Life, Fannishness, and Thespic Infatuation

So, I've re-watched SPN's 5.10, but it's just so emotionally exhausting, that I don't think I'm going to get to my write-up any time soon. Not to worry. I've got TWO MONTHS to get it done. (And anxiously await 5.11, which looks really intense and exciting and edge-of-my-seat awesome.)

But now that we're into hiatus, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching, it's time to get in the holiday mindset. I'm baking pumpkin pie this afternoon, and I thought I'd take a peek at the recipe that's in my Northern Exposure Cookbook.

Now, those of you who know me, or who have followed this LJ from the beginning, you know that I love Northern Exposure. It ranks on my list of Top 10 TV Shows of All Time. It probably lands in the Top 5.

And the cookbook is one of the best tie-in books to a TV series I've ever seen. The comments from the characters are spot-on voice-wise, and the real quotes from the series are gold. Take a look at this previous entry and I think you'll get the idea.

So over the next few days or weeks, I might be posting things from the book that strike me as pretty darn wonderful or insightful or just plain fun. I also might be trying a recipe or two (the book does contain the ambrosia salad recipe I use as my stand-by). Because a lot of the recipes look like fun, too.

*icon chosen because it's my only NX icon*

Tomorrow is a big day in the US--Election Day. As I've stated before, politics is not one of my favorite subjects, but there are a couple things I think everyone needs to see before heading to the polls and punching Chad or pulling the lever or tapping the electronic screen:

First, everyone should watch the NX episode called "Democracy in America." Here's why . . . (Be warned for spoilers)

And then there's this ( rousingly patriotic musical presentation )

whitemartyr tagged me for this one:

You're at a one of those parties where you end up meeting a cool random person and talking to them about whatever for a few hours. Pick five fictional characters from five different TV shows (current or canceled) that you'd want as your conversation partner and what you'd talk about.

( Only five??? )

Ya like how I slipped those extra folks in there? *g*

ETA: Ha! Here are ( George's Conversation Choices )

Thought I'd share this most profound and insightful commentary on the nature of bread. From The Northern Exposure Cookbook, by Ellis Weiner. Chris Stevens, btw, is Cicely's radio personality Chris-in-the-Morning (played by John Corbett). This is just so . . . Chris.

You know, bread is considered the simplest and most basic of foods, but its profound secret is that it's just the opposite. Searchers for simplicity need look no further than fruits and vegetables, which of course can be eaten as is. Meat just needs to be thrown on a fire. But bread needs grain, milling, yeast, ovens, and effort.

Any animal can eat produce or flesh. It takes an entire civilization to make bread.

Wow.

It came! It came! The copy of Northern Exposures I purchased came today!

Due to my newfound appreciation for Rob Morrow, I've been checking out some of his other work. I remembered him from NX, of course, when Numb3rs premiered, and I'd seen him in Quiz Show when it was first released to the theaters. But I never fully appreciated his work until I was re-introduced to NX several months ago by way of my bro's DVDs. (RM's performance in his independent film Maze clenched him as my most recent thespic infatuation.) So as I was looking into the availability of his other projects, I came across . . . what's this? . . . he's authored a book? A book of photography? Of Northern Exposure? Well, I must check this out.

So I checked with our library. *snerk* Yeah, right. Like I'm going to find anything esoteric at our library, unless it happens to be on the best seller list.

So when Geo and I went to DC recently, and he had a meeting at the Library of Congress and told me I should request a couple things to read while I was waiting, I opted for Northern Exposures. I wanted to actually see the book before I paid money to buy it.

And I was pleasantly surprised! It's a small book, a softcover, but it's a delightful "family album" of Mr. Morrow's castmates and the crew that made NX a reality (if anything in Cicely can be considered "real" *g*).

In the introduction, Morrow gives a brief but insightful account of how the book came into being, starting with his interest in photography. His description of setting up a darkroom in his apartment brought to mind the many times I as a child sat on my father's lap in his darkroom watching him develop photos. To this day, the smell of photo chemicals reminds me of my childhood. Morrow tells about how he used his downtime between shots to take photographs, and how his particular favorites often end up as gifts to the subjects of the photos.

The photographs in this book are all black and white, taken during the show's 3rd and 4th seasons. Some of the pics are intriguingly artistic, with very creative lighting and shot composition. Some are whimsical. Some are candids of cast and crew, either at work or hamming it up for the camera. Some are simply portraits of the people that made up this production "family." Having worked on an independent movie myself, I was particularly interested to see the costume/wardrobe crew, and the set pieces that made up the environs of Cicely. The captions, too, show goodnatured insight into the people who worked on the show.

And I especially like the self-portrait of the author, whom you'd never recognize if you didn't know who it was.

Overall, it's a nice little read if you're interested in behind-the-scenes views of TV production, if you're a fan of the show, the author, or photography in general.

It also leads me to believe that RM is a very intelligent and creative man and a passionate artist. I mean, I had that impression already from what I've seen of his work and what I've read and seen in interviews. This book says the same thing in a different way.

Now I have to decide if I'm going to spring for the autographed copy I found.