Just a girl writing in the blogging ring
Sunday, June 9th was the annual Pride Parade in Philadelphia. Happy 25 years of pride Philadelphia!
Click on the first picture and the gallery will open. Comments welcome! I was able to take amazing shots after I walked into the press box like I belonged there.
~P.
On my second day in Philadelphia, I paid the $2 fee to enter the Christ Church Burial Grounds. Founded in 1719 it is the final resting place of many names from history that I recognize. Franklin being the most famous, of course.
In addition to Franklin, I learned the tomb of John Andrews D.D. was also in this burial ground. Andrews was the founder of York College of Pennsylvania in 1787.
Click on first picture and gallery will open.
I had only an hour to photograph the burial grounds before they closed for the day. I would have like to note the name of each person’s tombstone I photographed, but there just wasn’t time.
Enjoy!
~P.
Day 2 of the conference kicked off with sunshine. For that I am grateful as my camera and raindrops do not get along. It was scary driving on the city streets that looked like a stream. My car is small and I was concerned the rushing water could sweep me off the street.
Here are photo highlights from day 2.
The highlights of the day for me were meeting George Anastasia and winning first place in Nonfiction for “The Prison Visit” A version of that essay can be read here. http://wp.me/p1j2Ur-18a
I love visiting Philly and can’t wait to go back! ~P.
Click the first picture and the gallery will open.
Websites of authors/magazine/promoters I met:
http://www.georgeanastasia.com
http://www.jonathanmaberry.com
Here I am in Philly, awake when I should be sleeping. My cousin Eric is attempting to park his large, old, and loud truck in a narrow, brick alley. As kids, I recall spending time with Little Eric, Aunt Peggy (we all called her Aunt Peggy) and Big Eric, my aunt’s husband. I don’t know what is taking Eric so long to…oh, now I hear him. I should be sleeping.
It is writer heaven. People I met at the conference are all in the same field so conversations are easy. Meeting the editors and agents and seeing their interest in my work is fantastic. Here is my day in photos after arriving at the conference. Enjoy! (Click on first picture and the gallery will open)
Excited for day two and it is nearly 4 am. Must get shut eye!
~P.
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Dover had a wonderful 2013 May Fair for the elementary students. May Fair celebrations have changed since I attended Dover. Back in the day, the fair was during the school day. In the afternoon we played games, ate candy and performed the Maypole dance. Anyone else ever participate in a Maypole dance in school? I remember in middle school wearing a dress and weaving long, silk ribbons on a tall pole, during a lively song.
What is the meaning of the Maypole dance? Here are a few answers according to Wikipedia.
1. Some scholars classify maypoles as symbols of the world axis.
2. Others have viewed them as having phallic symbolism. (OMG no wonder there is no Maypole dance!)
3. Part of the general rejoicing at the return of summer, and the growth of new vegetation.
“The earliest use of the Maypole in America occurred in 1628, where William Bradford, governor of New Plymouth, wrote of an incident where a number of servants, together with the aid of an agent, broke free from their indentured service to create their own colony, setting up a maypole in the center of the settlement.”
“They also set up a May-pole, drinking and dancing about it many days togaether, inviting the Indean women, for their consorts, dancing and frisking togither, (like so many fairies, or furies rather,) and worse practises. As if they had anew revived & celebrated the feasts of the Roman Goddes Flora, or the beastly practieses of the mad Bacchinalians.
Here are some pictures from the Maypole dance in Dover when I was about 11 years old. In the pictures from 1982 are my friends Kym Guss, Holly Beecher, Travis Faulkner, Jill Coleman, and Michelle Knaub. I have on a pink shirt, pink skirt, pink bow, and pink socks. I guess I always liked the color pink.
Okay, enough with my reminiscing of the 1980’s. Here are pictures from the Dover May Fair 2013. We had a fantastic day of family fun. It was great to see the Dover football team participating in the celebration.
Great job Dover PTO!
~P.
I love Hell’s Kitchen and get a huge kick out of Chef Ramsay. This is season 11 and one contestant, Jon, is still in the running. I believe they start with 20 and there are 9 chefs remaining. Jon Scallion is from York, PA so I’m rooting for him. He also seems to be the most capable chef. Seriously.
Here’s his bio from the Hell’s Kitchen website.
http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/bios/contestants/jon-scallion
Go Jon! You have a cool last name, especially as a chef. 😉
~P.
Zack, from Phila, PA has turned in his jacket. Now it’s down to Jon and 4 female rivals. Will Jon beat out all the ladies to be the winner of Hell’s Kitchen? I have my fingers crossed!
Jon is seriously funny when he gets a moment in front of the camera. I was laughing at all his comments. He is most definitely, no denying it, from York County. He thinks like a redneck! Perhaps he can come up with a good groundhog recipe so we have a steady supply of free protein right outside our doors.
