Monday, August 30, 2010

CELEBRATION !

It's been such a fabulous summer for The Countess.  So many parties and opening nights.  So many new friends and old pals.  I always get a little teary-eyed when summer ends. 

But today I am so excited because I will at last be retired in another couple of weeks.  I have been working for over 40 years now...never without a job...never collected unemployment...never missed a day of work because I was sick...never asked someone to do anything that I wouldn't or couldn't do myself.  I am still friends with everyone who ever worked for me and everyone who I ever worked for.  It is a legacy I would be happy to pass on to anyone.

And that is just my formal work life.  Before that I had four children to take care of.  If anyone tells you that isn't work, they are without babies in their lives :)  I had four kids in six years starting at age 19 and changed diapers for 8 yrs as well as comforted sick angels, played lots of games with happy kids, fed and watered dogs, kittens, and horses, and cooked so many meals and baked so many treats that those years just blur in my memory.

I've been blessed with two good husbands...one the teenage love that every girl dreams of ...and the other the mature love that every woman should have.   It's been a hell of a ride!

Who knows what the next years will hold.  I don't have a lot of them left but I'm going to make them all count as if I was still that 18 year old girl that I used to be who didn't know what or where life was taking her.  When life stops being an adventure, that's when it will be over.

Countess Bedelia 8/30/2010 09:20:00 PM | 3 comments |

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Toooooooooo much fun!

Where has the month of August gone?  It sped by at the speed of light.  Earlier in the month The Countess was the first "Celebrity Guest" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival Late Night Cabaret.  I dressed up in "Countess Casual" for the big occasion...

My son, The Prince, and my daughter, The Principessa, came to see what all the fuss was about.  I was interviewed about my involvement with Berkshire Theatre Festival and also about the knighting ceremony that has become a ritual here by our acting company....

At each Main Stage opening night we select a few worthy individuals to become Knights in our Court.  The music stops, the crowd parts, and the chosen are called...Here are Equiano, Harrison, and Michael waiting to be Knighted....

There were some wild times at the Paint Shop parties when The Countess might have been gogo dancing in the cage with some hotties...oh wait!  Those are the stars of our MacBeth production !!

There was also a special dinner cooked in my honor by Sir Kyle, First Knight of GaGaLand.  Sir Kyle cooked up a feast that included fried ice cream for dessert!  So Special....

And of course there was a lot of theater this month....MacBeth, Babes in Arms, A Delicate Balance, Summer....the list goes on and on.  It is why I am in the Berkshires in the summer and why you should be here too.  Such an abundance of cultural riches.  I can't believe this summer is almost over.  It's been so fun !!!



I'll close this post with a photo of my beautiful daughter taken this past weekend when we visited The Mount, Edith Wharton's beautiful home.  We had such a fun time although she did have to take Monday off from work to rest.  I think I wore her out !!
Countess Bedelia 8/26/2010 12:04:00 AM | 0 comments |

Friday, August 06, 2010

The Gala

Each summer the Berkshire Theatre Festival has a Gala to celebrate the season, raise some funds for their educational programs, and get lots of fun people together to have a good time.  The Mount, Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, was the setting for this year's party....

The flower gardens, where the welcome cocktail party was held, were all abloom.....

The very talented brothers and sister combo, Jonna, Cooper, and Ryder, played chamber music for us...


Travis was pouring the champagne.....

And The Countess was having fun....


We adjourned to the terrace for a lovely dinner with entertainment from the cast of "Annie", the BTF play that will be performed in September.  A beautiful day in the beautiful Berkshires.
Countess Bedelia 8/06/2010 11:48:00 AM | 0 comments |

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Proposition H8te overturned in California - August 4th, 2010



The Atlantic has an informative article written by Marc Ambinder about the Prop. 8 case:

Prop. 8 Overturned: The Facts, Not the Law, Matter


"Here's what you need to know about Judge Vaughn Walker's decision invalidating California's Proposition 8, a referendum passed by voters that banned same-sex marriage. The decision itself will be appealed, and Walker's reasoning could serve as the basis for argument at the appellate level -- or, the appeals court could decide to argue the case a completely different way.


