#little house on the prairie fan art

[simi-valley-ca-first]

Active Senior Housing Simi Valley, CA

The Varenita of Simi Valley offers the most active senior housing in Simi Valley, CA. It provides various senior care options, such as assisted living, memory care, and a specialized community. Also, Varenita of Simi Valley offers a range of senior living resources designed to help you and your family make informed decisions about senior living based on your goals, needs, and budget. The team of experts has curated valuable resources to help you navigate financial planning for senior living and determine if senior living is the right choice. From insightful articles to helpful guides, Varenita of Simi Valley is committed to providing the support and information you need to make the best decisions for yourself or your loved ones. Whether you're exploring financial options or considering the suitability of senior living, the resources are tailored to offer guidance and clarity. Call (805) 823-1371 to book your appointment. 

Simi Valley, CA, Suburban Life

Simi Valley, California, is a charming city between Santa Susana and Simi Hills, offering a perfect blend of serene suburban living and breathtaking natural beauty. This Southern California haven is known for its abundant amenities, strong sense of community, and wealth of outdoor activities that attract people from all walks of life. With over 50 parks, Simi Valley provides countless opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts to immerse themselves in nature, engage in physical activities, and relax. From the well-maintained Simi Hills Neighborhood Park, featuring playgrounds and picnic areas, to the historic Corriganville Park with its picturesque trails and the stunning views and challenging hiking trails at Rocky Peak Park, Simi Valley has something to offer for everyone who appreciates the great outdoors.

Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center

The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center is a lively arts hub in Simi Valley that offers live performances, art exhibits, classes, and special events. It hosts theater productions, musicals, dance performances, and concerts. Additionally, it provides art exhibits and classes in acting, painting, dance, and music. The Simi Dog Park is a safe and enjoyable off-leash space for dog owners, offering separate fenced areas for large and small dogs. Activities such as fetch, frisbee, and walking help strengthen the bond with dogs. The park is open from 7 am to dusk but closed on Thursdays for maintenance. But if you're taking your puppy, there should be proper dog etiquette, such as keeping your dog's vaccinations up to date, being aware of their temperament, and socializing them properly before allowing them to interact with other dogs.

Cast Reunion and Festival in Simi Valley 

The Little House on the Prairie actors, including Allison Arngrim, have returned to Simi Valley to preview the 50th Anniversary Cast Reunion and Festival. The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce holds the event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday through Sunday at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park. Thousands of fans, many dressed in costumes, are expected to attend. Arngrim discussed the practical jokes played by the late Michael Landon, who starred as Charles Ingalls. Melissa Gilbert, who grew up on the series as Laura Ingalls, is among the headliners. Charlotte Stewart, who portrayed Eva Beadle Simms, said she was surprised by her young talent. The festival continues to attract thousands of fans, many dressed in costumes.

Link to maps

Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center 3050 E Los Angeles Ave, Simi Valley, CA 93065, United States Head north on Church St toward E Los Angeles Ave 115 ft Turn right onto E Los Angeles Ave 0.3 mi Turn left onto Sequoia Av 0.5 mi Turn right onto Cochran St 0.6 mi Turn left 85 ft Turn left 0.1 mi Turn right Destination will be on the left 187 ft Varenita of Simi Valley 3921 Cochran St, Simi Valley, CA 93063, United States

[anileahvictoria]

Adam Kendall from My Little House on the Prairie.

Cutie Mark: Adam has always had a fascination with law and thought about becoming a lawyer many times, but ultimately decides he could do more good as a teacher for the blind. His cutie mark was inspired by the saying that justice is blind, so the scales of justice represent balancing his love for the study of law with his responsibilities as a teacher, and husband, and the cloth is Lady Justice’s eye covering that makes her blind, just like Adam is.

I accidentally referred to Little House on the Prairie as My Little House on the Prairie, and this fan art was born. More on that later, It's time for a rant. Adam is my favorite character from the series until I got mad and left the fandom cause they did this beautiful man dirty, so It’s time to rant about it.

#1. The Romance. The romance between Mary and adam was totally out of the blue. When Merry goes blind, she's shipped off to blind school, and her teacher is this capable, intelligent and hard-working young man named Adam Kendal. His teaching still is very much tough love, and he doesn't take crap from his students. Mary starts as a reluctant, uncooperative, self-pitying, closed-minded student doing things like throwing her things across the room. Adam handles all this brilliantly, saying stuff like: if you're gonna make a mess, your gonna clean it up. Doesn't baby her or pitty her AT ALL. Exactly what she needs. After a few months, Mary's attitude changes drastically, and she's thriving thanks to Adam. But when Adam sits her down to teach her some piano, she has a moment of self-doubt: 

Merry: I could never learn...

Adam: I wish you would forget about that. Some of the greatest writers and composers in the worl were blind.Have you ever heard of John Milton? 

Merry: Well of course. He- he wrote Paradise Lost, one of my favorite books.

Adam: Well, he was also blind. Now, do you want to play the piano or not?

Merry: There wouldn't be enough time. You know my family's coming to take me home. They'll be here in a few days.

Adam: It's been a long time, hasn't it, since you've seen your folks?

Merry: It seems like a lifetime. Adam, I'm so scared. I mean... I know I'm ready to go home... But here it's- it's easy, and I've always got you to help me.

Adam: Merry, you can't depend on me forever. And I'll be leaving too. 

Merry: Where are you going?

Adam: To Winoka, to start a new blind school.

Merry: Why didn't you tell me?

Adam: I don't know. It just never came up. 

Merry: Then I'm glad I'm going home.

Adam: Merry, it's not that much different out there. Not really.

And now it gets all angsty:

Merry: Yes, it is. I wouldn't expect you to understand. How could you? 

Adam: Mary...

Mary: The world isn't like the Burton school for the blind. It... It's a huge, dark place filled with... hidden obstacles and... strange sounds and voices coming from faceless people. Even you. I've never even seen you. 

Adam: Well then look at me. 

... And then they start feeling each other's faces and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure blind people don't actually do that...

And then it gets randomly and weirdly romantic...

Mary: What color are your eyes?

Adam: Blue.

Mary: Your hair?

Adam: Brown.

Mary: Thank you Adam.

Adam: ...What do you look like, Mary? Ive never seen you either.

Aaaand more face touching.

So apparently, they're a thing now. I'd understand if Adam fell for her cause she looks like a literal angel (seriously, no girl has any business looking that gorgeous), but Adam's blind too. So he's going ultimately off of personality, I'm guessing. And when he first meets Mary, she is not a pleasant person. Yes, she does improve quite a lot, but what makes her any different than all the other students he's taught? It certainly isn't their age, cause Adam's 22 and Mary's 15 (back then, I guess it wasn't a big deal). Also, It creeps me way out that her teacher falls in love with her. The man who spends most hours of the day alone with a vulnerable teenage girl falls in love with said girl AND THEN asks said girl to work for him at his new school in a busy city away from her family where it would just be Adam, Mary, one old man who lives on the top floor, and a few students, not to mention Mary would also be spending the nights there... It's a good thing this isn't that kinda show cause there's a million different ways that could've gone... But because this is Little House on the Prairie, nothing happens, and Adam asks Mary to be his wife soon after she moves in.

#2. Regaining his Sight And Becoming a Lawyer.

