Friday, June 30, 2006
Everything old is new again
Because I f'ed up I'm going to place all the posts that existed on my "old" blog into one post here, just of the sake of reference. It's 8 pages in MS Word, so bear with me. :)
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006
Addendum
I'd just like you all to know that I spent the last oh, say, three hours surfing around a website of which I thought I'd never be caught dead being a member: MySpace.com. That shit is addicitive. I found people from high school I hadn't thought about in years. Geeze. And, for the record, it's now 1 AM and a school-night. I think I'll cry myself to sleep.
posted by Molly @ 1:01 AM
THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2006
Stayin' Up Late
Every night this week I've come home thinking, "tonight's the night I'll write that post about Al Gore and his movie" and, sadly, every night, I wind up putting off the posting until I'm just about to tuck myself into bed and feel like I lack the brain power to git 'er done. I just want to get it right, though I fear, at this point, I've hyped it up so much it will be more disappointing than the Bodyworlds exhibit.
While we're on the topic... I never intend to stay up as late as I do. My intention is always to be in bed watching the news at 10 and asleep by the time sports starts around 10:25--somehow that never works out.
Last night, for example, I came home, went for my walk, cooked myself some dinner and settled in to work on a project for work. I popped in the latest Netflix delivery, "Cheaper by the Dozen II" (yes, I have a penchant for cheesy movies, but even more importantly I have a long-held semi-crush on Steve Martin--don't ask), and settled into my ultra-comfy overstuffed chair and started working (I was disrupted by an IM and typed my blog post from yesterday during said conversation--just to be clear). Before I knew it the movie was over and it was about midnight. So, unlike what probably most people would do, I slid in the next movie, "Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Prices" (see, I do have some depth) and kept on plugging away. About 1:30 I decided it was time to pack it in and hit the hay, but by this point there was only about half an hour left of the movie so I dragged out the ironing board and ironed for the last half hour of the movie. So, then it was 2-ish and I was wide-awake. I went to bed anyway and found that "Sleepless in Seattle" was on so I lay in a dark room watching that for awhile. When I did finally find sleep I dreamt about taglines, adjectives, adverbs and nouns (I can't tell you why, because it's work-related) and slept really poorly and have felt pretty tired all day. I thought for sure that tonight I'd be tucked in soundly by 9, but, as you can see, we're closing in on 11 and I'm still up. Why can't I get myself to bed at a decent hour? I can't even get myself out of bed early enough to get myself to work on time, for the love of God. PLUS, I'm actually tired. Maybe I need some drugs.
posted by Molly @ 10:24 PM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2006
Chop Shop
I'm not a person who feels they look "good" with long hair. My hair is thin, but really curly so it has a lot of volume, which is deceiving. Because I mostly like to straighten it (though that eats up about 40 minutes of my morning, so it happens less frequently than I'd prefer) it starts looking stringy and loses volume when it gets to a certain length--and I feel like I look like shit on a daily basis. That is the main reason that I've had moderately-short to uber-short hair for I'd say a "majority" of my adult life. At some point I normally get bored with the style and tired of going in for the "maintenance" cut every four to six weeks and I let it get a little shaggy, such is the case in recent months. This time, however, it wasn't so much about being naturally fickle, but instead was a matter of simply not having any good ideas for a cute style. As my mane of curls became increasingly untameable I decided that it needed to be whacked, sooner rather than later.
So, I made an appointment for my $60 haircut (worth every penny) and trekked to Larimer Square on Tuesday afternoon to see what kind of magic could be worked by my hairdresser. I decided I wanted to get rid of some of the layers and cut it shorter, into a slightly inverted bob, getting it off my neck (which I hate), but keep my sweeping bangs up front. I felt that I communicated my idea clearly, but apparently I didn't do as well as I thought I did.
I felt like I had clearly said that I wanted the shortest part to hit the middle of my chin and I wanted the bangs shorter (I hadn't been in for a cut since April and hadn't hacked them myself at all---they needed a trim), but instead what I got was more than I had in mind. It's short. Really short. Much shorter than I had in mind. And the bangs? Well, they're like a throw-back to the hack job I did in Second Grade just in time for class pictures. It's not crying short, or hat short and I do have to remind myself that it's hair, and it will grow back, but the real question--the most important question--is: will I look presentable in time for my high school reunion? 7 weeks and counting.
