Happgood's Watchcry

Dying Girl Granted Wish to See 'Up'

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (June 19) -- Colby Curtin got her final wish.
The 10-year-old girl desperately wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, "Up." But the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater.

Thanks to a family friend who got in touch with the movie studio Pixar, an employee of the Emeryville-based company arrived at Colby's home with a DVD copy of the movie, The Orange County Register reported Friday. The girl died later that night.

Colby's mother, Lisa, said she had asked her daughter if she could hang on until the movie arrived.
"I'm ready (to die), but I'm going to wait for the movie," she said her daughter replied.

"Up" is the animated tale of a grumpy old man who, after his wife's death, tries to fulfill their joint dream of visiting South America by tying thousands of balloons to his house and floating away.

"When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie," Colby's mother told the Register. "I just know that word 'Up' and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven."

Colby, who was diagnosed with vascular cancer in 2005, saw previews for the film in April.
"It was from then on, she said, 'I have to see that movie. It is so cool,'" family friend Carole Lynch said.

But the girl's health began to deteriorate. On June 4, Curtin asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair so that her daughter could go to a movie theater but the chair was not delivered over the weekend, Curtin said.

By June 9, Colby was too sick to go anywhere.

Another family friend, Terrell Orum, called both Pixar and Disney, which owns the animation studio. The message was received by Pixar officials, who agreed to send someone to Colby's house the next day with a copy of "Up" for a private screening, Orum said.

The employee arrived with the DVD, stuffed animals of characters and other movie memorabilia.
Colby was unable to open her eyes to see the movie so her mother described the scenes. When her mother asked if she enjoyed it, the girl nodded, Curtin said.

The Pixar employee left after the movie, taking the DVD, which has not been released. Lynch, who was with the family during the screening, said the employee's "eyes were just welled up."

A call to Pixar seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday.

Colby, with her parents nearby, died later that night.

Her mother said one of the memorabilia left by the Pixar employee was an "adventure book" based on a scrapbook that, in the movie, is kept by the wife of the main character.

"I'll have to fill those adventures in for her," Lisa Curtin said of her daughter.

Interesting look at our modern view of female beauty...

The following are various Food Related signs and anecdotes that don't quite add up...

Coupons:

* "May be combined with other offers. . . . Not valid with any other offer." -- On a Papa John's coupon.

Menus:

* "Ham and Cheese - $2.50. Cheese and Ham - $2.90." -- On a menu.

* "Our whipped butter is made with margarine." -- On a menu.

* "7 ounces of choice sirloin steak, boiled to your likeness and smothered with golden fried onion rings." -- On a menu.

* "We dare you Burger for two (Served on a Stretcher) - A Whole Loaf of Crunchy French Bread running end to end with Broiled Hamburger topped with melted Yellow American Cheese, Lettuce, and Tomato. Accompanied by a mound of French Fried Potatoes, Red Pepper Relish, Ketchup, and Pickle Wedges. Delivered to your Table by Two Waitresses on a stretcher." -- On a menu of a restaurant in Danvers, Massachusetts.

Signs:

* "Open seven days a week. Closed Sundays." -- On the bottom of a pizza parlor's take-out menu.

* "Parking for drive-through customers only." -- A sign at a McDonald's in California.

* "We are Handicapped - Friendly. For example, if you are blind, we will read the menu for you." -- A notice in a restaurant.

* "Eat Here - Get Gas" -- A sign at a gas station.

* "Hot drinks to take out or sit in." -- A sign on a cafe.

* "You can't beat our meat!" -- A sign on a restaurant, now closed.

* "Our Infamous Steaks" -- A sign at a restaurant in Raleigh, NC.

* "Now Hiring / Sausage Biscuits / $1" -- A sign at a McDonald's.

* "NOW HIRING / TWO FRENCH DIPS / FOR TWO DOLLARS." -- A sign at an Arby's in North Bend, Washington.

* "Please consume all food on premises." -- A sign at a Souplantation restaurant.

Quotes:

* "Is there chicken in your vegetarian gumbo?" -- Asked of a waitress.

* "Just the chicken." -- The response a waitress gave when asked if there were any dairy products in a soup.

* "Would you like cream and sugar with that?" -- Asked by a waitress when a customer specified orange juice instead of coffee as part of a breakfast meal.

