Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Over the Hump!

Apologies to all regarding the lack of posting lately. Did I mention I’ve got a crazy schedule right now?
Yeeeeeeeesss…mostly good stuff going on, a couple of crappy things, but all crazy nonetheless.
Woot.
Bring it on!

In lieu of my absence I hope you do enjoy this funny video.


Happy Hump Day, y’all!

Friday, September 22, 2006

Coon Chronicles: Part 6

For those of you just tuning in, here is the 6th installment of the Coon Chronicles, where I tell stories of my last name. Coon.

I figured I would make a list of nicknames/phrases using Coon that I remember from the years.

Coon!
COOOOON!
Coon Doggie
Coonster
Cooney
Cooney Tunes
Cooncicle
Cooner
Coonism
Coon-less
Coon-full
“Coon-tastic!”
“Coon is busting out all over!”
“Coon time & the livin’ is easy!”
“It’s so nice to have a Coon around the house”
“Soon, Coon!”
“Have you met my cousin, RAC?”
“I’m feeling kinda Coon-ish today”
“Jimmy crack Coon & I don’t care”


Ummmm…..yeah…..that’s a start
Feel free to add your own! ;)

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

One of those thingies

I don’t usually do these questionnaire thingies, but I needed a break from the mundane.
Here’s a long one that I lifted from Alexandra’s blog:


Are you in a relationship?
I am married to the most kindest, gentlest & generous man ever. For those of you who know him, you know what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.

Do you hate more than 3 people?
um….I think so. I try not to hate people, in general. I try to incorporate the philosophy of hate the action, not the person. But there are people out there that are just up to no good. Period.

How many houses have you lived in?
I have lived in 2 houses. The first being the one that I grew up in (which burned to the ground a few years after my family moved out, killing one person- yikes!). The second one being a huge house that I shared with 5 other people in college. (On a side note--NEVER live with 5 roommates. ever. You think it’s a good idea to get all this space but, really, it’s not.

What is your favorite candy bar?
I’d have to say Mounds is my fav. I have never been a huge candy bar person (except at Halloween time when I was a kid). I was usually more of a cookie kind-of-a-gal. But I do love dark chocolate and mmmm….coconut!

What are your favorite shoes?
wow. Toughie. This is a hard one for me. I was born with wacky feet. I’m not sure what it is but I have highly sensitive pedis. I often buy shoes that I think are comfortable and then live in them for a month & realize they just aren’t going to be broken in. For real, I get blisters galore very easily. TMI? Well….you asked! :) I guess I will say my boots that I just got resoled at the lovely shoe repair guy near where I live. He did a beautiful job & they look shiny & new. I’m thrilled to be wearing them again…I’m wearing them right now!

Have you ever tripped someone?
As a joke, maybe, or an accident. Never maliciously.

Do you own a Britney Spears CD?
Hell no.

Have you ever thrown up in public?
Dude, I was 7 years old. I was in second grade and feeling a bit under the weather but didn’t really know how sick I was. My teacher was assembling us for our reading session (remember when READING was a subject? Lord, I feel old!). Yeah, so Mrs. Carbone was getting everyone together at the reading table. I started to feel something wonky in my body so I went up to her to tell her that I wasn’t feeling well. “Mrs. Carbone, I don’t feel very….HUUUUUUUGHAAHHHHH!” all over my phonics book. How embarrassed I was! The whole class was full of “EW!” and “GROSS!” Seriously, I felt FINE after that. Ever get that way, you puke & then feel all better? That was this, except I had to contend with the embarrassment factor. The teacher called the janitor through the intercom system, shouting to have someone clean this up and then she called for the nurse to come & get me so she could calls my parents to pick me up. I didn’t want to go home! I wanted to stay! (well, I was only 7, that was my social life!) It was horrible. Hmmm….more TMI?

Name something that's always on your mind?
What’s my next appointment?

