The boys with the sailboats in the pond shot beginning at 4 minutes 6 seconds immediately reminded me of E.B. White’s “Stuart Little (illustrated by Garth Williams / video of his works below, strictly captioned for the context, and I found the music annoying so shut it off / very well put together though).”
If you recall, Stuart raced the schooner Wasp (owned by Dr. Paul Carey / surgeon-dentist) against the racing sloop Lillian B. Womrath (owned by … a “fat, sulky boy of twelve named Leroy. He wore a blue serge suit and a white necktie stained with orange juice.”)
Stuart, of course, won the race.
I haven’t actually seen this musical, I confess… or the film.
You all know what a lightweight I am in the scary-movie-viewing department.
But this is theater, and I know some of you haveseen a live performance, or the movie…
You promise me it won’t actually terrify me….
and I do love to watch Cleo Clifford performances.
So maybe next week, if some of you will come with me,
I’ll trust you to tell me when not to look.
..’.
Most of the roles in Cleo and Company Productions are not played by Cleo, but by actual basset stars of, as they say, “stage and screen.”
But she’s in this one, so I thought she’d use this musical as an opportunity to strut another of her tour-de-force performances as a male actor/howler, like she did in the spaghetti-kibble westerns.
I mean, I suppose she could be playing the young opera howler….
the protagonist of the show.
But in spite of the fact that Cleo’s global name recognition puts her name above the title of every poster she appears on…
she has, according to my information from StelBel, once again taken on the role of the young female howler… not the starring role, but the glamorous one.
I think she likes to prove she still “has it”….
She may not be the nominal “star” but she once again shows her “star quality”… both the looks and the pipes.
….
The legend on which this story is based is centuries old…. some (gullible types, IMHO) even think it’s real…
about a disfigured basset who hides away beneath an opera house, and kidnaps a beautiful young female (our Cleo).
There was a book.. then a film,
then this musical.
…
There may be a teeny bit of confusion in regard to theaters…
StelBel posted a picture of the beautiful Opéra Garnier (designed by Charles Garnier… probably not a naming coincidence) in the time of Napoleon III.
It’s also known as the Paris Opera, and is located in Paris (France), on the Place de l’Opéra… another set of names that is probably not a coincidence
It’s the opera house that according to legend (and probably the author) is the setting of the play.
The poster, however, mentions “Her Majesty’s Theatre”… which is in London (England) ..
That was where this musical opened, and the original performances took place.
But for this revival, we only have to go as far as the beautifully kept Cleveland Opera House.
And if we miss it there, I’ve heard it’s also coming later this month to the lovely Belchertown Beaux Artes.
….
My goodness… why did the humans try to get in on the act?
Look at the human version Stel posted… copying her beautiful work!
The human actor must have had almost no muzzle at all!
That mask hardly covers anything.
Oh… right… he’s a human.
But who wants a silly flower, when you can have a boneto chew on?
I could have sworn I posted this somewhere on “Cleo and Company” before, but I can’t find it. Oh well, here it is; possibly again.
From:
My mother’s cookbook (in my mother’s handwriting)
“Chocolate Chip Cookies”
1/2 cup shortening (lard or vegetable / I use Crisco vegetable shortening)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (real only)
1 egg, well beaten ( a medium works well, but a large works best)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional) Mum never put in nuts, and I never have either.
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (Sift the flour before measuring, and always sift about 1/2 cup more than the recipe calls for. This makes it easier to measure and you just put the extra back in the bag.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder)
Maraschino Cherries
Cream shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla together. Add egg, beat till fluffy. Add chocolate chips all at once, and beat until evenly distributed. Set aside for the moment. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir with a spoon so they’re evenly distributed. Divide the flour mixture into three. Add them one at a time to the shortening/sugar mixture, blending each one in well. Put the bowl in the fridge for an hour. Cut enough Maraschino Cherries so you have 30 pieces. When the dough has finished chilling, drop by rounded tablespoonsful (you’ll get +/- 2 dozen cookies) onto well greased cookie sheets. Put a piece of Maraschino Cherry on top of each cookie and lightly push it in. Bake in a fully preheated moderate oven ( 350°F) for 12 to 15 minutes (see “Notes from me:”). Keep a close eye on the cookies after the eight minute mark so they do not burn. Once out of the oven, slide them onto a cake rack to cool.
Notes from me:
Bake the cookies on the second oven rack (Top rack is first.).
I’ve found another useful trick is to bake one cookie on its own, and adjust the time from the way it turns out; in my oven it’s 8 and 1/2 minutes at the 350°F called for in the recipe per batch.