I'll try to drum up a photo to get some unbiased opinions from some of my "loyal" readers---I think there're about two of you out there.
posted by Molly @ 11:09 PM
TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2006
A lota hype for a lota let down...
Just got home from seeing "Bodyworlds II" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Amy and Erika. Some advice: just drive across town and look at the great billboard advertising, it's really a frightening likeness to the actual exhibit itself.
I've been to a lot of museums in my day and I don't know if it was my particularly foul mood this afternoon, or what, but I can really not recall a time when I've been more annoyed by fellow patrons in a museum environment. There are about one gagillion little glass cases all crammed together in an, albeit fairly large, room where the exhibit is being held and there are about 500 people crammed around each one trying to get a look at the lung of a smoker and a coal miner, or a hip replacement, or a kidney with kidney disease, or a gall bladder with gallstones (really eerie, by the way). Even if you wanted to read the signs that accompany all the body parts explaining what they do and where they're located in the human body, it's not as though you could, because there are 499 people all around you, most of them holding an audio device to their ear and completely oblivious to all the 499 people surrounding them. These people drove me nuts. I worked my way through that exhibit in about 35 minutes and while I don't really feel like I got my $17 worth, I'm also not sure that that would've been possible.
I know the museum has enjoyed record attendance numbers since this exhibit opened, but I will attribute that not to the quality of the product, but to the creative use of marketing and PR--the same virtues to which I attribute the success of the likes of Cats or The Phantom of the Opera.
The one redeeming quality: there is a small cordoned off area at the end that features the development of embryos into fetuses and even depicts a pregnant woman (who, incidentally, had a smokers lung--why do you think she underwent plastination?). Quite fascinating. Afterall, when else will you have the opportunity to see a four week old embryo enclosed in a little glass cylinder? Or even more interesting: sitting at the entrance to that area, waiting for friends and watching the Right to Lifers squirm, frown and ultimately avoid the most interesting section. And you thought this was about the human body and not politics. Ha!
posted by Molly @ 10:39 PM
MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2006
Reading and Walking
I know you're anxiously awaiting my post on Al Gore, but it's going to have to be delayed yet another evening. How do I always wind up being up a full two hours later than I plan on?
So, in my quest to lose weight I've been trying to walk with some regularity. If you know me, you probably know that I despise exercise--so not my thing. If you don't know me, just know that I despise exercise--DESPISE. So, getting my fat ass off the couch is a challenge, though admittedly doing it during re-run season AFTER the final episode of "The West Wing" has aired has been a bit easier, but I digress. I have been walking. I have also joined a book club and am having a great time making new friends, and talking about things that don't relate to who was recently cast in the National tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Yeah, it's none other than Norbert Leo Butz and the love of my life, Tom Hewitt) or why ticket sales for the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd took a drastic, almost 50%, drop last week (for those of you who are curious, it's because Patti Lupone took a week-long vacation). Simply put: book club rocks. I look forward to it every month.
The book selected for June was Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (excellent, by the way) but when I put it on my hold list at the library I was number 57 in the list and realized quickly that I would never get it in time to read it in four weeks. In my quest to find the book I discovered this great website called Audible where you can download audio books for a nominal fee. I'm not big on buying books, errr... I'm trying not to buy more books in a vain attempt to look smart, but I'd never listened to a book on tape and suddenly had the realization that I could download the book, upload it to my iPod and have entertainment on my walks. I decided to give it a try and see how it worked and I'm happy to report that it was a huge success. I would actually look forward to walking and while Freakonomics might not have been the best selection for my first outing with an audio book (there's a lot of dates, names, numbers and other things which were hard to digest), I discovered that having this book in my iPod was HUGELY motivating for me. My iPod is acting up...again, but if I can get it working I plan to download more books and take even longer walks!
On that note, does anyone have any suggestions ? We're having a hard time choosing the next book.
posted by Molly @ 10:49 PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2006
Watching the Weight
I debated on which of my most recent obsessions I should post: my weight, or Al Gore. I will DEFINITELY be posting on Al Gore soon, but being as it's late and I've already popped the Sunday night sleeping pills I've decided to post on the former tonight. The other topic will soon be broached, stay tuned.
About three months ago a co-worker of mine, Rex, joined Weight Watchers. Having seen how effective this program is, first-hand, I wished him a lot of luck and promised that I would do my best not to tempt him with my baked goods, which tend to make an appearance at the office when I have a particularly boring weekend or evening.
