A Statement from YaYa

Long, emotional post because I can:

For the past three years I’ve been struggling to feel content or productive within my major of study @ UWM. I’ve had to really reflect on my academics and why I’ve been struggling to progress in a field of study that I’m clearly very passionate about. 

Theatre has been my life for a long time. I can’t remember my life without it and I can’t see my future without it, either. Studying theatre every day since 2015 (thanks, public arts-centric education) has been amazing and I’ve learned enough to feel concrete in my love for the art form. I feel so strongly towards theatre education and the benefits that youth receive from it, but the program at UWM just wasn’t enough for me. 

Intimate class sizes (usually about 4-12 students) seemed so ideal in the beginning but I’d come to dread seeing the same people in each class every day. And not because I don’t like the other theatre ed students - but because it felt very repetitive and stagnant. 

Because of the pandemic, my experience shifted and I was involuntarily removed from tech crews, the campus dorms, and more. It felt like everything I knew was uprooted in a matter of weeks- and though I had hoped I would regain my footing and drive, it never happened. Between the lack of accessible online courses in the theatre ed program and the lack of variety, it just wasn’t working for me.

It took me a long time to come to this conclusion because I love theatre education, period. I’ve been hurting because it stings to accept that I’m moving on. 

But I think it’s for the better.

Today I’ve officially declared a new major of study, Community Engagement & Education. I think this will be a great fit for me and I’m excited to see where it takes me. My path towards higher education hasn’t been linear and it’s been difficult to acknowledge at times. But when I get that degree- and I WILL get there, a few years later- I’ll feel proud. 

As (Doctor) Taylor Swift said: “Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release. I’m trying to tell you that losing things doesn’t just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too.”

Why?

i will never forget being told this by someone who had two cents to their name - LuLu

RIP Nipper

This morning Lisa and I drove my mother-in-law to put her cat Nipper, age 16, who was sick with heart disease and fluid on her lungs, to sleep. 

Tears were shed,  but Nipper's pain is gone. She will be missed

Nipper

RIP Nipper, say hi to Grandpa Jaspare - Grandma Jeanne

Old Time Radio

I've been a lifelong fan of old time radio - comedies, drama, scifi, western - whatever it is, I want to hear it.

As a kid I used to order cassette tapes from a catalog and listen to the Bickersons, Burns and Allen, Orson Welle's famous War of the Worlds broadcast, and the like. I learned what I liked, like Jack Benny and The Shadow, and what I didn't, like Abbott and Costello and Duffy's Tavern (not that there aren't good and bad episodes of each.) 

A few years back I had Sirius XM radio, and binged on old radio on their dedicated station. Alas, that car has come and gone, and it was only recently that I found a good substitute: ABN, the Antioch Broadcasting Network, an all-old time radio internet station I listen to through my Radio Garden app. I listen to my comedy on the way to work, drama on the way home, western and sci-fi when available.

Here's something very neat: the owner tries to schedule shows to play on the anniversary of their original airing. More than once I've heard a Jack Benny show from 75 or 80 years ago on the nose, and brother, unlike some other shows that date themselves, Jack is just as funny in 2022 as he was in 1942, which, he would say, isn't much of a compliment.  :)

The site exists largely through donations alone, and I gladly coughed up a little out of last paycheck to support the endeavor.

Check it out!

* * * * * 

If you want to explore the golden era of radio more deeply, I recommend visiting another site, Old Time Radio Researchers. They have more than 60,000 - yes, 60,000 - radio episodes available for free download. 

Fiery Hot Cheese Curls

These are the hot chips that people have been craving, right? The Dollar Tree has them.  -  YaYa

Fetus Core

Here's a neat design Smiley created and silk-screened on a t-shirt at school.

ISO

80s day coming at work..iso banana clip, jelly bracelets, charm necklace, scrunch socks, acid wash in 2/3x ..u know the look! Just to loan..thanks! - Lisa

Farewell George Perez

The great George Perez, a comic book writer and artist best known for his work on the New Teen Titans and Wonder Woman - but beloved by me for All-Star Squadron - has died at age 67. RIP

Fred Ward

The great character actor Fred Ward has died at age 79.

