when I got married, my husband to be and I paid for it ourselves.  We felt that if *we* were the ones getting married, then *we* should be the ones to pay for it.  And we had a nice wedding, with everything the way we wanted it.  Okay, we got a little crazy; we didn’t have just cake and punch at our reception.  We upped the ante a bit by also having coffee, cashews and M&M’s.  Doesn’t sound like much, but there was a reason for it.  If there were leftovers, we didn’t want to be stuck with a bunch of stuff we didn’t like.  It was our wedding, and his favorite thing was cashews, and mine was M&M’s; so that’s what we had.

I don’t know, it seems as time goes on, people want everything bigger and better than the last person.  Not just weddings, but everything in general.  Back on the subject of weddings though, I had a thought.  Since traditions have evolved with the times, maybe they should evolve some more.  It seems nowadays that the younger generation is more educated; getting married later in life, and generally establishing themselves before settling down.  Not everyone maybe, but it does seem a majority of younger people are trending this way.

If that’s the case, here’s my suggestion for whom pays for a wedding:  The couple getting married.  Why not?  If they’re ready to get married, settle down, and be responsible, what better way than starting with paying for their own wedding?  Yes, it’s the bride’s special day, and she’s going to want everything to be perfect and special.  If she can’t afford what she wants for a wedding though, maybe it’s not time for marriage.  Or maybe she could lower her expectations, or find a way to work her budget around what she’s planning for the wedding.  

 I’m pretty sure a lot of people will disagree with me on this, and that’s okay.  This is just my opinion.  I’m sure if I were in Scott’s shoes, I’d feel the same way he does.  Every parent wants to do whatever they can for their child, me included.  I do feel though that it’s a viable solution to the high cost of a wedding.

One thing I feel shouldn’t happen at a wedding, or reception, is asking guests to pay.  These are friends and family that have been invited to the event; if they’re invited, why are they being asked to pay for it?  It seems totally tacky to me to do that.  Then again, if the couple who is marrying happens to be starving actors, this might be an opportunity.  Hmmm…I can see it now…

It could be a real life “Tony & Tina’s Wedding”, just change the names to the names of the couple, and go from there.  In this case, it *could* be a dinner theater, with each guest paying for their meal, and watching the wedding take place. 

If dinner is too expensive, even with guests paying, it could always be staged as a matinee.  Instead of dinner, guests would pay a lower price for the “show”, and have cake and punch instead.  VIP guests could upgrade to coffee, nuts and mints. 

Then again, with all the things that happen at Tony & Tina’s fictional wedding, maybe trying to do that in real life isn’t such a great idea.

I guess what it boils down to is, however a wedding and reception is paid for, it should be the best it can be for the couple.

KUPL HAPPY HOUR-WITH MARLEE SCOTT-JUNE 24, 2011

The evening of June 24, 2011 KUPL held another “Happy Hour” for their listeners.

This time food was provided by Elephant’s Deli, and was very good.  There were nuts, veggies, sweet & sour meatballs and macaroni and cheese.  In addition, patrons had a choice of beer or wine to go with their food.

Entertainment was provided by up and coming Canadian artist, Marlee Scott. 

I’d never heard of Marlee before her performance in the Bing Lounge.  Though the set was short, Scott was very entertaining. 

Marlee started her set with a song titled, “Planet of Your Own”.  It's a song about someone "so out there", you just wonder what planet they came from.  As Marlee put it, we all know someone like that.

Though Marlee Scott doesn’t have a distinct voice of her own, (in my opinion), she is a great singer and songwriter.  She’s just different enough not to be “cookie cutter”, like some artists are.  Also, the songs she writes are from the heart and experience.  You can tell this when she talks about her music, and songwriting.

Entertainers not only need to have talent, they need to have stage presence as well.  Marlee Scott definitely has this area covered!  From the time she came out on stage, she was talking to the audience, joking around, etc., like she’d known everyone there her whole life.

Being from Canada, Marlee has had various singles released there.  Her first U.S. single, "Beautiful Maybe", is scheduled for release today, (Monday, June 27, 2011).  It's this song Marlee ended her set with. 

Before singing "Beautiful Maybe", she told about making the video.  She said she doesn't like ticks, and how, while filming the video, she was down in a hole.  During the shoot, she noticed a tick near her, but still had to go on with the taping.  Someone, off camera, managed to "save" Marlee from the tick, by stepping on it.  After putting this visual in everyone's head, Marlee said to remember that when the video comes out. 

