Did you ever notice that the TV station you are watching advertises itself? Or that magazines usually devote a full page ad encouraging you to buy the magazine again or, better yet, to subscribe and have it delivered weekly/monthly, etc.? Interviews with well-known actors/authors/producers and such always seem to come down to the new movie, the new role, the new book, the new production.  Publicity, that’s what it’s all about. Those being interviewed  want to get the word out about their work. This is a most reasonable and important part of the industry – promotion/self-promotion.

Why should I be any different from them? In the spirit of promotion/self-promotion I have conducted the following interview with myself:

 BBQ:  (That’s “Bonita’s Blog Questions”, not food)  So, Ms. Hanson, do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

 Bonita:  I am glad you asked. November 7 through 16 I will be appearing at the Great Plains Theatre as Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy.  I am excited to have this opportunity and encourage people to come to this delightful and insightful play.

BBQ:  Who is your director for the piece?

 Bonita:  The fabulous Doug Nuttleman will direct.  I have worked with Doug before and really admire his approach and dedication to the work.

 BBQ:  Have you met your co-stars?

Bonita: Unfortunately not. Last time I spoke with Doug he was in the process of finalizing casting for those roles. I do know that Hoke will be played by Horace Smith.  He’s from Knoxville, TN.  And coming in from Indianapolis, IN is Mark Fishback and he’ll be portraying Boolie.  I know we will have a great time together.

 BBQ:  Anything more you would like to communicate to our readers?

 Bonita:  Only this, the play premiered in New York City in April of 1987. It is one of the classics that continues to be produced. It follows Daisy, Boolie and Hoke through the years of 1948 to 1973 and yet is timeless its message is timeless.  This will be a welcome challenge for me.

 BBQ:  How do we get tickets?

 Bonita:  You can call the theatre at 785-263-4574 or order online at www.greatplainstheatre.com. Hope to see you there.

 BBQ:  Thank you for sharing this information. I’ll be there and will certainly encourage others to attend as well.

 

            Ok, I’ll admit I probably spend too much time watching television. The mute button helps when the overly loud commercials come on but still they leave me feeling some frustration. These are some of the things I have noticed:

1)         If a new commercial features a sleeping baby so others must whisper, you can be sure another commercial for a different product will feature a sleeping baby so other participants whisper. Currently – at least two with entirely different products are airing.

2)         And, yes . . . I know different camera angles can enhance the view but if I knew from the onset what product the commercial was touting, I might find this more inviting. Sometimes I try to guess what is being advertised only to find out at the end of the fascinating 30 seconds that what I have just seen seems to bear no relationship at all to what I am supposed to be encouraged to buy.

3)         Production values of national commercials are often slicker than local ones. I feel sure it’s the amount of money spent that makes that so. And, I am sorry to say, many local ones feature owners and “real people” that couldn’t sell me a bottle of water in the desert. Just not convincing. National ones may have better production values but seldom anything really clever.

4)         I find it interesting to keep count of every time the screen flashes a different image. The editors must really enjoy putting together these tiny pieces meant to impress. 20 images in 30 seconds? Seems to me that gives little time to consider the action. Is this a reason kids have such short attention spans?

5)         I do enjoy many of the European commercials. Do they have a better sense of humor? Yearly there is broadcast a collection of the ‘best’ commercials of the year. Many are European – and one does not need to speak the language to laugh and get the message.

There are other aspects of commercials on tv I could mention but we will leave it for now. At least the commercials are catching my interest even though they provide me with no incentive to buy.

A better reason to write about this might be that it keeps me from commenting on politics.

Hello again, it’s been a while since updated this blog because of travel but I am back so here we go. Saw a great film last evening, Wadjda, as part of the Kansas City film festival. If you get a chance I believe it is worth seeing. Enjoy!

On to my latest gripe –  it’s with an airline. I won’t mention the name here but they will hear from me personally.  I decided to check my carry-on bag for my own comfort and ease of boarding. The charge was $25. Add that to my ticket price with accompanying taxes, fees, etc., and the cost of the trip goes up. I checked the same bag on my return. $25 again. Both times while waiting in the boarding area the desk agent invited passengers to check any roller or carry-on bags because the plane was full. That was the initial announcement. On my return flight the announcement continued with the words: AT NO CHARGE TO YOU.

Granted, I checked bags for my own comfort. However, I watched as many others chose the free bag check. I would have done so as well had I known it would be available. As this happened twice, my travel cost an unnecessary extra $50. The unspoken message I got from the airline was “don’t plan ahead”.

I suppose the final straw was watching passengers board with 1) more than the allotted number of carry-on packages and bags and 2) bags so large they had to be shoved into the overhead space with force. The diagram and the ‘Your bag must fit in here’ device were at the doorway but no one enforced the “rules”.

So, X Airline – get your act together if you expect to get my travel dollars again. If you are going to offer free bag check at the gate, offer it at the curb and the inside ticket counter as well. If you persist in a charge for all checked baggage then enforce the rules about what constitutes carry-on size.

Wow, glad I got that out. Sounds a bit like sour grapes but I’ll take that.  By the way, I was in warm weather and had a great trip. Happy to be back home with the spring trees and flowers blooming, good plays and good films. There’s no place like home.

Bonita

You see them on almost everything – some say “Best By:” and some simply list an expiration date.  The thing that’s confusing is that some “Best By” dates are so wrong because the product is never even good, much less the best. And, some expirations really have little or no meaning, you can use the product for an indeterminate length of time after that date.

Then you have BEER.  I guess their expiration date really explains that the product will expire on that date. As I was enjoying a bottle of a well known brew with my burrito recently, I found this to be true. I poured the second helping into my glass and saw some thick brown thing enter the glass and sink to the bottom.  YUK. Didn’t drink any more of that – I guess I will discard the few bottles I have left that have expired.

This was in the wake of the newest type of a famous brand of peanut butter which boasts on the label that it ‘NEVER NEEDS STIRRING’. They were right. I don’t stir it. I simply pour the accumulated oil off the top whenever I want some peanut butter.

And, the Fresh Red Strawberries. Looking great in the container. Only when you get it home and empty it to wash them do you see that all the hidden areas are WHITE – in other words – NOT RIPE.

May become a hermit and grown my own potatoes.

Another talented professional lost to drugs. The tragedy is not only in the acting community, it is also one for the country. These addictions are frightening. The role models for many an aspiring actor or sports figure are often a celebrity user. The ramifications can be deadly.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was a favorite of many. His body of work was filled with real characters. When I saw one of his movies or television appearances, I was not watching Hoffman but instead I was seeing the character he was portraying. That is a great achievement for any actor, being seen as the character you play and not as your other life roles as parent, friend, sibling, etc. .

The tragedy goes beyond Hoffman. There are many deaths from this insidious drug culture every day. They may not receive the national attention of this one but they devastate friends and families in the same way.

I have no answers, just a deep concern for all who are fighting these addictions and those who have lost the battle. I grieve with their families and friends.  To Philip Seymore Hoffman and the others,  R.I.P.