RIP Remo Williams, RIP.

Madison culture is going to the docks to vibe and finding someone fishing at 2 am - LuLu

Smiley's Senior Prom

 I think the pictures speak for themselves! Smiley was decked out in a well tailored blue suit, white shirt, pale green tie, and brown shoes. He looked great. 

He graciously stopped and posed for pictures, even though he's usually quite ornery about spending time in front of a camera. 

He's a great kid and I hope he has a blast!

RIP

About the beautiful young woman found in St Francis: I hope the person or persons responsible for taking away a 15 month old baby's mother away from them forever are swiftly brought to justice and forever haunted. RIP mama.  - Lisa

May the Fourth

May the 4th be with you? I prefer the 3rd or the 10th, but OK.

20 years of tragic uncertainty

I can't believe it's been 20 years since she disappeared. I pray that one day her family has closure, or better yet she returns alive. 

On this day in 1791

On this day in 1791 Poland established Europe's first national constitution - only the second such document in the world (after our own). Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja

 

Roe v Wade Overturned?

Yes, this was just a leaked news story that may or may not be true; moreover, it was allegedly a preliminary vote, and not a "done" deal.

But my first, surprising reaction? Dismay over the division and civic unrest that would surely follow in its wake. 

Yes, Roe was a poorly reasoned case that seems to have survived mainly because of what it represents, not the strength of its logic, but as of this moment abortion has been the law of the land for nearly half a century. Without double-checking my demographics, I'd say the majority of Americans are too young to remember a world without it; I certainly don't. 

Roe no longer represents only the legality of abortion: in the minds of friends and foe alike, it involves gender, religion, morality, generational differences, political affiliation, Constitutional interpretation - it's a litmus test, and a catch-all of the American psyche. And if the summer of 2020 showed you anything, the American psyche can be a messy and violent place.

I don't have much else to say right now. Not until the veracity of this news "scoop" is proven. 

 But I'm worried.

A Morning Traffic Jam

Left at 7:15AM...was supposed to start at 8. Here we are..almost 8:30...still haven't passed the accident? Just past Moreland on west....any news? - Lisa

My Thoughts (so far) on the USFL

So far, in its three week history, I've managed to catch the better part of two games and almost the full length of todays Tampa Bay-Houston game. I would have watched the whole thing, but the local station interrupted to spend half an hour talking about a potentially dangerous weather system SW of Milwaukee. If social media is to be believed, I missed a heck of an ending. Certainty the league thought so:

I was excited to hear that a professional, well funded summer football league would add to the available sports mix of my weekends. It's not the NFL, for sure, more the equivalent of watching AAA teams in baseball, but whatever; it's still football. And the game play IS improving, with today's game a doozy.

I'm not a fan of the saturation of mic'd up officials, players, and coaches, all being broadcast in real-time. At some point it stops being information and descends into white noise. You can eventually tune it out, but it grates on you, it really does.

I wish the USFL success and a long tenure. Give it a watch!

RIP Naomi Judd

County star Naomi Judd has passed away at 76. My mother was a big fan of The Judds in my childhood.  Rest in peace. 

For real

Sometimes I re-read my old posts and think "Bruh, why so angry? Chill. Egbar."

Oh No!

For Father's Day many years ago now - it was, by my recollection, 2004 or '05 (it was referenced here in 2008) Lisa bought me a bird feeder. It was an odd gift, as I would never have bought it for myself, but my word was that a great gift. I've used it ever since, and enjoyed the heck out of the local bird population. 

And then, a few weeks ago, after a night of 50 mph winds, I found this on the front lawn:

I was devastated, but comforted that it happened in a spring where birding groups are encouraging you NOT to feed, so as not to spread the current Avian flu epidemic that recently cost the life of a bald eagle in my neighborhood.

A one year old YaYa, and a Lisa 8 months pregnant with LuLU

Walking the Dogs in the Park with Lisa

A great quote for weddings

"Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they can't be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them." - (Adam Smith) I used this quote in the best man toast at my sister's wedding.