After Rex had been going to meetings and staying on program for about 8 weeks, he'd lost somewhere in the vicinity of 26 pounds (GO REX!). Seeing the incredible shrinking man in the office next-door every day got me to thinking: if Rex can lose that much weight that quickly then there's absolutely no reason on earth why I couldn't lose an equal amount of weight in an equal amount of time. Okay, okay, I know it's harder for girls, but I decided to give it a whirl, and not a moment too soon, I made it in time to get the free registration!
I realized that on precisely the date I made the walk two blocks to my first "fat school meeting" that I was 12 weeks from the weekend of my 10 year High School reunion. If that's not motivation to drop weight, then I don't know what the hell is.
So now I'm five weeks into the program and have been doing relatively well staying on track. I have had a few slip ups (were any of you at the opening of The Second City's How I Lost My Denverginity on Friday night?), but for the most part I've done really well. My weigh-in day is Wednesday and as of the most recent hump day I'm down 9.6 pounds! I still have about seven and a half weeks left before the big reunion up in the Inland Empire (that's Spokane, for you non-PNW'ers) and I'm hoping that I can drop 20 MORE pounds by then, bringing the total up to near 30.
So, cross your fingers and wish me luck, because soon there'll be a lost less of me to love.
posted by Molly @ 10:46 PM
Hard
I've always known that "owning" and maintaining a blog was a lot of work, but I really thought I had what I needed to make it work this time...apparently not. This is hard.
I've recently been publicly slapped on the hand for not posting more frequently and I do apologize for that---really. Perhaps the lack of posting is because I've banned myself from posting on anything work-related and all I do is work. Perhaps it's because I've become as boring as I once feared I would. Who's to say? If you have any topics on which you'd like my opinion, please post a comment and let me know. Otherwise, read the next post... I finally have something to say.
posted by Molly @ 10:45 PM
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2006
B-ball
I suck at having a blog. Let's just chalk it up to that and call it a day.
Tonight I had the uber-privilege of sitting court side at the Denver Nuggets final regular season home game (but we are the Division Champs, so...We'll be back!). It was awesome sitting amid the action, not close to the action, but right in it. At $350 a pop, I would've expected to get a broken nose or at least get to touch the ball, but... alas it was not my night.
Next season I will make my goal to head to an Avs game; they're the last of our major teams that I've yet to see in Denver. Unless, of course, I can get Playoff tickets and see them this year. :)
posted by Molly @ 10:35 PM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 05, 2006
Tivo'd
I recently "inherited" a Tivo from my sister, who upgraded to one that has a built-in DVD burner. I won't get into the details of the exchange, but sufficed to say: Tivo has changed my life! I'm a media whore, I love anything and everything related to it I will watch, click, surf, listen or read anything I can get my hands on, at any point in time. I love it. The introduction of Tivo into my life has completely changed my television consumption habits. I find myself actually coming home late so that I can start shows late and watch them commercial free. I realized on Sunday that if I start watching West Wing at 7:30 and stop to put laundry in the dryer, take out the trash and walk to and from the refrigerator I can watch all my Sunday night TV shows (West Wing, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy) 100% completely commercial free and be done at precisely 10:00 in time for the news. AND, rather than the networks planning my breaks for me, I plan them; I choose when to get up and when to sit down and when I need to pee I just get up and pee. Does life really get any better?
posted by Molly @ 9:12 PM
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
Self Serving
I promised myself when I reinstated this blog that I would not use it to self-promote (meaning I would not use it to post about specific DCPA productions to help sell tickets), however this evening I had a rare experience in the theatre that I must share.
Early last year when the new artistic director was named and the 2005/06 season was announced a play was on the list called "The Clean House." It's a pretty nondescript title, before you see/read the play (as with most plays), but I'd remembered seeing something about it in American Theatre magazine. It turns out that that "something" was actually the entire play (it also turns out that it was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize). Anyway, I read it, loved it and have been waiting (rather impatiently) to see it. I finally got that chance tonight.
This play is one of the most remarkable pieces of theatre I have ever seen. Honestly. It is poignant and timely, refined and almost impeccably written. While I may have a few complaints, overall it is a nearly pitch-perfect in its construction with insightful direction, an incredible (INCREDIBLE) set and real, almost eerily so, performances by the trio of leading actresses (particularly Charlotte Booker, quite possibly the best stage performance I've ever seen at the DCTC).