* "Do you want cheese on that?" -- Asked when a customer ordered a plain cheeseburger.

* "You want fries with that?" -- Asked when a customer ordered an apple turnover.

* "Do you want onions on that?" -- A waitress, in response to a couple ordering a milk shake and a large cola.

* "Is there any meat in the veggie rolls?"

* "Do you get rice with your fried rice?"

* "I'm sorry, we only have six inch and foot long subs." -- A waitress, when asked for a 12 inch sub.

* "Would you like to care for a cup of coffee?" -- A waitress.

* "Which of these coffees did you want with cream and sugar?" -- Asked of a customer who had ordered two coffees, one with cream and sugar and one without.

* "Do you want that in a bag?" -- Asked of a customer who ordered coffee to go.

* "Is this for here or to go?" -- Asked of a Dairy Queen customer at a drive-through window.

* "What's the difference between the 1/4 pounder and the 1/3 pounder?"

* "What's the difference?" -- Asked of a waitress when asked if the customer would like breadsticks with or without cheese.

* "Sir, we only have one thousand island dressing." -- A waitress, when asked for two thousand island dressings.

* "How many pieces are in the eight piece chicken deal?"

* "How much is the $1.99 popcorn chicken?"

* "Is the honey mustard sauce sweet?"

* "Is the spicy chicken just spicy or is it hot and spicy?"

* "Would you like the sale price?" -- A fast food worker, asking how a customer would like to pay for his order of two special sandwiches.

* "That's not an animal. It's a mammal." -- Cafeteria worker serving shrimp at a public high school.

* "Does your ice cream contain dairy products?" -- A customer at the drive-through of a fast food restaurant.

* "Excuse me. These ham and cheese rolls -- do they have ham in them?" -- A customer at a bakery cafe.

* "Don't you guys have them 99 cent Whoppers?" -- Asked of a Taco Bell cashier.

* "This is to go." -- Commonly said by customers at drive-through windows.

* "I'd like a large Pepsi pizza." -- A customer ordering pizza over the phone. After saying this, the customer was heard saying to someone else with him, "Wait, Chuck, is that right?"

Here's an NY TIMES article on the new documentary about the revival of A CHORUS LINE...

Can't wait to see this!


Every Little Step (2008)

By A. O. SCOTT
Published: April 17, 2009

Watching “Every Little Step,” a new documentary by James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, is a bit like walking through a hall of mirrors. Life imitates art, art reflects life, and after a while the distinctions threaten, quite pleasantly, to blur altogether. The film follows a group of mostly young dancers and singers auditioning for parts in the recent Broadway revival of “A Chorus Line,” a musical which is itself built around the auditions of 17 mostly young Broadway-besotted dancers and singers.

The premise of “Every Little Step” is no less inspired for seeming so simple and obvious, and it pays tribute to the durability and continued relevance of “A Chorus Line,” which first opened in New York in 1975, before many of the performers in the movie were born.

The theater director Michael Bennett had an equally inspired, equally simple idea when he tape-recorded the confessions, dreams and fears of gypsy hoofers and chirpers and turned their reflections on show business life into the basis of a show that ran for 15 years and collected just about every prize there is. (It also collected hard feelings from some of the people whose voices and lives Mr. Bennett used, but that’s another story.)

“A Chorus Line,” with brilliant music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a canny book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, gives voice to deep, widely shared anxieties and aspirations, but its big themes are grounded in the lives, voices and bodies of individuals. And so the thousands of auditioners who show up, at the start of “Every Little Step,” for the first casting call — and who over the following months are winnowed down to scores, then dozens and finally a few singular sensations — are hardly faceless or interchangeable.

Still, there is only time to become acquainted with a few of them, and the filmmakers, concentrating on the moment-to-moment drama of the casting process rather than on back stories or personalities, introduce us to the performers by way of the characters they are hoping to play. We learn some names and a bit of biography — one woman is the daughter of a retired ballet dancer; another arrives by bus from New Jersey — but most of what we glean about the potential cast members comes from their closeness to the archetypes represented by Kristine, Mike, Cassie and the others Mr. Bennett and his collaborators delivered from anonymity.

Cassie — a role originated by Donna McKechnie, who is interviewed in “Every Little Step” — is a step away from has-been status and desperate to keep working. Others sing and speak about their childhood love of dancing and one, Paul, delivers a heart-wrenching soliloquy about coming out as a gay man and an artist. The casting of this part is one of the most touching and least suspenseful moments in the film, thanks to Jason Tam’s tour de force audition. As a general rule, if you reduce an entire casting committee to tears, you’ll probably get the part.