This really makes me mad. When Adam gets his sight back and sees the faces of all his friends and, most importantly, his wife for the first time. It's beautiful and wonderful and heaven knows the man deserves a miracle like that, BUT his whole character changes. He goes from a responsible teacher and loving husband who knows who he is and where he's meant to be, to an ambitious young man who would rather chase his dreams of becoming a lawyer than take care of his responsibilities to the school he started, the children he teaches, and the wife he loves. I can understand wanting to go and see the world and do things you couldn't do before, but sighted or blind, he has responsibilities. Mary is kinda left in the dust when Adam makes all these new sighted friends and drags her along to all his fancy lawyer parties while he plays games, runs around laughing and talking, and leaves Mary sitting in a chair all by herself. Like, he doesn't even consider how she must be feeling! He doesn't try to include her in conversations or introduce her to his new friends; she's just a pretty thing that sits there to be cared for. And the thing is, this is exactly what Adam was afraid would happen to him when Mary thought her sight was returning a few episodes ago! Now Adam's new fancy friends get him an opportunity to take some fancy tests to become a lawyer and Adam, without a second thought for Mary, goes off to take the test, not evening considering who would run the school if he passed and became a lawyer. Then some bad stuff happens, and he can't make it to the test, and I'm all relieved cause we all know he belongs with his wife teaching at the school and now he'll see things clearly and get his head off the cloud and onto the here and now. But nooooo, this whole time Mary is hoping he'd fail (and so am I), but when she sees how heartbroken he is, she goes and has a talk with the professor and convinces him to let Adam take the test. He finally relents, and Adam passes and becomes a lawyer, giving the school away to a wonderful woman who teaches there. This whole thing is treated like he made the right choice when he obviously isn't! Not I blame this on the time period the show was made in. Back then, a man had to be ambitious and provide for the family and leave the teaching and such to the woman, so back then, it was a good thing he went off and became a lawyer, but still, I'm mad. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when Adam hands the school over to the lady, Mary no longer teaches there, which means that Adam has taken away Mary's dream of teaching on top of not spending nearly as much time as he used to with her and (though he doesn't realize it and I don't think anyone brings it to his attention cause men are supposed" to do all the work) doesn't let her do things for herself.

#3. He's Fictional.

This one makes me the madest. At first, I turned a blind eye to all these flaws cause I assumed Adam Kendall was based off an actual person, like most characters in the series, but noooo. They made him up just for the tv series. This means his romance with Mary WAS totally random, and Mary staying in the same building as he did BEFORE they were married WAS the writer's choice, and Adam regaining his sight and leaving his wife and school in the dust WAS ALSO THE WRITERS CHOICE! AND he was basically just made to me Mary's husband because Mary doesn't marry or have children in real life. So yeah, my favorite character's development went down the drain. But oh well, that's what we have fanfic and fanart for, am I right? Oh wait, this show is old. No one's made any good fanart/fanfic. K, I'm gonna go cry now. Bye

Also, if anyone has a different opinion or point of view, please tell me about it. I'd love to go back to loving this character, so please change my mind 🥺. 

[pen-driverart]

Star Wars-Little House on the Prairie crossover challenge

The Sins of the Fathers

When Hux (Reverend Hux) saw a man,who was abusing his son,he’s tried to protect the boy,and the boy’s father (with his men) beats Hux very hard. Rose finds him,and takes him to the doctor. Later on,Hux visits Rose,and tell her the story about his father.

more about the idea

[misssamcraigsart]

The Oleson Sisters

[greetingsdr]

| Doctor’s Lady |

Aka my favorite episode of Little House on the Prairie.

[theprologues]

SUBMISSION - Grammys performance symbolism, part two

So, with those reservations safely out of the way, and a warning to readers NOT to hurt themselves by getting their hopes up again … 

What aspects of Taylor’s Grammy’s performance made me think there might be light at the end of the tunnel for Kaylor? 

First, Taylor’s blue and gold performance dress. “Deep blue but you painted me golden” is a line from Dancing With Our Hands Tied, a song that is widely assumed to be about the night of Kissgate. It’s a song where Taylor talks about how miserable (“deep blue”) she was after the collapse of her relationship with Diana and her public reputation in 2013. She describes how her new lover, Karlie, brought her back to life and lit her up with the glow of a new, true love. She painted her golden. But then they were caught in an intimate moment at Kissgate, and Taylor panicked. Her fears and anxieties threatened to drown her, and though she and her new lover tried to dance through the catastrophe, they eventually came to realize they were doing so with their hands tied. They had no hope of swimming to the surface together and breaking free. They could only have done so if Taylor had stood firm and owned their love in the moment, instead of setting in motion the bearding contracts that would change everything. (This is what she means when she says that “if I could dance with you again”, she would “kiss” and “hold” her lover, instead of presumably backing away. If she could do the moment over, she would claim Karlie as her lover, and hold her hand for the world to see, through hell or high water.) 

Though it’s a depressing motif in DWOHT, Taylor has, interestingly, returned to this imagery of a golden tie several times in other songs, painting it in a much more positive light. Most recently, the Willow music video explores this, visually representing the “single thread of gold that tied me to you” which Taylor sings about in Invisible String. Both IS and Willow are happy songs, which describe their lovers as being tied together by fate. “Wherever you go, I’ll follow,” Taylor sings in Willow. In DWOHT, the lovers followed each other to a place of deepest blue. The bottom of the ocean, under the waves, where they couldn’t breathe. In Willow they follow each other to freedom.

That freedom is represented in the Willow music video by the open cabin door the lovers step through at the end of the video. Taylor incorporates this door into the Willow section of her Grammy’s performance, performing first in the open doorway and then stepping through it to perform with her band out in the open. 

But returning to the blue and gold dress. This is not only a very Karlie motif which keeps recurring in her art (often to postitve effect). It’s also a representation of Taylor finding happiness WITHIN the closet. It’s talking about how her partner’s love helps her to bear the depression being in the closet, and fearing exposure, causes her. The fact that Taylor chooses to wear this dress throughout her performance, with no costume changes, suggests a) she is still in the closet, and b) she is still with Karlie, and still considers her love to be such a lifeline. 

If Toe was real and Taylor was happy with him, she could have chosen to wear an all-gold dress for the occasion. If Kaylor was over and she had decided to return to the closet, she could have communicated that by wearing all blue. If Kaylor was over and so far in the past she had moved on with someone new, there was no need to evoke the motif at all. She could simply have laid claim to another color, or worn another prairie type dress to fit the aesthetic. And yet, she didn’t. Why not, if not to communicate what I said above? 

What else is worth considering, in Taylor’s medley? Well, there’s the cabin setting. Taylor and Karlie famously took a trip to Big Sur forest and stayed in a cabin together in 2014, where Karlie was the first person to hear 1989 in full. They took many photos on the trip, including one captioned with “on the way home” (a lyric from You Are In Love, which talks about hearing love in the silence) and one of the two of them looking up at a fallen tree. A VERY similar looking tree appears in the Cardigan music video, and the slanted, moss-covered roof Taylor opens the medley lying on also looks a lot like this tree. Again, curious that she would call back to this if she and Karlie have separated.

Moving on. Taylor opens the medley singing on the roof, looking straight up into the camera. When we pull back we see the stage around set to that of a starry night. Taylor is thus cast as the romantic, the star-gazer. She also calls back to another lyric Kaylors have previously tied to Karlie - “up on the roof with a schoolgirl crush”. It’s been repeatedly tied to Karlie and Taylor’s attendance at the Victoria Secret show after-party. Again, why evoke imagery so tied to the early, happy days of this relationship? 

