Arts Matter Adocacy Day 2017

MassCreative held it's second Arts Matter Advocacy Day - #AMAD17 - today at the Paramount Center in downtown Boston. According to their website, MassCreative:

"works to build a more vibrant, healthy and equitable Massachusetts. MASSCreative works with artists, leaders, supporters, and partners of the arts, cultural, and creative community to advocate for the resources and support necessary for the sector to thrive." Furthermore, MassCreative is "dedicated to helping citizens like you and leaders of local creative organizations win the attention and resources necessary to make Massachusetts a creativity-driven state from the ground up. We are passionate about youth arts programs and arts education and are devoted to strengthening the availability and quality of this programming in every corner of the Commonwealth" (http://www.mass-creative.org/about).

I heard about today's Advocacy Day thanks to the many arts-related emails that end up in my inbox every day. I wanted to address this issue because I have heard that President Trump's proposed budget calls for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).  

"The president’s budget would eliminate the NEA’s $148 million budget, the NEH’s $148 million budget and the CPB’s $445 million budget, as well as $230 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which supports libraries and museums across the country. Additional cuts could affect the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art" (link to the Washington Post article here).

I believe that these proposed budget cuts are wrong. I believe that they show a complete lack of understanding of the importance of the arts, libraries, museums, and public broadcasting to the fabric of our society.

Public libraries are important because they provide services to their communities. I know that at my local public library, you can check out books, e-books, CDs, and DVDs, as well as magazines and newspapers. My library hosts monthly Adult Coloring Book Club meetings, a monthly Adult Book Club meeting, author events, and a teen anime/comics club. Local homeowner's/condo associations hold their meetings at my library. 

The Cambridge (MA) Public Library hosts a lot of events too - knitting groups, free lectures, toddler story times, English conversation groups, and computer classes. Students from Harvard University School of Law who are studying to be tax lawyers offer free tax help at the CPL from February to April.

The Minuteman Library Network and the Old Colony Library Network also make Museum Passes available to patrons. These passes - which can be requested online or in person - allow patrons to access local museums - such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art-Boston, the Museum of Science, and the Peabody Essex Museum - either for free, or at a discount.

Friday Post

This week has been pretty quiet in my corner of the 'Verse. 

Anime Boston is coming up next weekend, and Adrian will be attending, as he has done for the last few years. While I like Anime, I am not terribly interested in going to this convention with Adrian. It is definitely more his "thing" than mine. A few of our friends will also be attending AB, and, with any luck, we will be able to meet some of them for a meal over the course of the weekend. I have to admit that I am rather annoyed that the food court was removed from the Prudential/Copley Mall, in favor of an Eataly and (I think) another residential high rise. I feel salty about this change because I really enjoyed sitting in the food court and people watching, and trying to guess who the various con-goers were dressed up as. Sure, I could still wander around the mall and do this, but it won't be quite the same thing. 

Silly Movie Meme

One of my friends posted a meme on Facebook, wherein you're supposed to name one of your favorite movies from every year of your life. Here is my list. It's by no means a complete list, but it is, I think, a reflection of the kinds of movies that I tend to like.

Favorite Movie from Every Year of My Life:

1985: Back to the Future
1986: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1987: The Lost Boys
1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1989: Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
1990: Home Alone
1991: The Silence of the Lambs
1992: Aladdin
1993: Jurassic Park
1994: The Lion King
1995: Toy Story
1996: Independence Day
1997: The Fifth Element
1998: Mulan
1999: The Matrix
2000: Memento
2001: Donnie Darko
2002: The Pianist
2003: Finding Nemo
2004: The Incredibles
2005: Batman Begins
2006: The Prestige
2007: Ratatouille
2008: Wall-E
2009: Avatar
2010: Inception
2011: Midnight in Paris
2012: Brave
2013: Frozen
2014: Big Hero 6
2015: The Martian
2016: Zootopia

Nachos and Symphony

I made nachos for dinner tonight. I bought a package of low carb tortillas, cut them into wedges, brushed them in olive oil and salt, and toasted them on a baking sheet in the oven.

I cooked a pound of ground turkey, added an onion and a red bell pepper to the pan, and then threw in a can of re-fried beans. I let all of this cook together for awhile, and added a packet of McCormick Mojito Lime Marinade to the pan.

After the food had cooked for awhile, I spooned the turkey mixture over the toasted tortillas. I then sprinkled some shredded cheese over the whole thing, turned on the broiler setting on my oven, and put the pan back into the oven for one minute so that the cheese would melt. 