I could go on an on about this play, but I'll cut to the chase because I'm tired. You MUST see this play! It will mostly appeal to women, but not just women. This play is for anyone who is a woman, loves a woman or even just knows a woman!
If you're interested in getting tickets, check out the Denver Center website (also in the links section of this page) and you can order tickets right online. I might even be persuaded to tag along and see the play again. :)
I'll post some more links about the play, its director and the playwright in the "links" section, for your reading enjoyment, as soon as I get a minute. When you see the play, drop me an e-mail and let's talk about it!
posted by Molly @ 11:41 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2006
Standing Ovations
I've had a theory about standing ovations for awhile. As someone who sees a lot of "art," (theatre, music or dance) probably one performance per week for the past five or six years, I have been fascinated (read: appalled) by the "habits" of many theatre-goers. But there is one "habit" in which I find to be not only fascinating (read: fascinating), but also incredibly troublesome: the standing ovation.
Now, it's not that I'm opposed to standing at the conclusion of a performance when said performance merits it, but to stand for the sake of standing is simply unnecessary, right? I mean, I know most theatre seats aren't the kind in which one would curl up and take a nap (though, a bad production of Bernstein's "Trouble in Tahiti" actually made the seats in Boettcher Concert Hall seem as cozy as my own bed, but I digress...) still to leap out of one's seat at the conclusion of a production; what's the motivation?
So, getting back to my theory... bear with me. The average price of a ticket is what? $50 seem fair? So, say you and your significant other park downtown, grab dinner and drinks and then head out for an evening of culture (pop or otherwise), you would likely be out anywhere from $150--$200. At the conclusion of that evening you probably want to believe that the performance you just saw was the absolute best thing EVER, right? And standard convention tells you that at the conclusion of a GREAT performance you stand, right? This brings me to my theory. Because you just spend the equivalent of two days' salary on your evening out you stand, because you believe you've earned the right to do so.
In the past year (and probably 50 or so performances) I have given a standing ovation (on my own accord, which I'll explain in a minute) on exactly four ocassions, that I recall: once for the opening night of "Wicked" in Denver, at both performances of the CSO's "Too Hot to Handel" and at the conclusion of John Doyle's brilliant staging of "Sweeney Todd." In these instances I could barely keep myself in my seat, I was so excited to show my appreciation, my fervor, my enjoyment of the performance! However, I have been "forced" to stand on countless other ocassions. For example, at the conclusion of "Mamma Mia!" the cast comes out for the curtain call and the majority of patrons stand because they paid for a standing ovation worthy performance, right? So, they stand and in the process of standing completely block my sitting-ass view of the stage. Ordinarily, this is not a problem, but the "Mamma Mia!" curtain call is immediately followed by a performance of not one, not two, but THREE more songs. Three. And, of course, I want to see the conclusion of the show, so I stand. The overwhelming majority of the time when I do stand that seems to be the reason: I do it not because I want to do so, but because I feel forced, for one reason or another.
And so, I ask you, fellow patrons, why do YOU stand at the completion of a performance?
posted by Molly @ 9:41 PM
Why blog why?
I work a lot. A LOT. I am a living example of what happens when one's hobby becomes one's job and then morphs into one's career. Because I work so much I feel like I'm constantly searching for activities that don't involve sitting in a dark theatre with a bunch of strangers. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and feel very lucky to have it and it is incredibly interesting, but at some point work becomes work and it's just something else that occupies 40+ hours of your life every week.
Anyway, a little over a month ago I sat with my friends, Dave and Christy, at Marnie's Valentine's Day concert (Dave is also a graphic and web designer, who designed Marnie's website, isn't it great?!). So, Dave and Christy are avid bloggers and in the course of our conversation about "finding Molly something to do outside of work", they said that I should start a blog. Now, this is certainly not my first attempt at blogging, I've tried on at least two separate occasions, but for some reason I think this time it might actually stick even though it's taken me a few weeks to get motivated. Unfortunately, this will not be far from being work-related, by any stretch of the imagination. So stay tuned for more information on the Broadway, regional and non-profit theatrical climate than you could ever have wanted to know and perhaps a few other themes that may creep in from time to time.
