hot chocolate, the sistine and corpsing

mes amis–

on this blustery day, darkening at an early hour,
at a time when we are between years
–the end of one; the start of another–
i would like to take a moment to give thanks to one of the wonders of our world.
hot chocolate.

i first learned about the drink as a youngster in brookline, ma. though brookline is known for its close proximity to beantown–and its preponderance of ph.ds!–the township is hardly urban and in fact boasts some fine parks (some of which were designed by frederick law olmstead himself!) i recall bundling up for a jaunt of sledding at the amory park hill nearby and looking forward to swiss miss delights upon my return home.

an alpine delight

later, in my european years, i indulged in all manner of hot chocolates: from chocolate chaud to cioccolato caldo.
mama mia!
these were creations of another kind. more pudding like but every bit as tasty.

molto europeo

i just took part in my first proper hot chocolate of the season, spontaneous. an idea that occurred while i lurked by the elevators.  i was sans coat so i absconded chez dunkin donuts, a boston institution where i feel at home. for a mere $2.28 i was transported back in time and space. sitting at the kitchen table. legs a-dangle. filled with tales from sledding, bangs on my face and an imagination at work for an afternoon of make believe play.

ah youth!

in other news, i must share with you two total delights on this, the 27th day of december. get yourself to the sistine chapel soonly unless you look forward to getting vacuumed! this article in the guardian describes of a most desperate effort on the part of the italian authorities. they will endeavor scoparti before entering the chapel. (get your mind out of the gutter! i mean scopare in the literal sense, not as the slang term… what you do after hours is your business. hmph!)

i must say, the one and only time i visited the sistine–on a sojourn in rome, mind you–i was a bit jostled and felt the fetid–not to mention putrid!–smell of other humans. there are more divine smells, i’ll have you know. i hope it goes well and look forward to chatting with benedict soon. we skype every so often…

ooh and this last tid bit also from the guardian: do you know the phrase corpsing? i didn’t. but i am well versed with the practice. in my salad days i often corpsed alongside my improvisational colleagues. ’tis one my favorite theatrical activities. i love to see it onstage both as a player and as an audience member.

c’est tout for now mes amis!
kippy

the shortest day to the end of time (solace for your solstice)

mes amis–

i usually like to spend my solstice in solitude…taking stock of the calendar year in a winter cabin covered in a blanket of snow (while i am covered in a blanket of cashmere, that is!) this year i attend the office-i-frequent-mondays-through-fridays. and what of it? nothing like a to do list and a tidy desk to make way for a little rumination time!

[here i did a google image search for “thinking,” but was displeased by the options. it seems though women only think in manners most sexy! are they “thinking” or are they coquettishly flirting i wonder! here is one such offender…(not the woman, but the art director, i suppose]

lipstick gets you dates and mates, but not necessarily theorems and thoughts!

[the other results were of cartoons, many of which were cute, but this “thinking” image here sort of delighted me:]

don’t think, man, eat it!

[end bracketed thoughts]

and so here we are at the end of 2012 and the end of the mayan calendar! women are still portrayed on the internet as “sexy” thinkers, whereas men get to ponder the ice cream cone. have we really come all that far?

this posting was not meant to be a feminist screed but it seems to have turned into one. i am at a loss for summations of 2012…. only ruminations. many things occurred this year, as they do every year. (an astute observation, yes!)

on another note, i am very sad about the shooting at the sandy hook elementary school. it is so unbelievably tragic and senseless…like all the other shootings. and yet i wonder what is the most effective way of moving forward…?

i am only one kippy, shall i hold a seance with charton heston…? he and i were close in my younger years… but that’s a topic for another post.  i don’t know. i truly hope that mental illness gets the national attention it needs. what a crisis. and perhaps people should buy less guns and more flowers! flowers are nice and they are nice looking! what did anyone ever need a gun (rack) for anyway?

what a fine film featured my friend mike myers and dana carvey. hi guys!

anyway.

today i hope for peace in the middle yeast. and i hope that everyone who suffers round the world–from digestion ailments to deep and impenetrable sadness–gets a little solace in their solstice this year and in the years to come.

yours in earnestness,
kippy

don’t tip the boat over!

mes amis–

in this season of scurrying round and round, tying up those loose ends in the midst of holicraze, i invite you to take a moment to enjoy this classic tune i heard (and jived to!) the autre evening. surely you have three minutes and three seconds to ecouter le hues corporation!