Not that every decision is so easy. Among those casting the new production are Bob Avian, who choreographed the earlier show along with Mr. Bennett, and Baayork Lee, a fellow choreographer who originated the role of Connie, a tiny dancer with big desires. They and their colleagues survey the contenders with a mixture of compassion and rigor that quietly underscores the wised-up romanticism of “A Chorus Line.”

The musical, whose rich history is recalled between auditions for the revival, has become such a touchstone because it perfectly captures both the cruelty and the marvelousness of life in the theater. Mr. Bennett, who died in 1987, appears in archival clips looking like a slightly jaded elf, combining a weary knowingness with an ardent and undiminished capacity for wonder.

There is a superficial resemblance between “Every Little Step” (and, for that matter, “A Chorus Line” itself) and television reality shows in which ordinary people use their talents to scramble for the spotlight. But those programs are spectacles of amateurism chasing after celebrity, an impulse that could not be further from what Mr. Stern and Mr. Del Deo, taking their cues from Mr. Bennett, set out to honor. The 17 members of that chorus line — and the thousands like them, including those who dream of playing them — are professionals, and one of the names they give to the glory they seek is work. The other is love.

EVERY LITTLE STEP

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Produced and directed by James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo; edited by Fernando Villena and Brad Fuller; music by Marvin Hamlisch; released by Sony Pictures Classics. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes.

Wow!

It's been 12 weeks since I last posted.... I apologize.

I had to rethink my employment opportunities in late January and the blog was pushed aside...

But like Oscar Jaffee... "I Rise Again...." (or at least soon...I promise.)

Meanwhile, here are a couple of blogs you should check out...

First is HIGHWAY TO SWELL, written by friend Michael and highlighting interesting new artists and classic performances on CD and DVD.

You can find it here:

http://www.highwaytoswell.blogspot.com/

Also my friend Jon has finally started a blog, this one dedicated to comparing productions of great musicals. Very intriguing...

You can find it here:

http://www.castbycast.blogspot.com

I hope you like these two refreshing looks at entertainment.

Here's an interesting article in the New York Times about the man whose job it is to keep track of the intricate plotlines of ABC TV's LOST.

Hmmmmmm....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/arts/television/18wyat.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

More Bizarre News...

+----------------- Bizarre Warning Labels -----------------+

"This product not intended for use as a dental drill." -
Found on an electric rotary tool.

"Caution: Do not spray in eyes." - Found on a can of under-
arm deoderant.

"Do not drive with sunshield in place." - Found on a card-
board sunshield that keeps the sun off the dashboard.

"Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts." - Found on a pack-
age of airline peanuts.

"Not intended for highway use." - Found on a 13-inch wheel
for a wheelbarrow.

"Kills all kinds of insects. Warning: This spray is harmful
to bees." - Found on a can of insecticide.

"WARNING: Contents flammable." - Found on a container of
lighter fluid.

"Do not use orally." - Found on a toilet-bowl cleaning
brush.

"Please keep out of children." - Found on a butcher knife.

"Warning: Do not use on eyes." - Found in the manual for a
heated seat cushion.

***

-------- Firefighters, equipment covered with ink ---------

WOODLAWN, Ohio - Firefighters in Woodlawn, Ohio, said
a large ink mixing machine that was caught in a fire
splattered firefighters and equipment with red ink.
Woodlawn Fire Deputy Chief Dan Ficke said the ink mixer
began spraying while firefighters were battling a small
fire at Flint Inks just prior to 2 a.m. Thursday, the
Cincinnati Enquirer reported. "We lost fire gear and
equipment, plus hoses and our thermal imaging helmet,"
Ficke said. He said the ink damage, which he estimated
will cost about $55,000 to repair, "almost looks like
we massacred somebody." He said fire departments from
Lockland and Sharonville also each lost about $6,000 in
equipment while helping to fight the fire.

