Category Archives: Personal

Review: Live Arena Tour’s Jesus Christ Superstar

This cannot be considered a true review because I haven’t seen the production in its entirety, however… what I have seen (which is more than plenty) is enough for me to warrant putting my thoughts down on a post and continue on my merry way.

I’ll be brutally honest… first… if I were to do the last year all over again, I would participate in this show once and that is it. Once is more than I am able to stomach and there has to be a damn good reason as to why I would want to participate in the production a second time and in all honesty it wasn’t worthwhile. So by extension I have been adverse to actually since any kind of production of JCS on stage… unless it is for a damn good reason.

Well is Melanie Chisholm and Tim Minchin good enough reasons? After the following live performance with Mel C as Mary, Tim Minchin as Judas, and Ben Forster as Jesus… For me hell yeah!

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Endeavors: NaNoWriMo Weeks 2 and 3

Ok… so it would appear that it takes me another two weeks before I found a block of time to sit down and just write again.

So for a quick update of Week 3 (since I did squat in Week 2):
Day 15: edited the first ten-minute scripted. Deleted a character and streamlined the script more before sending out to a few friends.

Day 18: edited the first ten-minute again after talking to friends and going back to old comments. Also worked on other ten-minute scripts. Reprinted script that I didn’t have access to originally.

Day 19: I wrapped up all the scenes that were missing in the accidental deletion bring the overall word count to 5,019 (words written / added: 326).

Day 21: Expanding the Sixth Scene in the series of vignettes as well as re-worked a few of the earlier scenes so that the Narrator wouldn’t be talking so much or rather narrating the piece too much by himself. Also added an afterword kind of describing the purpose of the work and the inspiration. Word count: 6,010 (words written / added: 991).

Conclusion: So I did manage to get some decent work in, I am impressed with myself. It only took a week of doing squat before I was able to get back into the groove of writing.

However, there is no way I will be able to hit the 50,000 word goal that is typically set by NaNoWriMo unless by some miracle I pull off an all day marathon writing session… and who knows if that would happen.

What I will say is that for the series of vignettes, now that one scene is completed I am back to going back to the research material to plan out what I would like to do next. So it might be a day or two until I actually get anymore writing done, unless something presents itself.

Ah well… one can hope I suppose.

As for another other posts? I am not exactly dry on the posting front I have just been focused on getting some legitimate writing done this month since that was the commitment I made. Eventually I’ll start posting again… but until then I will work on the writing projects and maybe if things work out I’ll post a few tidbits, but somehow I am doubt that I would even do that.

Recipe: Cracker Jack Breaded Chicken w/ Orange Sauce

Don’t ask me why Cracker Jack (as in the caramel popcorn) because that was the challenge issued to me and for someone that likes challenges… why not? So I had the darnedest time trying to figure out what would work and a shot out of the blue I thought “breaded chicken”! So the simplest would be to ground the Cracker Jack into a powder for the breading. Not bad… but now what? Well for the adhesive I had a basic idea what I wanted… but to get a basic idea of portions I had to look up the interwebs… and the following is what I found.

So what did I end up using? Well…
– Jolly Time: Thai Peanut and Popcorn Crusted Chicken
– Tasty Trials: Peanut and Crack Jack Crusted Chicken with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
– No Recipes Blog: Orange Chicken

How did I marry the above three recipes together?
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Recipe: Spinach-Artichoke Alfredo Pasta Sauce on Four Cheese Ravioli

Yes, this is a little heavy on the dairy (ok a LOT heavy on the dairy), but considering I was just working with what I had in my stores could you blame me?

Anyway I notice a friend of mine online posting a picture where she and her boyfriend had used the recipe and that was what my attention to the point that I wanted to make it myself (considering I had four cheese ravioli that was sitting in my freezer in forever!). So once the recipe was scanned an emailed it still took me a full month until I was able to find the time and the courage to whip up the recipe myself based on what I had on hand and come up with something that was closer… if not exact.

So below is the original ingredient list and directions as sent to me:


As always beyond the break I will explain how I have changed and adapted it and how it came out… unfortunately I do not have pictures at this time so care with me.
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Endeavor: One Woman “Show”

Earlier this year I was helping a friend out in her desire to put together a “one woman show” full of songs that would help describe particular events or people that had a significant impact in her life. Over time we came up with a title (thanks to another friend) for her “one woman show” and she is currently planning things out bit by bit over time.

Which got me into thinking. I am not a vocalist like she is, my strength is via writing, comedy, skits… But my saving grace (I feel) has always been my writing.