Once Marlee had finished singing, she took time to pose for pictures and sign autographs for anyone wanting one.  Just like she was onstage, Marlee was very nice, and friendly with everyone.  She also has a great sense of humor, which shined through the entire time.

In my opinion, though Marlee Scott may not be as good, or identifiable as some country artists; she definitely shows great promise of going far in the music business.

Summer Songs

Over the years, every genre of music has had it’s fair share of summer songs.  Heck, the Beach Boys have made a career singing about summer!

With today being the official start of summer, I decided it was a good time to mention some songs of the season.  Where to start though?  There are so many songs that can remind one of summer, it would take until at least fall to list every one of them. Even if just the country songs were mentioned, the list would be a long one. 

For that reason, I’ve decided to list only country songs, with “summer” in the title.

I’m sure there are probably songs I’ve missed; for now though, I’ve listed the eleven songs I know that fit my criteria.  The songs are listed in alphabetical order, by title.

1.       “All Summer Long”—Kid Rock

This song came out in 2008 and has been a staple on country radio stations ever since.  The song also helped Kid Rock propel himself into a new career in country music.

2.      “Groovy Little Summer Song”—James Otto

This is probably my favorite song by James Otto.  I just love the rhythm and feel of the song.  Released in 2010, unfortunately, the song only made it to 26 on the Billboard country music charts. 

3.      “Here Comes Summer”—LoCash Cowboys

This song was also released in 2010, charting just under the country top 40 at #41.  That’s sad, as I really think this is a great song and it should have charted higher.  To me, the LoCash Cowboys are the most underrated duo in country music.

4.      “It’s a Summer Thing”—Troy Olsen

Yet another song from 2010, is Troy Olsen’s “It’s a Summer Thing”.  Troy hasn't caught on with the masses quite yet, though this song did help get him some airplay.

5.  Six-Pack Summer—Phil Vassar

This is another of my favorite summer songs.  Released in 2001, it peaked at #9 on the country music charts.  This, to me is truly a classic country summer song that I never get tired of hearing.

6.    Summer Nights—Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts released this song as the second single from their “Unstoppable” CD.  The song peaked at #2 on the country charts in 2009.

7.  Summer’s Comin’—Clint Black

This song was released in 2006 and has always been one of my favorites.  I especially like the video for the song; which features cameo appearances by Howie Mandel, Dick Clark and Jay Leno, among others.

8.  Summertime—Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney is known for his lighthearted songs about fun in the sun.  “Summertime” was Chesney’s contribution to summer in 2005.  He took the song to #1 on the country charts.

9.    Summertime Blues—Alan Jackson

“Summertime Blues” was originally written and released by rockabilly artist, Eddie Cochran, in 1958.  It peaked at #8 on the Billboard charts.  Several other artists have recorded the song over the years.  Alan Jackson took his turn with the song in 1994, reaching #1 on the Billboard country charts.

10. Sunshine & Summertime—Faith Hill

As I stated in the introduction, I’m sure there are songs I’ve missed while compiling this list.  I repeat it here, because there must be more than one country summer song done by a female artist.  Faith Hill’s “Sunshine & Summertime is the only one I can think of however.  It was released in 2006, and peaked at #7 on the country charts.

11. That Summer—Garth Brooks

Though the word “summer” appears in the title, this song definitely has a different feel to it.  It doesn't have that light, carefree feeling most summer songs have.  Instead, it tells the story of a summer romance between a hired hand and his boss.  Garth Brooks took the song to the top of the country charts in 1993.

Twisted, Tangled Tunes

The other day, during the "Celebrity Soup", on "Simon in the Morning", Scott Simon had a blurb about Weird Al Yankovic.  According to the report, Weird Al has parodied some country songs on his next CD.

The story reminded me of a song rewrite I did awhile ago.  The song is Alan Jackson's "5 O'Clock Somewhere", with Jimmy Buffett.

In my version, I had country song parody artist, Cledus T. Judd doing Alan Jackson's lines, and Weird Al doing Jimmy Buffett's.

In light of the news about Weird Al's latest CD, I've decided to post my parody of "5 O'Clock Somewhere" on this blog.

My apologies in advance for the size of the print.  I couldn't make it any larger, and still have it fit the blog.

For My Dad

Since today is Father’s Day, I’ve decided to post a blog about my dad, Wayne Predmore.  (Please forgive the quality of the photo.  My dad hates having his picture taken, and this was the best my son could get.)

 First I’d like to say that “Father’s Day”, sounds kind of stuffy.  To me, it’s “Dad’s Day”.  It just sounds more fitting and comfortable to me; especially since my dad isn’t the stuffy type.  If the truth were told, I’ve called my dad, “dad”, for a long time now; though in my heart, he’s always been, and will always be my “daddy”. 