---------- Couple sue over sprinklers at wedding -----------

NEW YORK - A New York couple is suing a hotel after their
wedding ceremony on the building's lawn was interrupted by
the sprinkler system. Svetlana Orishchenko, 27, and her
husband, Yuriy Orishchenko, 26, filed a $300,000 lawsuit
last week against the Hilton Garden Inn, alleging the
sprinkler system went off during their Aug. 9 wedding --
which they said cost about $20,000 -- and drenched their
guests, the New York Daily News reported. "I can't say
it ruined my wedding. Nothing could have ruined my day,"
Svetlana Orishchenko said. "I felt the worst for my guests.
I had people who were soaked from head to toe." Hotel owner
Richard Nicotra confirmed the sprinkler incident but said
he offered $5,000 compensation to the couple, who continued
their wedding after the sprinklers shut off. "Ten employees
went out there with towels ... we offered to take dresses
to the cleaners, anything," Nicotra said. "This is black-
mail. They just want a free wedding. They want to take us
to the cleaners."


------------ Water shut off over $2.36 bill --------------

ATLANTA - Atlanta water department officials acknowledge
it was a mistake to cut off service to a former Georgia
lawmaker over a $2.36 balance due on his water bill. Bob
Irvin, the former Republican leader in the Georgia House
of Representatives, said the water at the home he shares
with his wife, Lynn, was shut off at about noon Wednesday
after the couple received a notice in the mail last week
informing them of the outstanding $2.36 due on their
account, WGCL-TV, Atlanta, reported Thursday. Lynn Irvin
said she checked with her bank to be sure her recent checks
for $714.77 and $234.66 went through. She said she tried
to phone Water Department Commissioner Rob Hunter but was
unable to get through Wednesday. However, WGCL-TV said it
was able reach Hunter and the Irvins' water was turned
back on within 30 minutes. A water department spokeswoman
said the department erred in shutting off the water, as
disconnections are not usually done until a delinquent
bill has reached $50.

---------- 'Kidney stone' turns out to be a baby -----------

CARBONEAR, Newfoundland - A Newfoundland woman who went to
a hospital complaining of kidney pain was shocked when she
gave birth to a healthy baby boy soon after. Juanita Stead,
36, was at a New Year's Eve party when the pain started
and escalated to the point where her husband, Terry, took
her to the hospital in the eastern town of Carbonear for
X-rays, the Carbonear Compass reported. "The technician
looked at me and said, 'My dear, you're pregnant with a
full-term baby.' And I said: 'No sir, you got the wrong
woman and you're looking at the wrong screen. There is no
way I'm pregnant,'" Stead told the newspaper. She said her
menstrual period hadn't stopped, there wasn't any morning
sickness and she didn't put on extra weight. Her other
son also made an unexpected arrival on July 30, 2006, at
the couple's home, Stead said. While she knew she was
seven months pregnant, she was caught off guard. "I felt
like I had to go to the bathroom and out he popped, right
into the toilet," she said. "Terry actually scooped him
out of the toilet and put him in my lap until the ambulance
came."

-------------------------SKI LIFT, PANTS DROP-----------------------------------------
Some poor sucker, enjoying a day of skiing at Colorado's
Vail resort, was left dangling upside down from a chair-
lift last week when the chairlift's fold-down seat was
somehow not in the proper position, causing the man to
partially fall through the resulting gap.

The slip efficiently stripped the skier of his skipants
(and underwear), and with one boot and ski trapped in the
lift, and preventing him from righting himself, he was
quickly whisked aloft, snowy butt cheeks flashing in the
winter sun.

The Skyline Express lift was stopped shortly after the
man's botched boarding resulted in his dangling from the
lift. The exposed skier was stuck for about 15 minutes
before Vail personnel backed the lift up and successfully
dislodged the unidentified man from the chair.

In a statement Vail Resorts, which operates the ski area,
reported that the skier was not injured after being sus-
pended for approximately several minutes.

+------------------ Bizarre Competitions ------------------+

1. Extreme Ironing
2. Cheese Rolling
3. Curling
4. Rock Paper Scissors World Championship
5. Air Guitar Championships
6. Nettle-eating Championships
7. The World Beard and Moustache Championships
8. World Pea Shooting Championships
9. World Gurning Championship
10. Wife Carrying

[Courtesy of toptenz.net]

