Simple, Proven Self-Care Strategies for Kids
As with other essential disciplines, teaching your child the importance of self care begins with you. You must model healthy habits in your own life and show your child real-life examples of prioritizing them. This is not only good for your child, it’s good for you. With the help of Melissa B. Rooney, we share some simple tips…
The Power of Coffee
Waking up late on a Monday, this #VoiceInMyHead demanded a hearing, yielding this short poem and original song in honor of Coffee.
Come From Away at DPAC Tells the True Story of the Stranding of 7000 Airline Passengers in Gander, Newfoundland, After 9/11
I was a little wary about seeing the Durham Performing Arts Center's presentation of Come from Away, playing through Sunday, Jan. 22nd, as part of WRAL Greatest Hits of Broadway at DPAC. This 2013 Sheridan College Canadian Music Theatre Project, 2017 Broadway, and 2019 West End musical, written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, is based on the emergency landing of 38 airplanes (with 7,000 total passengers) in the Newfoundland town of Gander (population: 11,880) after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The Beautiful Attrition of Family Relics
We have forfeited my grandmother’s chair to the cat and are appreciating its beautiful attrition…
Jump the Moon: A Children’s Picture Book Review
This morning I had the pleasure of reading Kathy Simmers’ and Marjorie van Heerden’s children’s picture book, Jump the Moon, about the mystical bond that forms between “the girl with the long blond hair” and the misbehaving pony she is charged with for a summer. The book is based on a true story involving the author’s daughter. I rode horses throughout my adolescence (was president of the riding team at my college), so the subject of Jump the Moon immediately spoke to me.
Zalman Raffael's Elegant Reinterpretation of The Nutcracker Sparkles
Not feeling that Christmas Spirit as much this year as in the past? Going to see the Carolina Ballet artistic director Zalman Raffael's reinterpretation of The Nutcracker, inspired by the Raleigh, NC-based ballet's previous productions by George Balanchine and Carolina Ballet's founding artistic director Robert Weiss, will change that. Last night, I saw The Nutcracker at the Durham Performing Arts Center, with my 12-year-old son, who had never seen the holiday staple and -- except for the melody of The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (which I couldn't stop humming since we got the tickets) -- knew very little about it…
After Seeing JTP's Black Nativity in Concert, All This Reviewer Can Say Is, "Wowwie Wow Wow!"
I had the privilege of going to The Justice Theater Project's 2022 production of Langston Hughes' Black Nativity: A Gospel Christmas Musical Experience in Concerton Sunday, Dec 11th, at the Mount Calvary United Church of Christ in Durham; and can I just say: Wowwie Wow Wow...
Graveyard Surprise
By Melissa Rooney. For SCBWI Carolinas “Ignite the Spark” Zoom group (18 Oct 2002). Assigned Prompts: Write a children’s story, 250 words or less, using the following prompts: 1) take a location from childhood and strip everything normal about it (if usually crowded, make it barren, etc.); 2) the starting lines, “It’s okay, they’re not as scary as they look;”and 3) the image of a sign reading, “Beware, the Trees Talk.”
Theme Song Today: Sylvan Esso’s Free
When I first heard it, I wasn’t overly impressed by the style of Sylvan Esso’s song Free. But when I read the lyrics, Amelia Meath’s casual humming, sing-song vocals made beautiful sense. It’s easy to imagine that she’s a little girl singing to herself, though with more knowledge than a little girl should have…
How to Stay Fit as a Traveling Professional
Working on just one of these practices is a worthwhile endeavor, whether your work life involves traveling or not. But traveling for work exposes you to unhealthy things at every turn, and you can find yourself working more than caring for your own physical and mental health. It’s time to break the cycle. Setting these good habits now will not only improve your health, it will improve your job (and life) satisfaction.
Paperhand Puppet Intervention's 2022 Summer Show, The Meanwhile Clock and Other Impossible Dances, Is Like a Pilgrimage to a Corroboree
Going to a Paperhand Puppet Intervention performance is like pilgrimaging to a Australian aboriginal corroboree, where magical ceremonies teach ancestral truths, pulling everyone present into the community. And it's all the more impactful when it occurs in a ruins-like amphitheater in a forest in the heat of a late-summer sunset…
Theme Song(s) Today: Jason Isbell and Amanda Shire’s Tiny Desk Concert
If you haven’t heard Jason Isbell’s music, you should. This article contains the link to his Tiny Desk (NPR) performance, which is particularly special because his wife no longer tours with him now that they are raising a family. #ThemeSong
Four-Wheeled Litmus Test
… Pedestrians in Northern Virginia and DC stopped to tell us they liked the van. In New Jersey, drivers in one suburb would smile and wave, while those in an immediately adjacent suburb would grimace with condescension. Massachusetts residents were generally unimpressed; my brother-in-law thought the van looked stupid, and his teenage son preferred it wasn’t parked in front of their house…
Van Gogh Exhibit Gives Me Fever
Not long ago, I was rolling my eyes at another selfie taken in front of the giant reproduction of Starry Night covering the entrance of every venue for the Van Gogh Immersive Experience. Two days ago, I found myself at a show in Raleigh. When I got home, I researched the things I'd learned and found that we're not as sure of Van Gogh's history as we think.
Florida Oceanographic Society’s Coastal Center: MUCH More than an Aquarium
As promised via post-it note on the Florida Oceanographic Society's "Pledge" board, I am sharing my article about their Coastal Center in Stuart, Florida, where my family (12-50 years) spent an entire day and still didn't venture along the ~50-acres of Nature Trails in this barrier island ecosystem. If you’re visiting the east coast of Florida, you must put this stop on your list. And those who work for nonprofit organizations could learn a lot from the level of very visible volunteerism created by the leaders of the Florida Oceanographic Society. Building community for a common cause is the epitome of public outreach.
A Blueprint for Finding & Using Arts Funding (and the encouragement it brings)
My webpage redesign is finally complete, and I LOVE it! As promised, I am typing up a summary of how I obtained grant funding to bring this about, so that other local artists (literary and otherwise) can follow suit and get their own webpages, search-engine-optimized and all.
Keep It To Yourself
Don’t stop writing poetry just because National Poetry month has passed. This favorite creation contemplates the scowls people wear when they are commuting, particularly on rainy days.
ISO a Children's Book Agent
After finally completing the “dummy book” for my next collaboration with illustrator, Stacy Fabbre, I am sharing my process as I search for an agent and ultimately publication.
Joshua Thompson and Symoné Spencer Win 2022 Triangle Rising Stars Acting Honors
When I was given the opportunity to review this year's in-person Triangle Rising Stars Showcase and Awards program on Wednesday, May 11th, at the Durham Performing Arts Center, I knew immediately that I had to go. American Idol Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken hosted the event, which featured performances by 2021 TRS Best Actor Joshua Messmore and 2021 TRS Best Actress and 2021 Jimmy® Awards best-actress-award winner Elena Holder.