Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (MST3Kover)

Posted on September 19, 2022 by erin

Commentary (in italics) written by Paul Kwinn

Well my heart knows me better than I know myself
So I’m gonna let it do all the talking.

Wouldn’t talking be more of a mouth thing?

I came across a place in the middle of nowhere
With a big black horse and a cherry tree.

Strange bedfellows…

I felt a little fear upon my back
He said “Don’t look back, just keep on walking.

Self-defense-wise, that seems like pretty questionable advice

When the big black horse said, “Look this way”
Said, “Hey there lady, will you marry me?”

Pretty sure Loving vs Virginia did NOT apply to marrying horses, black or otherwise.

But I said no, no, no_____o, no-no-no
I said no, no, you’re not the one for me
No, no, no—–o, no-no-no
I said no, no, you’re not the one for me

And my heart hit a problem, in the early hours,
So I stopped it dead for a beat or two.

HIGHLY inadvisable. Not generally reversible.

But I cut some cord, and I shouldn’t have done it,
And it won’t forgive me after all these years

Cut some cord? What cord? A cord of wood? I don’t think the cherry tree would approve.

So I sent it to a place in the middle of nowhere
With a big black horse and a cherry tree.

OK, so now the horse and the tree have a disembodied heart for a companion.

Now it won’t come back, ’cause it’s oh so happy
And now I’ve got a hole for the world to see

That sounds, well, unsanitary at best.

And it said no, no, no_____o, no-no-no
Said no, no, you’re not the one for me
No, no, no—–o, no-no-no
Said no, no, you’re not the one for me

Said no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
You’re not the one for me
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
So, so much negativity.
You’re not the one for me

Big black horse and a cherry tree
Don’t forget the heart.

I can’t quite get there ’cause my heart’s forsaken me

Big black horse and a cherry tree
I can’t quite get there cause my heart’s forsaken me

Mr. Rogers

Posted on November 9, 2021 by erin

Here are the lyrics to Mr. Rogers, the song we debuted at OVFF!

He told us we were special
Success is being kind
We can build a better world together
Helping is where our real strength lies

He told us we were worthy
He told us we were good
It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood

He said “look for the helpers”
It’s a good feeling to know that we’re alive
No one in the whole wide world is like you
It’s good to know [that] you’re growing inside

He was everybody’s neighbor
He listened with his heart
He said I love you
You have value and I’m glad you
Are just the way you are

He said
Be a helper, be a light
Don’t be afraid to do what’s right
Loving yourself is part of loving me

So be courageous and be true
Be the best at being you
And be the person Mr. Rogers
Knew that you could be

Just a skinny kid from Brooklyn
Who was not afraid to fight
He knew that power’s not what makes a hero
He just wanted to do what was right

And he showed us he was worthy
To stand with the divine
Be it wartime or our time
He is with us until the end of the line

So stand up and join the fight
You gotta want to do what’s right
Remember sacrifice is part of being free

Don’t be afraid to disobey
You can do this all day
Just be the person that Steve Rogers
Knew that you could be

Be a gambler with a dream
Be an island in the stream
Be Reuben James or the coward of the county
Eat fried chicken every meal
Just don’t be Ruby or Lucille
And be the person Kenny Rogers knew that you could be

R: Be the person that Will Rogers knew that you could be
E: I’m pretty sure that he would like me

R: Be the person Carl Rogers knew that you could be
E: He thinks I’m phenomenal

R: Be the person that Wayne Rogers knew that you could be
E: Trapper John?

R: Be the person that Buck Rogers knew that you could be
E: I’m not taking marching orders from Gil Girard

R: Be the person that Roy Rogers knew that you could be
E: Again with the fried chicken?

R: Be the person that Stan Rogers knew that you could be

God damn them all I was told
We’d cruise the seas for American gold
We’d fire no gun shed no tear
Well I’m a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett’s Privateers

Be a helper, be a light
Don’t be afraid to do what’s right
Loving yourself is part of loving me

So be courageous and be true
Be the best at being you
And be the person Mr. Rogers
Knew that you could be

Processing

Posted on August 12, 2020 by erin

Earlier this year (last year? what is time?) I applied to (and was accepted into) Leadership Buffalo Essentials through my workplace. We’ve been on hiatus for the last little bit and had our first session in months on Zoom yesterday.