We then move through a progression of events that sees her hiding inside with friends, before eventually stepping out into the light. That all reads like a visual interpretation of her relationship with Karlie, from her early loneliness and lovestruck dreaming, to the happiness she finds within her little hideaway, to her eventual decision to step out of it and claim her lover. The medley ends on a repetition of “that’s my man”, seemingly hinting that Taylor’s freedom is tied up in her ability to finally say those words. 

What else? Well, there are the Ivy allusions. Taylor’s cabin covered in greenery can’t help but evoke the lyrics of Ivy - “my house of stone, your ivy grows, and now I’m covered in you”. Ivy is widely interpreted as a sapphic song about two women finding love despite their commitments to men. Another line in the song “he’s in the room, your opal eyes are all I wish to see, he wants what’s only yours” is alluded to in Taylor’s choice of opal jewelry on the night. What a weird thing to draw attention to, if you’re not secretly in love with a woman while parading a beard around in public. We’re also told in the song that “he” (possibly the same man, possibly another) wants to burn the house of the Ivy lovers down. Jerk just so happened to announce the baby’s birth on this night, in what felt like an attempt to undermine Taylor’s joy. Hmm. Curious. 

You know what else is curious? Taylor’s choice of outfit for the Grammys red carpet. Not only is the floral dress very reminiscent of a floral ensemble Karlie wore to cover a June (pride month) issue of Spanish Vogue. (Cover subtitled, “flowers of change”.) It’s also by the designer Oscar de la Renta. Taylor and Karlie famously attended one of his shows together early on in their relationship. They sat in the front row looking very cozy, while Taylor refused to answer questions about why she was there and reportedly giggled “my publicist will be mad at me”. Hmm.

Taylor has also worn Oscar de la Renta on numerous occasions while out with Karlie, including most famously at the Met Gala. That iconic pale pink gown that she was buried in the Look What You Made Me Do music video? That was an Oscar de la Renta. There are many interpretations of the scene in the video, but it’s worth noting that Taylor is buried alive in it (which could be interpreted as a metaphor for being closeted) and that in a video all about her various revenge fantasies, she depicts herself crawling back up out of this grave. She views coming back to life and walking away from the flaming wreckage of her past with Big Machine as the ultimate revenge. At the end of the video she clips her own wings while all the past iterations of her argue amongst themselves. This would seem to suggest that she can defeat her enemies but she can’t defeat herself, because she can’t outrun her past, and until then she will always be doomed to self-sabotage. Nevertheless, this Taylor (lurking in the background bedecked in peaced-out palm tree print) is in a much better position than the Taylor who opened the video as a zombie corpse. She’s on the surface and has some hope of freedome, at last. This is a theme we see carried through in the following video, where Taylor goes one-on-one against herself and eventually breaks free.

Long story short? Taylor wearing such a floral, literally blooming dress from THIS designer, of all people, suggests she may finally be about to rise again. The aborted coming out apparently planned for the Lover era (and thus seeded during the Rep era) may finally be a go? 

Again, I’m very reluctant to get people’s hopes up here. But it’s hard to look at this dress and not think of that June (Pride month) floral magazine cover. Or of the Spade riddle, “Why worry? She blooms in June.” Or of the fact that Taylor’s stunts are often loudest before the end. She acknowledged Calvin and hugged him at an awards show before he was booted out of the narrative and Tom H appeared to replace him. (Something like ten days or so after the “split”, if I remember right?) And the inconsistencies of the Toe timeline speak for themselves. There was speculation - unpopular though it was - among Kaylors in the Rep era that guessed Taylor wouldn’t come out until 2021 / 2022. It seemed a world away at the time but who knows? Maybe this was always the plan. Maybe this is all “part of the fucking story”, even the parts that seem ugly or counterproductive. A lot can change in a couple of months in Hollywood, and with Taylor in particular. By June, it’s possible we COULD be looking at a vastly different landscape. Maybe this was one last hurrah for the Toes. Many of them are just harmless fans taking Taylor at her word, after all. 

Only time will tell, and I don’t blame Kaylors for checking out. This isn’t healthy, especially for those of us who are gay ourselves, and can’t help but feel a personal connection to Taylor’s journey out of the closet. We know what a big deal it would be. But for those who still want to hope … It’s just possible Taylor has a plan, and this is the dark night before the dawn. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Pro: I added the photos and the bolded parts. Love symbolism. This was truly a spectacular performance. Awesome submission anon!!

[tabloidtoc]

Entertainment Weekly, December

Cover: Wandavision -- Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision 

Page 1: Contents, Melissa Gilbert on the Little House on the Prairie Set in 1977 

Page 3: Sound Bites -- special holiday edition 

Page 4: Editor’s Note 

Page 6: The Must List -- Between the World and Me 

Page 8: The Orchard by David Hopen, Freaky 

Page 9: Chris Stapleton -- Starting Over 

Page 11: A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir, Let Them All Talk 

Page 12: Batman/Catwoman 

Page 13: Nomadland 

Page 14: Soul, December Games -- Marvel’s Spider-man: Miles Morales, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Immortals Fenyx Rising 

Page 16: My Must List -- Kenan Thompson 

Page 19: First Take -- Bob Odenkirk in Nobody -- the Better Call Saul star plays an unlikely action here complete with a bloody good makeover in this thriller about a family man who decides to seek revenge after a break-in 

Page 21: Pedro Pascal and Christian Slater -- We Can Be Heroes 

Page 22: Cover Story -- Wandavision a wonderfully weird send-up of sitcoms of the past is Marvel’s key to the future 

Page 30: Untold Stories: Holiday Movies Edition -- an oral history of The Family Stone -- Thomas Bezucha, Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Dermot Mulroney, Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Craig T. Nelson, Claire Danes

Page 36: Making the Scene -- The Muppet Christmas Carol -- fans of the Muppets’ 1992 take on Scrooge know a key scene is missing from the DVD version and it’s now the most beloved number ever left on the cutting-room floor, Closet Confidential -- Bridget Jones’ Diary -- Colin Firth and director Sharon Maguire reveal the secrets behind Darcy’s ugly sweater 

Page 37: The Merriest Movies Years Ever -- Jeremy Arnold the author of the TCM book Christmas in the Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season reveals why 1947 and 2003 were prime years for yuletide films 

Page 38: Role Call -- Mary Steenburgen -- the Oscar winner is a holiday movie MVP and here we look back at the roles that put the Mary in Christmas 

Page 39: Behind the Music -- The Preacher’s Wife -- Whitney Houston’s rousing 1996 film boasts one of the all-time great Christmas movie soundtracks and producer Mervyn Warren tells how it came together 

Page 40: Investigation: Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? It’s the debate that won’t die: does Bruce Willis’ 1988 action classic also qualify as a Christmas classic? With the help of some Die Hard alums we’re ready to settle this once and for all -- Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Dermot Mulroney, Zooey Deschanel, Mean Girls -- Christmas got a bit risque in the teen film’s memorial Jingle Bell Rock talent-show performance 

Page 41: 4 Things You Didn’t Know About Love Actually -- we actually unearthed some new tidbits from writer-director Richard Curtis about the much-discussed much-beloved Christmas rom-com 

