Ranting Details

Picture(s) of the Day: 01/03/10

 

(American Ballet Theatre's Stella Abrera and Sascha Radetsky preparing for a performance of The Nutcracker in Missoula, MT.)

Sascha's All Over Your Newsstand

A familiar face hits newsstands this week in none other than Newsweek Magazine!  Sascha Radetsky, ABT Soloist and friend, makes his publishing debut with a fantastic article about the stigma associated with male dancers.  I couldn't be more proud of his incredibly articulate article and hope that it's just the beginning of his writing career.  When I made it to the end of the article, all I could think was "damn, I wish I had written that!"  The ultimate compliment from one writer to another.  Congrats Sascha!  Check it out for yourself and pick up a copy on newsstands now. 

Side note: How killer is that photograph?!  Taken by  Nathan Perkel.

Beneath the Clouds With the Clouds

It’s embarrassing when my friends know more about Montana than I do.  That’s always the case with Sascha Radetsky, whose knowledge of the Montana terrain probably rivals Lewis and Clark.  Even though I spent the majority of my childhood in Missoula, my family was always more prone to be watching art films than to be climbing mountains.  Needless to say, we aren’t a “typical” Montana family. 

Each time Sascha comes through Montana (and even at times when we are in NY) he finds some way to give me shit for my lack of outdoors expertise.  In an effort to remedy the situation, I decided that David and I needed to get outdoors at some point during his brief visit. 

Fortunately, my dear friend Anya Cloud’s family owns a house in the mountains where horses and “rugged” living rein supreme.  It’s the type of landscape that seems to exist only on postcards.  Once you set foot on their land and see that it is real, the experience is heightened by the fact that the Cloud’s are (without exaggeration) some of the kindest souls on the planet. 

Every time you hug one of the five members of the family, it is a loving embrace that redefines how a hug should feel.  Not just a way to say hello and goodbye, it becomes a way to feel each others energy and combine it for a brief moment.  During our overnight stay, David and I both received a handful of these hugs and by the time we left we were in love with each and every member of the clan. 

After arriving, we gorged on a Mexican feast before journeying out to the hot tub situated beneath Montana’s famous Big Sky.  The frigid winter air provided quite the juxtaposition to the warm (and packed) hot tub, and as soon as pruning ensued it was time to race back across the lawn to reach the safety of the house.

(David and I on the front porch.)

We then wandered through their land until we reached the guest cabin where we all curled up to watch a movie.  It wasn’t long until the sun was poking through the windows and David and I journeyed outside to see what the morning had in store.  We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.  The sun was out, the sky was clear, and there was a healthy layer of snow on the ground.

(David shows the horses some love.)

Another delicious meal led to the suggestion that we take some time to walk around the land and explore.  Some of the family came out with us and before we knew it we had reached a small enclosure with a giant tree named the “Grandfather”.  The branches spiral up the center of the tree so plentifully that climbing it is almost as easy as walking up a spiral staircase. 

Since the opportunity presented itself, I figured that it was as good a time as any to climb my first tree, so armed with a camera (I had to blog it of course) I started making my way up behind David, Anya, and Alex.  Once I made it about a quarter of the way up (it’s an enormous tree) I decided I was as high as I needed to go so that I'd had enough to put a smile on my face without pushing my health.  As Sascha later texted me, "Climbing trees is vastly underrated."  I can now say that I agree! 

(Walking in the morning.)

(Stopping for a mini photo shoot...with a little bed-head.)

(Meeting Grandfather Cloud...he's the big branchy one on the left.)

(David starts the ascent.)

(As I creep along behind him...with bed-head.)

(Patricia was kind enough to take these photos for us.)

(David: Tree Conquerer.)

(Anya has made it to the top before, but she decided to stay low with the mortals during our climb.)

Lazy Post Of The Day: Hey, Old Friends

I really should rename my "Lazy Post" series the "I'm fucking overworked and can't write anything else right now" series.  Nothing makes me more frustrated than feeling like I don't have the time or energy to put into "Ranting" a little bit.  Things should clear up a bit by the weekend so I promise I'll have new and exciting things to discuss in a few days.  In the meantime, I wanted to share a few videos.

This afternoon after having a fantastic lunch with the lovely Sascha and Stella, I made my way home and stumbled into my friend Benj Pasek.  I seem to have made a habit out of running into University of Michigan friends in the most random places.  On the subway, at restaurants, and now on the street...anywhere but through scheduled meetings.  Even though we didn't have much time to catch up, it was fantastic to see Benj again and hear a hint of what he has been up to. 

Benj, along with writing partner Justin Paul, makes up half of the already famous songwriting duo Pasek and Paul.  They won the Jonathan Larson Award for young composers last year (they are the youngest winners ever), and are already becoming a force to be reckoned with in the theater community.  They recently revised the first show they wrote together, Edges, in Albany and it's only a matter of time before they make their Broadway debuts.  Here are a few of their songs.  Take a look (and a listen.)

Here is the FANTASTIC song "Perfect," performed by Whitney Bashor.

One of my favorite songs of theirs, "Ready To Be Loved," performed by the crazy Broadway star Shoshanna Bean.  Benj and Justin are on stage with her.