Charlotizing Your Food - a Video

Here is a video about a feature of this week's story.  What do you "Charlotize?" Charlotte likes to buy frozen pizza and place her own toppings on it.  This makes her feel like a chef.  Charlotizing is the act of improving existing food by adding in your own twist.



 What do you like to "Charlotize?"

Bartholomew Looks At Love Performance

On February 15th, Mark Granlund read three stories and played two videos, Kelly Jo Roth played three songs, Dustin Haug played one song, Thea Ennen played two songs, Dave Peterson played three songs and Nate Lindstrom played two videos.  It all worked together into a fun, entertaining and thoughtful performance about relationships, love and woe at Dreamland Arts.

The show opened with Dustin and Kelly Jo performing a Josh Ritter song on guitar and ukelele.  Mark then worked with the audience on creating the sound effects for the first story: Bartholomew and the Cabana Fire.  People were acting like cats and fire engines and making the crackle of fire.  Someone even made the sound of underwear glowing in the light of a fire.  Not something that happens everyday.

After the first story, Thea and Dave performed one of Thea's relationship songs and then the following video was shown:


Many thanks to Hamline University and their students for partaking in this video.

The second story, What Will Be Will Be, is a story about Claire and Ned's relationship which is a little rocky.  Actually, it is a story about a fight.  Oh, we know that scene, don't we?

That was followed again by the lovely Thea and Dave with a wonderful song that included some excellent guitar playing by Dave. Which was then followed by this next video:

Many thanks to the elder residents of the Hamline-Midway neighborhood.

The third story, Someone to Call Home, is, in my mind, a love song from Topping to Charlotte.  Topping loses his job, but life is great because he knows he is loved.

Kelly Jo finished with a song she wrote, a simple and beautiful song about bodies.  Then, everyone, sang Elvis' Can't Help Falling in Love, ate some chocolate covered strawberries (thanks for the help Nina), and answered some Bartholomew Asks... questions as we filtered out the door and into a night full of love.

A big thanks to everyone for a fun and entertaining night of many kinds of love.  I will let you know when the next show.  Video for this show will soon be available for viewing.

Bartholomew Asks... What are your holiday food traditions?

After the story reading at Dreamland Arts at the end of November, some people stuck around to answer some of Bartholomew's questions.  Here, they answer the question: What are your holiday food traditions?



Share your response at The Book of Bartholomew Facebook Page.

Bartholomew Asks...What Have You Learned From Your Parents?

This week's Bartholomew Asks... is about what we have learned from our parents.  This week's story is about Gerald trying to teach his boys a lesson.  It's not a lesson most of us would try to teach, but that's Gerald.  Of course, there is much we have learned from our parents that we are not even aware of; a tick, a sneer, a laugh, a smile when we are reading, an attitude toward country music, an attitude toward anyone who is different in some manner or another, etc.  But, we are aware of what they tried to teach us through advice, good or bad.  We also know that we are just like them in some ways, whether good or bad.

What have you learned from your parents?  Here is this week's video question.

Interview with artist Matt Wells

Matt Wells and I, Mark Granlund, sat down one Sunday afternoon at the Black Forest Inn to talk about his illustrations for Gerald Teaches A Life Lesson.  This is what resulted.

Friends, Friends, Friends

This first story in The Book of Bartholomew is about Bartholomew discovering he needs friends.  Do people really need friends?  Do you need your friends?  Yes, people do become more capable as they get older and do not need as much assistance with life.  And some people are introverts and like being alone.  But everybody has and needs friends.

I am introducing a feature of The Book of Bartholomew: Bartholomew Asks...   Each week, a short video is presented with a question for that week's story.  In the video, people give short answers to the question.  This week, Bartholomew Asks: What is it you appreciate about your friends?  What do you look for in a friend?

You can write an answer here at the blog or share a text or video response at The Book of Bartholomew Facebook Page.