What is your favorite music genre?
mmmm…I’d have to say rock & roll. Nothing like rock inspired by blues. It gets the blood flowing & heart happy.

What is your sign?
Cancer

What time were you born?
6:10am

Do you like beer?
Perhaps too much?

Have you ever made a prank call?
Stupidly yes, in elementary school with a bunch of other young girls, bored out of our minds.

What is the most embarrassing CD you own?
I think I have many “embarrassing” cds. Does being a former metal-head mean anything to you? I keep all cds for nostalgia.

Are you sarcastic?
Is Elton John gay?

What are your favorite colors?
variations of blues and reds

How many watches do you own?
a few. One that I wear daily & a couple others that need repair of some sort, a new band, new battery, etc.

Summer or winter?
tough one. I hate being hot, but Chicago winters tend to be gray & dark with lots of people hibernating. At least there’s air conditioning in the summer…and lots of fun activities to do….so, I’ll have to say SUMMER

Spring or fall?
Oh man, I’m a huge AUTUMN person. I just LOVE the brisk weather, the changing leaves, the anticipation of Christmastime and getting back to wearing big sweatshirts and boots again. I could do without the allergies tho…but Spring has those too. Autumn, all the way!

What is your favorite color to wear?
It has to be black. I choose black because it’s simple, solid, goes with everything & slimming. Yeah. Black.

Pepsi or Sprite?
DIET COKE, my liquid crack, by choice.

What color is your cell phone?
um…silver? Scratched up, smudgy silver. It’s “need new phone” color.

Where is your second home?
New York.

Have you ever slapped someone?
yeah, that was a long time ago. Sorry.

Have you ever had a cavity?
too many! I think I’ve had 4, but I’ve also had 2 root canals, thanks to my grinding of teeth in my sleep!

How many lamps are in your bedroom?
2

How many video games do you own?
Um, I think we own frogger with a joy stick (awesome!) and sega and something else. Yeah, I don’t play with them hardly ever, so I forget what we have.

What was your first pet?
Dusty. A half irish setter, half golden retriever. Poor Dusty. He jumped over our six foot fence one time and was captured by the dog pound. Those as*holes beat him. So, when he jumped over the fence the next 2 times, he became violent & bit 2 people. We had to put Dusty to sleep after that. I was 7 years old.

Have you ever had braces?
Nope, but prolly coulda used ‘em.

Do looks matter?
Wish it wasn't like this...Unfortunately, looks matter A LOT in our society. I’d love to say that they don’t for me (& a lot of times I would be right), but truth is, they do.

Do you use chapstick?
yeah. Watermelon flavor please!

Name 3 teachers from your high school:
High School? I cut too many classes in high school! Let’s see.
Mrs. Dachs (groovy honors English Teacher)
Mr. Mentz (yearbook class- he looked like Gary Shandling)
Mr. Gold (Now known as Dr. Gold- Chorus instructor)
Wow, that was hard. Truly, I had to take time to think!

American Eagle or Abercrombie?
Neither. Unless they are from the thrift shop.

Are you too forgiving?
Sometimes, but every woman has her breaking point. Then, watch out!

Do you own something from Hot Topic?
I think I used to. That is my brother’s favorite store. I think I owned cool toe socks from there. They were black & white striped knee-hi’s & looked like knit gloves for your feet!

What is your favorite breakfast?
scrambled eggs (whites with one yolk), melted cheddar, 3 slices turkey bacon and an onion bagel. Mmmm.

Do you own a gun?
What? No.

Have you ever thought you were in love?
there was one time that I thought I was in love & then realized I wasn’t. That was many years ago and I have fallen in love a few times since then. I’m now married to my greatest love.

When was the last time you cried?
The other day when talking with a friend about leaving your roots, growing up and then returning to your roots to make peace.

What did you do 3 nights ago?
reviewed lines for a play & started packing for a trip I’m taking to my friend’s wedding.

When was the last time you went to Olive Garden?
I think I was 15 years old. In Florida.

