Susan's Scribblings the Blog

A writer from the Philadelphia area shares the week online.
Susan's Scribblings the Blog
  • Who the Heck is Kayewer?
  • Monthly Archives: February 2012

    • The Meaning of Life?

      Posted at 3:12 am by kayewer, on February 26, 2012

      Yes it is a well-worn subject, a Monty Python staple skit, an ongoing preachable subject at church and arguable in front of women’s services facilities and on the steps of political buildings.  Why add to the confusion?  Because only by discussing it can we come to terms with it.

      Some people live without existing; others exist without living.  Humans and other creatures of varying degrees of substance or purpose are born and die every second of every day.  Some living things we have too much of, while others are in short supply.  Yet when it comes to human beings we often argue over the subject of life as if everybody should be expected to conform to one idea without exception.  That can and should never happen.  It is the diversity of life itself that makes the very notion of pigeonholing it into absolute law, book, chapter and verse impossible.  Even God in His wisdom made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam and Adam ad infinitum.  He also made trees and rocks, lions and tigers, clouds and earthworms.  If you subscribe to evolutionary theory, the creation of the universe included such diversity as a part of the greater plan (the dinosaurs probably had a purpose that was short but necessary in the grander scheme of planetary development, but that discussion is for another time).  Either way you look at it, diversity is the key to how the earth works.

      Life is its own chaotic experience.  From one second to the next, every square microscopic measurement of space on this planet is being changed just by our being here.  As you read something like this online, billions of particles that could or might have a purpose are starting their journey, and others are ending theirs.  We will never know how many opportunities never came into being, or which ones should not have been started.  What life truly means comes from what good is made from what does live.

      . . . .to be continued.

      Share this:

      • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
      Like Loading...
      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments
    • 10,000 Phantoms

      Posted at 1:07 am by kayewer, on February 20, 2012

      Congratulations to Phantom of the Opera for celebrating 10,000 performances on Broadway.  I had the privilege of seeing my first performance just months ago; I really don’t know why I waited for the chance to see this timeless production, but now that I’ve sat in the front row of the Paris Opera House. . . .I mean New York’s Majestic Theatre, I won’t let it be my last.  The current cast is a perfectly matched family of performers who bring magic to the stage eight times a week, including Hugh Panaro (the current Phantom) in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stunning concept.

      If you aren’t familiar with it, the stage musical is based on a classic story by Gaston Leroux about a facially disfigured man of immeasurable musical talent, who lives in seclusion inside the opera house, making his presence known when business does not go according to his specifications.  New owners take over the business and, after a rehearsal goes awry (possibly at the Phantom’s hands), the prima donna quits and a beautifully voiced chorus girl is introduced as her replacement.  Christine Daae is being vocally trained by the Phantom, who desires her but stays in the shadows until, after her triumphant debut, he appears to her in person, hiding his face behind a mask.  When the opera’s new patron turns out to be Christine’s childhood friend, their friendship of years ago becomes love, and the Phantom’s rejection turns the love triangle into a challenge which can only end in mayhem and death.

      The most famous moment in the show is the climax of the first act, when the opera house’s magnificent chandelier is sent crashing to the stage by the Phantom.  My seat in the front row was within touching distance of the chandelier, which begins the story in pieces onstage and rises to the ceiling to become the reborn centerpiece of the experience, transforming the Majestic and us into the Paris Opera and its audience.  The musical numbers, the spectacle, and the tragedy combine into a mesmerizing experience that looks as fresh as when it first debuted in London in 1986.

      It’s always a pleasure to applaud a production like this.  I’d recommend the show to anybody who likes a good love story, a good cry or a good way to see what a Broadway show is like.  I have embraced the Music of the Night, and so should you.

      Share this:

      • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
      Like Loading...
      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged phantom of the opera 10000
    • The Problem With Computers

      Posted at 12:46 am by kayewer, on February 13, 2012

      I posted here yesterday, but my computer didn’t know it.  I was out and about, but had a chance to write earlier in the day than usual, so I wrote about my pending Saturday activities, and it was ready to go.  I hit the “Post” button, but nothing happened.

      Oh-oh, sounds like the computer might be sick.

      I don’t care if the computer in question is a Mac or PC, there is nothing like the threat of a computer crash to put despair into the hearts of men.  Fifty years ago the equivalent might have been watching an errant bulldozer on fire plowing toward your home and all your precious belongings doomed to become irreplacable rubble.

      It’s bad enough when a PC starts booting up slowly, or decides to run an update when you have to power down and pack it up.  It’s always frustrating to write through pages of inspired prose, only to find it impossible to save or store, or that you’ve put off your automatic update for ten minutes, the ten minutes are up and your machine shuts down.

      I don’t know what happened to the stuff I wrote.  It must have vanished like those gems of ideas I get at three in the morning that translate into garbage in the morning because I wrote them down in the dark while half asleep.

      My intentions were good.  The computer was bad.  But I’m here now, and I think this rant will be a go.  It’ll never replace yesterday’s, but I always promised myself that I would never look back on writing that never got anywhere.

      Share this:

      • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
      Like Loading...
      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments
    • I Can’t Contain Myself

      Posted at 1:26 am by kayewer, on February 5, 2012

      Supermarkets have aisles full of interesting products, but most come in cans, boxes, bags or packages.  Most of the packaging we take for granted has been around for ages, but if you want an experience in terror, go to the dairy aisle and look at the varieties of yogurt on the shelves.  The first challenge of any visitor to the yogurt aisle is to manoever a cleverly constructed calamity of containers vying for attention and a wad of your hard-earned bills.

      In the good old days, yogurt came in a cup with a narrower bottom and slightly wider top.  Now they come in a longer, inverted version like Yoplait’s, with a topple-proof wide bottom and narrow top that allows a spoon to go in but less product to safely come out.  They stack nicely on the shelf, like nursery blocks waiting for a two-year-old to whack them playfully.  The yogurt is wonderful, and the flavors a palace of delights for the palate, but the reward of eating it is off-balanced by the effort it takes to navigate the strange architecture of the cup.

      Dannon, on the other hand, replaced the ordinary boring cups about a year ago and substituted a round-edged rectangular opaque plastic container, surrounded by the label like a sheath and topped with a peelable foil lid.  These also stack well on the shelf, like rows of little bricks.  It’s also good yogurt, with enjoyable standards and seasonable flavors like Harvest Pear (with real pear chunks inside) that make such a singular lunch worthwhile.  The contents are visible on the bottom, but a strange star-like pattern radiates from the middle of the bottom from the inside.  It’s easier to use a spoon, but scraping around those ridges in the bottom is futile.  The corners are still not friendly to the average spoon.

      For true container enjoyment, Chobani puts their greek yogurt in a simple small bowl.  Easy to access, stir and enjoy.  The spoon can move freely inside and scoop out every last morsel of blood orange, pomegranate or passion fruit.  Pricier than the others, and takes up more room on the shelf, but definitely a winner.

      Whoever designs containers has to be somebody who rarely navigates the fridge at home.They’re probably under pressure to design some strange container, and they have chronic irregularity under the stress.  Which is why they should eat more yogurt and get a better understanding of the container.

      Share this:

      • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
      Like Loading...
      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged chobani, dannon, yogurt containers, yoplait
    • Feedback

      Eden's avatarEden on Getting the Message
      Eden's avatarEden on The Unasked Questions
      Eden's avatarEden on And Her Shoes Were #9
      Eden's avatarEden on The Poison Field
      Eden's avatarEden on Final Tally

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Susan's Scribblings the Blog
    • Join 32 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Susan's Scribblings the Blog
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d