Oh, and feel free to send me e-mail at StageLeft1@gmail.com, or leave a comment or question.
posted by Molly @ 10:09 AM
FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2006
Addendum
I'd just like you all to know that I spent the last oh, say, three hours surfing around a website of which I thought I'd never be caught dead being a member: MySpace.com. That shit is addicitive. I found people from high school I hadn't thought about in years. Geeze. And, for the record, it's now 1 AM and a school-night. I think I'll cry myself to sleep.
posted by Molly @ 1:01 AM
THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2006
Stayin' Up Late
Every night this week I've come home thinking, "tonight's the night I'll write that post about Al Gore and his movie" and, sadly, every night, I wind up putting off the posting until I'm just about to tuck myself into bed and feel like I lack the brain power to git 'er done. I just want to get it right, though I fear, at this point, I've hyped it up so much it will be more disappointing than the Bodyworlds exhibit.
While we're on the topic... I never intend to stay up as late as I do. My intention is always to be in bed watching the news at 10 and asleep by the time sports starts around 10:25--somehow that never works out.
Last night, for example, I came home, went for my walk, cooked myself some dinner and settled in to work on a project for work. I popped in the latest Netflix delivery, "Cheaper by the Dozen II" (yes, I have a penchant for cheesy movies, but even more importantly I have a long-held semi-crush on Steve Martin--don't ask), and settled into my ultra-comfy overstuffed chair and started working (I was disrupted by an IM and typed my blog post from yesterday during said conversation--just to be clear). Before I knew it the movie was over and it was about midnight. So, unlike what probably most people would do, I slid in the next movie, "Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Prices" (see, I do have some depth) and kept on plugging away. About 1:30 I decided it was time to pack it in and hit the hay, but by this point there was only about half an hour left of the movie so I dragged out the ironing board and ironed for the last half hour of the movie. So, then it was 2-ish and I was wide-awake. I went to bed anyway and found that "Sleepless in Seattle" was on so I lay in a dark room watching that for awhile. When I did finally find sleep I dreamt about taglines, adjectives, adverbs and nouns (I can't tell you why, because it's work-related) and slept really poorly and have felt pretty tired all day. I thought for sure that tonight I'd be tucked in soundly by 9, but, as you can see, we're closing in on 11 and I'm still up. Why can't I get myself to bed at a decent hour? I can't even get myself out of bed early enough to get myself to work on time, for the love of God. PLUS, I'm actually tired. Maybe I need some drugs.
posted by Molly @ 10:24 PM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2006
Chop Shop
I'm not a person who feels they look "good" with long hair. My hair is thin, but really curly so it has a lot of volume, which is deceiving. Because I mostly like to straighten it (though that eats up about 40 minutes of my morning, so it happens less frequently than I'd prefer) it starts looking stringy and loses volume when it gets to a certain length--and I feel like I look like shit on a daily basis. That is the main reason that I've had moderately-short to uber-short hair for I'd say a "majority" of my adult life. At some point I normally get bored with the style and tired of going in for the "maintenance" cut every four to six weeks and I let it get a little shaggy, such is the case in recent months. This time, however, it wasn't so much about being naturally fickle, but instead was a matter of simply not having any good ideas for a cute style. As my mane of curls became increasingly untameable I decided that it needed to be whacked, sooner rather than later.
So, I made an appointment for my $60 haircut (worth every penny) and trekked to Larimer Square on Tuesday afternoon to see what kind of magic could be worked by my hairdresser. I decided I wanted to get rid of some of the layers and cut it shorter, into a slightly inverted bob, getting it off my neck (which I hate), but keep my sweeping bangs up front. I felt that I communicated my idea clearly, but apparently I didn't do as well as I thought I did.
I felt like I had clearly said that I wanted the shortest part to hit the middle of my chin and I wanted the bangs shorter (I hadn't been in for a cut since April and hadn't hacked them myself at all---they needed a trim), but instead what I got was more than I had in mind. It's short. Really short. Much shorter than I had in mind. And the bangs? Well, they're like a throw-back to the hack job I did in Second Grade just in time for class pictures. It's not crying short, or hat short and I do have to remind myself that it's hair, and it will grow back, but the real question--the most important question--is: will I look presentable in time for my high school reunion? 7 weeks and counting.
I'll try to drum up a photo to get some unbiased opinions from some of my "loyal" readers---I think there're about two of you out there.
posted by Molly @ 11:09 PM
TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2006
A lota hype for a lota let down...
Just got home from seeing "Bodyworlds II" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with Amy and Erika. Some advice: just drive across town and look at the great billboard advertising, it's really a frightening likeness to the actual exhibit itself.
