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

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

May 9, 2019

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “The Broadway Play’s Premiere Cast” I posted few weeks ago:

1980: Tim Curry as Mozart, Ian McKellen as Salieri. – What is “Amadeus?”
1963: Kirk Douglas as Randle McMurphy, Gene Wilder as Billy Bibbit. – What is “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?”
1959: Sidney Poitier as Walter Lee Younger, Ruby Dee as Ruth Younger. – What is “A Raisin in the Sun?”
1988: John Lithgow as Rene Gallimard, B.D. Wong as Song Liling. – What is “Madame Butterfly?”

I got only one correct this time. 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

Celebrating May Day

May 1, 2019

When I was growing up, I never thought there was anything special about May 1, other than we had less than 2 months until summer vacation. But in many cultures, particularly those in the Northern Hemisphere, do in fact celebrate it, and the day is a declared holiday in many of those cultures. Many pre-Christian cultures regarded February 1 as the beginning of Spring, and May 1 then became the beginning of Summer, with cause to celebrate. In other cultures, it was regarded as the end of the unfarmable winter season, another cause for celebration.

What it seems to have become now is a celebration of culture. Here in the United States, it’s known as Lei Day in Hawaii, where it is now a celebration of the island culture and Spring.

Whether it’s a holiday or not where you are, enjoy Spring!

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 HaleCelebrating May Day

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

New York City’s Easter Parade

April 21, 2019

You may know that this parade, one of the most famous in the world, is held every year on Easter Sunday, and is known as a showcase for new clothes and bonnets; hence the popular song by Irving Berlin, “Easter Parade.” The photo above is of Fifth Avenue during the parade in 1900.

You may also know that today is also April Fool’s Day…but this post is no joke!

You probably don’t know that the Easter Parade differs from other New York City parades in its loose organization, as people generally wander around the area. Between 10 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon tomorrow, Fifth Avenue will be closed to vehicles between 49^th and 57^th Streets, and the crowds turn out, some dressed in very unique bonnets, and even some pets dressed up as well. Good weather – as is expected tomorrow – draws even more people…and zanier outfits. But in addition to the Easter Parade, there are many other activities planned in the City, including a history and dessert tour of Greenwich Village, Easter Egg Hunts, Easter brunches and dinners, and even special Easter Egg programs at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Find your activity at http://gonyc.about.com/cs/holidays/a/easter.htm. Happy Easter!

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?

April 11, 2019

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

1980: Tim Curry as Mozart, Ian McKellen as Salieri.
1963: Kirk Douglas as Randle McMurphy, Gene Wilder as Billy Bibbit.
1959: Sidney Poitier as Walter Lee Younger, Ruby Dee as Ruth Younger.
1988: John Lithgow as Rene Gallimard, B.D. Wong as Song Liling.

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 April Fool’s Day

April 1, 2019

But I’m not going to write something to fool you or pull any pranks. Maybe.

I have seen some good ones, though. Years ago when I lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, I was a faithful listener of the Mike and Dave Morning Show on WRFY radio. On this particular day, I turned on the radio in my car on the way to work, only to find that the late morning DJ was hosting the early show. I heard no mention of the change for several minutes. Finally, an announcement came on air that Mike and Dave were no longer employed by the station. Now, they (particularly Dave) had a reputation of pushing the airwave envelope – not to the point of being shock jocks, but pushing it nevertheless – so their termination did not surprise me. But it really disappointed me. In fact, I was really in a funk the rest of the day. The next morning, I heard their familiar voices on the radio. And then it occurred to me that the day before was April 1! I called them and let them know that they “got” me. They just laughed and said that was the point. So go ahead and play your pranks, and maybe leave a comment abut the funniest April Fool’s prank you’ve seen!

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 New York?

March 24, 2019

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “New York State of Mind” I posted a couple of weeks ago:

Resort village on Otsego Lake that’s home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. – What is Cooperstown?
It was a capital idea to found Albany on the banks of this river. – What is the Hudson?
The atrium seen here is in the New York City building named for this man (pictured above) because of his finance news service, not his mayordom. – Who is Bloomberg?
Some say this word applies to anything north of the Bronx; it’s the name of a medical college in Syracuse. – What is Upstate?
The Finger Lakes city shares a name with the home of Odysseus.” – What is Ithaca?

Living most of my life in New York, I got all 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 16, 2019

This seems to be an appropriate time to write about St. Patrick’s Day, so I will. Tomorrow 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 attracts two million spectators and 150,000 marchers. And 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

http://www.facebook.com/randolphmase

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 New York?

March 8, 2019

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

Resort village on Otsego Lake that’s home to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
It was a capital idea to found Albany on the banks of this river.
The atrium seen here is in the New York City building named for this man because of his finance news service, not his mayordom.
Some say this word applies to anything north of the Bronx; it’s the name of a medical college in Syracuse.
The Finger Lakes city shares a name with the home of Odysseus.”

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

http://www.facebook.com/randolphmase

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

Questions to How Well Do You Know Broadway?

February 28, 2019

Here are the questions to the Jeopardy! answers in the category “Broadway Debuts” I posted a couple of weeks ago:

In “Harry Potter & the Cursed Child,” Anthony Boyle & Alex Price debuted as Scorpius Malfoy & this man, his father. – Who is Draco Malfoy?
Before “Glee,” Lea Michelle got her start as young Cosette & young Eponine in this show. – What is “Les Miserables?”
After leaving “Saturday Night Live,” Taran Killam made his debut as King George III in this musical. – What is Hamilton?”
In 2018 this actor ditched his shield to go from Captain America to bad cop in “Lobby Hero.” – Who is Chris Evans?
Before he was Dustin on this Netflix show, Gaten Matarazzo debuted in “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”. – What is “Stranger Things?”

I got three correct this time. How did you do?

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

http://www.facebook.com/randolphmase

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