Every year, I hear radio and television commercials about “what dad wants for Father’s Day”; they never fit my dad.  My dad isn’t one to wear ties, unless it’s necessary.  He’s not the rugged, outdoor type; the sports type; or any of the other things described in the commercials.  I think the closest a commercial has come to ever sounding like my dad is one that said, “dad likes to eat”.  That sort of fits my dad; he does love his cookies. 

 My dad is easy to get things for however.  He loves gadgets.  The nice thing about the gadgets my dad gets is, they’re useful.  Well, most of them anyway. 

 He also has some collections that are just his.  I’ll clarify this by saying that, as a couple, my parents have things they collect; and they also have separate collections.  For my dad, it’s pens with advertising on them; ball caps with advertising, or other things on them; and cow cream pitchers.

 Growing up, I’d always get pens from anywhere I went, to give to my dad.  When my son was about a year old, we got him a hat with my son’s picture on it.  Also over the years, I’ve made my version of cow cream pitchers for my dad.

 There are just so many things I could say about my dad.  How he used to work at Fred Meyer, and knew Mr. Meyer personally.  How he worked 35 years for the post office, always the graveyard shift. Before that, he worked at a Standard gas station, (it’s Chevron now), in Portland, Oregon.  How once, Nat King Cole came into the station and ended up singing while his car was being worked on.  I could tell you all the stories he’s told me over the years about his childhood, the navy, his jobs, all of that; but I won’t.  Not because I don’t want to; because I couldn’t tell his stories as well as he can. 

 Everything I’ve written so far tells you a bit about my dad; it’s just the surface though.

My dad is one of those guys that doesn’t say “I love you”.  When I was younger it bothered me; especially since we clashed a lot when I was a kid.

I’ve always been told I’m just like my dad.  Again, that bothered me sometimes when I was a kid, because of the clashing we did. 

As I get older though, I see things a lot differently.  My dad may have never told me specifically that he loves me; but I KNOW he does.  My dad is a living example of “actions speak louder than words”.  For all the times he’s never said “I love you”, there’s been an equal number of times, (if not more), where he’s done things for me, or others in the family, that he didn’t have to do.  He just did it, because he wanted to. 

My dad is also very loyal to his family.  One of the best examples I’ll always remember is when I had an internship at a local TV station.  It’s a station that I grew up watching the news on, because my parents always did.  I couldn’t get hired on to the station full-time, and ended up quitting, to take another job.  

The day I quit was the day my dad stopped watching the news on that station.  Didn’t matter that I was the one who decided to quit; if his daughter wasn’t good enough for them, he was just going to watch another station from then on. Over the years, he has gone back to watching the news on that station, though he does still switch around at times.

As far as me being “just like my dad”, yeah, I am; and I’m okay with that.  I’m especially okay with me having the same sense of humor as my dad.  My sense of humor is one of my favorite things about me; and seeing how my dad is, anyone could tell he’s where it came from.  Though I’m pretty sure my dad would tell you I’m a bit more warped than he is.  I am.  I like to say that I got the good part of humor from him, and expanded on it.

In other ways, I’m different than my dad.  I’m very much a hugger; my dad isn’t.  I say, “I love you”; he doesn’t.  In fact, it kind of makes my dad uncomfortable when someone says it to him.  Again, it’s not that he doesn’t have those feelings; he just grew up in a different era when guys didn’t say stuff like that. 

I used to think if I said it to him enough, he’d get used to it, and start doing it too.  Then I realized, I was just making him uncomfortable, which I didn’t like doing to him.  So I don’t say it to him anymore; not because I don’t love him, but because I don’t like making my dad feel uncomfortable; especially if it’s in front of other people.  As I put it, I don’t want him to feel all “squirmy”.   Instead, I try to show my dad in little ways that I love him.  Guess I learned that from him too. 

We still clash sometimes, we probably always will.  It’s what happens when two people are so much alike. Don’t ever mistake it for me not loving my dad, or vice versa; as stated throughout this blog, the love is definitely there, you just have to look instead of listen for it.

When it comes to that “squirmy” feeling my dad gets about this stuff; well, that’s where my actions will speak for me instead of words.  I’ve written this post, and put it here on my blog.  My next step is to print off a copy for my dad for “Dad’s Day” and give it to him.  He can read it when no one else is around.  Then, if he feels “squirmy”, no one else will know. 

So, happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, dad’s, daddies, etc.; out there, and especially to my daddy.  Thank you for being my dad and putting up with me all these years.