Tag: entertainment

Happy Birthday!!!

All of the ladies here at That’s What She Said want to wish a big “Happy Birthday!” to our own Nicole Weaver, and Producer, Jamie Lawrence-Howard!

To steal from Jamie: “May the best days of your past be the worst days of your future!”

Don’t miss our next show, April 16th, 9PM, on BCTV. Check back here for updates on topics.

And if you have missed any of our past shows, catch up why don’t cha? They are all archived at BCTV.org (in the “On Demand” section”) or on our own lovely YouTube channel.

Love, Jane

Sourpuss

Tootling ’round town today, happy as a clam, perhaps even happier, in my trusty 2cc, I was listening to NPR, which I like to think of as “Culture on the Go!” Does anyone listen to the radio whilst stationary? Rhetorical; I’m sure many do, however, I am not of that persuasion. The radio means the smell of the asphalt and the wind in my hair. Well truly, the wind in the scarf that covers my hair. At any rate, the road represents “freedom” to me, a freedom not felt whilst in the confines of my own home. Perhaps it was all those years being constricted by my late husband, Otto.

Where was I?…

Oh yes, road, 2cc, NPR…Well, there I was. And on came the most fascinating piece.

Sandor Ellix Katz, quite the name, was chatting about fermentation. Of food. He is a, or possibly, the, “fermentation revivalist.” His exploration and experimentation in the area of food preservation is seemingly encyclopedic. He has written a couple of volumes on the subject, his latest being “The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts.” Well la-di-da say I, in the most reverent way possible. If you are going to love a subject, I say, love it to the depths of your soul. And he certainly has. Perhaps this is what comes of being a Jew in Tennessee; one can only speculate. But yes, preservation!

Well, you all know, or should, that I am fascinated by anything to do with preservation. I love old books, papers, furniture, my 2cc, myself… To that preservationist end, I am currently soaking my face in a tub full of vinegar. This is not something Mr. Katz recommends, but I thought, “Why the heck not?” At the very least, it is refreshing, and allows me some quiet, albeit wet, time to share with all of you. The burning in my eyes is but a small price to pay for our wonderful time together!

I am very glad, however, that I invested in that waterproof and, it seems, vinegar-proof, case for my cellular telephone on which I am writing this entry. Frivolous then, prescient now.

Should you be interested in more information on Mr. Katz and his fermented life, you may follow this link: Wild Fermentation.

Oh my, my hands have gotten quite prune-y, and I’ve become overtaken by a strong desire for salad. Time to say, “Bye” for the while. Until next time we meet, here’s a thought: Try to live each day with a little more kindness than the day before. It’s just a thought.

Love, Jane

Time for Giving of Thanks

Hello, my dear little chipmunks!

I thought it would be nice, if, wholly, unoriginal, to use this week’s space giving thanks. Now I would like to think that, on a daily basis, I am a fairly thanks-giving woman. But even I am self-aware enough to know that days, weeks, well, to be truthful, sometimes even years, go by, wherein I haven’t though beyond my own personal realm. And so, the day of thanks and gluttony fast approaching…

First and foremost, I thank my mother. While not, by any means, a warm woman, she would have done anything to see me grow and thrive. She lives on in my heart, and also on a plaque in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Thanks to family, whether real, acquired, or extended. Family is not necessarily what you were born with, it is what you make, and I am grateful to have created the best family for which one could wish.

Thank you to loyal friends: What would this world be without you? The support and love, laughs and tears, shared with you…the value is immeasurable.

Also thanks to worthy foes, who in trying to tear down, only manage to build up. No mettle is truly tested and proved inviolable without strong opposition.

Thanks to whatever higher power one believes in, and if that is none, then to yourself. Creation is magic, whatever the source.

Thanks to the cosmetics industry, which has kept me looking relatively young, youthful, handsome, well into my later years. While it was a tiny emotional earthquake the day I realized that it was necessary to make the leap away from light-coverage foundation, I am thankful that full-coverage was there to catch me on the other side of that particular crevasse.

I am thankful for the Arts, and entertainment in all forms. My life would never have been possible, well, the life I wound up leading, at any rate, without the Arts. They helped me escape my humble beginnings in Poughkeepsie. Took me to places of which a young girl, and then older woman, could only dream! Alas, they were also the cause of my first, and lasting, brush with the disillusionment and rancor that love can bring. But I shan’t think of that at the moment; I’m happy!

Taking a side path for a moment…Speaking of entertainment, I, yes I, am a semi-fan of the television show The X-Factor; not a big fan, mind you, but I watch. If I may be allowed to exorcize some of the rancor that has come flashing back into my mind by merely alluding to my late husband above, and I hope, below: I do not at all like that fellow who hosts. He dampens every moment he is onscreen. I am eagerly awaiting the episode in which he will be voted off.

But I do love that little Chris Rene. He reminds me of a young Tom Waits, whom I adore. I remember sitting with him, Tom, not Chris, in a less than reputable boîte in, if memory serves, Oklahoma; what can one do, one takes jobs, and sustenance, wherever one may. I remember I lifted a glass to him and said, “Oh, Tom, there will never again be anyone like you!” To which he mumbled something in reply. But I was wrong: I predict that Mr. Rene will have a long career singing honestly of life in America. There is nothing better than a good storyteller…well, perhaps a well-made Manhattan.

One more step on this path of digression. I cannot wait for Hugo to be released; what a visually stunning treat to the eyes those trailers have been!

And now stepping trippingly back onto the main path. I am very thankful for this lovely group of women with whom I find myself in such close company. “In no particular order,” as that vapid man from the X-Factor would say: Ellen, Sheila, Christina, and Martha, a girl couldn’t ask for a better group with which to share time and bandwidth.

And finally: To life. No, it is not always easy, never predictable, and ofttimes somewhat frightening, but my goodness, what a wonderful ride it continues to be.

Be safe in your travels, be they down the path, across the country, or from room to room.

Thanks and Love to you, too,

Jane