Have you ever called your teacher mom?
Never.

Have you ever been in a castle?
Funny, the wedding I’m going to is in a castle. I can’t wait! Although, I think I will feel slightly underdressed. Does anyone have a sword?

What are your nicknames?
Coon, Coony Tunes, Coonster, Landee.

Do you know anyone named Bertha?
nope

Have you ever been to Hawaii?
nope

Do you own something from Banana Republic?
I doubt it. It’s possible that I used to own something from there, but I got it via thrift store.

Are you thinking about somebody right now?
um, no…should I be?

Have you ever called someone Boo?
Hell to the no.

Do you own a diamond ring?
nope, believe it or not…I don’t like ‘em.

Are you happy with your life right now?
very…now if I could just find a way to get a little more sleep!

Does anyone like you?
Not really. They're all fakin' it. :)

What were you doing May of 1994?
what??? I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night! But, I think I was working on a show called PARADE @ Bailiwick Repertory. I only remember because we worked on that show for 6 months.

McDonald's or Wendy's?
Neither but McDonald’s if I HAVE to choose.

Do you like yourself?
getting a little personal, eh? Yeah, I like myself. Sheesh!

Favorite feature of the opposite sex?
The face. A kind, honest face.

Are you afraid of the dark?
only if I think something is going to get me.

Have you ever eaten paste?
Tooth paste? Tomato paste? Yes. If you are talking about GLUE paste, then no.

Do you have a webcam?
No.

Have you ever stripped?
Onstage for a production of GYPSY ....& only private viewings. There’s that TMI again.

Diamonds or pearls?
Pearls

What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
I think it was the latest SUPERMAN movie. I liked it more than I thought I would. But Margot Kidder was a much better Lois Lane, I must say. And there is NO replacement for Christopher Reeve.

What are your favorite TV shows?
I don’t watch TV anymore. I used to love Three’s Company as a kid. What does that say about me? I did rent SIX FEET UNDER within this past year & thought is was fantastic.

What did you have for breakfast?
oatmeal and cantelope. Green Tea.

What is your middle name?
Michelle. Weird, huh?

What is your favorite cuisine?
I love pizza and can’t live without it.

What foods do you dislike?
no fish please, no mushrooms, brussel sprouts, green beans or mushrooms. NO MUSHROOMS, do you hear??? There’s more, but it would take too long.

What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Who has time to listen to music? I do love the latest Fiona Apple cd, Extraordinary Machine.

What kind of car do you drive?
my husband’s

Favorite sandwich?
hot turkey and cheddar with mayo & lots of ripe tomatoes

What characteristics do you despise?
Ignorance, Intolerance, Entitlement

What are your favorite clothes?
sweats and sports bra

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go?
Spain and Amsterdam

What color is your bathroom?
yellow and off-white

Favorite brand of clothing?
I don’t really have one, I guess anything that fits. Can we please get back to normal jeans? No more of this drop waist crap. I have a normal waist! Thank you.

Where would you want to retire to?
Retirement? I don’t think that will ever be in my cards. I will always crave the arts as long as I am able. However, retiring from the day job would be nice. I do love San Francisco.

Favorite time of day?
2pm on a day off

Where were you born?
Cooperstown, NY- home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Go Yanks!

Favorite sport to watch?
um, baseball…when the yanks kick the white sox’s butt.

Are you a morning person or night owl?
This question has always confused me because I am an afternoon person. I do best between 10am- 8pm. I’m not a morning person & I get too sleepy at night time…so call me an afternooner.

What did you want to be when you were little?
a veterinary assistant and a rockstar

What is your best childhood memory?
I remember this one time when I was very little, like 4 years old, my mom was curling my hair with the curling iron & the top just popped off of it & shot across the room. It wasn’t dangerous or anything, but it surprised us both so much that we laughed for a long time about it.

Eye Color?
Blue

Ever been toilet papering?
nope

Favorite day of the week?
Saturdays, knowing that I still have Sundays!
Etta James said it best when she said "I want a Sunday kind of love!"