The first speakers were from the Family Justice Center. One of them was a young woman who is now an employee, was previously a volunteer, and she described in painstaking, excruciating detail the personal experience that had led her to where she is now.

As a high school student, she began dating someone who became abusive and controlling. The relationship continued into college. It ended with him stalking and then almost killing her.

I texted Jen during the break that followed, and said “this has brought up a lot of FEELINGS I was unprepared for.”

Because…that could have been me.

It was so long ago that it almost doesn’t seem real. If it weren’t for the tightness in my chest and tears creeping in at the edges of my eyes, I’d think “No, that can’t have been me. That’s a story I read. A movie I saw.”

But it did. I was 15. It was 1990.

It was before cell phones, the internet, GPS tracking.

I broke up with him (for the last time, that is) late in 1992, not quite 3 years later. I don’t remember what the fight was about. (He accused me of cheating, probably?) I do remember what he called me–it starts with a C, and ends with a “you next Tuesday.” I remember that I calmly told him I was through, hung up, and unplugged the phone. (Which, make no mistake, immediately rang when I plugged it back in in the morning.)

It was almost Christmas break, so I did see him a couple of “one last times”–trying to get closure, I guess. He freaked out when someone told him I kissed another guy at a New Year’s Eve party. I was scared. I remember calling one of my friends that I knew would be up–it was really late–in hysterics.

But then he left me alone. I don’t know why, but he left me alone, except for one phone call in my dorm a few months later. His grandmother died, and he was looking for comfort, I guess? I talked to him for a few minutes and hung up.

He did try to contact me once, years and years later. It had to have been after 2001. Someone we both knew from high school gave him my email address, and he sent me a “Hey, how’s it going?” email, and I was just like, “No, I don’t think so.” I deleted it. Ignored it. And that was that.

It was awful. And it left deep emotional scars.

And I am lucky.

TV Theme Songs

Posted on March 27, 2020 by erin

Well, apparently this whole pandemic thing is making me want to blog. LOL.

I saw something going around Twitter this week..people were sharing their top 3 TV theme songs. And I read a bunch of them, and I thought, “I don’t know how people are doing this. “

I actually tweeted:

Now, keep in mind that my list is, y’know, mine. It’s not meant to be definitive. It’s not ranked. Your favorite thing might not be on it. It is not at all scientific.

You want the list? I know you do…7

70s: Mary Tyler Moore, WKRP in Cincinnati, Welcome Back Kotter, The Muppet Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Jeffersons

80s: The Greatest American Hero, Dukes of Hazzard, The Facts of Life, Cheers, Growing Pains, Fraggle Rock, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show

(The 70s and 80s, man…every show, no matter how mediocre, had an amazing theme song. Seriously.)

90s: Saved by the Bell, Malcolm in the Middle, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Party of Five (the rule in the tweet that started this was “no Friends.”)

2000s-forward: The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Big Bang Theory (Here, we’re getting into an era with lots of shows I like that had solid instrumental themes that mostly kind of blend into each other for me. They’re fine, but most don’t really leave a mark, imho.)

Instrumentals: Doctor Who, Mission Impossible, I Dream of Jeannie, MASH, Sanford & Son, Knight Rider, Night Court, Hawaii Five-0, The West Wing (and yeah, there are like a million more amazing instrumentals, but I can’t list them all!)

Animated: Scooby Doo (Where Are You?), DuckTales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Inspector Gadget, The Simpsons, Futurama, Steven Universe

Special mentions–For the purposes of these lists, I left out songs that were repurposed…that is, not composed specifically to be a TV theme song. Here are some of my favorites of those: Bosom Buddies, The Golden Girls, Family Ties, The Wonder Years, Charmed, Veronica Mars, Chuck, Scrubs, and of course, Fillmore. !

Aaaaand…I really have to stop before I remember any more. Feel free to share your favorites in the comments!

Laughter on the 23rd Floor

Posted on January 18, 2019 by erin

It’s been a while, but this is just too much information for a Facebook post. So here goes. 🙂

I’m in a play! I’m playing Carol Wyman in Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor.

You can find the full cast listing, as well as show dates and ticket information, here.