Page 43: 3 secrets from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -- it’s aired every year since 1964 but there are still some things you don’t know about the stop-motion Christmas special, 5-minute oral history -- Elf -- you’d better scurry for the story behind the film’s Baby It’s Cold Outside shower scene by Zooey Deschanel 

Page 44: Shondaland makes its Netflix debut December 25 with the swoony Bridgerton a Regency-era drama inspired by a series of romance novels 

Page 48: The Kane maker -- David Fincher and an all-star cast inhabit Old Hollywood for Netflix’s Manx the riveting behind-the-scenes story of Citizen Kane 

Page 52: In an era of rampant reboots it’s been awfully quiet on the Prairie so EW investigates why it’s taken so long for Hollywood to return to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved town on Walnut Grove in Little House on the Prairie 

Page 57: 2020 Gift Guide 

Page 66: News + Reviews  -- It has spurred sales and served as a balm for concert-starved fans but the best by-product of Verzuz is its celebration of Black excellence 

Page 70: Movies -- from modernized classics to fresh newcomers the Hollywood musical is back in style with a new inclusive look 

Page 73: Indie’s New Queen -- with another major and wild big-screen performance in Black Bear Aubrey Plaza is emerging as an art-house icon 

Page 74: Meet Your Maker -- Alan Ball -- the Oscar and Emmy winner behind American Beauty and Six Feet Under and True Blood brings his most personal project to the screen: the road movie Uncle Frank and here Ball shares his iconic cinematic and literary inspirations 

Page 76: Comedy of My Life: Melissa McCarthy -- the Oscar nominee and Emmy winner flaunts some Superintelligence in her fourth movie directed by husband Ben Falcone 

Page 78: The Shot -- Silver Linings Playbook -- inside the creation of a classic scene 

Page 80: TV -- after years as the grounding force on The Big Bang Theory Kaley Cuoco is now flying high as The Flight Attendant at the center of a juicy murder mystery 

Page 82: Class is back in session on Peacock where Saved By the Bell revival debuts 

Page 83: The Crown 

Page 84: Small Axe 

Page 85: Q+A with Bryan Cranston -- in the limited series Your Honor the Emmy winner is breaking bad again starring as a judge whose son is involved in a hit-and-run 

Page 86: Unwrapping Christmas TV movies -- wisdom gleaned from a flurry of winters in Tinseltown 

Page 87: Role Call -- William H. Macy -- as he heads into the 11th and final season of Shameless he looks back on his most iconic projects, epic sci-fi series The Expanse is back with more cosmic chaos in season 5 

Page 89: What to Watch 

Page 96: Music -- Angus Young and Brian Johnson explain how AC/DC are back on track with a new album that honors late bandmate and brother Malcolm Young 

Page 98: Sam Smith 

Page 99: Q+A with legendary P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins sheds light on his new album and his enormous collection of top hats 

Page 101: The Playback -- Joni Mitchell Archives: Vol. 1: The Early Years -- before she became an icon Mitchell was performing at local radio stations and recording homemade demos 

Page 102: A Band You Need to Know -- Sault -- the mysterious U.K. group has dropped two timely album-of-the-year contenders, Stupid Questions with Josh Groban -- the multiplatinum-selling golden-voiced baritone returns with Harmony but can he sing his way out of this comedic jam

Page 103: Epitaph -- Eddie Van Halen 

Page 104: Books -- Ernest Cline returns with Ready Player Two the sequel to his 2011 blockbuster and 2020′s most secretive novel 

Page 106: Comedians Rachel Bloom and Michelle Buteau have new memoirs but first they chat about bullying and Dick Jones and how Julia Roberts likes her eggs 

Page 107: High Anxiety with Cazzie David -- the writer and daughter of OG angster Larry David broadcasts her own neuroses in the essay collection No One Asked for This and here shares her deepest fears 

Page 108: The weirdest year in publishing history wraps up with an all-virtual literary awards season and here we break down the titles with their eyes on the prize 

Page 110: Screenwriter and director ad novelist John Ridley offers an alternative perspective in The Other History of the DC Universe 

Page 112: The Bullseye

[taylortruther]

Basically when an artist (writer, musician etc) does something wrong, like J.K. Rowling being transphobic a lot of people were hurt by that so they seperate the art from the artist to allow themselves to still enjoy something that brought them comfort which in this case would be Harry Potter, but would no longer directly supprt J.K. Rowling, "seperate the art from the artist". So when Taylor did a radio promo and talked about 'betty' being written from James point of view they decided that Taylor purposely did that because she saw her lgbtq fans relating to the song and didn't want them to. So they decided she did a just as bad thing and said they were going to do that to her.

(Forgot to add) they also think that she's going to "hetsplain" Ivy and Dorothea because to them it's another Betty situation, which is also why they don't want her to do an evermore session. But they're her songs so she's going to talk about what she wrote them about and when it's not what they want it to be about they're gonna do the same probably.

---

thank you! i didn't really get how that related to taylor and james but this makes sense now. i'm 99% sure i wrote that post in my drafts (the screenshot a few posts down), about how cheap it feels to uplift personal interpretations of taylor's songs but simultaneously get affronted when she explains her own work, following that discourse, because it felt so... unreasonable.

imo, ivy - like cowboy like me - is one of those songs that touches on so many themes of taylor's previous songs, that it's impossible to think she didn't write it about herself and her relationship in SOME way. like, to me, the inspiration is so clear. but if she were to say it was inspired by little house on the prairie's sultry love triangles, well... who am i to argue? i already accept that rebecca truly did inspire tolerate it, despite how weird that is lmao

[pandemicperipatetics]

Two Weeks in Denver

The Verdict:

We spent 13 nights in Denver (well actually, just south of Denver in Greenwood Village). With the beautiful outdoors, friendly people, and the best/chillest drivers of anywhere we've driven in the U.S., it was our favorite stop so far! It seems like a wonderful place to live. Denver is large and seems to have lots of stuff to do in the city and surrounding areas, so this post covers just a fraction of the options.

Things to Do:

Hiking (Ranked in order of our most to least recommended)

Rocky Mountain National Park (~2 hrs drive): Check out our RMNP blog post!

Boulder (45 min drive): We didn't have a chance to hike in Boulder, but we hear it's awesome. We had hoped to stop by Chautauqua Park to check out the trails (we read that Enchanted Mesa Trail was a good 4-miler) or El Dorado Canyon State Park. We did enjoy walking along Pearl Street, where there are plenty of tasty treats (we enjoyed smoothie bowls) and appreciated the free parking in the city's covered parking garages (we parked at 1500 Pearl, which was a perfect location). Logistics: Waze told us there was a toll on the Interstate to Boulder, but Google Maps thought it was a toll-free drive. The answer? There is an optional toll lane on the highway, but you can make the trip in the toll-free lanes.

Red Rocks (30-40 min drive): This is a naturally occurring amphitheatre that is best known for evening concerts against an incredibly scenic vista. While we weren't looking for a crowded concert during the pandemic, we visited in the morning and were blown away by how beautiful the amphitheatre was (and how many stairs there were to get to the top!). We also walked the beautiful 1.4 mile Red Rocks Trading Post Trail loop, which also had a moderate amount of uphill/downhill. It was VERY hot and sunny when we got there around 10:30 a.m.; though the weather app said it was below 80 degrees, the sun was really beating down. Next time, we'd go earlier in the day (later can be tricker due to concerts in the evenings) for better weather and hopefully smaller crowds. Logistics: We just entered Red Rocks into Google Maps and it took us to a parking lot near the amphitheatre. The trail was just a couple minutes' walk from the parking area, near the Trading Post building. Parking was free and not too hard to find.