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Great Website

Hi everybody, I apologize for being so busy lately to turn out a good post but I hope this will satisfy you for a while. Post Secret Blog is a wonderful blog that posts postcards that are mailed in by people who have secrets to tell. It’s always intriguing and sometimes heart breaking.

Check it out.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

The Coon Chronicles: Part 4

Here is the fourth installment of the Coon Chronicles. Are you bored yet?





This happened approximately 4 or 5 years ago. I was asked to be a guest artist for a fabulous Tina Turner event going on at Northwestern University. A friend of mine, Doug, (who happens to be a lovely guy who is CRAZY for Tina Turner) was attending school there and heading up this project. It was comprised of mostly students except for another guest artist and myself.

Doug assigned us all songs "a la Tina" & I was so impressed by how professional & efficient the entire thing was organized. He hired a band, had a stage manager, arranged all of the music…everything! We even discussed costumes. I guess I didn’t expect this much from an extra curricular college project. Boy, was I wrong! Actually, Doug is quite amazing & I knew it from the time I first worked with him at Wagon Wheel Theatre. I just finished up a show with him recently & he just keeps getting better & better….which is saying a lot because he’s a GENIUS!

Anyhoo, I digress.

So, the song I was assigned was Tina Turner’s version of “The Acid Queen” from The Who’s Tommy (the movie version.)
KICK. ASS.
And there were some AMAZING performers there! And holy crap…was that FUN!

I remember we had 2 shows every night we performed. I think one @ 8pm & one @ 11pm. The crowds went wild & they loved the performances. But in between shows, I needed to occupy myself. So, Doug took it upon his cute self to entertain a few of us. He brought us to the student food court & we all grabbed a table.

Doug had a food card that he was using to buy coffee & snacks for us. He & a bunch of other performers went up to the counter to place their orders. I had to put my bag down at the table.

All of a sudden, I hear Doug SHOUTING from across the dining area “Hey COON! Do you want anything?” ‘

Silence.
The whole place stopped what they were doing & looked at Doug.

I, having been accustomed to people calling me that, forget sometimes that this is not a GOOD thing to shout in a dining room. But, I caught it this time. And I was so stupid because all I thought of to say was “SSHHHHHHHH!”

um…yeah.You’d think I would have something witty prepared to say regarding it being my last name by now…but no.

By the time I walked up to the counter & joined Doug, the girl behind the counter was totally pissed. She, of course, happened to be African American. I was ridiculously speechless at this point. She was just GLARING at Doug. I was holding back laughter because I think she wanted to kick his ass. Kinda one of those similar-to-my-dad moments from the Coon Chronicles: Part One. Runs in the family, I guess.

Finally, one of the other performers tried to calm down the girl behind the counter saying in a hushed tone “It’s her last name! Coon. C-o-o- ...Ah, never mind.”

Welcome to my world.

So, the moral of the story is, if we are ever hanging out together in a public place, please THINK before you start shouting my name every where. Otherwise people look at you funny. Or they might want to hurt you. Hanging out with me can be dangerous!

Friday, September 15, 2006

Ann Richards

I don’t know much about where Ann Richards stood on issues. I do know she served as a Democratic governor of Texas. I do know she was an advocate for women saying that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, "only backwards and in high heels." And I do know she was one hell of a character. And anybody who can publicly state that George H. W. Bush was "born with a silver foot in his mouth" sounds fantastic to me!

Again, I admit I am not fully educated on what she stood for, but from the little I have heard about her (and her recent death), it sounds like we lost a good one! We needed her.
Here’s the full story.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Coon Chronicles- Part 3




I was in high school and at Sears looking for a certain item. I can’t, for the life of me, remember WHAT item I was looking for, but whatever it was…was out of stock.

I went to the courtesy counter to get a rain check or whatever Sears was calling them back in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I’m dating myself, I know. And yes, I did had big hair. shut. up.