Since I really love vintage fashion, hair, makeup, etc., I’ve been having a lot of fun costuming myself. (I ordinarily wouldn’t do this, but I will totally wear the things I’ve purchased in my day-to-day life!)

(I wore that dress to rehearsal this week, because we were taking a cast photo. I also wore it to work that day!)

Here’s my pin board of fashion inspiration. (Includes some maternity dresses and patterns, because my character is pregnant in Act 2.)

I also found some interesting information about Sid Caesar and the writers for his shows…I knew that my character (as well as writer Sally Rogers from The Dick Van Dyke Show) was based on two real comedy writers from the 1950s–Lucille Kallen, and Selma Diamond. (you may know Selma Diamond from Night Court!) Carol is based more closely on Kallen, while Sally is based more closely on Diamond. That said, I took my wardrobe cues mostly from Sally.

I was very pleased to find this photo of Lucille Kallen online…while it’s a side view, it made me feel like I did reasonably well with my decision about how to style my hair.

YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS — Pictured: (l-r) Writer Lucille Kallen, Sid Caesar (Photo by NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
( I’ll probably end up taking off some of the length and having the bangs cut just a bit differently. .)

Additional images of Kallen
with different hairstyles 🙂

Anyway, I’m very, very excited (and probably taking this hair and wardrobe stuff a bit too seriously, but this is FUN for me!). I think this is going to be a great production, and I’m so proud to be a part of it. If you’re local and available, please come and see it!

Cast & Crew:

Matt Boyle – Director
Claire Boyle – Assistant Director

Heather Svalina/Jennifer L. S. Weber – Co-Producers

Aaron Fisher -Lucas Brickman
Rick Manzone – Max Prince
Matt Walter – Kenny Franks
Brian Kujawa -Val Slotsky
Charles R. Weber – Brian Doyle
Cory Golabek – Milt Fields
Erin Bellavia – Carol Wyman
Mark J. Mendola -Ira Stone
Ally Catalano – Helen

Costume ponderings on facebook…

Posted on June 27, 2018 by erin

30-day song challenge (21-30)

Posted on January 10, 2018 by erin

Here are all my selections in a Spotify Playlist

And here’s a YouTube Playlist, since I started to encounter things that weren’t on Spotify.

Here’s my post of days 1-10

And here’s 11-20

Day 21: Jolene (Miley Cyrus)

For this one, I decided to go with one of my runners-up for a cover.

I considered “Where is Claire,” a song by Buffalo Celtic Rock band Jackdaw (no longer together), but it doesn’t seem to exist online and I didn’t want to go through the effort of making it exist online.

So, today’s selection is “Jolene,” as covered by Miley Cyrus.

(I couldn’t find this one on Spotify, so here’s a link.)

Day 22: Break My Stride (Matthew Wilder)

Runners up: I’m On My Way, by the Proclaimers

Up! by Shania Twain

Send Me On My Way, by Rusted Root

Day 23: Dirty and True (Hawksley Workman)

So. The more vague these things are, the more I struggle with my choice. What song do I think everybody should listen to? ALL THE SONGS I LIKE.

I’ve tried to narrow this one by setting myself some arbitrary rules. For example, I’ve decided not to repeat an artist (which eliminated “Boat on a River” by Styx).

I’m going to go with this odd little song by Canadian artist Hawksley Workman. I love it. I hope you enjoy it!

Day 24: My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors (Moxy Fruvous)

By the time I moved to Western New York, Moxy Fruvous had long stopped performing. I used to hold out a tiny shred of hope that maybe, one day, they would reunite for some performances. Alas, that is never to be.

I was going to go with “King of Spain,” which is a song that never fails to make me feel a little bit happy. (And never fails to make me furious when I see it show up on “Worst Canadian Songs Ever” lists), but I went with this one instead…it’s one of the covers Rand and I performed in our first concert together. (I think I have video of that, but we did not upload it to YouTube.)

Day 25: Starman (David Bowie)

Gotta admit, I thought about using a Prince song, but there’s no way to post/share a Prince song, so…

Today’s choice is “Starman.”

He’d like to come and meet us
but he thinks he’d blow our minds…

(oh, and please enjoy this ridiculous cover from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”)

Day 26: Safe in the Arms of Love (Martina McBride)

Martina McBride has the voice of an angel.

