Once again Kathie and I have returned home, at last. We have had other grueling travel adventures throughout 2024; and many more will likely occur. For now, however, we are home! Pardon the cliché, but there really is no place like home. Dorothy said it best, with other poets and prophets before her; there’s nothing... Continue Reading →
Photo: HBO For my theatre friends and colleaguesReprinted from The Washington Post article by Naveen KumarA "Russian doll of a role" This sounds soooooh good – Watch party anyone? [Kaveen Kumar to end] “It may surprise you to learn that Jessica Lange, whose work onstage and screen spans nearly 40 years, had never done Chekhov.... Continue Reading →
Reprinted from Why ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ Is a Radical Christian ClassicBy Mitchell Atencio - sojo.net - Dec 12, 2022 [Ken Gray] Coming off our recent radio-play production of A Christmas Carol, I decided it was time to watch the Muppet’ 1992 adaptation of the classic Dickens tale. Upon release, the film was variously reviled... Continue Reading →
Juno is a widely acclaimed dog blogger, a true canine culinary character, with a heart as good as gold, one of God’s truly generous spirits. BTW the above image is NOT Juno. Ah yes, the Christmas dinner. It’s that time of year again, time to think about when, and how, and with whom to celebrate.... Continue Reading →
Cónal Creedon is a critically acclaimed novelist, playwright and documentary filmmaker. Many readers will already be familiar with him. I was not, until a writer friend, Norma, shared with me a CBC Radio Ideas special event from McGill University in Montreal. Writing in USA Review Of Books, Kate Robinson describes Creedon’s work this way: “Creedon’s... Continue Reading →
“Something magical happens when Michael Kaeshammer sits at the piano. Sure, like all pianists, he plays 12 notes across 88 keys. But the musician and songwriter coaxes dazzling, kaleidoscopic sounds from his instrument in a way few can rival.” Thursday night’s performance at Oliver’s Frank Venables Theatre (no bad seat in the house BTW) showed... Continue Reading →
As I prepare incidental music for the Summerland Singers and Players next Christmas Production, A Christmas Carol, A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry I cannot resist the temptation to substitute Donald Trump for the infamous Ebeneezer Scrooge. I have presented my idea to both cast and director. They have yet to seriously respond to... Continue Reading →
Summerland jazz musician Larry Crawford at a recent community centre concert event A guest blog by Susan NorieAnother in our “Little Town of Summerland” series Following a discussion covering the topic of Aging in the Arts at the Ryga Arts Festival (see Ken’s earlier blog) a broad spectrum of issues was covered at that discussion.... Continue Reading →
The dedication and enthusiasm of American pollsters, journalists, academics, campaign workers, and the candidates themselves are matched—and in some estimates exceeded—only by the efforts of researchers here at takenote.ca. Our goal is to continue to place before you, dear reader, inspiring, witty, artistic, topically relevant, sometimes edgy political imagery which captures the intent and spirit... Continue Reading →
Sitting with a group of elder(ly) actors the other day was eye-opening for me. The workshop—part of Summerland’s amazing little Ryga Arts Festival—titled “Aging in the Arts” sought to brainstorm ways to assist and mitigate issues for actors and others in their older years. To a person, participants have been active in the craft or... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 