So I’m in line, trying to get this rain check thingie and it’s finally my turn.
I go up to the counter, explain what I’d like, confirm that it’s out of stock and ask for a rain check.

Now, when you get a rain check, you sometimes need to fill it out with your personal information….ya know, date, item, etc. Well, we didn’t even get that far. We stopped at NAME.

Here’s kinda how it went….


Him: Last name?

Me: Coon

Him (he’s African American): EXCUSE ME???

Me (like nothing’s wrong, not knowing that my name was is a racial slur): COOOOON!

Him (severely pissed): WHAT?!?

Me (What is he, retarded?): C-O-O-N

Him (done with me): Who are you kidding???

Me (I can’t believe I have to pull out my drivers license): See??? My last name is COOOOOOON!


Many days passed before I learned what was really behind that conversation. It was certainly one of those exchanges that stuck with me. WOW.

Whew!




Sorry guys, I’ve been running around like crazy this week. I promise I will post as often as I can.

Some exciting things I’m working on:

Rehearsing for a Bohemian Theatre Ensemble production called YERMA. I play the Pagan Old Woman. I am so wise. We’ll be opening next month, at the Heartland Studio Theatre in Chicago. I’ll put up details as we get closer to the opening.

I’m helping to start up a Women’s Theatre Series at Bailiwick Repertory, here in Chicago. It’s very exciting! David Zak, Kate Garassino, Kate Harris & myself are heading this up and we’ve managed to get a lot of people excited about it so far. Yay!

I’ll be assistant directing the inaugural Bailiwick production in this Women’s Series. It’s Paula Vogel’s THE OLDEST PROFESSION. David Zak will be at the helm and I’m thrilled to be working with him on this project! It’s a really beautiful play about 5 older women (and yes, they are hookers) and what they experience in their Reaganomic world.

Aaaaaand…I’m looking into booking my cabaret show, TRAMPS LIKE US…the music of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN again in spring, 2007! No promises yet but I’m on the hunt for the perfect venue. Suggestions are VERY welcome!

All good stuff but I gotta figure out how to spend a little time with my husband!

Well, ciao for now…I’m off to answering 40 emails before bed time!

Monday, September 11, 2006

My City of Ruins

"My City Of Ruins" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen from his album "The Rising" released shortly after 9/11.

I performed this song in my cabaret show called TRAMPS LIKE US and it always got lots of positive feedback. The lyrics are quite powerful. Springsteen is a brilliant writer. Here's the song, sans music:

There’s a blood red circle
On the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church doors blown open
I can hear the organ’s song
But the congregation’s gone

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Now the sweet veils of mercy
Drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner
Like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows
The hustlers and thieves
While my brother’s down on his knees

My city of ruins
My city of ruins

Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!

Now there’s tears on the pillow
Darling where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss
My soul is lost
Now tell me how do I begin again?

My city’s in ruins
My city’s in ruins

Now with these hands
I pray lord
With these hands
For the strength lord
With these hands
For the faith lord
With these hands
I pray lord
With these hands
For the strength lord
With these hands
For the faith lord
With these hands

Come on rise up!
Come on rise up!
Rise up

What I experienced on this day five years ago…

I was working at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. (The Merchandise Mart is a HUGE building with its own zip code. It is filled with a mall and food court, showrooms and offices for residential and commercial interiors designers.) I had been working in the Merchandise Mart in a bath & tile showroom for about 9 months. I started the first 6 months as a temp, serving as a personal assistant/sales rep. I had just been hired permanently because my boss really needed me. She fought for me to be hired as a permanent employee. She needed me and I needed the job. It was the first time in a long time that I felt “ok” with my income. I had been temping for too long with too many unexpected days off. This was a blessing, even though it paid very very little.

It was a shame that I was laid off 2 months after 9/11 because our company was based in NY.