I’ve made these on a regular basis for years. They’re good
McDonald’s Canada has physically ended an at least 7 year long promotion on Sunday last wherein one paid for seven coffees at and an eighth medium coffee was then given as a loyalty reward. There were stickers and a removable cardboard panel on the cup to which the stickers were affixed. As far as I know, that program is now restricted to people who download some McDonald’s programming to their phones and collect points for each dollar in their orders at the time.
I still have a 3g flip phone (mostly shut down in the U.S. right now / so that’s coming to Canada sometime too). I can’t do things like that, and don’t want to anyway.
Anybody who believes that the program isn’t actively tracking them is being naive in my opinion. I know all companies have been ordered not to by law because of those companies which have been caught; but I think the companies are just being more careful.
It’s the same with manufacturers of automobiles’ with built in G.P.S. systems. Just because you aren’t paying the manufacturer to supply you with your information doesn’t mean it’s not collecting it.
Do I have any evidence that could be accepted as proof by a fair court? No. But I do have a general knowledge of the human race; a two-year olds “Wacha doing?” doesn’t go away; and collecting is easy and relatively cheap.
Simple rule of thumb: If you’re not paying for the service or the app, YOU are the product.
dennisinseattle
Member
2 years ago
After all the patrons have left, mournful howls are heard from the opera house. Stelbel has unveiled the source: The Basset of the Opera! Well done, Stel! And thanks for the cute dog videos as well.
That was fascinating!
“A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” By: Georges Seurat (painted from 1884 to 1886)
Currently at The Art Institute of Chicago.
Here is a video about the painting narrated by James Rondeau President and Eloise Martin Director, The Art Institute of Chicago.
Well worth watching.
The boys with the sailboats in the pond shot beginning at 4 minutes 6 seconds immediately reminded me of E.B. White’s “Stuart Little (illustrated by Garth Williams / video of his works below, strictly captioned for the context, and I found the music annoying so shut it off / very well put together though).”
If you recall, Stuart raced the schooner Wasp (owned by Dr. Paul Carey / surgeon-dentist) against the racing sloop Lillian B. Womrath (owned by … a “fat, sulky boy of twelve named Leroy. He wore a blue serge suit and a white necktie stained with orange juice.”)
Stuart, of course, won the race.
all i can say is: WOW!!
A picture link to more interior photographs of the “Palais Garnier,” Paris (StelBel’s posted picture above) and a full article, too.
Over 700 performances – this guy knows his stuff:
…and has every right to do this:
(The subtitles are worth reading, too.)
funny!
Wow…. it’s “The Basset of the Opera”!
The poster is so spooky!
I haven’t actually seen this musical, I confess… or the film.
You all know what a lightweight I am in the scary-movie-viewing department.
But this is theater, and I know some of you have seen a live performance, or the movie…
You promise me it won’t actually terrify me….
and I do love to watch Cleo Clifford performances.
So maybe next week, if some of you will come with me,
I’ll trust you to tell me when not to look.
..’.
Most of the roles in Cleo and Company Productions are not played by Cleo, but by actual basset stars of, as they say, “stage and screen.”
But she’s in this one, so I thought she’d use this musical as an opportunity to strut another of her tour-de-force performances as a male actor/howler, like she did in the spaghetti-kibble westerns.
I mean, I suppose she could be playing the young opera howler….
the protagonist of the show.
But in spite of the fact that Cleo’s global name recognition puts her name above the title of every poster she appears on…
she has, according to my information from StelBel, once again taken on the role of the young female howler… not the starring role, but the glamorous one.
I think she likes to prove she still “has it”….
She may not be the nominal “star” but she once again shows her “star quality”… both the looks and the pipes.
….
The legend on which this story is based is centuries old…. some (gullible types, IMHO) even think it’s real…
about a disfigured basset who hides away beneath an opera house, and kidnaps a beautiful young female (our Cleo).
There was a book.. then a film,
then this musical.
…
There may be a teeny bit of confusion in regard to theaters…
StelBel posted a picture of the beautiful Opéra Garnier (designed by Charles Garnier… probably not a naming coincidence) in the time of Napoleon III.
It’s also known as the Paris Opera, and is located in Paris (France), on the Place de l’Opéra… another set of names that is probably not a coincidence
It’s the opera house that according to legend (and probably the author) is the setting of the play.
The poster, however, mentions “Her Majesty’s Theatre”… which is in London (England) ..
That was where this musical opened, and the original performances took place.
But for this revival, we only have to go as far as the beautifully kept Cleveland Opera House.
And if we miss it there, I’ve heard it’s also coming later this month to the lovely Belchertown Beaux Artes.
….
My goodness… why did the humans try to get in on the act?
Look at the human version Stel posted… copying her beautiful work!
