Pumpkin time

Posted on November 1, 2010 by madelynruth@yahoo.com

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the crispness in the night air. I love hanging out with neighbors and the fact that when you run into them on the street, one of them might be dressed up as a bloody pumpkin. (That would be the dad, not the kid.) My own costume this year was a mish-mash that included horns, Pippi’s friend Mr. Nilsson (whom Pippi got tired of carrying) and Percy Jackson’s lightning bolt (because it kept poking our friend Ethan, who was dressed as a bottle of ketchup). Add to that a bag of candy and some roasted pumpkin seeds. Seriously, what’s not to love?

My favorite candy bar this year is the Snickers bar, probably related to the fact that I still think of it as the unofficial candy bar of journalists. (Didn’t know that journalists had their own candy bar? Then you clearly don’t remember this TV commercial.)

This year my husband had thumb surgery right before Halloween, which put him out of the picture for our pumpkin carving. I think I did okay as surrogate, but my son wasn’t leaving anything to chance, as you can see from these blueprints:pumpkin blueprints

Final product. The dry ice obscures the fangs, but trust me, they're there.

Final product. The dry ice obscures the fangs, but trust me, they're there.

Posted in family, holidaze | Tagged | 6 Comments

Drive

Posted on October 22, 2010 by madelynruth@yahoo.com

A tribute to my car, the one I bought brand new and paid for myself, when I got my first real job, the one that received its fatal diagnosis two months ago ($1,800 to repair it), the one that stayed in the driveway these extra weeks because, really, why rush things?

It lived through four presidents, two boyfriends, one husband, a cat, two children, three states. It climbed Mount Greylock in Massachusetts and Cadillac Mountain in Maine. It helped me escape the crazy shaman in Floyd County who was trying to convince me to quit my job in journalism and join him in selling NuSkin.

A lot of people knew my car by the blood-spattered “I Hate Brenda” bumper sticker

The blood is faded now

The blood is faded now

on the back. I put it on during my 90210-watching days, but irrelevance made it stronger. In Boston, a woman rolled down her automatic window and asked who Brenda was. My husband hand-cranked our window open. “My ex wife,” he said.

My friend Tracy told me once I should try to drive my car until it reached 225,622 miles, the distance between the earth and moon at their closest point in orbit. It made it about ten thousand miles past that. Not a world’s record, but as my mother likes to say: “That car didn’t owe anybody anything.”

Last night, we took it to a high school in Fairfax where they train kids to repair cars. If they repair this one I might just buy it back, though it’s more likely to become an organ donor. I drove it for the last eight-mile ride, taking back roads just in case it didn’t make it. But it did. It seemed to pick up steam along the way. I listened to music that came out 21 years ago when I bought the car, because they’re still playing that music now, only they call it “classic rock.” (Et tu, Nirvana?)

My friend Wendy asked me yesterday why we get so attached to cars. I’m attached to this one because, along with the rubber whale that decorated my first legal mixed drink, it feels like the last remaining relic of my 20s. And maybe because it feels like the last thing — save my underwear — that was solely mine.IMG_2644

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Switching muses

Posted on October 20, 2010 by madelynruth@yahoo.com

A blurryish shot of Sean's work hanging in the gallery

A blurryish shot of Sean's work hanging in the gallery


I’m still working under the theory that creativity — even (or especially) a different type of creativity than you normally mine — begets more creativity. Maybe that’s my excuse for playing the guitar when I’m clearly not getting any better. Maybe that’s my excuse for even trying to cook.

Anyway, this week I decided to improve my writing by painting. I had the perfect excuse: Sean Greene, a friend from my days in Boston, was in Arlington for a show called Skateboarding Side Effects at the new Artisphere. Curated by Cynthia Connolly, the exhibit features Sean and other artists who are influenced by skateboarding and incorporate it into their work.

As you can see above, some of Sean’s work is quite complex. But he also developed a way to paint using skateboards and motion that works for the masses. It’s his contribution to the field of action painting (think Jackson Pollack doing an ollie) and he offered a class in how to do it. I signed up right away.

Unfortunately I didn’t have a whole lot of moves, the 180 of my youth being reduced to the 90 of middle age. My work, therefore, had fewer bends and curves than that of an avid skateboarder, but I’m still pleased with the result:

Pink on Yellow by Me

Pink on Yellow by Me


My daughter used a scooter instead of a skateboard and got smaller lines. Note the curves.
My daughter's action painting

My daughter's action painting


My son was a little more aggressive in his attack on the paper, thus darker colors and lots more paint.
A little action from my son.

