Randolph Mase&#8217;s Weblog

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

March 25, 2020

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “A Broadway Cast of Characters” I posted a few weeks ago:

Pumbaa, Nala, Zazu. – What “The Lion King?”
Marius, young Eponine, Madame Thenardier. – What is “Les Misèrables?”
The Pigeon sisters (not enough? Okay…). Felix & Oscar. – What is “The Odd Couple?”
In a musical: Henry Higgins, Alfred P. Doolittle. – What is “My Fair Lady?”
Brick, Big Mama, Gooper. – What is “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?”

I again got four of them correct; how did you do?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17, 2020

This seems to be an appropriate time to write about St. Patrick’s Day, so I will. Today is the national holiday of Ireland, and celebrates the life of Saint Patrick, a Christian missionary who lived in the 4^th and 5^th centuries. It began as a religious holiday, and became a public holiday in 1903. The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in Boston in 1737, but the longest-running and largest parade is in New York, which has run every year since 1762, and today would have attracted two million spectators and 150,000 marchers. However, this year’s parade has been postponed due to coronavirus activity. As you know, green is the color of choice, with a river dyed green in Chicago, a canal in Indianapolis, and fountains in Savannah. Even those not of Irish ancestry participate in the festivities (in fact, I’ve gone to several “St. Paddy’s Day” parties in the past few years, and I’ve got only one connection – McCracken – and that name hails from Northern Ireland). So regardless of your background, enjoy!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Posted in About New York City, Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

Questions to How Well Do You Know New York?

March 9, 2020

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “New York City Museums” I posted last month:

At the 9/11 Memorial Museum, you can see part of a retaining wall and a column now covered with mementos from this complex. – What the World Trade Center?
A National Museum of Immigration at this site is housed in the original main building restored to its 1918-to-1924 appearance. – What is Ellis Island?
Fun House mirrors & vintage bumper cars are part of the collection celebrating this iconic amusement area in Brooklyn. – What is Coney Island?
Frank Lloyd Wright was in his 90s when he supervised construction of his final masterpiece, this museum. – What is the Guggenheim?
This last name is paired with Cooper in the name of a national design museum. – What is Hewitt?

I again got four of them correct; how did you do?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

How Well Do You Know Broadway?

March 2, 2020

One of the categories on a recent Jeopardy! episode was “A Broasway Cast of Characters.” Here are the answers; just come up with the correct question for each. I’ll give those questions in a future post:

Pumbaa, Nala, Zazu.
Marius, young Eponine, Madame Thenardier.
The Pigeon sisters (not enough? Okay…). Felix & Oscar.
In a musical: Henry Higgins, Alfred P. Doolittle.
Brick, Big Mama, Gooper.

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

How Well Do You Know New York?

February 24, 2020

One of the categories on a recent Jeopardy! episode was “New York City Museums.” Here are the answers; just come up with the correct question for each. I’ll give those questions in a future post:

At the 9/11 Memorial Museum, you can see part of a retaining wall and a column now covered with mementos from this complex.
A National Museum of Immigration at this site is housed in the original main building restored to its 1918-to-1924 appearance.
Fun House mirrors & vintage bumper cars are part of the collection celebrating this iconic amusement area in Brooklyn.
Frank Lloyd Wright was in his 90s when he supervised construction of his final masterpiece, this museum.
This last name is paired with Cooper in the name of a national design museum.

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Happy Presidents Day!

February 17, 2020

When I was a kid, I used to love February. My birthday’s in this month, and we also celebrated two holidays – and had two days off from school – in February as well. What kid wouldn’t love that?

We were off on February 12, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, and February 22, George Washington’s Birthday. Then in the 1970s, some lawmakers had the wonderful idea to move the celebration of Washington’s Birthday to the third Monday in February, and in the following years Lincoln’s Birthday was dropped as a holiday and the new holiday became a celebration of all of our presidents. It just seems strange that Presidents Day never falls on the actual birth date of George Washington (it’s always somewhere between February 15 and February 21). And it’s also strange that only 4 of our 43 presidents were born in February. But all I know is that we lost a day off from school…

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

February 10, 2020

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “Broadway Names” I posted last month:

Brian Stokes Mitchell’s roles have included Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime” & Don Quixote in this musical. – What is “Man of LaMancha?”
This choreographer-director and his wife Gwen Verdon were the subjects of a series on FX. – Who is Bob Fosse?
Daniel Radcliffe has been horsin’ around on Broadway since his 2008 debut in this Peter Shaffer drama. – What is “Equus?”
In 2019 the lights on Broadway dimmed in memory of this legend who passed away at the age of 97. – Who is Carol Channing?
A Broadway theatre is named for this late caricaturist whom the N.Y. Times called “the most celebrated artist in the theater.”. – Who is Al Hirschfeld?

I again got three of them correct; how did you do?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

It’s Groundhog Day!

February 2, 2020

Many of us have probably seen the movie with Bill Murray, essentially about reliving something many times, until we change our behavior and transcend it. And most of us probably associate Groundhog Day with Punxsutawney Phil, the famous prognosticator in western Pennsylvania who predicts the arrival of Spring each year, based on whether or not he sees his shadow. However, did you know that each year no fewer than 15 groundhogs make their predictions? Take a look at this list:

Balzac Billy – Alberta, Canada
Dunkirk Dave – New York
French Creek Freddie – West Virginia
General Beauregard Lee – Georgia
Jimmy the Groundhog – Wisconsin
Josh Porter – Ohio, I think (I couldn’t find a more specific reference)
Malverne Mel – New York
Octoraro Orphie – Pennsylvania (Phil’s rival)
Punxsutawney Phil – Pennsylvania
Queen Charlotte – North Carolina
Shubenacadie Sam – Nova Scotia, Canada
Sir Walter Wally – North Carolina
Staten Island Chuck – New York
Wiarton Willie – Ontario, Canada
Woodstock Willie – Illinois

Interestingly enough, half of the furry creatures typically predict six more weeks of winter each year, and the others predict an early Spring. So who do you believe? I think the best way is to do it yourself: walk out of your house at daybreak and see if your shadow appears. I would have done it, except the weather forecast was morning breezy and cold. So I stuck with the electric blanket and let the groundhogs do the work…

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale

Posted in Observations on the Strange and Unexpected and on Life Itself | Leave a Comment »

How Well Do You Know Broadway?

January 26, 2020

One of the categories on a recent Jeopardy! episode was “Broadway Names.” Here are the answers; just come up with the correct question for each. I’ll give those questions in a future post:

Brian Stokes Mitchell’s roles have included Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime” & Don Quixote in this musical.
This choreographer-director and his wife Gwen Verdon were the subjects of a series on FX.
Daniel Radcliffe has been horsin’ around on Broadway since his 2008 debut in this Peter Shaffer drama.
In 2019 the lights on Broadway dimmed in memory of this legend who passed away at the age of 97.
A Broadway theatre is named for this late caricaturist whom the N.Y. Times called “the most celebrated artist in the theater.”

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head (under construction)

Nathan Hale