I've been to a lot of museums in my day and I don't know if it was my particularly foul mood this afternoon, or what, but I can really not recall a time when I've been more annoyed by fellow patrons in a museum environment. There are about one gagillion little glass cases all crammed together in an, albeit fairly large, room where the exhibit is being held and there are about 500 people crammed around each one trying to get a look at the lung of a smoker and a coal miner, or a hip replacement, or a kidney with kidney disease, or a gall bladder with gallstones (really eerie, by the way). Even if you wanted to read the signs that accompany all the body parts explaining what they do and where they're located in the human body, it's not as though you could, because there are 499 people all around you, most of them holding an audio device to their ear and completely oblivious to all the 499 people surrounding them. These people drove me nuts. I worked my way through that exhibit in about 35 minutes and while I don't really feel like I got my $17 worth, I'm also not sure that that would've been possible.
I know the museum has enjoyed record attendance numbers since this exhibit opened, but I will attribute that not to the quality of the product, but to the creative use of marketing and PR--the same virtues to which I attribute the success of the likes of Cats or The Phantom of the Opera.
The one redeeming quality: there is a small cordoned off area at the end that features the development of embryos into fetuses and even depicts a pregnant woman (who, incidentally, had a smokers lung--why do you think she underwent plastination?). Quite fascinating. Afterall, when else will you have the opportunity to see a four week old embryo enclosed in a little glass cylinder? Or even more interesting: sitting at the entrance to that area, waiting for friends and watching the Right to Lifers squirm, frown and ultimately avoid the most interesting section. And you thought this was about the human body and not politics. Ha!
posted by Molly @ 10:39 PM
MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2006
Reading and Walking
I know you're anxiously awaiting my post on Al Gore, but it's going to have to be delayed yet another evening. How do I always wind up being up a full two hours later than I plan on?
So, in my quest to lose weight I've been trying to walk with some regularity. If you know me, you probably know that I despise exercise--so not my thing. If you don't know me, just know that I despise exercise--DESPISE. So, getting my fat ass off the couch is a challenge, though admittedly doing it during re-run season AFTER the final episode of "The West Wing" has aired has been a bit easier, but I digress. I have been walking. I have also joined a book club and am having a great time making new friends, and talking about things that don't relate to who was recently cast in the National tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Yeah, it's none other than Norbert Leo Butz and the love of my life, Tom Hewitt) or why ticket sales for the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd took a drastic, almost 50%, drop last week (for those of you who are curious, it's because Patti Lupone took a week-long vacation). Simply put: book club rocks. I look forward to it every month.
The book selected for June was Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (excellent, by the way) but when I put it on my hold list at the library I was number 57 in the list and realized quickly that I would never get it in time to read it in four weeks. In my quest to find the book I discovered this great website called Audible where you can download audio books for a nominal fee. I'm not big on buying books, errr... I'm trying not to buy more books in a vain attempt to look smart, but I'd never listened to a book on tape and suddenly had the realization that I could download the book, upload it to my iPod and have entertainment on my walks. I decided to give it a try and see how it worked and I'm happy to report that it was a huge success. I would actually look forward to walking and while Freakonomics might not have been the best selection for my first outing with an audio book (there's a lot of dates, names, numbers and other things which were hard to digest), I discovered that having this book in my iPod was HUGELY motivating for me. My iPod is acting up...again, but if I can get it working I plan to download more books and take even longer walks!
On that note, does anyone have any suggestions ? We're having a hard time choosing the next book.
posted by Molly @ 10:49 PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2006
Watching the Weight
I debated on which of my most recent obsessions I should post: my weight, or Al Gore. I will DEFINITELY be posting on Al Gore soon, but being as it's late and I've already popped the Sunday night sleeping pills I've decided to post on the former tonight. The other topic will soon be broached, stay tuned.
About three months ago a co-worker of mine, Rex, joined Weight Watchers. Having seen how effective this program is, first-hand, I wished him a lot of luck and promised that I would do my best not to tempt him with my baked goods, which tend to make an appearance at the office when I have a particularly boring weekend or evening.
After Rex had been going to meetings and staying on program for about 8 weeks, he'd lost somewhere in the vicinity of 26 pounds (GO REX!). Seeing the incredible shrinking man in the office next-door every day got me to thinking: if Rex can lose that much weight that quickly then there's absolutely no reason on earth why I couldn't lose an equal amount of weight in an equal amount of time. Okay, okay, I know it's harder for girls, but I decided to give it a whirl, and not a moment too soon, I made it in time to get the free registration!