The human actor must have had almost no muzzle at all!
That mask hardly covers anything.
Oh… right… he’s a human.
But who wants a silly flower, when you can have a bone to chew on?
yep, we were one of the lucky ones to see the original production. hooray!
but, i would love to see it again with this Family.
It does not even have a nosepiece!
Yesterday you posted a comment regarding the song “Susan” and this morning my oldies station played it.
It really isn’t scary, except this one scene with a chandelier….
choolate chip cookies
I could have sworn I posted this somewhere on “Cleo and Company” before, but I can’t find it. Oh well, here it is; possibly again.
From:
My mother’s cookbook (in my mother’s handwriting)
“Chocolate Chip Cookies”
1/2 cup shortening (lard or vegetable / I use Crisco vegetable shortening)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (real only)
1 egg, well beaten ( a medium works well, but a large works best)
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional) Mum never put in nuts, and I never have either.
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (Sift the flour before measuring, and always sift about 1/2 cup more than the recipe calls for. This makes it easier to measure and you just put the extra back in the bag.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder)
Maraschino Cherries
Cream shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla together. Add egg, beat till fluffy. Add chocolate chips all at once, and beat until evenly distributed. Set aside for the moment. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir with a spoon so they’re evenly distributed. Divide the flour mixture into three. Add them one at a time to the shortening/sugar mixture, blending each one in well. Put the bowl in the fridge for an hour. Cut enough Maraschino Cherries so you have 30 pieces. When the dough has finished chilling, drop by rounded tablespoonsful (you’ll get +/- 2 dozen cookies) onto well greased cookie sheets. Put a piece of Maraschino Cherry on top of each cookie and lightly push it in. Bake in a fully preheated moderate oven ( 350°F) for 12 to 15 minutes (see “Notes from me:”). Keep a close eye on the cookies after the eight minute mark so they do not burn. Once out of the oven, slide them onto a cake rack to cool.
Notes from me:
Bake the cookies on the second oven rack (Top rack is first.).
I’ve found another useful trick is to bake one cookie on its own, and adjust the time from the way it turns out; in my oven it’s 8 and 1/2 minutes at the 350°F called for in the recipe per batch.
I’ve made these on a regular basis for years. They’re good
I posted this yesterday, right before I realised that it was almost time for today’s strip, so it was too late for most of you to see…
If you did, please forgive me for posting it again.
….
Nighthawks had posted a pencil lead sculpture…
So I said that at the county fair here, a few years ago, a fellow had a display of his pencil lead carvings.
Since then, I’ve looked at some others online.
I found an artist, Chien Chu Lee, so skilled, he carved a fine chain out of one pencil lead, like the jade chains from China….
He did use a slightly wider “carpenter’s pencil” but it’s still amazing….
…
…
The whole chain is carved from the single lead of one long pencil.
No part was ever detached…each link carved without breaking or separating from the one before.
The wooden outside layer was cut away, and all that’s left intact of the pencil is the stub in his hand.
i’v always loved The Basset of the Opera. and now we have the chance to see our own Cleo perform. thanks, Stel. lots of videos, too!
One of her earlier vids
Good morning poster phans!
Quick hit. computer PITAs
Y’all have a great day… (((((HuGz!)))))
Who is this fiddling fury?
Lindsey Stirling
She has a YouTube channel and a load of vids. She normally has a Christmas special.
McDonald’s Canada has physically ended an at least 7 year long promotion on Sunday last wherein one paid for seven coffees at and an eighth medium coffee was then given as a loyalty reward. There were stickers and a removable cardboard panel on the cup to which the stickers were affixed. As far as I know, that program is now restricted to people who download some McDonald’s programming to their phones and collect points for each dollar in their orders at the time.
I still have a 3g flip phone (mostly shut down in the U.S. right now / so that’s coming to Canada sometime too). I can’t do things like that, and don’t want to anyway.
Anybody who believes that the program isn’t actively tracking them is being naive in my opinion. I know all companies have been ordered not to by law because of those companies which have been caught; but I think the companies are just being more careful.
It’s the same with manufacturers of automobiles’ with built in G.P.S. systems. Just because you aren’t paying the manufacturer to supply you with your information doesn’t mean it’s not collecting it.
Do I have any evidence that could be accepted as proof by a fair court? No. But I do have a general knowledge of the human race; a two-year olds “Wacha doing?” doesn’t go away; and collecting is easy and relatively cheap.
Simple rule of thumb: If you’re not paying for the service or the app, YOU are the product.
After all the patrons have left, mournful howls are heard from the opera house. Stelbel has unveiled the source: The Basset of the Opera! Well done, Stel! And thanks for the cute dog videos as well.