This version of the song came out in 1995. (It was recorded and released earlier by other artists, but didn’t become a hit.) I had the album and liked the song, but I really latched onto it a couple of years later, after my first “real” relationship fell apart and I was hitting that mid-20s stage where you’re sure you’re going to be alone forever.

This song picked me up and let me hope.

“My heart’s not ready for the rocking chair
I need somebody who really cares
So tired of livin’ solitaire
Someday I’m gonna be
Safe in the arms of love…”

Day 27: I Dreamed a Dream (Les Miserables, performed by Anne Hathaway)

After thinking way too long about this one, I’m going with “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Mis, which is just one song of many I could have chosen from this musical in particular, never mind all the other musicals I could have chosen songs from.

Day 28: O Holy Night (performed by Collin Raye)

Because it’s Christmas Eve, I’ve chosen my favorite version of my favorite Christmas hymn. In addition to Collin Raye’s lovely tenor, I like this version because it includes what Rand and I call the “social justice” verse:

Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and his gospel is peace
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name, all oppression shall cease

There were several runners-up for “artist whose voice I love.” Some of them (like Michelle Dockrey, Murray Head, and Martina McBride) have already appeared on this list. Others, like Jodi Krangle, I’ve mentioned in other comments (Check out Starsoul, or The Lady.) And of course, how could I not mention my own darling husband, Rand Bellavia. (Here’s a link to Hollywood’s Ending, from Oh Okay LA)

Day 29: Total Eclipse of the Heart

I remember listening to this in the car with my mom. I’m pretty sure she had a cassette with Bonnie Tyler on one side and Air Supply on the other, which gave us two Jim Steinman tracks on the same tape!

Day 30: Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

Okay, so it ended up taking me longer than 30 days to finish this, but I finished it. Nothing terribly profound to share here, but Belle has always been the Disney princess I most identified with. Books! Brown hair and eyes!

30 Day Song Challenge (11-20)

Posted on December 14, 2017 by erin

Here are all my selections in a Spotify Playlist

Here is my post of days 1-10

Day 11: Single Ladies (Beyonce)

So, I did actually start doing this yesterday, but I got distracted. I had an unusually hard time making up my mind. I decided it should be a song that, by all reasonable standards, I *should* have gotten tired of at some point. So here’s my selection.

Also considered: Bad Romance.

Day 12: Livin’ on a Prayer (Bon Jovi)

I was in 6th-7th grade in 1986. I loved Bon Jovi. I never really got over it. Deal with it. 😉

Day 13: (Jesus Christ) Superstar (Murray Head)

I really struggled with this one. It turns out I like a lot of songs from the 70s. 🙂 I decided to go with this song, from one of my favorite musicals. Here’s “Superstar,” as performed by Murray Head (and the Trinidad Singers, apparently).

Day 14: Easy Silence (Dixie Chicks)

So, I posted about this one a while back, choosing “Follow You, Follow Me” by Genesis. but looking over my list, I see that it’s really male-dominated, so I decided to pick a different song from our actual wedding playlist (which was also rather male-dominated. Hm.)

So today’s choice is “Easy Silence” by the Dixie Chicks, from their fantastic album Taking the Long Way.

Day 15: Red Right Hand (Vixy & Tony)

So, there are a number of artists that I appreciate WAY more when they are covered by someone else. Tom Waits. Lou Reed. Even, to some extent, Bob Dylan.

I fell in love with this song when I first heard Vixy & Tony perform it…I was previously unfamiliar with it. And since I knew it was a cover, one day I thought I’d check out the original.

And oh. Oh yes. Go ahead and put Nick Cave in that category.

(This post was nearly a tie between Every Little Thing (He) Does is Magic by Shawn Colvin and Jolene by Miley Cyrus. Maybe someday I’ll make a whole list of cool covers I like.)

Day 16: Alone (Heart)

So, I pondered a bit about what “classic” means. Since it’s not really defined, I figured it could mean whatever I wanted it to. I also figured that 1987 is long enough ago to be “classic,” much as it pains me to admit it. 😉

Anyway, I’ve posted about this song before. I’ve joked before about Heart’s cheesy 80s power ballad material, but every time I hear this song, I’m struck by how good it is. It is so. good.