On the morning of, I arrived at work still unknowing of the events. It was a regular Tuesday as far as I knew. I went to work on the train and walked into the mammoth building up to the showroom. I was the first to arrive. My co-workers were late. It wasn’t unusual so I went about the morning’s rituals. Then one of the salespeople showed up. She was a wreck. She was crying and not speaking in full sentences. All she kept saying was “why would they do this?” over and over again. She told me what was happening or what she thought was happening. I guess someone had told her on her way into work on the bus. She said it was a middle-eastern terrorist attack. She was quite concerned about this. “This is horrible for everyone. Horrible for my people.” She was Iranian.

The next minute later, the phone rang. I answered it. It was my mom calling, crying so badly. I heard the terror in her voice. She lives in NY, just outside of the city. She was ok and safe but at that time, she didn’t know if I was safe, if there were attacks coming to Chicago, attacks coming to a huge building with its own zip code. Sort of silly thinking, I know. Who would attack a bunch of interior designers? But that’s what you think of when you are scared out of your wits.

My boss arrived next. She knew about it. She called our headquarters in NY & let them know we were evacuating. We were all leaving. I arrived on the train & just simply did not feel safe getting on a train to go home. I called my friend, Max, a wonderful friend that came to the rescue. It took him over an hour to get downtown to pick me up. Traffic was horrible. It seemed everyone had the same idea. It was everyone panicking. I know it can’t even compare to what it must have been like on those NY streets that day. I think of that kind of panic. What we were going through in Chicago was nothing.

My boss needed a ride home too. I couldn’t let her find her way home alone. Max drove her also. It took forever to get anywhere. I remember the car ride. We were silent the whole way, just listening to radio & our hearts beating really fast.

I finally smartened up to call the rest of my family in NY & couldn’t reach my brother for quite a while. I kept trying and trying but the phone lines were overloaded. I called everyone I had in my phone contacts that I knew that was in NY and even those that weren’t just make sure they were ok. I had no idea yet that NY was not the only place that was hit, but it just made sense to touch base with everyone I care about, everyone programmed into my phone. The damn phone lines were still too over loaded for many of the calls & that was the worst part about it…not being able to reach people right away. I did finally reach my brother.

We dropped off my boss. I called my closest friends, Clover & Nicole, and we rounded up at the Heartland Café in Rogers Park, Chicago. The TV was on. It was hard to believe any of us were hungry but it was in the middle of the afternoon & none of us had eaten anything yet. I think we picked at a couple of things and just stared in amazement at the TV. There were very few people in the restaurant but they were all glued to the TV.

I almost forgot this part & was just refreshed my memory with Max:
We were leaving the restaurant to head to one of my friend’s homes and got into Max’s car. It wouldn’t start. Our nerves were shot & what the hell was THIS now? Turned out, we needed a jump. Max called AAA & we just sat & waited. The smoking ban was off for all of us and we smoked like chimneys. The day was so awful and now we were stuck on the very north side of Chicago where none of us lived, with deliberate violence against our country going on. And the car is busted. We were so tired of crying...we laughed our faces off.

Four friends, drunk with grief and fear, smoking our brains out. And laughing like hell because there was nothing else to do.

AAA finally got there, gave us a quick jump & we were off.
We went to Nicole’s house where we were able to check in with our families again since it was now evening time. I remember there was so much anger on the other end of the phone when I spoke to some people. Anger at Osama Bin Laden.
Anger I didn’t understand.
Nobody deserved this kind of hate and destruction so I just didn’t feel the need to “go find him and kill him” as others were stating.

I remember the four of us talking on the back porch, trying to think of why something like this would happen, how the world is such a confusing place and how we could possibly make it better.

That was five years ago.

After more than enough doses of TV, with “America Under Attack,” “War on America” and other overly-dramatic and insultingly demeaning media labels…after a billion glorified “God Bless America” tributes and disgusting remarks made from our government about “evildoers”…I still don’t feel we should have gone into Iraq and started uprooting those people. I won’t even waste your time bringing up the fact that Osama wasn’t there.