Vail/Breckenridge area (~90 mins drive): We didn't have a chance to visit, but it sounds like there's very nice hiking around here in the summer.

Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs (~1 hr drive): When we got a nail in our tire and had to get the tire replaced, the nice guy at Firestone highly recommended we visit these areas for beautiful scenery. While we didn't make it, we read that Garden of the Gods can get very crowded, especially with Instagram-focused tourists more so than a hiking acrowd. We also read that it's not quite as nice as the Utah National Parks or Sedona. Pike's Peak also sounds touristy; there is a coveted tram that takes you to the top, at 14K feet of elevation -- after moderate altitude sickness at RMNP, we decided to sit this one out.

Denver Neighborhoods & Sights (Ranked in order of our most to least-recommended)

Denver Botanic Gardens (free with American Horticultural Society membership): This is one of the most beautiful botanic gardens we've ever seen, anywhere. It was also excruciatingly crowded on a Saturday morning and a very un-fun experience to find parking. Despite how stunning the gardens are, we preferred the much less crowded walk through Cheesman Park and the cute surrounding neighborhood. Logistics:  If the Botanic Gardens parking garage and parking lot are full, park for free at nearby Congress Park, Cheesman Park, or on a random side street a 5+ min walk from the gardens. Be observant of street signs to make sure you haven’t parked in a residential area that requires a parking permit.

RiNo (River North Arts District): About a 10 minute drive from downtown, RiNo is a hip area full of breweries, street art, and run-down looking houses. On a Saturday around 2pm, street parking was sparse (but free) and the breweries seemed packed with people. We read that the street murals are at their best on 26th-31st streets between Larimer & Walnut, and we weren't blown away in comparison to Plaza Walls in Oklahoma City or The Mission in San Francisco. Due to the extreme heat we didn't stick around, but we were interested in checking out Finns Manor (cocktails + food trucks), Denver Central Market (High Point Creamery apparently offers an ice cream flight?!), and a few breweries. Maybe next time! Logistics: Street parking is free.

Washington Park: This is very nice park for a stroll. When we went on a Saturday evening around sunset, it wasn’t very crowded. The surrounding neighborhood looks very nice, and there seem to be good places to eat nearby (our friend suggested Sushi Den, though we didn’t have a chance to try it out). We saw someone paddleboarding on the water, which looked picturesque! Logistics: There are parking lots and ample street parking around the park.

Sloan’s Lake (near Highland neighborhood): The park has a beautiful lake with a sizeable trail going around it. It reminded us of Lake Merritt in Oakland. When we went on a Sunday evening, it was somewhat busy with people running, walking, biking, and on scooters/skateboards/roller blades, and there was lots of goose poo everywhere. The surrounding area wasn’t quite as nice as that around Cheesman Park or Washington Park, but we still liked the lake. Note there were no water activities allowed -- signs indicated the water sometimes gets too unclean to enter. Edgwater Market is a few minutes away (we recommend driving as the walk isn’t very nice) and has a cute outdoor patio and lots of different types of ethnic food to try out (we especially liked the veggie pesto crepe at the crepe stand). Logistics: There are parking lots at the lake and the market.

LoDo (Lower Downtown): The downtown area is meh, you can skip it if you're short on time. If you go, you can walk through Larimer Square, a small, cute block of shops and eateries with outdoor seating that is roped off from cars; check out Union Station, where the Amtrak goes and there are a bunch of places to eat/get coffee (including the overrated Snooze AM eatery - reserve your spot in line 1-2 hrs in advance if going and be sure to get the sweet potato pancake); walk the 16th Street Mall, a very touristy street of more shops and eateries (not as cute as Larimer Square, but a pro is there is a free bus that takes you up and down this long street); and walk by Coors Field if you're a baseball fan. Logistics: Parking lots are very expensive, but we didn't find it too difficult to find 2-hour street parking ($1/hour, you can pay by card at the meter or with the PayByPhone app; free on Sundays and holidays).

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (free, 20-30 mins from city center): This is a beautiful area in northeast Denver that you can drive through, listen to their excellent guided podcast, and spot some neat wildlife. The area is known for bison, deer, prairie dogs, and birds; we saw some of these animals. This was a great option to stay in our air-conditioned car on a very hot day, rather than being out for a hike. Logistics: There is a Visitor Center that you can stop by if you’d like (we didn’t), otherwise just download the Rocky Mountain Arsenal podcast on your phone and start the drive!

What to Eat (Vegetarian Edition)

We did not take advantage of Denver’s food options, so what we are sharing here are mostly recommendations from our friends / places we would love to try if we had more time here.

Safta (Mediterranean) - Upscale; close to downtown. Appears to have outdoor seating and advance reservations are recommended

Uchi (Japanese) - Upscale; close to downtown. Has a separate vegetarian menu including a multi-course tasting. Reservations can be hard to come by if you don’t book well in advance. They also accept walk-ins, and they do have outdoor seating if you’re COVID-conscious (or just like eating outside!)

Brunch places with hype: Snooze AM Eatery (multiple locations, get on the Yelp waitlist at least an hour in advance, known for excellent pancakes), Sassafrass (we didn’t try it), and Root Down (we also didn’t try it)

Markets: Denver Central Market (in RiNo), Edgewater Public Market (by Sloan Lake / Highlands neighborhood; we loved the crepes and thought the Ethiopian food was mediocre), Stanley Marketplace (Aurora)

Other places that were recommended to us were Ash Kara (Mediterranean), El Five (Mediterranean, good views), Sushi Den (Japanese), and Vital Root (which is apparently by a lot of good vegetarian-friendly restaurants + breweries near Berkeley/Tennyson Street), Sputnik

Dessert: I very much wanted to try High Point Creamery (multiple locations) as it seems to have many vegan options and an ice cream flight! Little Man Ice Cream also came recommended

Where to Stay

We're definitely not experts on this, but here are a few thoughts based on our trip!

Near Cheesman Park and Washington Park seem like a lovely areas to stay -- the parks are really nice and the surrounding neighborhoods seem pretty safe and upscale. We didn't come across any available airbnbs in this neighborhoods.

Greenwood Village (~20 mins drive south of Denver, close to Centennial, CO). We stayed in the Marriott Residence Inn Tech Center (the 2 bed/2 ba is good for two people working from home during the week) and loved the area. Within a 5 minute drive there are cute parks for a morning jog, plenty of fast casual eateries (we were partial to the Torchy's and Schlotzsky's nearby), and even the excellent Peak View Brewing Company (okay so it’s a brewery in a suburban strip mall, but the outdoor patio is great and the jalapeno pretzel and the peanut butter porter were a hit!). Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Safeway are within a ~10 minute drive.

[blackkudos]

Don Marshall

Donald James Marshall (May 2, 1936 – October 30, 2016) was an American actor best known for his role as Dan Erickson in the television show Land of the Giants.