For years I have been writing a collection of poems that I have posted on FictionPress.com with more poems that I simply haven’t posted in storage. I also have a long slew of “moments” that I have written as a reflection of what I was reading or writing or feeling at any particular moment in time. Sifting through everything they all seem to revolve alone the men that have come and go in my life for one reason or another.

All with different voices, and for different reasons.

So when I joined another friend to watch an Open Mic / Book Reading session at the local book store run by a mutual acquaintance something occurred to me that didn’t happen before.
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Reflection: Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart

In late September, the production of Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart wrapped at Hale Park nearby Summit, IL. The production that I was a part of, that was so incredibly emotionally and mentally draining for me (but was ultimately worthwhile) had its last show with an avenue opening for a reprise / revival to occur sometime down the road.

However, very early on in the rehearsal process I originally wanted to read the book “A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of Twenty-Six American Women Who Served in Vietnam” Put together by Keith Walker. In the end I decided not to due to the possibility of having twenty-six different voices in my head versus just one voice that is a conglomeration of a few of the stories. Granted there are pros and cons in reading the original stories… But in the end I was glad I made that decision of not reading any of the original stories prior to the run of the production.

However, now that the run is over, I was tempted to go and read the book that inspired the play:
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Endeavors: NaNoWriMo Week 1 Update

So… I finally decided to follow through with NaNoWriMo and chose to work on a script that not only has been on back burner but I made the mistake of deleting the original composition last month. Looking at the original hard copy, I had a lot of revisions regardless… so I felt this was a good project to work on first and see how far I could take it.

Most of the research and breaking down of the scenes were done months (if not years) ago, and now is just the matter of putting thought to paper… and already I was beginning to see changes on screen and improvements that I could add into the piece… which I did as I typed.

What is it exactly that I am working on? Can’t say… or rather, won’t say… considering that I still have to finish it. Granted I may actually make mention of it on my writing blog: Beyond the Abyss, but I won’t inundate you with details here.

So how did I do from day to day?

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Fleeting: Costume Inspirations

Earlier I mentioned an article that gave inspirations of female icons to dress up as for Halloween… after a bit of web surfing I found myself down the rabbit hole of Take Back Halloween: A Costume Guide for Women With Imagination.

Really now?

To say that I was intrigued is an understatement. Nevertheless I was curious enough to look through the various female icons that were shown.

One of the first that I looked at was for Zenobia (since I posted a bit about an original musical coming next year). The ancient Syrian garb of the time tends to have a decidedly Hellenistic feel (lots of layers, draped tunics, and scarves for good measure), but I have yet to see a production on stage or in movies that show off that ancient garb in a flattering and historically accurate light.

Though I digress.

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Recipe: Rum (Rhum) Cake with “Icing”


In late October my aunt from Kentucky brought up a few loaves of a soft kind of bread as a treat… I only had a slice, but I fell in love and immediately wanted the recipe.

A week later the recipe for the Rhum Cake popped up in my email inbox and I immediately set out to try the recipe… To more than stellar results.

Below is the original cake recipe that was sent to me:

INGREDIENTS for CAKE
3 eggs
4oz (approx 1/2 cup) oil
1 box yellow instant pudding (approx 3-1/2 oz)
1 box Butter Golden cake mix
4oz (approx 1/2 cup) self rising flour
10oz (approx 1-1/4 cups) milk
2oz (approx 1/4 cup) Rum
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS for CAKE
1: Turn on oven 325 degrees F
2: Mix all ingredients well for about 10 – 15 minutes.
3: Pour mixture into bread tins in the following sequence:
3a: 25 minutes at 325 degree F
3b: 10 minutes at 250 degree F
3c: Turn off oven, leave in oven for 10 more minutes

The first time I tried out the above, I followed the recipe to the tee and absolutely loved the results. In fact I loved them so much that I decided to change up the recipe using 5oz (approx 5/8 cup) of melted Stracciatella from the Lindt store in the Aurora Premium Outlet Mall.

So how did I adapt the recipe when I decided to add that particular ingredient?
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Endeavors: National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo

The first of November marks the beginning of the National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. Typically, I do not partake in this endeavor primarily because I simply don’t have the time… but nowadays with so many writing projects up the air I figured that this year (2012) I would give NaNoWriMo a shot.

One problem… most of my current writing projects involve scripts… which would fit more in Script Frenzy which unfortunately closed their program in April 2012… doesn’t mean I can’t use it for my own uses though, does it?

So what is the purpose or goal for NaNoWriMo? According to their website:

National NovNational Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.