------------- 4-year-old shoots, wounds teen ---------------

JACKSON, Ohio - The father of a 4-year-old boy who shot
and wounded a teen with a shotgun said he removed firearms
from his Ohio home following the incident. The boy,
apparently angry at 17-year-old Nathan Beavers, loaded a
shotgun and fired it at the youth, spraying pellets in
his arm and leg, the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported
Tuesday. Beavers is recovering at Ohio State University
Medical Center in Columbus. The boy is in the custody of
his parents "until we see what the prosecutor wants to
do," Jackson County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jim Ephlin
said. Prosecutor Jonathan Blanton said the shooting had a
"weird, weird set of facts," adding he doubted the 4-year-
old would end up in the juvenile justice system over the
Sunday incident at the 4-year-old's grandmother's home
near Jackson, Ohio. The boy's father said counseling was
being arranged for his son, adding he was shocked his son
knew how to load and fire the shotgun. The boy has watched
others shoot but wasn't taught how to handle a gun, the
parent told the Dispatch. "It was an accident. He just
thought it was another toy gun," the father said. "He
didn't appreciate what it could do." "The guns are gone
out of our house," he added. "They're not going to be
around with the kids anymore. It's not worth it."

--------- Woman's suit claims dog discrimination ----------

NEW YORK - A woman's lawsuit against the New York City
Transit Authority claims her 120-pound dog is protected
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Estelle Stamm,
65 -- who won $10,000 in a lawsuit against the city after
two police officers gave her a citation for bringing her
dog into a subway station -- claims in her federal suit
against NYC Transit that the livestock guardian dog is a
service animal that helps with her post-traumatic stress
disorder stemming from childhood sex abuse, the New York
Daily News reported. The suit claims Stamm's civil rights
were violated by transit workers who confronted her about
the dog. However, the transit authority claims there were
no violations as Stamm and her dog were never removed from
any buses or trains. Stamm's suit is seeking $10 million
in monetary damages and employee retraining for transit
workers.

-------------- Woman carded to buy cheese ---------------

LEEDS, England - A 30-year-old British woman said she was
shocked when an employee at grocery store Morrisons asked
to see her ID before she could buy whiskey-flavored cheese.
Hannah Craig, a researcher at England's Leeds University,
said she thought the woman working at the checkout counter
was joking when she asked to see proof that she was old
enough to buy the whiskey-flavored cheddar, The Sun
reported. "The assistant said she needed to see my ID to
prove I was 18 to buy it. I thought it was a practical
joke," Craig said. "She was quite embarrassed about it but
insisted. Luckily I had my passport with me." Craig
criticized the store for requiring identification to
purchase the flavored cheese. "It didn't even taste of
whiskey. I've no idea how many you'd have to eat to even
get slightly tipsy," she said. "I can't believe Morrisons
are taking their approach to underage drinking to these
extremes."

-------- Mud race entrants undeterred by cold temps --------

LONDON - Participants in the Maldon Mud Race say cold
temperatures did make the annual event in the British
town of Maldon a bit more difficult. At least two Mud
Race competitors confessed to having had a hard time
running 500 yards across a muddy river bed during 28
degree weather, before heading back to where they started,
the Times of London said. "It was tough out there," 36-year-
old contestant Stuart Putt said of Sunday's event. "I am a
runner anyway, but this was hard." Essex County resident
Vicki Sharman agreed, saying she questioned whether she
would endure such conditions for a second time during the
next year's Mud Race. "It was freezing out there and hard
work," the 23-year-old told The Times. "I don't know if I
would do it again -- the mud got deep and I just had to
crawl." The newspaper said the Mud Race first began in the
1970s when regulars at an area pub would cross the River
Blackwater channel to drink from a beer barrel.

Here's an article about the rash of closings on Broadway this month...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/theater/04last.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Okay... The battle has heated up!

Seems that there's a rival to the blanket/robe combo called the Snuggie... and it's the Slanket! (Get it? Blanket with SLeeves!)

Although not on its own commercial, the Slanket is being sold on QVC and other outlets.

And if you wonder whether Slanket users have fun... just look at this picture from the official Slanket website...



What a dilemma? Which to buy?

This one looks less cult-like, at least by the look of the goofy cross dressing costumes...

Or MAYBE that IS their cult...

Hmmmm...

This is bigger than Alien vs Predator!

As if real Bluetooth earpieces weren't ridiculous enough, now you can get a faux one that is actually a hearing aid!

Called Loud 'n Clear, it can be used for all kinds of things, like hunting or spying on your neighbors!

Yippee!

Here's the commercial... don't ever lose at Bingo again.