Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo2015

How Poppy flipped the script on Black Friday

A few years ago, The Story Pirates asked kids to send them stories about a made-up holiday. That sounds like a weird thing to do, but it’s actually normal for The Story Pirates. They’re a sketch-comedy group that adapts kids’ stories and performs them on satellite radio. They also do live performances, but usually just in California and New York. So for us, they’re just on the radio.

Anyway.

They wanted stories about made-up holidays, and Poppy and Pete decided they’d each write one. So they did, and we submitted them, and a few weeks later I got an email from a real, live Story Pirate asking my permission to produce Poppy’s story for the show. They were kind enough to send me an audio file of the performance after it had aired, and today seemed like the appropriate time to share it with you.

“White Friday” by Poppy & The Story Pirates

Didn’t they do a wonderful job? If you know Poppy, it’s pretty easy to pick out the lines they pulled verbatim from the source material. Pete was also thrilled that they included the cheeseburgers, as his entire story was a celebration of them.

I hope you have a thoroughly relaxing White Friday!

NaBloPoMo November 2015

Six movies to watch while digesting your Thanksgiving feast

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There isn’t the pressure to give presents or receive presents or even really to do any decorating. The weather is usually pretty great, and there isn’t really much to it beyond eating delicious foods, which gives families the opportunity to fill the day with their own traditions. Screenwriters don’t seem to see Thanksgiving in such a rosy light, though. It’s often used as a backdrop to extreme familial angst or epically awful road trips or both. You don’t often have your entire extended family hanging out in the dining room, and I guess the temptation to make the occasion wrought with attention is just too great to resist. On the bright side, that means there are a number of movies set around Thanksgiving.

I sprung the following Thanksgiving titles on Rockford yesterday as we drove. Here’s what he thought:


Rocky (1976)

“You want the bird? Go in the alley and eat the bird.”

rockyRockford says: “The little movie that could! This was a low-budget film that really took us all by storm. I first saw ‘Rocky’ when I was 6 years old. ‘Rocky’ I and II were some of the movies that stand out the most from when I was that young. What I remember about ‘Rocky’ was, it was the first movie I saw where you had a protaganist that came from such a difficult and/or meager existance. It was also one of the first movies that I remember seeing where the protagonist mirrors where he’s from so much. Rocky is Philadelphia and Philadelphia is Rocky. Where else is there a statue of a movie character? ‘Rocky’ is gettig up before the dawn, slogging to work, and doing everything you can to suport the ones you love. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other while also trying to better yourself.”

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

“Those aren’t pillows.”

planesRockford says: “This is a movie that I did not fully appreciate until I entered the world of business travel. This was one of the first movies to — in a fun but real way — point at the new business-travel culture that was emerging in the 1980s and the problems that came with it. The fact that we’re always in some kind of vehicle and what happens when all of those modes of trasnportation for whatever reason completely crap out. That aside, it’s a very well-done buddy comedy that features two of the best comedians of their era opposite one another. Without giving anything away, it also has a very poignant twist. It’s a movie about getting home to be with the people that you love.”

Grumpy Old Men (1993)

“Moron.”

“Putz.”

grumpyoldmenRockford says: “Oh, is that Thanksgiving? I guess it is Thanksgiving.

It’s a story about frenemies. It’s built on the idea that the people we know the best are oftentimes our friends and our mortal enemies. What makes ‘Grumpy Old Men’ successful for almost all viewers is the universals of parent-child and friend-to-friend relationships. It’s fun watching Burgess Meredith tell Jack Lemmon to stop acting like a putz. These guys are still acting like children, because to each other that’s how they still are.”

Addams Family Values (1993)

“You sent us to camp. They made us sing.”

addamsfamilyvaluesRockford says: “This is a Thanksgiving movie? Really??

I know you like the pinball game, but I don’t remember the movie. I remember going to see it on a date with you. It has the honor of being our second-date movie. That’s all I really have to say about that.”

Nobody’s Fool (1994)

“Mr. Sullivan, you’re wearing a necktie. Are you in trouble with the law again?”

nobodysfoodRockford says: “Boy I haven’t seen that in a long time. Up until ‘Nobody’s Fool’ I wasn’t really a fan of realism in film. I could appreciate it, but didn’t really enjoy it. Here’s a tale of a broken and bitter man who lives by his own set of rules that have developed through years of disappointment, discouragement and failure, and this is a brief glimpse into his life complete with the bad stuff and the good stuff.”

Pieces of April (2003)

“I’m the first pancake.”

piecesRockford says: “Yeah, family is hard. This is another example of kind of, family warts and all. It’s the anti-John Hughes experience. The holidays brought to you by every painful holiday you’ve experienced. You have the peace-keeping father, who placates his daughter; a caustic mother-daughter relationsship; and it all kind of comes to a head around the Thanksgiving dinner table. The beauty of this film is that is shows what family is — taking these gritty, not-so-great pieces of each other and accepting them and wrapping your arms around it. It’s seeing love and kindness in places where you might not expect it.”


Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your tryptophan haze is brief but delightful.

Beautify your home and give back with Macy’s Heart of Haiti

Papier mache artist Gerard Dume
Papier mache artist Gerard Dume
In 2010, a massive earthquake hit Haiti. It destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, leaving behind a devestated country. Shortly after the earthquake, Macy’s reached out to artisans in Haiti to create the Heart of Haiti product line, which includes handcrafted goods such as bowls, trays and vases.

Macy’s now employs 550 artisans in Haiti to make the Heart of Haiti line, including the talented soul who made the black-and-white vase they shared with me. It’s made of papier mache, and it puts the chili pepper I made in high school to shame. The Heart of Haiti papier mache items are made by crafters and artisans in the seaside town of Jacmel. They start by forming a mold out of dried mud, then use recycled cement bags to make the vase. Check out this video of the artists in action.

I’d like to share with you how artfully I incorporated the vase into my home decor, but instead I’ll tell you the truth: There is no such thing as “artful” when it comes to me and home decor. I thought the vase deserved something more than what I could offer it, so I took it to our friendly local crafting emporium, where floral designer Angie helped me.

floralhelp

When I say Angie “helped me,” what I mean is I followed Angie around and said things like “sparkly but not crazy” and “maybe some red” and “I’d like to leave it up ’til February, so wintery but not too Christmasy” and finally “Holy cow that looks great, how did you do that?” Thanks to the Heart of Haiti artists and the very patient Angie, I now have a striking addition to my winter decor.

heartofhaitivase1

The Macy’s Gifts that Give Back initiative is a beautiful and simple way to give back this season. You can decorate your home and buy gifts for your own friends and family while helping these artisans care for their families. It’s a win-win! The Heart of Haiti line is available online and at select Macy’s stores (Herald Square in Downtown Brooklyn, Downtown DC’s Metro Center, Chicago’s State Street, San Francisco’s Union Park, Downtown Seattle, Dallas Gallaria, Downtown Portland OR, Atlanta’s Lenox Square, Dallas Galleria Mall and Miami Dadeland).

NaBloPoMo November 2015

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post  for Macy’s Heart of Haiti line in conjunction with Everywhere Agency.