Compare that to Script Frenzy:

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April.

But how do they compare?
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Recipe: Bánh Cuốn

For some reason my family loves bánh cuốn and I mean… loves loves bánh cuốn. A dish from the North Vietnamese region, it literally means “rolled cake”, but in this case it is a rolled rice noodle which is comprised of a thin sheet of steamed rice batter filled with primarily ground pork, minced muschrooms and minced shallots.

Whenever my mother makes bánh cuốn, it was always with some instant batter mix, and although good just didn’t seem great. Then my aunt from Kentucky came up last month and she showed my mother and I her mix for us to taste and see for ourselves how it could be done… and my goodness if I wasn’t so full from the five course meal earlier in the day I would have gobbled the plate up!

Now the Ravenous Couple has their own recipe upon on their site. Note: I will only provide the ingredients and directions for the batter since that is the most important piece of the Banh Cuon… for fillings and condiments feel free to link accordingly.

Ingredients
1 bag of rice flour (16 oz)
1 bag of tapioca flour (14 oz)
1 ts salt
3 qt of water

Directions
1: In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice and tapioca flour with water and salt. Mix well.

2: Heat up a large nonstick pan to medium high heat. Brush on a very light layer of oil and ladle on the well mixed batter and immediately tilt and swirl the pan around to evenly coat the pan. You’ll have to use your judgement on the quantity according to how large your pan/ladle is. Cover for about 30 seconds and the crepe should be nearly transparent. Then invert the pan to your large aluminum work tray that has been lightly brushed with oil.

3: Add a small amount of filling into the center of the crepe and spread it out thinly. Then fold over the sides and place in a serving tray. You can make many banh cuon and stack them on top of one another and it won’t stick due to the very lightly oiled surface that you’re working on. Repeat again and again.

Like all Vietnamese cooking, this is also catered to taste… so below is the recipe that my aunt uses.
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Conventions: What to Wear for the Renaissance Faire

Earlier in the summer I was introduced to the Bristol Renaissance Faire by close friends of mine and instead of going once… I went multiple times. Why? Because I was trying to put together a costume for an upcoming convention in Rochester, Minnesota called FablesCon.

After much deliberation, timeline, feasibility, etc… I have finally figured out who I am going as… and considering most of the piece are almost done all I have left are a couple of essential accessories… W00t! Let’s hope I get this done in time for March.

However… I digress. After the plans for the aforementioned costume were put in motion, my friends and I helped another friend in deciding what to do for his costume which in time turned over to “so when you go to the Ren Faire next year what are you going to dress up as?”

Well… I don’t know, I never really thought about it. Darn them for planting seeds so that I have to think about it now… grr.
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Fleeting: Việt Nam’s Heroines – The Trưng sisters, Phùng Thị Chính and Lady Triệu

It is rather embarrassing when one’s beau knows more about your heritage’s past and history more than you do… particularly if this beau happens to be not of the culture. This happened to be the case with my current beau over the past few months.

One of the things that isn’t all that known in Vietnamese history (or Asian history for that matter) is the number of women that stood up against the Chinese oppressors of Việt Nam. Keep in mind that Việt Nam was under Chinese control for over one thousand years during which the Vietnamese people essentially lost much of their national identity, writing system and language.

Everyone knows of Joan of Arc or Elizabeth I, but when one thinks of Asia they automatically look at Mulan (thanks Disney) which is great and all… but there are others, though some questionably and some with a lot of blood on their hands.

Two of the more prominent heroines were the Trưng sisters and Lady Triệu.
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Review: The Voice of Việt Nam (Live Rounds – Hồ Ngọc Hà Edition)

Finally we have the fourth and final team for whom we will look at the breakdown of the seven vocalists as they are whittle down to five.

Taking a look at the official posted results we can easily figure out at least two of the final five that will be moving forward.

First off let us get the runaway favorite out of the way for this team who happens to be Bùi Anh Tuấn who sang Hoang Mang (Bewildered). He received 47.2% of the total team vote.

The second place public vote recipient went to Đinh Thị Thanh Hương (13.81%) who sang Forever And One

So who were the lucky vocalists to be given a free pass by the judge to move on to the next round?
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Entertainment: Lego does The Justice League

Ok seriously nerds everywhere have been looking for a decent Justice League movie to come out of the Hollywood house and nothing? The Avengers have a string of movies coming out and sequels up the wazoo… so who has a good movie down the pipeline?

LEGO!

Now seriously… why is this not in theaters? I mean really.

Gotta love my nerd blogs for gems like this (in this case from the Gamma Squad).
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