Walken Through Life Amazing

I think that if I had been born in the last century and was a Buddhist and had lived several very well-meaning lives that I would have like to have been reincarnated as Christopher Walken.  The veteran actor has long been a favorite of mine, with his spiky hair and uniquely modulated speech.

While IMDB states that Walken "has a reputation for playing mentally unbalanced characters on screen," it was one of his kinder roles that first made me a fan.  Walken played Jacob Witting in the TV Movie "Sarah, Plain and Tall."  Jacob, a farmer in the late 1800's who has lost his wife, places an ad for a wife to help him raise his two small children.  Glenn Close plays Sarah, a spinster from Maine who answers the ad.  It may be hard to imagine Walken as a romantic lead, but he's just that in this quiet, heart-warming story that is as special as it is different from most other Walken roles.

After seeing "Sarah, Plain and Tall" I was definitely on the Walken bandwagon, but I really became a fan after seeing him in "A View to a Kill" and then seeing him dance in the video for Fat Boy Slim's "Weapon of Choice."  This week I was excited to find Walken back in the spotlight as he promotes his latest film "A Late Quartet."  Yesterday while reading an article about Walken I learned something I would have never guessed.

Christopher Walken was once a lion tamer!

I knew he could sing, I knew he could dance, I knew he could act, I knew he was box office gold (minus Gigli - a regrettable error in my opinion), but a lion tamer?!?

Well it is entirely true.  In the September 10, 2012 issue of Vanity Fair Julie Miller interviews Walken.  When asked about being a lion tamer Walken replies,

It was a touring circus that was owned by a man named Terrell Jacobs. It was just one big tent, and he was a lion tamer. He didn’t have any kids, but the bit was that I would dress up as his son in an identical outfit. When he would finish his act, there would be one lion left, and I used to go in and have this lion do tricks. It was a female named Sheba, and she was very sweet. Like a dog, really. I would wave the whip, and she would run and sit up and roll over and do things.

As if all of his other accomplishments weren't enough Christopher Walken can legitimately claim to have been a lion tamer, making him even cooler than I had previously thought.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he adds rocket scientist to that resume.

In honor of such a, well, neat person, here's his brilliant dance to "Weapon of Choice."

A Bundle of Joy, A Musical Masterpiece, and a Cherpumple - Now That's a New Frame of Reference

Sometimes you need a new frame of reference.  When I reset my blog a few weeks back I was feeling excited and motivated...and then life got in the way.  Not completely, but for a few days, which once again snowballed into an overwhelming feeling of panic that I had dropped this personal ball that I am trying so hard to effortlessly juggle. 

Anyone who has ever seen me try to juggle is now laughing a huge, tear-producing, belly-shaking laugh.  Completely justified, I might add.

So fearing failure a second time I avoided this page like I avoided reading Twilight - successfully and difiantly.  But unlike reading Twilight, I am actually interested in and enjoying writing this blog.  So I reset my frame of reference.  Who said it has to be 365 consecutive days?!?  It's my blog.  I can write it on my terms without being crippled by guilt and failure on those days when the world just has too many things for me to handle.

So with a much lighter heart, I am back to share my learnings from most days...or maybe some days...or a few days...  I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest it's time to get down to business.  (short pause as I sing a few bars from "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords - and no, that's not the business I'm about to get down to, in case your mind just went there)

So I have actually learned a lot over the past few weeks, but I'll just share a few highlights.  I learned of the birth of my new niece Maddie, who is cute as a button (if you had a shirt with super cute baby buttons on it).  I am so happy for my borther and sister-in-law and Maddie's new siblings who are all thrilled with their precious new arrival, as they should be.  I cannot wait to meet her.

I also learned that the first four notes of Beethoven's 5th symphony was inspired by the call of a yellowhammer bird.  This I learned from an awesome new book called "The First Four Notes" by Matthew Guerrieri.  You should really check it out.  It's facinating even for non or casual muscians like myself.  It's available at bookstores everywhere and on-line, but since I think it's so great I'm adding a link to find it on Barnes and Noble. (Full disclosure, I know the author and he's wicked cool, so read his book!)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-first-four-notes-matthew-guerrieri/1111383231


I also learned how to make a cherpumple.  According to creator Charles Phoenix it's the turducken of desserts.  To celebrate my sister's birthday I endevoured to make a cherpumple.  This is accomplished by baking a full apple pie into a spice cake and then layering on it a full pumpkin pie that's been baked into a yellow cake, and topping that with a full cherry pie baked into a white cake.  The three cakes are then held together with cream cheese frosting.  Having a hard time picturing it?  Lucky for you I have photographic evidence of my masterpiece:

Amazing, right?  It actually weighed about 20 pounds and provided much humor at the end of my family's Thanksgiving dinner.  Should you decide to track the recipe down on the web and try this at home, please note one other important thing that I learned: fruit pies have a lot of moisture in them so it takes a long time for the cake batter to bake around them.  While the box may call for 30-35 minutes, plan for closer to 75-90 minutes.  This is a dessert that you really need to commit to!

And much like the cherpumple, I am committed to sharing my learnings here. So look foward to more bizarre, interesting, or just plain ordinary (but new to me) learnings in the future.  Just maybe not every day!