Early life

Marshall was born on May 2, 1936, to Alama Marashall in San Diego. He lived with his mother and his maternal grandmother, Leola Williams, his two older sisters and his twin brother (Douglas). He graduated high school from San Diego High School in 1954. While studying engineering between 1956 and 1957, he was encouraged to try acting by a friend, Peter Bren. Marshall was still in the army at this time, but later studied acting at the Bob Gist Dramatic Workshop, while undertaking a course in Theatre Arts at Los Angeles City College. While at college, he was a pole vaulter on the track team.

Career

1960s

Marshall's first professional role was in a 1962 Columbia Studios feature The Interns in an uncredited role. In 1964, he was in Shock Treatment, another uncredited role. Also in 1964, Marshall took the role of Chris Logan, playing opposite Nichelle Nichols in CBS Repertoire Workshop episode titled "Great Gettin' Up Mornin'", a made-for-TV-movie about an African-American family preparing their children for their first day at a racially integrated school in America's south. That same year, Nichols played Marshall's fiancée in a controversial episode of Gene Roddenberry's series The Lieutenant. In 1965, Marshall appeared in a pilot for a series Premiere in the episode "Braddock". In 1966 he appeared as the recurring character of Luke in Daktari.

Later in the 1960s he appeared in Roddenberry's next series, Star Trek portraying Lt. Boma in the episode "The Galileo Seven" (1967). Other TV series he appeared in were Tarzan (the series with Ron Ely), Dragnet 1967, and Ironside. In 1968, he appeared as Ted Neumann, the recurring love interest of Julia Baker, in the television series Julia, a series about an African-American widow raising her son on her own.

Land of the Giants

As a result of appearing in Premiere in the episode "Braddock", the actor met Irwin Allen, leading to Marshall gaining his role in Land of the Giants, in which he performed alongside Gary Conway, Don Matheson, Kurt Kasznar, Stefan Arngrim, Deanna Lund and Heather Young. The series, created by Irwin Allen, featured Marshall as a competent African-American in a leading role. This was also a first for an African American male in the 1960s to be featured so prominently in science fiction. The only other African American actors to be in such a position in the 1960s were Nichelle Nichols, known for her role as Lt. Uhura in the TV series Star Trek, and Greg Morris as electronics expert Barney Collier in Mission: Impossible.

On set, the actors had to perform many of their own stunts and Marshall's athleticism was an asset, he credited his previous football, track and pole vaulting work that helped him with the stunts required. In one of the episodes, "Ghost Town", while diving over a fire, Marshall actually dislocated his shoulder and the next day they had to shoot new scenes with Marshall's arm in a sling. Another episode "Giants and All That Jazz" that featured former world champion boxer Sugar Ray Robinson as Biff Bowers and Mike Mazurki as Loach, where Marshall had to teach Biff Bowers how to play the trumpet was one that Marshall in his own words calls "Beautiful" seems to be a favorite of his and made him want to act rather than follow or figure out what dialogue to use or say. He also says that actors had a better time on the set when Irwin Allen wasn't on the set. When he was it was very different and people would get uptight.

In later years Marshall wrote a script for a sequel to the series called Escape from a Giant Land. He hoped that it would be a big screen production and would feature as many original cast members as possible.

1970s

Marshall had a role in the made-for-TV-movie The Reluctant Heroes, aka The Egghead on Hill 656 (1971), a film that was directed by Robert Day. This was a war film set in the Korean War with men under a newly commissioned lieutenant who are trapped on a hill surrounded by the enemy. His character as Pvt. Carver LeMoyne was subject to continual racial abuse by Cpl. Leroy Sprague (Warren Oates). The film also starred Ken Berry, Jim Hutton, Ralph Meeker, Cameron Mitchell and Trini Lopez.

Marshall was subsequently cast in the role of Dr. Fred Williams in the science-fiction horror exploitation film The Thing with Two Heads (1972) which starred Ray Milland and Rosey Grier. This was a tale about a wealthy and racist white man who has his head transplanted onto the body of a black prisoner from death row. In 1974, he was cast in Uptown Saturday Night as Slim's Henchman. In 1976, he played the part of Captain Colter in an episode of The Bionic Woman and in 1979 he was in a two-part episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as Julio. From 1978 to 1980, Marshall was in three episodes of The Incredible Hulk.

1980–2016

In the 1980s, Marshall had few roles, appearing occasionally in episodes of Little House on the Prairie as Caleb Ledoux, as Doctor Jim Blair in Finder of Lost Loves and as Senator Ed Lawrence in Capitol. In 1992 he played the concierge in the Paul Schneider directed made-for-TV-movie Highway Heartbreaker. Marshall has often stated that he was proud of his work on Little House. In 2011, he was in Pioneers of Television as Pvt. Ernest Cameron in archival footage from the episode titled "To Set It Right" in 1964's The Lieutenant for PBS.

After he retired from acting, Marshall set up his own company called DJM Productions, Inc., which produced television commercials and documentary films. He was popular with Star Trek fans as he was a Star Trek convention regular.

Personal life and death

Marshall was in a relationship with Diahann Carroll (1969–1970). He was previously married to Diane Marshall. He had one daughter and one son. Marshall provided consultation on matters connected with his work and with racial issues, and received an award for "Outstanding Achievement in his field as a Black Achiever in the United States". He died on October 30, 2016, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Veteran actress BarBara Luna had reported his death on Facebook.

[purplesurveys]

796

So how are you today? I’ve definitely surprised myself in the last couple of days by having a fever. I felt it as soon as I finished the last survey I took and it’s my first time to have a fever that’s lasted more than a day. I’m relieved that I’m not freezing, but frustrated because my temperature just keeps playing between 37.6 to 39.5. I’ve been in isolation in my bedroom yesterday and today and I reeeally want to be able to roam around my own house again.

Do you like to eat eggs? It’s not one of my favorite food but I wouldn’t say no to a dish with eggs.

When was the last time you had a cup of tea? I don’t like tea, unless it’s iced tea.

Do you have a tapestry in your bedroom? Nope. I do have posters, Audrey Hepburn wall decor, and a couple of paintings.

Have you ever been to London? No.

Do you enjoy going to the library? I used to go to the college library and enjoy my time there, but as I got older and got friends and warmed up to college, the library would remind me of days when I was a freshman struggling to adjust to college life. Because of that, I don’t really go there anymore except if I have to print something or to borrow a book.

If you went to NYC (or if you’ve been), what are your favorite things to do there? I have not.

Who’s the most recent person on your Facebook feed? One of my uncles who shared a Facebook Memory from six years ago.

When (if ever) was the last time you saw that person? Christmas 2019.

Do you know anyone who has a pet bunny? Rita.

Can you play the violin? Nope. I wish I could play several instruments, including the violin.

What’s the last movie you watched? I don’t watch movies these days. The closest one to being a movie that I recently saw was Vice’s Owen Hart episode of their docu-series Dark Side of the Ring. I’ve always, always had a soft spot for Owen and the only existing documentary about him that I would watch is one that would include his immediate family, which Vice was able to do.

Did you enjoy this movie? It was heartbreaking, but so excellently made. I’ve watched it four times in the last week.

What store or website would you most like a gift card for? Zalora, so I can finally buy all the Ivy Park apparel gathering dust on my wishlist.

What’s something you’re looking forward to? For this fever to leaveeeeeeeeeee.

Name your top 3 favorite musical instruments. Piano, violin, saxophone.

What was the last book(s) you bought at a bookstore? It was a used-book store, but I was able to snag an updated version of the WWE Encyclopedia by looking at the highest shelf at the store. The greatest finds for me are usually the most-hidden ones and that moment proved it again haha.

