bymagajones

What is it with a tragedy every week?  First it was the Belcher murder/suicide, then last week we had the Jerry Brown/Josh Brent drunk driving incident, and now we’re reeling from the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut.  If this keeps up, our players will have patches and tributes smothering their uniforms like sponsorships decorating NASCAR vehicles.  Hopefully, as in good things, these heartbreaks will have come in threes, and we’ll roll into next weekend tragedy-free.

I’m not going to be able to watch my boys today; that’s right, I’m being penalized for being a fan of a team far, far away from where I live.  Never mind that all of the sports shows are talking about how the Packer/Bears rivalry is one of – if not the very – oldest rivalries out there, yet I’m not going to be able to watch the goings-on at Soldier Field today.  I guess I should be grateful that I got to watch them live for the past two weeks.

No, I’m sorry.  Call me greedy, but I’m not happy.  I’m just not happy.

And yes, I could get DirectTV.  But I’ve had DirectTV, and now I’m back with Comcast.  And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Moving on to something other than football (and yes, close your mouths, I do pay attention to things other than football, thankyouverymuch)… I surprised my niece by flying down to see the Hack & Slash Christmas Special 2012 in Brooklyn, MD.  It’s their 20^th Christmas special, and they’re saying that they’re going to change up the format next year.  That really means nothing to my niece and I, since this is the first time we’ve seen their show.  We’ve watched them at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, but this was our first go at the Christmas show.

My niece, who is fifteen, has a crush on Slash, embodied by comedian, Spencer Humm.  She’s had a crush on him from the first time we watched Hack & Slash at the Ren Fest a few years back, and she’s gone up and talked to him twice.  It’s cute to see how shy and quiet she gets, and he’s always nice to her.  So needless to say, her favorite parts of the show involved Slash, although the incident at the end of the show (no spoilers) had her a little traumatized.  I thought it was hilarious; my niece, not so much.

They had special guests, only a few I recognized.  It was my first time with The London Broil boys, but they were gentle with me, so it was all good.  Duncan, Matt, and Louie were the orphans who might get evicted from their orphanage, and they were a lot of fun.  Their improv and laughter invited us along, turning any juggling “mistakes” into another chance for witty banter.  They seemed to be having fun, allowing us to sit back and have fun right along with them.  Louie’s watching (forcing?) Slash eat a grilled cheese sandwich might have been the highlight of the evening for me.  I still chuckle thinking about that scene.  In fact, I’m chuckling about it as I type right this very minute.  I’m definitely going to look for them at next year’s Ren Fest.  I think all of the kids would enjoy them.

Andy Offutt Irwin performed as well.  If you don’t think that storytelling is still a legitimate art form, you need to see this man, and you will change your mind.  With his soft southern drawl and his terrific stories about his feisty Aunt Marguerite (evidently a fictional character, which is a shame, because I’d love to hang with this lady sometime), he drew me in and kept me enthralled.  His final song, a version of a popular Christmas tune (again, no spoilers), was absolutely beautiful.  I’d LOVE to have his version of it on my iPod.

The ladies of Hey Nunnie Nunnie (Shannon O’Brien and Dana McCain) who played, well, the nuns at the orphanage, were adorable and fun, filled with energy.  Their last song, one I wasn’t familiar with, was also breathtakingly beautiful.  Again, another song for my iPod wish list.

I’m not a fan of jazz – any types of jazz; don’t think people haven’t tried – but I enjoyed Blue Sky 5.  I don’t know if it’s because it worked with the historic setting or if it just fit with show, but I found my head bobbing along with them.  It was quite a departure from my normal fingers-in-my-ears-la-la-la reaction to jazz.

I saw Michael Rosman, juggler and balancer extraordinaire (that last bit was my description), this past summer at the Ren Fest and was pleased to see him here.  I’ve always been a leg woman – not that I can’t appreciate other fine-tuned body parts – and Michael Rosman has some of the most amazing calves I’ve ever seen.  He wears a kilt during his act, so I can sit and appreciate those gams as long as I like.  Until, that is, he does something with a unicycle that makes me want to bite my nails, pull out my hair, and shriek.

And let’s not forget the Christmas Ninjas, who did their job with stealth – and sometimes with not so much stealth.  They were awesome!  I want to be one of them when I grow up.

I’m sure I missed other acts, and I would apologize, but frankly, it’s their fault for fitting in so seamlessly to the act that I didn’t know they were more than terrific local actors added for flavor and seasoning.

Wow.  I think that’s all I’ve got this week.  I did miss last week, but that’s what happens when I work retail and am scheduled for Sundays during the holidays.  It’s all about survival.