Jon’s Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/JonHK11?fref=ts
Go Jon! Be the onion among the roses! ~P.
7/27/2013 Update: Jon was eliminated this week. I am totally bummed out. ~P.
An Insider Look at a Swinger’s Club
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Movie Review by Philip Rearich
Rating: 5/5
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Produced by: Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Robert G. Tapert
Written by: Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Diablo Cody (uncredited)
Starring: Jane Levy as Mia
Shiloh Fernandez as David
Lou Taylor Pucci as Eric
Jessica Lucas as Olivia
Elizabeth Blackmore as Natalie
Bruce Campbell as Ash (uncredited)
I want to make one thing perfectly clear about this movie: it’s not a remake. Despite what you may have heard about it, it’s not a remake. This is just my opinion on it, from speculation before it came out, and after seeing it, I’m convinced it’s not a remake of the 1981 horror classic The Evil Dead. With that said, it’s not exactly a sequel either, albeit not a direct one. I would say it loosely follows the previous movies. What really describes this movie is that it’s more of a revival of the franchise. Not a remake, not exactly a reboot or sequel, but a revival. This movie brings the franchise back to its straight-up horror roots, rather than the horror-comedy that the sequels were. Also, I think the difference in titling for both films kinda signifies how it’s not a remake (the original had “The” in the title, this one doesn’t).
I was amazed by this film. Truly I was. When I first heard about it, I thought that there was no way it was going to happen. The original film, along with the rest of the trilogy, is iconic and a cult classic. There have been so many horror remakes, few of them being good, but the bad ones are bad in their own way that just remaking The Evil Dead would be a slap to the face to horror fans and fans of the franchise as well. Then I heard that the movie was actually being made, and it had the involvement of Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and others that helped make the original film as well as the sequels. Even Bruce Campbell said it was going to be good, and, well, he delivered as promised and so much more.
It’s almost hard to describe this movie, really. The only word that comes to mind is brutal. That’s the best way to describe it. Imagine all the characteristics of a Michael Bay remake or any bad horror remake in general, and this movie is the exact opposite of that. It’s that good. It has the premise of the original film, a bunch of people at a cabin who get attacked by demons, and they have to survive it until it’s over. It does have the look of a remake, very dirty and grimy, gore, uh, galore, and emphasizing a lot on the scare factor, which to this film’s credit does very well. As I am a horror fan, I wasn’t really scared by it like most people I know, but it did have really shocking moments. Also, that “tree-raping” scene from the original that had its own rendition in this film? It is a lot more graphic in this film, but that’s only a tiny bit of how brutal this movie really is.
Now, there are moments that will shock, scare, frighten, and anything else fear-related that will make you feel fear in this movie. The constant attacks from the characters being possessed onto their friends, the brutality of the execution of those attacks, and the surrealism of it all. Heck, the film begins with a bunch of people trying to free a possessed person and she seems nice, but then she just says “I will eat your soul” in such a nice way but then goes demonic. Then later the environment gets all freaky. There’s dead cats, originally thought to be just a “bad smell” and a delusion from Mia, but she turned out to be right. And the demon, well that was a little strange in more ways than one. When it possesses Mia, it turns her into a combination of a deadite, Gollum, and something from The Grudge or The Ring, I don’t know. It’s weird and quirky but still quite frightening, especially the ways in which she frightens people.
Now of course, like with the original film, the demon was released by the characters kinda being stupid with the THINGS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT MESS WITH aka the evil book. I mean, it’s all unleashed by a teacher, a guy who appears to be a hipster, Woodstockian guy with glasses, beard, long hair, and everything, yet he still continues to screw everything up by opening a book wrapped in a garbage bag (I guess), having barb wire attached to it so that anyone would have a hard time opening it if they were stupid enough to open it, and then read the book when there are clear instructions NOT TO READ IT. Then of course almost everyone is against Mia for believing that there’s evil demons out there, thinking that it’s her drug addiction, and they get their comeuppance for really helping her out, though they were in their own way. Heck, her saying “You’re all going to die tonight” pretty much sums up their fates. Though I am sad for David and in some way Eric, even though he was an idiot for unleashing literally Hell on Earth.
Still, this is a great horror film. Again, it’s not a remake, but a revival, bringing the franchise to what it was in the first place. Having the sequels to the original being more comedic was inventive and iconic and will remain so, but I can’t still get over the fact how awesome this film was due to its brutal horror nature. And if you don’t believe me that it’s not a remake, just stay through and after the credits. If nothing in the film indicated that it wasn’t a remake, then that will. Not gonna say anything more, only that it will. And it pretty much gives you a good idea of what will come next in different ways. Groovy (really wanted to say that).
Just remember this: Good, bad, I’m the one who reviewed this movie for The Spartan (sue me, I really wanted to work that other awesome Ash Williams line from Army of Darkness).
girlboxer1970 