Does the song you’re listening to/last heard evoke any emotion for you? The last song I remember listening to was something from One Direction lol and while it doesn’t really evoke any serious emotion from me, their music does make me feel nostalgic.

Do you use Pinterest? I tried to use it before so I could collect pegs of what I want my future house to look like, but the app just wasn’t my thing.

Are you wearing earrings? Nope, haven’t worn a pair in years.

Do you know any sign language? I learned the basic phrases briefly when we met children with disabilities in high school but I was not able to retain the knowledge.

Have you ever seen the musical Ragtime? I don’t think I’ve even heard of it.

Do you have a favorite poem? Just the ones that my girlfriend likes. The one that has stuck with me for years is One Art by Elizabeth Bishop.

Do you like Indian food? Only my favorite cuisine.

Describe your favorite scarf, if you have one. I don’t have a favorite one.

Do you have a dog? Yes.

Have you ever read the Little House on the Prairie series? I don’t recognize the name.

Do you have any homework? Not anymore! I finished all my final pending requirements a few days ago which included a video of me demonstrating table tennis strokes for PE and a magazine and newspaper for layout class. Now all I have to do is wait for my grades and for my fever to get out of here.

Have you ever gone on a service trip to an underprivileged country? I already live in an underprivileged country, but no, I haven’t done this to another. This is what AIESEC does and it’s why I wanted to join the org, but ultimately I backed out because I didn’t vibe with the members.

Do you need to do laundry? Either my mom or dad already emptied the hamper (which was really full last night) this morning, so I’m assuming it’s already been done.

Do you enjoy going out for breakfast? Only on Sundays when my family and I go out early for church. Otherwise, I hate getting up early.

Have you ever performed in front of more than 100 people? Yeah, for 14 years straight.

Do you like muffins? Only chocolate.

When was the last time you went to church? February or March.

Have you ever heard the singer Audra McDonald? Yes, I had a high school classmate who used to be a fan of the show Private Practice so I would hear this name all the time.

What’s a quote you think is really powerful? I don’t feel like searching my head for empowering quotes right now.

Should you be doing something else right now? Maybe take another paracetamol.

[anileahvictoria]

Percival Dalton from My Little House on the Prairie.

Seriously, I’m having way too much fun drawing these 😂.

Cutie mark: Percivale is a businessman, hence the briefcase, and he primarily was hired by people like the Olsens to counsel them on how to improve business at their shop.

I love this character so much. He’s such a cute little grown up who is extremely intelligent and best of all, doesn’t take crap from Mrs. Olsen and was even able to turn Nellie into a decent person. His relationship with Nellie and the rest of the Olsens is just plain hilarious and I will never stop adoring this boy’s fire. 

[pen-driverart]

Star Wars-Little House on the Prairie crossover illustration challenge

The wild boy

When Rey saw Ben the first time in the barn.

about the idea in this post

[papermoonloveslucy]

RIP Fred Silverman

1937-2020

Fred Silverman was an American television executive and producer. Like Lucille Ball, he worked at all of the Big Three television networks. He was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series All in the Family (1971–79), The Waltons (1972–81), and Charlie’s Angels (1976–81), among others. In 1977, Time Magazine declared him “The Man with the Golden Gut”. 

At CBS in 1970, he led the charge to bring on new audiences with more cutting edge television programs, which spelled the end of Lucille Ball’s family-friendly style shows, then considered old fashioned. He also was responsible for the cancellation of their ‘rural sitcoms’: “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Green Acres,” and “Petticoat Junction.” Ironically, when Lucille Ball wanted to end “Here’s Lucy” after five seasons, it was Silverman who convinced her to stay for a sixth and final season. She was too valuable to the network.

Silverman left CBS for ABC in 1975. He was criticized during this period for relying heavily on escapist fare and for bringing T&A or “jiggle TV” to the small screen with numerous ABC shows featuring buxom, attractive, and often scantily-clad young women. It is no surprise, therefore, that when Lucille Ball joined the Network in 1986, long after Silverman’s departure, her series “Life With Lucy” was a terrible failure.

He left to become President and CEO of NBC in 1978. In stark contrast with his tenures at CBS and ABC, his three-year stint at the network proved to be a difficult period, marked by several high-profile failures. Silverman and NBC succeeded in luring Lucille Ball away from CBS, and rolled out a star-studded primetime special to announce her arrival at the peacock network titled “Lucy Moves to NBC.” It turned out to be virtually the only thing Ball did on NBC. Her short stay there was mostly marked by appearances on Bob Hope specials and one failed pilot titled “Bungle Abbey.”  

Fred Silverman: “I’m sorry, I can’t give the Oval Office an hour of prime time. After all, that’s only the White House, not the ‘Little House on the Prairie.' No, no, don’t put Rosalynn on. I’m in a very important meeting with the first lady of television. That’s right, Lucy.”

Fred Silverman was a character in Lucy’s special, but did not play himself. The role was taken by a youthful Gary Imhoff (above left).  Imhoff was just 28 years old (but looked far younger) when the special was taped, while the real Fred Silverman was 42. The gag was that the man running NBC was a mere child.

Lucy: “Mr. Silverman, may I get you something? Scotch and soda?  Bourbon and water?  Milk and cookies?” Fred Silverman: “I’ve been a fan of yours since you started, Miss Ball.” Lucy: “Oh? You had a TV set in your nursery.”

It is unclear why Silverman did not play himself in this special. Something similar happened when a role was was written for real-life MGM producer Dore Schary on “I Love Lucy.” Schary withdrew at the last minute, claiming illness, although others later said that he got cold feet. The part was filled by Vivian Vance’s husband, Phil Ober. In 1981, Silverman left NBC and formed The Fred Silverman Company (formerly Intermedia Entertainment) to produce shows to sell to television.

In 1995, he was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award (named after Lucille Ball) in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. In 1999, Silverman was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame, of which Lucille Ball was in the first group of nominees.

[i-wish-we-were-jedi]

I don’t usually post personal updates on this blog, but this one has a fandom theme too. And it’s too amazing not to share.

This is not a sob-story. In fact, I would “Choose no other life than the one I’ve lived,” to fittingly quote C.S. Lewis, because it has made me who I am, and without the death of my sister, the things that have been going on lately would never have happened.

A lot of people claim Harry Potter as their “gateway drug” into the fandom life. That was not the case for me. Mine was Narnia. When I was little, my younger sister died and in response to the grief I didn’t know how to handle, I buried myself in books. My dad had an old copy of the series from when he was a boy (he was missing Prince Caspian, though, so I bought my own copy later), and I flew through them in days. This was only a few months before the first of the Narnia movies came out, and I was in love. I listened to the soundtracks, I acted out the scenes, I drew fan art (which I still have), and wrote fan-fiction. I was so obsessed with it that my mom actually considered therapy. I was nine years old.

I grew up, and Narnia grew with me. I collected miniature replicas from the movies, and I learned more about C.S. Lewis and his other works. When I hit middle school, I started branching out. I read Lord of the Rings, Little House on the Prairie, I watched Star Wars. I was a hard-core fangirl. But Narnia was always my first love. Everything I did, it all went back to Narnia somehow.