This meal was an experiment on my part. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I'll definitely make this again, but I might change it up slightly. I might add diced tomatoes, or I might add a different type of bean to the mix. 

In other news, I am thinking about taking the train up to Brunswick, Maine. Prices aren't so bad, and there are some exhibits at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art that look interesting. We'll see.

2017 Walk for Hunger & 5K Run: Ms. Mary Perez - Project Bread - The Walk for Hunger

I am participating in the 2017 Walk for Hunger, which is taking place on Sunday, May 7, 2017. 

This year, more than 300 local programs in more than 100 Massachusetts communities will be supported through money raised by Walkers (and runners!) including: food pantries, meal programs, food rescue, urban agriculture, farm and garden, and critical child nutrition programs. 

 
Every dollar helps support the nearly 675,000 food-insecure children and adults in Massachusetts that can’t always predict where their next meal is coming from.

Here is a link to my fundraising page:

2017 Walk for Hunger & 5K Run: Ms. Mary Perez - Project Bread - The Walk for Hunger

I've participated in the Walk for Hunger for the last few years, and it's been a very rewarding experience for me. I know that one of the charities that benefits from the monies raised through the Walk for Hunger is Rosie's Place, a shelter for poor and homeless women located in Boston's South End neighborhood.

Snow Day Cooking Food Post

Cooking has become something that I've learned to enjoy over the years. I admit that when I graduated from high school and started college, I didn't really know how to cook Sure, I could boil water for tea, or to cook hot dogs in, or to pour into a container of Cup Noodles, or to add to a can of Campbell's condensed tomato soup, and I knew how to make toast, and I knew how to use a microwave (hello Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers frozen meals! *waves*), but that was about it.

I admit that I was fairly lucky in that during my first two years of college, I lived in on campus, dormitory housing, which meant that while I had access to a mini fridge and to a microwave, for my day to day food needs, I needed a meal plan. I remember spending a lot of time standing in line for my turn at the stir fry station, and going to the student union for something to eat there for lunch in between classes. During my junior year of college, I lucked out, and managed to convince one of my friends who happened to be a good cook to live with me in an on campus apartment. I remember experimenting a bit with cooking then, but really, A. was the real cook. I remember one time when she made homemade pizza from scratch, and then used the extra dough to make bread sticks.

During my last semester of college (I graduated a semester early), I lived with two other friends who were both good cooks in their own right, so I didn't really have to worry about cooking for the last 3.5 to 4 months of my college career.

I subleased one bedroom in a five bedroom apartment from January to August 2008, and then from September 2008 to August 2010, I lived with my friend J. in a two bedroom apartment. I managed to feed myself adequately in the eight months before J. and I moved in together. I remember cooking a lot of those frozen meals from P.F. Chang's that you find in the freezer section at the store, and I also remember making crock pot mac and cheese once that my roommates said was good. Living with J. was awesome as far as I was concerned, because she was a good cook. (Example: I remember her making homemade pop tarts one year for my birthday.)

What I am trying to say is that when Adrian and I started dating in January 2009, I was 23 years old, and not a very accomplished home cook. I remember how, as I started getting to know Adrian and doing things like meeting his friends, and spending nights at his apartment, I realized that Adrian's level of cooking skills were at about the same level as mine. I decided that, if this relationship was going to go the way that I wanted it to, then I had to step up my "A Game" and learn how to be a better cook, because I didn't trust Adrian's cooking skills at all.

Hi, my name is Mary, and I am a Terrible Feminist because I learned how to cook mostly because I was interested in someone.

It's been a slow process, and there has been a learning curve. I was very excited when Adrian and I invested in a rice cooker, and when we invested in a crock pot. I also expanded my repertoire thanks to the pre-measured packets of spices and sauces that McCormick produces. Some of my favorite dishes to make are stuffed peppers and crock pot turkey chili. I love dishes where I have plenty of leftovers for later in the week, and for freezing.  I've also gotten pretty good at baking cookies, breads, scones, and muffins.  

I have made this Tuscan Chicken Skillet dish a few times already, and I really enjoy it. One of my friends just posted this Mushroom Risotto with Cauliflower Rice recipe on Facebook, and I want to try to make it at some point. I have also made banana bread using this recipe, and I give it two thumbs up.