To my knowledge, 2973 people were killed on 9/11/01.
Why have we sent what I believe is currently 2662 Americans to die in Iraq?
And I’m sure the amount of Iraqi deaths is much greater.

Iraqi people should not pay for what happened to us on 9/11/01.
Payment with their lives.
WE should no longer pay with our lives.

Please support our troops and bring them home. Sending them off to kill and be killed is not “support.”

Much love to all. May you find peace.

Tribute to Michael J. Pascuma

I found this tribute to Michael J. Pascuma (victim of the 9/11 attacks) through a friend of a friend’s site.
I found it to be quite beautiful.

Thanks Sheila.

It's Been Five Years

Saturday, September 09, 2006

The Coon Chronicles: Part 2

As promised, I will continue this series of sharing bizarre situations arising from my last name…COON.

This one is more “cute and cuddly” rather than “wow, racism sucks!” so… relax.

My parents were both involved in the restaurant industry. They eventually went on to own their own restaurant but that’s a story for another time. At this time, my dad was a chef at a good place and my mom was waiting tables at another good place. As kids, my brothers and I were often in the car as my parents stopped off at work to pick up their pay checks, etc.

There were several times when we stopped at my dad’s work, waited in the car for 30 seconds while my dad ran in. One of his kitchen buddies (I forget his name) always ran out screaming in a gruff voice “Coon Doggies! COOOOOON DOGGEEEEEEEEZS!!!! What’s up Coon Doggies?”

I felt like a rare breed on display.

It always was charming and always put smiles on our faces…but I must admit, this guy REALLY enjoyed saying “COOOOOON DOGGEEEEEEEEZS!!!!” His enthusiasm has never been topped. Fo’ real.

I must talk to my dad & ask him what this guy’s name was. For some reason I think it had the adjective “crazy” in front of it, like “Crazy Larry” or “Crazy Joey” or something.

Crazy.

Crazy for the Coon Doggies! :)

Friday, September 08, 2006

The Coon Chronicles: Part 1

After I received that email from “Y” the other day, I have been thinking about all of the times my name has brought about bizarre situations. So, I figured I would share them with you, one by one.

The first instance of a bizarre situation inspired by my last name of COON I will tell you about … is one that I need to give to my dad. He has had this name for way longer than I and I will always remember this story because I have heard it so many times in my life. Here we go…

My dad was in college. Upstate New York. He was a pre-med student and I think married to my mom already (if not they were surely dating & getting ready to be married). While my dad has always been a high achiever scholastically, he also loves his sports. Not only watching them on TV, but PARTICIPATING in them. He often enjoys a good game with healthy competition and in this case, it involved basketball.

As far as I know, he played the game with a bunch of guys (a lot of them happened to be African American) and after, got back into the men’s locker room. As everyone was changing/freshening up…whatever…(although I doubt basketball guys call it “freshening up” but I digress…)…as they were in the men’s locker room after the game, one of my dad’s friends was looking for him. Someone who hadn’t been playing basketball. Now, let me just preface this part my mentioning that whenever you have a one-syllable name, people LOVE to call you by it. It’s a catchy, quick way to connect with your friend and might I add that I often hear people calling each other by their last names as a term of endearment. Yeah. This poor sucker did not think before he leaped. So, as you might have guessed…My dad was still in the locker room, as were many of his team mates. It’s the early 1970’s. And this white guy is looking for my dad, pokes his head into the men’s locker room & shouts “Hey Coon!”

Well, my dad knew that he would be witnessing his friend’s funeral if he did not answer that call IMMEDIATELY. So he rescued him.

My dad always laughed while telling that story but you could see the severity of the situation on his face when he told it. This is just one…of MANY situations where Coon has inspired bizarre-ness.

Stay tuned…

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

More Women’s Roles Please!…Say “NO” to Fast Food Cinema!

