Inside Jan's Mind

My apologies for not posting this past month. The advent of some regular publications folding left me sans Christmas money, so I have been busy stretching my artistic abilities to the limit and making gifts. It's been quite fun, actually.

As a poor starving thespian/artist/writer in the past, I made gifts regularly. Once I obtained steady-paying employment (a real job, as it were!) over the years, I got spoiled and purchased more presents than I made.

This year I enjoyed returning to my roots creating candles, soap, knitting, and hand creme (something new!). Sort of reminded me of traditions and caused me to wonder about how other people celebrate. Despite my family's Irish, Scottish, and German roots, we celebrated in a style compared to a buffet of traditions from the Swedish Angel Chimes to the Italian night of seven fish dinner. I'm kind of a mutt, retaining childhood familial traditions and inventing my own.

What about you? What do you do? Please let me know. I'm really very interested in how people celebrate the Christmas/Chanukah or what have you holiday.

To that end here is a recipe given to my mother by the son of our minister when I was in high school. The family was from the NE U.S., so the soup is reasonably atypical. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
6 c. water
4 cubed peeled potatoes (I never peel potatoes!)
2 cubed carrots
2 cubed celery stalks
2 peeled tomatoes or one 12 oz. can of whole tomatoes chopped
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper (which I don't use because they don't like me!)
2 Tbsp. catsup (or ketsup/ketchup depending on where you live, I suppose)
2 Tbsp. mustard
1 jalapeno pepper (that's straight out for me!)
2 shakes garlic powder
4 shakes Old Bay seasoning
1 shake mace
4 shakes seasoned salt (I believe this is Lowrey's brand or the equivalent)
4 shakes salt (or less)
4 shakes pepper (I use several turns of whole black peppercorns)
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 qt. immitation crab meat (or 1 package of those pollock crab meat thingies... use real crab if you can, which I never have, so...)
2 Tbsp. corn starch

Bring potatoes to boil in water until semi-soft.
Add all ingredients except corn starch.
Cook on medium high, stirring constantly.
Add enough water to corn starch to make a thick paste... about a Tbsp. or so, I believe.
When veggies are tender, stir in corn starch paste.
Cook 5 minutes until done.

Typical of my and my family's cooking, the process was to add a pinch here and a taste there, so adjust it however you wish.

Let me know what you think!

Merry Christmas or whatever your blessed holiday be, y'all!

Good News: The beer gods finally answered my prayers. I discovered that recently Saranac, a New York brewery, bottled for limited release full cases of their most excellent caramel porter. Usually this arrives seasonally in a mixed case cluttered with IPAs, ales, and lagers, whereas I prefer the darker the better. These days my beloved Guinness is too light for me! Well, I had to buy some; I didn't want, mind you, I HAD to! What a nice birthday/Christmas present, albeit a little early. It brought tears to my eyes!

Bad News: After many years of continuous publication, a regional arts magazine for which I have been writing regularly closed its doors today, as well as a monthly insert, also a regular gig for me. Now I am stuck paying for a new computer I can longer afford without this writing income. The publication will be sorely missed, the publishers have systematically ruined any papers they ever purchased and canned many good writers and editors, and no one is any too happy! Merry Christmas, y'all!!

However, I'm wondering what it might take to start an arts magazine online? How does one go about establishing such a thing, then generating revenue to pay its contributors? Among many other questions is, would this be a cool thing to establish as an international zine, getting art reviews, interviews, etc. from everywhere in the world? Then, is there already such a thing? I'm open for thoughts and ideas...

Last week I went computer shopping. An entire paycheck later I'm the proud owner of a Dell something with speedy things and programs that do stuff. I just want to type and send email.

I patiently listened to the young salesman describing its many amenities then asked my questions. I saw him almost break into laughter over my naivte, but he was nice and courteous. I even comparison-shopped because my mother would be rolling around in her grave, so to speak, if I didn't.

I hope I made a good choice. Why doesn't it make tea???

Then I went crazy and shopped for a new hairdryer; you know, the 21st century kind. I needed help buying that, too. Tried the comb thingy, but I think my hair's too short. Haven't tried the diffuser, so that, too, will be a new experience.

Gee, my inherent "Rube-ness" isn't showing too much, is it??!

If you read the previous post you may have noticed some basic proofreading errors. Apparently I don't know the difference between candy (dessert) and sand (desert). It's the Bob Hope DESERT Classic!

In my defense I was VERY nervous when I spoke with this gentleman, though I don't know why - I interview celebrities all the time. For some reason my brain just stopped immediately after he answered the phone. He must have thought I was a babbling idiot! One of my editors suggested that on the upside maybe he'll remember me... I don't want to be remembered as a stuttering moron! D'oh...

Then after I wrote the story and prepared to proof and send it last week I discovered that the motherboard on my desktop fried the hard drive causing the loss of about two years' work, including artwork! I backed up faithfully, but evidently the CD Rom never recorded anything. Not only am I faced with this loss, but now I need to buy another computer... And I can so readily afford that!

Anyhoo, in my haste to get this out into the world I didn't proof as closely as I should have. If you had a good chuckle over the obvious error or feel like acting on the story, my work here is done...

This is a very worthwhile cause. Please take a moment to read and if possible, donate. Thanks!

Actor Kevin Sorbo (“Andromeda” and “Hercules: the Legendary Journeys”) is passionate about sports, particularly golf. He speaks of a childhood playing football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, but summers that meant something different and special: time with his father and brothers on the local golf course in his hometown of Mound, Minnesota where his dad, a teacher, was employed during summer breaks.