Last summer, I decided to cut pasta and rice out of my diet, mostly because I thought that I was eating too much of both. I decided that quinoa would be a good substitute for rice, and so that's what I've been using. I don't miss spaghetti so much, but I do find myself missing ravioli and lasagna from time to time.

Snow's Coming

We're supposed to get over a foot of snow over the course of the day tomorrow. I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow or on Wednesday (thankfully!), and Adrian works from home already, so we can just hunker down, and watch our favorite shows on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. I think that I might bake bread tomorrow, something that I haven't done in awhile. 

Not much else going on at the moment. Our friend Paul is coming over on Friday night to watch a few episodes of Iron Fist with us. Iron Fist is a the latest in a string of web television shows developed for Netflix, based on Marvel comic book characters. So far, there are two seasons of Daredevil, one season of Jessica Jones, one season of Luke Cage, and now, one season of Iron Fist. 

I know that they will also be doing one season of The Defenders, one season of The Punisher, a third season of Daredevil, a second season of Luke Cage, and a second season of Jessica Jones. If all of these shows are as good as what has already been released, then I think that they're going to be damned good.

Local Political Musings

We've been living on the South Shore for almost sixteen months now. In that time, I have started getting to know my new town, and the surrounding area. Our condo is down the street from Town Hall, and Legion Field, an open green space that is home to a few tennis courts, and a soccer field, with a walking path along the perimeter. 

I have started going to Town Council meetings, which are held twice a month, usually on Monday nights, unless a holiday (such as Patriot's Day or President's Day) falls on a Monday, in which case the town council meeting is the next day, on Tuesday. 

There are three big things that are in the works right now here in town. 

• The Maria Weston Chapman Middle School:

Weymouth is home to eight elementary (grades K-4) schools, and to one early childhood center. The Abigail Adams Middle School is home to Grades 5 and 6, while the Maria Weston Chapman Middle School is home to Grades 7 and 8. The Maria Weston Chapman Middle School is at least 50 or 60 years old, and it is in dire need of repairs and upgrades. Based on what I have heard at the town meetings that I've been to, it sounds like Weymouth is in the process of applying for funding so that they can either renovate the existing school, or tear it down and build a whole new 21st century school in it's place. Right now, they are at the "Let's do a feasibility study!" phase of things, so it's early days yet. 

 

As a side now, I used my Google-fu to do some research, and apparently Maria Weston Chapman is a native of Weymouth who was a prominent abolitionist in the 19th century. She was a involved in the American Anti-Slavery Society, and her husband - Henry Grafton Chapman - was also an abolitionist, as well as a wealthy Boston merchant.

• The Tufts Library: 

 The Tufts Library is the public library here in Weymouth. Like the Maria Weston Chapman Middle School, the main location of the Tufts Library is at least 50 or 60 years old, and is in need of extensive repairs and updates. Weymouth is applying for planning/design/construction grants through to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in order to cover some/all of the costs associated with designing and building a new library.

• The Emery Estate:

The Emery Estate is a 24 acre property that used to be a private residence owned by the Emery family. It was purchased by the Town of Weymouth in 2011. The Main House was designed to look like George Washington's Mount Vernon. My understanding is that the current administration is seeking funding to improve access to the Emery Estate, and to make improvements and repairs to the house itself. It sounds like the ultimate goal is to turn the Emery Estate into a park that can be used and enjoyed by Weymouth residents and visitors alike, whether that enjoyment takes the form of walking around the property, or hosting an event there.

Books

One of the social networking websites that I am active on is Meetup.com. One of the groups that I belong to is a group called the Boston Science Fiction and Fantasy Meetup, which, among other things, hosts two monthly Book Club events (one at a comic book store in Somerville, and another in Newton), as well as a monthly social meetup at a restaurant in Boston. I haven't been to many of their events since Adrian and I moved to the South Shore, but I do see folks from that meetup group around at local conventions that Adrian and I attend. 

I now belong to a group called TCPL Grownups 20s/30s. This group is run by librarians who work at the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy, Massachusetts, and, as the name would suggest, it is a Meetup group geared toward people who are in their 20's and 30's. They have recurring events such as a monthly Retro Video Game Night, a monthly Trivia Night, a monthly Board Game Night, a monthly Crafterdark (Craft After Dark) event, and a monthly Book Club meetup at a local Chinese restaurant. 

I went to my first Book Club meeting last month, where the selected book was The Princess Bride. I enjoyed the company (my friend Eileen was one of the other attendees), but, I have to admit, I like the film adaptation of The Princess Bride more than I like the book itself. 