I realized that on precisely the date I made the walk two blocks to my first "fat school meeting" that I was 12 weeks from the weekend of my 10 year High School reunion. If that's not motivation to drop weight, then I don't know what the hell is.
So now I'm five weeks into the program and have been doing relatively well staying on track. I have had a few slip ups (were any of you at the opening of The Second City's How I Lost My Denverginity on Friday night?), but for the most part I've done really well. My weigh-in day is Wednesday and as of the most recent hump day I'm down 9.6 pounds! I still have about seven and a half weeks left before the big reunion up in the Inland Empire (that's Spokane, for you non-PNW'ers) and I'm hoping that I can drop 20 MORE pounds by then, bringing the total up to near 30.
So, cross your fingers and wish me luck, because soon there'll be a lost less of me to love.
posted by Molly @ 10:46 PM
Hard
I've always known that "owning" and maintaining a blog was a lot of work, but I really thought I had what I needed to make it work this time...apparently not. This is hard.
I've recently been publicly slapped on the hand for not posting more frequently and I do apologize for that---really. Perhaps the lack of posting is because I've banned myself from posting on anything work-related and all I do is work. Perhaps it's because I've become as boring as I once feared I would. Who's to say? If you have any topics on which you'd like my opinion, please post a comment and let me know. Otherwise, read the next post... I finally have something to say.
posted by Molly @ 10:45 PM
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2006
B-ball
I suck at having a blog. Let's just chalk it up to that and call it a day.
Tonight I had the uber-privilege of sitting court side at the Denver Nuggets final regular season home game (but we are the Division Champs, so...We'll be back!). It was awesome sitting amid the action, not close to the action, but right in it. At $350 a pop, I would've expected to get a broken nose or at least get to touch the ball, but... alas it was not my night.
Next season I will make my goal to head to an Avs game; they're the last of our major teams that I've yet to see in Denver. Unless, of course, I can get Playoff tickets and see them this year. :)
posted by Molly @ 10:35 PM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 05, 2006
Tivo'd
I recently "inherited" a Tivo from my sister, who upgraded to one that has a built-in DVD burner. I won't get into the details of the exchange, but sufficed to say: Tivo has changed my life! I'm a media whore, I love anything and everything related to it I will watch, click, surf, listen or read anything I can get my hands on, at any point in time. I love it. The introduction of Tivo into my life has completely changed my television consumption habits. I find myself actually coming home late so that I can start shows late and watch them commercial free. I realized on Sunday that if I start watching West Wing at 7:30 and stop to put laundry in the dryer, take out the trash and walk to and from the refrigerator I can watch all my Sunday night TV shows (West Wing, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy) 100% completely commercial free and be done at precisely 10:00 in time for the news. AND, rather than the networks planning my breaks for me, I plan them; I choose when to get up and when to sit down and when I need to pee I just get up and pee. Does life really get any better?
posted by Molly @ 9:12 PM
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
Self Serving
I promised myself when I reinstated this blog that I would not use it to self-promote (meaning I would not use it to post about specific DCPA productions to help sell tickets), however this evening I had a rare experience in the theatre that I must share.
Early last year when the new artistic director was named and the 2005/06 season was announced a play was on the list called "The Clean House." It's a pretty nondescript title, before you see/read the play (as with most plays), but I'd remembered seeing something about it in American Theatre magazine. It turns out that that "something" was actually the entire play (it also turns out that it was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize). Anyway, I read it, loved it and have been waiting (rather impatiently) to see it. I finally got that chance tonight.
This play is one of the most remarkable pieces of theatre I have ever seen. Honestly. It is poignant and timely, refined and almost impeccably written. While I may have a few complaints, overall it is a nearly pitch-perfect in its construction with insightful direction, an incredible (INCREDIBLE) set and real, almost eerily so, performances by the trio of leading actresses (particularly Charlotte Booker, quite possibly the best stage performance I've ever seen at the DCTC).
I could go on an on about this play, but I'll cut to the chase because I'm tired. You MUST see this play! It will mostly appeal to women, but not just women. This play is for anyone who is a woman, loves a woman or even just knows a woman!