As I was nearing the end of eighth grade, the year before high school, a friend of mine informed me that her theatre group, called CYT (Christian Youth Theatre), was putting on a production of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. If only I’d known then how much that one conversation would change my life forever.

I immediately called them and asked when and where and how to audition. Unfortunately, they didn’t have exact dates for the auditions yet, and the next we heard of the play was through a flier that told us the dates and locations of the performances. Undeterred, I bought my ticket and my dad and I went to go see this production.

I was...underwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong! The show itself was amazing! Sets, costumes, props, acting, singing, dancing, all of it was top-notch! But the story itself I felt was misrepresented, and that was discouraging for me. I have never found anything more saddening as a fan than to see something that I love taken and used by someone who doesn’t understand it.

But here’s something about me you need to know: if I see something that isn’t right, it is in my blood to try and fix it. So I stewed on this horrible play for about two weeks, and you know what I decided to do? I decided to make my own play of Narnia.

Only one problem: I knew nothing about theatre and had no idea where to start.

One night I was lying in bed on a warm June night, trying to fall asleep. My window was open, and it was windy out, so I could hear the trees rustling, and see the flash of leaves in the moonlight, and it was beautiful.

And out of nowhere, the first two lines of a song popped into my head. It was pitch black in my room, but I grabbed a sheet of copy paper off my desk and wrote it in pencil. And that’s when I thought: why not make this about Narnia.

And the song just came, line by line, two verses, then three.

When I woke up the next morning, I had a tune and a name.

By now I had decided that if I was going to write a stage play, I better know what stage plays are actually like, so I auditioned for a production of Aladdin Jr. and got in as a townsperson. So now I knew what a script was supposed to look like, and the things that they are supposed to account for during a production. I got to see how lighting, costuming, dancing, and music all fit together from the inside. I was about 14 years old now.

And then I wrote my script. Slowly, because I was new at this and I didn’t know how much of the book I should put directly into the script and how much I could paraphrase, but slowly it came together. My family moved, and I was in another production - Beauty and the Beast, in which I played one of the Silly Girls. And then another production of Peter Pan as a pirate. This was a time of learning for me, of writing and rewriting as things came and changed and evolved in my head.

Then I did Wizard of Oz. I auditioned and got the part of Dorothy. This was my first lead role and it gave me a better glimpse into the world of character arcs and what is important to an actor when portraying a character. But also, my dad was the Music Director for this production, so I got to see what his role was like, the kinds of things he needed and was able to help him put together music tracks for the kids to sing with during rehearsal, which was my first exposure to any sort of musical editing software.

My mind kinda exploded. I would finish editing the tracks for Oz and then open a new tab and tap out the tune for my songs on the keyboard. I wasn’t the best pianist in the house, but I was competent enough. The computer would record it and let me edit it until it sounded like what I wanted, and then I’d layer it with different sound effects. Eventually, seeing how long it took me to get it how I wanted, my dad offered to help me. The two of us sat and worked through Tumnus’s song on the piano until it was perfect. Then I recorded my own vocals and it was done.

We did a couple of the songs, one of them the opening number for the show, and on this one I went to town singing different harmonies, and my dad loved it. He is trained in music and sent it out to a few people so they could hear it. One of his friends who is a pretty big-time producer (he even has had his music performed at Carnegie hall), wanted to buy the song from me and use it as a sort of high school show choir song . But I said no, because he wanted it separate from the script, and I couldn’t stand that. I was 16.

One thing felt certain to me, though. I was ready to see this thing published. So I looked around and tried to find out where I could go. But it soon became clear that there was only one place I could go. As far as publishing material, there’s only one publishing house that has the rights to Narnia. I sent it, and was rejected.

I was upset, understandably. But I wasn’t ready to give up. This didn’t mean I couldn’t find a way to have the show performed, it just meant I couldn’t publish or make any money off of it. I was willing to put in the work, I just needed to figure out how to do it.

I did have a homeschool group do a recording of a few of the songs and play it during the intermission of their own Narnia play, which was fun, but no one had yet seen my script. And I didn’t have a theatre group that was able to do anything for free.

At this point, I decided that the only way this was going to be put to stage was through a miracle. I don’t know what all my followers believe, but I’m a Christian, and I believe in the power of praying. So I put my script on a flash drive, along with all the mp3s of the songs I’d recorded, and I prayed over it. I asked God to do what he wanted with it, and if He wanted it to sit in the bottom of a file cabinet until it rotted away, that I would trust Him.

And then I left the flash drive sitting on my desk. For years.

I didn’t do much with the script. A tweak here. A scene change there. I was waiting for something to happen. I tried to orchestrate some of my songs. I failed massively. But I kept praying over it. I wrote my own novel, a space fantasy, and published it online. I kept reading, tried to write more songs and other musicals. Nothing really worked. I graduated high school, took a gap year, tried freshman year at a college a few hours from home with a music composition major, failed massively, survived an abusive relationship, and came back home, physically sick and feeling utterly defeated. I was 19.

I was never diagnosed with depression, but I couldn’t write. I couldn’t read. Couldn’t bring myself to do much besides stare at the wall or binge Netflix. Whatever was the path of least resistance.

I took a few months to recuperate, and then I got a job at a pizzeria as a cashier. Within a year, I was an assistant manager, and was able to start paying back some student loans.

Last fall, I decided to try school again. I enrolled in online classes through a Christian college that my dad had attended a while back. It’s hard work, but doable, and I enjoy it (I actually found out today that I made the Dean’s List).

Through all this, my flash drive sat collecting dust on my desk.

But two weeks ago, my dad was asked to fill in as a pianist for a quartet that his friend is in. They traveled down the East coast, and while on the tour bus, one of the guys started talking about his time playing Tumnus in a Theatre company out of Los Angeles. Apparently, this guy has connections in the film industry, Disney and everything. My dad played Narnia’s Glory for him. And apparently, the whole bus went silent. I wrote this song when I was 14, and a bus full of professional musicians was floored.

By utter chance, they ended up at a little theater, which had just a couple days before opened their new production, The Chronicles of Narnia: the Horse and His Boy. They toured the theatre and apparently one of the guys there is such a huge Narnia fan that he has a massive collection of props from the film: I’m talking, the Pevensie’s Gifts (all of them), the costumes from the film, one of the witch’s Dresses, the Stuffed Aslan that was used on the stone table, and the actual wardrobe (which he is planning to use in a production). All of these things are housed in the theatre.

While on lunch, they met up with a guy who my dad didn’t know was on the board of the theatre. But while they were in the car, Narnia came up, and the guy asked to hear my music. My dad played it.

The guy immediately made arrangements for me and my parents to fly out there next month, watch the Horse and His Boy and meet with the artistic director of the theatre. This man told my dad he would fund the musical.

This is the only theatre in the world that is allowed to produce and perform their own productions of Narnia, permission given by Douglas Gresham himself (Douglas actually attended the first couple performances of The Horse and His Boy). The only theater on the planet.

I am 21. Not even 10 years since this whole idea was conceived, and here I am, my music and script going to be put to stage. 

Do not apologize for your obsessions. They are part of the structure of who you are and they can bring light to the people around you. Do not let people douse your fire. Work hard and do not give up. Be patient. Prayer works. Learn when to rest and when to push forward, but you will get there if you simply do not give up.

[greetingsdr]

Did anyone else grow up watching Little House on the Prairie or The Walton’s? Cause I did, and I’d be so down to do some fan art of that.