A little action from my son.

And my husband chose to paint it black.My husband's painting. My son named it "The Bee."
Sean returns On October 21st and 22nd for two more workshops. Visit eventbrite to sign up.
Skateboarding Side Effects runs through Nov. 28th at the Artisphere, which is where the Newseum used to be — an incredible space. I’m still determined to start a day on the web where we all trade muses. Meanwhile, I’m taking my old one back now and spending the rest of the week on the computer, revising.

Posted in art | 3 Comments

This Little Piggy

Posted on August 24, 2010 by madelynruth@yahoo.com

51AWlXdUpKL._SL500_AA300_Today is release day for Laurel Snyder’s Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher. I’m excited about this book for a number of reasons. One, of course, is that it’s a wonderful book. (Humor + heart + Judaism – overkill + some terrific illustrations + meaning + humor. Did I mention humor?) The other is that this is the book that introduced me to Laurel in the first place. (I’d seen the title at a conference and, sick of reading Jewish children’s books with somber, brown covers, I was ready for something FUN. Baxter — and Laurel — were definitely it.)

I was tempted to go with the Gourds’ Cracklins for my musical welcome, but ultimately that just seemed wrong, not to mention a little sick. As did Black Sabbath’s War Pigs. I finally decided it was safer to go with Les BAXTER. No lyrics on this one, you see. And maybe Laurel’s Baxter could dance to it…

Welcome, Baxter, congratulations, Laurel, and stay tuned for the release of her middle-grade, Dreadful Penny, in September.

Posted in judaism, kidlit, music | 2 Comments

Another musical welcome…

Posted on August 10, 2010 by madelynruth@yahoo.com

Clearly this blog went on vacation along with me, but I had to come back this week to welcome two new books.

If-trouble-finalToday is the official release date for If Trouble Don’t Kill Me, the true story of musical brothers Clayton and Saford Hall. Ralph Berrier, Jr. used to tell stories about his Papa Clayton and Great Uncle Saford when I sat next to him at the Roanoke Times. My desk is nowhere near Ralph’s anymore, but I can hear his voice in every page of this book about the Hall twins’ rise to almost-fame and almost-fortune, a rise that was interrupted by their call to serve in the war to end all wars. In case you’re prone to motion sickness, I’m not taking you through all of the turns here; suffice it to say this is a great read. I interviewed Ralph for the September issue of Bluegrass Unlimited. Meanwhile, let’s welcome his journalistic memoir with “Don’t Let Your Sweet Love Die,” recorded in 1940 when the Halls were with Roy Hall and His Blue Ridge Entertainers. You should probably also go listen to “Cool Water.” This version is by the Sons of the Pioneers, but the Halls sang it, too, and I still remember the first version I heard, with Ralph’s voice joining Clayton’s and Saford’s at a packhouse party at the Berrier family apple orchard. Congratulations, Ralph!

Note to readers: the above book, released by Crown Publishing, is not for kids. The below book, from Scholastic Book Clubs, is.

30117_420259684178_757129178_5241820_7497534_nI haven’t actually read this one yet, but I’m giving it a grand welcome anyway. With balloons and cake and party hats. The book is called Never Ever Talk to Strangers and it’s the first of what I hope will be many books by Anne Marie Pace. I met Anne Marie years ago through SCBWI. Not to get too misty-eyed here, but she’s taught me a lot about generosity and support. (If support hose hadn’t already been invented, believe me, Anne Marie would have invented them.) The book is only available through Scholastic Book Clubs fliers — the firefly ones. If you have a preschooler who needs to learn about stranger danger, this is the way to go.

To welcome Never Ever, I give you Don’t Talk to Strangers, by Rick Springfield. Because even though I didn’t go see him when he played in Rockville last summer (or was it the summer before?) I know that women of a certain age have an appreciation for Springfield that decades of quality music-listening just can’t cure. No matter how many Johnny Cash albums I listen to, no matter how much Gillian Welch or heck, Bach, I still know every word to Jesse’s Girl. And yeah, I used to watch General Hospital. If I spent a little time on the TiVo, I’d be watching it again, though not for Rick this time; for James Franco. (Whose mother is a kidlit author, in case you’re one of those people who needs a legitimate tie-in.)

Posted in kidlit, music, world domination | 2 Comments