I am now playing a game called Winter Challenge Bingo. Here is a photo: 

As you can see, it works just like a regular game of Bingo. You get one free square in the middle, and then in order to "win", you have to read four books in a line going across, up and down, or diagonally. I have already read one book that falls under the Graphic Novel category ("Lazarus", Volume 4 - if you haven't heard of this series yet, I suggest that you check it out. It's very good.), and now I can check off the Book into Movie category, since I just finished reading "The Princess Bride".

I am re-reading "The Handmaid's Tale" for the Re-Read a Book You Love category, and I have ideas for books to read for the other categories, such as "The Great Gatsby" or "Slaugherhouse Five" for the A Book You Should've Read in High School category, or something written by Stephen King for the Oh! The Horror Category.

I am looking forward to working my way through this literary Bingo board, and I hope to make some new friends along the way by going to more of these TCPL Grownups 20s/30s events.

Monday Post

This past weekend (March 4th and 5th) was another busy weekend for me. 

On Saturday, March 4th, I saw a play titled "Grand Concourse" at the Boston Center for the Arts, a theater venue located in Boston's South End neighborhood. This play is part of the SpeakEasy Stage Company's 2016-2017 season. "Grand Concourse" is set in a soup kitchen in New York City, and deals with the nature of forgiveness. I thought that it was a solid show, and one that I would recommend to others. I confess that of late, I have been gravitating towards works that can be described as "darkly funny", and I think that "Grand Concourse" could be described as such.

On Sunday, March 5th, I saw a play titled "Sister Anonymous". I heard about this show from a friend of mine who is in the cast. This is a biographical play about Sister Mary Ignatia Gavin, who was one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. I enjoyed this play as well. The acting was solid, as was the set and costume designs. I do enjoy shows where I feel like I've learned something.

Shows I have seen in 2017

I am something of a self-described "theater nerd". I never acted as a child, and I didn't really get into the theater until middle/high school. One of the best memories that I have of middle school is of going on a class trip in eighth grade to New York City to see "The Lion King" on Broadway. This would have been at some point during the first half of the year 2000. We got to dress up, and we went out for dinner before the show (I think that we went someplace Italian?), and it was really kind of cool because it was one of the first times that I can remember going somewhere and doing something without either of my parents or my grandmother being present. Plus, I felt rather fancy and grown up being able to dress up and go somewhere with my classmates. It also didn't hurt that "The Lion King" was (and still is) my favorite Disney movie.

In any event, here we are in 2017 (seven years later), and I thought I would do a blog post about the shows that I've been lucky enough to see so far this year.

• Something Rotten! - Seen at the Boston Opera House in Boston.This production was the national tour of "Something Rotten!", and was presented through Broadway Across America. I really, really loved this show. It was a lot of fun, and I felt that the musical numbers really helped to drive the plot, and weren't just "filler" between speaking parts. I thought that the cast worked well together, and that they were having fun on stage.
• TransScripts, Part 1: The Women - Seen at the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) Loeb Theater in Cambridge, MA. "Drawn from dozens of interviews conducted around the world, Trans Scripts uses the real words of women to shed light on the rich and diverse experiences within the transgender community" (https://americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/trans-scripts-part-i-women). I thought that this was a very powerful and engaging show, and I also enjoyed the post show discussion that was presented afterward. 
• A Doll's House - Seen at the BU Theater on Huntington Avenue in Boston. This theater is across the street from Symphony Hall, and also located down the street from Northeastern University and the Museum of Fine Arts in one direction, and the Prudential/Copley Mall in the other direction. I think that my understanding of this play was helped by the fact that I read this play on my own when I was in college, and so I had a basic, remembered idea of the plot. One of the things that I like about the Huntington Theater Company is that they offer discounted tickets to the 35 and under crowd, which I definitely a member of, so I was able to take advantage of that, and get a $30 ticket for a balcony seat. I am glad that I saw this play. I have heard this play described as a critique of 19th century marriage, as well as a critique of traditional men's and women's roles, and I agree with that assessment wholeheartedly. 
• Burlesque Against Humanity - Seen at Oberon, a bar/nightclub/performance venue in Cambridge's Harvard Square. As the name suggests, this show was a burlesque tribute to the Cards Against Humanity card game. Lots of fun. Good acts. Would recommend if they bring it back again.