The Official Website of Writer-Producer-Performer Susan H. Michaels
From the category archives:
Here’s the latest opus from me and the folks at LMNO … It’s airing on Animal Planet Thursday 10pm et/pt but check your listings because these shows often air at odd times. Look for “Breaking and Entering” — very sad, very interesting.The Bear Whisperer – Breaking and Entering
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A rare photo of Lila and all 3 of her kids
I was standing in the garden department at OSH marveling at all the flowery, strangely fulgent hanging baskets that had suddenly appeared just in time for Mother’s Day when my cell phone rang. It was Rita Katsotis, an old work friend of my mother’s calling to say she’d just heard that Lila had passed away. They’d lost touch after Lila went kicking and screaming into retirement and so Rita didn’t know Lila died in 2007.
”Your mother was a real character,” Rita said. And I had to agree. [click to continue…]
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I love these faces! Please click to enlarge.
Old Time music gets 5th graders jumping!
The next time someone asks me why a hardcore Angeleno and big time TV writer wants to shlep all the way to Sitka, Alaska and spend 2 weeks in an elementary school music room I will direct them to these 2 photographs. It’s really hard to capture the kind of magic that happens when kids feel old-time music in their bodies and let it out on the dance floor, but here it is.
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My brother David sent me a message the other day asking if I was the mayor of Sitka yet. Well, I don’t think I’m cut out for local politics but I did get myself on the front page of the Daily Sitka Sentinel. It was a little bit thrilling to be front page news but I have to keep it in perspective. The headline photo in yesterday’s paper was a guy laying the chalk lines on the field at Sitka High School. My fifteen minutes of fame are definitely up.
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Keet Gooshi Heen Teachers (and some ringers)
The Virginia Reel - Click to enlarge
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Cable House -- Home of KCAW 104.7 Raven Radio, Sitka, AK - Click to enlarge
Very candid shot of me with Raven Radio host Robert Woolsey - Click to enlarge
Tuesday morning I was invited to do a radio interview at the local public radio station KCAW 104.7 aka Raven Radio. The interview took up the 10-minute local news block during NPR’s Morning Edition which made me feel like something of a VIC –Very Important Caller!
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Alaska Flight 67, Seat 6-A -- landing in Sitka, Alaska -- Click to enlarge
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Sitka Harbor - Click to enlarge
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The view from our corner. Click to enlarge
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Groundhog Day is my favorite holiday.It is the only holiday that is not political, religious, or involves candy. I know there was a bit of inconsequential political agitation this year to replace my beloved Punxsutawny Phil with a robotic groundhog but that seems to have met with an appropriately chilly reception. If groundhogs could give the finger, Phil surely would have. But instead, the Prognosticator of Prognosticators simply saw his shadow and muttered under his breath … F— You … six more weeks of winter. [click to continue…]
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Ever on the lookout for ways to make a living as a writer, I’ve been exploring the food writing niche. And after some diligent research, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’ll be close to impossible to make any dough at it. There are already a million would-be M.F.K. Fisher’s out there on Chowhound, Zagat, Gayot, Yelp, etc. etc. etc. all working for free. I did find an online posting for a paying job writing original recipes that feature beer but it only pays 5 bucks a pop with a five recipe limit. Puh-leeze.
MFK Fisher - awfully skinny for a food writer
And even if I could land a plum job writing for a “real” media outlet, I’d have to cultivate that bizarre foodie wordplay favored by writers like Irene Virbila of the Los Angeles Times.
In a recent review about the pretty delish downtown bistro Church and State, Irene described the escargot as “witty.” Well, I don’t know about you but I don’t necessarily want my snails to be amusing or clever nor do they need to hold their own at the Algonquin roundtable. [click to continue…]
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Lady of the Lake Family Camp Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Ever since Sophie was 5 (she’s 16 now), we’ve been traveling to Lake Coeur d’Alene in the panhandle of Idaho for a magical week of folk-y fun at Lady of the Lake Family Camp. If you don’t know about Lady of the Lake, please visit their website. In the past, I’ve been a camper, a staff member, a caller, a mom, an all-around merrymaker and starting a few years ago at the urging of Penn Fix I began telling a story or 2 during the evening family gatherings. Now, for this year’s camp, I’ve been hired to be the full-time Lady of the Lake storyteller and I am TOTALLY PSYCHED! [click to continue…]
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Susan Michaels and R. Lee Ermey filming on Iwo Jima Click PIC to enlarge
Tonight on the Military History Channel at 10pm you can catch my fabulous Pentagon documentary written for the cranky yet lovable Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey. If you know me, listen for the subtle clues that the archetypal hawkish Gunny’s words came out of the mind of a liberal, pacifist mom.
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Brother Al Michaels: Never met a Vegetable he could call a Friend
I’m using his hockey tickets tonight since he’s still wrapping up after the last NFL Game of 2009; the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Redskins on NBC Sunday Night Football and I’m thinking that he’s a pretty great sports announcer, a pretty great brother, and a pretty picky eater.
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After writing more than 100 episodes of the TV show “Sightings,” I’ve gotten pretty cynical about mystical, metaphysical and “paranormal” phenomena. But this morning I had a visitation from the spirit realm. It started with a phone call at about 8:45 am. As the phone rang, the computerized voice of my Caller ID intoned …
Strange, I thought. Gene Hubert died almost 4 years ago.
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There is something about New Year’s Eve in Ojai that always makes me feel optimistic about the coming year. The Ojai Art Center is cozy and filled with Ojai, Santa Barbara, and L.A. dancing friends. Delicious home made treats in the hallway let you know we’re a tribe of gardeners, cheese makers, beekeepers, bakers, and artists. The band is Bonfire who always set the place on fire and this year our dear sound guru Victor Garza will be joining on bass. Our hostess with the mostest is Karin Dron who manages to create a home-y, welcoming atmosphere that’s so seamless we sometimes forget how much work she puts into making this dance something extra special. We’re not the biggest dance in So Cal, but the joyful spirit in Ojai on New Year’s Eve is as big as our hearts. Please come. [click to continue…]
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