Sorbo strongly believes in family and the future of the world’s children. He uses much of his free time working with and for children’s causes. He participates in numerous charity golf tournaments throughout the year, sharing rank 13 on the celebrity circuit with Bill Murray. He is the national spokesperson for The Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit organization working to ensure that all children have access to safe, enriching afterschool programs. He is also the spokesperson and Board Chairman of A World Fit for Kids! (WFIT), a California-based non-profit that provides afterschool physical activity and youth leadership programs. WFIT, which won last year’s California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Gold Medal, is a source of pride for Sorbo whose involvement with the group spans over a decade.

This year Sorbo presents his 1st Annual Kevin Sorbo Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit WFIT at Las Vegas’ stunning DragonRidge Country Club on October 10 and 11. The inaugural event unites professional golfers and celebrities for two days of golf, food, and entertainment, including a pairings party, special prizes and giveaways, dinner, and live entertainment at Vegas’ Planet Hollywood.

Celebrities like Franco Harris, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Meat Loaf, John Ratzenberger, Willie Gault, Richard Karn, and Jim McMahon agreed to participate. Sorbo added that about 20 golfer openings remain.

“The tournament (idea) was certainly mine," Sorbo explained. “I’m a golf nut, so I hosted a few of ‘em in New Zealand when I filmed ‘Hercules’ for the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland ‘cause I was living there, so we raised money for kids with cancers of all kinds, and then I got back (to the States) nine years ago.

“I’ve been involved with WFIT since 1996; it’s been a long time, but the timing, whatever the reasons that we came up with, never did it. And of course, we picked the worst possible economic year in the last 80 years to host this tournament.” Sorbo laughed, “so, here we are, but, y’know, it’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s a lot of fun.”

WFIT is the leading nonprofit provider of afterschool physical activity and youth leadership programs in California. Its 14-year past boasts serving more than 130,000 youths with results ranging from improved fitness, higher grades, and increased paid employment opportunities for teens and college students to a reduction in childhood obesity and high school dropout rates.

The nonprofit organization’s recent acquisition of the 2007 Gold Medal award from the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports as “positively impacting the physical activity, fitness and well-being of California’s children and youth” allowed its nationwide expansion.

“We hope to make a lot of money for the kids, but I think the most important thing is we’re kicking off nationally now,” Sorbo stated. “We’re gonna go nationwide with WFIT. We’ve been talkin’ about that for a long time. We’ve been putting a five-year plan in place for the last year, and once we won this gold star from the Governor’s Office here in California for the Best Afterschool Program, we’ve been inundated with people wanting to know about our programs and what they do.”

In preparation for his upcoming tournament, Sorbo recently completed the Gary Player Invitational in South Carolina and a Florida tournament benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

“I probably do, the majority are golf, a couple tennis (events), but I probably do 20 golf ones a year. I’ve done eight of the last 10 years the Bob Hope (Dessert Classic), and the Professional Golf Association raises a lot of money for charity. I’ve done the AT&T, 3M Championship, (and) the Outback Steakhouse with the pros.”

Sorbo excelled in high school sports, preferring football, basketball, and baseball. He hoped to turn pro following his stint at the University of Minnesota, but left his senior year for Europe, landing modeling jobs and commercials. Hooked on acting, he returned to Hollywood, enrolled in classes, and pounded the pavement.

The athletic blond garnered guest roles on television shows like “Murder She Wrote,” and “The Commish,” and had several lead close calls like “Lois and Clark” and “The X Files” before contracting as Hercules, which filmed in New Zealand and spawned three offspring.

Sorbo experienced international fame, but seven years later quit and moved home, aiming to break his stereotype. He married, fathered three offspring of his own, and lost his weight-lifting bulk to star in the Science Fiction series, “Andromeda” for the next five seasons.

Sorbo’s first feature film, Kull the Conquerer, debuted in 1996, and the summer 2008 movie, Meet the Spartans, paved the way for a cameo in October’s An American Carol and major parts in Mule Boy and Bitch Slap slated for theatres in early 2009.

Now Sorbo enjoys a lucrative television and film career. Major parts in made-for-television movies like Prairie Fever and Avenging Angel, as well as appearances in “Psych,” and “Middleman” bolster his efforts to return to television. Fire from Below, a Sci-Fi Channel flick, airs this November.

Additionally, his guest spot on a new CBS series, “The Ex List,” runs “sometime in November,” Sorbo elaborated. Then he departs for New Orleans for another movie, one of about three he’s shooting during the next five months.

Sorbo’s tournament is closed to the public, except for Saturday’s Planet Hollywood cocktails, $150 per plate dinner and auction at 6:30 p.m. and private concert with special performances by Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish, Josh Kelley, Javier Colon, Steve Azar and surprise guests at 8:30 p.m.

For tournament information contact Amber Behrens at amberbehrens@comcast.net or (707) 837-7902.

Visit the WFIT website at www.worldfitforkids.org for more information and donation instructions. Gifts are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated.

Good Day to You! I have finally decided to try blogging. Well, having received HD T.V. last Christmas and in the span of this last month purchased High-Speed Internet AND a new phone with built-in caller I.D. and answering machine, I'm unstoppable! I think a new hair dryer is next... one that doesn't look like John Wayne used it in his last film like I have now; I want a NEW one with all the attachments, bells, whistles, and such. I don't know what I'll do with it all, but I know I want it! Only time will tell...

Please be patient...