(we shall not speak of their 1990 #2 hit. *shudder*)

Day 17: Friends And Lovers (Carl Anderson & Gloria Loring)

Truth be told, I don’t have the pipes for this, but I can dream a little…so, as you may know, back in my preteen and teenage years, I was an avid viewer of Days of Our Lives. Gloria Loring played lounge singer Liz Chandler, and she performed this song with Carl Anderson in…1985, I think? The song charted in 1986.

You may also know Gloria Loring as the vocalist for the theme from “The Facts of Life.” (She was, at the time, married to Alan Thicke, who composed the theme.)

My runner-up response for this one was “Islands in the Stream.”

Day 18: Waterloo (ABBA)

I love ABBA. I love this song. I don’t know what else to say about this one. 🙂

Day 19: Under the Carlaw Bridge (Lowest of the Low)

The Canadian band Lowest of the Low–in particular, their album Shakespeare, My Butt–got me through my 20s.

Here’s the last section of the song:

Well, now my coffee’s gone cold

But my heart’s gone colder

I think I’m reading too much

It feels like twenty below

And it’s a kick in the nuts

When your vision clears up

And you realize you’ve only been playing with change

There’re people more together than you’ll ever be

And it makes you want to ask yourself, “What’s happenin’ to me?”

Because it ain’t clear

No it ain’t clear

What the hell am I doin’ here?

No it ain’t clear

But it rings in my ears

Somewhere under the Carlaw bridge

(My friend Jen and I once drove around Toronto looking for places mentioned in Lowest of the Low songs. We hit a bunch of them, but never did find the Carlaw bridge.)

Day 20: Nasty (Janet Jackson)

I was about to publish this post without an entry for day 20–I just couldn’t come up with anything. And then this came to mind at literally the last second.

30 Day Song Challenge (1-10)

Posted on November 29, 2017 by erin

Here are all my selections in a Spotify Playlist

Day 1: Mr. Blue Sky (ELO): Literally the first song that came to mind when I read the prompt.

Day 2: Bubblegum 45s (Jim Boggia/Jonathan Coulton): Jim Boggia is a singer-songwriter Rand introduced me to. This one’s interesting in that Jonathan Coulton has a songwriting credit. I think the story is that Coulton wrote a song that he ended up not using for anything, and Boggia took it and wrote new lyrics. (I don’t know if he rewrote the melody.) I’m going to share the album version, and then in the comments, I’ll post a live version of him performing it with Coulton and Paul & Storm.

Day 3: Fantastic Voyage (Coolio): There were a number of ways I could have gone with this…but I thought back to songs that remind me of a specific summer. (I dug up an old blog post about this.)

I spent a lot of time driving around in cars, forced to listen to the radio in the summer of 1994. Here’s one of the songs that reminds me of that summer:

(I also considered posting “Here Comes the Hotstepper”)

Day 4: More than Words (Extreme)

This song reminds me of my high school boyfriend, and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Day 5: Renegade (Styx)

Despite having grown up in Steeler country, my selection of this song has nothing to do with football. I just like it.

Day 6: Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars)

I never, ever get tired of this song.

Day 7: Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas)

I knew day 7 had to be classic rock. I wavered on my specific choice, but settled on this.

Day 8: The Old Black Rum (Great Big Sea)

Day 9: Just Can’t Get Enough (Depeche Mode)
So, this is hard. I have an entire playlist on youtube that’s titled “BE IN A GOOD MOOD” that’s meant to be a pick-me-up when I’m feeling down. And this list is far from complete.

When I replied to Rob’s post on this day, I chose “Wandrin’ Around” by Carbon Leaf. And that’s a good choice. It always makes me happy. But today, I think I’m going to go off list and choose a song by a group people don’t usually think of when they think “happy.” 🙂

Day 10: Cranes Over Hiroshima (Fred Small)

Well. There were certainly a number of songs I could have chosen for this. I actually browsed a list of the 50 saddest songs of all time, and no arguments from me, for the most part. I considered choosing their #6 choice, “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” by George Jones, which may just get my vote for saddest song ever.

But instead, I chose this one. The first time I heard it, I just cried and cried and cried.