If you're interested in getting tickets, check out the Denver Center website (also in the links section of this page) and you can order tickets right online. I might even be persuaded to tag along and see the play again. :)
I'll post some more links about the play, its director and the playwright in the "links" section, for your reading enjoyment, as soon as I get a minute. When you see the play, drop me an e-mail and let's talk about it!
posted by Molly @ 11:41 PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2006
Standing Ovations
I've had a theory about standing ovations for awhile. As someone who sees a lot of "art," (theatre, music or dance) probably one performance per week for the past five or six years, I have been fascinated (read: appalled) by the "habits" of many theatre-goers. But there is one "habit" in which I find to be not only fascinating (read: fascinating), but also incredibly troublesome: the standing ovation.
Now, it's not that I'm opposed to standing at the conclusion of a performance when said performance merits it, but to stand for the sake of standing is simply unnecessary, right? I mean, I know most theatre seats aren't the kind in which one would curl up and take a nap (though, a bad production of Bernstein's "Trouble in Tahiti" actually made the seats in Boettcher Concert Hall seem as cozy as my own bed, but I digress...) still to leap out of one's seat at the conclusion of a production; what's the motivation?
So, getting back to my theory... bear with me. The average price of a ticket is what? $50 seem fair? So, say you and your significant other park downtown, grab dinner and drinks and then head out for an evening of culture (pop or otherwise), you would likely be out anywhere from $150--$200. At the conclusion of that evening you probably want to believe that the performance you just saw was the absolute best thing EVER, right? And standard convention tells you that at the conclusion of a GREAT performance you stand, right? This brings me to my theory. Because you just spend the equivalent of two days' salary on your evening out you stand, because you believe you've earned the right to do so.
In the past year (and probably 50 or so performances) I have given a standing ovation (on my own accord, which I'll explain in a minute) on exactly four ocassions, that I recall: once for the opening night of "Wicked" in Denver, at both performances of the CSO's "Too Hot to Handel" and at the conclusion of John Doyle's brilliant staging of "Sweeney Todd." In these instances I could barely keep myself in my seat, I was so excited to show my appreciation, my fervor, my enjoyment of the performance! However, I have been "forced" to stand on countless other ocassions. For example, at the conclusion of "Mamma Mia!" the cast comes out for the curtain call and the majority of patrons stand because they paid for a standing ovation worthy performance, right? So, they stand and in the process of standing completely block my sitting-ass view of the stage. Ordinarily, this is not a problem, but the "Mamma Mia!" curtain call is immediately followed by a performance of not one, not two, but THREE more songs. Three. And, of course, I want to see the conclusion of the show, so I stand. The overwhelming majority of the time when I do stand that seems to be the reason: I do it not because I want to do so, but because I feel forced, for one reason or another.
And so, I ask you, fellow patrons, why do YOU stand at the completion of a performance?
posted by Molly @ 9:41 PM
Why blog why?
I work a lot. A LOT. I am a living example of what happens when one's hobby becomes one's job and then morphs into one's career. Because I work so much I feel like I'm constantly searching for activities that don't involve sitting in a dark theatre with a bunch of strangers. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and feel very lucky to have it and it is incredibly interesting, but at some point work becomes work and it's just something else that occupies 40+ hours of your life every week.
Anyway, a little over a month ago I sat with my friends, Dave and Christy, at Marnie's Valentine's Day concert (Dave is also a graphic and web designer, who designed Marnie's website, isn't it great?!). So, Dave and Christy are avid bloggers and in the course of our conversation about "finding Molly something to do outside of work", they said that I should start a blog. Now, this is certainly not my first attempt at blogging, I've tried on at least two separate occasions, but for some reason I think this time it might actually stick even though it's taken me a few weeks to get motivated. Unfortunately, this will not be far from being work-related, by any stretch of the imagination. So stay tuned for more information on the Broadway, regional and non-profit theatrical climate than you could ever have wanted to know and perhaps a few other themes that may creep in from time to time.
Oh, and feel free to send me e-mail at StageLeft1@gmail.com, or leave a comment or question.
posted by Molly @ 10:09 AM
New and Improved
I did something stupid--really stupid. I'm not going to publicly disclose it, but if you're curious you can ask me and I'll tell you. That's why I had to relocate the blog to a new address. Hope you found it okay. I did keep a copy of all my old posts which I'm going to attempt to repost here so it'll be like I never left....well, sort of like that.
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