What matters are the facts that Walker finds. Why? As Chris Geidner notes, "[the] judge or jury who makes the findings of fact, however, is given deference because factual determinations are aided by the direct benefit of the judge or jury at trial. On appeal, Judge Walker's findings of fact will only be disturbed if the appellate court finds any to be clearly erroneous."


Walker, in his decision, writes that "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gays and lesbians for denial of a marriage license." He evaluates as credible witnesses the panel of experts who testified against Proposition 8, and finds fault with the credentials of several witnesses who testified against same-sex marriage, including David Blankenhorn, President of the Institute for American Values:


Blankenhorn's testimony constitutes inadmissible opinion testimony that should be given essentially no weight," Walker writes. "Blankenhorn gave absolutely no explanation why manifestations of the deinstitutionalization of marriage would be exacerbated (and not, for example, ameliorated) by the presence of marriage for same-sex couples. His opinion lacks reliability, as there is simply too great an analytical gap between the data and the opinion Blankenhorn proffered.


Here are the relevant facts Walker finds:


1. Marriage is and has been a civil matter, subject to religious intervention only when requested by the intervenors.


2. California, like every other state, doesn't require that couples wanting to marry be able to procreate.


3. Marriage as an institution has changed overtime; women were given equal status; interracial marriage was formally legalized; no-fault divorce made it easier to dissolve marriages.


4. California has eliminated marital obligations based on gender.


5. Same-sex love and intimacy "are well-documented in human history."


6. Sexual orientation is a fundamental characteristic of a human being.


7. Prop 8 proponents' "assertion that sexual orientation cannot be defined is contrary to the weight of the evidence."


8. There is no evidence that sexual orientation is chosen, nor than it can be changed.


9. California has no interest in reducing the number of gays and lesbians in its population.


10. "Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital union."


11. "Marrying a person of the opposite sex is an unrealistic option for gay and lesbian individuals."


12. "Domestic partnerships lack the social meaning associated with marriage, and marriage is widely regarded as the definitive expression of love and commitment in the United States. The availability of domestic partnership does not provide gays and lesbians with a status equivalent to marriage because the cultural meaning of marriage and its associated benefits are intentionally withheld from same-sex couples in domestic partnerships."


13. "Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages."

Remember, these are the FACTS that Walker has determined from the testimony and evidence. These facts will serve as the grounding for the legal arguments yet to come."

In Massachusetts we have had legal gay marriage since 2004.  SIX YEARS !  It doesn't seem to have caused family values to plummet and straight marriages still are going strong as well as both gay and straight divorces.  Life as usual :)
Countess Bedelia 8/05/2010 08:09:00 AM | 0 comments |

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Karaoke and Babes in Arms opening night...

Since I finally figured out how to painlessly download the pictures from my new camera, I am going to try to keep up to date with this blog.  Friday night was Liz's birthday party at Michaels of Stockbridge karaoke.  Here are Liz and Frank waiting for the party to begin...

The place was packed with a very enthusiastic crowd ready to sing.  Kyle and Tara got their GaGa on with "Bad Romance"....

Tommy was literally crawling on the table while singing his heart out....

Even Steve showed up....

The highlight of the evening was when the birthday girl and Frank sang "Love Shack"....



Saturday night was opening night for "Babes in Arms" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival Unicorn Theater.  


We are halfway through the summer season and The Countess has finally put all the new faces together with their names and it was such a delight to see so many of our apprentices singing and dancing in this delightful show.  I was laughing out loud through most of the performance and clapping and cheering for the wonderful singing and dance numbers.  If you like tap dancing, come and see this show!

Here is The Countess with two of the shows stars, Samantha Richert and Barby Cardillo....

And here is Lady Boninski with the very tall C.J. Wilson who will be starring as Macbeth on the Main Stage next week...


Today is the Berkshire Theatre Festival Gala at The Mount in honor of our past Board president, Bobbie Hallig. The Countess is deciding on which gown to wear and getting the jewels out of the vault.  It's going to be a gala affair!! 
Countess Bedelia 8/01/2010 11:38:00 AM | 0 comments |