i was visitng a land called mass mocachino where the locals are as rugged as the mountains in the distance. i was in north adams, massachewsetts for a showing of half straddle‘s seagull (thinking of you) …. naturellement. though i no longer coordinate the group’s press junkets, i continue to be an ardent fan.

it was late at night, libations abounded and then somehow the jams on the radio began to blare in epic and marvelous proportions. i hadn’t heard this ditty in many years and it reminded me of an expression in my salad days: “rock the boethius.”

don’t rock the boat, but rock the boethius

in any case, i look forward to applying the credo of the chanson, and of the saying, to my life in 2013…!

a bientot,kippy

nothing says winter solstice…

…like a lonely saxophone playing “have yourself a merry little christmas” in the subterranean bowels of the new york city subway system.

’tis the loneliest of instruments…and therefore most poetic

yes mes amis. it is that time of year.

meanwhile i offer you two videos.

this is most beautiful and inspirational… ooh if music be the food of life play on!

the next is from one of my favorite theatrical endeavors in the downtown theatrical circuit: clubbed thumb. i was most devastated that sandy put off their weiners and boobs benefit. here’s to hoping that 2013 may revive this fine revival.

a bientot!kippy

toilets, gulls, and who nose it!

my friends–

il y a beaucoup de temps since my last missive. i’ve been trying to post more regularly…. but my weblog ruminations, much like my digestive systems, do not follow a normal clock. rather they are sporadic and fitful indeed! but hopefully, more full of soul also.

well then. while we are on the topics of toilets, (zing!) i feel  i should share with you the following image taken at mass mocachino.

what time is it? it’s toilet time!

nothing makes my heart sing–and mind speak–as much as when i see this kind of disjointed hilarity. i can only imagine that some of those sea-gals and gulls will be popping into this gender normative rest stop and rustling some security guard feathers while “they” are at it…! i even understand that the actors featured in la foto will be ready for signatures. plump those pens!

bello, no?

a final thought as i write this from my hotel room in hong kong … i wanted to share with you this tid bit about the nose, which knows. (thank you pacific standard for always offering interesting articoli)

ew!

i am intrigued by this study.. most of all because i feel as though it was common sense as a kid. did someone at the amos e. lawrence school in brookline, ma suggest this as a study tool and technique?? i would not be surprised… brookliners are always ahead of any curve ball.

real balls have curves

i recall a high school chemistry teacher saying that one “does not learn through osmosis…” but perhaps with the right scent one can! that teacher made an excellent kahlua cake and inspired even the hopeless (ie moi) with the vim and vigor to study hard. that B+ i earned was one of my prouder grades (even if it didnt have the austere simplicity that A carries)

at any rate, i look forward to bringing scents (and sense!) back into the theatre tradition this spring with un certo spettacolo speciale at the bushwick starr.

until then i remain faithfully and fruitfully yours,
kippy

ps … go see tube it’s a hoot and holler and you won’t be sorry. sitko and his band of merry makers create a most enjoyable spectacle with lovely music interludes and some fine stories.

pps “Helium walks into a bar. The bar tender says ‘We don’t serve noble gasses in here.’  Helium doesn’t react.” …  for more: InorganicVentures!

my dear ben brantley, you missed one old chap!

Dear Ben,

I much enjoyed your round up and ruminations on the art star of the moment–that old Anton. Your thoroughness and thoughtfulness never cease to thrill this reader, but I must point out one upcoming production that went unmentioned: Half Stradddle‘s Seagull (Thinking of You) at the Coil Festival in January. Half Straddle has been making (new) waves since 2008. They are currently the company in residence at the New Museum. In fact, the group’s artistic director, Tina Satter, did a fine job on that “My Chekhov, Not Yours” panel you so finely noted.

heart breaker

From what I can tell, the group’s production will involve a golden skateboard and a score of Russian infused punk folk songs. The tone irreverent and suddenly heartfelt. And there will be kissing. Lots of it. So while the humor is tongue in cheek, those those smooches may have some tongues in mouths. Heh..!  The mirror this young company will hold up to audiences will surely be as bright and beautiful as any sequin clad Seagull.

a homespun gull

To quote Anton: “The theatre’s not what it used to be. Once there were mighty oaks–today only stumps remain.” But as Satter’s Half Straddle gaggle of gals and gulls will prove: some of those stumps do really nuanced work…!

I look forward to their production in January and will continue to be your ardent fan.

A bientot,
Kippy