My husband & I normally get the NY Times every Sunday but since we have moved recently, there have been some missing papers. Alas, we may need to just stick to the online version. Poop.

A Co-Worker pointed this out to me and I thought it was quite interesting. Since I am in the Chicago Theatre Community, it is apparent to me every day that women have limited starring roles in the theatre. This just broadened that spectrum to include film and just about…oh, MOST of Hollywood! I am unfamiliar with Vera Farmiga’s work but am now quite anxious to check her out!

Here’s the link to the article, from this past Sunday’s NY Times magazine.

Of course I am the biggest Meryl Streep fan and yes, she is brilliant...and yes, she can turn a piece of doodoo into gold. But I have to hand it to those producers who let that kind of writing see the light of day in the first place. What’s going on these days?

I am so tired of today’s films. The best thing I saw this past year was LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. It was very well-written, had a great cast & was VERY funny. The humor was character driven, relating to the situation that the characters were in. The writing respected and trusted the actors to deliver this is a funny way without feeling the need to dumb down the script or write bad one liners. You don’t see those kinds of scripts very often. I applaud the directors of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris as well.

I think why I’m making such a big deal about this film is because there just aren’t enough of them out there to see. I am hungry for good film and I constantly get this bad taste in my mouth when I go to see film these days. It’s such a shame. Our fast food lives have created fast food cinema. Yuck.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

My Name As A Racial Slur

In case you haven't noticed, my name is Alanda Coon. COON.

I received an email from a reader of my blog this weekend and am so thrilled that she brought this up. Just in case some of you might be wondering the same thing, please check out this message from “Y” and my response:

Hi,

I really enjoy your blog. I have a question though and didn't want to put it in the comment section because it is slightly off beat. I have to admit I was surprised at someone with a strong hankering for justice in the world to title their blog "It's Coon Time". I of course realize it is your last name but as an african-american woman seeing a caucasian person using that title without acknowledging how offensive it could be is a bit odd. Maybe you did in an eariler post? I don't want to sound like an asshole but wanted to mention that people could take it the wrong way. I hope I didnt offend you.

Best,

Y

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Y,

No offense taken at all. I appreciate your email greatly. Thank you.

I have dealt with a lot of crap regarding my last name in my life. I used to hate it because I was dealing with weird responses to my name before I even learned that it can be used as a racial slur. I look at it now as what was given to me at birth and nothing will change that. I got married last year & I refuse to change my name, not solely because I have come to love my last name, but also because I do not believe in taking on another person's name. Like you are their property. Sure, COON is my dad's name, but I have the power to stop this perpetual tradition that started long ago because women were thought of as property. Names also represent identity, so why would I change my identity just because I tied the knot?

Getting to your point...

I happen to think my first name AND last name are both catchy and unique. That is why I call my blog "It's Coon Time." I don't personally see it as a derogatory thing. If my name was LIPSHITZ, I would feel the same. Sometimes it's better to celebrate what is different or what others could call laughable or controversial rather than pretend it is not there.

My good friend, Lil, & I always joke about doing a cabaret show together.... (she happens to be a wonderfully talented African American)...called COON SONGS. I'm still toying with the idea, but will only do it if we can make a huge political statement and reinvent the term COON SONGS as a more empowering thing (kinda how the feminist movement took the word BITCH years ago.) The whole show has not been decoded by us yet but we still keep it in our minds in case it unravels and we do get to perform COON SONGS some day. Because it is a controversial title, people would come and hopefully, we could make the world a little brighter for doing it. My skin may be fair but I am all about the cause. And I think we'd have a blast doing it too!

Anyhoo, I hope I have communicated this well to you. I really appreciate your message. truly. And I am so happy that your politically minded self took the initiative to start the conversation.

Thanks Y. And since you brought this up, I feel maybe others might be thinking similarly to you & perhaps I should explain myself. Would you mind if I included your email on my site? I promise to not use your name.

All best to you,

Alanda Coon
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